A lot of potential wasted for the female lead.

//SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD//

At first, I was really into this drama because of the plot & the idea of the strong, badass female lead. However, as time went on, I realized that this drama was never about the female lead, the only protagonist here was Lanxi, and the entire drama revolved around him, even though it sold itself as the story of both the female & male lead.

Romance
I was very excited to see how the romance between both leads would develop, but unfortunately it fell short for me. It felt way too fast-paced & I felt it could have been much, much slower. There was little development, more of a "I love you!" without any explanation at all. I think both characters are incredibly lovable and definitely charming, but I couldn't really see the bond between them, and it just became stale for me. In the end, their entire romance was about Lanxi being overly protective of her & being scared that she will be in danger, and started to feel quite cringy imo.

That brings me to my next point: Xiyun could've had a lot of potential as a female character, but it was not brought out in the story. When introduced to the female lead, she appears to be a strong, independent, smart character in the story, but every SINGLE time, every crucial moment or a moment where she was in danger, she played the role of a damsel in distress waiting for her prince charming, Lanxi, to come by. Even at the end when she was in a position of high power, it was Lanxi who kept on helping her and making the decisions for her. I got so pissed at this that every time I saw Lanxi appear, I simply wanted him to disappear or go away. Furthermore, when her "true identity" as the princess was revealed, it felt so... underwhelming, I felt like I was being scammed by the show at that point.

All in all, it felt like Lanxi's story more than Xiyun's, which was so disappointing to see with such a strong female character.
Otherwise, the actors all had incredible acting and lovely camerawork + video fx. Storywriting wise, there is much room for improvement.

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