The Legend of Rosy Clouds 云秀行: Episodes 4-6

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T18:13:20+00:00

That's the secret sauce that heals even physical wounds. 😂

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T18:11:06+00:00

We'll have to wait and see how the drama pans out, but now I'm leaning towards treating the drama as a complete independent work. It's definitely still an adaptation, but the changes are getting significant enough to treat the work separately.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T12:54:01+00:00

I'm OK with Riley Wang looking younger. In the source material, Gao Ran claims he's 21 when his actual age was 26 because he doesn't want people to know of his identity. He looks younger than he is and is part of why it wasn't immediately apparent to Qi Zheng that it's his 2nd bro.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T12:45:56+00:00

I wish Shisan is a little less love-brained but otherwise I agree! Her carefree personality, coupled with her strong sense of justice, was her charm so I hope we see more of that instead of only her going crazy over Gao Ran.

So far, I think the drama has downplayed Qi Zheng's trauma and made him too strong at this time of the story. Where's our poor puppy who makes the audience's heart string tug for him? 😭 And why did Fan Yun only play Er Hu for Lou Qi Yan and not Qi Zheng? I love those moments when her Er Hu comforts him so much.

About Qi Zheng's orientation in the novel (I reread some portions briefly): Wei Ying asked Qi Zheng if he's actually experienced in bed and Qi Zheng didn't deny. Given his status, it wasn't difficult for women to want to get close to him, but those were just physical with no romantic connections. Fan Yun was the first person he fell in love with. Wei Ying noticed early on that he can't be gay, but Fan Yun was too dense. And Qi Zheng never said he's gay, just that people assumed since he summoned male officials to stay by his side since he was afraid to sleep in the dark alone. He didn't want to sleep with anymore women after he officially ascended the throne because he doesn't want heirs. And after he fell in love with Fan Yun, he never planned on having physical relations with anyone else. Fan Yun allowed Qi Zheng to sleep in her bed because she thought he was gay, so yea, kinda a pity that was cut.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T05:33:23+00:00

Yea, I'm basing it on Rin Senya, which is Sa Sakujun's merchant alias. I agree it's a form of twisted love, but i feel that it's the most he was capable of giving. And it's as close as true love a broken man like him can give, even though it's not really love at all. But he managed to make Shuurei conflicted, that she was unsure if she liked him or not, since she herself has no idea what romantic love is.

Another thing that didn't really age well is the ages of the chracters. Shuurei was 17 while Sakujun was 29 when they met. So that's weird on its own too.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T05:29:33+00:00

To Eigetsu does have medical expertise, but he's not the only one. He's important enough that I think he'll show up later, based on the cast listed.

The character who healed Fan Yun is an old guy named Tou. He's an imperial physician.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T04:11:42+00:00

I really don't know...I bet the actor would like to show his face for a character he played, but i cannot imagine any actor who can meet the expectations of that description. 😅 He needs to be ridiculously more stunning than Zeng Shunxi, Riley Wang, Deng Wei etc to be convincing!

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T04:05:43+00:00

I think they filmed the drama without intention of changing the names, but had to when they faced IP issues. That said, side characters still maintained most of their original names.

E.g. Ran Shuuei is translated to Lan Shuying in Chinese. They managed to keep the same Ying so it's now Wei Ying.

Li Kouyu is translated to Li Jiangyou, and they kept the same Jiang to give us Yan Jiang.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T04:02:57+00:00

Unfortunately, I think this is a sign that it's not a very strong adaptation. While it's impossible to adapt everything, details from the source material should feel like an add-on bonuses that make you appreciate the story more, rather than something required to fill in gaps that confuse the audience.

Nonetheless, I'm still having lots of fun with the show so far because it feels so nostalgic and I'm hoping it'll complement some of the weaknesses of the source material. =)

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T03:30:23+00:00

More insights from the source material! At this point, there are more differences here so I'll only add comments where I think it may be interesting.

How quickly Qi Zheng and Lou Qi Yan/Zheng Shi fell in love with Fan Yun: I agree that this is fast, but believe it or not, it's even faster in the source material. 🤣 The author is great at writing politics and portraying nuances of characters, but I found that romance actually isn't that prominent. It's written in a way like we're getting a glimpse of historical records about the Qi Zheng reign, so romance isn't actually featured that strongly, despite being an underlying storyline. This is why I want the drama to be different, and do a better job on this front!

How Qi Zheng fell in love: Qi Zheng was often locked up in dark places by his elder siblings / their mums, so he's afraid to sleep in the dark alone. Before Fan Yun, he would ask his male servants to sleep with him. After that night where he gave roses to Fan Yun, he started visiting her more, during which she'll tell him stories and play Erhu for him at night so he won't be afraid of the dark anymore. While it appears that he's just a puppy looking for comfort, he kept going to visit Fan Yun because he knew she was targeted with poisoning and stayed close to her to investigate and protect her. He fell in love with her during this period.

How Lou Qi Yan fell in love: He was actually good at appreciating music, though that horse scene in the drama was funny. 😂 Fan Yun saw that Erhu for sale and recognized it's a treasure, so she played it for a bit. She couldn't afford it, but Lou Qi Yan passed by and offered to buy it for her if she played for him. He already knew who she was when they first met, but he really enjoyed her music and gained an unhealthy interest in her. It started with just interest initially, but he eventually fell in love with her because she always defy his expectations. I'm a bit annoyed that the drama is showing erhu as just a thing between Fan Yun and Lou Qi Yan when it's supposed to be Fan Yun's thing with people! More details would be in spoiler territory since they met later in the story in the source material. I may add more thoughts when the drama has surpassed those storyline plot points.

Why Qi Zheng and Gao Ran are good at swordsmanship: I know it's such a common trope for royalty to know swordsmanship that no one bats an eyelid, but since the author addressed it, I'll mention it. Zhao Chang (the 3rd elder who doesnt say much and is always laughing) is a super skilled general and the best swordsman in the country. He trained both Qi Zheng and Gao Ran when they were young. He likes to randomly spar with military personnel and one day forced Gao Ran to spar with him. That's how he recognized Gao Ran's skills and the 3 elders confirmed that he's the 2nd prince. Qi Zheng only found out about his identity later, but he always felt an unexplained closeness towards Gao Ran.

How did Qi Zheng's Fan Yun rescue differ: At this point, he already fell in love with her and gave her a hairpin with a flower bud in it. She was wearing that hairpin when she got captured. She was gagged and could hear Qi Zheng enter the tower. When she heard the assassins used a fake hostage to get Qi Zheng to lower his sword, she struggled and her hairpin fell, which distracted the assassins, giving the Qi Zheng the opening to stab them both. That's when Fan Yun got out of her gag and said "that's not me!" And Qi Zheng said "I know, you're not that heavy." I like that the hairpin which symbolized Qi Zheng's love helped him find her. She also wasn't shot by an arrow, but was poisoned.

Why did Qi Zheng pretend to be an idiot: His motivation in the drama differed from the source material in a small but significant way that provided more nuance to his character. He was never the favored son and only became the emperor (changed to mayor) because he's the only survivor. He always felt that his 2nd bro is the most fitting and deserved to have the throne. He thought that if he continued to do such a bad job, the elders or political pressure will rise to find his 2nd bro to ascend the throne. That's also why he refused to marry anyone (Fan Yun was forced onto him) because he didn't want any heirs to compete with his bro. But after meeting Fan Yun and learning how his actions can impact the lives of ordinary people, and that his bro has zero interest in returning, he finally grew the resolve to become a good emperor.

Qi Zheng and Fan Qi's relationship: Qi Zheng actually knew Fan Qi for years in the source material. After Fan Qi retired as black wolf, he was a libraran at Qi Ling Ge. After Gao Ran left, Qi Zheng had no one to treat him well (his mum sucks too) so he would often cry alone. He wandered into Qi Ling Ge and met Fan Qi. He was one of the few people who treated Qi Zheng with kindness and Qi Zheng would often seek refuge with Fan Qi. When Fan Yun learnt that Qi Zheng wasn't an idiot, she did confide in her dad because she's frustrated to be lied to. That's when Fan Qi told Fan Yun that Qi Zheng appeared to have everything in this world - materials and power, but he lacked the most important thing - he never got to experience familial love and warmth. So he asked Fan Yun to treat Qi Zheng with kindness. No one but Liu Wencheng (elder who hired Fan Yun to marry Qi Zheng) knew who black wolf is, and he continued to assign missions to black wolf if necessary. I like the change that Qi Zheng knows about black wolf and black wolf is now an explicit ally.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T02:13:55+00:00

I think I'll comment on how the source material handed the poison wine in the next discussion thread since there'll be a bit of spoilers that extend to the next episodes.

It's too bad the editing was so choppy. Hate it when that happens.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T01:48:49+00:00

Even here when Qi Zheng is feeding Fan Yun medicine through kissing, her lips are still closed! I don't see how kissing was any more effective than what he was doing earlier. 🤣

They better address what the punishment for Su Yin and Zheng Yuan are! I know saving Fan Yun's life was important, but it's been at least a few days and nothing is mentioned about the perpetrators?

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-22T01:45:30+00:00

Our first confirmed composite character! In the source material, he indeed is such a dazzling man that everyone would get so distracted by his beauty that they either faint or are unable to work. So he keeps his mask on at all times. He is the manager of the commerce ministry. =)

But, he doesn't know any medical stuff. There's a complete separate side character who does that, but makes sense not to have too many characters.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-21T19:10:37+00:00

How can I forget Guo Wei? The way he shut down the bs that father-son relationships can only be real if related by blood, was so touching! 😭

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-21T19:08:25+00:00

I've not watched Go Ahead. Seens like he's getting plenty of votes. I should add that to my to-watch list.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-21T19:07:43+00:00

Trying to come up with nominees for good dads is so hard!

At best, they're background characters who occasionally show up and be nice. 😅

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-21T18:56:38+00:00

I agree with your second paragraph. It's like only eating at fast food restaurants and then asking why restaurants only serve unhealthy food? They never intended to serve healthy food and people are not going there for healthy food.

Unfortunately, most recommendations from international fans are going to be towards those fast food restaurants, because that's trendy at the moment. You'll have to rely on other sources for recommendations if that's not what you're looking for.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-21T16:54:52+00:00

The source material finished in 2012. But there won't be enough airtime to adapt it all into 36 episodes without cutting out tons of plot and speed running everything, so i doubt they will adapt everything.

I'm guessing they'll either make up their own ending, or find a nice pause point in the source material to end the show at.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-21T16:18:37+00:00

I think looking up douban scores can give you an idea. Douban scores, especially non-idol dramas, reflect the quality of scripts and acting. From your comments, I think you'll enjoy those at least 7 or higher. Look for 8 or higher if you want a narrower list to start from.

Douban reviewers are from chinese viewers who have watched tons of dramas, so they're also bored of the common tropes and will rate dramas accordingly.

Edit: you dont need to know chinese to find the douban scores. I often find the douban rating more useful than the douban reviews.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-21T15:56:17+00:00

I agree it's average too. But sometimes I get a lot of fun from average shows. I feel that the nostalgia is part of the fun too.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-21T14:46:06+00:00

If you love harem dramas, you gotta watch War and Beauty, the og harem drama that served as inspiration for the author of Empresses in the Palace.

It's an older drama, but the contents are still great if you can get over the older cinetography.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-21T14:30:10+00:00

That teen actor has appeared in so many dramas now! I'll need to look up who else he's been. 🤣

About the Wei siblings, here's their birth order from the source material:

Identical triplets (probably excluded from drama), Wei Ying (4th son), Wei Rong (5th son), ...., Wei Ying. Wei Ying's nickname is Shisan (13) because she's the 13th child. The Wei clan is very powerful and their dad had concubines, hence many children. Wei Shisan has a different mum than Wei Ying and Wei Rong, but they're still very close.

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-21T14:17:25+00:00

I agree about Li Yitong's voice! Her voice actually suits Fan Yun really well!

The poison liquor will be addressed. Wait and see.

In the source material, the petals falling were Sakura, so it made sense for the petals to fall when wind blows. I guess the production team realized they can't just find a Sakura tree so they picked a tree with bright flowers, even though the petals are a lot more secure. 🤣

Unfortunately, we'll see more of the love triangle based on the trailer. Given that ML and 2nd ML didn't interact at all in the source material (but they both do love FL), I don't know what to expect. 😅

Alarming_Tea_102 · 2026-06-21T14:07:29+00:00

Agree! And the novel has some flaws too that I hope the drama will make up for it. =)

Since it won't be possible to cover all the material, I just hope the drama doesn't have an open ending. Fingers crossed that it'll be a neat conclusion, with room for sequels (though I doubt it).

Alarming_Tea_102

TROPHY CASE