Firstly, I have to say if you don't understand Chinese or the culture of the Chinese royalty it would be quite a difficult drama to understand and enjoy by reading the subtitles. The proverbs and 'old Chinese' they use made it slightly difficult for me to understand even as a Chinese speaker. However it is a drama which was worthwhile.

Plot:
The story is based on the historical character Wu Zhetian - the first and only female emperor in Chinese history. From what I have learned about that era, this drama reflects well on major events as well as some minor events. However, this drama focuses more on the romance of the main character. The pace and transition of each saga of her story is well organised.

Characters:
The chemistry between the actors/actresses are really well shown. The actors/actresses casted to portray the characters are well chosen and I cannot ask for better. The acting is well done and there was hardly any cringy acting.

Music:
The opening song really shows the strong Chinese dynasty and goes really well with the clips that are edited with it. After watching her drama, look back at the opening sequence you will feel very emotional as you look at the development of Wu MeiNiang (Wu Zhetian) and her interaction with other characters.

Overall:
This is the longest drama I've ever watched. It went far above my expectations. The makeup, clothing, movement to plot, music and characters are so well put together I don't think anything can be better. I hardly do reviews for dramas but this really worth a recommendation. My favourite part of the drama is the chemistry between Wu MeiNiang and Li ShiMin.
Sadly, the censorship which edited the clothing and scenes which were considered 'inappropriate' slightly ruined the character development and chemistry between some characters.

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Story - It is quite a typical revenge and fate between main lead plot line. I wouldn't say it was particularly special. Despite this it was paced well, the relationship between the characters did not feel forced and you can tell the progression in their relationship. The ending though was not very clear - i didn't read the novel but apparently was quite different to the reference.

Cast - As usual Zhao Lu Shi is really well suited to these comedic historical roles as she makes it seem so natural. It was great to see the improvement in her acting and slightly more serious role compared to her previous works. Zheng Ye Cheng was a surprise, I've seen his works in Love O2O, An Oriental Odyssey and most recently Royal Nirvana - his acting is very diverse and he really executed the 'male god' character/aura very well. Definitely one of those dramas that make you fall in love with the male lead. There is a second male/female lead romance line, but that didn't gauge my interest much.

Voice - I really enjoyed that they used original voices for the dubbing instead of voice actors. It makes everything flow so much better.

Overall i think the drama is highly recommended if you are looking for a historical romance with touch of comedy. Whilst there is some political elements, it is not the main plot but supports the progression of the main characters' story.

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Story
- For the first half of the drama, the balance between romance and medical was really good. However towards the end, the romance got really complicated (rather than love triangle.. it became a square?) and confusing. The medical part of it pretty much got lost after episode 30.
- I enjoyed the medical parts of the drama more since the context of the drama was about how Yu Xian was the first imperial doctress and attempt to rid of the negative connotations for female doctors.
- It felt like the drama lost its point and was trying hard to push the romance.
- The ending happened very quickly and weirdly...

Characters/Actors:
- I felt the actors was well chosen
- There was chemistry between all 3 main characters but Yu Xian's personality was predictable - like the typical 'innocent and pure' character.

Music:
- i didnt pay much attention towards the music of the drama, but the song that was used during the romantic scenes was really nice

Overall:
- Overall its a nice drama to watch, at least first half. Its pretty long - 50 episodes, I recommend watching it when you have loads of free time. Since first half the drama got me waiting for the next since I was following it as it aired (2 episodes everyday), so you might get hooked initially. But around episode 30 - you probably will slow down.
- Its a Chinese soap opera - so if chinese isn't you first language you won't be able to enjoy what they say as much since they speak in the 'ancient' way. Even as a chinese speaker, some parts are hard to understand.

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With palace dramas like this and Zhen Huan - fights between concubine are expected to happen. Initially the drama went off well with good amount of conflict and revenge between the concubines. In summary - this is a heavier drama compared to Story of Yanxi and Zhen Huan.

Firstly - the negatives
1) The drama was intended to be about the romance between the leads, but there was still an emphasis on the inner court drama. The 'fights' progressively became repetitive and realistically you would expect the main to 'do something' in return for the tactics against her. But every time it kind of became a pity party and the 'innocence' became stubborn and unrealistic.
2) Although I really applaud the performance of Zhou Xun, unfortunately Wallace Huo was not on par with her level. It could be that he doesn't suit the character of Hongli/Qianlong because historically he is an emperor with great achievements and Huo did not portray this well. His chemistry with Zhou Xun was compatible during their 'younger years' in the drama but seem to be overpowered as the story progresses. I also watched Story of Yanxi prior to this so there was definite some comparisons (in my mind) between the actors.

Now - the positives
Again, the spectacular performance of Zhou Xun - she is really the representative of chinese actresses. I feel that for her poorly written characters she is the reason i gave this drama a 8/10. Furthermore, costumes and music was visually and auditory pleasing.

My favourite scene (SPOILER) - the last episode when Hailan brought in the series of fabric flags (?) that Ruyi handmade, with the names of all the people Wei YanWan had harmed, in the emperor's room. It was a very powerful scene and as a viewer you can feel the amount of anger and regret Ruyi has accumulated from WYW's act without her appearance.

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If you are looking for something simple, straightforward, romantic comedy with good chemistry between the characters. This is the drama to go for. Enjoy!

Few things I really enjoyed about this drama:
- Although its the typical smart cold male lead and not-so-smart female lead. The male lead is not arrogant, full of himself and cares for female lead. Female lead stands up for herself in complex situations.
- Simple plot line, basically here for the cute chemistry between the leads and the friendship.
- Yes there is a love triangle but does not overwhelm the relationship between the leads, resolved quickly and straight forward.
- Many cute moments

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The drama is so good that I had to write a review for the first time. Out of all the 60 so dramas that I have watched, this is definitely in my TOP 5.

Jun Ji Hyun and Kim Soo Hyun's acting made this drama spectacular and irreplaceable. The story plot is definitely innovative as I have never watched one with such storyline. Although many dramas have a supernatural genre, the writer of this drama delivered each episode very well. The cast members was selected very well, especially Jae Kyung, the evil older brother. The actor rocked at his role, definitely gave me a fright.

MUSIC! The music is basically what puts the drama together. Unlike some dramas where the music is not memorable or becomes the 'signature' OST, Lyn's "Destiny" gave every episode a strike. It is just outstanding.

The special effects used doesn't seem fake and every scene where super powers were used was achieved very well and it seemed real.

I am not writing this because I am a drama-fanatic or bias because it is just that good. If you haven't seen this, you are just missing out. For example, my relatives who usually watches criminal genres or doesn't even watch Korean dramas as a whole enjoyed it and got hooked.

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Conclusion: The drama plot changed halfway and it became messier.

There was a lot of potential with this drama - the actors and love lines. However, the writer seemed to have diverged from the initial plot and introduced filler story that dominated the whole drama. Although the main characters were Zhao LiYing and Kim Jin, the amount of screen time the 2nd male/female lead had was (or at some point more than) similar to the main leads. In some episodes, you probably get collectively less than 10 minutes screen time of Zhao LiYing. I've read on some Chinese forums that the director had some last minute changes during filming but due to ZLY's strict schedule she was unable to refilm some scenes. Which could explain the poor progression of the story.

Another note, considering this drama is about fashion design - the looks that they 'designed' were somewhat unoriginal and seemed like they just purchased off taobao.

The drama had a lot of potential with the lineup. As a fan of ZLY, it is disappointing to see her recent works end so abruptly (i.e Princess Agent) and decreasing screen time as the drama progresses because of her tight schedule.

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