==Breakdown==
Background plot / palace intrigue - 65%
Romance - 25%
Random comedy - 10%

Background plot - Meh
Romantic chemistry - Pretty good
Misc comedy - Good
Production value and direction - Really good. The set for the palace was the best I've seen.

I've now watched enough Cdramas to know when a drama is recycled and just another retelling of the same story. This one was very similar to so many others. After episode 20, I fast forwarded most of the episodes looking for something interesting. Episodes 29-31 are quite good. The rest were sluggish / meh.

Xu Kai was fantastic as usual. He's an AMAZING actor. His group of friends were great and fun. This show made me realize he's a great crier and his performance makes me forget I'm watching a TV show. It really choked me up this time.

Jing Tian was very likable in her role when she was bantering or joking. The only issue is she's not a believable crier and that reduced the watchability of her more emotional scenes, making them quite boring. For example, the resolution with her father lacked any impact due to her subpar skills during the scene. I'm not sure I would've noticed if Xu Kai's performance hadn't been so much better in comparison.

Overall, it's a fine watch to pass the time, especially if you're a Xu Kai fan.