This article contains spoilers, but the major spoilers will be hidden. Read at your own risk!
Let me start by saying this drama has got me hooked since episode 1! I am a big fan of historical romance drama and this drama has got it all. The drama started airing since May 15th, so there haven't been many subbed episodes out there, therefore, I do not know everything about this drama. This article is just a small summary of my thoughts on the drama and why you should definitely watch it. Hopefully, I will convince you to watch this drama by the end of the article. Enjoy!
Summary
The drama starts with the Crown Princess Rong Le of Western Qi who wakes up from a coma with no memories of her past but she immediately becomes suspicious of her real identity due to traces from the past.
She meets Rong Qi, who tells her that he is her only brother. To form a political alliance with Northern Lin, Rong Le is ordered to marry Prince Wu You who refuses to marry her at her arrival. No one knows what she looks like because she has to wear a mask. Only her husband can remove the mask as it is her homeland tradition. Little do they know this is just an excuse for her to be able to complete her mission. They both start off hating each other. (Don't worry guys this all is revealed in the first episode.)
With the marriage falling through, Rong Le assumes the identity of a tea house owner and a new name as Man Yao. She begins secretly searching for invaluable books left behind by the Qin Family that are said to bring greatness to a nation. Her path leads her to Wu You who falls for her without knowing that she is the princess he rejected. Yet it may already be too late for him to learn the truth because she is on new orders to marry General Fu Chou of Northern Lin.
Ugh, I know exactly know what you're thinking. So much tension from just the synopsis, but trust me this is why the drama is so fascinating and engaging!
The wonderful cast ♡
(I will only be talking about the main casts.)
Sophie Zhang as Crown Princess Rong Le
We see Sophie Zhang as the Crown Princess Rong Le of Western Qi. There have been many people who said that she is not fit for this role after her performance in Summer's Desire. However, I don't think you should judge her acting from her previous works and try not to be biased while watching this drama because I am on episode 20 and I don't find any imperfection in her acting. She fits perfectly for this role in my opinion.
She isn't your normal type of princess. She is a strong and clever female lead who knows what she is doing and does not rely on others to survive which is exactly why I love her character. The crown princess does not know who to trust after her own brother conspires behind her back, even though she thought could depend on him after she lost her memory and after she overhears that the ML was only getting close to her because he knew she was a spy which is only partially true. The ML did truly love her.
She struggles to find any clues to what happened in her past but gets a feeling of familiarity in the Northern Lin palace which is strange due to the fact that it is her first time there. Or is it? ( ̄ω ̄)
Aarif Rahman as The 7th prince, Wu You
Ok, now people got me mad on this. Do you know what I really hate? When people criticize a drama based on how a particular actor or actress look. Like I understand that looks do play a major role, however, condemning a drama in which people actually put a lot of effort, time, money and poured their heart and soul into creating something and then you just ignore all of that and hate the drama all because your personal preference of a character does not fit with the actual actor? Pathetic! First of all, my man ain't even bad looking and he's fit. Apparently, his face is too long? Oh my, Jesus, someone please hold me back because I am not having this! Seriously what is wrong with people these days. If his "looks" does not satisfy your fantasy world then bye because this ain't for you. (・`ω´・)
Phew! Just had to get that off of my chest. Now, where was I? Ahhh yes... Aarif Rahman plays the role of the seventh prince who refuses to get married to Princess Rong Li but then he falls in love with her anyway. It's because she pretends to be the owner of a tea house and they meet and they kinda get intertwined in a situation and he falls for her but little does he know that SHE is the princess HE rejects to marry and then asks HER to marry HIM! See? Not confusing at all. This all happens in the interval of a couple of episodes so I like how fast-paced this drama is.
Jing Chao as General Fu Chou
Dang! He is one sexy general. (Sorry, I tend to get off topic every time.) Okay, so we have Jing Chao as the general who is later on getting married to Princess because the 7th prince refused. It's a bit frustrating because... well, yes the 7th prince did refuse to marry her, but he was suspicious that the FL was the Crown Princess and he was so close to finding out. However, her freaking brother tells the general to marry her because he got jealous that the FL was getting close to the ML and was hesitating to finish her mission. But bruh, why you jealous of your sister falling in love with someone? I smell some incest happening. Anyway, she has no other choice but to marry the general. I was literally ripping my hair up until this point and now I'm bald. :) Woah, that was some major spoiler right there. I'm sorry if you were like not aware and just read the whole thing and now you're like "What the hell! Dang, you!". My apologies! Another major spoiler ahead! Don't get too attached to him. He's the bad guy or at least that's what I understand after watching episodes 14-32 raw. :v The struggle is real, my friends.
Leo Lou as Rong Qi
Hmm... I don't know what I feel about this guy. At first, he seemed trustworthy and now he's just in the middle. Not sure if he's entirely good or bad. We'll have to see. So we have Leo Lou as Rong Qi who is supposedly the FL's brother, but I don't get the sibling vibes from them. It is more like him liking her but hey you never know! Ok, so major spoiler ahead! They're not siblings! I read in the novel that he's apparently not her brother but he says he is in order to protect her and that he loves her. I'm not sure the whole novel is in Chinese and google translate ain't that helpful. :v Where else have you seen him? Ah yes, in Ashes of Love, of course! The sad and pitiful night immortal. :( I really felt bad for him in that drama. In Princess Silver apparently, he dies! I mean he is pretty sick and my boy is coughing up blood all the time which is obviously not a good indicator.
If you want the link for the novel then comment below. I'm not 100% sure if it is the legitimate novel but by the looks of it, I think it is.
So far so good
So far the drama is pretty good. You have to watch it for yourself to decide whether you like it or not. Keep an eye out for some wonderful teacup sets! Yes, you read that right. After watching the drama, I was like damn, girl, I need me some tea sets asap. The support roles are amazing as well and the crown prince... ugh, he has done a great job in presenting himself as a douche so kudos to the actor. I really like the chemistry between the leads. Someone mentioned in the comments that she kept slipping and the ML was always there to catch her which is pretty cliche but I liked it nevertheless. There are sweet moments between them but that will obviously change after he realizes that she is the crown princess he rejected and that she will soon be married to the general *enter the second lead syndrome*. I feel really bad for the general because at times it seems like he truly loves the FL but it also feels like he's using her. I give this drama a rating of 4.5 out of 5. I will give it a 5 if the ending is happy. :V
If you've noticed that their hair turned white, I'm not sure as to why because they don't specify it. With that said, I'm sure it'll be explained in the future episodes.
What are your thoughts on the drama?
Have you watched it yet, if yes did you like it?
f not, will you watch it? Tell me in the comment below.
I am always up for discussions. I'm always lurking around because I have nothing to do, except I do have my exams which are coming up literally in like 3 weeks, but who cares! Am I right? ahahaha.. .huhuhu *starts crying* (╥﹏╥)
Until next time! ( ̄▽ ̄)ノ