For chivalrous women who want to walk the rivers and lakes and help the weak, they have to climb a mountain called "gender difference" more than male heroes. Many times, because "you are a woman", women have to be trapped in a place where they can't live their lives the way they want.
Xu Mu 'e, played by Lin Jiayu, is such a woman caught in Mulan's predicament.
Her father may be the police chief of the local yamen. When he was young, he studied with Taoist Bai Mei for many years, and inherited the sword to cut demons from his master.
If Xu Mu 'e is a man, he must be the heir of her father's sword cutting. Even if she doesn't want it, she will scold and force her to inherit it.
But because she is a daughter, even though she loves to dance with knives and guns and has the talent to learn martial arts, her father is still unwilling to teach her martial arts. Instead, he just wants her to follow the rules, learn piano, chess and calligraphy at home, become a gentle and virtuous lady, and find a good family to marry.
Xu Mu 'e had to practice in secret. After the cruel flower thief appeared in the city, she disguised herself as a man and went out for a secret investigation.
In this process, she got to know Gu Xiangru, a weak doctor played by Chen Xiaodong, and fell in love with him. However, Gu Xiangru, who saw through his daughter's identity, had no affection for Mu 'e, and he preferred the gentle and weak satrap's daughter Lin Yuefu.
Gu Xiangru, like Mu E's father, thinks that women "should look like women". Filial piety to parents, serving husbands and raising children are what they should do. As for slaying demons and getting justice, men should do it.
Even if he gradually fell in love with Mu E, Gu Xiangru couldn't really get rid of prejudice and fell in love with her.
Although it's a story of a man and two women, it doesn't unfold like other love triangle stories.
Finding Gu Xiangru's intention, Mu 'e did not feel sad, but was different from other women trapped in the boudoir. She saw a wider world besides love.
Between becoming the woman you want and becoming the woman you want, Mu E chose the former. Love is not the only thing in life. She chose her own ideal.
Later, Gu Xiangru was confused by the body of the white fox demon, so Mu E had to stab Lin Yuefu with the demon sword. Although Lin Yuefu had died before and would not be resurrected without being stabbed by a demon sword, in Gu Xiangru's eyes, Mu E deliberately killed Lin Yuefu because of jealousy.
After breaking with Gu Xiangru, Mu 'e's father was framed and embezzled his salary, and was later killed by a killer sent by the satrap. Mu E inherited the sword to cut the demon, and Fang, a childhood friend, died innocently because he was desperate to protect Mu E and his mother.