"There are no sisters in the harem, just weak ones depending on the strong, silly following the smart, sisters today, enemies tomorrow, smile on the face knife in the back" ( Hua Fei)

This sums up the core of the story. Zhen Huan enters such a place, the inner court of the palace, the harem; where she overcomes incredibly treacherous schemes to eventually rise to the top of the imperial court's hierarchy.

The acting in this drama is beyond excellent, it's such an immersive experience watching these talented actors bring their characters to vibrant life. Betty Sun's portrayal of Zhen Huan is amazingly self assured and poised, she brought a quiet yet steely strength and resilience to this character which was captivating at every turn; a truly world class performance.
Hua Fei, was played by Rulu Jiang so perfectly, so delicately, so evocatively that even though she is the villain for the first half of the drama, there are moments of such poignancy that made me shed a tear of sympathy for her situation, odious as her actions usually are.
The competent and confident showing of the Emperor neatly rounds off this truly amazing cast of characters.

The story is harrowing, tragic, sometimes joyful, always dynamic and entertaining; there's an impressive attention to detail in this show.

The character interactions are very detailed, the subs are not always clear as the language is intricate, but I got a more than average understanding of the plot, I love their way of speaking in idioms and poetry, with attention to the smallest detail especially when discussing music and literature.

I think that most people after watching this will be faced with the question of whether the Emperor was good or bad. In my opinion he did most things by the book according to the rules of the palace, so technically he did nothing wrong; however on a personal level, when it came to his relationships within the harem, his actions had the effect of being unjust to one or more women in the harem, and it's this constant upheaval that leads to the erosion of love and trust between him and his favourites. The Emperor's suspicious nature and his murderous means of holding onto his throne ultimately led to the resentment and hatred of his women in the harem and as a result led to his demise.

A concubine is like a flower which blooms and withers, and blooms and withers with every turn of the wheel of fortune and never ending palace intrigue.

Edit September 2024: I've bumped up the total for this drama from a 9 to a 10 out of 10. Just finished another rewatch with the help of the "Chasing Dramas" podcast and got a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural nuances of the storyline and dialogue. This drama is an enduring classic and in my opinion it is the definitive Chinese palace drama.