This drama had the potential to be so much more than it turned out to be, and I am highly annoyed about it...but it's still a good drama.

The first quarter of the drama was great. The world-building and tension between the characters paid off in every scene. Plus they had good pacing. The episodes were designed in a "problem of the week" format which helped with the pacing. This was done masterfully. It was engaging and kept the audience on their toes. We got exposed to all of the characters and events in a very natural easy flowing way. From start, I was enamored with the ML and FL. The two had a funny and entertaining love-hate (or more like love-annoyed by) romantic vibe and it drove the plot along. They both had an amazing background story way before it got revealed later that they were a prince and a princess of their own respective feudal kingdoms. I must say, I was very surprised by Yang Yang and Zhao Lusi's chemistry. It wasn't on the same level as the chemistry between Yang Yang and Dilraba in "You are my glory", but I think it's because that's how the script was written (historical romance can sometimes come off as stiff because of PDA restrictions but the actors made do with what they got). He does "distracted puppy lover" really well. The way he is both highly annoyed by her and in love with her, and would just follow her everywhere hearts shooting out of his eyes. Everyone could see that he was so in love with her because he would act so out of character when she is in question, except for him. Meanwhile, she is totally oblivious. Ugh...so good!

Then we start getting issues with repetitions. It's not that the plot dragged but more like it started to feel formulaic. It wasn't the worst, to be honest, because we still got exposed to new plot points that pushed the plotline along. It's just that it started to feel like ML and FL were invincible and there were no issues that they could not solve...and like...how realistic is that? ML did get knocked down real badly at some point. But then the script demanded that he regain all of his power in the most convenient way possible (he ate some magical flower that was growing in some old dude's sleeves for decades or something). So a few scenes like those did not pay off because of how easy the solutions were. Still, stellar acting, thus, the "really?!" moments were tolerable.

My two biggest issues with this drama reside in the way ML learns that FL was a "princess" in disguise...don't hold your breath, because we never get to learn how or when he "guessed" it. He just tells us and her "yeah I know" aaaaand that was it. That was so very frustrating because it felt like such a cop-out. One of the reasons we respect and love this dude is because he is so devoted to the FL despite not knowing that she is from a certain pedigree. He chose her over everything and everyone every single time. Even when everything and everyone in his life was pressuring him to pick someone who could be more beneficial for his goal to "Rule the world." So that was an important distinction between him and two other characters. BUT!!!...but they ruined that lovely feeling because we the audience and the FL will never really know if he actually "picked her" over the others despite her being a martial art vagabond or did he guess much earlier on than we thought and he was just being conniving as usually? Well, We will never know.

The second issue I had is with the ending...which also feels like a cop-out. So, we as the audience, spend 39 episodes and a half being told that ML is the rightful ruler. No one else would do and it had to be him. That's why so many people were so willing to sacrifice so much and die for him (shit, I sacrificed 40 hours of my life for him). And to be fair, unlike other dramas they gave him a good enough character development and arc to prove why he was the fittest for the throne. He truly cared for "the people" unlike all the other nefarious people from the other kingdoms. It wasn't a case of "Well he is the protagonist and he is handsome." There were other smart, if not smarter people around for the job, but he was the only one who actually cared about the people and wanted to rule with kindness. Like, one of the princes literally killed half of the court and their families because they "talked bad" about him. Like bro...? So you can imagine how frustrating it is when at the last minute THAT PRINCE and his greedy ass wife (and by proxy her crazy-ass dad) get to be the new rulers? Like WHAT?! And it's not like the ending couldn't work, but they spent the whole time proving to us one thing and then suddenly...not?! It feels so hollow. Had they at least spent more time on developing the other dude's character and showing his arc...maaaaaybe it would have worked. Because the way, I see it he is still not fit. Give my man's Yang Yang some Qi from somebody somewhere or some miracle drugs or something because that ish doesn't work bro. I GET why ML decided to drop out of the race, but I don't see why the new emperor deserves to be the one.

But that aside it was a good drama that got bugged down by weird details. Also, I must say, one thing they did very very well, was the dynamic between the kings and their potential heirs. Although the court drama was...typical, I love how they showcased and berated the ML's father at some point for his hubris and jealousy. Like this man was jealous of his own sons. He convinced himself and the audience (to a certain degree) that everything that he did was to keep the peace but really he kept pitting his sons against each other and used them for his own agenda and to keep himself in power. Especially the ML because he felt so inferior to him because unlike ML he is the son of a palace servant and he is not as brilliant. And ultimately that became his biggest mistake and stumbling block. The contrast between that royal family dynamic and FL family dynamic is so striking. It shows why FL turned out to be so well-rounded. She was raised in a kind and loving family. And therefore, she was able to serve as a guide to ML and a lot of people just by being herself...which is why in my opinion she would have made the best emperor even though the ML couldn't rule himself. They built us up for it. Whole-time they kept telling us that there as been female rulers before and they were actually better than their male counterparts...but oh well.

In conclusion, this is not a bad drama to watch if you have 40 hours to spare.