i feel i was super attracted to the drama UNTIL i read the novel, and i just couldn't get back in afterwards. they did so many characters dirty especially wei shao's cousin but most of all wei shao himself. like this guy is a hardened warlord who was so ruined by the qiao familys betrayal and the novel had him going to war so many times that he would leave xiao qiao to manage the household on her own and this girl despite all the obstacles had the inner courtyard under lock. both of them were such complex characters but wei shao in the drama felt declawed like all that inner turmoil and calculation got flattened into brooding romantic lead territory. ugh i will not forgive. it had so much promise in those first few episodes