The last thing you can expect from a historical drama is the use of cartoons as the opening clip. It was totally unexpected and the opening song was too modern. Even though the song is modern, it does blend with the comedy in the drama. First episode, it was just a quick introduction of the main leads Hu Jiao and Xu Qingjia.
They opened the chapter as kids with Xu Qingjia searching for Hu Jiao just to announce himself as her future husband. It was a quick segment but we got to know the personalities of the two better. Hu Jiao started working at the butchery from a young age. She’s cute and innocent but doesn’t tolerate any nonsense. Xu Qingjia came up as a smart young kid. Judging from his shoes and the money he had, he came from a poor family.
Time skipped and the leads have grown up. They get to meet up for the second time. Hu Jiao didn’t want to get married and they somehow agreed to have a fake marriage. I didn’t focus a lot on the storyline because I couldn’t find anything great about it.
Characters.
I won’t lie and say I connected with all the characters in the drama. Except for the main leads, I was more familiar with Gao Zhen and Yu Niang. In my review on Heros, I did mention that Zeng Yi Xuan is a talented actress and she should be given a chance to be a main lead. She’s the reason why I watched this drama and she definitely had me begging for her break through as a ticket seller like the likes of Bai Lu, Zhao Lusi… who knows, maybe that day will come. I just didn’t like how they made Xu Qingjia weak to a point where he can’t lift a small bucket! Come on… I mean, he doesn’t have any illness that makes him weak or something so why can’t he lift the d*mn bucket? Of course there’s always a stereotype in ancient dramas that schoolers are weak, in terms of martial arts but Xu Qingjia is worse! As for other characters, there weren’t that big on screen. They all looked like extras who are only there for the sake of dialogues. I’m not saying they aren’t talented, their booking is just not right.
Story.
When I started watching this drama I thought the story will develop as time goes. The story did show potential but it suddenly went the opposite direction. We had the whole arranged marriage thing going on which kept me watching because I wanted to know how will the couple get along. Then there were political sagas on the other side which weren’t well executed. I have to admit that I enjoyed Xu Qingjia’s first case after his marriage when he met Gao Zhen. I became bored when they moved to another place and they started beefing with another powerful official. Comedy killed the whole story. It might sound crazy but things would’ve been different if they focused less on comedy. The story had a good foundation but lacked proper build up.
Dragging.
36 episodes felt like 63 episodes, or maybe it’s because I was impatient and wanted to finish the drama as quickly as possible so that I can watch Love Like The Galaxy? Anyways, it doesn’t hide the fact that there was a lot of dragging and it was annoying at times. Most of the scenes were like ‘meh, so why am I seeing this again?’ 30 episodes would’ve been enough for a drama like this one. It’s like listening to someone trying to tell you how their day went and they start to mention unnecessary details like ‘I even saw a plane flying above me’, like dude… Just get to the point.
Conclusion.
If you’re looking for a serious drama, this drama isn’t for you. If you’re looking for a drama with a light storyline just to relieve boredom at work or something else then this is definitely a good drama for you. Personally, I enjoyed the comedy and everything else in the beginning but Iost interest in watching it as it was reaching the end. Besides the drama, there were some personal factors that might have affected my judgement. I wouldn’t say it’s the worst drama, it’s a good drama which I totally recommend but it’s not for everyone. I saw a different side of Tong Mengshi and compared to that boring drama Remember Me, I enjoyed watching him. Tong Mengshi was excellent, he brought life to the character. Again, this is not a bad drama but it’s not for me and I think I’m not the only one. I realized a huge drop of views on youtube. You can watch the drama if you have spare time or don’t have any drama to watch.
