cyn lynn : Against the Current

A noble lady's family falls from grace, and she becomes the servant of the very man she was once betrothed to.
Notable Actors/Actresses

Tan Song Yun: Xu Lan Xiang

Liu Xue Yi: Lin Jin Qi

Director

Huang Ying Xiang

Screenwriter

Tong Hua

Chinese Title

蘭香如故

The Orchid's Fragrance Remains

Genres: Period, Romance, Palace, Period Romance

Network: Tencent Video

Year: 2026
Episodes: 8/40

Recap Grade: D
First Impression: 3.25/5

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] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [Extra]

Cast


Tan Song Yun: Xu Lan Xiang Shen Jia Lan	Liu Xue Yi: Lin Jin Qi

Li Meng: Zhao Xing Tang	Zheng He Hui Zi: Du Cui Que

Guo Ke Yu: Xue Gui Hua (FL's mother)	Niu Jun Feng: Han Liang

Wu Tian Tian: Lin Xiu Wan	Ye Qing: Yu Chan

Pu Tao: Lin Xiu Cai	Song Fang Yuan: Du Xiao Lian

Li Jia Xin: Zhou Gan Tang Ying Ge	Liu Jia Xi: Lin Xiu Shu

Su Ke: Lu Xie	Hou Chang Rong: Lin Zhao Xiang

Chen Huang: Xu Wan Quan	Kong Ling Mei: Qin Shun Hua

Wei Zi Xin: Lin Chang Min	Wu Xiao Dong: Fang Yu Fang Shou Yi

Liu Mei Han: Lv Ji Er	He Peng: Yuan Shao Hui

Jia Ze: Zheng Man Yi	Guo Jia Nan: Lin Jin Lan

Tang Meng Jia: Bao Gai	Ma Fan Ding: Lin Xiu Ru

Guan Chang: Fu Rong	Zhao Qin: Wang Ling Xiao

Li Hong Liang: Lord Han	Wu Tian Qi: Tan Su Hua

Ke Lan: Cui Xue Mei (FL's mother)	Kong Lian Shun: Crown Prince Emperor

Wu Jia Kai: Xie Zhao	Ye Xiao Wei: Du Zheng

Ma Wen Yuan: Qian Shao Ze	Wang Jia Xuan: Lin Jin Feng

Mini Recaps

My goal is to pick ONE topic/highlight. It can be a major moment or the smallest little detail. You can share yours too ~

[Ep1] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]

Content warning: This episode contains scenes involving suicide.

Everyone you see here:

Dies. Except FL. Even this little one acted by Li Zhi Mo (the cutie who is in everything). She takes the poison herself, reassuring everyone as she does it, and telling them how proud she is of their family values. T_T. All of them choose to die because serving in the 教坊司 Jiaofangsi, the palace's music bureau is essentially sexual servitude.

So Shen Jia Lan (Tan Song Yun) watches her family die, one by one, right in front of her. She was supposed to die too…

[Ep2] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]

These parents are so kind to ~~Shen Jia Lan~~ Xu Lan Xiang. And she returns that kindness. They treat her like a daughter because they lost their own, and she treats them like her parents because she lost hers. They meet each other in the same grief, but what grows between them is more than just filling the space of what they lost. It's real love. They really become family to each other. :')

[Ep3] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]

The wife. I swear Li Meng sleeps exactly like this in real life. I swear. I expect her to be crazy.

[Ep4] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]

When one quiet, tender, hardworking soul (Tang Meng Jia as Bao Gan) recognizes another quiet, tender, hardworking soul. Aw.

Bao Gan is really just as careful as Lan Xiang. When Lan Xiang covers for Ji Er, saying their master (ML) urgently needs the tea, Bao Gan catches the oddity. Is their master really looking for tea, or is he looking for someone to spill the tea?

Sure enough, Ji Er comes back with a reward for spilling the tea on her madam. Lan Xiang is worried for Ji Er especially after Bao Gan warns her to be steadfast and honest in this household. Bao Gan seems to know exactly which way the wind is blowing, and has already taken this information to Madam's side.

[Ep5] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]

I was worried for Lan Xiang when she suggested searching her body to prove she hadn't stolen anything. Turns out she had been holding the candy in her hand and melting it. Smart girl. But that candy matters too, because it was given to her by Lv Ji Er (Liu Mei Han), who's now being accused of stealing a ring.

Then Lan Xiang deliberately creates a distraction, “accidentally” knocking over a vase before begging Madam not to "kill this lowly servant." That triggers Ji Er's memory of the story Lan Xiang once told her: a madam who killed a servant and was punished with a year of house arrest.

Lan Xiang rescues Ji Er by giving her the information she needs to defend herself. SO CLEVER. And so kind :').

(Since I did the character posters, it seems Lv Ji Er does come back later.)

[Ep6] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]

Looketh! Lan Xiang thinks fast on her feet.

I love how Lan Xiang just blends into the background, constantly observing and adapting. She hides the seal with the fur, and cleverly takes an imprint of it onto her own arm. She's already thinking several steps ahead. While serving Madam, she worries that exposing her could get all the servants under Madam executed, so she keeps what she knows to herself. Not just to protect Madam, but to protect the people around her and, ultimately, herself. For now.

Being a noble lady (once) herself, Lan Xiang also knows there's two halves of the seal and realizes the complete character is 錢 (qian) = money. Except the “money” is actually the surname of the woman – uh, man – she loves.

"Miss" Qian 錢

[Ep7] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]

Lin Jin Qi: Be my ears, my eyes. […] If you do well, I guarantees your family will be safe and sound

ML. You cannot threaten her like this. She already lost her family once. And horrifically. T_T Meanwhile you and your Lin family ditched the Shen's and happily got married to another lady.

Right after, I don't even know what she's doing here, reaching her hands toward the sky, toward branches she can't reach, smiling, and then tearing up as she looks up. But whatever is going on in her head, I'm tearing up with her.

[Ep8] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]

Divorced.

And in the worst way possible for Zhao Xing Tang. She gets divorced from our ML, but it's also the end of her seven-year relationship with Qian Shao Ze (Ma Wen Yuan). When Qian Shao Ze is whipped by Zhao Xing Tang's father (also his uncle, so yes they're cousins), he saves himself by blaming her for seducing him.

How dare this ~~cousin~~ ~~girlfriend~~ man. Oh wrong woman. That's ML's beautiful trusty servant, Jiu Gao.

Where was I. Oh yes: here: How dare this sorry excuse for a man. Seven years! They had been together for seven years, and the moment he's in trouble, he throws her under the carriage. She even suffered a miscarriage for him. Is that why she refused to sleep with ML on their wedding night…She was pregnant?

Poor girl. At least you're single now \o/!!

Remarks

[First Impression (Ep1-4)]

Brutal start. T_T And here I go signing myself up for another 40-episode drama.

What I'm liking most so far is Tan Song Yun's Xu Lan Xiang. She's reserved, quiet, but weathered. There's a heaviness to her from witnessing the tragedy in Ep1. But at her core is kindness. And Show isn't heavy-handed with the obstacles after Ep1, but rather letting her work her way up.

What's a little different about this one is that we are navigating servant-hood, and the fate of being born into a servant family: every generation is destined to serve this manor. Being a servant is essentially hereditary.

[Cast&Crew]

蘭香如故 (Lan Xiang Ru Gu) is directed by Huang Ying Xiang, who makes really pretty shows! Her previous works include Les Belles and We Go Fast on Trust.

Adapted by Tong Hua, the famous author behind Lost You Forever. But this is not Tong Hua's own novel. The original story, 蘭香緣 (Lan Xiang Yuan; The Fate of the Orchid's Fragrance) was written by He Yan Shan.

Filming wrapped on October 10, 2025.

[Ending]

[A Highlight]

[Review & Rating]

Rating: /5

Recommendations

Preliminary recs are random / a peek at the list. These may be updated if drama is completed

Genre List:

Scheming / Palace Romances

Married CP	Happier Start	Tragic FL

→ Go to September 2026 post

September 11, 2026

Against the Current | Recap and Review

Cast

Mini Recaps

Remarks

Recommendations

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