cyn lynn : Flourished Peony | Recap and Review

A merchant girl's divorce from her "noble" husband brings her a better match: an "ignoble" peacock of profit.

Notable Actors/Actresses

Yang Zi: He Wei Fang

Li Xian: Jiang Chang Yang

Wei Zhe Ming: Liu Chang

Zhang Ya Qin: Li You Zhen

Director

Ding Zi Guang

Screenwriter

Zhang Yuan Ang

Chinese Title

國色芳華

Peerless Beauty and Graceful Splendour

Genres: Period, Romance, Period Romance

Network: MangoTV

Year: 2025
Episodes: 32

Jump to Remarks | Recs | Comments

Recaps: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32]

Cast


Yang Zi: He Wei Fang Mu Dan "Jiang Xiao Hua"	Li Xian: Jiang Chang Yang Sui Zhi

Wei Zhe Ming: Liu Chang Zi Shu	Zhang Ya Qin: Li You Zhen

Tu Song Yan: Prince of Ning (Father of Li You Zhen)	Guan Yue: Zhu Fu (Da Fu)

Xu Ling Yue: Xue Xi	Shen Meng Chen: Huangfu Ling Ge

Tong Meng Shi: Li Xing (He Wei Fang's cousin)

Mini Recaps

Recaps: Not happening "soon*. Maybe until we're closer to March! xD I could also totally give up on this idea. Even if I commit, I'll be tackling this slowly e.g. an ep a week. I should hopefully be done when S2 comes out? xD See you on this page here a year later!

[Ep30] [Jump to: Top | Comments]

The Ceremony:

1. Folding Fan Poem. The groom writes a poem on a fan to bless their marriage with love, union, harmony and couple prosperity and the bride will open the folding-fan and reveal a poem. But groom forgot this! (I don't think so though! He's so superstitious about every rite, wanting this to be perfect, how could he forget? Maybe it's too cheesy and emotional and he's to shameful to show it? xD)

2. Ceremonial Handwashing. This is a purification rite to prepare the bride and groom entering their married life and emphasizing the purity of their union. (He’s so delicately holding her hands ☺️)

3a. Shared Sacrificial Meal. The meal includes meat from an animal offered in prayer to bless the marriage. Sharing the food means mutual trust and dependence => commitment to facing life’s joys and challenges together. (Also JCY let Mu Dan choose the meat, symbolizing his respect for her decision ~)

3b. Drinking Ceremony. The bride and groom will drink from the same cup – another symbolism of unity, individuals becoming one unit. (😂 JCY rushing to drink with her. What a lovable superstitious groom!)

4. Comb Ceremony. The blessings during coming – there's a a lot of version, here's JCY's version:

一梳梳到頭，富貴不憂愁
二梳梳到頭，無病又無憂
三梳梳到尾，舉案又齊眉，永結同心佩
有頭又有尾，此生共富貴

With the first comb to the end, may your life be blessed with wealth and free from worries. (Mu Dan loves this)
With the second comb to the end, may you enjoy a healthy and peaceful life.
With the third comb to the end, may your love endure, harmonious and united, with mutual respect and devotion. (This is where Jiang Chang Yang pauses as his throat is caught in emotions and Mu Dan falls silent)
Combing from head to tail, may you share prosperity and happiness together in this life.

Mu Dan vows on the last one in particular (sharing wealth), but Jiang Chang Yang's vow is for every line he said 🥰 But hey Mu Dan sharing her money is huge too, hahaha.

Jiang Chang Yang must have lied about Aunt – he's the one who wants to give Mu Dan the comb. It's from his mother and meant for her daughter-in-law with the meaning of 白頭偕老 = to live to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss.

5. Hair Lock. The bride and groom tie a lock of their hair together, merging their lives and destiny. (But Mu Dan doesn’t want to cut her precious hair looool. I LOVE his improv. He cuts his and tells her to fill it with her fallen strands, awww. He really values this marriage).

6. Consummation. They owe us this.

[Ep31] [Jump to: Top | Comments]

[Ep32] [Jump to: Top | Comments]

Remarks

[Drama Info]

Crew.

From the director of Meet Yourself and Go Ahead, Ding Zi Guang brings us his first period costume drama.
Screenwriter Zhang Yuan Ang has many popular dramas too: Ashes of Love, The Ultimate Note, The First Shot, Listening Snow Tower.

Cast:

This is a reunion drama for Yang Zi and Li Xian from Go Go Squid!
Yang Zi is a girl with many Seasons. This is the first drama to have already filmed a S2 that's meant to be a S2 and not forcefully cut in half. Unless the rules change, do not get your hopes up for a S2 until one year later.
Li Yun Rui, who is not in the drama, was apparently offered Wei Zhe Ming's role, which LYR turned down for Blossom's Song Mo. (ETA: Wise choice!!!)

Wrapped on July 26, 2024.

[Ending] Happy. Married. Not necessarily happily married.

[A Highlight] Ep26: Backyard bliss hilariously disrupted by midnight admirers.

[Review & Rating]

I’m of two modes: love the uncomplicated yet layered romance; don’t love the non-romance plot.

I adore the romance. It’s patient, grounded, and all about connection over grandeur. If the romance doesn’t speak to you, you might be squinting at invisible ink, wondering where the love story went. If it does resonate, it’s nuanced – a relationship built on mutual understanding, wit, and warmth. Jiang Chang Yang and Mu Dan are kindred spirits, sharing secrets and weathering life’s storms like seasoned adults. Yet, when it comes to love, they turn adorably naive, like two kids navigating their first crush.

Romantic highlights:

→ My favourite scene: Ep18, where Mu Dan handles Jiang Chang Yang’s family drama with humor, and unwavering support in the least intrusive way. That’s how you stand by your man!

→ Dreamy backyard bliss. And then when their sanctuary is hilariously interrupted by, say, random midnight suitors and a parrot, the drama is a riot.

I suffer from feminism fatigue and this one here is as subtle as a sledgehammer. Mu Dan is juggling ex-family bloody drama, running a dangerous flower business … and she has to fight patriarchy. Give her a break. I feel that it would be a more compelling narrative keeping it to Mu Dan’s personal problems, which there are plenty, than the constant reminders of the struggles of all womankind. (Sheng Yi’s storyline, though, is unexpectedly raw. I was half-expecting a fantasy twist to lighten the load…)

Season 2. I hate to give this advice because I want company in my suffering, but if you haven’t started, I would wait for S2 for a sweeter payoff. I adore this couple, but the romance in S1 spends all its time simmering and never quite boils. The ending isn’t a cheap cliffhanger, but it’s flat—no hook, no urgency, no desperate need for more. When S2 finally lands (let’s assume a year because hope is dangerous), I might need a pep talk to get excited again (which, I might be a pro at anyway).

Rating: 3/5 ♥♥

Recommendations

Genre List:

Scheming / Palace Romances

Marriage	Busi-Rom	Busi-Rom

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January 7, 2025

Flourished Peony | Recap and Review

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