A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College Review

The title A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College (国子监来了个女弟子) is certainly a mouthful. But it also gives a good indication on what happens in the beginning of the drama. Yes, it is about a young lady arriving to study in an academy that only accepts men. Hence, the first few episodes are pretty predictable. What happens afterwards is the center of the plot. Whether it is good enough to drive the drama is laid out in A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College review below.

My rating: 6.5/10
Episodes: 30
Type: Historical Romance
Aired: September 2021
Images Credit: Tencent

The Cast Of A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College

• Rosy Zhao Lu Si as Sang Qi
• Xu Kai Cheng as Yan Yun Zhi
• Ren Hao as Zhuo Wen Yuan
• An Yong Chang as Su Jie Yu
• Li Xing Yao as Lian Pian
• Ao Rui Peng as Yan Xiao Lang / Yan Yan
• Zhang Yue as Song Jia Yin
• Qiu Bai Hao as Yan San Lang
• Guo Jun as Yan He Xing

Main Characters

Sang Qi

Sang Qi is the only daughter of Grand Commandant Sang who dotes on her. She is a brash and free-spirited young lady. Sang Qi is also witty and mischievous. She is good at martial arts and is a great cook. Her late brother is Sang Yu who had died 3 years earlier.

Yan Yun Zhi

Yun Zhi is the son of the Grand Chancellor and Deputy Chief of the Imperial College. He is a smart and observant man with a strict and stoic appearance. Sang Yu was his best friend while they were students at the college.

Zhuo Wen Yuan

Wen Yuan is a student at the Imperial College. He is Sang Qi’s childhood friend but has deep feelings for her. He is calm and good at hiding his intentions. Wen Yuan’s aunt is a consort in the imperial palace.

Supporting Characters

Su Jie Yu

Jie Yu is an elegant young lady and daughter of the Head of the Secretariat Chancellery. She and Yun Zhi are childhood friends and they are often regarded as a couple. Jie Yu loves Yun Zhi but the love is unrequited. Her brother is Qing Xuan who is also Yun Zhi’s good friend.

Lian Pian

Lian Pian is Sang Qi’s personal maid. Sang Qi treats her like a friend and they share a close relationship.

Yan Xiao Lang / Yan Yan

Yan Yan is a student at the Imperial College. His father is the Grand Preceptor. Yan Yan and Sang Qi are friends. He also has feelings for Lian Pian.

Song Jia Yin

Jia Yin is a willful young lady and the daughter of Grand Tutor Song. She is shallow and snobbish. Jia Yin has interest in Yun Zhi and wants to marry him. Her brother is Song Luo Tian who is also a student at the Imperial College.

Yan San Lang

San Lang is an official of the Prefecture Court. He is in charge of crime investigations. San Lang and Yun Zhi are good friends together with Qing Xuan and the late Sang Yu.

Yan He Xing

Yan He Xing is Yun Zhi’s uncle. He is an eccentric martial arts expert who loves fine wine and good food. He Xing likes peace and quiet and hides himself in the mountains.

Synopsis

It was Sang Qi’s late brother’s wish for her to improve herself and study at the Imperial College which only accepts men. Her brother, Sang Yu, was a student there and believed women should be given an opportunity to study. Hence, 3 years after his death, Sang Qi got into the college as its only female student after the Emperor allowed for an exception.

Yun Zhi is the Deputy Chief of the college. Sang Qi finds him to be annoying and a bully. But Yun Zhi is actually Sang Yu’s best friend while they were students. He had promised Sang Yu to look after Sang Qi. After getting to know each other better, Yun Zhi begins to fall for Sang Qi. Sang Qi’s childhood friend, Wen Yuan, is also in love with her. This results in a tussle between the 2 men.

At the same time, Yun Zhi is also secretly investigating Sang Yu’s death as he suspects that his friend was poisoned. His investigation is a threat to the people involved who are powerful figures with noble backgrounds.

A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College has a happy ending. Sang Qi and Yun Zhi obtained the Emperor’s agreement for them to get married after solving the case involving the Xizhao spies. The wedding is held at the Imperial College. As a wedding gift, the Emperor promotes Sang Qi to the level of Scholar and allows the college to accept female students. The last scene shows the couple sitting on the roof of a college building and watching both male and female students arriving for their studies.

Lian Pian and Yan Yan are still together although there is no wedding scene for them. She stood by him when he and his family were framed and arrested for smuggling in Episode 22. The Sang family’s help during that period made their relationship possible after his mother’s harsh objection earlier.

Is There A Love Triangle?

Yes, as Yun Zhi and Wen Yuan are both competing for Sang Qi’s love. But Sang Qi’s affections for Yun Zhi are made pretty clear to viewers. Hence, Wen Yuan’s love is a one-sided affair as Sang Qi only sees him as a good friend. She turns him down when he confesses his love for her at the end of Episode 18. Wen Yuan then becomes obsessed in owning her and even asks for her hand from her father.

When he lost to Yun Zhi in a duel for Sang Qi’s hand in marriage, he resorts to force and threats. Wen Yuan used a witness to frame Grand Commandant Sang and got him arrested. Then, he tells Sang Qi to marry him if she wants to save her father in Episode 23. Sang Qi pretends to agree and swops place with Jie Yu who wants to marry Wen Yuan. So, Wen Yuan ends up with Jie Yu as his bride in Episode 24.

This riles Wen Yuan up further and his love turns to hate. It becomes a case of if he can’t have her, then no one else can. Hence, he poisons her with a slow-acting toxic powder which is shown in Episode 27 and assumes that she has died in Episode 29.

What Happens To Wen Yuan?

Wen Yuan dies in the last episode. He thought San Lang is still unconscious while Yun Zhi has been framed as a Xizhao spy and arrested. Sang Qi is also supposed to have died from his poisoning. But they are all putting up a show to trick him into lowering his guard. Thus, Wen Yuan and his aunt begin to start their smuggling activities again together with Grand Tutor Song. This enables San Lang and Yun Zhi to gather evidence and arrest their operatives.

When Wen Yuan tries to flee, he is stopped by a team led by Yun Zhi. He is shocked when Sang Qi also turns up. It was by chance that she found out about the poisoning when a physician treating Yun Zhi warned her about it. Hence, they kept up the pretense to trick him. Wen Yuan then challenges Sang Qi to a duel to put an end to what has happened between them. In the end, he commits suicide by slashing his neck against Sang Qi’s outstretched blade. It is his way of repaying her for what he has done to her.

Who Killed Sang Qi’s Brother?

Qian Jiu killed Sang Yu by poisoning his drink and admits so to Sang Qi in Episode 26. She did so because he had inadvertently read a secret letter that could expose the Xizhao spies. Wen Yuan’s carelessness caused Sang Yu to pick up the wrong envelope that was not meant for him. Wen Yuan reported his mistake to his aunt which then led to Sang Yu’s murder. This is revealed in Episode 25.

When Did Sang Qi And Yun Zhi Start Dating?

The couple start dating in Episode 14. Yun Zhi confesses his feelings then and kisses Sang Qi to show her his intention. He publicly declares that they are together in Episode 18.

After they get together, there is no breakup in the relationship. Sang Qi and Yun Zhi trust each other and they will discuss the way forward when faced with a problem. They might appear to have broken up in Episode 24 and 28 but these are just ploys to trick Wen Yuan. There are kisses between them but nothing that can be considered as steamy.

The Fate Of Other Characters

• Qian Jiu dies in prison in Episode 26. She loves Wen Yuan and willingly eats the poisoned pastry that he gave her after being arrested in order to protect him. She is a Xizhao operative.
• Madam Zhang is killed by Wen Yuan’s assistant. She is actually Qian Jiu’s superior and head of the Xizhao operations. Madam Zhang wanted to break into prison to save the Xizhao spies who were caught. Wen Yuan felt it was too risky and would expose themselves to the authorities. So, he ordered for her to be killed.
• Wen Yuan’s aunt is banished to the cold palace in Episode 40 after the case has been investigated.
• Grand Tutor Song and his family are exiled to the frontier for colluding with the Xizhao spies to run a smuggling operation. His son is also demoted to a commoner while his daughter mourns the loss of her husband. Jia Yin brings Wen Yuan’s ashes with her when they leave for the frontier.
• Jie Yu realizes why Yun Zhi loves Sang Qi and not her. She has a frank conversation with Sang Qi and admires her courage to stand by Yun Zhi at all times which she doubts she could do. Her engagement with Yun Zhi has also been annulled when he was accused of being a Xizhao spy.

A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College Review – Uninspiring!

The drama begins with a female student being granted the opportunity to study at the Imperial College at a time when women are considered inferior to men. Just when you expect this story to be about a lady paving the way for women’s education, the focus shifts to an unrequited love and a murder case with links to a spying and smuggling network. Hence, just be aware that the plot may not be what you would have expected given the title.

The drama starts off being light that is typical of rom-coms. But that rom-com flavor starts to fade as the drama progresses. It just gives me the feeling that the production team is trying too hard to make it both comedic and serious that it ends up being short on both ends. There are super annoying characters that overshadow the fun bits and framing innocent people become standard operating procedure for the villain. In short, the whole story is not well-executed and together with the tropes, the drama becomes uninspiring to watch.

A Teacher-Student Romance

The plot of A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College involves a girl who falls in love with her late brother’s best friend. And that man also happens to be the Deputy Chief of the college and her teacher. He woos her and even fights with another student for her affections. I think this is why I can’t really get into this story because it is simply weird for a teacher to have romantic ideas with a student. Moreover, he is portrayed to be a noble and virtuous man which seem inconsistent with such behavior. Well, if you don’t mind the way this romance is written, then you will definitely like this couple more than me.

The second male lead is there to complicate the main couple’s romance. A lot of screen time is spent on Wen Yuan’s jealousy. It is really a case of refusing to take no for an answer to the point that it becomes highly annoying to the viewer. Add in the supporting female characters who also refuse to let go of the male lead and you will have more annoyance to contend with. Basically, this is where the plot goes together with the criminal activities that the male lead is trying to get to the bottom of.

Repeated Plot Twist (Spoilers Alert!)

The second male lead is the villain whom the main couple needs to take down. So, viewers will be shown that Wen Yuan has the upper hand in one episode before being brought back down to earth in the next with Sang Qi and Yun Zhi’s plotting. The lovers will play pretend to trick Wen Yuan.

This plot twist is repeated with another pretense towards the end of the drama. So, Wen Yuan is tricked twice using more or less the same modus operandi. To the viewer, this would seem a lazy way of writing a story. It becomes predictable and the drama ends up offering no surprises.

Not A Matching Pair

Personally, I don’t find Rosy Zhao and Xu Kai Cheng to be a great on-screen couple. Their visuals don’t match and the chemistry is lacking. In the initial episodes, they bicker quite a lot but I cannot see the sparks despite the quarrelsome interactions. When they start to date, some of their romantic moments just fail to emit the required fluff. This is so unlike the couple in One And Only whereby you can immediately sense their yearning despite being reserved.

Of course, you might have a different view about their chemistry especially if you enjoy Rosy Zhao’s acting. She is a natural here as this type of young, spunky and brash character is nothing new to her. She did it in The Romance Of Tiger And Rose and again in the modern dramas, Please Feel At Ease Mr Ling and Dating In The Kitchen. You can say she is being stereotyped but she is also at the right age for this kind of roles. So, it is easy for her to look and act that part. For me, I would like to see her in more challenging roles given her talent and I liked her performance in The Long Ballad which is different from her usual characters.

As for Xu Kai Cheng, I think his character has been overshadowed by Ren Hao’s Wen Yuan. Although Wen Yuan is highly irritating to the viewer, it just reflects the ability of the actor to bring out the essence of the character. He manages to give Wen Yuan an evil and creepy feeling of an obsessed young man.

My Verdict – Skip It

A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College is certainly not a great drama. Some people even see the female character as being dumb. While I don’t consider it that way, I also don’t see Sang Qi as a character that really stands out. So, if you like matured and intelligent female characters, you are better off watching Jun Jiu Ling or Song Of Youth. Sang Qi is more on the immature side given her age and pampered upbringing.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with a young character who is free-spirited and unconventional if done right. But the drama is a letdown to me because the story concentrates too much on the unrequited love portion when it could have developed the criminal and investigate part better like in The Imperial Coroner. As it is, those parts are simplistic that it lacks suspense. At the same time, the main couple doesn’t possess that alluring sweetness needed for a good romance drama unlike Maiden Holmes which manage to balance crime and romance rather well with a matching pair.

For this A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College review, I would give it a score of 6.5/10. I think it is skippable with its average plot and weak storytelling. You can watch it if you don’t mind a teacher-student romance. But you should skip it if you absolutely hate annoying love rivals who can’t take rejection. This is not a drama that will make you hungry for more but rather one that you would be glad you are done watching once it is over.