GENRES: Historical, Comedy, Romance
SUMMARY: A family of daughters find love, reject advances, scheme, and settle for their respective perfect partners.
THIS SHOW HAS EVERYTHING: Fluffy pugs, embroidery ball games, lion dances, shadow puppets, civil service exams, spankings, jade, tea, pearl quilts, widows, widowers, loathsome in-laws, found families, found siblings, corpses, fake corpses, scandal, ruined reputations, sea-faring husbands, trauma, justice, and family strength.
HOT TAKE: Yes, this is a romance overall, but there were WAY more mysteries happening and puzzles solved than I was expecting!
I fell in love with these ladies from minute one. They are caring, brave, no-nonsense, vulnerable, and worthy of all the good things in life. I know the point of the show is to laugh at how the women have got everything handled and their husbands, though 'perfect matches,' will always be a few steps behind, but it took a WHILE for me to stomach the poor decision scheming these husbands got themselves into in the first handful of episodes.
Kangning and Chai An: Their flirtation was so strong at the beginning, I was actually pretty sad that after they got married they didn't team up for more scheming, or really much else, afterwards.
Shouhua and Du Yangxi: I get that his heart was cold and her heart was still wallowing in widowhood, but for me, these I would vote this couple least romantic, fun to watch, or enjoyable to root for.
Fuhui and Fan Lianghan: I have no idea what Fuhui was thinking when she married this rube. Although he's an adorable child, he's still a child mentally, and I wanted more for her.
Haode and Shen Huizhao: Perhaps the best couple? Other than the fact that he verbally iced her for the first few months of marriage and then got his head hit so hard, twice, that his personality shifted enough to enjoy himself, I enjoyed their legal team-ups and puzzle-solving sessions.
Leshan and Yang Xian: I get that Yang Xian had a horrible upbringing and never really learned to express himself, but he didn't have to be SUCH a dick to Leshan in his feeble attempt to show her that he adored her more than life itself. Also, he left her husbandless for THREE YEARS.
Shout out to Mama Li who is a sinner, a saint, a warhorse, and a delicate flower.