STORY
I was very sceptical about this drama because of the Harem tag and the schemes because I'm not a fan of dramas with those tags. But this drama didn't disappoint me. The drama reminded me a lot of The story of Minglan, but it wasn't as good. The plot was okay, it wasn't anything special. The schemes were pretty lame and the romance was slow. However, the beauty of this drama came from the lesson we were supposed to learn. In a time when women are reduced to nothing simply because of their birth status, how can they prevail?
The story is about the daughter of a concubine who marries the husband of her late sister in order to save their families prestige. In this drama we see the highest form of women’s hatred towards each other. A situation caused by unequal polygamy, where concubines are treated like trash and main wives scheme against them. Mother in laws make life hell for their daughters in law, and children are made to hate each other from birth because of status. This plague is then passed on to the next generation of schemers. It is a game of survival of the fittest and only the strongest prevails, but not without regrets.

The romance in this drama though slow was very sufficient, there were moments I smiled so hard and couldn't stop. The development in romance was so natural and beautiful, I loved it very much. Seven and Wallace did an amazing job with this one. Their emotions were portrayed beautifully and we could see the love, as well as the struggles they faced to reach the place they did at the end. Luo Shiyiniang was a strong character who stood her ground and did not let anything get in the way of her dreams and ambitions. And Xu Lingyi, though with his faults for neglecting all of his concubines, was a very supportive and good man once he found love.
Each of the concubines in Xu Lingyis harem had a story of their own. Each woman turned evil because of their unfortunate fate. It may have been better if Xu Lingyi gave them the time of day, but he didn't and that amplified their greiviances. I couldn't find it in my heart to hate any of them, especially concubine Qin, because those women did not deserve what they went through.
I saw a lot of people call this drama the Mother-in-Law trials, but the MIL didn't cause as much trouble as I thought she would. Everything she did was for her family, and though she was wrong in too many cases and refused to admit defeat, her eyes eventually opened to see the truth. She caused many problems, but in the end it was to protect her family. I ended up liking her character very much
All the other characters were beautiful. I loved Daddi Tangs role as Ou Yanxin, he was an upright man who was late in love, but still did well. Amber was a good maid who went astray one too many times, and eventually paid for what she did, but she sought her happiness in the end. Dongqing, General Fu and the other boy were pleasing side characters too. I loved The Luo family once all the older women in the family died. Shiyi's sisters were beautifully portrayed, and Erniang's self development was commendable. The other members of the Xu family were also pleasing to look at. The villains were nothing special, but they kept the plot going.
FINALE
All in all it is a good drama. The plot is okay, villains are punished and self redemption prevails. It’s not the most impressionable, but it has its merits. It is worth the watch, but I wont settle for a rewatch. Give this one a go when you are ready to accept harems and you won't regret it.