The Princess Royal

Pei Wen Xuan deserved better!!

Just finished this drama and it lowkey felt like a chore to finish it. The story was a bit boring yet interesting enough to finish it.

I found there to be very little chemistry between the two leads, but their acting was good enough and I felt the respect they had for each other as actors. ZJM could work on her facial expressions a bit. More feeling!! Some of her crying/sad scenes were not convincing enough to me except the one where SRQ revealed everything to her in that cave. I liked her acting there. I enjoy a good crazy dramatic scene (ahem, Consort Rue). ZLH needed more screen time!!

Li Rong was such a selfish person with big trust issues (understandable). Her character was so annoying and she did not deserve Pei Wen Xuan's love!! He was way too good for her. PWX loved her way more than she did. I do appreciate that they had good communication in certain scenes and cleared up some misunderstandings. And like many other's already talked about, Su Rong Qing had too much screen time. He was pretty much the ML in this drama and the whole story felt like it revolved around him.

I loved the other supporting characters like Qin Zhen Zhen, Shangguan Ya and Su Rong Hua. And the actress of Consort Rou played the heck out of her role! She was a very convincing psycho! LOL

What bugged me was in Episode 35 where they switched Prince Su after he passed away with someone who was basically the same person. That was ridiculous. But then suddenly everyone knew he was imposter? They just knew!! There was no big reveal so it was underwhelming. And nobody really mourned for Prince Su except the Princess Hua. Consort Rou was so fixated on power, she mourned for like a few minutes and then boom - back to being power hungry.

Also, goodness gracious SRQ was basically half of Ep 40 with his dramatic antics. And near the end 3 years into the future, where the heck was Li Rong and Pei Wen Xuan's kid?!

I do enjoy a good political drama, but this one dragged on. This shouldn't have been 40 episodes long. 30 episodes would have been fine. I do believe this is worth a watch if you like the leads. Who knows, you might enjoy it more than me!

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The Princess Royal - Rebirth, Power, and Love

🔹 I gave The Princess Royal 8/10.

🔹From the very first episode, I was drawn in by the plot's question: What if fate gave you a second chance to change everything?

📖 Overview
🔹 The Princess Royal is a 40-episode Chinese historical romance adapted from the novel The Eldest Princess (长公主) by Mo Shu Bai.
🔹 It stars Zhao Jin Mai as Li Rong, a princess caught between duty and love, and Zhang Ling He as Pei Wen Xuan, the prime minister tied to her fate.
🔹 The story blends palace intrigue, rebirth fantasy, and romance. Both leads die after decades of tension, only to wake up as their younger selves with full memories of the past.

✍️ Storyline & Tone
🔹 The drama mixes political suspense with intimate emotions, creating a bittersweet but hopeful mood.
🔹 I liked how the rebirth theme gave familiar palace conflicts fresh weight since every choice feels like it could rewrite destiny.
🔹 At times, the pacing slowed in the middle episodes, but the emotional pull of the second-chance setup kept me watching.

🎭 Cast & Performances
🔹 Zhao Jin Mai makes Li Rong believable as both a leader and a woman scarred by her past. Her performance is layered, showing strength and vulnerability side by side.
🔹 Zhang Ling He gives Pei Wen Xuan a steady calm that softens into warmth, making his slow bond with Li Rong feel natural.
🔹 The supporting cast, including Li Yun Rui, Dai Lu Wa, Wang Zi Teng, and Chen Xin Hai, round out the palace world with humor, loyalty, and conflict, so the story never feels empty.

🎵 OST
🔹 "Live Up to the Good Years (华年不负)" – Curley Gao (希林娜依·高, former BONBON GIRLS 303)
🔹 "Wind Blows (风吹)" – Qian Yan (千言)
🔹 "Persistent Love (执爱)" – Mi Ka (米卡)
🔹 "Double Dream (双梦)" – Yao Xiao Tang (姚晓棠)
🔹 "Love Without End (爱而不休)" – Chen Hong Li (陈红鲤)
🔹 "Hidden Heart (藏心)" – Ye Xuan Qing (叶宣卿)
🔹 "Soul Attached (魂牵)" – Shui Mu Nian Hua (水木年华)


🎨 Visuals & Production
🔹 The palace and interior sets felt well-balanced, making the world believable.
🔹 The costumes were on point for each character.
🔹 I liked how the cinematography highlighted both the sweeping political moments and the smaller, emotional ones.


🏆 Final Thoughts
🔹 For me, The Princess Royal stands out because it blends rebirth fantasy, political intrigue, and romance in a way that feels both moving and grand.
🔹 I rated it 8/10 for its heartfelt acting, beautiful OST, and plot twists.
🔹 The slower middle episodes were a drawback, but the overall emotional impact stayed strong.

⭐ Final Rating: 9/10

💭 As SpillTheDramaTea ☕, The Princess Royal felt like a rich, fragrant brew of tea. The longer it steeped, the deeper the taste became, and it’s one I’ll gladly pour again.

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sick & twisted politics and a beautiful story

this definitely exceeded my expectations, this story turned out to be a lot rich and enjoyable then i hoped

-Li rong is a diva. Shes a very complex female character, her actions may annoy you or not make sense at first, but as the story goes on, her character learns and evolves. Being a women in politics, a princess no less, she is incredibly determined, strong and persuasive.
She grew up being taught politics and power was to be prioritized over love, we've been seeing that mindset in the starting episodes, plus being a woman alone in a male dominated field is already hard as it is.
despite it she sees through the lies and games before her, she learns to love pei wenxuan and truly understand his love and his worth.

-Pei wenxuan is such a nice male lead. Cocky, sassy and easy going but surprisingly cunning and clever under the cover. His character also had a lot of layers to him, which made the show so engaging and lively. I just loved him! unlike the 2ml with his capabilities and morals, he was able to not only have Li rong but also fight for his family.
i would say his amazing character was inconsistent at times esp towards the end but all in all hes a treat

-both of them together are the cutest bickering married couple. pei wenxuan's care and love for li rong is seen so clearly, he isnt threatened by her position or dominance, he embraces it, helped her grow, not only in power but as a person too.
and li rong didnt hide her love either, both were given a second chance and used it well, using her power to help him and protect him, it was adorable to see.

-the politics in this one is great!!
they really really show exactly the twisted and dirty politics of the imperial court, every character is evil in a way they would kill others to save their own skin, even our main leads, yet their behaviors and actions are explained, and karma gets them.
if you snooze u might miss some important plot points, so its important to pay attention. The politics grabbed and lost me turn by turn, but it was enjoyable nontheless.

HOWEVER,,
-yes the 2ml is annoying ASF. his character jst felt unnecessary he was a weak villain, consort rou was a better antagonist than him. them constantly pushing 2ml and fl together was annoying as well but if you skip his scenes it'll be alr which is what i did ^^
in conclusion, its a wonderful story that balances romance and politics and is def worth a watch!!
9/10, i can see myself rewatching for peirong bcz they're jst adorable

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I had hoped for something along the lines of The Story of Kunning Palace but was sadly disappointed

**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**

I should preface this review by stating that I'm not a big fan of palace intrigue, politics or watching people obsess about how to dominate someone else. This drama seems to be almost entirely focused on that or revenge. There is a little bit of romance sprinkled in but very little of the healthy variety.

**Spoiler Alert**

Not one, not two, but three people somehow get a second chance to start over as their younger selves when they die at the same time. We know about two of them from the drama's description. The third, that I won't reveal, comes as a surprise. We aren't told how or why they are able to come back and have another chance, we just see the Princess and Pei Wen Xuan trying to guess what happened and how that person came to be there as well. Personally, I found this incredibly vexing. I wanted some kind of explanation as to why the three of them would all be back in their younger bodies with their memories intact.

The female lead character is arrogant, cold, entitled, selfish and while she does have the desire to do the right thing, she lacks the ability to empathize with other people and understand what they're feeling and really need. Because of that, she's unable to let her guard down and trust anyone. Not because she doesn't want to, she just can't. Nevertheless, it makes it really hard to understand why both Pei Wen Xuan and Su Rong Qing would literally do anything for her. She does so many disrespectful, cruel things that I don't know how they can forgive her them.

While both Pei Wen Xuan and Su Rong Qing are attractive, intelligent and devoted in their own ways, neither of them seem to have any self respect when it comes to doing whatever it takes to have the Princess. She might have wanted them more and behaved better if they stopped taking whatever she doled out to them. I was offended on behalf of them, just watching it. Yes, I know Li Rong did come around and start treating them better later on, but not well enough, in my opinion. Li Rong was also never clear about who she cared about. She should have made it clear to both Pei Wen Xuan and Su Rong Qing early on. It would have saved them all a lot of heart ache. It wasn't fair to have them have to live with that doubt /hope still lingering.

I found the first half of the drama really boring and I struggled to get through it. The second half picked up though and I was interested to see where it would go, especially if they would reveal any of the answers I was looking for. The cast is good and I enjoyed the acting. I was disappointed with how they decided to do the action scenes though. There wasn't any realism. They went for the fake, Wuxia feel even though it wasn't a fantasy in any way other than the going back in time bit. People fall off tall cliffs and only get bruises, stabbed in the chest or back and it might as well have just been a scratch. Seriously, what were they thinking? And then of course there's the fact that people just order others to be killed at the drop of the hat and we're still supposed to sympathize with their characters. How exactly? They're murderers. In the end, the character that I liked the most was Su Rong Qing's elder brother, Su Rong Hua, played by Yi Da Qian. He was sweet, kind, stuck to his convictions and was self sacrificing.

My favorite thing about this drama would be the soundtrack. I absolutely love the song "Devoted Love" by Mika and keep listening to it on repeat, even though I don't speak Chinese. It's just beautiful. There are some other really good songs on it as well. They're well worth checking out.

Over all, the acting was really good but I didn't like the characters or story very much. I don't like arrogant, entitled women or men who suck up and take abuse. If you do, then you'll love this one.

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A second chance historical drama that has it's flaws but is still very enjoyable

Whilst the premise of the drama is not new, I think it's fairly well-executed. I think Zhang Ling He and Zhao Jin Mai had good chemistry in the drama, and I found the quipping between their characters entertaining. However, I do think there could have been less arguing about the same issues later on. I also enjoyed watching Li Rong and Li Chuan's relationship - lots of poignant scenes. I think the pacing for the drama is pretty good, for most of it, with little wasted time. I flew through most of the drama. I think the ending could have been a little longer.
The reason why I've given a low rewatch value but high scoring for the drama overall is that it just isn't the sort of drama that I want to rewatch, since the unknown outcomes of all the plotting is what makes it exciting.
I've written a more detailed review of this drama with spoilers on my blog:
https://onthisiponder.wordpress.com/2024/09/09/chinese-drama-the-princess-royal-《度华年》review/

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Heavy on the palace intrigue. Lighter on the romance.

I will watch anything Zhang Ling He is in because he is devastatingly handsome and a wonderful actor to boot! In this he did not disappoint. The premise of this drama seemed interesting--having a second chance at correcting life's failures. But when the plot slowed and gave more air time to secondary characters and not enough on the main leads, I felt disappointed. The acting was very good in this. Jiao Jin Mai (Amidst a Snowstorm of Love) plays the imperious, self-absorbed princess to a Tee and the best part was watching her character grow and becoming adept at balancing personal life with palace intrigue.

The same can be said for the ML. He wanted to be a better version of himself and sought to win his lady's hand. Unfortunately, he isn't given a whole lot to do, so the relationship, at times, feels unbalanced. Watching these two fight and make up, push each other away and finally find a way to make their relationship work, while dealing with people wanting to destroy them, was a job. The rushed ending and loose ends left unexplained was disappointing.

The costumes, acting, and sets were beautiful and I loved the OST. Those were the strongest parts of the drama, but the writing was weak and I felt the performers deserved better.

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Angel Zhao & Zhang Ling He. Of course here I come…

Story about Li Rong (LR) and Pei Wen Xuan (WX). Li Rong, an eldest princess, married Pei Wen Xuan, low class minister, to avoid disaster. Why? Because at that time, the kingdom was ‘ruled’ by the royal families. Royal families had money & power to take over the kingdom, at that time they're not really doing much to threaten the kingdom, however the emperor was still afraid of their influence on the kingdom.

So, the understanding LR chose WX to make peace with her father, the emperor. And WX himself, took the opportunity of him being the princess consort to gain advantage in politics.

That's the introduction to the married life of LR & WX that we know at the beginning. Later we'll find out that really everything is not like what it seems at first.

MDL stated that: “Later on, LR lost herself in the midst of wine, song and dance. As for WX, he had a home yet did not bother coming home because he already had someone in his heart…” That's when all the summary in MDL in my opinion is wrong…

We never get a glimpse of LR losing herself in the midst of wine, song and dance. But rather we start this drama with LR already in power at the edge of her life. But yeah LR & WX didn't have slightest affection for each other. Instead they are enemies with opposite sides in politics.

So yeah, in the end LR & WX indeed died under each other’s schemes. And when they woke up, they had actually returned to the year when they were 18 years old, returning to the most difficult time in their lives. Where they need to start all over once again…

So, how will the story progress…? What will LR & WX choose…? Will LR & WX still choose the same choice with their previous life…?

That’s pretty much the story without giving too much spoiler. Now what I like and don’t.

What I like:
+ Angel Zhao is amazing… She grew a lot with her acting & her choice of drama. Yeah much like JulesL wrote, I also feel she’s lacking something. LR as a young princess is played beautifully by Angel Zhao, but when she needs to be shown LR as a proud, powerful & cold woman… that’s when I feel she lacks. I don’t know how to describe it better…
+ We have no ordinary FL, much like JulesL wrote: “Li Rong was no Mary Sue; she was not your usual FL who was perfect and good, and her only fault was trusting and loving the wrong people. LR also was unlike the stereotypical strong female lead. She had plenty of flaws but also had her own strengths.” And that’s just perfect to summarize our FL.
+ The relationship between LR & WX. This is also when MDL’s summary is wrong: “So Pei Wen Xuan went to look for Li Rong. To be married again but with divorce in mind.” I don’t know about the book, but what I get from the drama itself, the one that had divorce in mind is LR not WX. And I really like how LR & WX manage the relationship, from untrusting each other till slowly trusting each other.
+ We have multiple people who come back from the future after their death. We have FL, ML & the most interesting one, the villain himself...
+ We have no ordinary villain, first this is the first time any villain also comes back from the future. Second, you can’t say he’s evil, but that doesn’t mean he’s a good man either. Unlike LR & WX who take the chance to change the future for a better one, he just does everything to prevent it, even by making himself an evil one. Unfortunately, I can’t really tell you what without giving too much spoiler. Just watch it so you know yourself.
+ We get the best illustration of what will come when they are pushed till the edge of despair. Like what happened with the original future of Li Chuan. That’s just such a pity what happened to him at that time…

What I don’t like:
- A little confused about the original future conflict. That’s the one that I don’t really give a f*ck.
- Much like JulesL wrote, I also somewhat feel all the characters lack something. Like Su Rong Qing (RQ) or LR. But unlike JulesL, I feel even a more veteran actor played RQ, I still feel a little to no care about RQ feelings…. It’s really hard to describe what I mean. But this is one of the reasons I lowered the score for this drama.

Overall: this is quite entertaining, enough to make me watch it nonstop

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What happens when a Scorpio and a Capricorn get together (Again!)

This show was FAB. Not too many luls. Great twists! Even if you pin it down, there's always an extra detail to shock and delight. If you like angst, slow burns and bickering, this is the show for you. A very fun watch. I would recommend. I was screaming at the screen every other episode.

This show is essentially what happens when a Scorpio man and a Capricorn woman are in a relationship. Their priorities are in completely different directions. No communication just assumptions than actions because they think they know the other person so well. If they didn't love each other so much this would be a problem. I mean, I too would find it difficult to get back together with the husband I thought was coveting after my brother's beloved wife and I was personally getting out of a 17 year situationship. The romance was slow and sweet, but well earned when it finally came. The banter was a nice break between angst and political scheming. The chemistry between the leads was SO good. I do feel bad she never got her year of rest and relaxation.

However, where they lost me is when it was time to pick sides. Everyone says "if they could go back in time, they would kill xyz". But when Rongqing does it, it's a problem. I may be biased because I agree with him. Hell, in any other show, he would be the hero. From his perspective, if he knows in 10 years, that prince will kill everyone who knows and loves. Why would he allow that to happen? Only a fool does the same thing twice and expect different results. On top of that, the only two people in the world who also have this information are completely willing to let it happen again. Moreover, helping support it. He must feel like he's going crazy. Now everybody cares about "free will" and "letting destiny take its course" after they made made the changes THEY wanted. He's an Aquarius so he's very fair even though they REFUSE to empathize or compromise with him at all. Like why is it illegal to try something new??? (which they lowkey end up doing anyway)

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This drama falling into formulaic patterns

The Princess Royal" (2024) c-drama seems to delve into themes of royal intrigue, power struggles, and personal relationships, typical of many historical Chinese dramas. The premise of a royal princess facing challenges in both politics and personal life could be intriguing, especially if it explores the tension between duty and desire, a common but compelling dynamic.
I’m on episode 23 and I’m thinking, 'Oh wow, I still have so much left to watch...' Yet, I’m speeding through all the storylines :) At first, it was pretty good, interesting even, but after 20 ep till the end it’s getting long, there’s not much left to say. Why so many episodes in these series? The ML is trying to create chemistry. Good acting... As for the FL, she’s sometimes annoying, even though I try to understand her coldness because of her character and as a princess. However, her performance feels stiff. And this indecision and the endless love triangles are ruining everything. I can’t take it anymore with these series..
The SML has a bland face, lacking charisma, which adds nothing to this drama (his performance is the same as usual for an SML in dramas; without overshadowing the ML). Without him, the couple's relationships would have been more interesting, I think, . I find the plot it childish overall. The positive point is the ML, the general idea, and a few episodes from the beginning. And the idea of a second chance in a relationship and the wrong intentions we can have due to the lack of communication

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A sweet romance that should've been not-so-sweet

What I liked:

- Zhang Ling He's performance is a lot better here than in the Story of Kunning Palace, and I think they made the right choice to dub him because I wasn't keen for a repeat of his robotic performance.
- The leads had good chemistry
- The story explored the complexity of people and relationships very well, acknowledging that there's no black and white decisions in life, and that people are not entirely evil or good.
- Knowing what we know of what really happened to Shangguan Ya and Su Ronghua in their past lives, I'm really glad for their second chance.
- It's a hoot to see so many Joy of Life folks here!

What I didn't like

- The background music was bland
- I'm very impressed with the actress playing Shangguan Ya - she balances her playful and ruthless sides very deftly.
- The rebellion towards the end looked very small and not very convincing.
- The last arc was chaotic.
- Su Rong Qing's arc overstayed its welcome, nuff said.
- Pei Wenxian, towards the end, became a side character in his own story and wasn't as complex or layered a character as a result.
- The special episode was chaotic even if it was sweet. It just felt very off tone with the rest of the drama.

All in all, The Princess Royal was actually an entertaining enough drama, and its strength lay in the exploration of complex characters and their motivations.

However, I can understand why novel readers are upset.

For one, the romance never rose beyond "sweet romance" when the novel was very much not a sweet, teenage romance but a mature one with our characters doing adult things.

Sure, Chinese dramas will never go that far to show full-blown steamy scenes, but Legend of Shen Li managed to show that level of depth without it becoming soft porn.

In the end, the drama was still "good enough" but one can't help but wonder if it could've been better if they tried to be grittier.

As usual, this is a shorter version of my review on my blog: https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/08/22/the-princess-royal-review/

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Mixed feelings

Just finished this. Initially, I was so pumped up to start watching this after seeing an excerpt from IG. Started off intriguing , however it mellows down and gets less and less point towards the end i feel. I think it is interesting idea for 2 people to start anew and fell in love again the second time rightfully however, towards the middle, i find that LiRong’s character is somehow like weeds in the wind, just blindly flying wherever the so called truth revelation goes. The chemistry between LiRong and Pei Wenxuan is also on and off to me, sometimes Li Rong is too aloof and PWX appears to be in love by himself. But my biggest pet peeve is with SRQ’s character. Firstly his voice character is totally off to me, it doesnt sound charismatic enough to my ears, playing the role of an aristocrat. The acting also has so much room for improvement, especially being the ultimate villain/second lead. It makes the villain so weak tbh. The plot sometimes also annoyed me. It keeps on going on and on about the noble families vs commoners, but in the end, nothing was resolved. The emperor is off gallivanting somewhere with his sweetheart, and now we have a female regent with her husband. And they dont even show their much awaited first child! Li Chuan also seems too young for the role. It doesnt give enough conviction to viewers. I love Jinmai from her previous role, but I guess, this role is too ‘adult’ for her as well *shrugs


One thing I like though, the costumes are plenty and beautiful. The cinematography is also nice. Not much to say regarding the ost. They were not used enough in the drama to make an impact to me. All in all, it was an ok watch for me, but very likely not to be rewatched again

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