Female lead gave me big Mulan-esque vibes and really elevated the manhua for me. She's quietly shrewd, cunning, and breaks alot of female tropes.

Male lead is masculine, straightforward and perhaps not as fleshed out as his female counterpart but he is completely likeable. His character arc (from baddie to goodie) is really endearing, believable and well-paced.

Art 10/10
Beautiful. It's incredibly clean.

Story 8/10
The ruling family is killed, this includes our main character's family. She manages to flee (because, as a girl, what threat can she pose to the throne...right?). She swears revenge but for now she's on the run and this means she's got to adapt to a whole range of new lives and new identities. Part of the charm is following her journey as she meets new characters that each play their bit the maturation of her character and progression towards her goal. There's also a lot of war/tactics-type dialogue that doesn't overpower the plot and is easy to follow.

Romance 10/10
The romance here is slow to develop and quite subtle - might leave many readers wondering if there are any feelings at all but by the last few chapters I think the love interest is pretty canon. Also no love triangles or any drama here.

NOTE: The manga is on hiatus (because of legal issues between publisher v mangaka) so the frustrating part is: just where the romance is finally blossoming the chapters have stopped.


Recommendations
If you like this you'll DEFINITELY like Feng Nong's light novel which you can read here: http://moonbunnycafe.com/a-lonesome-fragrance-waiting-to-be-appreciated/.
Characters & story are extremely similar - but light novel is more dramatic and, most importantly, completed.