STORY
Rather than the storylines, I think I enjoyed the characters and interactions the most. Thinking back, it's mainly the negatives that pop up in my head but the story was overall pretty good though, I liked the vibe in the beginning in Lingquan Town especially.

When it comes to the storytelling, the main gripe I had was the fact that the pacing was always a bit off; it felt like a lot of time was spent building up an arc, just for it to resolve quite quickly which made the payoff quite unsatisfactory. The show had quite a lot of things going on simultaneously, and while 40 episodes would have been good to flesh things out properly, there were times when it felt too much was happening and times when it felt like hardly anything was happening at all.

I also disliked that we had a 3-year time leap where Ziyu became the emperor because it felt like it was too important to have been completely left out like that. The Wu child emperor and the Empress Dowager characters were quite established, but it felt so abrupt that they completely disappeared from the story over a black screen with text.

CHARACTERS

Liu Miantang:
I disagree with most of the reviews saying that she was being overly harsh on Ciu Xingzhou. Thinking about how much he lied about, I found her reaction to be quite realistic and I'm glad that the writers didn't make her immediately give up on her anger the second that Xingzhou apologised to her. I agree that her character was quite inconsistent at times, especially after she got her memories back. I also wished that she was able to play a more active role in Prince Sui's downfall/death because one of her main goals was to avenge her brothers in Xuizhou.
Wang Churan was the perfect actress for the role and I really enjoyed her acting throughout the entire show. She did well in both the action sequences and the emotional scenes (like when she confirmed how much Xingzhou was lying about)

Cui Xingzhou:
Didn't really like him in the beginning but I think the writers did a good job of redeeming his character after all the lies.
Zhang Wanyi did well in the comedic scenes but I found him slightly wooden in the more dramatic scenes. I believe a lot of them might be an issue with the directing but he generally did an okay job for the role.

Zi Yu / Xue Ji:
Ziyu was okay I guess. I felt like he was too hung up on Miantang towards the end and I wasn't a fan of the acting at a few points but an overall okay character. Xue Ji on the other hand was easily my favourite character in the show. I adored her from start to finish, she was well-written and developed so beautifully throughout the show. The actress did a brilliant job portraying her, especially in the scene where she finally stood up to General Shi.

Zhao Quan / He Zhen:
I didn't like their pairing at all and I found Zhao Quan quite annoying in most of his scenes. Even as Xingzhou's friend, I liked his other friend from the capital much more. It's quite a shame because I enjoyed He Zhen's character quite a lot in the beginning and I feel like it would have been more effective having her not marry anyone and just become a successful porcelain business woman instead

Other characters:
I wouldn't particularly say everyone was well-written but I think it was more of a pacing issue than anything else. I liked the ending they gave for Binglan despite how annoying she was. Miantang's grandfather was incredibly annoying at certain points but I found him painfully realistic as well. One of the biggest wasted characters was easily Yun'er, she was a strong character in the beginning but after she became a consort, she turned quite petty and weak. I still liked some of the characters like Mo Ru, Miantang's uncle and Lin Si Yue though.


REWATCH VALUE:
I'm not sure how well it would hold up in a rewatch. I think some of the scenes, particularly the court politics scenes might age well but the slow burn beginning where Miantang has amnesia might not be as enjoyable on a rewatch. Too early for me to say but I might return to give it a watch in a couple of years.


CONCLUSION:
If you're in the mood for a rather slow-moving show, this would be a good pick. I find it to be a decent idol drama, and despite all the issues, I had a really fun time watching it. As someone who's been struggling to get through dramas recently, I managed to finish this off within a week. If you want to watch a light-hearted idol costume drama, I recommend this to you!