I stumbled into this by accident. Or more like I wanted to hunt down more of Julia’s dramas to watch. This was short, so I decided to try. It was a major mistake and I regretted it immensely. Yes, I had to admit. Because the ending killed it. It was a shame though. Because it started out fine with the somewhat humorous setup and the strange cases.
Main Cast:
- Julia Xiang (向涵之) as Ye Xiao Tang (叶小棠). The daughter of the richest man in town. She was bestowed with bad luck and was doomed to live alone from the start. Or more like that was how it was paved because all the possible candidates in town met with some accidents or misfortunes after having some marriage arrangement with her. So, desperate times did call for desperate measure, she had to pull out all stops to make it work. She wanted to both break the curse and the rumors. Because she was made fun of locally for her ill fate. Yet she always kept a positive attitude and didn’t give up. This was one of her earlier roles so she was a bit raw but not completely terrible. She did exude the cute and innocent image well. Luckily, she had improved with her recent roles.
- Qiu Shi Lun (邱士纶) as Mu Jin Yan (慕谨言). A new local official who was going to take over after the old one retired. Interestingly, he moved in next door from Ye Xiao Tang and somehow their fates were sealed. He was intelligent and dedicated to his job. He was serious about serving the citizens so he was always careful, not wanting to slack off and just wait for payday. The locals had a lot of respect for him later, considering how they had given up on stuff regarding officials because of the previous official’s lack of actions at times.
- Bai Cheng Jun (柏程俊) as Ling Zi Ran (凌子然). The ninth prince. He portrayed as a no-good type of person from the start. But it was all a misunderstanding. He wasn’t as simple-minded as he led on. He got up in a case and later tagged the other two to help solve cases. He was a good addition to the team, even if he was a bit annoying at times. I wish they would abandon the whole him pursuing Ye Xiao Tang all the time. It got repetitive and annoying.
- Xiao Li Zhen Zhen (萧李臻瑱) as Childhood Ling Zi Ran (幼年凌子然).
Others:
- Chen Ying Dan (陈樱丹) as Hong Xiu (红袖). Ye Xiao Tang’s maid. She was cute and funny. She could be a scaredy-cat at times, leaving her young miss that one time. But couldn’t really blame her since it was normal to be scared. She was all right for the most part.
- Zeng Yi Jun (曾一竣) as Zi Yan (子砚).
Likes:
- Julia Xiang/ Ye Xiao Tang and Qiu Shi Lun/ Mu Jin Yan as a couple. It seemed awkward at first because of some misunderstandings and he was a bit annoyed with her for tagging in. But her innocence and kindness grew on him, despite her mischievousness at times. They created many hilarious scenes together but also been through thick and thin together as well. It was too bad their ending seemed tragic. AND the choking cliffhanger because season 2 was a completely different story so we will never know what was supposed to be next.
- The cases. It had a lot of potential with the cases and the intriguing aspect.
- The trio Ye Xiao Tang, Mu Jin Yan, and Ling Zi Ran. I liked their team of three because it gave off a feeling of some of the older series with the dynamic of an official solving cases with two companions by his side to help him. One was the female confidante and the other being a loyal guard. Well, in this case, the characters’ had different backgrounds but it still worked.
Dislikes:
- The ending. It was left hanging and the fact that they had the audacity to make season 2 and not continue from there. Whose bright idea was it? I was fine with the production’s change in cast for some, because it might had to do schedule conflict and all. I just needed closure on the story. Yet it failed. And I haven’t found the courage to watch season 2 yet because I was still bitter. Maybe one day. Because I do like the main girl. I thought the production team played the rest of us major time.
Recommended? Not really, unless you want to choke when you get to the end. But if you want to watch just because and have no expectations whatsoever, then knock yourself out. I’m just going to say this: prepare to be disappointed.