General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

The Princess and the Werewolf (郎君不如意)

The Princess and the Werewolf (郎君不如意) is a 2023 Chinese costume fantasy romantic comedy television series of 30 episodes, directed by Cheng Feng (澄丰) and starring Wu Xuanyi and Chen Zheyuan, adapted from Xian Cheng's (鲜橙) novel Tai Zi Fei Sheng Zhi Ji 2: Gong Zhu Shang Jia Ji (太子妃升职记2：公主上嫁记, Go Princess Go 2: Princess Marries Up). It premiered on Youku on July 20, 2023, and serves as a sequel to the 2015 web drama Go Princess Go.¹^•²

Key fact	Detail
Original title	郎君不如意; also known as Go Princess Go 2²
Format	30-episode costume fantasy romantic comedy, Mandarin, about 45 minutes per episode¹^•²
Premiere	July 20, 2023 on Youku; membership finale August 9, 2023¹^•³
Source	Novel 太子妃升职记2：公主上嫁记 by Xian Cheng⁴
Leads	Wu Xuanyi as Princess Qi Pa; Chen Zheyuan as Kui Mu Lang / Li Xiong¹
Director and writers	Cheng Feng; screenplay by Chu Chu, Li Zhao, Liu Qiuye, and Luo Manying¹
Production	Youku Information Technology (Beijing) and Beijing Zaomengji Film and Television Media; filmed June 29 to September 29, 2021¹^•⁵
IMDb rating	7.1/10 from 328 votes⁶

Spoilers

Premise and plot

The story follows Princess Qi Pa (齐葩), the most favored eldest princess of the Daxia kingdom, who is fond of handsome men yet, under a modern, independent-minded upbringing, knows every romantic routine and secretly longs for a lifelong, devoted partner. A marriage contract forces her to travel to the Huashou (Beast-Turning) tribe and become the betrothed bride of its king, Kui Mu Lang (奎木狼).¹

Kui Mu Lang is a double-faced figure: by day he appears as the elegant young noble Li Xiong (李雄), while at night he transforms into a domineering half-beast man whose appearance is, in the series' own framing, ugly enough to weep over.¹ According to the series synopsis, Kui Mu Lang intends to marry Qi Pa in order to obtain a magical pearl (灵珠) she has swallowed; Qi Pa at first finds him both repellent and frightening and wants to flee, but she chooses to stay to investigate a long-unsolved case in Daxia, and as the two spend more time together they gradually fall in love, ultimately defying fate after struggles and entanglements.⁷

A secondary romance runs through the series between Liu Jun (柳君), played by Shi Zixun, and Hong Xiu (红袖), played by Wang Luqing. Hong Xiu's true form is a cat: a wealthy second-generation character who becomes a palace maidservant to be near the man she loves, and who is assigned to care for Qi Pa before being moved by the princess's view of love to pursue her own happiness.¹^•³ Reviews described the secondary couple's love as defined by restraint and hidden feelings, in contrast to the main couple's love built on respect.⁸

The main antagonist is Jing Mu'an (井木犴), Kui Mu Lang's younger brother, played by Xi Erli (希尔力). Jealous of their father's favoritism toward his elder brother, he schemes to seize power, colluding with Su Daqiang and framing Qi Pa and Kui Mu Lang; his schemes expose weaknesses in the tribe's governance and drive the series' power-struggle subplot, and after his plots are exposed he comes to understand his brother's mission.⁹

Cast

Wu Xuanyi (吴宣仪) as Princess Qi Pa¹
Chen Zheyuan (陈哲远) as Kui Mu Lang / Li Xiong¹
Shi Zixun (师子寻) as Liu Jun¹
Wang Luqing (王路晴) as Hong Xiu¹
Yang Chuanbei (杨川北) as Bai Ke¹
Wen Jie (文婕) as Hu Die (Butterfly)¹
Wang Muyao (王木遥) as Su He¹
Xi Erli (希尔力) as Jing Mu'an⁹
Dong Boliang (董柏良) as Ma Yingxiong; Lin Aijia (林艾泇) as Hai Tang; Li Yu (李钰) as Chun'er¹

Go Princess Go veterans also appear: Sheng Yilun (盛一伦) as the middle-aged Emperor Qi Sheng and Zhang Tian'ai (张天爱) as Zhang Pengpeng, with IMDb listing both among the main cast.⁸^•²

Production

The series began filming on June 29, 2021, and wrapped on September 29, 2021, when a wrap special was released, completing the shoot in under three months.⁵^•¹⁰ Promotion resumed in 2023: a first trailer clip and poster appeared on May 6, a 520 costume-change video on May 20, the premiere date announcement with posters and stills on July 18, an OST preview and Wu Xuanyi's insert song Xiao Xiao Xin Yuan (小小心愿) on July 19, and a viewing calendar on July 20.⁵

The soundtrack includes the opening theme Shi Wo Shuo Le Huang (是我说了谎) with lyrics by Wang Yueyang and music by Wang Ke, sung by Zheng Boren; the ending theme Ru Yi (如意) by Liang Zi; and insert songs including Ruo Wo (若我) by Zhao Dengkai and Hai Shi Hao Ai Ni (还是好爱你) by Gao Na and Gao Taiyu.¹

Wang Luqing said it was her first time playing an animal character; to fit Hong Xiu's cat persona she observed her own cat before filming and designed small details for the role.³

Reception and connection to Go Princess Go

The series is a follow-up to Go Princess Go (2015), the low-budget web drama whose Korean adaptation became Mr. Queen. It continues its predecessor's fast pace and absurd comedic style with modern-flavored dialogue, and Sheng Yilun's return as the older Emperor Qi Sheng links the two stories.⁸^•² Reviews noted that although it was a low-budget web drama, the costume and makeup design drew praise, and that Chen Zheyuan's dual portrayal of the refined daytime Li Xiong and the cold, domineering night-time Kui Mu Lang was widely praised by viewers; Wu Xuanyi's performance received mixed comments, with some viewers distracted by her porcelain veneers.⁸

The premiere achieved strong ratings, aided by Chen Zheyuan's popularity after Hidden Love, and the promotion drew public congratulations from figures across the entertainment industry, including Yu Zheng, Du Hua, Zhong Chuxi, Liu Shishi, Huang Bo, Yu Shuxin, and Bai Lu.⁸ On IMDb the series holds a 7.1/10 rating from 328 votes, with the unweighted mean at 7.3.⁶ The membership run concluded on August 9, 2023, when the four leads held a joint Weibo livestream to mark the finale.³ The series has also been released internationally under localized titles, including the Japanese broadcast title Kyūtei Nocturne: Watashi no Itoshiki Ōkami-gama (宮廷夜想曲～私の愛しき狼君様～).¹¹

References

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