My Fair Princess (1998 - 2004)

Zi Wei and Xiao Yan Zi become best friends, Zi Wei’s shocking secret is revealed, Xiao Yan Zi comes up with a plan, a certain fifth prince shoots at a very wrong target, and the Emperor Qianlong realizes that he has been a cad.

Xiao Yan Zi manages to turn the world upside down even while lying in a bed without saying a word. Qian Long jumps to conclusions; Zi Wei goes into a frenzy; the Empress gets to work; the gracious Concubine Ling soothes everyone; a certain fifth prince thinks he has shot the most beautiful deer.

Xiao Yan Zi and Zi Wei exist separately as Xiao Yan Zi establishes herself as an unorthodox princess and Zi Wei meets her future partner in life by almost getting beaten to death by him. Nothing is ever the same anymore in the Palace as Xiao Yan Zi sells buns to the Emperor, cheeks the Empress, complains about wearing heavy headdresses, and unknowingly gets into huge trouble when the Fu manor learns of the mistaken identity.

What happens when a princess disguises herself as a eunuch, falls off the Palace walls, shouts at the Emperor, and picks a fight with a prince? We end up having a very entertaining episode! The first buds of romance bloom between Er Kang and Zi Wei as Xiao Yan Zi becomes buddies with Yong Qi and Er Tai.

The war between the Empress and Xiao Yan Zi goes into overdrive as, in the meanwhile, our favourite non-princess struggles with literary accomplishments in the schoolroom, and paints her face while trying to figure out how to send a message to Zi Wei. Zi Wei sheds plenty of tears again. Jin Suo cries because Zi Wei cries. Er Kang falls in love. Er Tai and Yong Qi are the frantic errand boys. The Empress predicts the downfall of the Qin dynasty based on Xiao Yan Zi’s misbehaviour.

Xiao Yan Zi finally meets her judgment day as the Emperor decides to take a firmer hand in her education. Very unfortunately for Xiao Yan Zi, that hand includes getting the evil Rong Muomuo to infuriate the heck out of her under the pretext of “teaching” her proper etiquette. On the other side of the fence…or impassable Palace walls, whichever way you wish to see it…Zi Wei sheds more tears and looks melancholy while everyone tries to outdo each other in analysing the situation.

Er Kang and Zi Wei have a long confidential exchange in a secluded valley, something seems to be going on between Xiao Yan Zi and Yong Qi, Er Tai tries to settle everyone’s madness but eventually feels that if you can’t beat ‘em, you should join ‘em even if it means losing your head. The long-awaited meeting between Xiao Yan Zi and Zi Wei takes place and Jin Suo shows a bit of temper.

Zi Wei worries about her “sister” while biding her time in Xue Shi Fu, and Xiao Yan Zi proves that she will definitely not ace any current affairs exams. Er Kang goes into one of his sentimental moods and ends it with a usual Er Kang rant. Yong Qi and Er Tai give up trying to educate Xiao Yan Zi.

Zi Wei decides to lose herself after a heartrending talk with Madam Fu, and causes mayhem with her disappearance. Er Kang goes out of his mind and vents his rage with several rants. Liu Qing and Liu Hong are bad at pretending that they don’t know anything. Xiao Yan Zi shows that she can still worm secrets out of them by bullying them. Yong Qi and Er Tai comment on the beauty of true love. The chaotic events bring about a change in plans which is set to change all their lives…for better or for worse.

Xiao Yan Zi’s powers of persuasion get Zi Wei and Jin Suo into the gilded cage of a Palace while the rest of the gang congratulate Er Kang on his groundbreaking intelligence. Qian Long immediately takes notice of Zi Wei but forgets her a moment later. Everybody in Shu Fang Zhai get a little tipsy to the detriment of Xiao Yan Zi’s forehead. Rong Muo Muo and the Empress do a bit of evil planning. Er Kang braves the dangers to visit Zi Wei in Shu Fang Zhai despite knowing he has no business being there.

The Empress finds fault with the Shu Fang Zhai gang again. Yong Qi, Er Kang and Er Tai are caught being where they’re not supposed to be. The Emperor is called into the action and Xiao Yan Zi winds up with a punishment which makes the twenty-plank beating seem preferable by contrast. Zi Wei also makes several appearances to worry her friends with her willingness to slap herself silly.

Zi Wei charms the Emperor irresistibly with her prowess at chess, singing, and a thousand other accomplishments. Er Kang gets worried that the Emperor is taking just a little too much interest in Zi Wei. Xiao Yan Zi is more interested in kicking the little bad things out of Rong Muomuo, only she’s surrounded by people who aren’t quite so violent. The Fifth Prince and Er Tai find themselves, once again, to be an unwanted audience, and Xiao Yan Zi shows that she can make a living out of being a 16th century inventor.

Xiao Yan Zi is a barrel of laughs with her stumbles at being a realistic literary poet while on the other side of the Palace, Zi Wei is being tortured by the evil and enthusiastic needle-wielding Rong Muomuo. When the gang finds out that Zi Wei has been imprisoned in the dark corners of Kun Ning Gong, Er Kang loses his cool and decides to infiltrate Kun Ning Gong to rescue his beloved. …In the meanwhile, Er Tai and Yong Qi are the voices of reason and Xiao Yan Zi is the voice of wailing.

Er Kang reaffirming his undying love for Zi Wei and the Emperor also showing his undying affection for Zi Wei. After Zi Wei is smothered half to death by affection, Xiao Yan Zi decides to teach her Shu Fang Zhai army some tricks in martial arts to the detriment of everyone’s general safety. The Emperor shockingly decides to wed Xiao Yan Zi to Er Kang and the three stooges are called into emergency status…and Yong Qi reveals something that all of us have known for a very long time.

Xiao Yan Zi makes a joke out of herself as usual with her ridiculous poem recital while the rest of the group bemoans the failure of a teaching method. Zi Wei impresses the Emperor with her intimate knowledge of his written works. The gang finally leaves the Palace and Zi Wei has even more avenue to impress everyone with her superior dish-naming skills. They then proceed to an embroidered ball tossing ceremony which leaves Yong Qi very hot and bothered.

Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi melt the hearts of fans across the world with their renowned sweet and innocent pavilion scene while Er Kang and Ziwei raise the hairs of viewers with their mushy eechy poochy scene. Xiao Yan Zi makes everyone laugh with her adaptation of ancient Chinese, and forces the gang to save yet another unfortunate soul from receiving a beating. Meanwhile, the Emperor seems to be growing special feelings for Zi Wei that are not exactly paternal-related.

The almost-to-be couple engages in the quarrel of the season that ends up in a session of stone-throwing and chicken-drumstick-tossing. The rest of the gang watches worriedly as the Emperor thinks that Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi are the strangest pair of siblings around. Yong Qi also manages to offend everyone around him as he falls victim to an illness that cannot be cured by medicine.

Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi wind up in a deserted field that proves to be the perfect place to argue again, persuade, kiss (yes kiss! hehehe) and make up. Xiao Yan Zi also manages to wound her leg in the process, thereby causing momentary alarm among the royal household, but heals in an amazingly short amount of time in order to let Zi Wei take centre-stage where injuries are concerned. A knife ends all the jollity of the excursion as Er Kang takes the lead in Massive Freaking Out Over Injured!Zi Wei session.

The Emperor begins to feel very dangerous emotions towards Zi Wei, who is likened to a very exciting book. Er Kang rants and raves a little about the unfairness of a life that doesn’t allow him to be with Zi Wei. Xiao Yan Zi and Yong Qi give a demonstration of why they really shouldn’t be siblings. The Tibetan king then decides to pay Beijing a visit, resulting in the whole gang hurrying back to the Palace for the preparations and the onslaught of the imminent disaster machine: The Tibetan king’s daughter Saiya.

The matchmaking agency at the Palace goes into overdrive as the Emperor and the Tibetan king try to strengthen the nations’ bonds by marrying off their children indiscriminately. The Fifth Prince is the first one up for the sacrifice, thereby leading to Xiao Yan Zi throwing a jealous fit, but it seems that the little princess Saiya prefers the gallant and skilled Er Kang, who of course already belongs heart, soul and liver to Zi Wei. Concubine Ling pays them a visit and hints at a lot of worrisome stuff to Zi Wei about the Emperor’s liking for her. The gang realises that they’ll have to spill their secrets very soon or see Er Kang becoming a Tibetan prince and Zi Wei an Emperor’s concubine.

When it is announced that Er Kang will soon be wedding and bedding the fiery Tibetan princess, the entire group loses their collective heads and decide in a rash moment that the only way to stop it is to reveal everything to the Emperor. As they happen to choose the worst time possible to do the deed, the Emperor is far from pleased at the revelation, and the Empress not a little happy.

The three girls are in a pretty bad situation as they attend the “trial” of an official who bears them a grudge. The Fifth Prince and Er Kang attempt to plead for mercy from the Emperor, but are mercilessly shot down instead. All in all, there’s a lot of beating and crying and courage in this episode and the gang chooses the worst possible time to escape from prison.

The six ‘criminals’ are brought back to court for a final hearing. Zi Wei tries to win the Emperor over with blatant flattery and teary eyes, Xiao Yan Zi offers up her life and then retracts it with a biting argument, the Fu brothers miss death by a mere second, and wrongs are settled with a flourish as the clever Ji Xiaolan brings the fake confessions to the Emperor’s attention. However the Empress is not appeased and Saiya still insists on marrying Er Kang, so the gang will have to overcome several more obstacles in their quest to live out their youth merrily.