General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20263 min read

Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures (金枝玉叶)

Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures (金枝玉叶) is a 2019 Chinese period drama series and the official spin-off of the 2018 series The Story of Yanxi Palace, following Princess Zhaohua, the daughter of Wei Yingluo, as she contends with palace intrigue, a family vendetta, and a turbulent romance in the Qing dynasty.¹^•² It was produced by Huanyu Film and Television and released as a single season of six episodes on Netflix, with all episodes premiering on December 31, 2019.³

Key fact	Detail
Original title	金枝玉叶²
Release	Netflix, December 31, 2019; 1 season, 6 episodes, all released the same day³^•¹
Episode length	43 to 45 minutes per episode²^•⁴
Lead cast	Wang Herun as Princess Zhaohua, with Wang Yizhe, Wang Yuwei, Xu Xiaonuo, Wu Jinyan, and Nie Yuan³
Production	Huanyu Film and Television³
Ratings	IMDb 5.8/10 (460 votes); TMDB 7.9/10⁴^•¹
Availability	Streaming on Netflix; audio in Mandarin and Thai, subtitles in English, Spanish, French, and Chinese⁴^•³

Spoilers

Premise and story

The series centers on Princess Zhaohua (昭华公主), the daughter of Wei Yingluo, the protagonist of The Story of Yanxi Palace. Netflix describes the setup as a determined Qing dynasty princess dealing with palace scheming and a vendetta against her family while navigating treacherous romance.¹^•²

The six episodes trace a love triangle and a court conspiracy. In the first episode, after being rejected by the Mongol prince Lawangduoji (拉旺多尔济), Zhaohua sets out to win his love, while the palace guard Fucha Fukang'an (富察福康安) deliberately plots revenge.² Fukang'an becomes Zhaohua's confidant and conspires with Siwan Gege (思婉格格), who seeks Lawangduoji's favor for herself. Siwan then frames Zhaohua, who is wrongly punished, prompting Wei Yingluo to confront Siwan in person. Later episodes turn on Fukang'an's unpredictable declarations of love, his confession of a generational feud with Wei Yingluo, and Yingluo's revelation of Fukang'an's startling parentage, as Zhaohua goes missing and a shadowy figure moves through the palace.²

Cast and characters

Wang Herun plays Princess Zhaohua, the central character. Wang Yizhe plays Fucha Fukang'an, the guard whose family history ties him to the previous series, and Wang Yuwei plays Lawangduoji, the Mongol prince Zhaohua pursues. Xu Xiaonuo plays Siwan Gege, the rival who schemes against Zhaohua. Wu Jinyan and Nie Yuan reprise their roles from The Story of Yanxi Palace as Wei Yingluo and her imperial counterpart, giving the spin-off its direct link to the parent series.³^•¹

Release and reception

The 2018 broadcast of The Story of Yanxi Palace created international demand for more Qing dynasty court drama, and the spin-off debuted globally on Netflix on December 31, 2019, a release strategy aimed at the original series' international audience.¹ All six episodes were made available at once, and the series is listed as ended after one season.³

Audience measures have been mixed. The series holds an IMDb rating of 5.8 out of 10 from 460 users, while TMDB users give it 7.9 out of 10.⁴^•¹

Context in Qing court drama

The series belongs to the palace-intrigue genre (宫斗剧) built around scheming in the Qing imperial harem, a genre that TVB's 2004 War and Beauty is commonly cited as defining and that The Story of Yanxi Palace carried to a wide audience in 2018.⁵ Commentators on the genre note that such dramas use the Qing court as a stage for contemporary-feeling power struggles rather than as historical reconstruction, which is the tradition the spin-off inherits: its plot runs on personal vendettas, factional scheming, and romance within the palace rather than on documented events.⁶

References

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