We started the series while it is still not fully released, and this is one of the more interesting & captivating series in recent times. 36 episodes in total, it is quite a roller coaster to chase the series. Casting Liu Yu Ning as Wei Shao and Song Zu Er as Xiao Qiao, the series is mainly based on an arranged marriage of 2 clans (Wei clan and Qiao clan) with deep blood-bath in the past. As the 2 leads journey through their arranged marriage, they understand each other better to face the challenges in life for peaceful times.
The story started with the betrayal of the Qiao family in sending assistance, resulting in the defeat of the Wei family in the battle with almost 3 generations of family dying to protect the city. Left as the lone heir, Wei Shao at 12 years old bears the old grudge & trauma of losing his family, but picks himself up to build a stronger empire. At the behest of his grandmother, he is to wed the daughter of the Qiao family, as a truce between the 2 family for peace.
The elder daughter of the Qiao family (Da Qiao) is in love with a stable master. The younger daughter of Qiao (technically they are cousin sisters) encourages Da Qiao to elope while she takes on the role to be wed to Wei Shao. Initially Wei Shao is reluctant and holds grudge to wed, but accepts mainly due to the wedding dowry of the city of Xindu. Subsequently, the husband and wife threads carefully with each other but works together to face off the challenges thrown to them.
From the kidnapping of the bride in Xindu city by an ambitious Liu Yan, to the resentment of the Wei’s family & their antiques to make life miserable for Xiao Qiao, to their intention to divert military spend & might to build a canal flowing through various counties, to the tricks of seductress Su E Huang and continuous betrayals & double-crossing by the leaders with their own agendas, the husband and wife team faces these challenges head-on.
There are misunderstandings along the way, anger simmering but always reflections & effort to communicate and resolve the issues. And this is where the series is captivating for me. The story does not drag as there is always something to look forward to. And more importantly, the story is not depressive as almost all characters are moving along their life. The characters are not self-absorbed, living their life as is.
Character Leaders : Wei Shao & Xiao Qiao – the key essence of the series
The initial episodes are fast-moving, with focus on the newly-weds’ misunderstandings which creates humorous situations. The ego and rough edges of the characters (especially Wei Shao) due to the past hatred and thoughts for revenge are softened over time, no less with a little coaxing & subtle feminine influences. And these are well-written into the scripts to showcase Wei Shao’s rough edge (tempered from his early years of battles for familial survival). His encounters with Xiao Qiao’s contrasting upbringing (full of love & tenderness in a peaceful environment) brings out the worst in him, and in a way the childishness that he never experiences. One strong traits of Wei Shao is he is not swayed by his own experiences and he always reflect on his own and others’ feelings. Liu Yu Ning is able to bring forth the struggles the character Wei Shao experiences, in the battle of his heart.
It is also refreshing to see an emotionally mature Xiao Qiao, who cares deeply and identifies with the feelings of people around her. She is able to turn around the situation by observing & reacting to the flow of the situations, using her wits to survive. One situation is when she is kidnapped but not willing to be used by Liu Yan and takes to the offensive to escape and even raise a fire to foil Liu Yan’s plans. Another is when she is unable to get Da Qiao & husband’s help in providing military support to Wei Shao, in which she is extremely disappointed. However, not wanting to renegade on her promise to Wei Shao, she plans for another more peaceful method using her understanding of the situations to turn the generals against their leaders. Song Zu Er is well-casted in this series as she brings with her a specific tenderness and cuteness overloads with her sharp gaze (when angry), her teary but starry eyes (when wronged), her soft spoken but firm voice (when determined with a single-mind).
The leads’ romance is built over time, with many misunderstandings over time. It is really sweet to see how the tough image of Wei Shao is shattered with the soft “kills” from Xiao Qiao. Some favourite scenes of mine include:
- When Xiao Qiao is torn between the 2 men (Wei Shao and Liu Yan) in the battle for Xindu. Liu Yan smooth-talks his way (even calling Xiao Qiao’s nickname Man Man) to try to sway her to go to him. This particular scene is especially profound to show how Xiao Qiao is in a struggle to choose shallow promises from Liu Yan vs an uncertain stance from Wei Shao. And it was so funny when Wei Shao in his own personality has little to stay but just instructed a forceful “come here”. As General Wei Liang regretfully observed, might as well he did not say anything. 😀
- When Xiao Qiao shows her temper in the little things. This includes the occasion of Xiao Qiao rebuking her younger brother Xiao Ci going to a brothel, but Wei Shao wants to help out by downplaying the incident as a normal outing for men. The moment Xiao Qiao’s unspoken gaze is shot over, the all mighty Wei Shao suddenly picks up the cold, sharp rebuke (even for him!) and turns around 180 degree to admonish the brother-in-law. Women power with a super laser gaze!
- The many small arguments the two young married couple had. One occasion of Wei Shao snooping on Xiao Qiao’s correspondences with her family with her punishing him with a note of “Shame on you!”. Another when the arguments escalate in the bedroom, with Wei Shao wanting to save his own face but Xiao Qiao getting extremely angry to blurt out his name to scold him – “you are petty, small eyes, run away when you can’t win an argument. The only good thing is you are tall, but who wants to marry you with such?” Talk about personal attack. 😀 But precisely because of these small scripted into the series, it is so realistic & lovable of the interaction of these two.
- When Wei Shao reflects upon his treatment of Xiao Qiao in the early period of their marriage, especially upon seeing how carefree she is upon returning to her childhood home. His regret & remorse of not treating her better, and her promise to love her better is upon reflections.
Other Favourites
The series is actually quite humorous from the viewers’ perspective. And I do believe these are due to the laid-back characters included in the series. The 4 good brothers and generals always surrounding Wei Shao – Wei Liang (the plump general), Wei Qu (the wayward general always tricking Wei Liang), Wei Duo and Wei Xiao. Their brotherhood provides some background on how Wei Shao is close to people whom he cares about and are always thinking of their welfare. The interactions and brotherhood shows the real personality of Wei Shao.
As the relationship of Wei Shao and Xiao Qiao progresses, so did a side romance for the cute couple of General Wei Liang and lady-in-waiting Xiao Tao. The two makes an unlikely pair, initially always bickering due to the past history and differences in culture & environment. But as time progresses, the two encounters more experiences together and find a soul-mate in each other. The ending is a heart-wrencher, but better the second leads than the main leads.
The Webnovel vs The Series
Webnovel is 171 chapters vs the series of 36 episodes. Generally the series is aligned with the original webnovel, with perhaps some jumbled up chronology of events. The series use the building of canal & water distribution as a key focus in the administration & expansion of territory by Wei Shao. In the webnovel, the intent of Wei Shao seems more realistic ie to expand the territory to be the conqueror. Below a link to the English translated version. I had a mixed of this version vs the original Chinese version, and wasn’t really paying much attention.
https://mydramanovel.com/the-prisoner-of-beauty/
The webnovel seems to indicate a potential reincarnation through the vivid dreams that Xiao Qiao had. In the beginning, she has nightmares of being stabbed at the heart by Liu Yan (in the dream Liu Yan is emperor and her husband) whereby the events are quite different. Da Qiao actually married Wei Shao but died in illness, and whole Qiao family is in someway slaughtered by Wei Shao as he expands his territory. Xiao Qiao never shares this with Wei Shao until the ending part of the webnovel. It triggers Wei Shao on his own “nightmares” of expanding territory & taking revenge on all those who betrayed his family including Qiao family. However, he ends up alone at the top without support of any close confidante or family members.
While the series focus more on the love story & humorous bickering of the couple, the webnovel does provide a more realistic & restrained personality of the leads. Wei Shao seems more of a brute in the novel (compared to the softer & gentler Wei Shao in the series). Xiao Qiao seems to be more restrained in her involvement in politics, giving a more realistic portrayal of women in those days. The series also painted a more witty & intelligent Xiao Qiao while downplaying Wei Shao’s ambition. Although I am generally happy with the expanded role of Xiao Qiao, personally I do think Wei Shao’s character is a little softened & simplified too much. The character in the novel has a bit more depth, especially when he deals with his own internal conflict and struggles to put his faith & trust in Xiao Qiao.
The webnovel also describes sexual scenes a little more graphically, compared to the series which portrays the consummation of the marriage at a later stage.
One arc that puzzles me is Wei Yan’s story (Wei Shao’s cousin). Much of the story is the same in both webnovel and series. However, in the series Wei Yan came to assist in the battle to save their city. In the webnovel, he plays a more inactive role as his Xiongnu status is still not stable. I actually thought Wei Yan looks so lecherous in the series especially at the beginning. The actor Liu Duan Duan (who was also in Snow, Sword, Stride) is so good at the portrayal that I could not bring myself to believe he will give up on Xiao Qiao. In the webnovel, he is the one who sends the message on Xiongnu’s attacks early to Xiao Qiao. I find the character quite creepy…
Conclusion : 8/10
The beginning of series is really good and frankly deserve better ratings, but the later part of the series seems a little draggy to me. Generally, this is a feel-good, sweet love story that pulls together 2 families with tragic betrayal past. The success in mending the cracks is only possible through time & the intent of the younger generations. Love the series for its take on humour in squabbles & love. Watch it for the leads, they are fantastic with great chemistry together.
Cheng's Musings 