The Princess's Gambit (2025): Has Liu Xue Yi Finally Found the Right Drama? | Review & Ending

Details RATING: (7/10) NATIVE TITLE: 桃花映江山 – Táohuā yìng jiāngshān YEAR: 2025 EPISODES: 36 DURATION: 45’ DIRECTOR: Yi Jun SCREENWRITER: Su Ni ORIGINAL CREATOR: Bai Lu Cheng Shuang (桃花折江山 – Peach Blossom Overturning the Country)

The Princess's Gambit is one of those dramas that draws the viewer into a world of subtle tensions, difficult choices, and ever-tight balances. The story follows a young woman forced to reinvent herself to survive, navigating political intrigue and personal bonds that prove both fragile and crucial. The result is a story that alternates moments of intense emotion with more strategic dynamics, maintaining a constant sense of unease and anticipation.

In this drama review of The Princess's Gambit, after watching all episodes, I will focus on the construction of the characters, the use of clichés, the general narrative delivery and all the elements that define its identity, trying to understand what really works and where, instead, the drama shows its limits.

Plot

Following a failed escape attempt from the Baiyuan Royal Palace, Princess Jiang Tao Hua agrees to travel to Qi to form a marriage alliance and save the life of her younger brother Chang Jue.

In reality, the girl is forced to become a spy and gather information on the enemy to earn a monthly dose of the antidote to the lethal Jiangtao Pill that was administered to her by her ruthless stepmother, Empress Lv, before her departure.

Once she arrives in Qi, however, things don't go as planned, and Jiang Tao Hua is forced to marry Shen Zai Ye, the cunning Left Chancellor of Qi, who treats her coldly and even try to assassinate her to get rid of her.

In fact he sees her as a threat to his secret mission: to overthrow the feudal system of public office and clear the name of his father, accused of high treason and summarily executed ten years earlier.

In her new homeland, Tao Hua must face not only the mistrust of Shen Zai Ye, but also with the scheming of the minister's concubines and wife, as well as the repeated killing attempts of the rancorous Crown Prince and the machinations of the devious Third Prince.

After overcoming numerous challenges and facing several enemies together, Jiang Tao Hua and Shen Zai Ye begin to trust each other, but their respective missions threaten to tear them apart again.

Thanks to their tenacity and the help of the allies they find along the way, the two will eventually restore order in the two kingdoms, but just when everything seems resolved, Jiang Tao Hua discovers that there may be no cure for the Jiangtao Pill.

The Princess’s Gambit Drama Review (No Spoilers)

Plot and Screenplay

The Princess’s Gambit is a historical drama that captivates the viewer almost without them realizing it: between court intrigue, family vendettas, and a tense arranged marriage, the story flows naturally and keeps you gripped episode after episode.

The atmosphere and dynamics are reminiscent of other much-loved titles — if you've enjoyed dramas like Princess Silver, The General’s Lady, The Sword and the Brocade, and The Prisoner of Beauty, you'll definitely feel at home here — but it still manages to carve out its own identity thanks to a lively narrative full of twists.

The screenplay, while brilliant in its dialogue and tension-building, doesn't shy away from resorting to the usual romantic clichés — and yes, they're all there: painful separations, falls from cliffs, and even the inevitable amnesia. Yet, instead of alienating, these elements almost fuel emotional involvement, making every obstacle even more intense to experience together with the protagonists.

The result is a story that may not reinvent the genre, but that knows how to capture, episode after episode, fueling the desire to find out what will happen next.

Characters and Love Story

The characters in The Princess's Gambit work, proving overall well-developed, while not entirely escaping an archetypal construction that makes them, at times, all too familiar. On the one hand, there is, for example, an extremely cunning protagonist — at times almost too cunning, with that "Mary Sue" aura that occasionally peeks out — and on the other, a protagonist whose acquiescence towards the FL ends up significantly diminishing the harshness and ruthlessness with which he was initially presented.

And yet, despite these small dissonances, it's hard not to get involved.

The chemistry between the two protagonists is one of the drama's strengths: natural, never forced, and patiently constructed. The evolution of their relationship from enemies to lovers appears progressive and believable: from initial distrust to doubts about their mutual sincerity, to an increasingly evident emotional involvement, culminating in radical choices consistent with the characters' journeys.

Cast

The cast is undoubtedly one of the main narrative drivers of the series, significantly contributing to its engaging nature, despite a few exceptions.

Liu Xue Yi proves to be a talented performer, particularly effective in bringing cold and cynical characters to life. In scenes with the protagonist, she manages to create a subtle atmosphere suspended between seduction and danger that makes her character both fascinating and ambiguous.

Meng Zi Yi, while not particularly expressive in my opinion, is nevertheless aesthetically pleasing and convincing, especially in her interactions with her co-protagonist—a trait already appreciated in Blossom.

Gao Han delivers a solid and credible performance, demonstrating versatility in both positive roles, as in Love of Nirvana, and negative ones, as in Wonderland of Love. I find him more believable in the latter, as he manages to express the more disturbing and complex aspects of his characters with particular effectiveness.

Liu Ling Zi demonstrates good acting skills, even if the roles she is given tend to feature a similar, often melancholic and subdued characterization, as already seen in Are You the One.

Finally, a mention goes to the younger actors Bian Cheng, Fan Jing Wen, and Wang Jia Xuan, whose performances add lightness and freshness to the narrative, revealing interesting potential.

Visual Aspects and Soundtrack

Visually, The Princess’s Gambit is generally solid, despite some obvious inconsistencies.

The direction demonstrates a good sense of scene and creates clean, professional shots that highlight key moments without stylistic excess. Less convincing, however, is the cinematography, which appears flat on several occasions: some sequences are lit too uniformly, to the point of betraying their artificial nature, while the night scenes, at times excessively bright, struggle to convey a real sense of depth and atmosphere. The editing also shows some uncertainty, with transitions that aren't always fluid and a sense, especially at the beginning of the episode, of narrative passages that are slightly truncated, as if brief connecting scenes were missing.

On the setting front, however, the work is decidedly more convincing: the sets and backlots are meticulously detailed and contribute to creating a believable visual context, as are the exterior locations, which convey a good degree of realism — a stark contrast to the sparse but not always up-to-the-mark CGI. Finally, the fight scenes are distinguished by a relatively restrained approach, with natural choreography that is never overly dramatic.

The costumes are a further point of interest: well-designed and period-appropriate, they effectively convey both the pomp of the imperial court and the sober dignity of the more humble settings. However, upon closer inspection, some details—particularly the accessories—reveal a lack of quality in the materials that is not always up to par with the overall visual impact.

The soundtrack accompanies the narrative pleasantly and coherently, fitting, without major variations, into the vein of romantic historical dramas. The sounds recall the genre's more classic registers, with a predominant use of traditional Chinese instruments and slow, often melancholic melodies that fit perfectly with the story's atmosphere. However, this very adherence to the canons ends up making it unmemorable: the arrangements feel familiar, at times reminiscent of a rehearsal, and rarely truly stand out.

The only notable exception, at least in my opinion, is 花事 (Floral Affairs), which emerges with a different sensibility. While maintaining a slow pace, the composition appears more structured and refined, enriched with nuances that give it greater depth. Adding to its appeal is Wang Zheng Liang's velvety and instantly recognizable voice, which lends the song a touch of emotional intensity that stands out from the rest of the soundtrack.

The Princess’s Gambit Drama Review (Spoilers)

What Works

The Main Love Story

One of the aspects that most convinced me about The Princess's Gambit is undoubtedly the relationship between the two protagonists.

Their connection works from the start, but it's above all the evolution of their relationship that feels believable and engaging: slow, carefully constructed, and never rushed. Shen Zai Ye doesn't give up easily, and for this very reason, every step of hers—from her initial caution to her doubts about Tao Hua's sincerity—feels real and coherent. Her emotional "surrender" doesn't come as a dramatic twist, but as an inevitable, almost silent consequence, which ultimately makes her attachment even more intense and authentic.

I particularly appreciated the way the feeling takes shape without ever losing that hint of ambiguity: it's not an immediate or idealized love, but something that grows amidst mistrust, attraction, and necessity. And it's precisely this balance that makes it so engaging: when Shen Zai Ye chooses to give up everything for her, the decision doesn't seem forced, but perfectly aligned with the character's emotional journey.

The seduction scenes between Liu Xue Yi and Meng Zi Yi are another strong point: tense, measured, but passionate. The comparison with The Glory with Xin Yun Lai and Cheng Du Ling, in this sense, is merciless. There, what should be a central relationship remains surprisingly cold and artificial: rather than two emotionally involved people, they seem like two pawns moving according to a pattern, incapable of generating a real spark. Even in the most intimate moments, their interactions are stiff and end up extinguishing any tension instead of fueling it. Here, the exact opposite happens: every gesture, every glance carries with it a living ambiguity, a tension that grows and transforms scene after scene. It's not just chemistry, but an emotional construction that truly works. When Shen Zai Ye approaches Jiang Tao Hua with that provocative air, you always sense a thread of almost dangerous tension: it's never entirely clear whether she's about to give in to desire or is still playing a game of her own.

And perhaps that's precisely what makes this relationship so passionate: that constant feeling of uncertainty, a precarious balance between attraction and threat, which makes their every interaction something to watch with bated breath.

The Antagonists

Another particularly successful element of The Princess's Gambit is the construction of its antagonists, who are surprisingly believable and well-integrated into the narrative. They are not simply "bad guys," but complex characters, often devious and calculating, driven by an unstable balance between revenge, ambition, and strategy.

Of all of them, Lv Yuan Hua is undoubtedly the most impactful figure. A former maid at the Qi Imperial Palace, assigned to care for the neglected Third Prince, she suffers a series of humiliations that force her to flee to Beiyuan. There, she manages to reinvent herself as a dancer at the Liufang Court, where she comes into contact with the Emperor of Beiyuan. However, following his suggestion that deprives her of the ability to dance and conceive, her trajectory turns into a spiral of lucid and relentless revenge: she seduces the emperor, becomes his consort, eliminates his wife—the protagonist's mother—and takes control of the court, even exiling her legitimate children to the Cold Palace. From there, her ambition extends further, leading her to plot with Mu Wei Yin to conquer the throne of Qi as well.

If Lv Yuan Hua embodies the cold strategic nature of revenge, Mu Wei Yin represents a much more disturbing and ambiguous form of antagonism. He is not a traditional villain, but a man trapped in a sentimental obsession that makes him progressively more ruthless. His goal is not power per se, but the absolute fulfillment of his desire to please Lv Yuan Hua, to the point of wanting to hand over the Kingdom of Qi to her. His bond with her begins in childhood, when she cared for him in the Imperial Palace, and over time develops into blind loyalty, unwavering even by her distant attitude.

What makes the character particularly disturbing is precisely this extreme devotion: Mu Wei Yin always acts convinced he is doing "good" for the woman he loves, going so far as to commit increasingly extreme actions, including murder and intrigues against his own brothers, in order to remove every obstacle to her love. His descent is progressive and consistent, to the point of defying the entire court to have her by his side, ultimately accepting a tragic end at the hands of Lv Yuan Hua herself.

It is precisely this duality between political clarity and emotional obsession that makes the series' antagonists so interesting: they are never one-dimensional, but distorted mirrors of the desires and wounds that shaped them, resulting in an almost memorable outcome.

What Doesn't Work

Abuse of Clichés

The main flaw in The Princess's Gambit is the plot's lack of originality and its rather heavy reliance on typical historical romance clichés. Many of the plot points, in fact, are familiar because they've already been extensively explored in other titles of the genre.

The idea of ​​the protagonist being married off to seal a marriage alliance, for example, immediately recalls dramas like Goodbye My Princess, Princess Silver, and the more recent The Prisoner of Beauty, even including very similar situations, such as the wedding procession forced to wait for a long time outside the gates of the capital, as occurs in the latter.

Similarly, several narrative devices also frequently recur in other relatively recent productions: the combination of protagonists drugged with aphrodisiacs and forced into the same room, for example, recalls dynamics already seen in Till the End of the Moon and Youtful Glory, while the theme of poisoning that can only be resolved with an extremely rare and hard-to-find flower finds a direct parallel in Si Jin. Even the courtly plots don't escape this feeling of déjà vu: the intriguing crown prince is a well-established element, appearing in, among others, New Life Begins, as is the clearing of the father's name, seen in countless titles, including the recent Les Belles and Legend of Zang Hai.

Further references to familiar situations are not lacking: the poisoning of the protagonist's mother by a jealous woman is a recurring trope, while the replacement of the protagonist during a fire evokes a dynamic similar to that seen in Jun Jiu Ling. Even the protagonist with an eidetic memory fits into a previously explored archetype.

The same goes for the romantic clichés that directly involve the main couple: the rescue from drowning, the female protagonist's injury to protect the male protagonist, the fall from a cliff resulting in amnesia, and the separation "for the good of the other" are all extremely recognizable and widely used elements in the genre.

Yet, within this accumulation of clichés, the series surprisingly manages to maintain a certain narrative coherence. Some devices are, in fact, more justified than in other productions: in particular, the narrative thread of the protagonist's amnesia and her pretending not to remember Shen Zai Ye's true identity or Mu Wei Yin's role appears functional to her main objective: obtaining her monthly dose of the antidote to the Jiangtao Pill and protecting her husband and brother from the threats of the Empress of Beiyuan. This narrative choice also explains her decision to remain close to the Third Prince, where her amnesia serves as a strategic cover that allows her to secretly investigate Lv Yuan Hua and Mu Wei Yin's plans. In this sense, while not shining for originality, the drama still manages to make some clichés more functional to the plot.

Ending

The ending of The Princess's Gambit, I must admit, left me rather perplexed: emotionally engaging, but decidedly less convincing in terms of the realism of events.

The final battle with Empress Lv takes place in a visually captivating setting — the desert cave where the Yinghuo flowers grow — but, as evocative as it is, the entire setup feels decidedly forced. The trap orchestrated for Jiang Tao Hua and Shen Zai Ye, with cages and flames artfully set to destroy the only antidote to the Jiangtao Pill, seems designed more for visual impact than for real narrative impact.

What follows also struggles to convince. The fortuitous rescue of a single plant and Shen Zai Ye's decision to reduce his dose of the antidote to increase Tao Hua's chances of survival are perfectly in line with the genre's melodramatic logic, but they are weighed down by a series of already rather complex premises: the poison he took in the previous months to test the effectiveness of Mei Ling's remedies causes a toxin conflict that leaves him in a potentially irreversible coma.

From then on, the story seems to rely on a chain of events that are increasingly difficult to accept without resorting to suspension of disbelief: Yinghuo's seed that "appears" as if by miracle, the plant that grows at an improbable speed, the full moon that arrives on time to allow it to bloom, and, finally, the perfect coincidence of all these elements that makes it possible to prepare an antidote for him too — an antidote that, obviously, doesn't work immediately, just to keep the suspense high.

The most surprising twist, however, comes with the final sequence. After building all this tension around Shen Zai Ye's fate, the drama chooses a highly ambiguous ending: we see Tao Hua moving through a suspended, almost unreal landscape, bathed in golden light, and reaching a blossoming peach tree where she meets Zai Ye, whom she embraces with emotion. It's undoubtedly a suggestive scene, but also extremely enigmatic. It's unclear whether he has truly awakened or whether it's simply a dream or a projection of her desire, and this narrative indecision, rather than enriching the ending, ends up leaving a certain dissatisfaction.

Overall, then, the series finale feels like it's focused entirely on emotional and visual impact, but sacrifices coherence and credibility, leaving behind a sense of incompleteness that's hard to ignore.

Characters and Cast

Primary Characters

Jiang Tao Hua (Meng Zi Yi) Princess Cheng Ping of Baiyuan. After her mother's death, she was confined by Empress Lv to the Cold Palace along with her brother Jiang Chang Jue, where the two suffered all sorts of oppression for years. When, after a failed escape attempt, she is forced to marry in Qi, she decides to seize the opportunity to free herself from the Empress's control and finally bring her brother, who has been forced to join the army, to safety.

Shen Zai Ye/Xie Jing An (Liu Xue Yi) scholar of humble origins who became Left Chancellor of Qi. In reality, he is the sole survivor of the Xie family, exterminated by Right Chancellor Meng Zhong Yan to prevent Xie Guan Yu, then Qi's Minister of Personnel, from petitioning to admit scholars of humble origins to the Imperial Examination. His aunt was the mother of the Fourth Prince, Mu Wu Xia, and he is very close to his cousin, so much so that he has done everything, over the years, to protect him.

Mu Wu Xia (Bian Cheng) Fourth Prince of Qi. His mother, Consort Shu, was executed along with her brother Xie Guan Yu for witchcraft when he was still a child. She was supposed to marry Jiang Tao Hua, but after the incident at the Zuimeng Pavilion, the wedding was called off. To save the Princess, he pleads her case before her father, insisting that she be allowed to marry Shen Zai Ye. He will later often help Jiang Tao Hua and collaborate with Shen Zai Ye to have even lowly scholars admitted to the Imperial Examination. He will eventually become Crown Prince, also managing to clear the names of his mother and uncle.

Mu Wu Yin (Gao Han) Third Prince of Qi. His mother was a maid and died when he was young, abandoning him to the care of Lv Yuan Hua. Over time, he developed a strong interest in music, literature, and spirituality, and seems oblivious to the dispute over the throne between his elder and younger brothers. In reality, he is in cahoots with the Empress of Beiyuan to hand her the throne of Qi.

Supporting Characters

Baiyuan Kingdom

He Lan (Zhang Miao Han) late Empress of Baiyuan and mother of Jiang Tao Hua and Jiang Chang Jue. She was poisoned by Lv Yuan Hua when the two brothers were still young.

Jiang Chang Jue (Zhan Yu) Crown Prince of Baiyuan and younger brother of Jiang Tao Hua. After a failed attempt to escape from the palace, he was forced by Empress Lv to join the army and sent to Luocheng, a city of exile on the northern border of Beiyuan, to supervise the labor camps under the orders of General Deng Xiao.

Qing Tai (Xu Jing Ya) personal maid and bodyguard to Jiang Tao Hua.

Deng Xiao (Li Sheng Ze) General guarding Luocheng. Although he is not a supporter of Empress Lv, he does not make life easy for Jiang Chang Jue, but in the end he sacrifices himself in defense of the people.

Qian Mo Chen (Zhao Shun Ran) State Preceptor of Beiyuan. He is hired by Empress Lv to educate Jiang Tao Hua and Jiang Chang Jue, and he tries to protect the children as they are the children of her benefactress He Lan. Before the Emperor of Beiyuan dies, she manages to obtain a decree from him naming Jing Chang Jue his successor and handing him over to Jiang Tao Hua.

An Chu (Wu Chuan Yang) head of Qian Mo Chen's personal guards.

Lv Yuan Hua/A'Hua (Huang Meng Ying) Empress of Beiyuan. She is a maid at the Qi Imperial Palace who cared for the Third Prince after the death of his mother and sister. Following the harassment she suffered, she decides to flee the palace and take refuge in Beiyuan, where she earns her living as a dancer in the Liufang Court. There she meets the Emperor of Beiyuan, but by following his advice, she loses her ability to dance and conceive. To take revenge, she seduces him, kills his wife, taking her place, and takes control of the court by exiling the emperor's legitimate children to the Cold Palace. She then plots with Mu Wi Yin to gain the throne of Qi as well.

Cui Wei (Lu Han Cheng) Head of Empress Lv's Shadow Guards.

Yang Wan Qing (Dai Si) Owner of the Lan Boutique. In reality, she is a spy that Empress Lv has infiltrated Qi to gather information on the enemy. Jing Tao Hua must report to her to obtain the monthly dose of the antidote to the Jingtao Pill.

Eunuch Ren (Xiang Xia) Eunuch accompanying Jiang Tao Hua's wedding procession. Jian Tao Hua witnesses him being killed by Mu Wu Yin at the Lan Boutique, thus discovering a connection between the Third Prince of Qi and the Empress of Beiyuan.

Mei Ling (Li Lu Jin) Beiyuan toxicologist and creator of the Jiangtao Pill. After being saved by Jiang Tao Hua, she agrees to work for her on the antidote, which, to be effective, must contain Yinghou, an extremely rare flower that blooms in the Baiyuan Desert, in a location known only to Empress Lv.

Liu Jian An (Yu Qing Hui) former Central Censor of Beiyuan, exiled to the Luocheng labor camps. He helps Jiang Chang Jue hide and escape the control of Commander Deng Xiao.

Yue Xing Ming, Vice-Central Censor of Beiyuan and supporter of Jiang Chang Jue who sacrifices his life at court by publicly opposing the appointment of Lv Yuan Hua as ruler of Beiyuan.

Qi Kingdom

Xie Guan Yu (Ni Song Yang) former Minister of Personnel of Qi and late father of Xie Jing An/Shen Zai Ye. He was falsely accused of witchcraft and executed along with his entire family by Meng Zhong Yan, who wanted to prevent him from petitioning the Emperor to open the Imperial Examination to scholars of humble origins.

Lady Song (Li Yan Ru) wife of Xie Guan Yu and mother of Xie Jing An/Shen Zai Ye. She was summarily executed by Meng Zhong Yan along with her husband.

Xiang Zhen Ao, late father of Xiang Qing Ying and godfather of Shen Zai Ye. He was a traveling martial artist who took in Shen Zai Ye and taught him how to fight.

Xiang Qing Ying (Fan Jing Wen) daughter of Xiang Zhen Ao and half-sister of Shen Zai Ye. She is rebellious and unconventional, but cannot stand injustice, which brings her closer to Mu Wu Xia, with whom she later falls in love.

Zhan Lu (Wang Jia Xuan) right-hand man of Shen Zai Ye.

Wu Jiang (Zhang Ming Ming) leader of Shen Zai Ye's Shadow Guards.

Qin Jie Yu (Wang Yi Jin) first concubine of Shen Zai Ye and cousin of Mu Wu Hen. She comes from the prominent Qin family.

Duan Yun Xin (Wang Ya Jia) second concubine of Shen Zai Ye. She comes from the prominent Duan family.

Meng Zhen Zhen (Liu Ling Zi) legitimate wife of Shen Zai Ye. She is the daughter of the Right Chancellor Meng Zhong Yan.

Yue Tao (Li Fang Shuo) personal maid to Meng Zhen Zhen.

Meng Zhong Yan (Wang Wei Hua) Right Chancellor of Qi and father of Meng Zhen Zhen and Meng Huai Jin. He is the one who unjustly executed Xie Guan Yu and Consort Shu for witchcraft in order to maintain his family's prestige. He supported Mu Wu Yin's failed rebellion and was sentenced to death for it.

Meng Huai Jin (Shao Wei Tong) designated heir of the Meng Family and brother of Meng Zhen Zhen. He is the Crown Prince's cousin and advisor. He is forced by his father to plead guilty and commit suicide to exonerate the Meng family from the crimes of counterfeit coin trafficking and private silver mining, committed by Mu Wu Gou.

Liu Bao (Wu Hao Feng) hitman working for the Meng family.

General Qi Jian (Hou Jun Jie) Commander of the Imperial Guards and an ally of Meng Zhong Yan.

Meng Huai Rui (Zheng Qi) distant nephew of Meng Zhong Yan and a disciple of Minister Gao. By deceiving Li Jiao Han, he steals one of his essays and takes credit for it before the Emperor. For this, he is chosen by Meng Zhong Yan as the legitimate heir after Meng Huai Jin's death. He is handed over by Meng Zhen Zhen to Shen Zai Ye after he discovers his involvement in the death of the Second Prince, not knowing that he is also responsible for the death of Li Jiao Han.

Li Jiao Han (Yan Yu Chen) scholar of humble origins who befriends Xiang Qing Ying and Mu Wu Xia. His writings are very good, but he is overlooked because he is the son of a farmer. He dies before Minister Gao can recommend him to the Emperor, after one of his essays is passed off as his own by Meng Huai Rui.

Mu Wu Gou (Zhu Jian) Prince Chang Jue, Crown Prince of Qi. His mother is the sister of Meng Zhong Yan, and he is the nephew of the Chancellor of the Right. He is foolish and boastful and believes himself to be above the law. He ignores the wise advice of his cousin Meng Huai Jin, resulting in his being exposed by Shen Zan Ye and dismissed by his father.

Xiao Dong Zi (Hao Li Yan) Crown Prince's attendant.

Mu Wu Hen (Yi Yun He) Second Prince of Qi. His mother comes from the second most prominent family in Qi, the Qin family. He is idle and vicious and wants to wrest the title of Crown Prince from Mu Wu Gou, but is unfit. He is eventually killed by Qing Fang to frame Mu Wu Xia for his death.

Qing Feng (Wang Jin Hao) attendant to the Third Prince.

Wang Xi (Ji Peng) attendant to the Fourth Prince. In reality, he is a man placed beside the Prince by Shen Zai Ye to protect him.

Emperor of Qi (Zhang Zheng Yang) father of Mu Wu Gou, Mu Wu Hen, Mu Wu Yin, and Mu Wu Xia. He is stubborn, resolute, and distant from the needs of the people, rarely admitting his own mistakes or praising his children's successes.

Wen Jin (Xu Yi Long) Chief eunuch and palace attendant to the Emperor of Qi.

Consort Lan (Wen Yu) favorite consort of the Emperor of Qi.

Xue Ran (Yuan Hang Ming) trafficker entrusted by the Crown Prince with the transportation of counterfeit coins. After his convoy is attacked by Shen Zai Ye, he decides to trade his family's safety for the painting "Sun Over a Thousand Peaks," in which he has hidden clues about the perpetrator of the counterfeit currency trafficking. He is killed by Meng Zhen Zhen, who steals the painting to deliver it to the Crown Prince, but before she can, Jiang Tao Hua steals it and destroys it.

Xiao Lian (Cheng Zi Xia) young resident of Tianshui village, where she lives with her elderly grandmother (Shi Yan). After she and her fellow villagers were driven from their ancestral lands, coveted by nobles accused of illegally occupying military farmland, they were forced to move to a less fertile area, and the men were forced to look for work. However, the foremen who employed the villagers were Mu Wu Gou's men, who kidnapped the workers, including Xiao Lian's brother (Li Yue Ming), to force them to secretly extract silver from the Prince's illegal mine.

Censor Zhou (Li Yan) local official to whom Xiang Qing Ying and Mu Wu Xia report the case of the missing workers from Tianshui Village. In reality, he is in league with the Crown Prince, who, after being warned, sends a group of assassins to kill Xiang Qing Ying, Mu Wu Xia, Shen Zai Ye, Jiang Tao Hua, and the villagers, but fails.

Gao Yuan (Geng Da Yong) Deputy Minister of Personnel of Qi. He is an upright and fair man who values ​​talent and decides to recommend Li Jiao Han to the Emperor after reading one of his essays at the suggestion of Mu Wu Xia.

Li Dian (Jin Kai Jie) scholar of humble origins who is robbed on his way to the Imperial Examination and is only admitted to the test thanks to the intervention of Prince Mu Wu Xia. He ranks first, obtaining an official position at court and aiding the Fourth Prince during Mu Wu Yin's attempted usurpation.

Zhou Chong Hu (Xue Yi) general in command of the garrison of the capital of Qi. He helps Shen Zai Ye and Mu Wu Xia thwart Mu Wu Yin's attempted rebellion.

Favorite Character: Mu Wu Xia

Despite growing up in isolation and partially neglected by his father, he internalized from childhood the values ​​of integrity and good governance passed down to him by his cousin, which have profoundly shaped his character.

Despite the tragic injustice suffered by his mother, falsely accused of high treason and executed along with his uncle, he never harbored resentment toward his father, continuing to respect his authority and place his trust in the justice of the Empire and its laws.

This trust is consistently reflected in his actions, always marked by uprightness and fairness. For example, he does not hesitate to defend his betrothed — even though she is unknown and unjustly accused of seducing Chancellor Shen Zai Ye — displaying a strong sense of justice regardless of political pressure. Although he disagrees with Shen Zai Ye's methods, he collaborates with him and Jiang Tao Hua several times to foil the plots of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, always prioritizing the stability of the kingdom over personal interests.

His commitment is not limited to the political sphere: he also stands out for his concern for the less privileged classes, supporting, together with Shen Zai Ye, the opening of the imperial examinations to scholars of humble origins and promoting initiatives to benefit poor students, with the aim of making access to public administration more meritocratic.

Similarly, he demonstrates a strong sense of responsibility towards his subjects, personally risking his life to save Qi citizens kidnapped by false bandits serving Empress Lv.

His bond with his family and with duty also leads him to perform another act of great courage, attempting a dangerous mission to free the Emperor, imprisoned by his third brother.

However, his inexperience and naive nature repeatedly expose him to enemy plots, without this affecting his integrity: Mu Wu Xia never gives in to revenge or the lust for power, maintaining an idealistic and deeply moral vision of the world until the end.

Un-Favorite Character: Meng Zhen Zhen

She is a complex figure, marked by a constant oscillation between cunning and an inability to escape the power dynamics of her clan. Despite being a shrewd and clear-headed woman, she repeatedly ends up being exploited by her father, helping to maintain the Meng family's prestige at the cost of her own happiness and independence.

In the name of family loyalty, she accepts a politically strategic marriage to Shen Zai Ye, her father's main opponent, and even agrees to spy on his moves on behalf of the clan, despite being in love with him. This choice condemns her from the beginning to a state of internal conflict, in which duty to her family systematically prevails over her personal desires.

Even in the face of traumatic events, such as her brother's sacrifice to protect the clan from the consequences of the Crown Prince's crimes, her reaction does not translate into a real detachment from her father or into taking an independent stance. On the contrary, she comes to question Shen Zai Ye, even contemplating eliminating him at her father's request, a sign of growing moral compromise.

Despite receiving an imperial pardon after the attempted poisoning of Shen Zai Ye and Jiang Tao Hua during the Tea Banquet, she is unable to fully overcome her resentment toward the couple, fueled by her brother's death and the progressive destruction of her personal life.

Her attempt to assume a more prominent role within the family, carrying on her brother's legacy, clashes with her identity as a expendable pawn in the eyes of her father, who is unable to recognize her as a true decision-making role. Her efforts to strengthen the alliance with the Third Prince are also systematically thwarted by her own clan, which continues to use her as a political tool, even to the point of sacrificing her to gain her father's recognition after Mu Wu Yin's coup.

In the end, despite contributing to the defeat of the Third Prince and the reinstatement of Xie Guan Yu and Consort Shu, his journey does not translate into true emancipation: the character remains marked by a constant state of subordination, which defines his overall aura of fragility and submission.