Xue Fang Fei taking her revenge was so important to me and reminded me so much of Kang Ji Won from “Marry My Husband” – I rooted for these characters so, so much?. I think this show offers really great characterization; the mains are all very complex and compelling, and you can interpret so many interesting things.

Wan Ning and Fang Fei were literally two sides from the same coin. Both experienced traumatic events because of men/a man, however, the way they dealt with those experiences was very different. Fang Fei said it best: she never targeted innocents. But can we really blame Wan Ning? She was not a very kind character whatsoever, but was she treated kindly? Her actions cannot be excused, but her backstory made it easier to understand her and her pain. She was used and abused, humiliated and treated like trash. Her retaliating and using men/people however she wanted was her way to assert back dominance over the very same sex that had oppressed her.
Fang Fei was such a smart character yet so sensible, Wu Jin Yan’s performance reminded me a lot of Wei Ying Luo from “Story of Yanxi Palace” (which I am currently rewatching??), she just knows how to do revenge. Her acting in this was so, so good. I cried when she cried, I was mad and happy with her – she delivered a nuanced performance, I really enjoyed it.
Shen Yu Rong… drowned in an inferiority complex and a river of self-pity. There’s more to say about him, but I don’t want to waste energy typing about this loser. I share Duke Su’s disgust about this man.?????
The overall acting in this was really good, there was so acting hole, everyone pulled their weight and added something to the scenes.

The styling, sets, OST (!!) were also so stunning (the flowy dresses!!)!

The revenge was great too. First half was to reclaim Jiang Li’s tarnished reputation, the second half was to use that reputation to advance Fang Fei’s own revenge. I really liked it even though we had to be a little patient, I wasn’t bored. The romance with Duke Su? was also so good. The subtlety, their word plays… just ahh??! The chemistry between them was so good, the tension they created was crazy to be honest (the rain scene…????). Their reunion at the end felt a little underwhelming though… We didn’t even get to see his face??But at least everyone got their revenge and our main couple got happily together??