Xu Lingyi, marquis Yongping is all that a mother could ask for: a patriotic high ranking court official, ethical, cultured, responsible and a shining example of Confucian filial piety who asks not if he is happy with his wives, it is enough that his mother is. When his official wife dies, he takes her younger half-sister Luo Shiyi, a lowly concubine's daughter as his official wife, thus preserving the marriage ties between the Luo and Xu family. But Shiyi is a talented and resourceful woman ahead of her times and values her freedom and independence over making such an excellent match. She has her own agenda and unlike his fawning concubines, is quite happy to be neglected by Lingyi and left to her own devices. Her attitude bemuses and intrigues Lingyi out of his indifference and he finds to his dismay that he is increasingly attracted to her.

The best part of this drama is how the romance blossoms at a realistic pace between Lingyi and Shiyi, leisurely exploring important phases from distrust, to mild annoyance, to intrigue and blossoming attraction, to collaboration with some conflict and a healthy dose of jealousy thrown in. Neither character is perfect - Lingyi is a workaholic, neglects his harem, is aloof, overly strict with his children and his brother and just generally comes across as no fun at all. Except for the flashes of subtle humour that emerges when he deals with impertinence from his close aides or criticism from his family. Wallace Chung really delivers a very nuanced portrayal as a lonely and kind nobleman beneath a strict and unapproachable exterior. I really enjoy watching him come out of his shell and become a more complete person as he discovers happiness with Shiyi. Shiyi grows from a rather headstrong and defiant young wife into the caring, responsible and capable mistress of Yongping manor. This is a very different kind of role for Tan Songyun and although I feel her interpretation of the role is not that inspired, her Shiyi is likeable and pleasant to watch. Both leads are consummate actors with very solid chemistry, delivering many sweet and thrilling romantic moments as they fall in love and grow together as a couple.

Even though I don't expect much from the plot when it comes to character dramas, I have to say that the writing overall leaves a lot to be desired. It actually starts out fairly well even though it is incredibly tropey from the beginning. That is because there is a satirical approach to the writing, with subtle humour nicely woven neatly into the dialogue that had me grinning away. And some of the characters, especially the hateful concubine Qiao and Erniang were such parodies and so well acted that I got many chuckles and base enjoyment out of their setbacks and defeats. That fizzles out after the Qiao arc and at that point the mystery and defeat of the mastermind should have just been quickly wrapped out instead of dragged into repetitive plot lines and themes. The writer with a sense of humour must also have bowed out at that point because it wasn't funny anymore.

Which brings me to the mother-in-law from hell. This MIL is a real piece of work - she picks all of her sons wives, she is snobbish, biased, hypocritical, is completely illogical and plays the matriarch card all the time to get her way. This character turned the drama into some bizarre edition of Survivor where the contestants are parachuted into Ming Dynasty where they need to survive the mother-in-law of all obstacles and win the heart of the dude. Shiyi and all of Lingyi's wives are pitted against this troll who thinks that the ultimate reward is marriage to her son. The most unbelievable part of the story is that none of these rather ruthless and resentful bitches took the initiative to poison her. It would have made for an excellent Murder on the Orient Express kind of murder mystery if they all did it. As for Shiyi, her winning strategy is to kill everyone from her MIL to her love rivals with kindness. This took so long and we have to endure so many ridiculous, lazily written and repetitive arcs that I couldn't help but think poison would work so much faster.

The two main takeaways from this drama is it really sucked to be a woman during Ming Dynasty and bad shit happens when your mother picks your wives. Overall an ok watch to pass time but nothing to write home about. 7.5/8.0 overall, maybe 8.0 for just the first ~half.