Chinese Drama 2023
Story of Kunning Palace (Chinese Drama Review & Summary)
Story of Kunning Palace
- Genre: Historical Costume Drama Fiction, Romance, Reverse Harem
- Release Date: 7 November 2023
- Origin: China
- Cdrama: 38 Episodes
- Network: iQiyi
Cast
- Bai Lu as Jiang Xue Ning (2nd Daughter-Jiang Mansion / Jiang Ning
- Zhang Ling He as Xie Wei (Crown Prince Grand Preceptor)
- Wang Xing Yue as Zhang Zhe (Vice Minister of Justice)
- Zhou Jun Wei as Yan Lin (Viscount of Yan Mansion)
- Liu Xie Ning as Shen Zhi Yi / Princess Le Yang
- Wang Zi Teng as Zhou Yan Zhi
- Dai Yi as Yao Qing Yu
- Elisa Ye as Xue Shu (Imperial Noble Consort)
- Zhou Da Wei as Shen Jie (Lord Linzi)
- Melody Tang as You Fang Yin
- Qin Tian Yu as Lyu Xian (Master of Youhuang Store)
- Joyin Cai as Yao Xi
- Cui Shao Yang as Xue Ding Fei
- Zhou Ti Shun as Xue Ye
- Anna Liu as Fang Miao
- Lu Yan Bei as Royal Consort Qin
- Wang Ya Ni as You Yue
- Yi Nan Ting as Eunuch Hu [Xie Wei’s spy]
- Zu Ka Er as Da Yue Prince
- He Zhong Hua – Editor
- Liu Min as Empress Xue
- Yvonne Yun as Lady Meng (Jiang Xue Ning’s mother)
- Yu Zhong Li as Jiang Xue Hui (Xuening’s eldest sister)
- Harry Hu as The Emperor
Snippets
- 17 February 2023: The distribution license had been obtained today for 36 Episodes
- 19 May 2023: It was supposed to be broadcast today but it was pulled out at the last minute because of some technical difficulties. However, there are rumours that there were some other reasons.
- 5 August 2023: Rumour of September broadcast.
- 7 November 2023: Surprise broadcast today.
Episode 1
Wow! This was a good first episode, very intriguing, therefore, it hooked me to go watching to the next but I have to write a quick summary first.😉
The drama started with a woman telling a young girl that she used to dream when she was a young girl herself of being a bird so she could fly into the capital to see if Ning’an Palace is as beautiful and as impressive as people said. She then continued that she actually been to the palace…
When she went it was a bloody time. The evil Empress created so much intrigues and evilness, the nation was in upheaval. She betrayed everyone, even those loyal and who loved her the most like Yan Lin. She knew what she did was unforgivable so when Xie Wei came to confront her, she told him that she will stand down and leave everything to him but one thing she asked him to do and that was to free Zhang Zhe, the vice minister of Justice. She said that Zhang Zhe never waver and continued to stand up for what is right.
Xie Wei agreed. The Empress then took a dagger from her sleeve and slashed her own throat. Yan Lin came in and blamed Xie Wei for killing the Empress, Jiang Xuening.
Then it transferred to the present time. Jiang Ning was very unhappy with how her novel turned and when her editor called she said that she was done with the novel, she was not writing anymore, The Story of Kunning Palace is over.
The editor cajoled Jiang Ning into continuing with the novel as The Story of Kunning Palace is No 1 in chart. The editor asked Jiang Ning what would she want to do.
Jiang Ning said that she wanted Jiang Xuening to go back in time with her memory intact so she could right all the wrongs she did and fully realise what she really wanted in life. This scenario was just like the newly finished The Scent of Time.😉
The editor agreed so Jiang Ning got busy and started writing again until she fell asleep next to her keyboard. A mysterious butterfly moth came flying in into her keyboard by her head.
She then woke up in bed with Shen Jie and Yan Lin. She was so shocked she slapped Shen Jie who was surprised with the attack. Instead of siding with Shen Jie as he was a prince, Yan Lin pointed his sword and asked what did he do to Jiang Xuening. Shen Jie just said what could he do? They are all men. Xuening realised that she was dressed up like a man and had fallen asleep after getting drunk with the two boys.
She went home hurriedly but was confronted by her mother who was shocked to see how she was dressed. The mother quickly introduced Jiang Xue Hui to her as her elder sister.
This drove Xuening mental and asked her mother, Really?!!! She told her mother that she is the legitimate daughter of the Jiang and not Jiang Xue Hui.
It turned out that Lady Meng gave birth almost at the same time as Lord Jiang’s concubine, Wan Ning.
Wang Ning made a most heinous decision of switching the two girls. So Xuening grew up as a daughter to Wan Ning and Xuehui to Lady Meng.
Despite the truth finally coming out after Wan Ning’s death confession, Lady Meng had not developed any maternal feeling for Xuening. Feeling unloved and unappreciated, Xuening was not taking any crap from Lady Meng in this lifetime so she was so disrespectful which annoyed Lady Meng and asked her Nanny to beat up Xuening. The Nanny was so enthusiastic to carry out her order but Xuening’s two maids protected her.
Xuening grabbed the cane from the Nanny and threw it on Lady Meng’s feet. Lady Meng knew that Xuening was not one to control so she had her attack of the vapours and was ushered out by Xue Hui.
Meanwhile, Xuening was looking for her jewels when she noticed that her two jewelry boxes were practically empty. She rounded up the maids and told them to return the jewels. They just ignored her at first but Xuening knew everything and she has her doting father who came to the rescue as a co-conspirator. When the maids asked her for her ledger so she could tell them what was missing, Xuening produce a poetry book. Her father just looked and agreed to everything she was saying. The maids finally confessed of what they took.
Episode 2
Xie Wei is taking pains in observing Xuening. He said to his aide that Xuening is only alive because she had forgotten most of what happened four years ago.
Apparently, Xie Wei suffers from dementia?!!!🤪. He was concerned that Xuening may recall all the crap he spouted during one of his attack of dementia.
Meanwhile, Xuening was trying to avoid all that went wrong previously. She tried to avoid meeting Princess Leyang to avoid repeating what happened before. They first met during a lantern festival. She helped Princess Leyang with her dress which caught fire. As Xuening was dressed as a guy, Princess Leyang fell in love with her and then hated her guts after finding out that she was a girl.
Anyway, Xuening went to a party at the You to specially save You Fan Ying, an illegitimate daughter of the You from being purposely drown by the maids. Apparently Fangying was being tortured because her newly dead mother was accused of adultery.
When Yan LIn heard that Xuening went to the You flower party, he went too. He was determined to marry Xuening after his coming of age celebration.
I am really enjoying this drama. My only gripe is that it keeps referring to what happen previously which we are really not aware of.
Episode 3
Whoa, it looks like Princess Leyang was a lesbian. Xuening was worried that the princess had the same look when she previously thought that Xuening was a boy.
Anyway, Xuening has more pressing concern. She wanted to save the Yan because she knew that during Yan Lin’s coming of age ceremony, it would end up bloody as the rivalry between the Yan and the Xue will culminate.
She knew an up and coming guard, Zhou Yan Zhi, from the Ministry of Revenue, who is a social climber and a user, is heavily involved into the plot so she went to see Zhou Yan Zhi and convince him to protect the Yan.
At home, Xuening’s parents were worried how to tell her that they would send Hui to be Princess Leyang study partner instead of her. To their surprise, Xuening was all for it.
Episode 4
The Empress Dowager had accepted that her son, the Emperor, has terminal illness and will die soon. As he has no issue, she wanted Shen Jie to be officially acknowledged as the Crown Prince.
The Empress Dowager wanted Xue Shu to marry Shen Jie but then Shen Jie had fallen for a girl he met once. He does not know her but he saved her from a carriage crash. What he did not know was that she was Hui, Xuening’s sister.
Xuening’s mother was furious and unfairly blamed Xuening for being chosen as one of Princess Leyang’s study partners. But Xuening will not have any of it so she just left her mother still moaning while her father was consoling Hui who was the one desperate to enter the palace.
Anyway, 5 other girls were selected to be the study partners of Princess Leyang. Xuening was desperate to leave the palace so she deliberately made mistakes and was so clumsy but Princess Leyang had already chosen her..
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