Where do I even get started.

Well, first of all, I really liked the storyline, but I did not like how it was executed. I feel that it was a refreshing take on the whole contractual marriage thing, especially when she was supposed to be a sacrificial bride, but I hated the way that they executed the story. It was a huge mess with a lot of plot holes.

First, I definitely understood his resentment towards her and his distrust of her since she was the daughter of his enemy, but I feel that him finding out about her father's plans was way too fast. I would have preferred if he suspected the father, but not full on finds out that he was behind everything, and doing nothing about it. It was so stupid on how they made him do nothing for the entire drama!!!

Second, even though he was "smart" he was also dumb. I liked that the FL was strong and stood up for justice, but I wish they made her stronger. It broke my heart the way she was getting treated by the people in her courtyard. Also, how did no one know that she was being abused by the people in her courtyard. There were so many people who have seen how the maids treated her, but it was a surprise that she was being abused.

Third, how evil can the father be! Not only did he sacrificed his daughters, he even sacrificed the wife that he so called loved. He was just pure evil and greedy. Even though he was evil, I didn't really understand his reasoning. I mean, when I watch these types of drama where someone is plotting against someone, it's usually due to the fact that they want to overthrow the throne or see that person as a threat to the throne, but Wan Ye didn't care for the throne. So he technically was not a threat to the throne at all. Which leads me to...

My fourth point, what the hell is wrong with the emperor and empress dowager. They clearly have an inferiority complex or something because Wan Ye have already turned down the throne because of the dowager, but yet, they couldn't fully trust him and let him be. They sabotage him by having him marry to his enemy's daughter (which by the way, how did they even know about those two being enemies) and then when he was happily married and living his life, they go and try to kill his child and when that didn't work, they gave him a declaration to marry the country's enemy's daughter. Like how much more can you throw at him to satisfied your stupid ego. Their plotting was the stupidest thing I have seen in dramaland. It made ZERO sense for them to even plot against him when he clearly didn't want the throne and was not remotely close to being a threat to them.

Fifth, all of the misunderstanding was just plain stupid and overdone. I'm sorry but not sorry. He has a mouth, he could have just told her what happened and what the deal is that he made with the emperor that he that he loves her. Like, was it that hard for him to tell her that he loves her. He didn't have to treat her like crap because he wanted to keep her safe. That was so stupid of him.

Sixth, I honestly got tired of the obsessive princess that I started to fast forward all of her scenes. When she first showed up, she was this hardcore, badass assassin and then she turned into this whiny, obsessive princess who was willing to sacrifice her only friend to be with someone who does not even care about her.

Seven, the ending was rushed and messy. All of a sudden, everything was resolved as if it didn't even happen in the first place. The obsessive princess, over a few words, betrayed her people for him. The emperor finally let go of his stupid inferiority complex and started to trust Wan Ye. The empress dowager changed her mind as well because she lost Wan Ye. The only punishment Shen Ke Yi's father received was to be exiled -- like what? His wife, who he so called loved, died. His daughter, that he loved, was disfigured, but he only got exiled? Where is the justice in that? The timing was also off with a lot of unexplained events. For example, how did he find Shen Ke Yi? What did Lady Yunning died off? When did the romance between her and the guard develop? Like nothing. They gave us nothing.

I wished that they would have a better script writer to execute this plot line. Like I said, I liked the plot line, I just don't like how they executed it at the end. Also, they should have continued with the fake jade pendant storyline as well. That would have been a better plot twist than whatever plot twist they have because I wasn't even sure at this point what the plot twist was. I mean, from the beginning, they already showed us that Shen Ke Yi's family was being the attempted assassination of Wan Ye, so there was no story there.

I also wished that they went into depth as why the emperor and emperor dowager feared Wan Ye. I know that they touched on it, by saying that he was the emperor's favorite, but there was nothing else that they offered. I also wanted them to go into more depth behind Wan Ye and Shen Ke Yi's past along with the obsessive princess's past. Like they only show glimpse of it, but what they showed didn't do much either.

Overall, I gave this a 7 out of 10 because I really did enjoy the earlier episodes and I loved Zhang Miao Yi. She reminds me of a young Ariel Lin and I do really enjoy her dramas. I didn't care for Dylan Kuo too much. I feel like they should have casted another actor. Don't get me wrong, he played Wan Ye very well, but I feel like he didn't match Zhang Miao Yi, and this has nothing to do with the age gap between the actor/actress either. I just don't find them aesthetically pleasing to the eyes when they are together. Would I rewatch this drama? Probably just the first few episodes only. I feel like I wasted by time waiting for the ending to air and then was left disappointed.