Chinese Drama 2019

Royal Nirvana (Chinese Drama Review & Summary)

• Genre: Historical Costume Drama Fiction, Romance
• Release Date: November 2019
• Origin: China
• Cdrama: 60 Episodes

 

Cast

• Luo Jin as Xiao Ding Quan (Crown Prince)
• Li Yi Tong as Gu A’Bao/Lu Wen Xi
• Jin Han as Prince Xiao Ding Tang
• Zheng Ye Cheng as Gu Feng’en
• Miao Pu as Empress Zhao
• Zhang Zhijian as LI Bai Zhou
• Huang Zhizhong as Emperor Xiao
• Liu Yitong as Lu Wen Pu
• Lu Yan qi as Princess Qi
• Roy Liu as Genereal Gu Su Lin
• Wang Yu as Chang Nian
• Wang Jing Song as Lu Shi Yu
• Hao Lei as Maid Zhang
• Wang Rui Zi as Wu Nei Ren

The story is about an able Crown Prince, who is a dutiful son but is seen by the King as a threat to his power and authority.

Struggle for power when they all need is love, love, love. Love is all you need! LOL

Episode 1

For some reason, the Emperor does not like his son, the Crown Prince, Xiao Ding Quan.  He favours his younger sneaky son, Prince Xiao Ding Tang.

He thinks the Crown Prince interferes too much including in politics.  And he had not wanted to get married yet as well which caused some unsettledness with the people.

However, the Crown Prince is very popular with the Ministers and generals because he was very just.

The capping ceremony had to take place in three days which would make him officially the heir to the Emperor.

Episode 2

It was the most eventful capping ceremony.

It was interrupted by the apparent suicide of Maid Zhang who was the late Empress’s personal maid.

Actually Maid Zhang saw and overheard that Prince Xiao Ding Tang was planning to disrupt the capping ceremony by allowing a servant he was having an affair with to drop some negative propaganda about what happened to the old Empress three years ago.

Maid Zhang who was now in a coma, who was pushed by the servant, made herself very guilty and also smeared the crown prince.

The King had ordered the Crown Prince to ask for punishment during the next day’s levee.

But the Crown Prince used emotional blackmail against the king telling him that he treats him differently from Xiao Ding Tang, why is that?

He said that he accepts that he created a little treason three years ago by insisting to be let into the palace to say goodbye to his dying mother.  Forcing the guards to open the palace gate could have potentially been endangering the king but he had a valid reason.

He also said that he has copied the document his brother had written and had the copy hidden by Maid Zhang.

Maid Zhang came to from her coma but she was protecting the servant who maybe her daughter.  Now she said that she was working alone.

Maid Zhang collapsed before they could find out more and the whereabouts of the documents.

The servant girl was found by the new empress servant and asked her as she was the closest to Maid Zhang, would she know when Maid Zhang hid the document?

So exciting.  Luo Jin is gorgeous and Jin Han’s smirking face is annoying.  Both good actors.

Episode 3

This episode is pure fine acting.  It was so tense.

But again, all they needed really was love. 🙂

The Crown Prince with his cousin, Gu Feng’en, was running against time searching for the document which they found in a locker with the late empress’ broken jade hairpin.

The maid/lover of Prince Qi was being strangled to death so she won’t talk. But before she became unconscious, she realised that the Prince had betrayed her and only playing with her.

The Crown Prince and Gu Feng’en were just coming out of the courtyard when the Emperor arrived.  His commander instructed the Crown Prince to hand in whatever document they had found that would make Prince Qi guilty.

The Crown Prince was forced to do so and when the emperor unrolled the scroll, it was a blank canvas.

The Emperor said the arrest both the crown Prince and Gu Feng’en and ordered that the Crown Prince will be tried during the morning court session.

Prince Qi was rather gleeful but the Emperor gave him a slap.  The Emperor knew that both his sons were lying somehow.

The  King’s commander went to see the Crown Prince, who was under house arrest.  He told the prince that the Emperor had said that if the Crown Prince pleaded guilty he will not take it as an affront.  He will protect him.

Meanwhile, the emperor was having a nostalgic trip down the memory lane as he was looking at the screen painting of the late empress.  He said that he adored the young Crown Prince.  He used to hurry to play with the boy every opportunity he got but every time he showed up the boy was scared shitless, so much so that the boy cried for his mommy and uncle, the General.  The boy even denied that he was his father’s son.  LOL

The Emperor felt that he had been delegated to being just another uncle.

Ahhh

During the morning court, after rituals had been observed, the Crown Prince readily admitted that he was guilty of trying to frame Prince Qi.  Everything that was being blamed on him was all true.

His teacher, Lu Shi Yu could not believe what he was hearing.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor was begging the Emperor to punish the Crown Prince with the toughest penalty to be had.

Thinking of what the Emperor’s commander had said last night, the Crown Prince was surprised when he found himself chuck out to think about what he had done in a temple and that the capping ceremony would probably never to take place.

The Crown Prince’s teacher begged on his knees saying that the matter is so obviously full of holes, it should be investigated by the three branches of government (whatever)

The Crown Prince told his teacher that there was no use.  He was guilty of everything.

But then the Chancellor kept pushing and pushing that the crown prince should be punished severely and not only that, his teacher should also take responsibility for not teaching him right, the teacher’s family should also be made responsible tor the teacher’s ineptness.

The Crown Prince finally had had enough.  From being conciliatory, he became royally arrogant and told the Chancellor to stop interrupting because he will tell the full story.

And that was, the ‘dead’ maid was not quite dead after all.

She came with the copy document of what Prince Qi had supposed to have written.

Prince Qi tried to deny it at first but the Crown Prince said that the maid is closely affiliated with Prince Qi.

The Emperor told Prince Qi to tell everything so he was forced to confess.

Episode 4

The Emperor had tasked the Crown Prince to deal with punishing Prince Qi.

The Crown Prince was methodical about it but rather lenient because he knew the Emperor favours Prince Qi.  Nevertheless, the Crown Prince had forced the hand of the Emperor to exact the final punishment for Prince Qi which was banishment to the fief, which was not too bad as the Crown Prince could have had his head.

Prince Qi knew how to show affection with the Emperor and calls him ‘Daddy’ while the Crown Prince had always treated his father as the monarch rather than his parent.

The emperor had always noticed this especially when he was given a diary/letter written by the Crown Prince saying that it was all calumny.  His testimony was to please the palace and the people, it was all lies as he was constricted living in his father’s palace.

The Emperor did feel a little guilty about the Crown Prince.

Luo Jin is such a good actor, but I think his Crown Prince is the soggiest royal ever.  He cries at the drop of a hat.

His character is so lonely he needed much love and affection which he only gets from his teacher, who had been discouraging him to see him anymore.

The Crown Prince is all grown up and he was advised to show more affectionate with his real parents.

The Crown Prince was shocked when he found out that his teacher had already written his retirement letter and wish to leave the palace and live in the countryside.

He burnt the letter and said that he can’t do without his teacher as the situation in the palace could only get worse and he will be all alone.

 

 

 

Episode 60

I had a look at the last 10 minutes of this drama and what do you have, the Crown Prince so tearful again.  Seriously, man up, man!