First thing, the synopsis in MDL is not quite accurate. Haishi did not have conflicting feelings between her shifu (Fang Jian Ming) and the Emperor (Di Xu). This did not happen in the drama at least and Haishi did not vow revenge towards the imperial court after her father was killed by sharks in a fishing trip to gather pearls.

Having read the synopsis, I went watching the drama thinking that it would be the usual revenge plot and love triangle, but it actually wasn't the case in the drama at all.

Haishi is a young girl who grew up in a costal village where fishermen used the ruse of killing their children to make mermaids cry and gather the shed tears which turn into luminous pearls to pay for taxes.
Fang Jian Ming saved her from the village and together with another disciple (Zhuo Ying), raised and taught them from academics to martial arts, archery, etc. from then on.

As the years went by, Haishi fell in love with her shifu and shifu also grew to love her, but due to the fact that he was a baixi for the Emperor, meaning he was bonded to the Emperor in blood, he felt all the pain and physical injuries on behalf of the Emperor, he knew he had no future with Haishi as he was someone who would die anytime, he chose to hide his love for Haishi.

What I liked about this drama was this tormented, forbidden love between the two leads. Haishi was very forthright with her feelings throughout, but shifu would always act nonchalant in front of her, most times pushing her away, but actually deep down in his heart, loved and cared for her as much as she did for him, always making sure that she was safe and always the first to save her in the event of dangers. I was touched when he once said to himself, "how can I not like you (=Haishi)? Nobody knows, how much I cherish and love you." I was really touched by the way he said it. So tormented, so heartbreaking, so painful yet so beautiful.

As some viewers have pointed out, the Emperor's acting was a little over in the first few episodes and I didn't enjoy watching him.
He acted like crazy mainly due to the sorrow he was suffering from the death of his loved one. I do agree there was overacting on the part of the actor. However, he became much better later, more toned down. As many others have agreed, I also liked the strong friendship between shifu and Emperor. I thought that Tilan, his concubine, would have some hidden agenda when she married the Emperor, but turned out she was just a kind girl.

I also liked the third couple, Zhuo Ying and Zheliu, a girl in the embroidery department. In the initial stages, when Zhuo Ying was still secretly in love with her, I thought it was kind of sweet that he always hid on the rooftop to watch her and secretly did things for her like gifting her a bracelet or a rabbit, etc. As they were just the third couple in the drama, I guess their ending was kind of not fully shown to audience, just showing them on a horseback together to show that they had a happy ending, which was still okay to me, though I would have liked to see a little more of their reunion at the end.

I have mixed feelings for the ending on the main leads. I am totally glad that shifu didn't die and together with Haishi, they ended up teaching and raising the crown prince (son of the Emperor and Tilan who both died in the end). However, shifu became the baixi again for the crown prince and again they were bonded and again he and Haishi could not be together. I would not consider this a sad ending, at least shifu didn't die, but it is like country above all else and all love, not a happily ever after live together, but perhaps in the very far future, this may be possible when the crown prince grew up.

The cinematography was very good. I especially liked the Ji feng tree, the Ji feng pavilion and Zhao Ming palace where shifu, zhuo ying and haishi and the secret force lived. The place was dreamy especially when the leaves from the Ji feng tree fell.

The OST was good overall, I especially liked the songs sang by Zhou Shen, Kiss without distraction, it was just so heartbreaking and the other song was Li Qi, Revel in Flower Room.

Overall, the acting was good for all the cast, with the exception of the Emperor's acting in the beginning, but as mentioned, he toned down a lot and was much better later. I have seen William Chan in 'lost love in times' drama, I think he's a rather professional and diligent actor, basically an actor who really uses his heart to think through about the role and act out, from all the BTS and previous interviews I watched about him and personally, I think he's rather good in doing kiss scenes. Therefore, based on his off-screen personality which is supposedly quite bubbly, cheerful and a little playful?, I think he did well in his role in this drama. Yang Mi, of course, did well as usual, though I did agree a little with others that her own voice was a little on the high side in the drama. I wonder would it really have been better if she had someone to dub her in the drama? I also thought that the actor Wang Sen who acted Zhuo Ying, Duo Han and Duo Luo, was really good. There was contrast in the personalities between Duo Han and his twin brother Duo Luo. It was not easy feat, but he did well.

I enjoyed this drama very much, so much that this was one of those dramas that I really listened hard to all the dialogues and of course especially the ones between the main leads.

Never regretted watching this drama and I would re-watch the parts by the main leads in future too.

Fully vested in such tormented and forbidden love, yes, it is painful to watch, but precisely because it is painful to watch, all the more you want to watch whether shifu will slowly open up, for how long he is going to torment himself and haishi, how long more the leads will confess their love for each other, every step towards confession, towards getting closer to each other and finally whether they will abandon all cares and worries to be together.

Thoroughly enjoyed it!