Notable Actors/Actresses
Bai Lu: Long Ao Yi
Lai Yi: Li Qing Liu
Network: Tencent Video
Recap Grade: A/B
First Impression: 3/5
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First Impression: 3/5
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Mini Recaps
[Ep1] The first time Li Qing Liu meets Long Ao Yi, she's drunk in his carriage. The second time they meet, she's fallen from the sky to destroy his fashion show. Okay, seriously now. Li Qing Liu is a clothing designer for the elite. He owns Xin Si Lu (New Silk Road). When Long Ao Yi flies in after tripping from somewhere (I'm a bit blurry on the mechanics of how this happened), she destroys his fine robe. Amidst the devastation, Li Qing Liu calmly uses Long Ao Yi's clothing to enhance his robe. The crowd is enthralled. The show is saved.
As the leader of Long Zhu (Dragon Pearl Clan), Long Ao Yi makes an enormous bet. She bets her entire clan to win this other clan's (Qi Yan's) business. Qi Yan is this evil businessman. She's about to lose the bet though because she can't match the wager he placed. Li Qing Liu offers five of his land properties to help Long Ao Yi match the wager. He has his intentions. He wants half of Qin Yan's business if she wins.
The bet resumes. They are to break a ceramic bowl and guess whether it breaks into an odd or even number of pieces. It's an odd number. Nine pieces to be exact. Nine is also in the Chinese title. This bowl is ordinary and its common among the peasants, especially the poor ones. Long Ao Yi guessed odd and she wins. But she didn't "guess" odd randomly.
Long Ao Yi: A three years old even knows that one cannot forget their origins. The moment you (Qi Yan) said this lotus bowl was a piece of junk, I knew you forgot your origins. Every family had one of this Lotus Bowls growing up whether it's to beg for money or not. You, Qi Yan, didn't use this to ask for money? Use your cow eyes to look at this bowl and think long and hard what Lotus Bowl doesn't have nine lotus leaves? The probability of the bowl breaking into odd pieces is simply higher. I don't care how accurate this probability is, I just really like the way she said this line.
Long Ao Yi looks to Li Qing Liu for a high five (in this time and age) but he gives her a blank stare instead. However, the five land property he put on bet was fake. Only one of them was real. Pft. I was not expecting this righteous looking guy to be a cheater. Immediately, Li Qing Liu steals the bag of money including the medallion (which is the only item he wants) from Long Ao Yi and flees the scene. Long Ao Yi runs after him. Meanwhile Qi Yan's clan is after them.
Long Ao Yi tries to steal the money back from Li Qing Liu. Every time she's close to him, he gets these migraines. At last, she has her hands on the money but he's got his hands on it too. She lies to him that she needs the money to raise the children following her. She also has to sell tofu. Lol. And most importantly, she tells him she likes him.
[Ep2] Long Ao Yi successfully steals the bag of money from Li Qing Liu after he was distracted by his migraine when she touched his hand. She doesn't actually like him. They're soon to have another encounter when he suspects her of stealing his Gold Thread. Through a piece of fabric, he narrows down the thief to belong to the top lady at Wu Yun Pavilion (a brothel that Long Ao Yi resides in). Li Qing Liu sneaks into Long Ao Yi's room. (Un)Forunately, she's showering. Liu Qing Liu freaks out a bit and manages to sneak out without seeing too much.
Li Qing Liu finally summons the top lady, Long Ao Yi, to his presence (with clothes on). First he ridicules her for calling herself the top lady. It's not her who gave herself that title, it was her maid Xiao Qin. He then demands her to return his Golden Thread that she never stole. All the courtesans barge in the room to save Long Ao Yi.
There's another encounter between them this episode. It's at an illegal auction house. Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi fight for this item. Li Qing Liu thinks it's his Gold Thread so he spends quite a bit to get it. It's not hid Golden Thread. Now he really suspects her as the thief.
[Ep3] Li Qing Liu captures Long Ao Yi. Li Zhao, being the good guy, tries to save the girl in distress. In the midst of saving her, Li Zhao almost kissed her and ultimately ends up being kicked by her. With Li Zhao, a prince, down, both Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi are arrested. They're locked up in the cell together. He slowly starts to believe that it's not her who ordered anyone to steal the Golden Thread
It's cold in the prison so Long Ao Yi steals Li Qing Liu's fur blanket. He's fighting her back for the blanket but he relinquishes when he sees her make a wish upon a shooting star. I believe he was mesmerized by her beauty.
[Ep4] Long Ao Yi is attacked in prison. Li Qing Liu protects her and suffers an injury. He's later freed from prison. He does Long Ao Yi a favour and put in good words for her to be released too. In exchange, she is to work for him to investigate who the real Golden Thread thief is.
The Prince, Li Zhao, totally has a crush on Long Ao Yi. He gives her a gorgeous red dress to wear but she doesn't know how to wear it. Li Qing Liu blindfolds himself to help her adjust the dress to match her proportions. She's invited to a dinner with the elite. Immediately, her actions are ridiculed by the higher class. They're discriminating against her because she's of a lower class. They throw money at her like she's a cheap dancer who's purpose is to perform for them. Long Ao Yi confidently takes the challenge. Li Qing Liu tries to hold her back (he's not part of the high class men who are forcing her to dance) but Long Ao Yi insists on taking the stage.
[Ep5] Long Ao Yi impresses with her dance. Bai Lu has a naturally arrogant face. This role suits her so well. All the men are mesmerized by her. Li Zhao gets a nosebleed that he tries to hide with his fan. Meanwhile Li Qing Liu can't look her in the eye.
After the dance, Long Ao Yi gathers all the money she received from dancing to treat her followers. Li Qing Liu enters her territory to remind her she is to work for him. She also needs to clear Xiao Chun's (the supposed thief) name. Thus, she works at Li Qing Liu's Xin Si Lu.
[Ep6] The above is a screenshot of Long Ao Yi and Li Qing Liu investigating. She tells him to get closer and he tells her to stop talking into his ears because it's making him nervous itchy. The two soon find themselves uncomfortably close.
[Ep7] Li Qing Liu asks Long Ao Yi to look into the locked box that guarded the Golden Thread. Long Ao Yi smugly asks him, "Are you begging me now?" Li Qing Liu coldly reminds her he owes her. Her smugness rescinds. She takes him to a locksmith. This locksmith asks for Li Qing Liu's name and he makes fun of it because it's a girly name. He tells Li Qing Liu to not mind it. It's just a name (the way people address you). He goes on to compare it to a lock. A lock is like a chick, if it's been opened once, the reputation isn't quite the same. Get it? Long Ao Yi and Li Qing Liu gets it. They both cough and clear their throats. The locksmith shifts his eyes at both of them with a knowing smile.
Back to business, the locksmith reveals this lock was only opened once. Li Qing Liu had opened it once which means the thief managed to steal the thread without opening the lock or destroying the box. There is someone with this skill and they'll have a telling sign: their fingers will be permanently crooked.
The locksmith has more to say though. He laughs at Long Ao Yi for finding a future husband in Li Qing Liu. She sulks to the locksmith for hooking her up with any "cat or dog". The locksmith takes it as her not successfully seducing him yet. He teaches her to sleep with him and that will turn any enemies hers. Li Qing Liu hears all this and he's offended by one comment, the comment she made about him comparable to cats and dogs. I am looking forward to more of this locksmith's scenes.
With investigation being the focus, Long Ao Yi invites Li Qing Liu to sleep on this bed. He's very reluctant. She assures him, he's the last person he wants to "sleep" with. They're to find a hidden chamber in this bed frame. I guess he is hers now, haha. She finds the clue under the bed. She also accidentally falls. He was about to catch her but he stops himself and lets her fall hard.
They're investigating into Dong Zi, one of Li Qing Liu's employees. Li Qing Liu doesn't bring his trusty servant Yan Bin. Long Ao Yi finds it weird. He counters her by asking about her maid, Xiao Qin. Long Ao Yi corrects him that Xiao Qin is a sister to her. She also comments that it's better to ask Yan Bin about Xiao Qin's whereabouts over her. This offends Li Qing Liu. Yan Bin grew up with him, there's no way his taste can be that bad. Long Ao Yi is insulted. How can her Xiao Qin not match that fool? Haha. Meanwhile, Yan Bin is indeed with Xiao Qin. He's sulking that his master didn't bring him out tonight. Hahaha.
In the middle of chasing down Dong Zi, Long Ao Yi falls off the roof. Li Qing Liu catches her properly this time. He's dazed though. He can actually touch her. Ah, so his migraines aren't just towards her, it's towards all girls he touches. Long Ao Yi is safe in his arms but Dong Zi is dead. They do recover the Golden Thread though. Long Ao Yi finds it unsettling that every suspect has died so far.
Li Qing Liu finds something else unsettling. He can actually hold Long Ao Yi. He ruminates over this the whole night. He asks Yan Bin for his thoughts without revealing who the lady is. Yan Bin tells him he must like this lady. He likes Long Ao Yi (:
Second Couple: Yan Bin recounts to Xiao Qin the bed scene he saw of Li Qing Liu and Xiao Dong. He touches her hand to reenact it. They both freeze at the skinship.
[Ep8] With the case closed, Long Ao Yi is set to leave Xin Si Lu but Li Qing Liu tempts her to stay longer by organizing a retreat at a spa. This is something he's never done. She overhears Li Qing Liu and Yan Bin talk about her. Yan Bin is jealous at how nice Li Qing Liu is towards her. Heh. Long Ao Yi smirks as she listens but Li Qing Liu clarifies he has no special feelings for her. Upset, Long Ao Yi throws an entire egg into her mouth. She ate an entire egg in one bite O.O
Long Ao Yi was happy to leave but Li Zhao walks in with his crew to audit Xin Si Lu's income. Their account book is frozen and that means the fifty thousand dollars (whatever their currency is) Long Ao Yi invested is frozen too. As Li Zhao's minister are barging into the room, they knock over Long Ao Yi. Li Zhao coolly catches her with a sweet smile. Li Qing Liu doesn't look happy at their exchange.
Du Xiao Xian, an executive at Xin Si Lu, gives ten thousand dollars to Long Ao Yi, the money that was promised to her for solving the Golden Thread case. Long Ao Yi hesitates to accept this money because that means her fifty thousand dollars will go down the drain. She distracts Du Xiao Xian to leave (by telling her she has nose hair hanging out) to speak with Li Qing Liu alone. She offers to give him back the ten thousand dollars if he teaches her his ways in business. Li Qing Liu smirks. Before he answers, Du Xiao Xian is back to clarify she does not have nose hair hanging out. Heh.
Long Ao Yi needs to stay in Li Qing Liu's place to retrieve her money. She needs his permission so she tries to best to strike a deal with him. Yan Bin and Xiao Qin are eavesdropping outside. Both of them want Long Ao Yi to stay too. Xiao Qin wants the money and Yan Bin wants her (Xiao Qin). Heh. Yan Bin makes me laugh quite a bit. Yan Bin assures Xiao Qin that as long as Long Ao Yi keeps herself clean (hair is kept up and clothes are kept on), she'll most likely get to stay. To his predictions Long Ao Yi does get to stay but it's precisely the opposite of how Yan Bin predicted it. Long Ao Yi's hair is disheveled and her belt is loose. She seduced Li Qing Liu without her knowing it herself.
Another story element: Long Ao Yi is the leader of Long Zhu Clan but she has a senior that oversees her clan with her. He's Yuan Zai. He takes a peculiar interest in Li Qing Liu being an orphan.
[Ep9] Li Qing Liu finds Li Zhao in Long Ao Yi’s room. They proceed to have a drink. There’s tensity in the air but it relaxes when they find they both share similarities when it comes to bearing family responsibility. Li Zhao also breathes a sigh of relief when Li Qing Liu says his exquisite taste does not encompass a girl like Long Ao Yi.
A drunk Li Zhao almost confesses to Long Ao Yi. She quickly starts her spiel to reject him but Li Zhao collapses from the alcohol. Actually, he was pretending. He waited until she left to get up and walk. Haha. He couldn’t allow himself, the prince, be rejected.
A drunk Li Qing Liu latches himself onto Long Ao Yi. He wants her to bring him back to bed. The next morning he doesn’t remember a thing and refuses to believe her. He’s also busy coming up with a new design for Xin Si Lu even though he’s got no money and no fabric. His company still needs to run.
This new product is this one piece silk pyjamas. Like a jumper. They’re supposed to revamp it. Long Ao Yi trims it up so it looks more like a swimsuit. With Li Zhao’s advice they test the market by selling a few samples. Li Qing Liu gets his hand on the sample and it upsets him. Du Xiao Xian lectures Long Ao Yi for her poor taste. Long Ao Yi stands up for her design. It’s made for convenience. It’s made for girls to wear for their own comfort and not to satisfy men. Unlike Xin Si Lu’s lingerie, Long Ao Yi’s isn’t a corset and it doesn’t require a maid to fix up the back. It’s suitable for all girls of all status. Du Xiao Xian retaliates that selling one piece of clothing to the Upper 九流 is worth more than dozens of pieces sold to the Lower 九流. However, Li Qing Liu is pensive at Long Ao Yi’s words.
Second Couple: Xiao Qin’s father had abused her and her mother. One time, she pushed him down and he cursed her for being lonely for the rest of her life. The next day he abandoned them. After hearing her past, Yan Bin tells her a story to cheer her up.
[Ep10] Li Qing Liu accepts Long Ao Yi’s design but he wants her to change it. It’s not as comfortable as she claims it is. Using scissors to trim the lingerie in uncomfortable on the skin. All his suggestions are on point. All I can say is Li Qing Liu is very knowledge about female comfort.
Li Qing Liu walks into Long Ao Yi as she’s trying on the new lingerie. She doesn’t know though. She thought it was the nanny. Li Qing Liu quickly leaves and frets that his illness (girl allergy) has worsened because his heart is beating way too fast. More like healed because of her.
Xin Si Lu’s storage is set on fire. It’s the doing of Yan Qi and Du Xiao Xian’s father. Yan Qi also wants Long Ao Yi dead. Long Ao Yi manages to wake up but instead of leaving the scene first, she does her best to save the lingerie. She becomes trapped under the pillar. Amidst the blazing fire, Li Qing Liu runs in to save her. A pillar falls on them and Li Qing Liu protects the both of them by blocking it with his right arm. They’re both fortunately safe. Li Zhao quickly takes Long Ao Yi away to tend her injuries and so Long Ao Yi wouldn’t know who actually saved her.
[Ep11] Yan Bin, our cupid, tries to make Long Ao Yi and Li Qing Liu have dinner together. Instead, they accidentally walk in on Long Ao Yi showering (there's a barrier between them though). Li Qing Liu always catches Long Ao Yi when she’s in the middle of changing or showering. They overhear the nanny complimenting her bare body and the red mark on her chest. There’s a saying that birth marks on breasts means she’ll be loved. Long Ao Yi is an orphan too. She was never loved growing up. The nanny assures her she’ll be loved in the future.
During dinner, Li Qing Liu shyly gives Long Ao Yi food but he’s unconsciously aiming his chopsticks at her breast. Foolishly, he reveals he heard the conversation about her breasts. The next day, the thought of her breasts override his entire system. He asks his employees how to pursue girls.
Before Li Qing Liu can put any moves on her, Li Zhao is already on it. And he’s a pro. While Li Zhao is giving Long Ao Yi bouquets, Li Qing Liu gives her a pot of leaves. They’ll sprout flowers too. They’re called "Ba Wang" flower. Long Ao Yi isn’t impressed because Ba Wang sounds like an overbearing lord.
Li Qing Liu even tries to feed Long Ao Yi medication. She keeps her lips sealed and knocks away his (injured) hand. Li Qing Liu decides to invite Xiao Qin to the manor to care for Long Ao Yi (to Yan Bin’s delight). He rather have Xiao Qin take care of her than Li Zhao.
Li Qing Liu needs Long Ao Yi’s creativity after the booming success of her lingerie line. She agrees to help on one condition: she is to be promoted to chief designer. Long Ao Yi quickly abuses that title. Heh.
Li Qing Liu lectures Long Ao Yi’s pig hut (thanks to Xiao Qin cooking all sorts of delicacies for her). There’s banana peel on the floor and weird things hanging from the ceiling. It is a pig hut. Long Ao Yi retorts that she had all these brilliant ideas (跪得宝, 亲子半臂, 贵妇真丝防晒罩) but why would someone as smart as Li Qing Liu use her PIG ideas. Xiao Qin smirks and joins in on Long Ao Yi's retaliation. I love these girls teaming up. By the way those ideas of hers are impossible to translate. The names sound extravagant but the meanings are absurd. There’s “Kneel to Get Baby” and “Son Half Arm”. The last one makes more sense: “Sunblock Silk for the Rich Ladies”. I don’t think the first two are meant to translate well or have meaning. It might even be Chinese translations of English names. I don’t quite know to be honest. It’s just funny how little sense they make.
Second Couple: Yan Bin writes Xiao Qin a love letter. It’s a four line poem. The last words of each letter forms the sentence: “我喜歡你" (I like you)
Long Ao Yi reveals to Li Qing Liu she has one more request before her brain can start rolling. She wants to have pig trotters. Long Ao Yi makes him feed her again. It’s also his first time having pig trotters and he loves it. Long Ao Yi makes him pay because she forgot her wallet. He forgot his too. Li Qing Liu promises the owner to pay two fold the next morning. Long Ao Yi does her best wink to the owner. Omg so they’re working together to scam Li Qing Liu, lol. By the way, Long Ao Yi's invention are pillows, the perfect pillow. Her inspiration came from this owner in order to make his job more comfortable.
The perfect pillow is created. In the middle of celebrating, Li Zhao wants to give Long Ao Yi a big hug but our cute Xiao Qin gets to Long Ao Yi first and flings him away, haha. The next day, Li Zhao helps Long Ao Yi promote it. He’s an expert at marketing. However, the crowd is being difficult and they want Li Zhao and Long Ao Yi to prove it’s efficacy by sleeping together on the spot. Long Ao Yi is like sure why not. They’re brothers. Li Zhao is shy yet happy. Li Qing Liu isn’t smiling one bit.
Third Couple: Shou Hou and Du Xiao Xian? Shou Hou is part of Long Zhu Clan. Du Xiao Xian captured him and his buddy to tell her anything dirty on Long Ao Yi but all they have are praises for her and nothing significant.
[Ep13] Long Ao Yi manages to sell her pillow without having to sleep with Li Zhao but Li Qing Liu still isn’t happy she agreed on it in the first place. He starts lumping his jealousy with anger and betrayal. He finds the fifty thousand dollars she sneaked into his account to earn money. He also confronts her for pocketing the money for the pillows she sold. Long Ao Yi admits it. Her reason is this: those pillows are meant for peasants (Lower 九流), customers that Xin Si Lu will never consider. Long Ao Yi had no intention of stealing Xin Si Lu’s business.
Qi Yan plots against Long Ao Yi and frames her for murder. Du Lord conveniently shows up to catch her supposedly red-handed. Li Zhao also conveniently shows up to save her but Du Lord insists Long Ao Yi is the murderer. She immediately flees with an injured arm.
Wanted posters are plastered all over the city but Du Xiao Xian prevents Li Qing Liu from seeing them. Her supposed reasons are for him to focus on their high class pillow (otherwise Long Ao Yi’s low class pillows are going to take over the market). Her real reasons are obviously because she doesn’t want Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi together.
With Long Ao Yi's absence, everything seems to remind Li Qing Liu of her. When he finds out Long Ao Yi is accused of murdering, he drops his business to find her.
[Ep14] Qi Yan captures Long Ao Yi to make Li Qing Liu show up. Long Ao Yi scoffs that Li Qing Liu won’t be here but he is. Qi Yan can tell Li Qing Liu cares about her. Li Qing Liu offers to bet on “Life” and “Death”. He writes the two Chinese characters on two separate papers and crumbles them up. If he chooses death, then Qi Yan can do whatever he wants to them. Long Ao Yi (who’s tied up) knows Li Qing Liu must have a way to win so she taunts Qi Yan enough to let Li Qing Liu choose first. She’s right, Li Qing Liu chooses “Life”. Li Qing Liu recognized Life because the paper qualities are slightly different. However, Qi Yan plays dirty. I don’t know what Li Qing Liu was expecting; to walk scathe-free in Qi Yan’s territory when he wants both of them dead? Qi Yan forces Long Ai Yi down a well. Li Qing Liu protects her. In the end, Li Qing Liu allows them to hit him without resisting until he collapses.
They manage to escape temporarily. Li Qing Liu uses a derogatory term to describe Qi Yan. Long Ao Yi doesn’t believe her ears. He casually tells her he’s been with her too long and picked up her bad habits. That's what love does.
[Ep15] A poisonous snake bites Long Ao Yi on her beck. Li Qing Liu sucks out the poison for her. She starts remembering everything he's done for her while trying her best to resist him taking out her poison. The place starts burning and they have to strip as much as they can to keep their temperature down. Even the floor is burning. Long Ao Yi is about to faint. Li Qing Liu takes her on his back when he's struggling to stay standing on the burning cement himself.
The matron of Wu Yun Pavilion, who is also Long Ao Yi's master, saves Long Ao Yi and Li Qing Liu but when she sees their clothes disheveled, she hollers at Long Ao Yi. She asks Long Ao Yi if he touched her. Long Ao Yi looks down at her hand awkwardly. The master hits Li Qing Liu. She then asks Long Ao Yi if he kissed her. Long Ao Yi touches her neck awkwardly. The master hits his mouth. Haha.
Du Lord kills Qi Yan to keep his mouth shut about his involvement.
Xiao Qin is onto Long Ao Yi for possible liking Li Qing Liu.
[Ep16] Li Zhao reserved the entire Wu Yun Pavilion just to see Long Ao Yi. She complains that the money he spent tonight could last Long Zhu Clan for an entire year. Li Zhao's servant reveals that to see Long Ao Yi, he visited countless times. He reserved the pavilion hoping to catch her once. Li Zhao dropped everything to see her only to receive this criticism from her. Feeling dejected, Li Zhao stuffs a cherry in his mouth. He turns around. His shoulders are shaking. Long Ao Yi thought he was crying and apologizes but he's huffing and puffing from the spicy water he dipped his cherry in.
Sister Love: Long Ao Yi gets the idiom wrong. Li Zhao's servant was about to correct her but with a glare from Xiao Qin, he shuts up. xD
There's a lantern festival tonight (Chinese Valentine's Day) and Li Qing Liu is on stage to win the King of the Lanterns. Du Xioa Xian tells Long Ao Yi he's winning it for her. Upset, Long Ao Yi goes on stage to challenge him. She starts off the poem and he follows up. Her lines are inferior to his. The crowd boos at her. To keep her from harming her reputation anymore, Li Qing Liu purposely loses to her.
[Ep17] Long Ao Yi wanted to learn more about Li Qing Liu from Xiao Qin who's close with Yan Bin. Xiao Qin exposes her for it and accuses her of changing. She's like Li Qing Liu now, indirect with her words. She then pretends to fall asleep so that Long Ao Yi doesn't get any information about Li Qing Liu. Meanwhile on Li Qing Liu's side, he's doing the same with Yan Bin to ask about Long Ao Yi. Yan Bin plays hard to get too. I love Xiao Qin and Yan Bin whether they're together or messing with their masters.
Li Qing Liu finally asks Long Ao Yi to meet up after that awkward Lantern Festival. The matron and Xiao Qin are excited for Long Ao Yi and dresses her up to meet him. As she's walking out on the street, everyone is complimenting her beauty. She happily walks to meet Li Qing Liu thinking he likes her but she's disappointed to learn it's all business. Li Qing Liu needs help with a design and only Long Ao Yi has the innovative ability to help him. He offers her anything she wants. She wants to open a business with him and the profit will be split 4:6. She's 4 and he's 6 but he'll have to provide all the material and she'll only provides the design. Long Ao Yi names their business "Qing Long Corp.". Li Qing Liu smiles at that name. Now that their characters (Qing and Long) are bound together, they won't be separated anymore.
[Ep18] The painter only finds inspiration when Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi pose like couples. They’re supposed to sew out these romantic poses and it’s a task assigned by the Emperor. When they finally get the right pictures, they’re out of thread and no one else is willing to lend them any because the court has confiscated them. Li Zhao easily helps out.
Third Couple: Maid of Du Xiao Xian and servant of Li Zhao? Although Du Xiao Xian and Li Zhao have more scenes together, I don’t see any potential of them as a pair for now.
Li Qing Liu (who is drunk): I, Li Qing Liu, will not allow you, Long Ao Yi, leave me.
It’s as romantic as it means but Long Ao Yi thinks he only wants her for business. In the end, he does keep her at his side with the excuse that it’s for business. And so they’re on a business trip together. I don’t like Bai Lu’s hairdo. She’s supposed to dress up like a guy.
Second Couple: Yan Bin and Xiao Qin are together.
[Ep20] On their business trip, Long Ao Yi and Li Qing Liu come across a village where females are the alpha. Long Ao Yi questions this tribe. It’s not fair that just because the lady won, she can force the man to marry her. Long Ao Yi challenges the lady. A fight begins but Li Qing Liu doesn’t want her injured and takes her place in the fight. But Li Qing Liu can’t touch girls! Long Ao Yi distracts the crowd with their tea that they’re selling. When she markets the tea for weight loss, the competitor is successfully distracted too. As a result, Li Qing Liu wins the match. The man doesn’t have to marry. All is well and the female fighter takes an interest in Li Qing Liu. She makes a move on him that night (knocks on his door and flirts with him; she’s practically wooing him for for sex, lol). Li Qing Liu is shooked.[Ep21] Li Qing Liu escapes to Long Ao Yi’s room for the night to avoid the zealous female fighter. Long Ao Yi scoffs at him and permits him to sleep on the floor. Li Qing Liu takes this moment to confess (sort of). He offers to “work” together indefinitely for their passion and their dream. She wants to make her clam prosperous and he wants to make his business grow. She has creativity and marketing skills and he has the knowledge. In a roundabout way, he’s saying they’re perfect for each other. Long Ao Yi is a tiny bit flustered and agrees without processing the real meaning behind it.
The next morning, our perfect partners manage to sell their useless tea out of nowhere. Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi are confused why their tea tastes so good all of a sudden. Li Qing Liu hastily names it Er Tea and Long Ao Yi quickly adds “ordinary” in front of it and folks, that’s how Pu Er Tea came to be. It’s not. Pu Er tea actually exists; it’s very common. It’s named after the region it’s produced in.
The tribe leader guides Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi through the woods to arrive to their destination. Long Ao Yi accidentally falls down a slope. Li Qing Liu falls over with her. He protects her. He’s pretending to be unconscious to make her worried. She feigns that she wasn’t worried at all. She wants to walk away but he gives her a bunny he weaved out of grass for her. She says she doesn’t want it. Calling her bluff, he throws it away. She stops him. She wants it. Embarrassed, she quickly walks off. He reminds her that’s the wrong direction.
Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi reunite with the tribe members. The female fighter gives him a big hug. Li Qing Liu sends and eye signal for Long Ao Yi’s help. She quickly does. It’s not like she likes another woman on her man either.
That night Long Ao Yi teaches the tribe members her circle dance where everyone holds hands and moves in and out of the circle. Long Ao Yi had taught it to Li Qing Liu’s employees before. She also mentioned that if there was anyone who has a crush, the person can use this dance to signal it by playing with their hand. Li Qing Liu uses this chance to hold her hand and squeeze it. After the dance, he picks up his courage to confess his love but they’re arrested by Lord Du.
Li Zhao was also there earlier. He’s all covered in dirt to show us how much of a trial he went through to find Long Ao Yi but he depressingly left because he saw how happy she was dancing with Li Qing Liu.
[Ep22] The business trip was a trap by Lord Du to capture Li Qing Liu redhanded for smuggling weapons. They’re immediately saved by Er Ye (General Lu). He proves that Li Qing Liu is the long lost prince who went missing eleven years ago. His nanny is a palace maid who raised him all these years. Then why didn’t she tell him his identity? Why not bring him back to the palace earlier?
Long Ao Yi has her birth secrets too that we don’t know of yet. Eleven years ago, her master adopted her. She was happy for her and Li Qing Liu but now that he’s a prince, she fears for her safety because Long Ao Yi is definitely not a match for “that” person. Li Zhao’s mother?
Li Qing Liu doesn’t want to enter the palace but General Lu reminds him that only if you are powerful then you can protect the person you love. Li Qing Liu is convinced and it’s not like he can refuse the Emperor’s orders. However, before he leaves, he wants to meet Long Ao Yi once more. He wants to confess to her. Long Ao Yi wants to meet him too. This time the meeting really is for him to confess to her. Unfortunately, Long Ao Yi can’t make it. Her master is killed right in front of her.
[Ep23] Li Qing Liu misunderstands that Long Ao Yi’s absence means that she doesn’t like him. She already minded him being in “Upper Jiu Liu". Now that he’s a prince, he’s certain she’ll definitely like him less. But it’s not like she discriminates against Li Zhao... He writes her a very romantic letter telling her to wait because he’ll comeback to marry her. However, that letter is stolen by Du Xiao Xian. Long Ao Yi never got to read it. Li Qing Liu also never knew her master died.
Long Ao Yi is off to avenge her master in the city where the palace is.
[Ep24] There's a undisclosed person who wants Long Ao Yi dead. She’s severely injured and jumps into a palace carriage to escape. It happens to send her right into Li Zhao's manor.
Also Li Qing Liu and Du Xiao Xian are engaged.
[Ep25] Long Ao Yi wakes up from her wounds thanks to Li Zhao. Li Qing Liu gets information of her healing from the physician who tended to her. Long Ao Yi finds it weird that she’s targeted by the same people who targeted her master.
Li Zhao helps Long Ao Yi investigate. He asks his sister, Princess Sheng Ping, what happened when she and Long Ao Yi duelled at the casino. She doesn’t reveal anything useful. Li Qing Liu also gets to meet Princess Sheng Ping. He asks her about his mother’s death. He has heard that their mothers were good friends. Princess Sheng Ping warns Li Qing Liu to not mention his mother’s death in the palace anymore. The Empress Dowager was also in this scene. She's the same Empress Dowager in The Story of Ming Lan.
Li Zhao hand-makes dumpling for Long Ao Yi. She’s guilty because she knows he likes her but she doesn’t. He asks if her rejection of him is because she still has feelings for Li Qing Liu. Her eyebrow furrows. She’s still angry at Li Qing Liu but, yes, she still does like him.
[Ep26] Long Ao Yi smuggles in the dance team that’s performing for the Emperor to investigate her master's killer. She believes the killer is in the palace. Li Qing Liu and Li Zhao recognize her through her disguise. Both of them request from the Empress Dowager to take Long Ao Yi for the night. The Empress Dowager makes both princes dance with Long Ao Yi to determine who will take her. Li Zhao and Long Ao Yi have zero communication in their dance but Li Qing Liu does. They’re the perfect match. Li Qing Liu wins. However, Long Ao Yi truthfully tells the Empress Dowager how she feels like an object. She’s a person too. She asks Empress Dowager if she can take her words back. Amused, Empress Dowager does because she likes her but she does ask Long Ao Yi to share a cup of wine with Li Qing Liu at the very least.
That cup of wine was drugged by Du Xiao Xian (she wanted to make Li Qing Liu hers that night). The next morning, Long Ao Yi and Li Qing Liu find themselves in bed together. Almost naked. Did they do it? Li Qing Liu doesn’t know if they’ve done it but whether or not they’ve done it, he will take responsibility for her. She bluffs that she’s seen men like him a thousand times. She doesn’t need him to take responsibility of her. She asks him coldly, “What can a man who is betrothed to another woman be responsible for?” He cannot reply her.
At court, Li Qing Liu is lectured by the Emperor and ministers for his actions that night (spending a night at a brothel with a Lower 九流 lady). Li Qing Liu clarifies that she’s not any lady, she’s the woman he loves.
[Ep27] Emperor is disappointed in Li Qing Liu and still disapproves of Long Ao Yi. To get into the palace to find the murderer, Long Ao Yi pretends to be pregnant. I love the way she plays with the string to mislead the physician that she indeed is pregnant. Drama, that was creative.
Palace people are questioning whether Long Ao Yi really is pregnancy with Li Qing Liu’s child. Long Ao Yi quickly explains every bit of scar or mole on Li Qing Liu’s body to convince the royal family they have done it. The Emperor clears his throat and approves her entering the palace to be Li Qing Liu’s woman. Long Ao Yi gives Li Qing Liu a winning wink. So I guess Long Ao Yi is officially a consort?
[Ep28] Empress Dowager likes how chirpy Long Ao Yi is and all her interesting stories. The other consorts are also quite smitten with her knowledge. Except Du Xiao Xian. Long Ao Yi even introduces her Pu Er tea to this consort.
Long Ao Yi pouts that her leg is swollen (despite not being pregnant). She crosses her arm and looks over at Li Qing Liu. Getting her signal, he walks over to massage her leg. By the way, Long Ao Yi isn’t just faking her pregnancy but she also clearly knows she’s still a virgin. Although she doesn’t remember how that night went, she knows she didn’t bleed.
[Ep29] Long Ao Yi is punished for running her mouth about Consort Du’s useless plan to help the poor. She’s to copy this scripture. Li Qing Liu helps her write her punishment. She smiles and playfully throws paper at him and this punishment becomes a playtime for these two.
Du Xiao Xian starts to play dirty. She's making Long Ao Yi misunderstand that Li Qing Liu is spending an intimate night with her.
[Ep30] Long Ao Yi drinks that night (she’s upset at seeing Li Qing Liu and Du Xiao Xian close) and bumps into Li Zhao. I thought it was going to be Li Qing Liu’s turn to be jealous because she's with Li Zhao buuuut... Long Ao Yi walks alone on the street (because Li Zhao passed out) and Li Qing Liu is there to pick her up. Literally pick her up into his arms. When she wakes up, she’s still angry about Du Xiao Xian and him. He kisses her to quell her anger. She pushes him off and he stumbles over this map of hers. These two suddenly have a plan to solve palace matters. Their differences momentarily come to an end. He also gives Long Ao Yi a present. It’s a handmade comb. He combs her hair with it. He reveals he's changed because of her. He used to only care about expanding his business but now he realizes he has the power to help many others. Long Ao Yi smiles.
Du Xiao Xian is jealous as always. She gives Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi's plan to Li Zhao so he can take the credit for it and make it seem like Long Ao Yi betrayed Li Qing Liu.
Li Zhao is also acting up. He’s semi-certain Long Ao Yi is faking her pregnancy because she drank alcohol and wants Du Xiao Xian to confirm.
Li Qing Liu is angry at Long Ao Yi because he thought she betrayed him. Xiao Qin is her little cupid messenger and makes him arrive at a field. There’s fireflies and he finds the comb he gave her with a clear jade attached to it. Xiao Qin tells him “Sometimes when you’re in too bright of an area you can’t see clearly.” Li Qing Liu smiles. He’s been in the palace for too long and forgot his original intention (for the people and not for the credit). That’s the message Long Ao Yi is giving him. He asks Xiao Qin where Long Ao Yi is. Xiao Qin tells him that Long Ao Yi spent the whole afternoon thinking of this line but since she isn’t the type to say this stuff out loud, she's not here.
Li Qing Liu is no longer angry at Long Ao Yi but it’s a very different story when he finds out Long Ao Yi isn’t pregnant (thanks to Du Xiao Xian’s implanting a maid at her side). She tells him she has her reasons: her master. But Long Ao Yi just found out he’s not a father. He can’t exactly forgive her or understand her. Long Ao Yi leaves the palace. I’m pretty sure in the beginning of the episode her stomach was flat and then by the end of the episode it’s that big...
[Ep32] Li Qing Liu is in a near fatal accident after investigating into his mother's death. The culprit seems to be Consort Du. Everyone thought Li Qing Liu died but he shows up in one piece in front of Long Ao Yi. She cries and hits him out of happiness.
[Ep33] Before Li Qing Liu could report to the Emperor about Consort Du, Li Zhao confesses to the Emperor first about his mother’s crimes of killing Li Qing Liu’s mother. Consort Du also admits to her crime. However, the real mastermind is Yuan Shang. He’s the one forcing the mother and son to take the blame. He also coerces Consort Du to commit suicide. With his mother's death, Li Zhao’s hate is all transfixed onto Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi for sabotaging his mother. What about Yuan Shang???
An emotional Li Zhao forces a kiss on Long Ao Yi. In her fight against him, Long Ao Yi’s pillow (that she uses to fake her pregnancy with) drops. Li Zhao then threatens that if she continues to stay with Li Qing Liu, he’ll tell the Emperor about the fake pregnancy. Long Ao Yi doesn't care about his threat and leaves him. She has lost a friend.
Drunk and depressed, Li Zhao accidentally kills a man.
Someone reported to the Emperor of Long Ao Yi’s bogus pregnancy. I think it’s Du Xiao Xian and not Li Zhao. Long Ao Yi is imprisoned and gruesomely punished by Minister Du. She faints over.
[Ep34] Li Qing Liu begs his father, the Emperor, to pardon Long Ao Yi; he reminds him of all the good deed she's done. Everyone begs for her too (the Princess and this other consort) but Du Xiao Xian is like No and so Emperor is like Behead! but Empress Dowager has yet to speak! She spares Long Ao Yi's life. Emperor banishes her from the palace though. Long Ao Yi would give up his Prince title to be with her but the Emperor obviously wouldn't allow that. He forces Li Qing Liu to marry Du Xiao Xian in three days. Du Xiao Xian finally gets to marry him but she’s never been so depressed before. Girl, why do this to yourself? Her father gives her a mission to kill the Crown Prince during her wedding with Li Qing Liu so that Li Qing Liu can be the Crown Prince instead. Du Xiao Xian is ready to kill for love.
Long Ao Yi realizes it was Yuan Shang who killed her master.
[Ep35] Long Ao Yi also realizes Li Qing Liu was forced by Yuan Shang to marry Du Xiao Xian. Long Ao Yi tries to run away from Yuan Shang but she’s captured again. Li Qing Liu hears her voice and halts the ceremony. Du Xiao Xian grabs him back but he insists on leaving. Emotionally wrought, Du Xiao Xian gives the poisoned wine to Li Qing Liu instead (it was meant for Crown Prince). If he drinks it, he can leave. Li Qing Liu drinks it. And he leaves. He’d rather die than marry Du Xiao Xian. But how’s he going to save Long Ao Yi then? For convenience sake, his poison is the long-acting type. He will be alive as long as drama needs him to be. Du family is in trouble now though because Du Xiao Xian just exposed that she wanted to poison the Crown Prince. Yuan Shang quickly rushes in to kill Minister Du before he can utter a word about his involvement. Du Xiao Xian goes crazy from losing her lover and her father in an instant.
Although Li Qing Liu manages to save Long Ao Yi, Li Qing Liu is captured by Li Zhao. Li Zhao is team Yuan Shang. They're using Li Qing Liu to threaten Long Ao Yi. Li Qing Liu falls into a ditch but Long Ao Yi catches him by the hand. He wants her to let go. Soon she loses grasp as well and falls in with him. Li Zhao catches her though. He tells her to let go of Li Qing Liu. She won't and so Li Zhao lets go of her. Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi drop into the ditch.
Li Zhao returns to Yuan Shang but he's not actually loyal to him. Li Zhao takes a knife and stabs him but Yuan Shang has an armour on. It's Li Zhao who dies (with his servant) in the end. Li Zhao, why couldn't' you have an armour on too? I thought maybe drama will have another scene to tell us Li Zhao is actually alive but after all those flashbacks, his death is set in stone.
[Ep36] It turns out Li Zhao purposely pushed Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi into that specific ditch because there is a hidden exit passage. He was giving them the only way to survive. Now Li Qing Liu's men have arrived to save them both but Yuan Shang's men surround them. Long Ao Yi makes a moving speech to prevent Yuan Shang's men for killing them. Li Qing Liu, Xiao Qin, and Yan Bin chirp in some motivating words too. Yuan Shang's men have converted to their side. Sorry, I obviously don't care about this speech to even write about it.
Yuan Shang dies (with his treasures that he can't take to hell with). Before his death, he had taunted them that Li Qing Liu's poison will be incurable because although Li Qing Liu took the first part of the antidote, there's still a second antidote which is on him. However, when Yuan Shang went to search of it in his clothes, it's not on him. With that, he dies without another word. The whereabouts of the second antidote is unknown.
Back in the palace, Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi report to the Emperor of Yuan Shang's evil deeds but Emperor is like I knew everything all along. In comes Princess. She's been working undercover all these years to gather evidence on Yuan Shang. Dude, if Emperor knew all along, he just watched his son fall into a trap and die because of it?? And now his other son is going to die of poison???
Three years later. There's a new Emperor. Li Qing Liu has passed away. Long Ao Yi has disappeared. We zoom out of the palace and into another bustling city. Xiao Qin is looking for Yan Bin. He's got two kids with him. He has also proposed thirteen times to her but she rejected each time. So who's kids are those? Well. Their parents are Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi. They're playing rock, paper, scissors (a drinking game) at home instead of taking care of their own kid...
There's a flashback to how Li Qing Liu survived. Li Zhao had always kept the fish Long Ao Yi gave him. Before Li Zhao's death, he stole the medication from Yuan Shang and put it into the fish. And that's how Long Ao Yi found the antidote.
It's Long Ao Yi and Li Qing Liu's sixth year wedding anniversary. What should they do? Make babies. Li Qing Liu picks her up and takes her across the city.
Remarks
[First Impression (Ep1-8)] I was very worried for this drama. I like all the actors and I was afraid Lai Yi (Leon Lai) would taint it. I don't know what led to that impression of him when none of his projects were awful. After watching this, I'm not just relieved but I'm impressed with this drama as a whole and that includes Lai Yi. He's not amazing but I have zero complaints for his acting. He's not overacting nor are his cold expressions expressionless. He's suitable for this role and I really like him here.
What I love the most is there's a new story to this. It brings back TVB drama feels when they were still good. This is not a story about the palace, jianghu, wuxia, or a general. It's set in the past (with modern quirks) about merchants. The title of this drama has the words "九流" which is an insult to refer to the lowliest of the lowest. However, the drama uses it slightly different where 九流 is the line between the rich and the poor. Upper 九流 is prosperous. Lower 九流 is impoverished. Thus, this drama focuses on class disparity where our female lead is the lowly undisciplined lady and our male lead is the refined young man of the elite. They join hands to investigate a case revolving around this Golden Thread.
The second couple is cute and hilarious. They're probably one of the second couples this year that I have grown to like the quickest. I think a bit of it is also because I like the actors. There's also lines from other actors that are hilarious (e.g. the locksmith). Overall, I really like the depth of the script and the characterizations.
[Actors/Actresses] I really like Bai Lu in this role especially her expressions when she performed the dance in Ep5. She uses her body language very well to express her unruly nature. The supporting cast also has a lot of depth. First of all, there's Fang Yi Lun (Alen Fang) from The Love by Hypnotic. I don't usually get second lead syndrome but maybe I will with him. Hou Pei Shan is in this as Xiao Qin. She was the lead in Dragon Day, You're Dead. I remember really liking her. Xu Mu Chan is Du Xiao Xian. She was in Let's Shake It! as the alien. There's also another guy who looked very familiar and it took me a long time to recognize him. He's Wang Xing Wei. He was in Ancient Detective as Si Ma Dang.
[Behind the Scenes]
[Behind the Scenes]
[Ending] Happy.
Where do I start with this ending...
I rolled my eyes at the speech they made to convert Yuan Shang’s men. Those men worked for Yuan Shang for money and then they get moved by a random speech to tell them to work for the people. Whaaaat. Why would they even care? Honestly, honestly, honestly, what individual would care about equality when they’re at the lowest level of the hierarchy. It’s all about personal gains and how they’re going to make a living. But because it’s the last episode those random killers in the wood have to care or else Long Ao Yi and co will die.
Li Zhao. Sigh. And then Emperor was like I knew all along and here I’m like so you sacrificed your son then! Two sons almost! Why? This doesn’t make sense. I don’t even want to waste time complaining about the lack of logic here. Or how Du Xiao Xian oust herself and her father for no good reason.
As the last few minutes of the drama is winding down it’s a happy ending but I was waiting for a clarification on how Li Qing Liu and Long Ao Yi have changed lives of others but these two were playing Rock Paper Scissors... All my praises of this drama being different and tackling social equality went down the drain.
Final Review
[Review] A woman of 下 and a man of 上 meet in the middle to create an equal world. She’s got the dreams and the ideas and he’s got the skills and brains. They perfectly complement each other. This was what the drama wanted to achieve (at least I think so from my first impression) but Jiu Liu Overlord fell short of it. Very short of it. I was very disappointed in this as the ending approached. When the drama took a different setting from merchant to palace I lost my interest. I didn't care about who killed who, how who killed who or why who killed who. I finished this drama out of loyalty I felt for the actors. It bothers me when dramas try to tackle a social problem (e.g. class disparity) and then pretend to solve it in this make belief way and then sprinkle magic over it and be like okay we've solved it! Tada! Happily ever after! If a drama is going to tackle issues like these either do it sincerely or don't do it at all. Jiu Liu Overlord gave me the hope that it was going to be smart, challenged my intellect (questionable how much I have of this) and failed to impress.
Although I don't like the whole thing, there were parts I loved. Jiu Liu Overlord is watchable. There are strong comedic moments. There are smart (short-lived) moments. I liked the romance more in the beginning. I don't think the main leads were able to create a lot of chemistry afterwards. Individually, I appreciated both Bai Lu and Lai Yu's performance. I do think Bai Lu overacted a tad. Her character was too strong. I'm not asking her to be more "girly", just more human-like. I couldn't relate to any of her feelings, it was just fun watching her on screen. As for Lai Yi (Leon Lai), he's a rediscovery for me. I also really like the second couple (Xiao Qin and Yan Bin). However, I don't like how the drama handled the other second leads. They kind of just self-destructed all of a sudden. As for the story, I can see what the writers wanted to achieve; it's more eventful than regular costume romcoms; I acknowledge the efforts for the drama trying to be different.
Objectively, I think there are good things here but personally, I wouldn't recommend this; the drama derailed too much in the latter half. The merits of this though is that it had a good cast and there was humour.
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