Chinese Drama: Princess Agents (特工皇妃楚乔传)
Broadcast Date: June 5, 2017
Airs: 2 episodes/day
Total Episodes: 58
Leads: Zanilia Zhao & Lin Geng Xin
Episode 1-5 Summary
Waking up in a cart full of slaves girls, our heroine Chu Qiao can’t seem to remember who she is but her instinct to survive quickly takes over when all the girls are thrown into an open field as targets for hungry wolves. Surrounded by sounds of screaming, Chu Qiao narrowly fights off the fierce wolves but soon her curiously nimble moves catch the attention of the royal young men that has been enjoying the sight of carnage. Shaking with fury as one of the laughing men shoots an arrow into the heart of a young girl she has been trying to pull to safety, Chu Qiao realizes that she is living in a world where human lives mean nothing.
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As the only surviving slave girl, Chu Qiao becomes a lowly maid at the great Yu household and is pleasantly surprised to meet her “family” who obviously cares a lot about her welfare. Worried about Chu Qiao’s safety since her survival in the hunt did not please a certain villain, Chu Qiao’s older brother tries to sneak Chu Qiao away but ends up losing his own life indirectly because of it.
Unsettled when she overhears a conversation that hints her brother might’ve become the scapegoat in a murder, Chu Qiao race back into the Yu household just in time to see our hero, Yu Wen Yue plunging a sword through her older brother’s heart. Coldly informing Chu Qiao that her brother died for the crime of assassinating his grandfather, Wen Yu ignores our heroine’s protest that her brother is innocent and reminds her that she is powerless to save anyone.
Still determined to protect Chu Qiao even after losing a precious older brother, Chu Qiao’s older sister volunteers herself as Chu Qiao’s replacement when she finds out that our heroine will be sent to a crazy psychopath that likes to kill innocent maids. Overwhelmed with grief and resolve as she stares at her older sister’s lifeless body, Chu Qiao vows to become strong enough to protect her two little sisters.
Believing our hero’s grandfather to be dead, the various factions in the royal power struggle start to become restless as they turn their eyes to the orphaned Wen Yue. Knowing full well why so many people is suddenly extremely concerned with his lack of concubines by his side, Wen Yue decides to openly hold a contest so that all the maids/spies will have a fair chance of becoming his personal maid. Realizing this contest is her best chance of becoming strong enough to protect her sisters, Chu Qiao stubbornly kneels in front of Wen Yue’s room until he finally relents and allows her to participate in the contest. (The contest was only open to certain high level maids but Chu Qiao belongs to the lowest level.)
As expected, thanks to our heroine’s extremely sharp mind and mysterious agility, Chu Qiao is once again the last one standing and successfully becomes Wen Yue’s personal maid. Remembering vividly Chu Qiao’s fury over her brother’s death at his own hands, Wen Yue allows Chu Qiao to hold a blade to his throat in the name of shaving and is satisfied when she wisely did not give in to her temptation to seek revenge. Still a bit befuddled what a “personal” maid means but willing to suffer whatever it takes to protect her sisters, Chu Qiao gets ready to take off her clothes. Puzzled but much relieved when Wen Yue simply makes a cut on her finger (for the blood to fool others) then demonstrates a set of martial art moves for her, Chu Qiao obediently follows Wen Yue’s order to practice until perfect.
As Wen Yue’s one and only personal maid, Chu Qiao is the object of much jealousy which means her sisters are often picked on by other maids. Stepping out to protect her sisters, Chu Qiao is pleased to discover that all the training Wen Yue forced on her has greatly improved her fighting ability.
Thoughtful as he reads his grandfather’s secret letter that warns him Chu Qiao’s defiant personality makes her an unpredictable double edge sword, Wen Yue nonetheless push ahead with Chu Qiao’s training.
Ninja’s First Impression:
Wow, this one has exceeded my expectations! I have to admit that while I liked Zanilia Zhao as an actress I am not always impressed with her acting BUT she is doing an outstanding job in Princess Agents. Not only does Zanilia Zhao look stunning in the show, her portrayal of the mysterious yet extremely caring heroine is also impressive.
Not to be outdone by our heroine, Lin Geng Xin is splendid as well as the very complex hero. Granted, the hero’s character is not exactly endearing at this point, but he is certainly a character that is extremely intriguing.
For those who are familiar with the novel Princess Agents is based on, it would be very obvious that the tv version greatly differs from the book. In the novel, the heroine is a special op who dies during an assignment and wakes up in the body of a little girl in a completely foreign world. In the TV version, Chu Qiao is an adult right from the start and her back story has also changed which means some drastic adjustments in the overall story too.
In the novel, Chu Qiao falls in love with the second male lead for a good portion of the story before realizing our hero is the one for her, but with all the changes in the TV version I am hoping our two leads’ romance will take the ceter stage right from the beginning.
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