General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20264 min read

Story of Qinglian Blooming Days Xifei's Royal Love in the Palace (岁岁青莲)

Story of Qinglian Blooming Days Xifei's Royal Love in the Palace (岁岁青莲, also known as Xi Fei Zhuan or Blooming Days) is a 36-episode Chinese costume romance drama directed by Gao Han (高寒) that streamed on Tencent Video from October 23 to November 13, 2023¹^•². It is adapted from the palace-intrigue novel Xi Fei Zhuan (熹妃传) and was originally announced under that title³. The series stars He Rundong (何润东) and He Hongshan (何泓姗), with Huang Shengyi (黄圣依) and Huang Youming (黄宥明) in supporting roles¹.

Key fact	Detail
Original title	熹妃传 / 清宫熹妃传 (Xi Fei Zhuan), after the source novel³
Episodes / runtime	36 episodes, about 45 minutes each³^•²
Broadcast	Tencent Video, October 23 to November 13, 2023; daily updates ending with a straight run to the finale²^•³
Director / writers	Gao Han; chief screenwriter Zhang Yongchen with Ling Jiujiu and Yi Wenxue⁴
Main cast	He Rundong as He Lianxin, He Hongshan as Luo Qinglian, Huang Shengyi as Mu Haiyao, Huang Youming as Lü Beiyi⁴
Production	Penguin Pictures (企鹅影视); filmed at Hengdian World Studios, Zhejiang³
Source novel	Xi Fei Zhuan by Jie Yu (解语), about 8.09 million characters, a companion work to Qing Gong Wan Fei Zhuan⁵

Spoilers

Premise

The story is set in Quliang (曲凉), the territory of the Prince of An (安王). Luo Qinglian, an extraordinary woman whose face strikingly resembles that of the late princess consort, is drawn into the succession struggle among the prince's sons and becomes the concubine of the third son, He Lianxin¹. At first she wants only to escape, but as she shares a series of trials with He Lianxin she comes to see his compassion for the common people and resolves to stay at his side and help him realize his ambitions¹.

The frame story reaches further back. In the first year of the Qihe era the old emperor dies, a child ruler takes the throne, and the chancellor dominates the court. The general He Yunshuo is enfeoffed as Prince of An and sent to the barren frontier of Quliang, where over thirty years of governance he builds it into a prosperous city⁶. Years later his household holds a selection of serving women, which Qinglian is forced to enter despite having already given her heart to her childhood sweetheart Lü Beiyi; through a twist of fate she becomes a maidservant-concubine of the third son⁷.

Cast

The principal cast, with roles, is as follows⁴:

He Rundong as He Lianxin (贺连信), the third son
He Hongshan as Luo Qinglian (骆青莲)
Huang Shengyi as Mu Haiyao (慕海瑶), He Lianxin's secondary wife
Huang Youming as Lü Beiyi (吕北逸), Qinglian's childhood sweetheart
Zhou Likai (周励淇) as Fang Huairui (方怀蕊)
Zhang Chenguang (张晨光) as He Yunshuo (贺云朔), the Prince of An
Shen Tai (沈泰) as He Lianxiu (贺连修), and Luo Haiqiong (罗海琼) as Lady De

The full credited cast runs to 96 roles⁴.

From palace intrigue to household intrigue

The series began as an adaptation of Xi Fei Zhuan, a Qing-palace novel whose heroine is of the Niohuru clan and whose setting resembles that of Empresses in the Palace (甄嬛传)⁸. Before broadcast the adaptation was reworked: the palace-intrigue (宫斗) plot was downgraded to household intrigue (宅斗) within a prince's residence, and the Qing dynasty background was not retained⁹. Commentators linked this to the regulatory climate that had removed hit palace dramas such as Story of Yanxi Palace and Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace from circulation⁸.

Broadcast history

The drama was shot in 2019⁹. On May 17, 2023 it announced a premiere date of May 18 on Tencent Video, then announced the same day that it would delay broadcast for technical reasons³. It finally aired without advance promotion of its leads, dropping four episodes on October 23, 2023⁸. The first four episodes pushed the platform's heat index past 20,000³. On November 9 the platform added extra weekly updates, and the finale streamed on November 13, 2023³^•².

Reception

Viewership was solid but reviews were largely negative. The drama ranked in the top three on market-share charts, yet comment sections were flooded with one- and two-star ratings; critics called He Rundong's performance greasy and He Hongshan's acting exaggerated, while some viewers praised Huang Shengyi's portrayal of the willful, outwardly calm Mu Haiyao as a highlight³. The Paper criticized the script as dated and incoherent, mixing substitute-love, white-moonlight, and other romance tropes with rapid but illogical plotting³.

A recurring critical theme was the four-year delay. Jiemian's year-end review listed the series among dramas shelved so long that their casting and sensibilities felt outdated by release, noting the male lead's possessive dialogue and multiple wives as elements that played badly with 2023 audiences⁹. Entertainment writers also faulted the early episodes' logic, in which Qinglian is condemned for a disfigurement without investigation of the actual cause¹⁰. On the rating aggregator TVmao the series held a 7.2 from 125 user ratings⁴.

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026