Yes, it is shocking, but the lack of care may also be because production was not too happy to resort to erasure, even though of course they had to protect the rest of cast and crew and investors interests if the law suit started by the actor took too much time to clear him. Anyway that character, fortunately, is really only secondary. They cut some scenes apparently, but cutting the character out totally seemed too difficult. So the bizarre deep voice is not even credited to a voice actor : this will remain the lingering mystery of this otherwise pleasant and low stress drama.
Yes, that was because I warned MDL at the time when the original actor had put on his Weibo that he was pausing his career to sue and explained his point of view. I was systematically checking all the actors involved in "Brocade Odyssey" for the characters gallery of my Companion piece (housed in Discussions section of the drama page). Reading what he wrote and digging around lightly, I thought it sounded pretty much like he had got targeted and cyber bullied, so MDL was fair then, to recognize his work as could be, cautiously, pending the outcome of the law suit, which the actor finally but too belatedly won when fabricated evidence using forgeries came to light.
Do read the story in Discussions section about why production got cold feet and did not wait for the original actor to be cleared, as he was, of any wrongdoings, end of December 2025.
The scandal started as slander, using fabricated "evidence" spread online to deliberately harm actor Zhang Haowei (although he was no wealthy idol and only best known for his role as Crown Prince in "Joy of Life"), Zhang Haowei sued the jealous perpetrator who after having been friends (talk about how with friends like that who needs enemies?) went viciously out to gather a cyberbully and misinformed posse to "kill" his target. Zhang Haowei won his case, the forging of evidence was exposed, but even then, he did not get really fair compensation all considered. In several of the works that were awaiting to air, productions, cautiously not trusting that justice would prevail soon enough, and to protect the efforts of the rest of cast and crew, resorted to AI swaps and name erasing.
I had heard about the situation at the time of "Brocade Odyssey" airing and let MDL know at the time, so warned that they should be cautious about stating he was involved in a scandal, since he had at the time paused his career to sue a possible slanderer. MDL at least mentioned him in cast as (body) with his face replacement as (AI face). Since it was not a crucial main role, it did not affect "Brocade Odyssey" overmuch, but it could have harmed "Love Has Fireworks" much more, given netizens always being quick to jump on any juicy story however clearly made up it could be, and to believe the worst of an actor (or an actress, that happens too), dismissing justice's investigations and decisions when the target takes the case to court. Some even have hater teams add fake videos and distorted recordings in some cases, to continue the juicy click baiting, all the while hypocritically calling for "justice".
Productions, even if they know the truth, have to deal with that backlash and risk for their business. So not only was there a face swap, but some scenes were cut altogether. The drama rose to top 1 out of 10 most watched and commented on last week, so their decision was not wrong commercially, although it may feel uncomfortable to think that a colleague agreed to let his face and credits be used to erase the original artist here. Those who did not get wind of the erasure may only comment that the support actor "plays and looks weird" and then move on to focus on what is more important, the story of the leads and their friends.
It is not fair to Zhang Haowei to continue spreading the story as if he was guilty of a scandal. The fact is, he was the victim of a slander.
2 July !! but i wonder if they release it for international
perhaps not, since wetv does not show something for that title on my end... I would have watched it, a short 3x60 minutes Republican era drama is just up my alley in between the longer ones.
I too have not started on those two. I am tempted by The Eternal Fragrance (TEF), but also need a rest after Mo Li and finishing LHF 😅 Same question as you for Never Ending Summer (NES) which just got its Douban opening rating at 5.1. Commentators mentioned this was too low.
Love Has Fireworks was n°1 in views over the last week in the top ten TV series category with 524 points, for the first time since its premiere, according to Marcus Here drama reporter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7QuEJ3CeIA It was a good week ending June 28 for the drama, although it did not reach the 600 points "excellent week" of the blockbusters ; it was previously ranking n°4/10 in the week ending June 21.
Yes, this is the link for the other Ma Shiyao drama with Wu Jialu 吴佳璐 drama which premiered September 26, 2025 . But it is not the link for the story of Ji Qiu （季秋）swap married to A Ze （姜泽 Jiang Ze), "richest man in Binhai". :)
Checking on Douban with that title, it is a Ma Shiyao + Wu Jialu 吴佳璐 drama which premiered September 26, 2025 .
But the one I described initially is earlier... and the names and story in a commentator's description of that title don't really match either : "Reborn… In her past life, Qin Yuwan's entire family was tragically killed because of her adopted brother and best friend. Reborn, Qin Yuwan successfully gives birth to her child, slaps her adopted brother and best friend in the face, and wins back her husband Fu Yeli,"
Anyway, the characters name are different, since in the video they are : Ji Qiu （季秋） and A Ze （姜泽 Jiang Ze).
I could not trace a possible drama title, neither when I tried looking up with name of the actor (fairly sure that's him) or that of the actress Geng Chisu (recognized by a commentator in the first video posted in August 2025, but since the video uploaded did not show cast names, it is complicated to make sure. Perhaps it was a mistake. From comparing two dramas I wonder if it is someone else, but have no other suggestion). Geng Chisu does not seem to have a Douban page but she does have a Baidu page. Still, none of the dramas mentioned there seemed to fit when I run the titles in Douban (anyway, Baidu may not have listed all she played in there).
A vertical drama from August 2025 ("title" and link in spoiler)The Ji family cast out Ji Qiu to marry…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSbmFkJ8HvQ "Forced to marry in place of her sister in countryside, she finds groom is billionaire who spoils her" (YouTube 102'48, August 2025, unavailable now)
A vertical drama from August 2025 ("title" and link in spoiler)
The Ji family cast out Ji Qiu to marry and get lost in remote Binhai fishing village instead of her elder half sister Ji Yurou, exchanging agreed betrothals so Yurou could marry into rich Zhou family in the city. But the hidden boss of Binhai was a self made young tycoon, A Ze, who not only had the support of the whole village and his no nonsense sister, but remembered fondly the girl who had given him her prize money to save him from despair.
ML Ma Shiyao | 马士尧 FL Geng Chisu | 耿池苏
(not 100% sure about FL name though, since the video uploaded did not show cast names and it was a commentator who wrote it was her).
he’s amazing support actor, one of the good ones, sold actingunfortunately in “love has fireworks” they…
The original actor Zhang Haowei was face swapped because of a wrong accusation against him. He sued, to clear his name, and was eventually vindicated, but the damage to his reputation seems to still linger although he really was innocent.... He got slandered by a former "best friend" (a jealous type who was happy to drag him down): sometimes the saying "who needs enemies when you have such friends" is true. But the fault also lies with public, those keyboard warriors eager to spread rumors and perpetuate them even after courts settled the case. People are so fond at sticking mud on actors and to revel about scandals, accuse them or "unknown powerful people" to believe sob stories of beatings, even suspected murders.
Am not a fan of either actor, although I did notice Zhang Haowen in passing, in Joy of Life (where he is not face swapped since the drama was out years back), but really think netizens ought to stop cyber bullying and cheering with erasion when a story is not clear and has not reached a conclusion through proofs and court proceedings. ("accused of doggy stuff" : yes, people are so fond of suspecting others of doDGy stuff. Poor man has nothing to do with dodgy or doggy stuff, that's a fact, and now even his name stays erased when he is the victim!) He got cyber bullied and can't even get compensation from those scumbags who shamelessly pose as "SJW" behind their keyboards for the thrill of having power to spread and continue false accusations because for them any slanderous rumor is so juicy that it has to be true.
And when they don't know the truth, they can't bring themselves to check first and if necessary to apologize for their initial suspicion, and to show real support to the victim beyond a partly informed and hypocritical mention that he is "a good support actor" while adding to the rumor mill ?
Oh, and btw, it was not Zhang Haowen who was face swapped in Pursuit of Jade, but He Changxi (I have no opinion on the validity of the reasons behind this, which seems to be linked to He Changxi having been associated with playing in BL works).
As for Li Xinze, he may be a good actor, but I regret that he allowed his face to be used to erase a colleague, even if it was for "the greater good" of saving the cast and crew's work and drag the drama off the purgatory shelf. In fact, his perhaps well meaning involvement is likely to further damage that production, which, if things were fair, ought to be restored to initial material.
So will he be in the series Love has fireworks or not? As he was suppose to play second lead in the series! I…
They did not. He was face swapped by Li Xin Ze (who got commissioned by production because they got jittery about the postponement until courts reached a conclusion), and the results is by most accounts disastrous : https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZpIWfTMAZP/ and the other links to the case by other commentators, below.
So sad that not only did Zhang Hao Wei not get compensated correctly by the scumbag who torpedoed his career through slanderous, false accusations, but that he still is not recognized enough so credits go to at least to his body that still remains in the drama, like in another drama where I once drew attention to MDL staff so they justly credited both actors (Zhang Haowei for his acting as (body) and the other one whose face replaced the real actor).
But since the face swap by perhaps well meaning colleague Li Xinze result is so bad, perhaps that "saving" further contributed to bury the drama even further down, despite the efforts of the others : Tan Jianci, Wang Churan, Jiang Peiyao (Zhang Haowei's initial pairing as 2ML/2FL) etc in the modern business romance.
C-ent is a dangerous jungle indeed, and audiences are too trigger happy to bring down an actor at every whiff of rumor, even when it, like here, gets proven to be the actor who was the victim.
Yes, both of them are real princes from the royal family.Mo Jingli is the son of the former crown prince.Mo Xiuyao…
I have serious doubts about the benevolence of the Dowager extending to urge her son to confer such a title to his cousin at any time. He was not very familiar with his cousin in the past, contrary to having been close to Mo Jingli on Lishan. Duke Hua's commendation of his valour as warrior and his injury in battle helped MXY save his neck, but I seriously doubt the grace came with a restoration of more than his Prince of Ding title, which was only to keep him grounded in his mansion and not too much of a threat, as he could be resentful for still being considered as a traitor's kin, and part responsible for a disaster, even if he had been spared.
I don't really understand why the Dowager swapped Ye Li's marriage deal to MXY. But we know that Ye Li was in fact quite happy about the swap, unlike MJL who apparently was forced to marry Ye Ying despite appearing to the contrary.
Ye Li now has fears that the revelation that her mother was holding the edict and did not directly go save the brother of MXY will put in jeopardy her "happy marriage". But why? Wasn't it the schemes of Muyang who led to the edict being spirited away and by way of consequence to Ye Li's mother's divorce and murder before she could use the edict to clear the Mo house ?
Some things are not very clear in that plot. Some guys look tough to kill, lol , and pop up again when we thought they were finished !
But, if the Cangbei princess also resuscitates, it will be a little bit over the top without finding a very plausible explanation: Su Zuidie was not joking with her knife and did not look like she would play Cupid to Li Feibai just to please the princess. I think she is a casualty like all the ministers and investigator around the marquis who were offed with or without us witnessing the method. Although she was not a villain, unlike Muyang henchmen.
Watching on to 30 tomorrow, hopefully, for more thrills ? We haven't reached the tearjerking moment announced yet.
PS What's a gonzhu? Did you mean 公主 gōngzhǔ like the nickname of Zhu Yun in Lighter and Princess? or 公主 gōngzhǔ like in Goodbye My Princess to stay with dynastic ones ? ;)
Yes, both of them are real princes from the royal family.Mo Jingli is the son of the former crown prince.Mo Xiuyao…
Okay, thanks, so our Mo boasted himself up a rank ? I'll be re watching soon ;)
On the other hand, the former emperor may have conferred the title to him before the disaster against Cangbei and before he passed away. Could it have been mentioned on the "famous edict" ?
Yes, both of them are real princes from the royal family.Mo Jingli is the son of the former crown prince.Mo Xiuyao…
I don't remember when in the drama Mo Xiuyao was referred to as qīnwáng ? In which episode (part of it), can you enlighten me ?
Sure, in ancient and imperial China, a qīnwáng 親王/simplified character 亲王 was a high-ranking aristocratic title translating to "First rank prince", "Imperial Prince" or "Relative Prince", "Prince of royal bloodline". It was reserved primarily for the blood-related SONS of the reigning Emperor. Research find occurrence of that since the Southern Dynasties period although it started to become more formal in the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties. Prior to the Qin dynasty, wáng 王 referred to sovereign kings; after the establishment of the imperial title Huángdì 皇帝, 王 evolved into a noble rank below the emperor.
There were variations in usage, so yes roughly, translations of 王 have varied as "king", ""prince" or sometimes "duke".
That may also be because of the confusion with Li Shimin of Tang dynasty's title as 秦王 Qín Wáng (King of Qin vassal territory, title of vassal king conferred on him by his father Emperor Gaozu/Li Yuan in 618. Prior to this, during the rebellion against the Sui Dynasty in 617, Li Shimin held the successive titles of Duke of Dunhuang, Duke of Qin (Qin gong) and Duke of Zhao, before being made Prince of Qin in 618, while his elder brother Li Jiancheng was Crown Prince. Li Shimin held this 秦王 Qín Wáng title from 618 until he became Emperor Taizong in 626 after the Xuanwu Gate Incident (Emperor Gaozu's palace) where Li Shimin killed Li Jiancheng, forcing his father to name him crown prince and two months later, yielding the throne to him as the now famous emperor Taizong of Tang.
Prior to Tang dynasty, the nobility system counted five ranks: the wǔjué,五爵 "five titles of nobility" were used throughout history but were subject to change depending on the general constitution of the state administration. They were :gōng 公 (translated as "duke") , hóu 侯 ("marquis") , bó 伯 ("earl" or "count"), zǐ 子 ("viscount"), nán 男 ("baron").
The title of wáng 王 was first reserved for the Son of Heaven (Tiānzǐ 天子), the single powerful ruler of a dynasty, but in Qin and Han dynasty, some deserving followers got the title of "king" (wáng 王), while the title of emperor (Huángdì 皇帝) was reserved for the emperor. The system added ranks of nobility over time, with many sub-levels.
In Tang dynasty, qīnwáng 亲王 was reserved for the emperor's sons or brothers; nephews (sons of the emperor's brothers) were usually granted the title of jùnwáng 郡王. But the emperor could grant the qīnwáng 亲王 title to a nephew if he was particularly favored, had rendered great merit, or if political circumstances required elevating a specific branch of the family.
Song dynasty had twelve ranks of nobility: qīnwáng 親王 /亲王 "prince" (son, sometimes brother of king/emperor ; the title was also granted to other close imperial relatives as a gesture to honor someone close to the throne, or posthumously) sìwáng 嗣王 "prince presumptive" (different from Tàizǐ 太子 "heir apparent" or "crown prince") jùnwáng 郡王 "prince", guógōng 國公 /国公, jùngōng 郡公, kāiguó gōng 開國公 /开国公, kāiguó jùn gōng 開國郡公 /开国郡公, kāiguó xiàn gōng 開國縣公 /开国县公 (all ranks of "dukes"), kāiguó hóu 開國侯 /开国侯 ("marquis"), kāiguó bó 開國伯 /开国伯 ("earl"), kāiguó zǐ 開國子 /开国子 ("viscount"), and kāiguó nán 開國男 /开国男 ("baron").
In systems like the Ming and Qing dynasties, qīnwáng 親王was distinguished from 郡王 (Jùn wáng, Commandery Prince) one rank below. Qīnwáng were typically the emperor's sons (rank 1A). But in Qing dynasty, the full formal title was also referring to the Manchu banner system : 和碩親王 (Hé shuò qīnwáng translated as "prince of the first rank"). These princes used only one character name such as the name of the famous Prince Gong: 恭親王, Gōng qīnwáng. (The Qing hierarchy had a more complicated system of 14 ranks and 20 sub-ranks for members of the imperial house and the Manchu family of the Gioro/Juéluó 覺儸).
The drama (set in the imaginary Da Chu kingdom) seems to take much inspiration from the Tang or Song period (costumes, armament etc) .
Mo Xiuyao is a son of the late emperor's brother (a nephew), so I wonder if he qualifies to a qīnwáng title, although his father may have been, but before the Ming, this was not a hereditary title, so I saw him only as Prince of Ding, vassal of his cousin, the young emperor Mo Yanqi. I can't recall him being mentioned in the drama as qīnwáng. + since he is only pardoned but still carries the stigma of having been accused of having violated etiquette, he hardly could have been granted the title by the young emperor or his mother (who probably is not qualified to do so as she is only a dowager regent) ?
Same as Mo Jingli despite being direct line grandson of the late emperor is not referred to as a qīnwáng or a jùnwáng, to my memory of episodes (or did someone hear it mentioned in an episode?) despite he is called Prince of Li.
Anyway, sure these ancient titles were complicated and confusing, especially in translation. Thanks for having me got digging into it once more (I had done so for myself about other works like classic novels and old dramas, but had forgotten a lot) : it's interesting to learn more at every step ;)
2 
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So the bizarre deep voice is not even credited to a voice actor : this will remain the lingering mystery of this otherwise pleasant and low stress drama.
The scandal started as slander, using fabricated "evidence" spread online to deliberately harm actor Zhang Haowei (although he was no wealthy idol and only best known for his role as Crown Prince in "Joy of Life"), Zhang Haowei sued the jealous perpetrator who after having been friends (talk about how with friends like that who needs enemies?) went viciously out to gather a cyberbully and misinformed posse to "kill" his target. Zhang Haowei won his case, the forging of evidence was exposed, but even then, he did not get really fair compensation all considered. In several of the works that were awaiting to air, productions, cautiously not trusting that justice would prevail soon enough, and to protect the efforts of the rest of cast and crew, resorted to AI swaps and name erasing.
I had heard about the situation at the time of "Brocade Odyssey" airing and let MDL know at the time, so warned that they should be cautious about stating he was involved in a scandal, since he had at the time paused his career to sue a possible slanderer. MDL at least mentioned him in cast as (body) with his face replacement as (AI face). Since it was not a crucial main role, it did not affect "Brocade Odyssey" overmuch, but it could have harmed "Love Has Fireworks" much more, given netizens always being quick to jump on any juicy story however clearly made up it could be, and to believe the worst of an actor (or an actress, that happens too), dismissing justice's investigations and decisions when the target takes the case to court. Some even have hater teams add fake videos and distorted recordings in some cases, to continue the juicy click baiting, all the while hypocritically calling for "justice".
Productions, even if they know the truth, have to deal with that backlash and risk for their business. So not only was there a face swap, but some scenes were cut altogether. The drama rose to top 1 out of 10 most watched and commented on last week, so their decision was not wrong commercially, although it may feel uncomfortable to think that a colleague agreed to let his face and credits be used to erase the original artist here. Those who did not get wind of the erasure may only comment that the support actor "plays and looks weird" and then move on to focus on what is more important, the story of the leads and their friends.
It is not fair to Zhang Haowei to continue spreading the story as if he was guilty of a scandal. The fact is, he was the victim of a slander.
I would have watched it, a short 3x60 minutes Republican era drama is just up my alley in between the longer ones.
Same question as you for Never Ending Summer (NES) which just got its Douban opening rating at 5.1. Commentators mentioned this was too low.
It was a good week ending June 28 for the drama, although it did not reach the 600 points "excellent week" of the blockbusters ; it was previously ranking n°4/10 in the week ending June 21.
https://kisskh.at/704189-shining-character/discussions/153012-love-has-fireworks-ost-music (There is a mystery song that I could not find, so the sleuths who want to add it in answer are most welcome!) Enjoy!
But it is not the link for the story of Ji Qiu （季秋）swap married to A Ze （姜泽 Jiang Ze), "richest man in Binhai". :)
But the one I described initially is earlier... and the names and story in a commentator's description of that title don't really match either : "Reborn… In her past life, Qin Yuwan's entire family was tragically killed because of her adopted brother and best friend. Reborn, Qin Yuwan successfully gives birth to her child, slaps her adopted brother and best friend in the face, and wins back her husband Fu Yeli,"
Anyway, the characters name are different, since in the video they are : Ji Qiu （季秋） and A Ze （姜泽 Jiang Ze).
I could not trace a possible drama title, neither when I tried looking up with name of the actor (fairly sure that's him) or that of the actress Geng Chisu (recognized by a commentator in the first video posted in August 2025, but since the video uploaded did not show cast names, it is complicated to make sure. Perhaps it was a mistake. From comparing two dramas I wonder if it is someone else, but have no other suggestion). Geng Chisu does not seem to have a Douban page but she does have a Baidu page. Still, none of the dramas mentioned there seemed to fit when I run the titles in Douban (anyway, Baidu may not have listed all she played in there).
"Forced to marry in place of her sister in countryside, she finds groom is billionaire who spoils her" (YouTube 102'48, August 2025, unavailable now)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-Pr0ldWeuU
Abandoned by Parents, I Married Sister’s Reject—He Was a CEO Who Spoiled Me，Gave Me Loving Brothers！ (YouTube 99'01 March 2026)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg5IQ6XInR8
Reborn! She marries into a scary clan for her sister, four devilish brothers spoil her silly! (YouTube 99'01 June 2026)
The Ji family cast out Ji Qiu to marry and get lost in remote Binhai fishing village instead of her elder half sister Ji Yurou, exchanging agreed betrothals so Yurou could marry into rich Zhou family in the city. But the hidden boss of Binhai was a self made young tycoon, A Ze, who not only had the support of the whole village and his no nonsense sister, but remembered fondly the girl who had given him her prize money to save him from despair.
ML Ma Shiyao | 马士尧
FL Geng Chisu | 耿池苏
(not 100% sure about FL name though, since the video uploaded did not show cast names and it was a commentator who wrote it was her).
He got slandered by a former "best friend" (a jealous type who was happy to drag him down): sometimes the saying "who needs enemies when you have such friends" is true. But the fault also lies with public, those keyboard warriors eager to spread rumors and perpetuate them even after courts settled the case. People are so fond at sticking mud on actors and to revel about scandals, accuse them or "unknown powerful people" to believe sob stories of beatings, even suspected murders.
I was checking here and other pages to check if MDL at least credited the real actor for (body) as was done with one of his previous works. They don't, no mention except from commentators who follow the news and know why the drama got shelved overlong and "saved" by face swap. It is really sad.
Read more here : https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZpIWfTMAZP/
https://dramapanda.com/2025/12/joy-of-life-actor-zhang-haowei-clears-name-scandal.html
https://www.tonboriday.com/2026/05/zhang-haowei-scandal-led-to-li-xinze-ai.html
Am not a fan of either actor, although I did notice Zhang Haowen in passing, in Joy of Life (where he is not face swapped since the drama was out years back), but really think netizens ought to stop cyber bullying and cheering with erasion when a story is not clear and has not reached a conclusion through proofs and court proceedings. ("accused of doggy stuff" : yes, people are so fond of suspecting others of doDGy stuff. Poor man has nothing to do with dodgy or doggy stuff, that's a fact, and now even his name stays erased when he is the victim!) He got cyber bullied and can't even get compensation from those scumbags who shamelessly pose as "SJW" behind their keyboards for the thrill of having power to spread and continue false accusations because for them any slanderous rumor is so juicy that it has to be true.
And when they don't know the truth, they can't bring themselves to check first and if necessary to apologize for their initial suspicion, and to show real support to the victim beyond a partly informed and hypocritical mention that he is "a good support actor" while adding to the rumor mill ?
Oh, and btw, it was not Zhang Haowen who was face swapped in Pursuit of Jade, but He Changxi (I have no opinion on the validity of the reasons behind this, which seems to be linked to He Changxi having been associated with playing in BL works).
As for Li Xinze, he may be a good actor, but I regret that he allowed his face to be used to erase a colleague, even if it was for "the greater good" of saving the cast and crew's work and drag the drama off the purgatory shelf. In fact, his perhaps well meaning involvement is likely to further damage that production, which, if things were fair, ought to be restored to initial material.
and the other links to the case by other commentators, below.
So sad that not only did Zhang Hao Wei not get compensated correctly by the scumbag who torpedoed his career through slanderous, false accusations, but that he still is not recognized enough so credits go to at least to his body that still remains in the drama, like in another drama where I once drew attention to MDL staff so they justly credited both actors (Zhang Haowei for his acting as (body) and the other one whose face replaced the real actor).
But since the face swap by perhaps well meaning colleague Li Xinze result is so bad, perhaps that "saving" further contributed to bury the drama even further down, despite the efforts of the others : Tan Jianci, Wang Churan, Jiang Peiyao (Zhang Haowei's initial pairing as 2ML/2FL) etc in the modern business romance.
C-ent is a dangerous jungle indeed, and audiences are too trigger happy to bring down an actor at every whiff of rumor, even when it, like here, gets proven to be the actor who was the victim.
Duke Hua's commendation of his valour as warrior and his injury in battle helped MXY save his neck, but I seriously doubt the grace came with a restoration of more than his Prince of Ding title, which was only to keep him grounded in his mansion and not too much of a threat, as he could be resentful for still being considered as a traitor's kin, and part responsible for a disaster, even if he had been spared.
I don't really understand why the Dowager swapped Ye Li's marriage deal to MXY. But we know that Ye Li was in fact quite happy about the swap, unlike MJL who apparently was forced to marry Ye Ying despite appearing to the contrary.
Ye Li now has fears that the revelation that her mother was holding the edict and did not directly go save the brother of MXY will put in jeopardy her "happy marriage". But why? Wasn't it the schemes of Muyang who led to the edict being spirited away and by way of consequence to Ye Li's mother's divorce and murder before she could use the edict to clear the Mo house ?
Some things are not very clear in that plot. Some guys look tough to kill, lol , and pop up again when we thought they were finished !
But, if the Cangbei princess also resuscitates, it will be a little bit over the top without finding a very plausible explanation: Su Zuidie was not joking with her knife and did not look like she would play Cupid to Li Feibai just to please the princess. I think she is a casualty like all the ministers and investigator around the marquis who were offed with or without us witnessing the method. Although she was not a villain, unlike Muyang henchmen.
Watching on to 30 tomorrow, hopefully, for more thrills ? We haven't reached the tearjerking moment announced yet.
PS What's a gonzhu? Did you mean 公主 gōngzhǔ like the nickname of Zhu Yun in Lighter and Princess? or 公主 gōngzhǔ like in Goodbye My Princess to stay with dynastic ones ? ;)
I'll be re watching soon ;)
On the other hand, the former emperor may have conferred the title to him before the disaster against Cangbei and before he passed away. Could it have been mentioned on the "famous edict" ?
Sure, in ancient and imperial China, a qīnwáng 親王/simplified character 亲王 was a high-ranking aristocratic title translating to "First rank prince", "Imperial Prince" or "Relative Prince", "Prince of royal bloodline". It was reserved primarily for the blood-related SONS of the reigning Emperor. Research find occurrence of that since the Southern Dynasties period although it started to become more formal in the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties. Prior to the Qin dynasty, wáng 王 referred to sovereign kings; after the establishment of the imperial title Huángdì 皇帝, 王 evolved into a noble rank below the emperor.
There were variations in usage, so yes roughly, translations of 王 have varied as "king", ""prince" or sometimes "duke".
That may also be because of the confusion with Li Shimin of Tang dynasty's title as 秦王 Qín Wáng (King of Qin vassal territory, title of vassal king conferred on him by his father Emperor Gaozu/Li Yuan in 618. Prior to this, during the rebellion against the Sui Dynasty in 617, Li Shimin held the successive titles of Duke of Dunhuang, Duke of Qin (Qin gong) and Duke of Zhao, before being made Prince of Qin in 618, while his elder brother Li Jiancheng was Crown Prince. Li Shimin held this 秦王 Qín Wáng title from 618 until he became Emperor Taizong in 626 after the Xuanwu Gate Incident (Emperor Gaozu's palace) where Li Shimin killed Li Jiancheng, forcing his father to name him crown prince and two months later, yielding the throne to him as the now famous emperor Taizong of Tang.
Prior to Tang dynasty, the nobility system counted five ranks: the wǔjué,五爵 "five titles of nobility" were used throughout history but were subject to change depending on the general constitution of the state administration. They were :gōng 公 (translated as "duke") , hóu 侯 ("marquis") , bó 伯 ("earl" or "count"), zǐ 子 ("viscount"), nán 男 ("baron").
The title of wáng 王 was first reserved for the Son of Heaven (Tiānzǐ 天子), the single powerful ruler of a dynasty, but in Qin and Han dynasty, some deserving followers got the title of "king" (wáng 王), while the title of emperor (Huángdì 皇帝) was reserved for the emperor. The system added ranks of nobility over time, with many sub-levels.
In Tang dynasty, qīnwáng 亲王 was reserved for the emperor's sons or brothers; nephews (sons of the emperor's brothers) were usually granted the title of jùnwáng 郡王.
But the emperor could grant the qīnwáng 亲王 title to a nephew if he was particularly favored, had rendered great merit, or if political circumstances required elevating a specific branch of the family.
Song dynasty had twelve ranks of nobility:
qīnwáng 親王 /亲王 "prince" (son, sometimes brother of king/emperor ; the title was also granted to other close imperial relatives as a gesture to honor someone close to the throne, or posthumously)
sìwáng 嗣王 "prince presumptive" (different from Tàizǐ 太子 "heir apparent" or "crown prince")
jùnwáng 郡王 "prince",
guógōng 國公 /国公, jùngōng 郡公, kāiguó gōng 開國公 /开国公, kāiguó jùn gōng 開國郡公 /开国郡公, kāiguó xiàn gōng 開國縣公 /开国县公 (all ranks of "dukes"),
kāiguó hóu 開國侯 /开国侯 ("marquis"),
kāiguó bó 開國伯 /开国伯 ("earl"),
kāiguó zǐ 開國子 /开国子 ("viscount"),
and kāiguó nán 開國男 /开国男 ("baron").
In systems like the Ming and Qing dynasties, qīnwáng 親王was distinguished from 郡王 (Jùn wáng, Commandery Prince) one rank below. Qīnwáng were typically the emperor's sons (rank 1A).
But in Qing dynasty, the full formal title was also referring to the Manchu banner system : 和碩親王 (Hé shuò qīnwáng translated as "prince of the first rank"). These princes used only one character name such as the name of the famous Prince Gong: 恭親王, Gōng qīnwáng. (The Qing hierarchy had a more complicated system of 14 ranks and 20 sub-ranks for members of the imperial house and the Manchu family of the Gioro/Juéluó 覺儸).
The drama (set in the imaginary Da Chu kingdom) seems to take much inspiration from the Tang or Song period (costumes, armament etc) .
Mo Xiuyao is a son of the late emperor's brother (a nephew), so I wonder if he qualifies to a qīnwáng title, although his father may have been, but before the Ming, this was not a hereditary title, so I saw him only as Prince of Ding, vassal of his cousin, the young emperor Mo Yanqi. I can't recall him being mentioned in the drama as qīnwáng.
+ since he is only pardoned but still carries the stigma of having been accused of having violated etiquette, he hardly could have been granted the title by the young emperor or his mother (who probably is not qualified to do so as she is only a dowager regent) ?
Same as Mo Jingli despite being direct line grandson of the late emperor is not referred to as a qīnwáng or a jùnwáng, to my memory of episodes (or did someone hear it mentioned in an episode?) despite he is called Prince of Li.
Anyway, sure these ancient titles were complicated and confusing, especially in translation. Thanks for having me got digging into it once more (I had done so for myself about other works like classic novels and old dramas, but had forgotten a lot) : it's interesting to learn more at every step ;)
Prince Li Mo Jingli is LI wang.
Otherwise, I agree with yr comment