This is one gem of a drama that I almost missed out, because I did not intend to watch it at first, thinking that I wouldn't like the story. But as fate would have it, after watching some video clips in YouTube and reading well-written and positive reviews, my interest was piqued so I decided to give it a shot. And I'm so glad I did!

This drama has romance, comedy, action, themes of loyalty, courage and justice, political intrigue and heart-touching moments – all set against the backdrop of the Song dynasty. I thoroughly enjoyed this drama that the 60-episode length did not feel daunting. Most of the story arcs are really good and engaging, but a few are just so-so for me. I like their execution of the gender role reversal theme - it's not a complete role reversal, because the ML (Zhao Yu Jin) and FL (Ye Zhao) still retained some masculine and feminine qualities, respectively. It's not over the top, which I think is important, because going overboard will make it cringey. Other things this drama did really well are character growth and relationship development. Many characters grow throughout the drama, especially Zhao Yu Jin and Ye Zhao. You can also see the relationship change and develop between the different characters: Zhao Yu Jin and Ye Zhao, Ye Zhao and her mother-in-law, Zhao Yu Jin and the Emperor, Ye Zhao and Hu Qing, among others. And since this drama is in a historical setting with political intrigue and wars, there were battle and fight scenes, which were well choreographed and executed.

Overall, the cast delivered very good performances. And since this show has a big cast of characters, I will mention only some of them:
• On the OTP: I love the chemistry between Sandra Ma and Peter Sheng and their portrayal of Ye Zhao and Zhao Yu Jin, respectively. They nailed their roles! Ye Zhao and Zhao Yu Jin are a power couple – they complement each other perfectly. They have many sweet and funny moments, and I like how they both grow and develop throughout the series ❤️.
• Sandra Ma is very fitting as General Ye Zhao. I like Ye Zhao’s character – she’s smart, brave, loyal and cool! Sandra Ma gave a very good performance. She was able to show the more masculine, mischievous, no-nonsense and stronger sides of Ye Zhao, but still retained a sense of femininity and aura of beauty. She commanded the respect of her troops and was admired by many. It’s funny that Yu Jin’s concubines seemed to admire her more than him! In one of her conversations with Hu Qing, she said that after marrying Yu Jin, she grew from being reckless, impulsive and stubborn, to being more responsible, mature and sensible (my paraphrase). I think that’s a good summary of her character growth.
• Peter Sheng is convincing as Zhao Yu Jin/Duke of Nanping. True, his character was sometimes childish and annoying, especially at the start, but he grew as the story progresses, and became a very devoted husband. Despite his notorious reputation, he was actually very smart and talented, and just needed more push and encouragement to realize his full potential. Peter Sheng was able to portray the different sides of Yu Jin very well. What Ye Zhao told Prince Yinuo aptly describes Yu Jin: "Some birds don't fly for 3 years, but once they fly, they soar high into the sky. Some birds don't make a sound for 3 years, but once they do, they surprise everyone." (有鸟三年不飞，一飞冲天。 三年不鸣， 一鸣惊人。)
• Ding Chuan as Hu Qing/Fox – Known as the military strategist, he was one step ahead most of the time, with a keen sense of noticing things that others did not immediately see. Sometimes, he would inject a sense of humor in seemingly serious situations. It’s hard to imagine another actor playing this role.
• Lu Fang Sheng as Emperor Ren Zong – I like his portrayal of Ren Zong – shrewd, merciful, humorous yet also serious, he is a good emperor who cared for the welfare of his people. He had to consider many things and make hard decisions.
• Xiao Han as Noble Consort Zhang – Sensible and understanding, she was the emperor’s favorite consort and close confidante.
• Zhang Yao as Royal Consort of Zhao – As Ye Zhao’s mother-in-law who didn’t like her at first, she was sometimes annoying but oftentimes funny, especially with the exaggerated acting on some scenes. Her character grew and she eventually accepted and loved Ye Zhao as a daughter-in-law.
• Zhang Wen as Princess Consort of Zhao – Hats off to Yu Jin’s sister-in-law! From the start, she was one of Ye Zhao’s strongest advocates, especially to their mother-in-law. There were no traces of jealousy or competition on her part.
• Wang Chu Ran as Liu Xi Yin – She’s not my favorite character, although I can understand how broken-hearted she felt after finding out that the man she loves since she was young was actually a woman. However, the things she did while staying at the duke’s manor were out of line. She did have her strong moments in the latter part of the story.
• Qiu Shui (Sookie Pan) and Qiu Hua (Wang Xuan) – I love that Ye Zhao has these two sisters as loyal deputies and trusted friends.
• Mei Niang (Jamie Zhang), Xuan Er (Zheng Shu Huan) and Xiao Xia Zi (Zhang Zhi Lu) – They were a funny trio, all loyal to Zhao Yu Jin and Ye Zhao.

As a whole, the costumes were beautiful! I like Ye Zhao's clothes. They may look similar at first because most of them are blue in color (occasionally, she would wear other colors). But if you look further, the designs were beautiful, and the embroideries were meticulously done. The same can be said for Zhao Yu Jin's clothes, and his wardrobe had more color variety! As for the army's uniform, at first, I wasn't used to all the blue color. But it grew on me, and I came to appreciate it in one of the battle scenes, because they clearly stood out from their enemies, who were mostly wearing black, so it's easier to follow the fight scenes. This is in contrast to another battle scene where both sides were wearing black armor, with only some shades of color to distinguish them from each other.

On the OST: I love the soundtrack! I have 2 words to describe the opening theme, “Love is Above” (愛在上) – grand and epic! It's the grand entrance to the drama. Queena Cui and Peter Sheng's duet is captivating! The ending theme, “Loyalty” (忠貞), is sweet and romantic - just like how the couple's relationship grew and matured in the story. The other songs in the OST were played at the right moments, thus complementing the drama at different points ❤️.

I'm so glad that the story ended on a happy note. I do have some wish list for the ending though (SPOILERS):

-------

1) When I started this drama, I already knew that the ending will show them as grandparents. I was hoping/expecting that Sandra Ma and Peter Sheng will still play the old Ye Zhao and Zhao Yu Jin (made to look older, of course). Turns out that Sandra Ma's grandparents were the ones who played their older versions. How sweet!
2) It would be good if they had shown the family's reactions to her pregnancy, especially her mother-in-law.
3) I wish they showed the couple during their early years of parenthood, how they raised their kids, their family interactions, etc.

But that's Ok. This is a very good drama overall, a very fun and enjoyable ride! It's worth watching (and rewatching) the 60 episodes. So don’t hesitate, go watch it ❤️!