Definitely Recommend

Wow. Hmm. Where to start.

Firstly, all the actors/actresses in the show seem to have such great chemistry with one another. For me, it was Gai Shu and Ling Lin that had great chemistry with not only one another but with the main leads as well. I always look forward to scenes where they appear with the main leads. Their presence never fail to make a scene so familial and full of care and concern for the main leads that I just feel like the show did them dirty by not giving them a proper conclusion.

Secondly, the soundtrack was great. Zhou Shen’s voice is heavenly. This is the only show where I sit through the theme song of every single episode because of how nice it was. Ren Jia Lun and Tan Song Yun also contributed to the OST and their songs fit the atmosphere of the scenes really well too. The instrumental OST are also pleasing to the ear.

Thirdly, the acting. The villain, Yan Shi Fan, was awesomely horrible. I’ve never been truly scared of any antagonist in my life but this one made me thank the lords I wasn’t born in the same era as him.

My favourite character has got to be Lu Yi. I’m totally smitten. Mind you, I have never fallen head over heels for any male characters from a drama before. Lu Yi is the first. I’m now officially a fan of Ren Jia Lun and will probably watch every other Gu Zhuang Xi he acted/will act in.

Other honorable mentions would be Jin Xia and Zhai Lan Ye. We all know Jin Xia is adorable and vivacious. But Zhai Lan Ye was another character that stood out for me. She is truly the human embodiment of the phrase “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”.

Lan Qing Xuan also stood out for me. However, I was under the impression he had a tragic back story related to Yan Jia that would reveal why he was so willing to help get rid of them. That back story never came so I am a bit confused? What was his motivation to bring them down? Was it because of what happened to his master and disciple? It didn’t feel like a strong enough reason to compel him to forsake his own life to do so though. Or maybe I just didn’t understand the story lol.

My only complaint with this show was that there were too many scenes of supporting characters like Shang Guan Xi and Yang Yue. Fortunately I could adjust the playback speed to 1.5x whenever they appeared or I would have died of boredom. Took her 30 episodes to stop simping for Xie Xiao, who was an equally irritating character. He also didn’t even take over his dad’s business in the end (and this was such a big deal in the show for his character) so my question is what happens to Wu An Bang now that both leaders are gone? The show also never really explained why Lu Yi’s mother had to die? I thought it’d be related to the main ordeal with the Xia Jia but it’s not?? Probably just a plot tool for Lu Yi to have a tragic back story I guess.

Finally, I think the whole series had a good and proper conclusion. The part where Jin Xia visited the prison every day in hopes to see Lu Yi was especially touching. This is a show I will never forget. 100% recommend! But would I ever rewatch? Not even my man, Lu Yi, can convince me to sit through the whole Yang Yue and Shang Guan Xi scenes again.

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