Funny Female Lead - check
Cold Male Lead but soft inside for the female lead - check
Side characters Depth - check
Character Development - check (THE BEST)
Revenge Plot - Check
Angst - Check (Will burn your hearts in the last 8 chapters)
Death impact - extreme check
Trust & Love - Check check
Romance - *squealing* 10X check

Heaven has its own way, it will never let lovers separate.

I started this one believing in Zhao Lusi and all those reviews and found a treasure for sure. The character development as mentioned above was the BEST part of this drama. We will come a long way from viewing the mischievous 15-year-old troublemaker to seeing her grow into a 20-year-old young lady. The ML though stays the same but with much trust and a lot more conversation skills.

I felt her sadness, rage, issues, and scheming through the screen. The urge to seek revenge from people who did you wrong out of their own insecurities was most of the plotline, and I simply love how every time she gets back at them. It might seem childish to a lot of times but those were a lot satisfying. I might sound wrong, but you will feel it every time you watch it. Her sorrow seeing her mother prefer her cousin every time will stab your heart the same way. The ultimate showdown for me from her mother was when she talked about her daughter in front of the same people who taunted and looked down on her when ML asked for marriage. The feelings were too much to make out how to digest the scene. She was trying to protect her daughter, hurting the same daughter in the worst way possible. The way FL loves everyone despite all this, her way of showing affection is conversation and acceptance and I love it.

His eyes speak more than he does, that's our ML, he gave his heart to her, the first time he saw her and there was no going back. He seems cold and calculated and he IS; just not for the FL though; he turns into this warm and safe place for her that will give you the ultimate butterflies. He was a 10 in all ways possible if only the abandoning didn't subtract his points, but it did. It was nerve-wracking to follow his revenge plot and when he at last loses everything he found, it drove me over the edge.... His decisions over abandoning and revenge seem logical trying to keep her safe, but when things that hurt start making so much sense it hurts worse.

Their love and romance, leave out all those painful moments in the end, they BUILT up one of the healthiest relationships in this drama. The way he has her back every single time, the way she treats him with so much sincerity>>>>. The way she stood by him even when he beat those officers whose daughter bullied her, knowing it was a wrong move. (was a hell lot satisfying). The only concern she had was he was not willing to share his problems or should I say plan of revenge with her. She would have happily stood beside him to let him pave his way through it. Every single viewer knows that.
When people say love is not about rush and adrenaline. It's warm and safe-- their relationship is what they mean.

My ultimate favorite is the emperor. He was such a fanboy of our Zisheng and of course the first and foremost ship leader. The way FL's mom and grandmother's perspective and attitude changed to the end.
The last 8 chapters will make you CRY that's for sure.
Even with tears and so much angst, this drama claimed a very special position called "Close to my heart". I came running to write this review right after completing both the season.