Entertaining

I feel this series deserves a perfect 10 although many have thought otherwise.

The reason is Jing Chao's outstanding performance as Mu Ze (MZ), the Machiavellian. He was willing to sacrifice his son, wife's family, father and brothers for the sake of the throne.

Xing Fei is relatively unknown to me as I hardly watch modern Chinese TV series. But, I feel XF delivered her line well in this series as Lu An Ran (LAR).

Zhai Zi Lu, as Mu Chuan (MC), is a young actor we should watch from now. His character matured over time in this series which made me feel ZZL deserve a credit for his acting. Although Jing Chao overshadowed him completely in this series.

The storyline is very interesting: LAR time travelled from the moment she died in the fire in her palace. back to her encounter with MZ. This time, she tried to kill MZ by pretending as if he was a river bandit. The attempt failed.
In this life, LAR went straight to the point by proposing to MZ that she was willing to marry him to help him achieve his ambitions. And, he fell for her trick. Her revenge began.

In short, I love watching the scenes between MZ and LAR from Episode 4 onwards. MZ is like a beast to LAR while MC is like a morning dew to her.

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No cutie acts and the pace is smooth!

I am currently watching this drama after watching Lost You Forever Season 1.

The story is about a concubine's daughter, Mu Zhuohua, who is determined to take the imperial exam to earn a career as a female official in order to be independent of men. She escapes from her engagement to a local official because she refuses to be a concubine.

MZH arrives in the capital and becomes a physician to ageing prostitutes who are refused treatment by physicians due to their profession.

She encounters Lord Ding or Liu Yan, the brother of the current Emperor, who is trying to find the culprit behind the ambush which killed 35,000 elite troops. He is also the Chief Examiner who persuaded the emperor to reopen the imperial exam to allow females to take part in the court matters.

Both ML and FL are good because in the past, I have always dropped their dramas. This time, I am shouting for more episodes after completing one. Factors such as good chemistry between the two leads, no cutie acts, good plots and good direction/ production make this drama entertaining.

Age gap between the characters is evident but that's the best part of the drama. The ML kind of acknowledges that the FL is cunning and playful so he lets her 'fool' him around while keeping her in check.

Watch it.

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It's one of the best Chinese tv dramas in 2023

I am watching this series at the moment and love every episode of the series.

The story evolves around Bai Mo Xi mainly. She is an orphan who lives with her paternal uncle and his family and is poorly treated by him, his wife and son. The only person who treats Mo Xi well is her cousin sister, Bai Feng Yao. In the family, the girls are treated like a second class citizen in general.

As the story evolves, Mo Xi and Feng Yao are constantly used by their family as a pawn to safeguard the family during the turbulent period. Once the uncle and aunt pass away, the girls' life adventure begins following the collapse of the family fortune.

Overall, this story entices its viewers to remain with it. I find myself constantly craving for more episodes. Which is a good sign that this drama is interesting. No heavy investments like TTEOTM but with great acting from the casts.

Especially Sean Sun. I have seen his acting in The General and I and found his acting OK. But, in this drama, as Chen Wen De, Sun propels this drama into great excitement. Chen Wen De is probably the only character that makes the viewers wanting for more episodes. The scenes between CWD and MX are the best in this series so far.

Watch this drama.

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Leo Luo is better as a bad guy!

I'm giving this series 10 out of 10 because the leads are good at playing their roles especially LLLS and Bai Lu.

LLLS's facial expressions bring his character, TTJ, into life which makes this series worth watching.

The series are slow in the 1st five episodes which probably explain to the low rating but after episode 5, the momentum starts to build and I just couldn't wait for the next episode each I finished watching one.

I am watching this series as to move on from Goodbye, My Princess, another masterpiece.

I'll be honest: this new series will not traumatise the viewers like what GBMP has done to many.

Watch this series if you are looking for a good Chines tv drama before the release of another series starring Bai Lu, 'The Story of Kunning Palace'.

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Excellent acting from Chen Xiao and Rachel Momo

I find this series worth watching as the actors are excellent at playing their roles. Especially Rachel Momo.

The story is about revenge that is pursued by Yun Xiang (Chen Xiao) from the Yun Tai Sect. He falls in love with Shu Ya Nan (Rachel Momo) who is actually the eldest daughter of the rival Ling Yuan Sect.

During this journey, Yun Xiang encounters numerous characters and forms friendship.

The story may be pretty standard for this kind of drama genre but the acting from the actors is brilliant, I find, especially, while I am watching the Till The End of the Moon. Two series are different in genre but when it comes to the actors, The Ingenious One stands out.

The progress of the story is steady but can be frustrating for those who are impatient. I don't mind it myself as I watch the series after work for relaxation.

Overall, the editing has been good so far. However, I find the drama lacks of investment so the cast is rather small and that's why the number of episodes is small. That is my disappointment as it has potentials to be the best drama in 2023.

Watch it.

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Zhang Wan Yi as Chang Xuan is superb

This drama has an unusual romantic plot among all C-costume dramas I have watched.

The story is about Chang Xuan and his journey to find and protect the only love of his life, his cousin sister, Xiao Yao. A promise he made to his paternal aunt, Xiao Yao's mother, before she went to war to fight against Qi Yo/ Chi Chen, Xiao Yao's biological father.

In order to meet his objective, he must win the throne from his ailing paternal grandfather, King of Xiyan.

Chang Xuan's journey to the throne isn't smooth: he has to plot, manipulate, strategise, compromise and sacrifice his own happiness for his only objective ie. Xiao Yao must be protected at all cost. However, he is also faced with romantic competitions from other males for Xiao Yao's hand of marriage such as Tushan Jing, Chi Sui Feng Long and Fang Feng Bei.

Will he succeed in protecting Xiao Yao and be with her and love her forever like they promised to each other when they were little? Viewers are to watch and find it out themselves before reading the novel.

Zhang Wan Yi's portrayal as Chang Xuan is flawlessly effortless. When he yearns for Xiao Yao, his audience feel the same emotion and weep for him. He dominates the stage with his acting when he is present in the room. A talented actor.

I've seen another drama, The Bond (2021) with him as one of the leads. Although his screen times are shorter compared to other leads, his are still the best.

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One of the worst dramas in 2023

I am speechless and simply have no words to describe this drama starring Dilraba and Gong Jun. Two well known actors but the drama gets worse and worse from each episode to another.

The plots are all over the place. The sub stories drag on forever which is why I find so frustrating. In particular, the story about the fake Di Zhi Yuan.

The only scenes worth watching is the female spy under Luo Mingxi's direction. Her dancing and fighting skills are amazing but she is not the main FL.

Dilraba annoys me with her cutie tricks in this drama. Maybe I am so bored seeing the same performance by so many FLs in C-dramas.

I find the scriptwriter, planners and directors failed to communicate with each other which resulted in such a poor drama.

The drama had three directors, in fact!

It shouldn't have dragged on to become a 39-episode drama. It should have only 20 episodes. This 20-episode drama would have been better and more entertaining.

Watch this drama if you have nothing else to do. Judge it yourself. My verdict: what an utter rubbish production.

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Very entertaining

I watched this drama because of the hype surrounding the drama. I was not disappointed.

Zhang Li He's performance in this drama exceeds my expectation. Bai Lu's? She is a good actress and brings value to the drama she stars in.

The story is quite interesting: the main female lead gets a second chance to repent her sins. She seizes the opportunity by ensuring she follows the rules of the game of death closely. This time, she is one step ahead of her enemies or she thinks she is.

At the same time, there is another rival who wants her dead. Will the person succeed?

Will she survive in her second life? Watch it.

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I was awake all the time watching this spectacular film!

OK- we, Chinese kids, know how Gods were created from our mom or grandparents in our childhood in the absence of the internet.

Watching several C-dramas on the Creation of Gods recently made me slightly interested in this mythology. Fei Xiang's recent interview in a S'pore tv channel actually sparked my curiosity when he said he had to train his body to look like a soldier warror instead of looking like an accountant in the scenes where he was required to show his topless chest!

Yes, I was curious to see his 'six-pack' body so I decided to watch this film.

The production is awesome although I am not a CGI fan.

Acting wise: Naran as Dai Ji was well chosen by the casting director. Da Ji in this film is dark and frightening in every scene. I just didn't know what she was going to do next ie. killing someone for fun or roasting her victim to stimulate her sexual desires.

Fei Xiang as a tyrant King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty is quite good. I remembered him as a pop star in the 80s but I was never a fan because I was too little at the time. I was outraged to see King Zhou being blinded by Da Ji and his willingness to kill his only heir. And, when he asked the four sons of the lords of the Shang Dynasties to kill their own fathers, the tyrant was doomed to hell.

Yes, he does have a six-pack! For a 62-year old man, his enthusiasm to aim for that shape is very impressive. Hats off to you, Fei Xiang.

Ji Fa and his father. I love this father-son relationship. Ji Fa was very intelligent for saving his father's life by proposing that the father should repent his treacherous intent. His father lived for another day unlike the other three lords who died by either being killed by his own son or committed suicide.

The immortal, Jiang Zi Ya and the two gods. I love these characters especially Jiang Zi Ya and his decisive actions. Na Za and the other God are excellent fighters who constantly save JZY because the latter had lost his immortal power once he returned to the mortal land.

Other supporting casts are doing a great job too.

Overall, it's entertaining especially for those who enjoyed the Lord of the Rings, not GoT though.

Watch it as the entertainment value is good value for money.

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A very underrated C-drama

I love this drama although I have not always been a fan of modern C-dramas.

Audience wont' get good looking and young actors in this series but a bunch of veteran actors who are able to realistically portray the struggle of engineer-businessmen in the heavy vehicle industry in China of making the industry as one of the competitors in the international market.

Qin Hao as Sun Heping is a government official with business-minded. He thinks like a corporate man who is always successful of turning a struggling business into a profitable one. He is like the Samsung boss, Lee Kun Hee. In fact, the screenwriter basically used Lee Kun Hee's profile to form Sun Heping's character.

There is a tiny drop of romance but don't expect the heavy duty kind of romance like Three Lives Three Worlds.

The story would have been more interesting had the screenwriter written the story based on the warring periods in China.

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Can we trust former spies in our household?

My Journey to You is a thriller where female spies are used to penetrate into their victim's household to get hold of the latter's secret.

The Infinite Heat is a weapon treasured by the Gong family to safeguard their own interest and their allies. The family embraces compassion and righteousness unlike their rival, Wufeng, a group of assassins led by a ruthless leader who never shows his/ her face throughout the 24-episode drama.

Female spies are used by Wufeng to dismantle the safeguarding of the Gong famly. Throughout the drama, viewers are slowly realising that Wufeng isn't the only threat that the Gong family is facing.

Hence, the quest of finding out who the main culprit of the murders is and many incidents that take place in the Gong family mansion begins.

As a viewer, I find the story is pretty standard ie. a prodigal son suddenly transforms into a responsible person due to the change in circumstances; romance between a spy and her victim; and rivals among family members.

I enjoyed this drama but will not be hopeful to have a season 2.

Watch it because its rewatch value is considered a 10-rating.

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10-rating won't do any justice to this masterpiece

The Story of Ming Lan is an exquisite C-costume drama.

It doesn't suffer from actors who overact their roles and viewers won't find annoying cutie acts from the female leads. It's a drama for viewers who appreciate a good drama after a day's work.

The story evolves around the protaganist, Ming Lan, who lost her mother and unborn sibling due to the mechanism of her father's favourite concubine, Little Madam Ling. She was eventually raised by her official grandmother who had no blood relationship with her family apart from the old lady's position as the official mother of ML's father.

As the story progresses, it shows ML experiences her first romance with Qi Heng, her first revenge against Madam Ling and her eventual marriage to Gu Ting Yue.

The drama is well paced and the script is well written. Scenes for plots are well shot and acted by the cast.

The chemistry between the FL and ML is excellent which makes this drama entertaining. Viewers see the first meeting of ML and GTY where the latter lost the shooting arrow game to ML when both were aged 8 and 12. The development of their romance touches the heart of the viewers.

Overall, this drama is a classic master piece.

Watch it.

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