Series made like this is what made me really fall in love with Chinese dramas. Having seen this in 2024, I'm reminded yet again about how crude it makes many of the newer shows appear with focuses only "good-looking" actors, not-so-great CG work, cheap-looking and non-era related costumes, and mediocre plots. For the generations that are accustomed to the newer style of c-drama, it may take some effort for them to transition to these types of older ones.

However, if you are a plot-focused viewer who loves detective series, this is highly recommended. While it isn't perfect with some slight drags for a and would have done well with more character development scenes or character histories, the pacing of each case is still completely enjoyable. The actors are all as high quality as most older series are and both the story and subtle romantic relationships offers much realism. The only slight dramatization being that many cases being based on high-ranking officials and the idealistic portrayal of our protagonist, Song Ci (as with many other dramas). But it is refreshing that they depicted how his idealism was also his flaw. It was equally refreshing how female inequality in the field was highlighted through one of Song Ci's assistants.

Highly recommended and I'm hoping to seek out more of these types of series. These series are underrated because of its age and number of viewers, and unfortunately doesn't show up on the list of recommendations often.