Chinese Drama 2023
A League of Nobleman (Chinese Drama Review & Summary)
AKA: The Society of Four Leaves
A League of Nobleman poster
- Genre: Bromance, Historical Costume Drama Fiction, Detective, Utter Gorgeousness (LOL), Detective/Forensic/Investigation
- Release Date: 30 January 2023
- Origin: China, Adapted from a novel called Zhang Gong An
- Cdrama: 29 Episodes
Cast
- Jing Boran as Lan Jue
- Song Wei Long as Zhang Ping
- Liu Xue Yi as Royal Uncle
- Wang Duo as Guo Qing Zhang
- Guo Cheng as Chen Chou
- Hong Yao as Wang Yan
- Shawn Zhang as Emperor
- Li Terry as Lan Lin
- Chen Chuang as Er Pi Jiang
- Shi Yue Ling as Empress Dowager
29 August 2020: The filming ceremony for this drama is held today.
This drama is based on a BL (Boy Love) romance novel.
It is apparently about a genius young detective, Zhang Ping, who gets into everything including a case under Lan Jue, who is the Minister of Rights.
With Zhang Ping’s deductive reasoning, he solved Lan Jue’s case and saved his life as well, thus they forged a lifelong bromance.
Weilong & Boran are at the pinnacle of utter gorgeousness, this alone is worth watching this drama. Can’t wait.
30 January 2023: The broadcast of this drama today took everybody by surprise. It just dropped without any fanfares.
Episode 1
Wow!
It suddenly occurred to me why I was desperate for Jing Boran to work with Zhao Lusi in Shen Yin, Jing Boran has such a sexy voice, it is as smooth as honey. Anyway, I digress.
Jing Boran with Song Wei Long is double the x-factor so this drama is a treat. A TREAT!
Let’s go.
Jing Boran plays Lan Jue, the Deputy Minister of Rites. He was in a mission to get a coin which hid a missive that tells who was behind a plot to kill him.
The coin is with a merchant who was a racketeer as a messenger. Lan Jue’s plan was almost full-proof of securing the coin from the hood but then Zhang Ping a lowly scholar, part-timing as a street-food chef, got drawn into the plot. Lan Jue did not take into consideration that the lowly Zhang Ping has logical thinking and keen observation skill.
So the carefully planned scheme Lan Jue devised came to naught as Zhang Ping told Hong Luo, the merchant, how and where the coin was taken and ended up.
Lan Jue was impressed with Zhang Ping and offered him sponsorship when he found out that Zhang Pin was a poor scholar who was about to take the expensive Imperial Examination.
He turned him down. Zhang Ping became obsessed with the one who tried to steal the bead from Hong Lou. He then suspected that Lan Jue was the culprit. He found evidence but Lan Jue just ignored him.
Zhang Ping, however, refused to be ignored.
Episode 2
It was Lan Jue’s birthday. He invited nobles and high officials to his party while the less fortunate has to buy tickets to go to the entertainment/brothel house where the party was held.
Zhang Ping and his friend managed to get tickets. They were watching some dancing when the main dancer, Xie Hou, who was suspended from the ceiling caught fire.
Everything went chaotic.
Suddenly, Lan Jue’s nemesis turned up. He was Guo Yin, who Lan Jue suspects to be behind the plot of getting him disgraced and eventually killing him.
But then the Empress Dowager, who was the real power behind the throne, turned up to watch the dancing.
So a fact-finding/forensic team which included Zhang Ping was formed to find out the truth. Zhang Ping was hindered at every step but then he was so determined he managed to do his own thing.
The main suspect was another dancer, Han Yan, who was a lover of Guo Yin.
Wow, second episode and there are so much goings-on already. Keep it up.
Episode 3
Wow, what a convoluted plot!!!
The Empress Dowager summoned Lan Jue as Zhang Ping reported that Han Yan had something to do with the murder.
Han Yan blamed Lan Jue and confessed that she has the bead hidden under her bed. When the bead was brought in, it contained a note apparently written by Lan Jue to someone plotting to overthrow the throne.
It turned out that Lan Jue’s family had a history of treason as his father and other relatives were punished for it.
The Empress Dowager was annoyed with Lan Jue because the royal family had been kind to him.
Lan Jue begged to see the letter. The Empress Dowager allowed him to read it. Lan Jue immediately declared that it was a fake and that he had nothing to do with it. The phrasing of the sentences is different from his work and the person who wrote it was left-handed.
When he was asked who could have done it, he said Guo Jin as he is the person to benefit if lan Jue becomes a pariah. Guo Jin was the other officer vying for the position of Minister of Rites when the elderly minister retires
Guo Jin was called and he denied knowing anything about it. But Lan Jue used his ace card. He baited Guo Jin that who was illicit relationship with Han Yan that he does not even know her
This triggered Han Yan into confessing that Guo Jin was not an upright official. He was eaten with jealousy of Lan Jue. He did it.
Meanwhile, Zhang Ping was still feeling uneasy about the case so he went back to the dancehall to question the girls.
He saw Zhi Xia who had gone crazy. But then Zhang Ping turned out to be a one-man-band who is Jack of all trades. In no time, he was able to hypnotise Zhi Xia. From her, he found out who really kill Xia Hoa. It was another dancer, Miss Li
Episode 4
The dancer was Miss Li who was a daughter of a general of the Army for Southward Crusade which was wholly massacred through the connivance of Lan Jue’s father with the enemy, apparently.
Miss Li almost succeeded in her revenge by killing Lan Jue who she managed to kidnap but Zhang Ping turned up and protected Lan Jue.
Zhang Ping was badly injured. The doctor later said that there was nothing he could do and to just prepare for Zhang Ping’s funeral
His friend got very upset because he had only a few coins, not enough to buy a coffin.
Lan Jue ordered his guard to get the best coffin for Zhang Pingl
Episode 5
Lan Jue heard that Zhang Ping managed to find out that Miss Li was the culprit by having one of the dancers who went crazy to hypnotism using water.
Lan Jue asked Zhang Ping to hypnotise him too so he could remember something in the past.
Zhang Ping told him that he would also remember all the secrets that Lan Jue is hiding. Lan Jue changed his mind.
Episode 6
The next case was about a dancer who danced in trance to inspire a painter but then she stopped and turned into a statue quite dead.
Zhang Ping who was with Wang Mowen said that the dancer was poisoned.
They found the Immortal Nomadic Smoke as the killer rouge. LOL
But Zhang Ping still continued investigating which annoyed and made Lan Jue nervous as he was trying to protect Miss Gong.
It was too late, Zhang Ping found Miss Gong.
Episode 7
Miss Gong is the daughter of the Minister of Rites. She wanted to be a dancer but Chu Qie’er, the dead statue dancer bullied her and even got her raped. Chu Qie’er then threatened to gossip about Miss Gong if she did not withdraw from the dance contest and support Chu Qie’er instead.
But she hated Chu Qier with such a passion, she prayed that Chu Qie’er dies. A mysterious hooded man heard her and said not to leave the death of Chu Qier to God; she has to do it herself.
She has to follow his instructions.
Zhang Ping convinced Miss Gong to surrender herself to authorities immediately. Miss Gong agreed as she was feeling guilty but then Lan Jue turned up and told Miss Gong that she had not done anything wrong. She was gravely bullied. He then told her that her grandpa was about to retire. He needs a quiet peaceful life
Zhang Ping was going berserk that Lan Jue is so corrupt and corrupting Miss Gong as well.
Minister Gong advised Lan Jue to let Miss Gong be punished for her misdeeds.
Episode 8
Before Miss Gong is arrested, she vanished. Mowen and Lan Jue were working with a very uneasy Zhang Ping to locate Miss Gong. Zhang Ping does not trust Lan Jue at all.
They found out that there is something mystical that is behind the disappearance of Miss Gong. It has something to do with the mythical Six Sages.
Lan Jue and Zhang Ping ended up in an underground cave where they saw the mysterious hooded man who was talking about them being in a canal of time.
Before he can elaborate, there was erosion. Lan Jue and Zhang Ping were almost buried. Lan Jue woke Zhang Ping to get to safety. They managed to climb up a dried up well helped by rescuers led by Mowen.
Episode 9
Lan Jue, Mowen, and the guards are in search of Zhang Ping who had been kidnapped by the city embalmer, who had also abducted Miss Gong.
The Embalmer was collecting people who could represent the 6 sages so he could perform the ritual of bringing back to life the two boys, Hu and Hu Na, who helped him escape from the quack doctor 20 years ago.
The embalmer was too powerful but Zhang Ping managed to get his water bowl from his manbag to use to hypnotise the embalmer.
Lan Jue arrived just in time before the wicked embalmer woke from his hypnotism. Knowing that he lost, the embalmer tantalised Lan Jue with the knowledge that he knew about the case of his father. But as time is of the essence to save Zhang Ping and Miss Gong, Lan Jue chose to save the two instead. The embalmer died from his own poison.
During the morning court, the Emperor refused to attend as he was redundant anyone as the Empress Dowager decides on everything.
Episode 10
Zhang Ping specially made Lan Jue some zongzi with salted egg stuffing but Lan Jue refused it because there were others around them giving him stuff as well.
But then when Lan Jue went to find Zhang Ping to ask for the zongzi, Zhang Ping’s friend had already eaten them all.
Zhang Ping is developing a lovely bromance with Lan Jue. He wanted to help Lan Jue find out about his father so he offered to have a confidential water therapy hypnotism with Lan Jue.
Lan Jue said that he does want to find out the woman who came to visit his father before he left but when he returned he was blamed for being a traitor.
Zhang Ping brought Lan Jue to the Realm of Truth and Purity to meditate.