This is not a simple love story but a dark complex world of court politics, power hungry Monarchs, treacherous relationship in imperial family amidst revenge, strategies and plots.

:::::::::::INTRODUCTION:::::::::::::

Since the fall of the previous dynasty there have been nearly a century of chaos, constant friction between Northern Province(Beipan) and Central Plains.

The nine kingdoms of Central Plains each hold their own territories but they have been in constant conflict for many years.

Among them, States of An and Wu are the most powerful. The Emperor of An - Li Zhun loves war and is greedy, he has annexed countless cities from neighbouring territories. The Sate of Wu is rich and people are strong. The Emperor of An covets States of Wu.

In the sixth year of Yongyou the Emperor of An launched a military campaign to seize the GOLD MINE in the West of Wu. The Emperor of Wu - Yang Xingyuan welcomed the battle South of (Tianmenguan) Tianmen Pass.

The army of Wu faced a major defeat at Tianmen Pass, they lost three cities(Xu, Cai and Jing). The Emperor of Wu believed in slander and underestimated the enemy. The Emperor of Wu has been captured and taken hostage by the State of An.

With the news of the Emperor's defeat, there is a major upheaval in the state of Wu and struggle for power has started. Prince Danyang the acting regent and brother of the emperor wants the throne, The Empress declares she is pregnant and may give birth to the future heir, The Prime Minister - Zhang Song doesn't care who sits on the throne as long as he can control them and retains his power.

Marquis Changqing of the State of An, Li Tongguang {Chang Hua Sen} sends a messenger on behalf of the State of An demanding a ransom of 100,000 teals of gold to be delivered by a person of The Imperial Prince Status in order to release the Emperor of Wu.

The ignored sheltered Princess Yang Ying {He Lan Dou} volunteers to go as The Imperial Prince Li, fourth son of the former Emperor Jin with the envoy in return of Money and Status conferred, that it would give her some independence upon returning back. She naively ignores the dangers of posing as a male prince, if discovered she is a fake, the consequences will be dire for her. Chief Clerk Du is the person responsible for negotiations, he is a loyal but inflexible person, later proves to be a knowledgeable and compassionate person.

The special team to join the delegation/envoy is formed of the few guards of The Heaven Path including Ding Hui and others as mentioned below:

1.Ning Yuanzhou(Hell path){Liu YuNing} : the former deputy chief of the Liudao Hall. His mind is full of brilliant strategies and unparalleled tactics. Now wants to lead a peaceful life away from court politics, agrees to join the convoy to protect princess Yang Ying and also to clear the good names of The Heaven Path men who were branded as traitors.

2.Qian Zhao(Heaven Path) {Wang Yi Zhe}used to be a former member of Heaven path was transferred to Yulin Army by special order due to his meritorious service. He is now the commandant of Yulin Army. Is very good at medicines and life saving skills. He is versatile. He appears stoic but is most invested in clearing the names of fallen soldiers of The Heaven path especially Chai Ming.

3.Yu Shisan (Asura Path) {Alen Fang}: former commandant of Asura path,who had been imprisoned for abduction of minister Liu's daughter, he seems frivolous and a person only interested in pursuit of pleasure and beauty but is the most emotional, caring member of the group.

4.Yuan Lu {Chen Youwei}, the greatest genius of hungry ghost path whose martial arts skill is average but is great in building mechanical devices useful is spying and warfare. Due to a congenital illness, it is predicted that he will have a short life. He believes in living his life in a carefree manner without worrying about his sickness.

5.Sun Lang {Li Huan} of Human Path is great at defense. A person with tough exterior but abundant love for furry creatures like rabbits, dogs and cats.

**6.Ren Ruyi/Ren Xin{Liu Shishi} - former top assassin of State of An, now a discarded piece on the chessboard, considered dead and believed to be a traitor of Scarlet Guards. She was directly promoted to Purple Emissary from a mere guard, later his Majesty personally named her Left Emissary of the headquarters. She is trying to find the killer of Empress Zhaojie of the State of An of whose assassination Ruyi was accused of 5 years ago. Ren Ruyi joins this delegation group to teach Princess Yang Ying all about the State of An in exchange for Ning Yuanzhou's help to find the real assassin of Empress Zhaojie and on a personal level to conceive a baby with him.



Along the way the group has to face many obstacles & treacheries. Their bonds are tested and new alliances are formed. The weak people have to become strong and The Strong people find others on whom they can lean on. New promises are made and some promises are broken.

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::::::::::::::Review:::::::::::::::

Each person going on this journey is on a QUEST. This is a journey of finding love, getting exoneration for the fallen comrades of Heaven Path of Liudao Hall who are accused of betrayal, hope for a better future and most importantly discovering Self-worth and Self-love.

This series seems so much different than others because all flawed characters are learning to embrace the reality and their shortcomings, all the while striving to live their life to it's fullest potential.
As per my perception, the story can be divided into three major storylines, the main love story, growth & development of Ren Ruyi's disciples and Internal Political struggle within the Sate of An and state of Wu.

The main love story of Ning Yuanzhou(Liu Yu Ning) and Ren Ruyi (Liu Shi Shi) is handled in a very mature manner. Both the protagonists' age in the series is about 30 years and they have been in a prominent position in their respective Spy organization for a very long time and are now tired as well as disillusioned by power hungry Emperors' using their organizations' members as disposable pawns in their political ambition. They find solace and companionship in each other. In spite of their contradictory future plans they respect the other's choice, endeavouring to find a common ground acceptable to both. Their love story is a perfect standard of mutual love and respect in a healthy relationship. Other minor love stories are also quite engaging, there is brief connection between Yang Ying and Yuan Lu; Chu Yue and Yu Shisan.

The other major story arc is the growth and development of two disciples of Ren Ruyi, A shrinking violet, Princess Yang Ying who had initially agreed to be the head of this rescue envoy to free The Emperor of Wu for some wealth and recognition in the court, during the journey under the tutelage of Ruyi gains confidence in her ability, discovers her self-esteem and wants power and glory instead of being happy with her previous mundane existence. Even though she realises the path to acquire glory and fame is fraught with dangers, she chooses to go out with a bang not a whimper if and when her death comes. First disciple, of Ren Ruyi was Li Tongguang. The story also focuses on his rise to power, surrounded by ambitious, duplicitous royals. Li Tongguang is depicted as a peace loving person wanting stability for the country, also is more efficient and capable than the two royal princes.There is brief sub-plot of Li Tongguang transferring his gratitude and affection for Ren Ruyi into obsession to possess. However Ren Ruyi wishes both her disciples' success and happiness like a true mentor.

Final and the most interesting aspect of this story for me was the jostling for power and the depiction of ruthless power hungry Emperors. The Emperor of Wu whose reckless personal expedition ended in the loss of three cities of State of Wu. Due to Emperor's gullibility a hundred thousand people died in the war. The original journey was undertaken to pay the ransom for the Emperor of Wu, however none of the teams members are keen on The Emperor returning back to the power the only thing that is keeping them in the righteous path of saving their Emperor is their honour and hope for the Emperor to exonerate their fallen companions of Liudao Hall. The Emperor of Wu is a selfish, greedy, tantrum throwing grown adult without any sense of responsibility. If the Emperor of Wu would be out of the way; the current acting Regent, Prince Danyang Or the Grand Secretary, Zhang Song would be better ruler for the state. On the other hand there is The Emperor of An who is scheming, plotting, manipulate individual whose soul is as dark as Erebus. He colluded with the Beipan people that led to the heart break of Empress Zhoajie who chose death in face of betrayal from her loved ones. The Emperor of An is a devious ruler who knows his two sons are incompetent and continuously balances power in his court to maintain his position. The only capable person to take on the future leadership is Li Tongguan but the Emperor keeps his ambitions in check by limiting his authority. Both the State of An and Sate of Wu would benefit from change in leadership.

Will the Central Plains get a stable ruler? Will the whole team survive the journey and live to tell the tale?...... That is for the viewers to find out. (If anyone is interested in end spoilers, see my post for episode 35 to 40summary and key points written as comment to THIS review)


Overall: A solid series with a good cast of actors, a minor criticism that I have is for the series is the unexplored direction of both the spy organizations. They were outlined in such detail that I was looking forward to their operations. However the spy organizations faded in the background giving way to the political intrigue.


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:::TWO spy organizations of States of An and Wu:::

FIRST SPY ORGANIZATION:
SCARLET (Vermilion) GUARDS of State of An

The recruited white sparrow members are controlled by the organization through poison, the members have to take an antidote every six months so escaping is not easy. The Scarlet Guards are called by their code names instead of their real names. Their structure seems more Hierarchical Organisational. Their tasks and roles are not quite clear.
_____________________
Hierarchical Structure

*Commander Deng Hui(ep 9)
*Left Emissary - (Ren Ruyi/Ren Xin), Chen Gui(ep4)
*Right Emissary- Jia Ling(ep9)
*Scarlet Emissary
*Red Emissary - Zhu Ji( Jia Ling's trusted) (ep9)
*Purple Emissary - Yue Sanniang (ep1 to 4)
* Flying Flower Formation - assassins (ep 20), According to Liu Li their south west position is the weakest.
*White sparrow(Baique) - adept at seduction and investigation. Ling Long (ep1) , Ren Ruyi/Ren Xin
*Shadow Scouts -
______________________
Organisational Structure(Branches/Departments)

*Head quarter
*Yuheng Branch to investigate police officers and Yue Sanniang's death (ep9)
*Kaiyang Branch (ep 4) sends messages through pigeons. (Has a secret chamber.)
*Tianji Branch (ep3) -
*Guideyuan Branch (ep 22) to carry out the order of murdering Ruyi and to inform Wu's delegation gas arrived in Guideyuan.
*Wu Capital Branch- (ep22) Guideyuan Branch received a message, Ruyi was a traitor from Wu Capital Branch.

1.Jumen and Lianzhen department - investigation of Wu delegation's background. (ep9)


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SECOND SPY ORGANIZATION:
Six Daoists, LIUDAO HALL - Wudu Six Hall(Six Realms Hall) of State of Wu

It was created by Taizu, it specializes in investigation and espionage. A total of SIX factions are there, THREE considered Good/Virtue Paths, their members called calvaries and THREE Evil Paths, their members called Scouts (chazi) .

:::::Good/Virtue Paths:::::
* Heaven(God) Path ; in charge of protecting Royal family.
* Human Path; monitors officials at all levels.
*Asura (Demigod) Path; engages in bribery and seduction.

:::::::Evil Paths::::::
* (The Way of Aguis) The Hungry Ghost Path ; creates mechanisms
* Animal Path; specialises in espionage.
* Hell Path; is known for assassination. {Ning Yuanzhou has turned this into an intelligence gathering unit, Palace of Hell(Senluo Hall).}





PS: If interested in more details, check out below mentioned posts:
1.Adding general information about the State of An political Scenario as a comment to this review.

2.Also included in the comment section of this review are the Clickable links to SOME of my comments for this drama, if anyone is interested they can read those as well.

3.For End spoilers of episodes 35 to 40, see the comment to THIS review.