The show started off extremely promising - an exciting plot that leaves you anticipating future conflicts and the revelation of secrets. However, it slowly turned into a draggy soap opera with mediocre acting (namely by Zheng Shuang) and historical characters behaving uncharacteristically love-lorn. Hawick Lau did a fine job here, except that his default face was a frown and he lacked the aura of a great emperor as Kang Xi was, according to history. His female lead had only two expressions - a poker face and a depressed demeanour. I do have to applaud the acting of Vin Zhang (Rong Ruo) and Edward Zhang (Chang Qing), as they executed their roles very well, especially that of the latter. Overall, this show could have been much more dramatic and intense, given the refreshing storyline. Oh well :(