whoissilmoy

Still loved by audiences Douban 6.6 from 49K ratings.
Gorgeous production, a beautifully told story, and impressive action scenes — all leading to a dramatic, emotionally powerful, high‑stakes ending.
My favorite Xu Kai (Hi6) paired with the very lovely Tian Xiwei.
The drama held strong on Douban’s hot list — climbing to Top 4, then Top 2, and staying in the Top 10 for many weeks after finale

Oh, I just learned that this drama received the Annual Audience Favorite Drama and Annual Best Visual Effects at the 2025 Tencent Video Golden Goose Awards. It truly deserves it.

I would guess that his role may be bigger in the later episodes as the mystery surrounding massacre 15 yrs ago comes to light. Right now, he's her right-hand man.

Case 1: 客星出婺女 Guest Star Emerges in Weaver Girl Mansion (Sudden Star over Wunü)
1-3 (or 1-4)
Princess Ningyuan/Wanshun's fiery "death" at a wedding banquet during Lantern Festival; omens, gunpowder, and faked demise.

Case 2 壁上花 Flower on the Wall (Wallflower Corpse)
4-10
Corpse adorned with flowers found in palace; links to loan shark murder, Han Xiao (含笑), Xiu Hong House brothel trafficking palace maids as "flowers."

Case 3 弦上婴啼 Infant's Cry on the Strings
10-15
Eerie crying in Han Liang Hall; ties to dancers, supernatural elements, and infant-related horror (starts transitioning in Ep 10).

Case 4 血色天资 Blood-Colored Talent (Crimson Prodigy)
16-20
Cases involving talented women, blood rituals, or prodigy murders in the harem.

Case 5 吉时秘闻 Auspicious Time Secret
21-25
Time-based mystery, perhaps wedding or ritual murders with hidden auspicious omens.

Case 6 所信非神 What is Believed is Not a God (Belief Not in Gods)
26-30
Deception involving false gods, sacrifices, or cults in the palace.

Case 7 七星错 Seven Stars Misaligned
31-34
Climactic case tying all conspiracies; astrological misalignment leading to major revelations about the Li family massacre.

The drama uses these cases to explore women's fates in the Tang harem, while gradually revealing the Li family tragedy and conspiracy from 15 yrs ago when Li Peiyu was 9 yrs old.

this is supposed to be a really excellent director, and he has the hits to show for it, but his hits are all xianxia, wuxia

didn't you see the line she says she would never damage her reputation

The user says they’ve been ‘following’ Xu Kai fans on this page for four years, yet they think Xu Kai fans are obsessive.

I like your videos. Keep up the excellent work.

King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.

right. eunuchs are castrated. once emperor wants you, no one else can touch you, even if the emperor never touches you.

FL will be more careful going forward because she decided to heed ML advice that he doesn't want her to hurt herself that she can always ask him to find a different approach instead of risking herself. The last time she tried to poison herself, instead she tricked her Master. It's the drama slowly showing how the FL and ML over time will care more and more about each other developing feelings for each other.

that's what the synopsis says: "Li Pei Yi and Xiao Huai Jin then uncover a series of strange cases in the inner court, exploring the fate of women in the Tang Dynasty harem."

She's willing to poison herself, put her life in danger, to figure things out. I think she said she doesn't care about risking her life, about getting killed. Dying is not something she worries about as long as he can figure out what happened 15 yrs ago.

They're hiding the truth from her because it has to do with the emperor, I think and they're afraid she will avenge. Is it possible, she is really daughter of the emperor? He treats her so well. I know he doesn't pay attention to his 30 daughters but maybe there is something special about her mother to the emperor?

I’ve seen that kind of thing in sci‑fi before. They even did something similar in a Star Trek episode, where strange flowers released spores that didn’t create real love, but triggered a kind of blissful, chemically induced passion.

thanks. I'm mainly tracking Xu Kai, not ignoring Yang Zi. I posted all the awards I can find online related to this drama above.

This drama is literally made for Chinese viewers. Cdramas do exaggerate for entertainment, but they’re still rooted in culture. The whole culture is built on thousands of years of Confucian values and historical context, so it makes it hard to catch the nuances without that kind of background knowledge.

The actor who played YZM's father left an impression on me. Yao Renfu isn’t a likable character—he’s cold, calculating, and an absent father who consistently puts his own interests first. But Qian Yi’s performance makes him feel real and genuinely intimidating, especially in his tense scenes with Yao Zhiming and the scheming moments involving Zhang Peisheng. His screen time was too limited to get recognition.

This drama shows how Xu Kai, even with limited screen time, can still make a big impact on a story that isn’t centered on him.

Best Choice Ever” is a perfect example of how MDL ratings don’t always reflect a drama’s true quality — the following awards are related to Best Choice Ever

Drama/Series-Level Awards (Wins & Nominations):
1. 2023 Tencent Video Starlight Awards — Most Anticipated TV Series (Win)
2. 2023 Tencent Video TV And Movie Award (Golden Penguin Awards) — Most Anticipated TV Series (Win) [Note: This overlaps with Starlight in some reports but is listed separately on IMDb]
[Note: 1 & 2 above - some Chinese sources merge them under "Tencent pre-broadcast hype awards."]
3. 2024 Weibo Awards Ceremony (Weibo TV & Internet Video Summit) — Outstanding Works of the Year (Win)
4. 2024 Chinese American Film Festival (C.A.F.F. / 20th Chinese American TV Festival / Golden Angel Awards) — Chinese Culture International Communication TV Series / Chinese Cultural Communication Award (Win). [Note: the category is usually phrased as "Excellent International Communication TV Series" or "Chinese Cultural Communication Excellence Award."]
5. 2024 Tencent Video TV And Movie Award (Golden Penguin Awards) — VIP's Favorite Drama of the Year (Win)
6. 2024 Tencent Video TV And Movie Award (Golden Penguin Awards) — Hit Television Series of the Year (Win)
7. 2025 Television Series of China Quality Ceremony (Dragon TV Drama Quality Ceremony) — Outstanding TV Series (Win) [Inferred from cast wins at the event. The event did give multiple awards to the cast (Xu Kai, He Saifei, Wu Yanshu), and it's reasonable to infer series recognition.]
8. 2025 Tencent Video Golden Goose Honor — VIP Member's Favourite TV Series (Win)
9. 2025 Tencent Video Golden Goose Honor — Annual Hit TV Series (Win)
10. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Annual Influential TV Series (Win)
11. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Popular TV Series of the Year (Win)
12. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Annual Hit TV Series (CCTV Category) (Win)
[Note: Kuyun gave several overlapping popularity/influence titles to the drama, listed them separately here.]
13. 2025 3rd China Media Group (CMG) Annual Chinese TV Drama Ceremony — Outstanding Drama of the Year (Nomination)
14. 2025 3rd China Media Group (CMG) Annual Chinese TV Drama Ceremony — Overseas Communication Drama of the Year / Annual Hit Drama Overseas (Nomination)
China Radio and Television Audiovisual Masterpiece Night — Audiovisual China Global Broadcast (Win) [Year not always specified, but it is commonly tied to 2024–2025 cultural export recognitions. Some call it "Global Communication Excellence"]

Individual Actor/Character Awards & Nominations (All for Best Choice Ever):
Yang Zi (Mai Chenghuan, female lead)
1. 2024 Chinese American Film Festival (C.A.F.F. / Golden Angel Awards) — Best Young Actor / Outstanding Actress (Win)
2. 2024 15th Macau International Television Festival (Golden Lotus Awards) — Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Series / Best Actress (Nomination)
3. 2025 3rd China Media Group (CMG) Annual Chinese TV Drama Ceremony — Best Actress in a Television Series / Actress of the Year (Nomination)
4. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Influential Women of the Year (for Mai Chenghuan) (Win)
5. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Popular Female Character of the Year (for Mai Chenghuan) (Win)

Xu Kai (Yao Zhiming, male lead)
1. 2024 Chinese American Film Festival (C.A.F.F. / Golden Angel Awards) — Best Young Actor / Outstanding Actor (Win)
2. 2025 Television Series of China Quality Ceremony — Jury Award: Quality Creative Actor of the Year / Quality and Creativity Drama Star of the Year (Win)
3. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Popular Male Character of the Year (for Yao Zhiming) (Win)

He Saifei (Liu Wanyu, the mother)
1. 2024 15th Macau International Television Festival (Golden Lotus Awards) — Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series / Best Supporting Actress (Nomination)
2. 2024 Domestic TV Series Ceremony, China — Jury Award: Outstanding Actor of the Year (Win) [Phrased broadly but tied to her role. It's usually "Outstanding Supporting Actress" or "Jury Special Award", not generic "Outstanding Actor".]
3. 2025 Television Series of China Quality Ceremony — Jury Award: Craftsmanship Actor of the Year (Win)

Yao Anlian (Mai Laitian, the father)
2024 15th Macau International Television Festival (Golden Lotus Awards) — Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Television Series / Best Supporting Actor (Nomination)

Wu Yanshu (Chen Shuzhen, the step-grandmother)
2025 Television Series of China Quality Ceremony — Jury Award: Quality Actor of the Year (Win)

Other (e.g., Production/Characters)
2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Annual Influential Producer (for Yang Liu, the producer) (Win)

It must have been this drama got Gulnezar the outstanding performer of the year award at 2025 Weibo night. She was among four recipients of this award.

This drama got Jing Tian the outstanding performers of the year award at the 2025 Weibo night. There were four recipients of this award.