Zhang Le Qu (2024)

Ding Yu Xi to the rescue

I will start off by saying this.. The FL would have ended up dead in a ditch somewhere in the name of investigation if she hadn't been married to the ML.. The characters in the drama are not well developed.. The ML literally carried the entire show.. Should have been a 30 ep drama at the max.. The cases and investigations in the second half were just plain stupid.. And she was getting promoted in every few episodes while all she managed to do was almost getting herself killed or her husband.. Lu Chui Chui was miserable.. Apart from Jing Lin every other side characters were just meh.. And as always there is a pathetic pervert hitting on a married woman in this one as well.. I dont understand why such characters are glorified..

The first half of the drama was good.. It had a good pace and made me wanna watch.. But the second half just went downhill.. Losing its momentum and falling flat compared to the beginning.. The pacing in the second half dragged and it felt like the drama was stretching beyond its limit.. There were no plot twists in the last few episodes.. Just some stupid power moves which actually was pretty stupid.. It was just a poorly thought out conclusion..

Still you cant expect every drama to be Blossoms in Adversity or Who Rules the World.. The biggest disappointment for me was how the ML's character completely failed to do himself justice.. He started off as this badass intimidating figure feared by everyone.. But by the end he was reduced to someone who was being taunted by the FL’s friends and even a random kid.. It felt like all his strength and presence just disappeared.. Overall its just a one time watch.. It’s not something I’d rewatch..

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NO SPOILER Miss detective wants to take the lead. Beware of unrequited lovers from second arc.

The story : Two people who hate each other are forced to get married. And to work together to solves cases.
As they do, they are gradually drawn to one another. Will love or hate win?

Pros:
- Strong clever detective Female Lead.
- Strong clever military Male Lead.
- It is the fist time I have seen a heroine, daughter of a concubine, who is loved by her entire family and not bullied. Not a cliché. Yes (*_*)
- Chemistry is fire and the settings make it even more beautiful to watch.
- Characterisation is outstanding for Male Lead (Ding Yu Xi) who looks very manly as the great Shen Du.
- The inquiry is very good. Complex and involving many people. I try to guess the outcome as it progresses but I have a hard time doing so.
- Comedy is just great between the leads. I hope they had more comedic scenes.
- Cinematography is great.
- Action scenes are worth watching. There are few but when performed, OMG they blew my mind. Especially with Male Lead. I am still in shock (*_*)
- Overall the story is good and entertaining.


Cons:
- The mystery unfolds piece by piece and it can disturb some viewers. But like in Agatha Christies novels, you end-up getting the answer.
- Misunderstandings (who is Male Lead, who is Female Lead, what they do on their own...).
Sometimes they don't communicate enough.
- I don't like childish Female voice dubbing. Guess what ? The Female Lead's best friend has one *sight*
- Female Lead is not perfect, her many flaws could spoil your fun.
- Lots of unrequited lovers from the second arc for almost every cast member. This should be titled "conspiracy in love island" o_O

Overall :
I like the investigation and the romance.
The investigation was very complex, a lot of clues were shown to give hints in order to know who the main antagonist is. So by paying attention to the early episodes you migt be able to decypher who it is.
The bickering romance was enjoyable generally speacking. You have to stand FL's temper sometimes but at the end the love story is beautiful and Shen Du is the bright light in this show. He carries it like the titan atlas who do with the heavens. He is just marvellous. Special mention to Yan Xing who stayed witty till the very end. And that's great for a female lead.
This is a good drama. So I recommend it if you like case solving duo with strong Leads. You might like it.

And the OST is great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLjFuY9p48E

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If you enjoy Ding Yu Xi, watch this drama

==Breakdown==
Background plot / palace intrigue - 85%
Romance - 15%

Background plot - Meh
Romantic chemistry - Excellent
Misc comedy - Good
Production value and direction - Good

Let's be honest, if you watch and enjoy this drama, it's because you like Ding Yu Xi. This is my first drama with this actor and I'm now watching his entire backlist.

There is nothing else exceptional about the drama. Thus, you have to set your expectations appropriately. The story isn't the worst. It's mid / fine but I found it convoluted at times and boring most of the time. The production value is fine-- not mind-blowing, not bad, just fine. The rest of the cast is pretty good and plays their parts well. I liked the FL-- the actress and her character-- quite a lot and look forward to her future projects.

But Ding Yu Xi is BY FAR the best part of this show and I have re-watched his scenes because he's just so dang mesmerizing. He eats this role and the character of Shen Du is exceptional / interesting / captivating because of the actor who plays the part.

I'd say it's 30% palace intrigue, 55% solving mysteries, and 15% romance. The leads had great chemistry (for their 15% of the story), but if you watch Cdramas for the romance, maybe just watch some compilation videos on YouTube and skip this one.

Then again, if you're a fan of Ding Yu Xi, this one is worth watching for him / his scenes alone.

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Smarts & Advance Prep Always Win

Started watching for DYX who I had first seen in this year's White Cat Legend and his acting impressed me. Wanted to see him in a different genre and though I try to avoid any and all MGTV dramas (due to the fact that they don't have proper subbers), I decided to give this a go because it was acquired on Viki (though that too became problematic as the subbing was inconsistent at best). I only am familiar with some of the supporting though not all. All I can say is smarts and advance prep always win.

Pros: I'd have to say my favorite characters were our ML or SD and our main antagonist LLZ (whom I had seen in a protagonist role this year only). Them two were as black and white as they come. SD was a man on a mission of both revenge and vindication for his father and family that were framed 16 years prior while he was just a young boy. He only survived because a friend of the family's told him what to do and also pleaded on his family's behalf. He had a lethal exterior earning him the nickname "White Ghost." But what many didn't know or see was that he had a good heart and the exterior was just a front. DYX was able to play both very convincingly. Things changed when he reunited with the FL who had snuck into the detention center he was held in to give him food and they had been friends before his family's disaster. At first they couldn't stand each other (he didn't recognize her and she thought he had really become this ruthless person) and she married him instead of her sister so the marriage didn't start on a strong foundation. That said their chemistry was spot on from the comedic get go to when he started falling for her for real and afterwards realizing who she was and started to put in more effort to actually win her heart. He repeatedly saved her when her reckless actions sent her to death's door but at least she was grateful. I didn't really care too much for the FL other than the fact that she was for the most part really good at solving cases and finding out truths when others couldn't see it. When they teamed up to work together, they really made great teamwork. The chemistry was definitely chemistrying.

Our main antagonist did a fantastic job at playing a very convincing looney. I have to give it up to the actor; he played an obsessed, power hungry, murderous and appropriately nicknamed the "Black Fiend" to the hilt. He was creepy but in a believable, skin crawling way. Ironically he usually wore white which made the fact that he was essentially a cult leader all the more diabolical. His realization that he had been lied to by his mom (he wasn't the son of the late emperor and therefore not in anyway shape or form fit for the throne) and his entire life was a lie at the very end and the way he went out was fitting for his maniacal self.

The other characters I liked were SD's guard, PC, Marshal Xu, XW, JXL; the empress, prince, and princess were all morally grey characters that had a lot of problems with themselves but they were believable. Many died under the Empress's watch like her musician or FL's uncle, Marshal Xu, and YQ while LLZ was rising to power aka falling into SD's trap and the Empress did little to stop that. I'm just glad she finally cleared the Shen family and held everyone responsible for that massive mess. PM Zheng was the other one I'd consider an antagonist as he was responsible along with a few others in the Shen family's mess as well as holding the Yan family "hostage" and trying to use FL as a spy with SD when she married him. I didn't like him at all and that meant the actor did his job. FL's family was ok; I liked her sisters the most. Her mother was a bit too cringey for me.

Otherwise costumes, sets, OSTs were good.

Cons: SFL I had the biggest gripe with. Why was she written that way? Dumb as a brick, sounding like a 12 year old and always being the thorn in SD's side; like mind your own business! Why are you bringing "the divorce" up every two seconds, like it's any of your business? You are getting all cozy with the evil in the graveyard not even understanding what's going to happen. Only time I felt bad for her was when he kidnapped her but she didn't seem to mature after it at all. I legit wanted to slap her, so instead I ffw'd her pretty much the entire show.

The dumbing down of FL who was always on top of things periodically within the show was inconsistent; thankfully these moments were usually short lived. Wish the whole end wedding didn't have to happen the way it did; yes they said words to each other in the palace but she was the one who gave him the ultimatum when it was his choice and she didn't really have a right to demand that; so the whole mini groveling and game playing made the official wedding anticlimactic and uncomfortable. I'm glad though the Empress laughed at it she did tell her that it was important to cherish those around you. I was also glad he pretended to have left so she would stop acting arrogant and understand that if she really lost him, it would be bad. He spent the entire series even when they weren't yet together, essentially saving her life or from pain and getting hurt himself. So the ending deserved to be better and smarter instead of that weird version.

I know DEX is only 19 years old but she has to practice kissing. DYX did all the work during those and it seemed like she legit didn't move or barely. So though we had some kissing scenes and the deed itself done a few times, they would have been much better if the director had the FL practice instead of just go immobile. Or like other actors have done in the past, just don't have kissing scenes if you're inexperienced, uncomfortable. Better than getting them halfway and lopsided, though by the final one, it seemed she kind of got the hang of it.

Also YQ and Marshal Xu's relationship seemed to come out of nowhere and like a total afterthought. There was zero chemistry between them. So when they died together, though very sad about him; her being there at all just took off from the gravitas of the situation. You could tell post production was moving at the speed of sound because there were revealing mistakes like the palace fight, you could tell the people in the background weren't really fighting but moving with their swords in slow motion or in the last episode wedding scene, the blue screen "sky" was visible in multiple takes.

Would I Recommend it? Sure. For the cases and the chemistry between the leads it's a good watch. Now that all of the episodes are out on Viki, you're good to go.

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Delightful and entertaining.

This is becoming my favourite series to watch in the evenings. I normally only watch a series after all episodes have been aired, but i don't want to wait.
I really like the ML and FL i think they have good chemistry together. There is intrigue, investigation, enough danger to make things interesting.
The story so far is good, but i have only watched 21 episodes so far.
since episode 16 they have switched the translation i think to a machine, and it really doesn't work. the first 16 made sense when reading the subtitles but on occasions now it is difficult to piece together the conversations, so i hope they go back to the same team who translated in the beginning.
i will update when i have finished watching all the series.
Ok i have finished watching and it was worth the wait. It did not disappoint. It was delightfully entertaining. I could pick some holes in the story that is why i rated it for me a 9 however it was overall worth watching. The music seemed to fit quite well, cinematography was good. the fight scenes were well crafted. what's not to enjoy. many thanks to the crew and cast for such an excellent series.

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Great, but has flaws

Where do I even start...this is a typical historical C-Drama with political issues in the court coupled with an arranged marriage where the bride is the spy for the opposing team in the court. It's very cliche and overdone. However, I did enjoy the drama, despite all of that.

Ding Yu Xi - he did a wonderful job once again. He is one of my favorite actor and I can honestly say that I did fall in love with his work since Tiger and Rose. He plays Shen Du very well and I love all of his scenes. His eyes are alluring and it does speak volumes about his emotions when he's not talking. The downfall is that they chose to have someone else dubbed him. I love his voice. It's sultry and it fits perfectly with the role that he plays.

Deng En Xi - I have not watched anything that she was in but I actually like her. She's going to be added to my list of favorite actresses. She plays Yan Xing very well. As for Yan Xing, herself, there were times where I didn't like her. I mean, don't get me wrong, Yan Xing is a strong FL and smart as heck, but she does tend to be reckless (possibly due to age). Not only is she reckless, but there are times where she thought too highly of herself. For example, when Marshal Xu and Yue Que died, She blamed herself, but honestly, she's not that important. Like Shen Du told her, he died because he was looking for evidence of Lai's rebellion. But overall, I like her as a FL.

Vice Minister Lai - honestly, from the beginning I wasn't sure what his purpose was. I mean, they kept him as mysterious as they can. They did reveal his face early on, but they kept his motives a secret until the end. And honestly, I hated him A LOT. He was not my favorite villain. Without the motive, I felt like he was just doing whatever he wanted and there was really no real reason why he did what he did. I feel like the writer should have showed the audience his motive so that we can understand his actions -- which by the way was all for nothing. I was actually glad that he died at the end. He was not worth my sympathy at all. I did not feel bad for him one bit. I feel like he was one of the worst written villain by far. At least for other villains, they have a sad past or a bad past that drove them to what they are doing. He has nothing. Just a few words from his dying mother and that was the cause of his rebellion.

Lu Chui Chui - goodness, what can I say about her? Honestly, I liked her at the beginning but then she just became a nuisance. She was supposed to be Yan Xing's best friend, but she trusted Vice Minister Lai because he saved her once? She knew about him and what he had done, but yet, she chose to believe him despite what she already knew about him. I mean, she did finally turn her back on him after realizing how bad of a person he was (even though everyone had talked about how bad of a person he is). Not only that, but she was annoying.

Empress Dowager - what to say about her? She wasn't the worst and she wasn't the best Empress Dowager. I did like her from the start, but then I started to doubt her actions. She had caused a lot of people's death towards the end that I cannot forgive her. She believed in Vice Minister Lai over her loyal subjects and I hated her for that. I mean, I get it, she wasn't sure who was plotting against her, but come on, you're going to still believe the guy after so many memorials/testimonies/deaths that are related to him and how evil he is? Like Sun Tan died for no reason. Jin Zang died for nothing. Marshal Xu died for nothing. She practically gave their heads to Vice Minister Lai. Yeah, she wasn't my favorite.

Overall, I gave this an 8.5. I did enjoy the plotting and everything, I just hated how the writer wrote the villain and I hated the whole let's get a divorce troupe. It was useless and disappointing.

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Started Off Good But Got Slow

First off good styling choices, ML looks amazing in the fur! Ding yuxi is a good actor but his dramas are hit or miss. This one is somewhere in the middle but his character? 10/10 acting!

FL is new to the scene Deng Enxi said in an interview it's her first romantic kiss on screen and she was nervous but Ding Yuxi coached her through and lead the romantic scenes well making it less awkward. I think their playful bro/sis relationship translates into a fun dynamic on screen and i commend them for that, but BEWARE IT IS A SLOW BURN

THE MYSTERY ISN'T GIVING
- I'm sorry but the writing for the politics and the cases were hit or miss, but after the first 12-15 eps it was not capturing my attention enough and this made the ending felt a bit rushed
- Truly the writers should have just made this more romance heavy if they didn't know how to write a coherent political plot. There's no shame in that, but the attempt here? some of the cases were a snooze fest if i'm honest

Altogher the cast was good, romance scenes were too but is it going to be a long-lasting impression drama? NO
Honestly trim the eps, make the side characters unique and have more screen time maybe then we will care more about the whole climactic showdown at the end which fell a bit short

Not bad not great 7/10?

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Great Chemistry Despite 10-Years Age Gap

I just started watching this series that’s pretty different from the usual C-dramas I check out, and I ended up getting hooked. It’s about Yang Xing, the daughter of a concubine, who’s really good at investigating stuff. She works as a clerk in the Ministry of Justice, and everything gets crazy when her third sister runs off with her lover, leaving an arranged marriage with Shen Du, the head of the imperial guard. To save her family from the Empress Dowager’s wrath, Yang Xing steps in and marries Shen Du instead.

At first, their relationship is super rocky, especially because Yang Xing has to spy on her husband due to some threats. But as they work together to solve different cases, they start to develop feelings for each other.

The storyline is interesting, but sometimes it drags a bit. The investigation scenes should be the best part, but they can be really uneven—some are exciting while others fall flat, which makes the pacing feel slow. That said, the chemistry between the leads is definitely a highlight and kept me invested.

Ding Yuxi plays Shen Du as this cold guy with a dark past, and Deng Enxi as Yang Xing is lively and driven, even if her stubbornness sometimes gets her in trouble. I was impressed by Ding Yuxi’s acting, especially in the emotional scenes. And Deng Enxi, being just 19, did a great job showing her character's feelings, especially with her expressive eyes.

The chemistry between them is really good, and you hardly notice the 10-year age gap, which makes the show more fun to watch.

Overall, even though the series has some pacing issues and the investigation scenes can be hit or miss, the strong performances and great chemistry between the leads make it worth checking out. There are definitely moments where the plot feels slow, but the interesting characters keep you engaged.

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Series with no connection to its name

It was a series that started well at the beginning but became ridiculous in the last episodes. I endured 37 episodes. I couldn't watch the rest. The bad guys will definitely be punished, the injustices will be corrected, I can see and feel that. However, in the last episodes, the story got out of hand with unbearable logical errors and stupid software. It got to a point where the wrong guys became right, they hang and cut them up, the empress and other authorized people who see this are watching. That person, Lao Zhi, can't do anything. The queen who hangs and cuts everyone in front of her, gives a penalty times her salary when Lao Zhi makes a mistake and needs to be punished, is that good? I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I've never seen such nonsense in any series. The man continues his evil deeds. The queen knows it, everyone knows it. The queen doesn't come to the court, but gives the authority to punish and reward Lao Zhi, who doesn't do his job well, who constantly makes mistakes and needs to be punished. She gives authority. Instead of giving punishment, she gives authority. What does this mean? The audience is stupid and eats it up. Or the writer thinks we are fools. Can such a stupid thing happen? Second; there is the Princess, the Prime Minister. But he gives authority to a lower level and unwanted person who does not do his job well, constantly makes mistakes, and even believes that all evil comes from him. Oh my God! The Queen is blind, deaf, does not know what she is saying. Such a character. But the scriptwriter shows us her as a very smart person who runs the country. In fact, she works day and night for her country. Her son is very young. She is acting as his regent. She is shown as a good person. Is it a LIE, scriptwriter? What is this contradiction? Why are you taking us for fools? Do you have a problem? Are you crazy? Why are you spoiling the story? Why are you showing a bad person above everything and disregarding the others, even the Queen. Let's say this Lai Zhi wants to overthrow the Queen and her. She doesn't care. Why am I saying this? The Queen orders the arrest. Let alone arresting that person, Lai Zhi kills him. The Queen goes crazy. How can you kill him? He says I didn't give such an order. Sir, punish him. He says I deserved it. He says I cut his salary. What century are we in, scriptwriter? Are you kidding me? Are you selling bagels? Are you okay? Are you nice? Are you free? Go away. Don't get on our nerves. Shame on you. I condemn it. I don't recommend it to anyone. Don't get on your nerves. Don't watch it. I also gave these 6 notes to the actors. I liked the actors. They weren't extraordinary, but they were beautiful. Our daughter Ancy Deng was born in 2005, but well done, she has been playing the leading role since she was 15. She mixed her childish actions with her youthful actions while playing, but I think she will be better. So I support her. She will be a good actress. They were compatible with Ding Yu Xi. Zi Jun was very successful in the role of the bad guy. It suits her. Let her play the bad guy. Xiao Yan was good, I was surprised that she played such a role, but it was a supporting role and a light role. The actress who played the princess, Mao Lin Lin, Queen He Sai Fei, Xuan Lu, Sun Ze Yuan, Ethan Yao, Pan Lu Yu, Gao Ji Cai were the actors who caught my attention. I gave this note for the effort of the actors. I give zero marks to the writer and the script.

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It was a fun drama. And that's all...

The story starts with an arranged marriage of our main leads Shen Du and Yan Xing. Shen du is the head of one of the department of justice I guess. Yan Xing is a scribe who wants to be a female official. Shen Du's father committed treason and his whole family was annihilated but he was pardoned by the empress dowager. However he wants to clear his father's name. So the couple solve different cases along their journey. This is the simple gist of the drama.

I rate this drama 7/10.
The plot was lacking soo manyyy thingss. The cases don't make complete sense. They tried to interconnect different cases but the execution was very bad. The female lead pretended to be smart but there her arguments were not that convincing. Too impulsive. Trying to solve everything herself without a care for others. I could not tell where the story was heading. 40 eps was a bit too long and draggy.
Undoubtedly, Shen Du was the best character here. I think this was Ding Yuxi's best performance yet. He lived upto his character's name. He was the only cautious person in the show. Planned everything ahead. The female lead's acting was also really good. I was most impressed by the acting of Lai Longzhi.
The characters dynamics was really weird. Nothing was clearly stated. The sudden tribe and their arc was so abrupt. What was the deal with Chen Huoe. The girl who was always with empress dowager. What was even her purpose? Everything seemed too messy with no proper explanation to viewers.

If you are looking for a cute drama with some bits of mystery then go for it. But do not expect to find logic here.

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