The best novel adaptation I've seen

If you're looking for:
- A female lead that falls in love right away
- Protagonists without flaws
- Characters that always are the "bigger person" and will always do the right thing
This drama isn't for you.

If you're looking for:
- A golden trio and their imperial antics
- Breaking the repetitive tropes
- Characters who are realistic and "grey" (good people can make bad decisions too)
- A kind emperor (who isn't suspicious, murdering his subjects, and is a literal mother hen?!)
- Organic growth in relationships
- A strong female lead who doesn't fizzle out at the end
You're at the right place!

Wow - finishing this drama I have so many feelings. It's so bittersweet. I have laughed so hard through it all, and cried buckets too. It's so hard to organize my thoughts but I am absolutely blown away with the director, the script, and the cast. I have been a fan of Zhao Lusi and Leo Wu for a long time, and this is absolutely one of their best performances. It was such a treat to have them voice their own lines, it gives us so much more emotion. As a side note, Leo did so much of his own action scenes including all the horse riding. The cinematography and the music score was perfection - I can't even name the number of times I had goosebumps!

I had read some sections of the novel and was wondering how they would be able to pull off that content in the remaining episodes. Not only did they condense, and change some content to fit - they kept all the important dialogue and really made the story finish beautifully. I'm so pleased with the ending despite it being a bit rushed (I'm sure none of us wanted this to end), and that they kept CSS and LBY true to who they were while showing us their growth individually and as a couple. Love that they showed us both their strengths without compromising either individual's journey. There are no useless side characters, or filler side stories here. I will be probably sitting on this for a while, and suffering the sadness of finishing such a masterpiece. 💖

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