The female lead (FL) and male lead (ML) are some of the most realistic and well developed characters I've read (in CNovels lol).

The FL is so, so refreshing to me - for one, she's 26/27!!!! Hooray for no adult-transmigrating-into-a-teenager's body! And she acts her age (for the most part) !!! The FL is intelligent, has strong moral principles, practical, confident, adaptable, yet can also be stubborn and even petty and arrogant at times but she has her heart in the right place. She isn't some perfect assassin/miracle doctor/etc cold beauty who is ruthless and only cares about herself. No, she is flawed but she cares about other people and is able to admit her mistakes. The best part is she is actually written struggling, going through a storm of emotions, but always pulling through. She's really tenacious and hardworking, and as she struggles through adapting to the ancient world to find someone she didn't even know, I truly sympathized with her - something that isn't always possible with the 1-dimensional protagonists of this genre.

As for the ML..... he was so surprisingly wonderful, I'm not sure how I can read another of these types transmigrating into Ancient China novels and not want the MLs to be like this one. Unlike most of the MLs in this genre, he isn't cold and unemotional and ruthless, he doesn't treat others like they are beneath him and best of all, he doesn't treat women like they are useless and disgusting creatures to him. In fact, at first I thought the ML would be somewhat boring, he was really patient and kind with the FL since the beginning but as their relationship grows, we start to see hidden sides to him that make him more than just the kind-hearted soldier who saved the FL and another young woman. He's very intelligent and capable, he's patient and kind, but he's also arrogant and likes to be praised and he's sly - but not really in a malicious way, more like tricking this young, rich and naive official to pay for his travel expenses, for example. He is a breath of fresh air, a real human being that I could understand why the modern FL would be attracted to him.

[If fo you can't tell....I really LOVE the ML hahahaha, he's just my favorite type of ML]

As for side characters.... tbh, the side characters aren't as developed as the main leads but that's okay for me, I still really enjoy the story. BYL, the rich and naive official, I mentioned is hilarious and his relationship to both FL amd ML is great! Also the Yue Lao is fun too hahaha.

At first the plot seems sort of out there - she has to go to the past to search for her supposed soulmate who she has never met??? But imo that makes it much more refreshing than the typical betrayed-by-sister-and-bf and killed before suddenly transmigrating with no real reason. Not to the say the latter isn't okay, it's whatever tbh, I can suspend my belief for this genre, but it's nice to see the transmigration have actual logic.... even if it IS

on the supernatural side lol.

I also really enjoyed that it was the FL as herself who transmigrated - or well.... more like body hopped into the past? Since she's in her PJs when she finds herself in a tree lol! Like.... there's no taking over someone else's body and stuff, which is also very refreshing.

Anyway, the plot starts moving somewhat slowly at the beginning because the FL really has to adapt to the ancient world where she knows nobody and has virtually no support [except for her savior LOL] unlike most FLs. It's really realistic, for the most part, and I enjoyed seeing her use her skills as a criminal psychologist to make a living when she got the chance to.

There's also a lot of solving of cases but at the same time it doesn't detract from the FL's original goal, so the dose of mystery is great for a mystery lover like me!!

EDIT: One thing I found is that unlike a lot of CNovels, the plot is much better structured here. We aren't hit smack in the face with the MC being betrayed by her half-sister / lover / etc and then boom, she's reborn. Instead we're allowed to first meet the MC and understand a little of her normal life before she's sent to the past, allowing us to better know the character and her story as well be willing to root for her. In most CNovels, we're just hit with the character and practically forced to sympathize with the MC bc she's going through something obviously horrible.... but since we don't really know her, it feels empty and lacking in depth, more shock-value than anything. Thankfully this doesn't happen here.

IMO, this is how romance should be written. It's very gradual but at a good, REALISTIC pace and the best part is that the FL and ML become

friends before considering each other romantically. Like, they really do become friends, comrades, etc. that rely on each other (moreso the FL than the ML lol, but I don't mind tbh since it's not like she has any power in this world) and end up forming a real relationship full of mutual care, trust, and understanding. Paired, of course, with the gradual growing fondness that they have for each other that later manifests into true feelings of love~~~

Like..... idk, if you've read many of these novels, you'd be as blown away as I am. For one, the couple actually interacts like real people, not just love at first sight or oh-the-modern-FL's-soul-in-previous-weak-body-is-interesting, I-this-prince-better-keep-an-eye-on-her -.- Like their relationship ACTUALLY develops, and they do get annoyed at each other (moreso FL than ML again hahaha, ML is kind of.... shameless at times and likes to tease her) and have banter, but it's never malicious nor is there really any love-hate sh*t that can get rather tiring.

Now, this is where some people with higher standards might have... problems? The translation isn't the best, it isn't very polished and has errors here and there, but they aren't to the point where it's unreadable. The important part is that the general feeling and meaning of the story is gotten across and I still enjoy the story very much, even if it isn't the most seamless translation ever. I also want to thank the translators for their hard work, I don't mind the slow translations since I know this story is long and the chapters are really long too!