EPISODE 1 RECAP
The Hua family have been loyally serving the crown for years, but due to the court’s distrust, the emperor has to summon Hua Liuli (Meng Ziyi), the Hua family’s daughter to the capital city. First, it is for Liuli to mingle with the court and spread her family’s good name; second, it is so the Hua family would not try to mess with the crown.
No wonder Liuli doesn’t want to come to the city. She feigns sickness upon her arrival and scares the court officials into leaving her alone. Although, she does step out for a moment for a proper greeting and, erm… to show off the bracelet and hat she just got from Shein, I guess.
Just as she is about to get back inside her carriage, a group of assassins fly out and target her.
The Crown Prince Ji Yuansu (Jeremy Tsui) appears and fights them off. Actually, it wasn’t even necessary because this batch of assassins aren’t smart to begin with.
One of them gets caught and the Yuansu has him publicly punished to showcase his might, I guess.
Yuansu is sceptical about Liuli’s “sickness” so he enters the carriage to check on her. She spits some berry juice on him. No, not like, berry juice used by the drama as blood; she actually chews on some berries and spits the juice out at him.
Yuansu steps back out and declares that Liuli will be taken to a location of his choice to recuperate. The court officials’ reactions to this strange meeting have been pretty funny. First, they bowed to Liuli’s maid, thinking it was Liuli, then they got lectured by the people around for dragging a fragile girl out in the wind. These old men are so ready to go home at this point.
The place Liuli is sent to is like an abandoned temple, to say the least. But she doesn’t mind and sneaks out with her maid immediately to stroll around the city. She runs into a bratty lady. Actually, no, the bratty lady is just talking to her friends about the “Lady Hua fainting” incident that everyone is talking about; but Liuli’s maid just can’t stand it when people spread truthful rumors talk about her mistress behind their backs, so she stands up and shouts at the bratty lady.
They start arguing but it looks more like the bumpy beginning of a friendship than real trouble.
Crown Prince Yuansu is also snooping around with a different identity. He has Liuli watched and gradually finds out that this girl who claims illness isn’t really ill at all.
She’s actually quite strong and mischievous. I mean, she has to be pretty strong, right? To be able to wear that gigantic hairdo around all day?
SO…
Despite the male lead’s seriousness about everything he does, he is not here to frustrate you, but to make you laugh with his timely reactions to comedy.
Respectively, this show is more of a romantic comedy than a court intrigue drama despite the narrator’s solemn voice in the beginning. Let’s hope the middle and the ending won’t try to surprise us by turning tragic.