For me Love and the Emperor was a surprising drama. From the first episode and the trailer I thought that it would be a really fluffy sweet drama about food and everything will go relatively smoothly and the focus would just be on food and the fluffy romance between the OTP and the second lead couple but turns out I was so wrong.
Instead it focuses on a love that is destined to be doomed and how the characters react to that when they are faced with that situation underneath the jokes and fluffy exterior. Unfortunately it’s not marketed and packaged in that way and hence it’s a little heavier and serious than a drama that you were planning to watch without using your brain and that’s also why I think it has such low ratings.
The plot focuses on Li Xiao a girl who has just realized that her crush and also her boss from the VR game company she works for has just been using her and doesn’t care about her at all. So to prove her worth she decides to go for the hardest level in the game they developed in the first test run. Things go wrong with the gaming system so now she’s stuck in the gaming world where she loses a life in the hands of the Emperor’s evil consort but is luckily saved by the Emperor. However despite she and the Emperor loving each other, Li Xia knows that it’s just a game and she will have to leave so she never dares to accept him properly. The other couple is the Emperor’s elder brother and Li Xia as good friend the female general and again because they hold so much military power each they cannot be together either. To back this all up is a conspiracy that threatens the security of the Nan Ting kingdom that the ML rules over.
Acting
I really like the acting of the actress who portrays the FL. I think she really expresses the pain and the hesitancy very well throughout the drama it was a big contrast to the acting of the male lead who is a little….. inexperienced. I think one of the things that is putting me off a little is that he seems to have more chemistry with his fiancée (not the FL) even though he’s not supposed to love her.
Production
It’s evident that it’s a low budget drama so everything is kept to the minimal, hence most of the characters only have a few costume changes. However the color scheme is quite pretty and I suppose they used some of the money on the VR effects.
Plot
The plot is quite simple, a love triangle and the powerful handsome male lead falling in love with the cinderella female lead who has a unique skill. However what I like about it is the execution of it. Everything seems to make sense except the end which was a little rushed and I especially like the short monlogues of the FL at the end which adds a nice touch.
You can find the subbed episodes here: https://productiveprocrastination.site/category/love-and-the-emperor/
Productive Procrastination 
I just want to say “Thank you” for subbing!🥰
LikeLike
Reading your review about the character I also agreed. I felt like the male lead are more interested in his Fiance. His expression and kindness are more gentle towards the princess. however, the scene where he was in the cottage near the border with the FL, I can tell he was in pain by her expression of tears. He is lacking a bit in acting, but the FL’s awesome acting skill does make up for me. You can actually see her struggle of holding it in. Great drama. I’m glad you pick up this project. Much appreciated.
LikeLike
Same here, i also like actress who portray female lead character. This is the first time i saw her work and definitely worth to watch. She can act and has good chemistry with male lead. Hope you continue to sub this one as this is heartwarming drama which give you lesson of true love. Thank you so much for your hard work!
LikeLike
Hi I found agent x episodes here that too upto 15 only. why you discontinued translation of agent x? I truly wanna watch but just waiting. Does this have already subbed completely somewhere, please let me know.
LikeLike
Yes I will be continuing it’s just sort of on the back burner so I pick it back up once in a while when I have time. I don’t believe anyone is subbing it anywhere else
LikeLike
Hi. I thought you usually picked shorter dramas but then you went full speed and subbed Love and Redemption, which is 59 episodes long. So I am wondering if you still plan on subbing My Amazing Bride. I think the first 9-10 episodes are subbed on YouTube, not sure about the quality of the subs tho, but it has been stuck that way for a long time. I love dramas with cooking and was really happy that you subbed Chef Hua and Chef Fang. So I am really interested in My Amazing Bride since there is cooking and the plot seems different with the male lead being a child in the body of a man.
Do you plan on subbing it in the future or did you drop it because it is not that good?
LikeLike
At the moment I am subbing beauty private kitchen and love and the emperor so I’ll be looking for a new drama after I finish love and the emperor
LikeLike
My suggestion would be to finish those dramas first which you have taken up but have dropped due to various reasons because viewers of such shows are already at wait. Thank you!!
LikeLike
Agree! I am here for agent x. Even if it’s side project kindly release a epi once in a week, that would be great.
LikeLike
You’re totally right about the misleading marketing. While I started the drama expecting the usual fluff (nothing wrong with those once in a while), it got serious pretty fast though not lacking in humour. Luckily you picked it up for subs so I can actually understand and I’m always looking forward to those. Thank you!
I admit, I sneak-peeked at the unsubbed ending on YT, didn’t want to have a bad surprise.
LikeLike
When I read, she stuck in the game because of a mistake of game processing it reminded me of this Korean series ” memories of Alahambra”, I started watching it because of the lead casts but then it got so tedious……I just wanted to get the hell out of that movie…..the ML was stuck in the game for years trying to survive, like a game become a reality , if you enter and gets kill you actually does!….. luckily he got to the last and final stage where he saved himself…..they didn’t even show him return, it was jux an indication that he saved himself, figured what went wrong with the game and mended it…………….if this drama is anything like that one, I am just gonna slide.
LikeLike
No it’s different from memories of alahambra. It focuses more on the relationship between the ML and the FL rather than surviving the game because she’s pretty much at the height of her career when the ML falls in love with her and the fact that she can be revived after “dying” and it hints that she can leave after all her lives were lost which is why it’s a fluffy drama. At first I thought it was going to be a tragedy because she keeps dying.
LikeLike