Main Point - I enjoyed the show. I would recommend it because I'm really glad I watched this. But I wouldn't rewatch. I might just look up clips of them sometime

I loved the music throughout this. I already got the songs on Apple Music! I didn't get tired of the songs. Some moments only needed the soft instrumental instead of the powerful vocals. And other moments worked extremely well with the lyrics. (Some sad and heartbreaking moments were greeted with a smile because I was rocking and humming along haha...) The music was great, as well as the zither and flutes.

The characters were really good. They were actually believable. I could see the bonds forming or the pain ripping them apart. The actors did well with their facial expressions and chemistry. The dub messed up a few serious moments though. But we were able to get so many aesthetically pleasing characters. Everyone looked really good...from the young to the old.

Overall production was pretty good. I've only seen about 7 historical C-dramas so far. I'm still new to them. I loved the outfits, the landscapes, the buildings, the decor, the culture etc. Everything looked really good (especially the food!). The CGI and other SFX were bad, but this is an older show, so....haha yeah......

Story wise,
**Its not a firecracker (big bang) type of show, its more of a sparkler (slow sizzle). There were times where I really didn't know what would happen, so it wasn't a totally predictable story. The twists weren't huge "WTF" moments, so it could seem lackluster to those who enjoy more extreme plots. Especially since its a kingdom show, and those are usually super drama filled and get CRAZY. But this is a pretty relaxing show to watch in between some firecracker shows.
**I originally started this show because I was looking for a strong female lead. I was so tired of the weak, naive, bitter, hopeless females. I was tired of face palming and sucking my teeth every time I started a new series. This FL is witty and can save herself AND save her love interests.
**There were a few times where I was fed up with the love triangle. Its hard when love rivals are both "nice guys". That made the Female Lead sooooo fickle. That was killing me and actually made me vow to quit if it continued.
**The character development was interesting to watch. The changes that occurred just seemed so rightfully done. A few seemed forced, but overall, it was a pretty reasonable development for all the characters.
**I both did and didn't like the ending. I definitely wasn't satisfied with a part of it. I felt like some events were taking the easy way out, but the story has to end somehow. But I, personally, hardly ever like the way shows/movies are ended. But this time there was only ONE thing that stopped me from being content with it, but I don't want to spoil...

Edit: Have to mention my loves. I found a new love in Hong Gu, Wu Ji, and Hei Shi...