I actually didn’t plan on watching this, fearing the drama was too heavy. However, curiosity got the better of me, so I dove in. How was it? It was surprisingly good. Maybe because I didn’t expect much, just watching so I wasn’t too invested. But the main characters’ journey fascinated me, so I continued on and was pulled in by some of the characters and the plot details.
Main Cast:
- Zoey Meng (孟子义) as Dou Zhao (竇昭). Nickname: Shou Gu (壽姑). She grew up in a complicated household and learned the harsh reality since little but didn’t fall victim to her background. Instead, she followed her grandmother and learned to run a business, securing the future. It had a lot to do with her having seen the future through a book, but she sure took it into her hands to change that future, not submitting to her fate. There were setbacks and things she couldn’t see because of lack of experience or the unpredictability of human nature in general. However, she never gave up. She was very brave and could hold her own ground. Although she didn’t know martial arts, she often used her wits and surrounded herself with capable bodyguards. She also had capable advisors who helped her along the way. And she wasn’t just a boring piece of wood either. Because in the past or so, it seemed really one note with creating characters who were really smart but boring or too gentle. It wasn’t so in this case and I was glad. This was probably Meng Zi Yi’s comeback role, because her productions had somehow been misses for fans. What was more? It was an unexpected regarding the production overall. I was happy for her since her past works weren’t too bad but she was heavily criticized because of some unrelated factor.
- Liu Jia Xi (刘佳玺) as Young Dou Zhao (小窦昭). The young actress looked very bright and composed, fitting in well with her character. She was able to deliver the emotions of various scenes quite well.
- Li Yun Rui (李昀锐) as Song Mo (宋墨). Courtesy name: Yan Tang (硯堂). He was cursed from the moment he was born. Just because he was his mother’s child, he was meant to be hated by his father and discarded without regard. He had to fight for his honor and glory since little and only found any sort of love from his mother and uncle. That was until he also found Dou Zhao. She wasn’t just his little light of hope who sat home and waited for his return either but someone who supported him through real actions and encouragement. He also valued the people who followed him and looked out for them regardless of situation. He, too, had a capable advisor and listened to all sides, not just acting out of impulse. Did he have moments where he lost it? Yes, because of family matters or the injustice situation surrounding him. Yet he soon came around and looked at the bigger picture for everyone’s sake.
- Gong Yue Rui (龚珏睿) as 6 years old Song Mo (6岁小宋墨).
- Shi Heng Yi (释恒毅) as 12 years old Song Mo (12岁小宋墨).
- Kong Xue Er (孔雪儿) as Miao An Su (苗安素). Dou Zhao’s good friend since childhood. She followed Dou Zhao and Zhao Zhang Ru when they were little and were almost like sisters. Because of that, she also learned how to operate a business and became quite successful. What was sad was how her parents didn’t acknowledge her but rather let her brother benefited from her achievements without lifting a finger. She still loved her family regardless and continued to work hard. What was annoying about the whole situation was seeing her and Dou Zhao’s fall out so easily. Yes, Song Han did defend her on several occasions when she got picked on and looked down on in the past. However, Dou Zhao was practically her sister who had been through thick and think with her. So, that was a bit out of character and uncalled for. Yet, I guess they needed to create drama, so they had to add that in. In a way, it was to show Song Han’s manipulation and deceptive nature. But still.
- Xia Zhi Guang (夏之光) as Ji Yong (紀詠). Courtesy name: Jian Ming (見明). Dou Zhao’s childhood friend. He was often seen teasing her and tagging her at times. When they grew up, he no longer tagged her but still found time to tease her a lot. He sure was good in deceiving everyone around him, including Dou Zhao. It made sense that he kept that secret because of the impact of the outcome. It turned out he was working for the crowned prince yet pretended to join the other party in the whole scheme. (Or more like he was under the command of the emperor to lie low and see what was going on.)
Supporting:
Dou Zhao’s surroundings (竇昭周邊):
- Mu Li Yan (穆丽燕) as Grandma Cui (崔奶奶). Dou Zhao’s grandmother. She suffered a lot because of the stupid family traditions and whatnot. Yet, I was glad she picked herself up and started over, building a life for herself. That was how she was able to save her grand-daughter from the worst fates later on.
- Wang Tong Hui (王同辉) as Dou Shi Shu (竇世樞). Courtesy name: Yuan Ji (元及). Grandma Cui’s oldest son, Dou Zhao’s uncle. The leader of the tribe. He was so despicable and annoying that I found hard to sympathize with him regardless of situations. His backward thinking and his iron fist rule around the household made everyone’s life a living hell. But that wasn’t surprising, considering how selfish he was. I swore he was more fitted with Wang Ying Xue as a couple. But I guess she couldn’t really get to him, considering his suspicious nature hence going for the weaker brother.
- Ji Chen Mu (姬晨牧) as Dou Shi Ying (竇世英). Grandma Cui’s youngest son, Dou Zhao’s father. He was a coward and liar. He broke his promise with his wife and destroyed their family yet still acted all pitiful. It was too easy for him to have such a happy ending. Because it was too late. But they had to let Dou Zhao’s life improve with how things were going hence letting him waking up at long last to fight against his brother for being such a bully and sacrificing the family for whatever reason. Regarding Wang Ying Xue, he seriously had no say in how despicable she was because he was the other half in the cheating party. He can’t claim the high ground.
- You Jing Ru (尤靖茹) as Zhao Gu Qiu (趙谷秋). Dou Shi Ying’s first wife, Dou Zhao’s mother. She was very pitiful because she had chosen the wrong person, leading to her death.
- Alina Zhang (张萌) as Wang Ying Xue (王映雪). Dou Shi Ying’s second wife, Zhao Gu Qiu’s supposedly good friend, Dou Zhao’s stepmother. A manipulative person who got what she wanted through underhanded means. Yet she also looked down on others, thinking she was better than anyone. She saw no wrong in that and always managed to play the victim. It wasn’t until her daughter’s death that she went insane, which was too easy for her really. Because she didn’t remember what happened. Or would living in constant torture of never seeing her daughter again the real punishment? Oh yeah, what irked me to no end was how she scolded her daughter for wanting to learn how to run businesses like Dou Zhao because it was supposedly below them YET wanted to snatch Dou Zhao’s fortunes time after time? The audacity of some people. I shouldn’t be surprised though. Regarding Alina though, had she fallen out of favors with others or lost all resources? Because this wasn’t a role that would get her on top of anyone’s favorite list. Seriously, lol. But I must admit she indeed did quite well.
- Tian Lei (田雷) as Zhao Si (赵思). Zhao Gu Qiu’s older brother, Dou Zhao’s uncle, Zhao Zhang Ru’s father. He loved his family, especially very protective toward his sister and his niece.
- Liu Mei Tong (刘美彤) as Zhao Zhang Ru (趙璋如). Dou Zhao’s cousin, grew up with Dou Zhao and Miao An Su. She was very feisty and wasn’t afraid of anyone. I guess she took after her father for her strong personality. But that was very brave of her to stick by Dou Zhao regardless of situation. I felt it was good for Dou Zhao, considering how the other betrayal had already affected her so much.
- Huang Qi Lin Er (黄麒麟儿) as Young Zhao Zhang Ru (小趙璋如).
- Li Bai Hui (李百惠) as Dou Ming (竇明). Dou Zhao’s younger sister. She was very timid and sheltered. This was due to the fact of how strict and harsh her mother was toward her. She later found courage to love and follow her heart but too bad for her because she ‘d chosen the wrong person.
- Li Xin Ze (李欣泽) as Wei Ting Yu (魏廷瑜). Courtesy name: Pei Jin (佩瑾), Marquis Ning Te (濟寧侯). Dou Ming’s husband. He was very indecisive and irresponsible and selfish. He only know how to use flowery words to win over people, especially Dou Ming yet couldn’t carry through when it mattered. He had a huge pride issue so it led to a lot of complications with how he was unwilling to compromise regarding work commitments and financial issues. He also had no backbone–whether it was regarding his own situation or those around him. He always failed to protect his beloved who entrusted their lives in him. So, when he realized it, it was too late. He was a very useless character for me regardless of past life or current. Yet I guess they needed another character to add variety to the already chaotic situation that was unfolding in the background.
- Bai Qing Lin (白庆琳) as Wei Ting Zhen (魏廷珍). Wei Ting Yu’s older sister, Duke Jing Guo’s wife. She was very arrogant and conceited in the way she carried herself. She always wanted to be in control. Yet she didn’t realize how cheap she appeared with wanting her brother to marry the richest woman around town. It was like selling him off to the highest bidder and using that person as her personal wallet yet still looked down on them. It was especially true regarding Dou Zhao yet she still thought she was somewhat of royalty or came from a good background. What made her even a worse person was the constant bullying of others. Her spoiled nature also led to her causing Dou Ming’s miscarriage yet she still turned around to blame the latter. She was really despicable that never knew no wrong. Till the end, she still blamed Dou Zhao and others for her family’s misfortunes (or so she called it) and not realizing it was the poor decisions she and her family members made. For a woman who hated and bullied and tortured other fellow women, I didn’t think I should give her any sympathy points. As much as I hated the character, I thought the actress did quite well. She portrayed all the greed, pettiness, and cruel personality of the character quite well.
- Wu Qi (吴旗) as Chen Qu Shui (陳曲水). Dou Zhao’s advisor.
- Tong Xi Qiao (佟羲侨) as Su Lan (素兰). Dou Zhao’s trusted maid and bodyguard.
- Tong Xi Yu (佟羲语) as Su Xin (素心). Dou Zhao’s trusted maid and bodyguard.
Song Mo’s surroundings (宋墨周邊):
- Wang Jiu Sheng (王九胜) as Song Yi Chun (宋宜春). Duke Ying (英國公), Song Mo’s father. He totally earned his father of the year title all right. Yes, sarcasm again. He blamed his wife and her family for causing grief for him and his beloved and later his youngest son. So, he automatically hated his oldest son and disregarded him. Not only that, but he went to the extreme of poisoning the poor guy, making sure he would suffer and die slowly. Interestingly, his favorite son learned well from him and served out a tasteful dish for him in the end. The fact that he realized it too late what kind of person his son really was, made it all the better. Because he didn’t deserve an ounce of sympathy. He showed that he was cruel to his son, so he got served the same type of treatment.
- Zhou Zhi (周知) as Jiang Hui Sun (蔣蕙蓀). Song Yi Chun’s wife, Song Mo’s mother. She loved her family and did her best to protect them. She fell ill because of her brother’s arrest and later death. Yet it was revealed later that she was slowly poisoned hence her weaken state. She never got to see her son for the last time.
- Yan An (颜安) as Song Han (宋翰). Courtesy name: Mu Yu (慕予). Song Yi Chun’s second son, Song Mo’s younger brother. He sure took after his father all right. I didn’t think he could complain about anything because his father focused all on him and honed him to be the best. He was basically spoiled and had everything yet wanted more and more. Power and greed indeed corrupted him, but arrogance was his downfall. Because just when he thought he could manipulate everyone and every situation around him, he fell by the person he least expected and the moment he thought would bring him glory.
- Zhang Cheng He (章呈赫) as Jiang Mei Sun (蔣梅蓀). Duke Ding (定國公). Jiang Hui Sun’s older brother, Song Mo’s uncle. He used to be good friends with the king when they were young. He was later killed on a ship when he was escorted back to the capital. So much for loyalty and trying to do the right thing, right? He was caught in the mess and no matter what the king did later, it wasn’t enough. Because he could not be resurrected anyway.
- Ye Sheng Jia (叶盛佳) as Young Jiang Mei Sun (青年蔣梅蓀).
- Fu Wei Lun (付伟伦) as Gu Yu (顧玉). Count Yun Yang (雲陽伯), Empress Wan’s nephew, Song Mo’s best friend. He helped and protected Song Mo on many occasions, even choosing to side with Song Mo thus helping the prince at the most crucial moment.
- Quan Yi Lun (全伊伦) as Wu Shan (鄔善). Courtesy name: De Zhen (德真). Song Mo’s best friend.
- Liu Wei Hao (刘未豪) as Lu Ming (陆鸣). Song Mo’s bodyguard.
- Liu Zi Hao (刘子豪) as Lu Zheng (陆争). Song Mo’s bodyguard.
- Zhu Jun Lin (朱俊麟) as Chen Jia (陈嘉). A guard who was part of the group who escorted Duke Jiang back to the capital. He survived the massacre on the ship and later became an ally to Song Mo, going undercover in the palace and providing valuable information.
Others:
- Jiang Jian Guo (王建国) as Wu Yi Fen (鄔貽芬).
- Shang Qi (上淇) as Su Yan (蘇琰). Empress Wan’s loyal maid. She was sent to Miao An Su’s side to spy on her and Dou Zhao. Yet later became a trusty ally to Dou Zhao because the latter saved her mother. She also learned that the others had lied to her about helping her family.
- Tan Kai (谭凯) as Emperor (皇帝). Mixed feelings. Yeah, being the emperor was so complicated and he had a lot to worry about. But he was sure another disappointment regarding some matters. I guessed in the end he redeemed himself by gifting the item to Song Mo so he could get rid of the poison.
- He Yu (何與) as Young Emperor (青年皇帝). I didn’t realize it was him, lol.
- Yumiko Cheng (鄭希怡) as Empress Wan (万皇后). I haven’t watched her in ages. This is not an exaggeration, lol. I just don’t go out of my way to watch her. But that was an interesting character and her acting indeed was impressive, which made sense.
- Ye Zu Xin (叶祖新) as Crowned Prince (太子). He had a kind heart where the citizens were concerned yet had a beef with Song Mo at times because they somewhat grew up together.
- Wang Pei Ran (王沛然) as Crowned Princess (太子妃). She was really feisty and determined. She didn’t take her husband’s senselessness for a second and drawn out the terms immediately, allowing all sides to reach a deal during that one meeting. It was hilarious watching him squirm.
- Dong Zi Fan (董子凡) as Prince Qing (慶王). Empress Wan’s son.
- Zeng Yong Ti (曾泳醍) as Grand Princess Shu De (淑德長公主). Nickname: Yi Zhen (宜貞). She was a mystery card in the grand scheme of things. Because she was on the one who matchmade for Dou Zhao and Song Mo yet also had an ambiguous relationship with Dou Shi Shou and was one who helped him ascend to power.
- Yi Zheng Fu (易正福) as Miao An Ping (苗安平). Miao An Su’s younger brother. He was basically a spoiled person. His parents favored him over his sister because he was the male heir of the family. Because he was used to getting his way, he didn’t care to offend the world. It got even worse when his sister was granted the title of princess. That pattern led to his downfall. Even if the outcome was orchestrated, his death was inevitable regardless of situation.
- Du Yi Heng (杜奕衡) as Wang Ge (汪格).
Likes:
- The main theme. The music was so rich and smooth and so beautiful that it was a good choice to use it to bring the audience into the story. The paintings and then the real life versions emerging afterward was also a nice touch and suited quite well with the theme of the story with it being from a book, etc.
- The costumes. Very nicely thought-out and done. The outfits suited the characters and made them stand out even more. It wasn’t overly done.
- The makeup. It was decent and wasn’t overdone.
- Zoey Meng/ Dou Zhao and Li Yun Rui/ Song Mo. Their chemistry was really good and addicting to watch. Considering both of their characters were strong and brave was an interesting match. Their battle of wits at the beginning made it even more fun to watch and see how things would unfold for them. Sure, she was weaker than him in terms of martial arts and strength but her intelligent made up for it.
- Liu Mei Tong/ Zhao Zhang Ru and Zhu Jun Lin/ Chen Jia. It was really unexpected among all the messes but they managed to make it work for these two. They met through strange circumstances yet ended up together anyway. Their ending was equally funny as their start.
- The setup and various characters. The background and the storyline blended well with one another. Their personalities, their motives, their goals, and the hurdles they encountered were all laid out and executed well as the story moved along, merging the details in with one another.
Dislikes:
- The wrap up was a bit messy. I heard there were cuts so that was unavoidable with things not making sense. But it was weird with how Miao An Su was so determined in bringing her husband down. Sure, her brother’s death and his scariness was a major wakeup call for her. Yet it seemed to rush with how she changed her mind. Because she managed to throw away her friendship with Dou Zhao all these years several episodes back just because of his one-sided soap story. So yeah, not too convincing. But whatever, I guess. Oh yeah, they never mention anything else regarding Wei Ting Zhen and how she had already revealed whose side she was on in the royal battles and all. Well, it could be interpreted that all the losing parties were round up and executed or sent into exile. But it seemed too easy with not mentioning her, because she did cause a lot of trouble and hogged the scene a lot during the earlier episodes.
Discussions:
- The surprise success. I heard that they didn’t have much faith in this production and was just tossing it out there for fan service or something. Considering how many productions they were competing against, it seemed to make sense of them being wary. So, this was a surprise success for the team. I was surprised people like it too. Because it didn’t seem tragic enough for some people who loved overly dramatic stuff. But I was glad it became a success because it was worth it.
- Dou Zhao and Song Mo both had a pair of twins as their bodyguards. Wow, that was so cool. I didn’t pay attention at first, lol. But someone mentioned it on this one page and then I focused more hence realizing it myself.
Recommended? I felt it was worth it. Considering the balance of the plot’s pace and characterization. Although I usually stayed away from palace dramas but this was different in the way that it didn’t only focused on those within the palace only.