My feelings about this drama are very mixed, because I did actually quite enjoy it for the first fifty or so episodes. However, for me, it went downhill around that point; as it progressed from there, it became increasingly repetitive and boring. I actually stopped watching for a while and watched another entire series (albeit, a much shorter one) before coming back to complete it. I didn't want to give up on it entirely because I was already invested in the characters – but unfortunately, I only found most of them less likable and interesting as a result of completing it.

I felt that almost everything about this drama was top notch in the beginning. The costumes, sets, and cinematography are beautiful. The music is dramatic, dark, and lovely. The plot was reasonably interesting. Most of the characters were complex and interesting.

Ning Yi is an especially fascinating character, as he is at once a gentle, compassionate, ruthless, and manipulative character. I'd never seen Chen Kun in anything prior to this drama, but I was very impressed with his acting. Of any drama protagonist I've seen, he is perhaps the most believable in his ferocity and ability to assert his power over other characters. Chen Kun has great screen presence. I enjoyed the character's capacity to manipulate and control his adversaries – and he is one of the darkest protagonists I've come across who remains mostly likable – but my favorite aspect of the character is his more lighthearted, frivolous side (even though it is usually fake). There is a genuinely kind and idealistic side to him that is constantly at war with the wounded, vengeful, and ambitious side of him, and watching him try to balance those two contradictory sides of himself is interesting.

Feng Zhiwei is also generally a very likable, fun character to watch for most of the series; Ni Ni is a beautiful and talented actress who imbues her character with warmth, charm, and wit. She is usually careful and well-spoken, but she sometimes struggles with restraining her emotional, impulsive nature - especially when her loved ones are in danger. I enjoyed her most when she was acting as Wei Zhi (the male student turned court official under the title of Ultimate Scholar).

I've seen some viewers comment about the lack of chemistry between Ning Yi and Feng Zhiwei, but I actually very much disagree with that. Despite the fact that the show is pretty lacking when it comes to physical displays of affection between the two, I found their interactions to be mostly enjoyable until the latter part of the series. I enjoyed how much they enjoy each other's wit. There's more than enough foreshadowing in the early episodes to alert the viewer to the fact that their relationship will not end well, so the fact that things fell apart between them came as no surprise. Still, I feel like it could have somehow been done in a way that was not so tedious and frustrating to watch. Although I prefer happy endings and generally try to avoid dramas that I know will end tragically, I have seen it done well before. Alas, like the drama as a whole, their relationship just kind of became boring.

There are several other enjoyable relationships that offset some of that (although some of them fall apart, too). Zhiwei had an interesting, complicated dynamic with the emperor, as well as a cute friendship with her bodyguard, Nan Yi. (I lowkey shipped Zhiwei and Nan Yi, especially towards the end.) I also enjoyed her close friendship with Hua Qiong. Ning Yi also had a couple of close relationships that I appreciated: an entertaining, playful friendship with his advisor and close friend, Zi Yan, and a brotherly relationship with his loyal guard, Ning Cheng. His interactions with his father was generally interesting to watch, too, due to its complexity. The emperor loves Ning Yi and seems to find him the most relatable of his children, but there's a lot of water under that bridge and Ning Yi's siblings drive a wedge between them further.

The main character who really never added much for me at any point is Helian Zheng. His persistence in vying for Zhiwei's love even after it has been made abundantly clear that she's not interested is just... so tiresome. He goes to great lengths to aid and protect her, and it's clear that he does care for her a great deal - but he is also self-serving in his motivations. He has a fairly big role in the story, so this aspect of it diminished my enjoyment of it a bit.

Although I did love many things about this drama, I can't recommend it. It is very time consuming and ultimately disappointing. I was honestly very annoyed upon completing it, because it had been so good. If I were to rate the first fifty episodes, I'd probably give it around an 8.5. Unfortunately, the story was stretched too thin and it ended up being a mess.