- Male protagonist: Lin Yan, who comes from a poor family but is talented, tough and tolerant, and possesses idealism and practical strategies. Because he eloped with the heroine Su Wan, who was born into a noble family, he was stigmatized as a "rebellion" and started his career from scratch.
- Core conflict: the "moral stain" left by elopement and the regulatory barriers to career advancement, the collision between ideals and ambitions and the unspoken rules of officialdom, and the pull between personal emotions and political choices.
- The tone of the story: passion and forbearance are intertwined. It has both the power of the game of officialdom and the warmth of love, highlighting the struggle and counterattack of the little people in the fate and rules.
