1
A Masterful Blend of Mystery, Romance, Humor, and Storytelling
This drama has everything going for it: chemistry, storytelling, humor, and mystery. Let’s begin with the mystery, as the other elements are more self-evident. The plot is rooted deeply in the past, with secrets hidden from both the audience and the characters themselves.
Character Backgrounds
The Male Lead (ML): Xie Zheng
Names: Xie Zheng (Formal), Marquis Wu’an (Title), Yan Zheng (Alias used while in hiding), “Xie Jiu Heng” (Name given by his teacher).
Family: His father, Xie Linshan, married the sister of Prime Minister Wei Yan.
The Mystery: After his father’s death, Xie Zheng was raised by his maternal uncle, Wei Yan. Curiously, Wei Yan treats Xie Zheng better than his own son, even convincing the renowned Grand Tutor Tao to take him on as a student.
The Female Lead (FL): Fan Changyu
Family: Her father is Wei Qilin (formerly a servant of Wei Yan). He married General Meng Shuyuan’s daughter and took the surname Meng. Later, while in hiding, he changed his name to Fan Erniu.
Other Characters:
Meng Family
FL's grandfather and Mother
Zhu Youchang (General Zhu - served under Meng Shuyuan) was imprisoned by Wei Yan for seventeen years
According to him: Wei Yan sent FL's father Wei Qilin with a Tiger Tally and a letter telling the Meng General to abandon the transfer of grains to ML's father. They should rescue the 16th prince instead.
Tiger Tally of Xunchang to no avail, it turns out Zhu Youchang had sewn it into his severed leg - when QM's shadow men came, he gave it to them hoping to clear the Meng General's name.
Wei Family
Wei Yan - Prime Minister supposedly conspired to kill the ML's father.
Qi Min/Sui Yuanhuai : The imperial grandson. As a child, he stood in for the eldest son of Prince Changxin; during this time, half of his face was severely burned, leaving him with chronic illnesses.
This chapter discusses QM's history and how he became Sui Yuanqing's brother:
https://www.readthedrama.com/novels/chasing-jade-zhu-yu/chapters/66
Why he dislike his son - Yu Bao'er? because YB can take his throne before he can succeed in overthrowing the current king.
Sui Yuanqing: The second son of Prince Changxin and the heir apparent. If Prince Changxin takes the throne, Sui Yuanqing will inherit it. Qi Min intends to use Xie Zheng to eliminate Sui Yuanqing.
The Li Family Alliance: When Prince Changxin’s path to the throne falters, Qi Min begins collaborating with the Li family to secure his own chance at power.
The Li Family:
Second Male Lead (SML): Li Huaian / Wen Kan.
Grandfather: Grand Tutor Li, a powerful court official. He married his daughter to the Emperor, but she remains a childless Empress because the Emperor seeks to balance power between the Li and Wei families. He sends his grandson, Li Huaian, to investigate the events of 17 years ago.
The Events of 17 Years Ago
Meng Shuyuan, a loyal general under Xie Linshan, disregarded military orders to rescue 100,000 besieged civilians while transporting provisions. This delay led to the deaths of the Chengde Crown Prince and Xie Linshan at Jinzhou. Meng supposedly committed suicide to atone.
Wei Yan order Wei Qilin to kill his wife. WQ refused and took his wife into hiding - changing his name to Fan.
That same year, the Eastern Palace caught fire, reportedly killing both the Crown Princess and the imperial grandson. These two events—the defeat at Jinzhou and the palace fire—occurred in quick succession. Anyone with eyes can see they are undoubtedly connected.
The Answer: The Crown Princess set the fire herself to secure a slim chance of survival for the imperial grandson.
THE Mysteries:
1) Why did Meng Shuyuan, who was not known for being reckless or disloyal, disobey a direct order?
2) If Wei Yan was the culprit orchestrating the conspiracy to kill Xie Linshan, why did he allow Meng Shuyuan’s descendants to live?
3) Did Wei Qilin pressure General Meng to delay the shipment?
4) What does the Li family have to do with all of these events?
5) Who wanted to harm the Eastern Palace?
6) What is in the box given to He Jingyuan to give to Wei Yan when Fan Changyu's parents commit suicide?
7) Did Wei Qilin mastered the events that killed Zie Chang's father? This is the question that Changyu needs to answer because if he did, Zie Chang can't be with her!
-- I think this is a predictable scenario and might make the drama feel like it's the same old type of story- star crossed lovers again.
ANSWERS (spoilers ALERT)
1) "Back then, it wasn’t the old general who disregarded military orders and delayed the grain transport. It was the Sixteenth Prince, who was accompanying the army, obsessed with glory. Seeing only a few thousand Northern Turks guarding Luocheng and tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside, he ignored the old general’s orders and insisted on leading a rescue. In the end, the Sixteenth Prince was captured alive. The Northern Turks demanded the old general exchange the army’s grain supplies for the prince’s life—or else they would use the prince’s blood to consecrate their banners!"
2) Together ML figured out that delaying Old General Meng's grain shipment—the true aim of the mastermind was to ensure Jinzhou's fall. Or rather, to ensure the death of the Chengde Crown Prince and 16th prince die so that another prince (19th) could take the throne. They attributed this to Wei Yan.
MYSTERY: However, I think it's not WY because FL's father Wei Qilin is not guilty as she claimed because then her mom would not have lived with him. WQ's letter sent to WY must be this letter!
3) Why does WY raised the ML?
When ML's mother discovered the plot, she committed suicide and made WY promise to raise ML. This way, WY won't kill him because he's under his watchful eye.
He hated his mother for killing herself but when discovered that she died for him, he was remorseful.
My Rating
Storytelling: I think it offers a fresh take. While there have been stories about butcher female leads before, the combination of the characters, the director’s filming, and the actors contributes to the show's popularity. It’s time to take a woman who is a butcher seriously. Her skills are not just there for show; they actually save lives. She is the true lead because the story focuses mainly on her journey to become an equal to the ML.
Humor: I like how the humor comes from irony as well as physical gags. The actors deliver these comedic moments with a nonchalant touch and solid acting skills.
Direction: Sometimes we give all the credit to the actors. However, in this case, the director also contributed significantly to the success of the drama.
Character Backgrounds
The Male Lead (ML): Xie Zheng
Names: Xie Zheng (Formal), Marquis Wu’an (Title), Yan Zheng (Alias used while in hiding), “Xie Jiu Heng” (Name given by his teacher).
Family: His father, Xie Linshan, married the sister of Prime Minister Wei Yan.
The Mystery: After his father’s death, Xie Zheng was raised by his maternal uncle, Wei Yan. Curiously, Wei Yan treats Xie Zheng better than his own son, even convincing the renowned Grand Tutor Tao to take him on as a student.
The Female Lead (FL): Fan Changyu
Family: Her father is Wei Qilin (formerly a servant of Wei Yan). He married General Meng Shuyuan’s daughter and took the surname Meng. Later, while in hiding, he changed his name to Fan Erniu.
Other Characters:
Meng Family
FL's grandfather and Mother
Zhu Youchang (General Zhu - served under Meng Shuyuan) was imprisoned by Wei Yan for seventeen years
According to him: Wei Yan sent FL's father Wei Qilin with a Tiger Tally and a letter telling the Meng General to abandon the transfer of grains to ML's father. They should rescue the 16th prince instead.
Tiger Tally of Xunchang to no avail, it turns out Zhu Youchang had sewn it into his severed leg - when QM's shadow men came, he gave it to them hoping to clear the Meng General's name.
Wei Family
Wei Yan - Prime Minister supposedly conspired to kill the ML's father.
Qi Min/Sui Yuanhuai : The imperial grandson. As a child, he stood in for the eldest son of Prince Changxin; during this time, half of his face was severely burned, leaving him with chronic illnesses.
This chapter discusses QM's history and how he became Sui Yuanqing's brother:
https://www.readthedrama.com/novels/chasing-jade-zhu-yu/chapters/66
Why he dislike his son - Yu Bao'er? because YB can take his throne before he can succeed in overthrowing the current king.
Sui Yuanqing: The second son of Prince Changxin and the heir apparent. If Prince Changxin takes the throne, Sui Yuanqing will inherit it. Qi Min intends to use Xie Zheng to eliminate Sui Yuanqing.
The Li Family Alliance: When Prince Changxin’s path to the throne falters, Qi Min begins collaborating with the Li family to secure his own chance at power.
The Li Family:
Second Male Lead (SML): Li Huaian / Wen Kan.
Grandfather: Grand Tutor Li, a powerful court official. He married his daughter to the Emperor, but she remains a childless Empress because the Emperor seeks to balance power between the Li and Wei families. He sends his grandson, Li Huaian, to investigate the events of 17 years ago.
The Events of 17 Years Ago
Meng Shuyuan, a loyal general under Xie Linshan, disregarded military orders to rescue 100,000 besieged civilians while transporting provisions. This delay led to the deaths of the Chengde Crown Prince and Xie Linshan at Jinzhou. Meng supposedly committed suicide to atone.
Wei Yan order Wei Qilin to kill his wife. WQ refused and took his wife into hiding - changing his name to Fan.
That same year, the Eastern Palace caught fire, reportedly killing both the Crown Princess and the imperial grandson. These two events—the defeat at Jinzhou and the palace fire—occurred in quick succession. Anyone with eyes can see they are undoubtedly connected.
The Answer: The Crown Princess set the fire herself to secure a slim chance of survival for the imperial grandson.
THE Mysteries:
1) Why did Meng Shuyuan, who was not known for being reckless or disloyal, disobey a direct order?
2) If Wei Yan was the culprit orchestrating the conspiracy to kill Xie Linshan, why did he allow Meng Shuyuan’s descendants to live?
3) Did Wei Qilin pressure General Meng to delay the shipment?
4) What does the Li family have to do with all of these events?
5) Who wanted to harm the Eastern Palace?
6) What is in the box given to He Jingyuan to give to Wei Yan when Fan Changyu's parents commit suicide?
7) Did Wei Qilin mastered the events that killed Zie Chang's father? This is the question that Changyu needs to answer because if he did, Zie Chang can't be with her!
-- I think this is a predictable scenario and might make the drama feel like it's the same old type of story- star crossed lovers again.
ANSWERS (spoilers ALERT)
1) "Back then, it wasn’t the old general who disregarded military orders and delayed the grain transport. It was the Sixteenth Prince, who was accompanying the army, obsessed with glory. Seeing only a few thousand Northern Turks guarding Luocheng and tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside, he ignored the old general’s orders and insisted on leading a rescue. In the end, the Sixteenth Prince was captured alive. The Northern Turks demanded the old general exchange the army’s grain supplies for the prince’s life—or else they would use the prince’s blood to consecrate their banners!"
2) Together ML figured out that delaying Old General Meng's grain shipment—the true aim of the mastermind was to ensure Jinzhou's fall. Or rather, to ensure the death of the Chengde Crown Prince and 16th prince die so that another prince (19th) could take the throne. They attributed this to Wei Yan.
MYSTERY: However, I think it's not WY because FL's father Wei Qilin is not guilty as she claimed because then her mom would not have lived with him. WQ's letter sent to WY must be this letter!
3) Why does WY raised the ML?
When ML's mother discovered the plot, she committed suicide and made WY promise to raise ML. This way, WY won't kill him because he's under his watchful eye.
He hated his mother for killing herself but when discovered that she died for him, he was remorseful.
My Rating
Storytelling: I think it offers a fresh take. While there have been stories about butcher female leads before, the combination of the characters, the director’s filming, and the actors contributes to the show's popularity. It’s time to take a woman who is a butcher seriously. Her skills are not just there for show; they actually save lives. She is the true lead because the story focuses mainly on her journey to become an equal to the ML.
Humor: I like how the humor comes from irony as well as physical gags. The actors deliver these comedic moments with a nonchalant touch and solid acting skills.
Direction: Sometimes we give all the credit to the actors. However, in this case, the director also contributed significantly to the success of the drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
