Cheng Shi and Xiao YuanYi left their youngest daughter Cheng ShaoShang (pet name Niao Niao) to the care of her gender-bias grandmother and wicked Aunt Ge when they went to war. She was ill-treated and grew up uneducated, uncouth, rebellious, scheming, distrustful and insecure - all the negatives you could think of for a young girl. But it also trained her to be very independent; by nature she was precocious, intelligent, and kind-hearted.

In this part 1 of the drama, her parents finally returned and her father was awarded the title Marquis. Her mother realised the ultimate nightmare any parent could have with their young daughter and tried to trained her but was met with great resentment and resistance.

Finding it difficult to educate her, the mother sent her away with her paternal uncle and wife as they travelled to Hua County to take up his governor position. This aunt doted on her and the love-deprived Niao Niao was more receptive to learning from her than her strict and military-style mother. Along the way, she developed a very cosy relationship with Lou Yao from a complicated aristocratic family, who pandered to her wishes and spoiled her. Breaking from an engagement to his spoiled temperamental fiancee, he proposed marriage to Niao Niao who was happy to be leaving her family and Yao was keen to leave his as well.

Earlier on, Niao Niao had caught the eyes of the highly educated and talented Yuan Shen and the emperor's adopted son Ling BuYi , a fearless general known for his ruthlessness. Both were handsome, highly accomplished and very popular with the aristocratic and high society ladies. The former was impressed by her intelligence and the latter for her 'righteous' help to arrest her maternal granduncle.

As with a lot of dramas, the story went through numerous twist and turns. At the end of Part I, Niao Niao was eventually engaged to one but she resented the marriage proposal imposed on her. What is going to happen?

What I like about this drama?

- The one thing that made the audiences very happy in this story was the righteous always win and it had no hang-ups on replacing the incapable for the capable.

- Of course, the two main leads - Leo Wu (Wu Lei) and Zhao Lusi - their on-screen chemistry was amazing.

- All the hygiene factors - excellent cast, lovely costume, backdrop, cinematography.

- The grandmother who was both annoying and funny.

- The rivalry for Niao Niao was heart-breaking as well as interesting to watch.


What I do not like about this drama?

- Most of what I do not like about this drama was in Part two, which I will cover next.