Chinese Drama 2020

The Sleepless Princess (Chinese Drama Review & Summary)

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• Genre: Historical Costume Drama Fiction, Romance, Sleep Disorder
• Release Date: 30 July 2020
• Origin: China
• Cdrama: 35 Episodes

 

Cast:

• Zheng Ye Cheng as General Xue Yao
• Hu Yi Xuan as Xu Chu Yue
• Yang Lin as Xu Xing Chen
• Huang Can Can as Su Nan Nan
• Lin Xin Yi as Tao Yao
• David Chou as Luo Ji
• Peng Bi Yao as Na Xi
• Ashin Shu as Bao Li Qi
• Guo Jun as Emperor

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Episode 1

Isn’t Zheng Ye Cheng getting more handsome as he rolls from one drama to another?!!!

Anyway, this first episode is really quirky.

It started with Xue Yao playing the sitar to his sleeping missus.  The children from their manor came to ask for another story.

Xue Yao went to see if his sleeping wife is comfortable and then he sat down to tell a story.

It is about a nocturnal princess, who is awake at night and then as the sun sets in she would go to sleep.

This insomniac princess was in a bit of a pickle.  Her uncaring father, the emperor, had arranged for her to marry the playboy of the town.

Chu Yue would rather kill herself that marry the playboy so she threatened to kill herself but the emperor did not even send a message to stop her.  So she put her neck on the noose and was ready to kill herself when one of the maids came running in with a letter saying that the marriage was withdrawn because the princess has an incurable disease.

Chu Yue was so happy despite half-strangled by the rope.

The Princess has a gift when she sleeps she dreams and the dream comes true.

One night she was dreaming that she will be assassinated so before the assassins could come, she ran out of her manor to ask for help,

And true enough, the assassins came and were threatening her with death when a well-disguised Xue Yao turned up to save her.

The princess had been shot by a poisoned arrow.  Xue Yao was sucking the poison from her neck when the emporeor and his men turned up.

The Emperor ordered to shoot the arrows towards the assassins.  He was so concerned for himself he did not think twice to sacrifice the life of his daughter despite others telling him that the princess was on the thick of it.

Anyway, Xue Yao protected the princess as much as he could but he got shot in the chest so he left.

The Emperor called the doctor to wake the princess up for interrogation.

She woke up for a few seconds and then promptly slept again.  The emperor was so annoyed.

General Xue Yao’s popularity was soaring because he is an able military man.

To test his allegiance to the crown, the Emperor ordered him to marry Chu Yue

As the marriage was a direct edict from the Emperor, Xue Yao could not really refuse so a wedding was put together

The sleeping princess was on her way to her groom when her brother Xingchen turned up to put a stop to the wedding.

General Xue Yao however was not stopping the wedding because it was ordered by the emperor.

He brought the sleeping princess to the wedding chamber and then he left her still asleep or pretending to be asleep.

When she woke up completely she noticed that she had turned into a big mouse.

Episode 2

Not big mouse but a girl with rodent characteristics like nibbling.  If it can be gnawed, she’s at it.

She later ended up in the study where there are a lot of bamboo scriptures. When she had her fill of ‘food’ she fell back inside a chest and promptly fell asleep.

She woke up looking directly to her new husband who said that she must have turned into a mouse and made so much mess but then he qualified that she has not got the teeth for it as Chu Yue had gone back to her normal self.

Anyway, Xue Yao thought she overheard him with his bodyguard talking about his late brother. He warned her that she will be very very sorry is she blab.

She told him that she had not heard anything but he did not believe her.  He then returned her to their bridal room and dumped her on the bed, which collapsed as it was the first casualty to her gnawing frenzy.

Xue Yao jumped on top of her to protect her from the falling bed canopy.  He then told her that her brother will be returning again and she should pretend that their marriage is one of consented or even love-match.  Otherwise, he would return and share the bed with her and make her his wife for real.

This story is still confusing to me.  Apparently a birthstone is inside of Chu Yue which makes her metamorphose into an animal from the zodiac signs.  It is now her 10th change.  There is another two left.  After the two, she would turn into a living dead, a zombie.

Meanwhile, Xue Yue is determined to unearth what caused the death of his brother.

Episode 3

Xue Yue suspect Chuyue being in cahoot with the assassins.  To make her talk, he made her a target practise by putting an apple on top of her head.

Chuyue was nervous at first but she said she was resigned to her fate.  And told him that he married her while she was in a coma (asleep), when she woke up she found that he was not really into the marriage, she closed her eyes and told him to do it.

Xue Yue felt guilty because he knew Chuyue did not have a say about the marriage.

Chuyue was really unhappy with being at Xue Yue’s manor so when her brother helped her leave the Xue’s manor and gave her an idol manor instead, she just loved it by Xue Yue forced her to return.

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Episode 7

Chuyue was kidnapped by the original man picked as her potential husband.  But he was sent a really horrid painting of Chuyue so he declined the match.

Now he saw her and saw that she was far from ugly so he kidnapped her.

She got rescued by Xueyue, who almost drowned protecting her but she rescued him back.

It would have been a real romantic scene as she realised that she actually quite like him and her maid said that he likes her too.

But her brother was determined to separate them so he told Xueyue that she was molested by Benhao, her kidnapper.

Chuyue was so annoyed so they are back again at square one.

Episode 8

Xueyue threw the belly band (panty?) tp Chuyue which was taken from Benahao apparently.

Chuyue was so annoyed to be suspected to having had a sexual relationship with another man.

Xueyue calmed down and went to see her again during the night and reassured her that she need not worry of anything because he was going to guard her while she sleeps.

Surprisingly she fell asleep even during the witching hour were she usually dreamt.  She was so surprised that she slept very well and not dreamt at all.

She went to see Xueyue and asked him what he did to her.  He really did not know what she was talking about but to get rid of her he told her will tell soon.

Su Can Can was not letting go of her one-sided love for Xueyue despite him already married.

She invited him pretending to be General Xu to their manor.

When he got there she was naked in the bath.  She threatened that if he leaves immediately she will tell everyone that he peeped on her.

She told him to pass the belly band to her.  Su Can Can happen to mention that noble ladies have an embroidered phoenix on their belly band, while commoners have mandarin ducks.

Xueyue remembered that the belly band he received from Benhao which was supposed to be the Princess’s had mandarin duck embroidery on it.  As a princess, Chuyue couldn’t be more noble or royal so the belly band was not hers.

Episode 9

Instead of being relieved, Xueyue suspected that it was another one of Chuyue and her brother’s tricks.

Chuyue then smelled the perfume on him and suspected that he had been with another woman.

So they had a fight.  He told her that she was free and she said she could not be happier.

Chiyue dreamt again and this time she saw Xueyue being seduced by another woman in red during Spring Festival.

Episode 10

Chuyue left the Xue mansion again and did not see her husband kneeling for hours in front of his ancestors (in his ancestral temple) because he told his aunt that Chuyue is his wife and his aunt must respect that.

Chuyue refused to go back with him at first but the emperor forced her to return.  But she said that she will stay with Xueyue for a month to find evidence that they make each other unhappy.

Xueyue is from a military background, mother and father died protecting the borders. His only brother also was a soldier but died rather mysteriously.  Xueyue was trying to find out how he died.

Chuyue had her 10th dream and the doctor told Tao Yao to report everything to him.  Apparently the birthstone that was magical was somehow ingested by Chuyue causing her to have her abnormal dreams.

Chuyue went to Xueyue and forced herself to sleep on a mattress next to to his bed.  She told him that she has dreams that are unusual which scares her.  She said that sleeping next to him comforts and prevents her from having dreams.  She asked to hold his little finger for good measure as she sleeps.

Xueyue woke up sleeping next to her the next morning thinking that she climbed into his bed but got confused when he was actually who went to her bed.

Episode 11

Xueyue was jealous of Chuyue’s close relationship with her brother Xingchen.

Chuyue and Xingchen had been closed since they were children as they had to look after each other after being constantly bullied by other children from the harem.

To get control of the three groups of military, Xingchen has to fight a general and then Xueyue himself.

Xueyue realised that Xingchen has some talent in martial arts when he defeated the general but Xueyue easily defeated him but noticed that Chuyue was crying over her brother which annoyed him as he said she cannot cry over other men while married to him.  Anyway, he granted the three military groups to be handled by Xingchen.

Xingchen would rather really be a merchant and making money but the emperor wanted him to become an official in court and that was the last thing he wanted so he would rather be in charge of the military.

Episode 12

Xueyao got information that Funlao owns a brothel who may have information about Xue Mo’s murder.

Who Funlao was, nobody knows.

Chuyue followed Xueyao to the brothel but she can’t get in being a woman. So she pretended to be a boy and even managed to get herself a job as a waiter.

She found Xueyao and his two bodyguards in one of the rooms with women with them serving them alcohol. Suddenly Chuyue twigged that one of the women looked like the one in her dream seducing Xueyao.

So she gatecrashed the little gathering and prevented Xueyao from drinking the love potion wine which incidentally was ordered by Xingchen to be given to Xueyao so he could tell his sister that Xueyao goes to brothels to be with women.

Xingchen turned out to be Funlao the owner of the brothel.

Chuyue was shocked when she found her little brother in the brothel and told him that he was a naughty boy and would be in trouble with the emperor if gets to find out.

Anyway, they were talking in a room and Xueyao turned up.  Xincheng just managed to hide in a cupboard.

Chuyue tried to distract Xueyao so Xincheng can get away.  She kissed Xueyao. She actually kissed him just like in her dream, which got changed because she kissed him rather than by w woman dressed in red with a flying bun hairdo.

Xueyao was annoyed with her at first but he can’t just be upset with her for long because she was so cute as a young boy.

But he wanted to know whose jade token was left ins the cupboard?  Who was she protecting?

Episode 13

Xueyao confirmed his suspicion that Xingchen was Funlao when he went to the brothel to return the jade waist token.

Xueyao asked him for information that Xingchen said he would help him with but he had to allow his sister to spend three days with him during commencing on the full moon.

But the assassin got to the brothel and took the letter that Xueyao wanted.

Tao drug a tea for Su Nan Nan who came to visit Xueyao to once again confess to him.

But the wine ended up with Chuyue and Xingchen instead.

Xingchen realised that they had been drugged by an aphrodisiac but he almost kissed his beloved sister while she has fainted.

Episode 14

This episode is a cryfest for me.

Having realised that he almost kissed his sister, Xingchen tried to distance himself from her.  He even had her removed from his manor when she visited him.

But she can’t take the idea that he was so sad.

She was still sitting on the doorstep of Xingchen’s manor when it started to rain.

Xueyao found her almost catatonic with sadness.  She told him that Xingchen was upset with her and she doesn’t know why.  When he is sad she is sad as well.

Xueyao used his great martial arts to open the closed gate and went into the Xingchen’s manor room which was guarded by his soldiers.

Xueyao was prepared to fight their way in but Xingchen suddenly opened the door and asked Xueyao to come in but not Chuyue.

Xingchen told Xueyao that he was giving his sister to him completely, he told Xueyao to likes and dislikes of Chuyue but Xueyao said that Chuyue would want real reason why he was cutting her off from his life.

Xingchen said loudly that Chuyue could hear from outside that he was tired of his sister.  She really doesn’t really know him. She forced want she likes to eat and what she likes to do on him but he did not really want them, he has got his own taste.

Chuyue was crashed!

Xueyao felt so sorry for his young wife who was grieving for her brother.  He told her that even biological siblings have natural separations but Chuyue still got him.

But poor Xingchen was so upset but can’t reconcile the awakening of the ghost in his heart which is attracted to his sister.

He decided not to see his sister anymore.

But Chuyue has other ideas.  She found out from Xueyao that her little brother is not the innocent child she thinks he is, he actually owns Funlao.

Chuyue was not shocked but cheered up because she suddenly had an idea of how to get to her brother.

Episode 15

She went to Funlao and hired herself as a singer.

Yueyao went to look for her at Funlao.

GrandAunt Xue went to look for both Yueyao and Chuyue at Funlao because they failed to turn up for lunch.

She turned into a pig. A very cute pig.

It then turned chaotic.  Xueyao kissed her over her veil.  He felt weird because her lips seemed to have turned into a snout.  He had a quick look but got destructed by all the commotion outside.

Then, Xincheng turned up to rescue Chuyue and brought her to Jinyang Palance as he can’t trust himself to look after her himself.

Episode16

She confessed to Xueyao that she turns into an animal from the zodiac sign but he was really too destructed about her connection to the death of his brother who might have been killed because he was suspected as the lover of the emperor’s favourite concubine Yue.

Chuyue told Xueyao that she’ll understand if he doesn’t like her to return to him anymore but she will wait for his answer the next morning because he does have a lot to process.  If he doesn’t turn up then she will assume that they were over.

But he did turn up and Chuyue was so happy.

What she did not know was that Xueyuo was going to use her as a bait for the assassins so Xueyao could get to their leader.

Episode 17

True to his word, Xueyao turned up in a ceremonial carriage to collect Chuyue, who was wearing an iridescent white hanfu that Xueyao had especially made for her.   She was so bright and shiny in her clothes, she could be seen from far and wide. It was her birthday as well.

Xueyao though was smitten by her vibrancy.

He did not bring her to the Xue Manor but instead, he took her to Lingxi Garden.

She was told that they will have a firework night for her birthday.

But what Xueyao planned did not pan out as Chuyue had taken it upon herself to surprise Xueyao with retracting her divorce demand.

She went to the pond gazebo where Nannan, who was wearing the same dress, found her.

They then bitched about each other until a gang of assassins came flying into the gazebo.

Nannan immediately protected Chuyue and told her to get away when she could and asked for help.

But Chuyue hid under a rock instead and thought that to get away she had to change her bright dress to one of the black ninjas’ outfit and it so happened that there is a collapsed ninja nearby with the same sizing of clothing as her.

So she was a masked ninja, but by this time Xueyao had turned up with the rest of his soldiers and beaten the assassins.

The assassin leader recalled those who are still alive and it so happened he saw ninja Chuyue who they dragged with them.

She was found out later.

Xingchen smacked Xueyao in the face because he failed to protect his sister.  He then warned Xueyao that will take his sister back away from Xueyao if he found her first.

“in your dreams” Xueyao said.

They gave chase to the assassins after they found Chuyue’s dress which was intact.  They concluded that she changed her clothes.

They went to the mountains.

Episode 18

Xueyao saw Chuyue hanging from a tree and if the rope is cut, she would fall down into a steep ravine.

Xueyao was able to defeat the assassins but when he came to the leader, who was holding on to the rope, he asked Xueyao if he wanted to hear about how his brother died.

The assassin then cut the rope and Chuyue started falling.

Xueyao had to make a quick choice: hear about his brother’s death or jump after Chuyue.

He jumped and hugged Chuyue until the fell on the ground.  He hugged her to him and she was so happy until he saw a poisonous snake about to attack Chuyue.  He warded it off with his hand and he got bitten.

Chuyue suck the poison out of his hand but he was fainting.

Impossibly thoughtful!  she brought a jar of medicine with her after she had changed from beautiful hanfu into a ninja outfit.

I must say if I had to meet a lover, I would probably bring a lipstick, not paracetamol or aspirin!  LOL

Anyway, she added the powdered medicine into some herbs and apply it to Xueyao’s hand.

During the night, poor Xueyao was delirious and started seeing Xingchen and Xueyao together.  He was begging Chuyue not to go with Xingchen.  He then grabbed the only to willing to be grabbed Chuyue to him and kissed her passionately.  He made her promised to stay with him because she is the only one for him.

Now it was Chuyue who was delirious with happiness and excitement.  She had her confession from a delirious man and she couldn’t be any happier.  So cute.

In the mountain, Xingchen was also camping after failing to find his sister.  He thought that he will take Chuyue with him for sure because she was not valued by Xueyao.

The next morning he found his sister happily washing her face.  She then recounted to him what happened.

Xingchen thought he lost to Xueyao.  And finally accepted that Chuyue is important to him that Xueyao willingly dived to be with Xueyao into the dangerous ravine.  He also realised that his sister was deeply in love with her husband.

So when he saw the now awake Xueyao, who was jealous that Chuyue was wearing his cape Xueyao asked to speak with Xingchen.

Xueyao was actually pleasantly surprised that Xingchen finally acknowledged him as a brother-in-law.

Xingchen warned Xueyao that he will still take Chuyue if Xueyao doesn’t look after her.

And it looks like Xingchen immediately found a cause for concern.

He wanted to buy Lingxi Garden to gift to his sister and Xueyao.  But he was told by the estate agent that the property is not in the market and it was owned by Xueyao.

Xingchen noticed though something suspicious.  It was the lack of security, all the main entrance was unguarded and they have might as well issued an invitation to the assassins.

It looks like they were not really holding a birthday party for his sister but she was made into a bait.

Episode 19

Nannan suddenly became best buddies with Chuyue.  She has a very strong sisterhood and was very disappointed with Xueyao for using Chuyue as a bait.

She told her suspicion to Chuyue about the being and bait.

Chuyue said that she will ask Yueyao about it but Nannan advised her that she might not like what she hears.

Chuyue was with Great Aunt Xue when Xueyao appeared. She did not beat around the bush and asked him whether her the coach, the birthday parade, Lingzi Garden, the fireworks were really for her or just a smokescreen so the assassin would come to kidnap her?

Xueyao immediately admitted that he used her.

She then asked him whether his plummeting from the cliff to save her was out of guilt.   He can’t deny it.

Nannan suddenly appeared and to take her away to have some fun.

They went drinking with Xingchen.  Nannan was absolutely wasted.  Luo Jin came to take Nannan home.

Xingchen told Chuyue that she doesn’t have to back to the Xue Manor if she didn’t want to but in the end she did go home.

This time instead of going to Xueyue to sleep, she sent Taotao to get her pillow and blanket at Xueyao’s room.

Xueyao himself carried her things to give to her but found her in her room looking like she was trying to commit suicide by hanging herself.

Episode 20

The soundtrack to this drama is amazing.

Anyway, Xueyao was so shocked and annoyed at Chuyue for trying to commit suicide.  He then gave her and a sharp took which looks like an icepick and told her to just kill him because with her dead, he might as well be dead as he was going to miss her forever and guilty to have driven to it.

Though she was happy to hear his confession, both Tao and Chuyue were puzzled why he thought she was suicidal.

Chuyue had to explain to him that this was the last resort for her so she does not dream when asleep.

Xueyao hefted her in his shoulder and took her to his bedroom.

They had just settled to sleep when Grand Aunt Xue summoned Xueyao.

Chuyue secretly followed and overheard their conversation regarding Xue Mu’s death that the emperor might have something to do it.

Grand Aunt Xue said that she had come to love Chuyue because she is a kind adorable girl but can Xueyao be a family to Chuyue if they both found out that his beloved brother was ordered to be killed by the emperor?

Grand Aunt Xue advised that it might be best if Chuyue is sent away now.

Chuyue was very upset about this but she immediately came to terms with it.  She knew how much Xueyao seemed to love his brother above everyone else so she knew that their relationship would not stand a chance and they would just make each other miserable.

Their divorce was taken out of their hand.  The mastermind of the assassins secretly sent a letter to the emperor informing him that Chuyue is the key to the missing birthstone.

It turned out that Chuyue’s father was the National Teacher who was the keeper of the birthstone and he was ordered to do horrendous things for the emperor using the birthstone.  He can take it anymore so he begged the emperor to just let him go and live peacefully with his baby daughter somewhere.

The Emperor was so annoyed he drew his sword and put it against the chest of Chuyue’s dad.

Chuyue’s dad pushed himself into the sword and said that it was better to be dead than being a living dead.

How Chuyue ingested the birthstone, I am not sure yet.  Don’t know if it had been explained before, probably I was making tea or the sub is too fast.  LOL

Anyway, Nannan really felt sorry for Chuyue and how she was being treated by Xueyao. So she secretly inserted the divorce document from Xueyao amongst the emperor’s correspondence.

This was very much welcomed by the king as with Chuyue in the palace, he could control her.

He sent his head eunuch to the Xue Manor with the edict to allow the divorce request from Xueyao and that Chuyue should return to the palace immediately.

Xueyao was shocked to his core and tried to tell Chuyue that he would not agree to it but Chuyue told him that it was for the best.  She then told him that she overheard what he talked about with his grandaunt the night before and she agreed with it.

She said that she knew that he loves his brother and would do anything to avenge him and if her adopted father had something to do with it she would be very sad as well because despite the emperor being a remote adopted father, she remembers the times when he would hold her hands and walk her around the garden.

So she left.

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Episode 35

Don’t get me started with the ending!

I was ready to give it the GlobalGranary seal of approval as well but…  I am still hyperventilating. LOL

Oh alright, I shall let it out.

Mind you I can’t find the subbed version yet so I just watched the moving pictures, and what a shocker!

Chuyue transformed into a dog (not sure no sub) in front of Xueyao because he told Xingchen that he was prepared to look after Chuyue himself.

Chuyue was in bed when she transformed, at first Xueyao was rather shocked because Chuyue became feral and was all over him and was about to bite him in the neck with her fangs.  He just let her whatever she wanted to do with him.

Then he had a real good look at her and he laughed instead of being frightened.  I think he told her that she was deliciously cute because she really is so cute.  But she became frisky and as he cannot take it anymore, he took the lead.  Awww.

When they woke up, she was back to being her normal self again but then the next time she fell asleep, she never woke up again.

She was not dead but just asleep.  She became a living dead. She is not dead but not quite ‘alive’.

Xueyao went about their daily lives looking after her.  He would push her in a wheelchair going to the town, meeting people. Days rolled into months and year.

And then one day, Xueyao with Chuyue on his arms stood on the precipice of a cliff ready to jump to end both of their lives?  And that was the end.

What???

No happy ending!

But wait there is an epilogue somewhere.

It seems that they do have a happy ending somewhere. She is alive and they are living a simple and happy life.  He feeds her medicine and she makes him incandescently happy and horny.  LOL

I went back to the first episode.

Xueyao goes by the name of Mr Guan Shan, the pen name of his brother XueMu when he wrote stories for Chuyue.

So I am totally confused now.  So what we just saw from part of episode 1 – 35 is just a very long epic story of a couple called Chuyue and Xueyao by storyteller Mr Guan Shan.

The real couple, Mr Guan Shan and his Wanwan live, though, Wan Wan suffers from a serious illness.

I don’t know!!!