The Princess Royal (2024)

IF THERE IS A SECOND CHANCE, USE IT IN GOOD WAY INSTEAD OF PLANNING REVENGE

My main of this drama is, the ML & FL wants to have different life where there will no bloodshed happen as in like before so that there would be no need of revenge. Why revenge when nothing happens. It's simple where a few don't understand. Try to look that way. Don't always hope taking revenge.

I don't know why many people here are saying bad things about FL. FL being together with SML is because of ML. He hasn't cleared things with SFL. So, she gets herself linked with SML. But ML started to like her later.
In their second chance he still came to her because he likes her and don't want to miss her this time.
And about FL killing ML, I don't whether they have watched the drama or not. Yes, she did order to kill him, but it because she was misled into that ML poisoned her.
In their second life when they met each other, In a conversation ML will ter her that he didn't poison her. She trusts him but they thought that might be SML. So, she is afraid of him.
But Afterall she was with him for almost 17 years. (and also, there is no chance of happening anything because he was castrated) So she struggles with her feelings. It is understandable. All because ML didn't cherish her and told her about his feelings. In this time, he doesn't want to her.
Some people her saying that ML is cuckold that chases FL ever after she killed him. But he didn't come to her in thought of marriage. He mentioned that he only wants to see her. But later they told each other what happened. Even though ML didn't kill her but FL killed him, it is clear that it is because of some other people. ML understands that.
So, this time he doesn't want to lose her.
FL is in confuse Afterall she spends 17 years with SML.
But I think around ep 11 ML got burst out about his feelings. But FL got into more confusion.
Later ML wants to respect her choice and, on their wedding, doesn't know why he told her we can divorce after some time and you can chase SML and even got a plan.
So FL gots into more confusion. Later she tries to set him up with SFL and he gots angry he got burst out it is around ep 11. from 11 to 21 they got somewhat together but not completely.
Later ML wants to confess to her but something bad happens but immediately they cleared everything. FL asks him to wait. she asks him to wait for her so she can clear her mind.
But immediately they get together as she can't wait and she sneaked into his room. As we can see FL likes him but she unable to say it loud. But since then they are so lovey dovey.
At ep 25 they got in trouble and FL make a plan that includes divorce. Even though it is their plan but ML don't want to divorce. So they got into fight but they will settle it immediatly.
Everything is good. Please don't listen and watch the drama. It is a 40 episode. FL character is fixed like that and they need to maintain in that way.
I Loved this drama and so many people liked this and I hope the ratings would still go higher.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️


The main and most important point of this drama is that
The leads got a new chance and they want to change it. They want to change but they didn't want to take revenge instead they want to change as like there should be no reason all those bad happened and as like no need to take revenge since they wont happen and they wont let them happen. It is the great thing about this.

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I'm so disappointed

I won't even pretend that I finished this drama, because I didn't. The reason is that I just don't have the time to watch something that, from the majority of reviews (and my own thoughts), will just get bad later on.
I was really sold at the beginning. The plot seemed interesting and the chemistry between the main couple was just *chefs kiss*. I really wanted to see how they'd change things, but well...
The main plot: Our main couple were married, but had a tragical end, with a lot of misunderstandings in their relationship. Then, when both of them died, in the middle of political intrigues, they recieved a chance to start all over again.

Just from the start, I felt that I was in for a journey. Many people said that they couldn't feel attached to the characters, but that was not my case. I really liked them. They were both smart and likable.
The problem starts at episode 11, at least for me.

Firstly, we need to understand that the main couple were married for 20 years, and throught these years, they had a good relationship only in the first few years of marriage. For some reason that I can't explain why, at some point, the FL started to believe that ML had feelings for his childhood friend. She felt betrayed and their bond started to rot. Later on, we find out that it was just a misunderstanding (the ML didn't explain at the time. He just kept dodging the issue and remaining quiet, almost confirming her suspicions, when he could've just explained. But whatever).
I mentioned that because up to that moment, the FL started to have a relationship with the SML. They were actually romantically envolved for 17 years.
Once they "reborn" she really tries to catch SML's attention, and wants to marry him instead, but everything goes wrong and she ends up with her former husband again. They start to solve some misunderstadings (she really thought that he was the one who killed her in their previous life. However, it was actually the SML), and they become allies and friends.

Their relationship was just so fun to see. They really know each other (married for 20 yeas), they bicker, they have an amazing chemistry, etc. And then, we are on episode 11, where the ML ACTUALLY EXPLAINS that he had always loved her, and not the other girl. He confesses his feelings, says that he would wait for her answer and that's it.
At this point, I was really excited, because I thought the story would progress and we would see them as a power couple solving all of the problems in the court, changing the course of the original events. The problem is that after that, I started to feel that things weren't progressing, and I read some reviews that explained that my worries were valid.

The female lead doesn't have eyes only for the ML in this drama. She actually feels conflicted between these two man from her past. At some point, it's understandable, since she and SML spend a long time together, but they just completely ignored the ML's confession at episode 11 and started to walk in circles, like the confession never existed. And I swear... The SML has SO MUCH screen time. He really appears a lot, and no one likes him. He's boring and has no chemistry with FL.
You really start to feel bad for the ML, because FL seems to never solve her own feelings, in order to choose him for good. The worst part is that people were saying that she remains like that up to episode 30, like WHAT?
That's really a shame, because he's an amazing character. He's fun, ironic, inteligent, really attractive and caring. He's an experienced politician, who's good at manipulating circumstances, but he just keeps being a simp for FL. Idk, it's painful to watch and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, because they are actually married, but there're all of these cheating insinuations by FL.

Edit: And I completely agree with other reviews that it seems that they tried to portray a strong female lead by having her playing with two men at the same time. I don't like this type of thing, so it really disappointed me.

Aniways, if you don't enjoy love triangles (like me), better skip this one.

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I wish I got a second chance with ZLH?

I like this drama. I watched it while airing, and after it finished airing, I watched it all over again, so I already watched it two times. I like everything about this drama: actors, acting, production department,technical, non-technical aspects. Everything is fine, no issue. I like their couple Bickering.
I like the story. I wish I got a second chance like this, too. ( but do I've to die first).
many people criticize find Ml annoying well I don't sometimes I do find Fl annoying she is more confused but turns out she doesn't know many of the details of many events from her previous life incidents that led to her death (every coin has two side), besides she was not the only one to blame misunderstanding, less communication, misperception, wrong preference lead one thing to another to another and caused the whole mishappening. and in second life let's not forget she was 40 year old soul in 18 year body. plus, as the princess, she was taught to show no emotions.
so it's okay.
besides, if we talking about the most annoying person, the award goes to SML. OMG, he was pure torture; I'm glad he died. He was stubborn as a bull and glad he committed suicide. Zero remorse for him. ML and FL both told him that he could stop now but he didn't. even after everything, at the last moment when ml gave him his way out he choose to commit suicide what a waste of a second chance.
Lastly, if you are going through reviews to make decisions to watch or not u can stop here. surely u can give atleast one chance to this drama rest depend on ur personal choice.
Goodbye take care

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Hidden Lessons

This is one of those story I know I will personally rewatch. Through watching this, I was able to connect deeply with some of the characters and it allowed me to reflect on my relationships with people around me. I loved this story, the character development and such. And also, there was little to no major misunderstanding. This story portrays that human are complex beings, making choices Is never easy but it also shows that sometimes, we make things more complicated than they need to be. Personally I LOVEDD this story and I look forward to my rewatch. I really learned so much from Pingyue, and her loved undying love and I also learned from Ronqiang that in the pursuit of everything, you can loose everything and end up with nothing. And till the end, He FAILS to realize that he's wrong, that his actions are what got him there, that he had a choice and that he's just an evil person who has tried to justified his wrongs. GREAT story.

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Where the Fuck is ML??

In real life I hate politics, but when it comes to series or movies, I love watching the political genre. Watch this show for Zhang Ling He & its political genre. But they ruined it. I loved the political plot & twist & turns, but they reduced ML screen time to supporting characters. As Zhang Ling He fan, it's really disappointing. Even if it was any other actor, I could complain about ML's screen presence being so less. I know it is a women-centric drama, but in other dramas they use the ML character very well, at least doesn't reduce his screen time. I would've given it a 10 rating with all the political plot, but they destroyed it. I have a rating of 7 for the political plot & cast acting.

Pei Wen Xuan is smart and cunning, but his love for Li Rong is obvious. Throughout the series, they said he is smart but never showed properly. In the Story of Kunning Palace, ML's cunningness & smartness are shown throughout the series, but here they only said it didn't utilized it. Also, he didn't have a purpose other than to chase after Li Rong, which is another disappointment. In SOKP he had a purpose, but here there's none. Zhang Ling He's acting was good. It was visible from his expression that Pei Wen Xuan truly loves Li Rong & could do anything for her.

Li Rong is selfish. She never tried to understand Li Chuan, Pei Wen Xuan & Su Rong Qing. Li Chuan was struggling to rule, and was under a lot of pressure from noble families. Instead of helping & supporting him, she also did the same thing to him. I'm saying what he did to her is right, but she is the reason it ended this way. In Pei Wen Xuan's case, she always assumed that he didn't love her or support her. She never tried to express herself or never tried to communicate with him properly. At last Su Rong Qing, she trusted him so blindly, despite knowing that his family was being executed because of her brother. It was obvious that he wanted revenge. She never asked her brother the reason behind Su families family's execution. She is smart, no doubt about that. The way she ploted against those noble families was awesome. In this life she tried to change her fate & truly help & supported her brother. Also expressed her feelings for Pei Wen Xuan.

What's that ending dude!! Li Rong says she loves Pei Wen Xuan but still gives a lovey-dovey look to Su Rong Qing. The scene where Su Rong Qing tells the past of his brother & Pei Wen Xuan to Li Rong was so focused on Su Rong Qing. They wanted to show both sides of the story, but the execution was wrong. They would've edited the scene with both Pei Wen Xuan & Su Rong Qing telling the story at a time rather than focusing only on Su Rong Qing.

Su Rong Qing was also selfish. He would've done so much better. He would've helped Li Chuan in ruling. The fact is, he is also like othes, want noble families to rule nothing else.

Laughed how Pei Wen Xuan & Li Rong keep on arguing about their past issues. Love their bickering. Zhang Ling He & Zhao Jin Mai have amazing chemistry. I can see why they're cast in a new series so quickly.

Loved the friendship of Li Rong, Shangguan Ya & Qin Zhen Zhen. They're strong, independent women who wants to change the ruling systems.

I loved Shangguan Ya character. She fun-loving, smart & independent girl.

Laughed how Pei Wen Xuan didn’t even let Li Rong finish before agreeing.

Loved when Li Rong slapped Pei Wen Xuan's uncle. It was so satisfying. The way she came to save is so awesome. She was on fire.

Its cute how Pei Wen Xuan hugged Li Rong.

Laughed how Pei Wen Xuan was trying to seduce Li Rong.

Laughed when Tong Ye came running to Li Rong saying Pei Wen Xuan was missing & he ended up seeing her there.

Laughed how Pei Wen Xuan & Cui Yu Lang got into Li Rong's house by climbing the wall.

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Another Tragic Second Lead

After we watched a drama, we often remember the tragic handsome second lead in the story more than other character in the story. This happened for me in this drama.

Li Rong, the princess of Xia, was married to Pei WenXuan. Although she did not have much say in the choice of her spouse, the two fell in love. Unfortunately, WenXuan's past engagement to the concubine of Li Chuan, the young emperor, became a point of misunderstanding between the two. With the misunderstanding not properly explained, it resulted in their turning against each other. Thinking that WenXuan had poisoned her, Li Rong ordered the assassination of her husband.

The two woke up from death returning to 20 years ago before they were married. This time, things were more complicated - they were not the only ones who returned with the memories of what might be to come. The other person who also returned was an antagonist who wanted to kill Li Chuan that Li Rong and WenXuan supported, to stop him from becoming emperor,.

In the past one year, this was the third drama I watched which was about a second chance in life. The previous two were The Kunning Palace and Marry my Husband (Korean). Both of these were very good, so I was a little sceptical how this was going to measure up. It turned out to be an interesting story. Zhang LingHe was once again the lead actor (as in Story of Kunning Palace). However, in this drama, he was a little more subdued but infused some humour in an otherwise very serious drama. His jealous reaction to RongQing was entertaining and funny to watch.

There were numerous interesting characters in the story. WenXuan had a hard time convincing Li Rong of his love. Li Rong grew up in the palace with a hardened view on love and a strong sense of distrust. Portraying one who was tough and guided by logical, she actually had a weak emotional side and was completely devastated when she discovered the people she trusted and loved betrayed her.

The handsome talented Su RongQing, who was deeply and secretly in love with Li Rong, was an obsessive and stubborn personality. He had the chance of becoming the prince consort to Li Rong but he threw it all away to pursue his obsession with protecting his family and the noble families. He would protect her with his life but yet stand in opposition to her chosen path. He was obsessed both in love and in his pursuit. He was not quite the villain as he pursue all these with actual selfless goals but insisted on taking a misguided path. So I term him an anti-hero.

Then there was the old emperor who was determined to fight the nobles whom he believed had been standing in his way of building a better country and fighting the war against the northern invaders. However, his obsession led to him to be blinded in the choice of succession to his throne.

The last 4 episodes were intense and suspenseful. I was restless watching it. Although recent Chinese dramas tend to be less tragic, the writer could easily flip the story for either side to win in the last few episodes.

There was not much to criticise except to nitpick on some small matters. When RongQing fell over the cliff with Li Rong trying to save her, they both ended up on the river bank all wet but with their hair wear almost intact. Surely falling all the way into the water should have done more damages.

The last piece of music played by RongQing on the qin was quite lame - like a piece from an old Cantonese opera. I thought they could do better. Really lame compared to the piece played by Rong in this drama, or those play in The Double or The Kunning Palace.

Also in this drama, all the men were such faithful lovers, other than the old emperor. Lol. I don't see this happening in real life - after being rejected, most men would move on eventually and some move on very quickly; only an exceptional few lingers.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend this drama. I think it's greatest strength was in portraying the characters in the story. They were each with distinct characters and personalities.

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Disappointed…

This became unintentionally long cause at one point I just started talking about anything lmfao)

If ongoing reviews were a thing, yall would’ve seen how highly I thought of this drama at first lmfao

I think, the word “exemplary” once came to mind (during that consort’s final moments in court earlier on)

They took such care with the characters and story in the beginning.

It should be a crime for dramas to let you down this badly.

We wanted something different…

And at first, this was the something different.

This was a story where the fl was the heroine not just the love interest.

And not just in name only.

This was her story. Her journey and man was it a great watch

There were flaws throughout but I could tolerate them because I was having so much fun.

The Princess Royal was riding highhhh and then it crashed

It crashed horribly after ep.30

The last 10 episodes were a pain to get through

It revealed her as an indecisive hypocrite and spent an ungodly amount of time on an issue that was already resolved in ep.2-3 by framing it as some irreconcilable injustice.

We wasted 3 episodes on things we already knew or could’ve been explained in 15 minutes.

And then came the illogicalities.

The noble houses siding with a woman who’d previously tortured members of their houses and had them executed

A betrayal in the barracks for no apparent reason other than to create a conflict ig?

The others would be a spoiler.

They should cut out episodes 35-37, and cut out that drawn out death in ep.40, if they want to save even a fraction of this busted story

The casting director must’ve been asleep during the casting of this drama.

The sml, crown prince, Prince Su and Consort Rou’s actor(s) were casted for what?

There was also something not quite right with the fl’s acting.

I will say that regarding the criticisms about the sml being more like a ml than the sml: this is the most second male leadiest sml ever lmfao

The obnoxious yearning, the self righteousness, the inflated sense of worth he feels he holds in the fls heart/mind, the surface level/paper thin perfection and the need to control her couched in a pretense of protection

The only issue was her unreasonable attachment to him and that the story permitted the narrative of “missed opportunity” between them to persist til the end.

Don’t know what the writers were thinking but they weakened their romance with this.

You can’t have one person single-handedly carrying a relationship. It should be a partnership with mutual love and respect but it felt more like something Pei Wenxuan was painstakingly carving out of desperation.

I can’t root for that. It gives me the ick.

They also seemed afraid to position him fully as the villain of the story. Even til the end.

There seemed to be a disconnect between what they were trying to tell and what the viewers saw/experienced.

By the end, Li Ring and Pei Wenxuan were no longer characters I cared all that much about.

There was a point in the story where it felt like the writers gave up and patched together an ending because they had to.

It went from having fleshed out characters with an identity, personality and goals (from mains, sides, antagonists) to paper thin plot devices.

I want to give this a 6.5 so badly but I really liked it at first so a 7/10 it is.

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a new level for the male wife trope

the inicial idea was crazy good, and that made the first episodes very easy to watch.
i really liked that Pei Wen Xuan and Li Rong are not traditional characters, their personalities were different than we usually see in chinese dramas, they are a unique couple. also i loved their past, it was absolute DRAMA!
however, there's a very disturbing scene on episode 25 between the main couple, that bothered me a lot and i have not seen anyone talk about it, that scene was hideous, it even made me think if i would finish the drama, and it's the reason why i took away so many stars in my review. i believe it would be a trigger for some people, so beware.

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This show is not for the people who like fluffy romance or romantic stuff.

I started watching this show because this is one of the dramas where FL was more powerful than ML. This show has a very political base and less romance and the romance is integrated so well with the plot that you get the sense of genuine love from both ML and FL. I thought the time travel plot was overrated but how they realized the past mistakes and worked for it. The consistency of Pei Wenxuan is remarkable though Li Rong's character was a bit stupid as she will move her opinion to whoever is in front of her. And the SML character is so stupid like he was given a second chance to turn around and make things better but what did he do go and make it worse in this life. Watching Su Rongqing make his life and people around his life more and more miserable was frustrating to watch. but I liked how things turned around and the emperor got the result of his trust and Li Chuan's way of protecting his love and family. The acting of all the actors is fabulous.

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Pei Wen Xuan deserved better!!

Just finished this drama and it lowkey felt like a chore to finish it. The story was a bit boring yet interesting enough to finish it.

I found there to be very little chemistry between the two leads, but their acting was good enough and I felt the respect they had for each other as actors. ZJM could work on her facial expressions a bit. More feeling!! Some of her crying/sad scenes were not convincing enough to me except the one where SRQ revealed everything to her in that cave. I liked her acting there. I enjoy a good crazy dramatic scene (ahem, Consort Rue). ZLH needed more screen time!!

Li Rong was such a selfish person with big trust issues (understandable). Her character was so annoying and she did not deserve Pei Wen Xuan's love!! He was way too good for her. PWX loved her way more than she did. I do appreciate that they had good communication in certain scenes and cleared up some misunderstandings. And like many other's already talked about, Su Rong Qing had too much screen time. He was pretty much the ML in this drama and the whole story felt like it revolved around him.

I loved the other supporting characters like Qin Zhen Zhen, Shangguan Ya and Su Rong Hua. And the actress of Consort Rou played the heck out of her role! She was a very convincing psycho! LOL

What bugged me was in Episode 35 where they switched Prince Su after he passed away with someone who was basically the same person. That was ridiculous. But then suddenly everyone knew he was imposter? They just knew!! There was no big reveal so it was underwhelming. And nobody really mourned for Prince Su except the Princess Hua. Consort Rou was so fixated on power, she mourned for like a few minutes and then boom - back to being power hungry.

Also, goodness gracious SRQ was basically half of Ep 40 with his dramatic antics. And near the end 3 years into the future, where the heck was Li Rong and Pei Wen Xuan's kid?!

I do enjoy a good political drama, but this one dragged on. This shouldn't have been 40 episodes long. 30 episodes would have been fine. I do believe this is worth a watch if you like the leads. Who knows, you might enjoy it more than me!

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Another drama to the list

I have never seen a lot of historical dramas but it's actually my first time seeing such a story of time traveling. If you like such a badass woman in court then I could recommend this to you. It's not the typical badass but a person who can rule the country, not leading to the war. Also it's my first time getting angry to a character, how they cast Heyi as the villain, how he had this calm, scholar demeanor but with a evil intensions. How i also got angry and annoyed to a female character, when it shows Li Chuan's side of a story. Now understand why he killed her.
It's not focus on romance, but a descent amount of romance. Love how Jinmai acts, it suits her well. it suits to the character.

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