Today I’m going to talk about The road to splendor, which stars Ding Yuxi and Deng Enxi. This is actually the first time I’m watching Deng Enxi’s drama and I’m impressed. The road to splendor has dethroned Fate Chooses you, as my second favorite drama for 2026. Pursuit of jade is still the first one. Anyways let’s talk about The road to splendor.
Storyline
Story wise, The Road To Splendor has a simple and solid storyline. It was engaging, it was entertaining. It’s been a while since I came across a drama with a great storyline.So the story is all about the ninth lady of the fu family, Quanhui, I’m just going to call her Quanhui. She was supposed to be married by Jingxiu. But Jingxiu decided to marry Quanhui’s friend after both of them framed Quanhui. They said she was secretly dating Madam Zou’s little brother. Which ruined her reputation. This drama takes place in an era where people valued reputation more than their own lives.
So Quanhui’s grandma planned to take her grand daughter’s life as a way of saving the family’s reputation. But she is saved by Zhao Ling, who was a salt smuggler. Her family continued with Qanhui’s funeral, then Zhao Ling used a fake wedding to let Quanhui talk to her mother. After that, Quanhui’s mother asked Zhao Ling to take Quanhui to the capital and she will pay him extra when they get there. That’s where the story actually starts.
Quanhui was born in a rich family, she never saw the struggles of the world. So her journey to the capital opened her eyes and her mindset changed. The whole journey was a learning curve for her. She was adjusting to this new life. Then along the way the met the crown prince, now an emperor and Quanhui convinced Zhao Ling to become an official.
The first 18 episodes were focused on the struggles Zhao Ling and Quanhui had to face as a young couple that was starting from scratch. Zhao Ling was in the military camp and he had lots of challenges there. Qianhui was also trying to fit in and support Zhao Ling. Because Zhao Ling had to be promoted inorder for them to go to the capital. Quanhui also wanted to clear her name and restore her reputation.
From episode 19 until the last episode, the story was focused more on schemes and politics. Zhao Ling was now a high ranking official, who was fighting corruption. I noticed that women actually had more influence when it comes to court matters. They would have a scene where madam wei would ask Quanhui for a favor that is related to politics. Then the next episode, madam wei gets what she asked for. Men were in court, women were at home but women influenced big decisions in court. Quanhui also managed to secure a position for Shen Congsi. But she’s not a court official. So in this drama, women had power from the very first episode. Major decisions were influenced by them, especially when they were having their gathering.
I found myself interested in the schemes between Madam Yu and Quanhui. They were going toe to toe, it was a battle that required intelligence. The showdown between them showed how smart Quanhui was, especially for someone her age. I even remember Madam Yu telling her husband to never underestimate Quanhui. At home it’s Madam Yu vs Qianhui. In court it’s Zhao Ling vs Lord Yu. Then Quanhui and Zhao Ling began to notice that they’re slowly becoming like Madam Yu and Lord Yu. Because of all the scheming and plotting. But so far, the story was good.
Chemistry
It’s been a while since I saw a drama with good chemistry. Quanhui and Zhao Ling were natural, from the very first episode. I think Ding Yixi and Deng Enxi were a couple in Melody of golden age, maybe that’s why they’re so natural at being a couple. I didn’t watch Melody of golden age, but for The road to splendor, it wasn’t just romance. It was also the intelligence chemistry between the leads. They were complementing each other. Quanhui is very good at assessing the situation and coming up with plans. Zhao Ling is daring, he’s fearless, he knows how to react in different situations. He is a survivor. The storyline also helped to nurture the chemistry between them. They were starting from the scratch, lived as a couple. They were looking out for each other.
Camera Angles
I’m a fan of the camera angles they used in the drama. They were very creative with them. At some point they would use props such as mirrors in the scene. The camera is fixed on the mirror and you can see the reflection of the characters in the mirror. They did the same thing with water on the pavement. They showed the reflections on the water. They really knew which angle to use and at what moment. Sometimes they used close up angles to focus on the emotions and facial expressions of the characters. Sometimes they used the drone shot, which was very impressive especially when Zhao Ling was busy raiding houses.
Martial Arts Choreography
This drama actually had much better martial arts choreography than most 2026 dramas. The fight scenes were well choreographed and entertaining to watch. I feel like we got less fight scenes but it doesn’t really matter that much. They already had fantastic fight scenes.
Madam Zou
Madam Zou is one of the characters that made my blood boil. At first, I was feeling sorry for her and her little brother. But as time passed, her actions started to annoy me. What made things worse is how she was always getting away with her crimes. And she would show up again to cause trouble. She had a plot armor. If they didn’t get rid of her, I would have dropped the drama. She was getting on my nerves.
Yu Jingxu
If I remember correctly, Yu Jingxu played a part in the attack at the border by the neighboring country. That was the time he was doing his best to get rid of Zhao Ling. He had a hand in the attack but the writers somehow forgot about that. They seemed to have forgotten about all of his actions when he was trying to make Quanhui return with him to the capital. It’s like he never did anything there. But the I did feel sorry for the poor guy. He barely had any freedom in his life. His mother decided almost everything for him. He was also used by his father. Every person who is close to him, was using him. I didn’t like jingxu but I did feel sorry for him. He never lived his own life.
Lord Wei
There’s this character called Lord Wei. He’s barely on screen, he just makes quick appearances in a number of episodes. I realized that he is always wearing the same clothes. If we exclude his court uniform, he is always wearing the same clothes. Which made me wonder, does he have a wardrobe filled with the same clothes or, he just happens to only own those clothes? I think they even said something when the drama was about to end, a servant went to madam wei and told her that lord wei is wearing fresh clothes today.
Concubine Wu
I didn’t think concubine Wu was going to be an important part of the story. When she arrived, she seemed to be one of those characters who show up to finish a plot and then they’re gone. But she stayed until the last episode. The story of her arrival with her aunt, was boring at first. But then she started having more screentime and dialogues, she then became one of my favorite characters in the drama. She didn’t want anything much. She just wanted freedom and a stable life. Her aunt was using her as a tool for marriage, but she had a different view. Her character development was also good.
The road to splendor ending
The road to splendor has a happy ending, but it wasn’t a perfect ending. I think the main culprit didn’t get the punishment he deserved. He wasn’t yet punished or even charged. Which also makes you wonder what was the whole point of other characters gathering evidence. Because even after exposing him, he was allowed to go home, instead of being arrested on the spot. I remember Zhao Ling got arrested on the spot. General Mo also got arrested on the spot. When they were arrested, they didn’t have the chance to go home or even talk to their wives. But the main culprit managed to leave the palace, went home and still managed to burn some of the evidence. I understand that maybe they wanted to give us a different ending. But does it make sense to let a high risk criminal leave the palace? While 2 or 3 episodes back, Zhao Ling immediately was arrested in the palace. Does it really make sense?
And if the emperor let him go, as a way of giving him an opportunity to surrender his assets. Then what was the point of all the scheming against the salt corruption? The emperor is supposed to have zero tolerance to corruption. Why would he let a criminal go? He can easily arrest him and issue an edict to take those assets.
Madam Yu was also busy scheming and doing bad things. She even took someone’s life, but she also got away with the crime. She was never punished for her crimes. But at the end it looked like she had a mental problem. I guess that’s the punishment for her actions?
And I also have something to complain about. So on the last episode, we see Yu Jingxu’s son as a toddler. Then we see Zhao Ling and Quanhui’s daughter. She seems to be much older than Jingxu’s son. Keep in mind that Jingxu’s son turned 1 the time Quanhui arrived to the capital. He should be older than Qianhui’s daughter. He should be the one who is walking around and talking. That’s the way I see it. Unless if there was a time skip in between.
But the question remains, do I recommend The Road To Splendor. I highly do recommend this drama and if I get time, I would rewatch it.
Another thing I liked about this drama was that they didn’t fake puking. Quanhui puked, Concubine Wu puked, and Zhao Ling puked. They all spat something to give the impression of puking. They don’t have to puke for real for real. But they should spit something. I’m tired of watching characters puking but you don’t see anything. They just make it look like they’re puking they make the puking sounds but then it doesn’t feel real. So for this drama, even if it’s just acting, they invested in making puking scenes feel real. The actors spat something.
That’s my review on The Road To Splendor. With that being said, I’m rating this drama 8/10.
