The drama started off strong and intriguing, but by the mid-10's, it started to drag. Honestly, was considering dropping it around then but other viewers noted that it got better as it continued on. As a whole, I think this drama could have finished in 20-25 episodes but at 41 episodes, it was way too long. I continued pushing through it because, well, I needed to see how it ended but also I won't complain about having Zhang Xincheng on my screen. Overall, the acting of most of the cast was absolutely superb (the acting by Gu Zi Cheng and Mao Yi were a bit questionable but unsure if it was because of the characters or the acting) and there was a lot of potential, but it fell flat for me. Also, didn't understand why there was a need for a narrator in the drama. He seemed to appear less frequently as the episodes continued on (thank goodness), but I would think that if a storyline progresses well, there's no need to have some sort of omniscient character speaking about things that can be interpreted by the acting.