[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] Story of Yan Xi’s Palace 延禧攻略

[AppleBanana]

12 hours ago, dramanoob8818 said:

If we want to sub, how can we sub? Is there a site we need to access? 

 

I think you can do it on youtube.

[heychumi]

So glad that I watch this drama and came upon this forum.

 

I personally ship yinglou n qianlong  more. The relationship was more of a cute comedy and was easy to fall for. I think they both fell in love gradually as they learn to understand each other over a period of time.

 

I believe the king fell for yinglou deeply when he save her from being thrown from the horse. He put her first before himself. He opt to get yinglou treated and he stayed by her side to take care of her even though he himself was also hurt.

 

As for yinglou I think she fell for the king when she was upset for not being able to arrange the flowers like the queen. She may not know it than but she wanted to improve herself and was willing to learn and I think it was for the king.

 

Hehehe...

[Cedric Ong]

El pais is a popular newspaper in Spain. Can u imagine them having an article on this drama too.

https://www.google.com.sg/amp/s/elpais.com/cultura/2018/08/30/television/1535628508_453389.amp.html

 

Despite already finish for several days...Yanxi still held the viewership crown (probably some viewers rewatch)...but barely...well, guess soon will decline...it is unavoidable. Dated 3 sep.

 

Share this pic of Shun Consort or Chen Bi. Her scenes were cut due to appearance in tribal wear...related to western region...think the censor board wanted to avoid this ref...so the drama staff had no choice.

[lyserose]

On 8/31/2018 at 9:10 AM, ChloeR said:

Wu Jin Yan (Wei Yingluo)

Q: When did Yingluo start to like the emperor? 

A: In actuality, Yingluo loves Qianlong long time ago, but she herself doesnt know about it. The scene when Yingluo gifted the fur hat to the emperor is her way of showing her true feeling for him (during that time)

 

Regarding love life, Fuheng is her first love. As for the emperor, they share a special bond between husband and wife.

 

Nie Yuan (Qianlong Emperor)

 

Q: What do you think about QianlongxEmpressFuca and QianlongxYingluo couples?

A: Empress Fuca is Qianlong's first love, a love that is so beautiful in the younger days. In actuality, this kind of relationship is deeper than love itself. Whereas, Yingluo gave Qianlong many new experiences with feelings and love. Qianlong needs someone who could understand him, fight on with him, and someone who is similar to himself. Qianlong loves Empress Fuca, but she is not similar to him at all. 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

So I guess Yingluo and the emperor love each other because they see themselves in each other? Nie Yuan is right in the aspect that the emperor loves Empress Fuca but she doesn't really understand him and the position that he is in. Empress Fuca loves the emperor but maybe she loves the freedom and the times before Qianlong ascended the throne. Aside from Yingluo being like him, I also think the emperor loves Yingluo because she somewhat reflects the younger, carefree self of Empress Fuca (Hence, why the empress said Yingluo is her hope). 

Thanks for sharing.

 

I am also more on the Emperor's ship. I pity Fuheng and it is cruel on the part of QL to exert his power to separate them but somehow, I could not hate QL for doing that, simply because he himself is in love with the girl and despite having many wives already, he has not found one whom he really loves (except Fucha).

 

With that said, I wonder when exactly did Yingluo started to love QL? I know QL started to take interest in her when she purposely spilled water on him to delay him from finding Empress Fucha and Consort Chun in a compromising position. The actress herself said that YL actually loves QL for a long time but I am curious to exactly when?

 

I totally agree with both Wu Jin Yan and Nie Yuan interpretation on the nature of their characters' relationship. Fuheng is YL's first love and so as Fucha, whom is QL's first love. My take is that YL and QL are each other's true love.

 

I don't really see that QL seeing the similarities of Fucha (prior to him becoming emperor) in YL. As QL said when Fucha told him that she longed for freedom (in episode 28), he finally find himself to actually never knew Fucha at all. If she is to have the same character traits of YL, surely QL won't be surprised of her longing for freedom and rebelliousness as per YL. To QL, Fucha is the perfect wife and empress - obedient, understanding and nurturing and that is why he was shocked that she hoped to be someone like YL.

 

And the fact is, YL's rebelliousness is what drawn QL to her, because he found her character very refreshing, something he has not seen in any of his women before. Having said that, I find YL and QL complimenting each other. With Fucha, QL was almost careful all the time, fearing to hurt her and treating her in the most delicate manner. With his other wives, he only heard praises and they only cared to say and act to please him. With YL, he was just his natural-self, letting out all sort of emotions - anger, jealous, bickering and all other stuff. The same goes with YL and FH. Her personality is too big for him and he is too mild for her. Sooner or later, she would find his giving to her exhausting.

 

Just a little question which I am still very confused of. I know that Er Qing's baby is not Qianlong's but did the Emperor actually slept with Er Qing?

 

 

 

 

[Cedric Ong]

14 minutes ago, lyserose said:

 

Just a little question which I am still very confused of. I know that Er Qing's baby is not Qianlong's but did the Emperor actually slept with Er Qing?

 

 

 

 

No according to what i read so far...from different sources. Disregard what a drunken guy in deep sleep can do...ehem...that scene has a few seconds unaired. According to some screenshots which i can't find now...Er qing was merely sitting on the bed with her clothes slightly unbutton...with a cold smile on her face....then her face changed to look pitiful once she saw Qianlong waking up. 

[gaia2]

On 4 September 2018 at 11:22 AM, Cedric Ong said:

No according to what i read so far...from different sources. Disregard what a drunken guy in deep sleep can do...ehem...that scene has a few seconds unaired. According to some screenshots which i can't find now...Er qing was merely sitting on the bed with her clothes slightly unbutton...with a cold smile on her face....then her face changed to look pitiful once she saw Qianlong waking up. 

 

Agh! I can't stand that er Qing!

 

Fuheng should have just gotten over YL, and marry that nice Qing Lian or some other nice woman after er Qing...

[mrsj3n]

Watching episode 45..

My heart ache for Fuheng.

 

I still can't accept the Emperor.

[Cedric Ong]

Sharing pics of the costumes, hair pieces and props. In chinese, but the pics are arranged according to each ladies and chars.

* in case, if u don't see the full page (esp for mobile phone), there's a link in the middle that said continue.

https://www.douban.com/group/topic/122731339/

It's really a pity many of the stuff didn't get much close-up views on tv. The staff really put in effort.

 

 

And the finger guards....not mentioned in above article. But another source mention they tried to make as real as possible.

Below is pic of real one, probably from museum.

Observed the textured surface...i mean it's not simple uniform surface.

Yanxi's version.

 

I found the above pics can not be link properly. But if u click the link and open in another page...reload again, it will work.

[dramanoob8818]

22 hours ago, lyserose said:

 

 

With that said, I wonder when exactly did Yingluo started to love QL? I know QL started to take interest in her when she purposely spilled water on him to delay him from finding Empress Fucha and Consort Chun in a compromising position. The actress herself said that YL actually loves QL for a long time but I am curious to exactly when?

 

 

Actually I think QL loved her way before that, perhaps without even knowing himself. Remember the first time he met her and the hilarious and  preposterous story she made up about the tree? It intrigued him so much that a mere palace maid would have the wit and the temerity to make up such a story that he sent Li Yu hunting for her just based on the sound of her voice. I think that was when it started for him. That first interest, attraction which later grew to deeper feelings the more he saw of her and the more he knew of her exploits. 

 

I always enjoyed seeing the way Yingluo would yank QL's chain 'figuratively speaking'. She knew all the buttons to press to keep him interested, to win his heart, to make him laugh, to difuse his anger. She could cajole him and tease him and be impertinent (the scene of her dining with QL sitting down at table is one example. In history, this was a big no-no and I'm glad the show mentioned this too, but Yingluo disregarded the social rules and the emperor let her, again a sign of his love for her) 

 

She is smart and shrewd and her playbook is spot-on. Interesting that she never used her smarts to keep Fuheng interested in her, rather used against him to find out about her sister's death. Also taking into consideration what she told the Ulanara empress at the end: "the one who first admits to love is already the loser", I find it interesting that with Fu Heng and her, it was always Fu Heng that was the first to declare his feelings, the one to fight to keep the relationship going, to persuade her of his love etc. It was never her. Yingluo never took the lead in that relationship. So I almost wonder if she was as invested in that relationship as Fuheng was.  

[mrsj3n]

To me, I felt that it is because Fuheng has neither authority nor power hence the way Yingluo handled Fuheng is different compared to the Emperor.

 

For Fuheng, Yingluo get pursued. Yingluo gets the attention as Fuheng only has eyes on her so she does not need to fight for attention. 

She was confident in the relationship with Fuheng. 

I strongly believe that she loves Fuheng too just that she felt betrayed when he agreed to marry Er Qing while she was imprisoned.

 

 

[ChloeR]

I think Yingluo might have started to love the emperor when he saved her from falling off the horse? I feel like that scene is relevant in the aspect we can see the emperor starting to place the safety of the woman he loves before his well-being? And also it is also a way to counter Yingluo's perception of him being a cold, selfish emperor and not caring for his women. Like it finally has dawned on her that she has misunderstood him all this time and maybe that is when she starts to put her guards down and fall for him? 

 

For the emperor, I agree with @dramanoob8818. Yingluo has piqued his interest since their first encounter. Her rebelliousness and her ways of manipulating situations to her advantage fascinated him. Moreover, her loyalty and dedication for Empress Fuca are heartwarming, earning the respects of Qianlong and Fuheng. 

 

Yingluo is a very complex character. She's kindhearted but at the same time she can be merciless to those who have wronged her. Yingluo is a very strong-headed woman and I think thats why Qianlong falls head over heel for her. Because he's always so busy with the country, he needs someone who can stand up for themselves and take care of themselves so that he doesnt have to come to their rescue all the time. Not only that, Yingluo always keeps Qianlong on his toes. For someone who have the ultimate authority and absolute control over everything, Yingluo is refreshing to him. If she doesnt feel like it then she wont let him sleep with her (that one scene she refused to let Li Yu tell that one department to write her name on the tablet so that the emperor can pick her to serve him). She refused to admit to him that she loves him, but her actions say otherwise. Their relationship is adorable in so many ways. Despite always bickering, they understand and trust each other deeply. 

 

There was this one scene in the latter half of episode 64 after Qianlong found out that Yingluo is pregnant, Yingluo was behaving like a spoiled child. The day before Yuan Chunwang was told by the step-empress to kneel at Yanxi palace, which made Yingluo very unhappy. The next day she demanded her personal eunuch to go the Qianlong's palace and relay to him that if emperor doesnt get her the kind of meat she wants to eat from a certain part of China by today then she will refuse to eat the entire day (meaning she will starve Qianlong's baby lol). As expected, she bragged that she received what she wanted from the emperor to the step-empress. Saying that is the power of a favored concubine, thus she has no interest in becoming an empress who has to always follow the protocols. I thought this scene is pretty cute in a way. She basically using her child to manipulate Qianlong into following her wishes haha I can already imagine how anxious and angry Qianlong mustve been when he heard of this and mustve ordered Liyu to quickly go find the meat for Yingluo. I wish they would add more scenes of Yingluo being pregnant into the drama so we can see how Yingluo orders Qianlong around and how he willingly listens to her lol that wouldve been adorable :')

[dramanoob8818]

1 hour ago, ChloeR said:

I think Yingluo might have started to love the emperor when he saved her from falling off the horse? I feel like that scene is relevant in the aspect we can see the emperor starting to place the safety of the woman he loves before his well-being? And also it is also a way to counter Yingluo's perception of him being a cold, selfish emperor and not caring for his women. Like it finally has dawned on her that she has misunderstood him all this time and maybe that is when she starts to put her guards down and fall for him? 

 

For the emperor, I agree with @dramanoob8818. Yingluo has piqued his interest since their first encounter. Her rebelliousness and her ways of manipulating situations to her advantage fascinated him. Moreover, her loyalty and dedication for Empress Fuca are heartwarming, earning the respects of Qianlong and Fuheng. 

 

Yingluo is a very complex character. She's kindhearted but at the same time she can be merciless to those who have wronged her. Yingluo is a very strong-headed woman and I think thats why Qianlong falls head over heel for her. Because he's always so busy with the country, he needs someone who can stand up for themselves and take care of themselves so that he doesnt have to come to their rescue all the time. Not only that, Yingluo always keeps Qianlong on his toes. For someone who have the ultimate authority and absolute control over everything, Yingluo is refreshing to him. If she doesnt feel like it then she wont let him sleep with her (that one scene she refused to let Li Yu tell that one department to write her name on the tablet so that the emperor can pick her to serve him). She refused to admit to him that she loves him, but her actions say otherwise. Their relationship is adorable in so many ways. Despite always bickering, they understand and trust each other deeply. 

 

There was this one scene in the latter half of episode 64 after Qianlong found out that Yingluo is pregnant, Yingluo was behaving like a spoiled child. The day before Yuan Chunwang was told by the step-empress to kneel at Yanxi palace, which made Yingluo very unhappy. The next day she demanded her personal eunuch to go the Qianlong's palace and relay to him that if emperor doesnt get her the kind of meat she wants to eat from a certain part of China by today then she will refuse to eat the entire day (meaning she will starve Qianlong's baby lol). As expected, she bragged that she received what she wanted from the emperor to the step-empress. Saying that is the power of a favored concubine, thus she has no interest in becoming an empress who has to always follow the protocols. I thought this scene is pretty cute in a way. She basically using her child to manipulate Qianlong into following her wishes haha I can already imagine how anxious and angry Qianlong mustve been when he heard of this and mustve ordered Liyu to quickly go find the meat for Yingluo. I wish they would add more scenes of Yingluo being pregnant into the drama so we can see how Yingluo orders Qianlong around and how he willingly listens to her lol that wouldve been adorable :')

I totally agree. I almost wish there are off-cut scenes that show the relationship between Ying Luo and Qian Long. Too cute. Can't get enough of their bickering behaviour. So much love/fondness and understanding between them. I want a sequel just based on this!

 

And yes I thought the scene where she boasted of this to the step-empress was gold. She's confident of her position enough to push for 'truce'. I like the badass way she tells the step-empress that she's not someone who will back down from a fight, and how she's willing to 'accompany her step for step' if she (the step empress) wants to continue the fight. 

[lyserose]

22 hours ago, dramanoob8818 said:

Actually I think QL loved her way before that, perhaps without even knowing himself. Remember the first time he met her and the hilarious and  preposterous story she made up about the tree? It intrigued him so much that a mere palace maid would have the wit and the temerity to make up such a story that he sent Li Yu hunting for her just based on the sound of her voice. I think that was when it started for him. That first interest, attraction which later grew to deeper feelings the more he saw of her and the more he knew of her exploits. 

Her antics did piqued his interest right from the "tree scratching" incident but I always feel that the feeling turned romantic when he vocalized to the Empress that she was spilling the water on purpose to seduce him. And then only he started to eye her all the time, though he was confused between his "supposed annoyance" towards her and his growing romantic feelings for her.

 

I agree with one of the posters here that one of the unique elements about this drama is finally, we get to ship the heroine with the emperor. In most dramas, the emperor is just there to serve the purpose of showing how the women in the harem climbing top of the power hierarchy but in here, you get to choose the ships - between Fuheng and the Emperor. And not forget to mention that the actor (Nie Yuan) did a fantastic job of making this Emperor so adorable, balancing the aura of regal, authoritative and supremacy, arrogant yet caring and childish at times and yes, he is good looking too.

 

Anyway, since I am watching with subs....there is some bit in Episode 33 that I could not wrapped my mind on. When QL was talking to the comatose Empress, he told the story about Wan Er and how she was sentenced to death by his father (as a result of QL favouring her) to teach QL a lesson that as an Emperor, he could pamper his concubines but he should not love them. I still could not understand the relevance between the backstory and the lesson taught here.

 

 

 

[Cedric Ong]

1 hour ago, lyserose said:

 

Anyway, since I am watching with subs....there is some bit in Episode 33 that I could not wrapped my mind on. When QL was talking to the comatose Empress, he told the story about Wan Er and how she was sentenced to death by his father (as a result of QL favouring her) to teach QL a lesson that as an Emperor, he could pamper his concubines but he should not love them. I still could not understand the relevance between the backstory and the lesson taught here.

 

About the Wan Er part...i tried to search abit. In history, there was no mention. According to a chinese article...it said at that time, Qianlong (in the drama) was mildly affected by the death of Gao consort and other matters....he mentioned Wan Er to mean certain things he can't control and also he can't fully separate love and politics (eg Gao consort and her father Gao Bin).

 

Wan Er was a maid that accompanied him during studies when he was very young...Yongzhen caught them playing and killed her for disturbing Qianlong's studies. Perhaps Qianlong wanted to save her (it is just an innocent thing) but he cant go against his father.

 

Actually love and politics...even for someone like Fuca whom should be he loved very much....remember Yingluo accused him of using Fuca's death to punish some ministers...in history, it is mentioned some disrespect the funeral and was executed by Qianlong. So here it was hinted that there was some political agenda. Qianlong here wasn't as perfect as some think....but like always mentioned....an emperor was burdened with both politics and also the whole country. 

 

Perhaps it is fortunate that Yingluo's dad wasnt some high ranking official and her family wasnt powerful.

 

Sidetrack abit....Nieyuan's version of Qianlong is not as bad as.....

Spoiler

...Ruyi's. Perhaps it is even closer to life....but Ruyi's Qianlong is more cruel....besides more of manipulating of the consorts to counter each other....he even castrated one love rival (a palace guard), made him an eunuch to guard outside the lady's room...while he spend the night with that lady. The most the Qianlong in Yanxi is force Fuheng to marry another woman.

 

I am not sure how much of Ruyi's original novel would be retained...but the writer (same for Zhenhuan) tends to write cruel stuff sometimes...eg the beating of bones below the waist until a pool of red blood (in Zhenhuan). In Ruyi...trapped cats with a lady in a sack for the cats to scratch her all over. Or choked a baby with his umbilical cord.

 

Well maybe bcos the overall style of Yanxi is slightly more relaxed and lighthearted (at times).

 

 

 

 

[lyserose]

10 minutes ago, Cedric Ong said:

About the Wan Er part...i tried to search abit. In history, there was no mention. According to a chinese article...it said at that time, Qianlong (in the drama) was mildly affected by the death of Gao consort and other matters....he mentioned Wan Er to mean certain things he can't control and also he can't fully separate love and politics (eg Gao consort and her father Gao Bin).

 

Wan Er was a maid that accompanied him during studies when he was very young...Yongzhen caught them playing and killed her for disturbing Qianlong's studies. Perhaps Qianlong wanted to save her (it is just an innocent thing) but he cant go against his father.

 

Actually love and politics...even for someone like Fuca whom should be he loved very much....remember Yingluo accused him of using Fuca's death to punish some ministers...in history, it is mentioned some disrespect the funeral and was executed by Qianlong. So here it was hinted that there was some political agenda. Qianlong here wasn't as perfect as some think....but like always mentioned....an emperor was burdened with both politics and also the whole country. 

 

Perhaps it is fortunate that Yingluo's dad wasnt some high ranking official and her family wasnt powerful.

 

Sidetrack abit....Nieyuan's version of Qianlong is not as bad as.....

  Hide contents

...Ruyi's. Perhaps it is even closer to life....but Ruyi's Qianlong is more cruel....besides more of manipulating of the consorts to counter each other....he even castrated one love rival (a palace guard), made him an eunuch to guard outside the lady's room...while he spend the night with that lady. The most the Qianlong in Yanxi is force Fuheng to marry another woman.

 

I am not sure how much of Ruyi's original novel would be retained...but the writer (same for Zhenhuan) tends to write cruel stuff sometimes...eg the beating of bones below the waist until a pool of red blood (in Zhenhuan). In Ruyi...trapped cats with a lady in a sack for the cats to scratch her all over. Or choked a baby with his umbilical cord.

 

Well maybe bcos the overall style of Yanxi is slightly more relaxed and lighthearted (at times).

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for your enlightenment. 

 

I am watching Ruyi too (though not religiously) but as I said before, it is very hard to watch Yanxi and Ruyi back to back since they featured same characters but of totally opposite direction.

 

Ruyi's tone is way more serious and I think here where Yanxi won me, because it balance both lightheartedness and melo.

 

With regards to QL

Spoiler

 

When you mentioned closer to the real one, which one are you referring to? Yanxi's or Ruyi's QL?

And no offence to anyone, I don't quite like Wallace Huo's interpretation of QL. Ruyi as I said, has serious tone and his QL is more cruel but Wallace does not exude regal and supreme aura. For the most part, I feel like he is cosplaying. In contrast, Nie Yuan gave so much layers to his QL. Typical arrogant and authoritative vibe as expected from an emperor but with that touch of humour and sensitivity.

 

 

[Cedric Ong]

3 minutes ago, lyserose said:

Thank you so much for your enlightenment. 

 

I am watching Ruyi too (though not religiously) but as I said before, it is very hard to watch Yanxi and Ruyi back to back since they featured same characters but of totally opposite direction.

 

Ruyi's tone is way more serious and I think here where Yanxi won me, because it balance both lightheartedness and melo.

 

With regards to QL

  Hide contents

 

When you mentioned closer to the real one, which one are you referring to? Yanxi's or Ruyi's QL?

And no offence to anyone, I don't quite like Wallace Huo's interpretation of QL. Ruyi as I said, has serious tone and his QL is more cruel but Wallace does not exude regal and supreme aura. For the most part, I feel like he is cosplaying. In contrast, Nie Yuan gave so much layers to his QL. Typical arrogant and authoritative vibe as expected from an emperor but with that touch of humour and sensitivity.

 

 

Which one is more real i dont know. Guess it is up to different interpretation.

 

I won't comment on portrayal or acting...not wanting to offend any fans....but think Nieyuan's version is more memorable.

 

[thelonetraveller_18]

52 minutes ago, Cedric Ong said:

Which one is more real i dont know. Guess it is up to different interpretation.

 

I won't comment on portrayal or acting...not wanting to offend any fans....but think Nieyuan's version is more memorable.

 

 

Spoiler

I do agree that Nieyuan version is more memorable also. 

What I like about  Qian Long in Yanxi is that it seems that the emperor is doing real governing work. There is scenes of Qian Long dealing with actual events that occurred in history. There is scenes where he is downright shrewd in dealing with his matters of the country and how he value the crown over anything, ie. how he killed his brother when his brother attempted a coup. I can feel the sense of responsibility of the emperor especially where he has aspiration to be a wise ruler and that he prioritize the well being of his country over anything. Especially the one where YL got hurt and he rushed off to deal with matters of his country even though he wanted to stay there with YL.  His scenes of him and his ministers are pretty good and I think it gives more dimension to Qian Long as a character in the show. It makes Qian Long more likeable in the show also. 

[Sobayaki]

It was announced today that production has started on the spin-off drama of Yanxi Palace, starring Yingluo's daughter as well as a sequel. I'm personally not interested until I see a trailer since I feel it wouldn't be the same without Yingluo.  As far as the sequel, I'm not holding any expectations since it's clear they're milking this series now. Plus, what more is there to talk about since Yingluo and Empress's storylines have ended. I feel like it'll be a very loose sequel if anything like Ruyi.

[mrsj3n]

Finally finished watching The Story of Yanxi Palace.

 

Sorry to all Yingluo and Emperor shippers.

I'm not one of them.

 

I'm shipping Yingluo and Fuheng all the way!

 

The Emperor has power but he does not appeal to me even though he loves Yingluo.

 

[lyserose]

5 minutes ago, mrsj3n said:

Finally finished watching The Story of Yanxi Palace.

 

Sorry to all Yingluo and Emperor shippers.

I'm not one of them.

 

I'm shipping Yingluo and Fuheng all the way!

 

The Emperor has power but he does not appeal to me even though he loves Yingluo.

 

It's ok. We all have preferences. My mom is also Team Fuheng.

 

Since my bestie is a chinese and she read from weibo etc, she told me that over in China, many people actually prefer Yingluo with Fuheng.

It surprised me because based on the few pages that I backread from this thread, we have more Yingluo + Emperor's shippers here. And when I first started checking this drama and trying to find the subs on youtube, I came across plenty of FMV of Yingluo & Emperor, not Yingluo & Fuheng. Idk if I can come to the understanding that i-fans perhaps prefer Emperor while the C-fans prefer Fuheng?