Blossoms In Adversity Review

I wasn’t planning to watch Blossoms In Adversity (惜花芷) but the high ratings piqued by interest. Anyway, it has been quite a while since I watched Hu Yi Tian’s drama and never have I seen him in a historical production before. So, there were factors that pushed me to allocate time for this drama although I can’t wait to watch Will Love In Spring which is being aired as I write this Blossoms In Adversity review. Now that I have completed the drama, I think I have made the right choice to have given this a go. You can read all the details below.

My rating: 8/10
Episodes: 40
Type: Romance
Aired: April 2024
Images Credit: Douban Movie

The Cast Of Blossoms In Adversity

• Zhang Jing Yi as Hua Zhi
• Hu Yi Tian as Gu Yan Xi
• Eddy Ho Yiu Sum as Hua Yi Zheng / Lord Hua
• Liu Jia as Old Madam Hua
• Tian Miao as Zhu Ying Zhen / Madam Zhu
• Yang Ming Na as Qi Hui Lan / Madam Qi
• Myolie Wu Hang Yee as Xia Jin E / Madam Xia
• Fang Chu Tong as Wu Yu Niang / Madam Wu
• Chen Heng as Concubine Qin
• Wang Li Na as Bao Xia
• Hai Yi Tian as Emperor
• Wang Li Yun as Empress Dowager
• Wei Wei as Gu Yan Gong / Prince Xian
• Lu Xing Yu as Gu Yan Xun / Prince Ling
• Lin Jing as Consort Xiao
• Lu Yu Xiao as Gu Shao Yao
• Shen Bao Ping as Shen Zhong Xiang / Lord Sheng
• Caesar Wu Xi Ze as Shen Qi
• Bian Cheng as Shen Huan
• Hou Wei Tao as Chen Qing

Main Characters

Hua Zhi

Hua Zhi is the eldest granddaughter of Lord Hua who is the Imperial Censor. Her father, Hua Ping Yu, is the eldest son of the family. Hua Zhi is not a typical maiden but an adventurous and a courageous one. She is smart and likes to spend her time designing gadgets. Hua Zhi is only close to her grandfather in the family. Her maids are Bao Xia, Ying Chun, and Fu Dong.

Gu Yan Xi

Yan Xi is the nephew of the Emperor. He has spent 10 years in the army in the north before being recalled back. Yan Xi was raised by the Emperor and seems to have a close relationship with him. He is a sharp and observant man with great martial arts skills. He appears as cold and ruthless.

Supporting Characters

Hua Family

Hua Yi Zheng / Lord Hua & Old Madam Hua

Lord Hua is the Imperial Censor. He is an incorruptible and honest man who dares to speak the truth without fear or favor. His sons are also court officials. He is married to Old Madam Hua who comes from a noble family. Old Madam Hua is a typical matriarch who is firm and commands fear and respect. She is a dignified woman with a strong inner spirit. The couple has 4 sons and 2 daughters. Their daughters, Hua Jing and Hua Xian, are already married and have their own families.

Zhu Ying Zhen / Madam Zhu

Madam Zhu is the first daughter-in-law of the Hua family being married to the eldest son, Hua Ping Yu. She has a daughter, Hua Zhi, and a son, Bo Lin. Madam Zhu is a timid woman who dare not speak up and has no other skills. Her husband also has Concubine Qiu with whom he has a daughter, Hua Rong. Hua Zhi has a distant relationship with both her parents.

Qi Hui Lan / Madam Qi

Madam Qi is married to the second son of the Hua family, Hua Ping Yuan. She is a quiet woman whose only interest is in taking care of her son, Bo Li. Nothing else seems to matter to her except her son and his studies.

Xia Jin E / Madam Xia & Concubine Qin

Madam Xia is married to the third son of the Hua family, Hua Ping Yan. She has 2 daughters, Hua Ling and Hua Dou, and a son, Bo Yu. Madam Xia is a very expressive and domineering woman with a show-offish character. She comes from a merchant family. Although she is the third daughter-in-law, she is in charged of the household accounts. Her husband has another daughter, Hua Qin, with Concubine Qin. Concubine Qin will always listen to Madam Xia and take her side in any dispute.

Wu Yu Niang / Madam Wu

Madam Wu is married to the fourth son of the Hua family, Hua Ping Yang. They are a loving couple who have just gotten married and have no children yet. Madam Wu is a soft spoken and amiable woman.

Bao Xia

Bao Xia is Hua Zhi’s maid in the Hua family. She is a little impulsive but loyal. She serves Hua Zhi together with Ying Chun and Fu Dong who is a great cook.

Royal Family

Emperor

The Emperor is Yan Xi’s paternal uncle. He treats Yan Xi like his own son. However, he is a ruthless ruler who would kill anyone whom he sees as a threat to his rule. He is a very shrewd and suspicious man. The Emperor also has 3 sons, Prince Xian, Prince Hui, and the young 6th Prince who was born to a maid. His attendant is Eunuch Chang Qing.

Empress Dowager

The Empress Dowager is the Emperor’s mother but they have a distrustful relationship. She also has a soft spot for the Hua family due to old ties.

Gu Yan Gong / Prince Xian

Prince Xian is the Emperor’s son who heads the Ministry of Justice. He is suspicious of Yan Xi and jealous of the latter’s close relationship with his father.

Gu Yan Xun / Prince Ling

Prince Ling is Yan Xi’s father and the Emperor’s brother. He has a problematic relationship with his son and little care for his daughter. Prince Ling is also wary of the Emperor’s motives towards him and his family. His first wife who was Yan Xi’s mother died in a fire years ago. His current wife is Consort Xiao.

Consort Xiao

Consort Xiao is Prince Ling’s current wife. She appears as a loving wife and stepmother who has dedicated herself to taking care of Prince Ling’s children.

Gu Shao Yao

Shao Yao is Prince Ling’s daughter and Yan Xi’s younger sister. She suffers from memory loss and has a child-like temperament after being rescued from a fire which killed her mother when she was still a young girl. Hence, Shao Yao is deemed as crazy and is isolated and locked up at home. She spends her time studying and making medicines.

Shen Family

Shen Zhong Xiang / Lord Sheng

Lord Shen is a government minister and friends with Lord Hua. But he is a play safe kind of man who would be quick to cut ties if it brings him trouble. His son is also a government official.

Shen Qi

Shen Qi is Lord Shen’s eldest grandson. He is a man of integrity and preparing for his imperial exam. He is also Hua Zhi’s fiancee as arranged by their respective families. Due to their different values, Shen Qi has a poor relationship with his father and grandfather.

Shen Huan

Shen Huan is Shen Qi’s younger brother. He is the favored son in the family. Shen Huan is an idler who likes to spend his time fooling around.

Security Bureau

Chen Qing

Chen Qing is a guard in the feared Security Bureau which comes directly under the Emperor. Together with Zheng Hu and Li Hou, they subsequently become Yan Xi’s subordinates.

Synopsis

Hua Zhi comes from an influential noble family and her grandfather is the Imperial Censor. However, when her grandfather falls out of favor with the Emperor, the male members are exiled and the family is stripped of their status and assets. The womenfolk are then left to fend for themselves. Hua Zhi refuses to complain but tries her best to take care of the family. This puts her at odds with some family members who are not used to hardship and don’t seem to know better.

As Hua Zhi slowly builds an income stream for the family by doing business, she has to overcome obstacles and learn to work together with her relatives. The women begin to see each other’s point of view and develop trust from each issue that crops up.

In the meantime, Hua Zhi meets Yan Xi who is a prince and head of the Security Bureau which confiscated the Hua family’s assets. Yan Xi is investigating the fire that killed his mother years ago and learns that someone from the Hua family may have a clue that he needs. He hides his identity and gets close to Hua Zhi with an ulterior motive. But he finds himself falling for her instead and vice-versa. However, he also fears she may end up hating him due to his deception.

Blossoms In Adversity Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)

Blossoms In Adversity has a happy ending. The Emperor dies after being poisoned by Prince Hui who is also killed in the process. The only male heir left is 6th Prince who becomes the new Emperor. He pardons Hua Zhi’s male family members and they return to the capital to be reunited with their loved ones. Hua Zhi and Yan Xi get married and the new Emperor turns up on their wedding day to offer his congratulations.

Shen Huan is now studying because he wants to pass the imperial exam before proposing to Shao Yao. But Shao Yao tells him that it doesn’t matter as long as they mutually love each other. So, he switches to running a troupe and concocting drinks in the Hua family restaurant instead. Madam Xia is now busy running the family business and leaves the accounting functions to Nian Qiu to manage. Hua Qin has inherited her late husband’s business and Ying Chun is handling it for her. Fu Dong already has kids with Bai Ming Xia and they continue to jointly manage the restaurant with the Hua family.

Hua Ling is returning to the capital with her husband, Zheng Zhi, to take up a new posting. Hua Zhi’s fourth uncle and his wife have taken their little girl to travel around. They want their daughter to grow up to be like Hua Zhi. Lord Hua’s writings have been published and the book is selling out. Concubine Qiu is helping at the family academy that offers orphans a chance to study. Madam Qi has become a teacher at the academy.

Shen Qi continues to be the new Emperor’s tutor. Shao Yao is now attached to the Imperial Medicine department. The drama ends with Hua Zhi and Yan Xi spending their time sailing around the world.

When Did The Leads Get Together?

Yan Xi becomes the martial arts teacher for the Hua family in Episode 13. He takes up the job so that he could investigate the relationship between the Empress Dowager and Old Madam Hua on the orders of the Emperor. Hua Zhi admits to her grandmother that she may have feelings for Yan Xi in Episode 14. Yan Xi also likes Hua Zhi but is forced to lie that she is only a friend to him when she asks him about his thoughts on her. This is because he is on a mission to investigate her family.

Hua Zhi sees Yan Xi with someone she recognizes from the Security Bureau in Episode 16. She confronts him and he admits that he is investigating her grandmother. However, Hua Zhi is not afraid of Yan Xi although he is from the Security Bureau and tells him so. He comes clean with her about his identity as a prince and Commander of the Security Bureau in Episode 20 as he doesn’t want to deceive her anymore. Hua Zhi understands Yan Xi’s position and doesn’t blame him. They become a couple after his confession. Yan Xi tells Hua Zhi that he wants to marry her in Episode 38 after they have completed building a canal as ordered by the Emperor.

Is There Any Breakup?

Hua Zhi breaks up with Yan Xi in Episode 33. This is after Yan Xi carried out the Emperor’s order to raid the Shen family’s mansion. Their assets are confiscated and the males members of the family are imprisoned. Yan Xi was softhearted towards the Shen family in a case because the Shens have close ties to Hua Zhi. This annoyed the Emperor who thinks Yan Xi is not being totally obedient towards him.

Hua Zhi disagrees with Yan Xi’s role of being the Emperor’s weapon in carrying out dirty deeds. She knows Yan Xi has no choice but feels that their relationship would only bring problems to people around them due to the Emperor’s ruthless and controlling nature. They get back together in Episode 36 after an attempt on Yan Xi’s life. Hua Zhi regrets breaking up with him the moment she thought she has lost him.

Is There Any Love Triangle?

There is no love triangle in the drama. While Hua Zhi has a betrothal arrangement with Shen Qi, his family is unwilling to go ahead with the agreement after her family fell out of favor with the Emperor and is stripped of their position as nobles. Knowing that the Shen family wants to break the agreement, Old Madam Hua brings Hua Zhi to the Shen mansion to cancel the engagement in Episode 8. Although Shen Qi wants to keep the betrothal since he has feelings for Hua Zhi, she declines his request. But she agrees to his request to be friends.

What Happened To Yan Xi’s Mother?

By coincidence, Yan Xi discovers that the fire that killed his mother was due to tampered lanterns in Episode 17. The woman who made and delivered the lanterns tells Yan Xi that she was forced to do so by Consort Xiao. Consort Xiao killed Yan Xi’s mother because the latter’s family was involved in a rebellion. She claimed that Prince Ling was too soft-hearted to kill or divorce his wife to ensure he wasn’t implicated. So, she killed Yan Xi’s mother for him. Yan Xi imprisons Consort Xiao for her crime but she commits suicide in her cell in Episode 18.

Yan Xi confronts his father about it. He surmises that his father married his mother because her family controlled an army. It was his father that convinced his mother’s family to rebel but the rebellion failed. Her mother’s family was then executed by the Emperor while his father made used of Consort Xiao to kill his mother. Prince Ling didn’t deny Yan Xi’s accusations. Yan Xi is disgusted by his father which prompts the Emperor to arrange for his killing. So, Prince Ling dies when his room is set alight in Episode 23.

The Rebels

Prince Xian arranges for Yan Xi to be killed after the latter is lured out of the capital in Episode 26 as he intends to rebel. However, the attempt fails. Yan Xi returns to the capital only to find that the Emperor has fallen into a coma after being poisoned. 6th Prince is a witness and is hunted down by Prince Xian’s goons. Yan Xi uses it as a bait to lure Prince Xian out into the open. Prince Xian is captured in Episode 29.

Yan Xi finds out through the 6th Prince that the Emperor has been poisoned through a needle. This allows him to save the Emperor who wants Prince Xian to be executed by serving him poisoned wine in Episode 29. Prince Xian smashes the cup and uses a broken piece of it to kill himself instead.

The next person who tries to kill the Emperor is Hao Yue who appears in Episode 35. She reveals herself to be a spy from an enemy state after her plan to assassinate the Emperor fails in Episode 40. Prince Hui kills her when she is captured before she could blurt out that he is also a rebel. Hao Yue had convinced Prince Hui to toast his father with poisoned wine and gave him an antidote that could supposedly make him immune to the poison when he drinks the same. But he was tricked. Prince Hui is killed by Yan Xi while dying from the effects of the poison.

Side Couple

Shen Huan and Shao Yao start off as enemies when he mistaken her for Hua Zhi. However, he doesn’t agree with his friends to harass Shao Yao and saves her from their harassment in Episode 16. Their relationship improves and he consoles her in Episode 20 when Old Madam Hua dies. They become close friends and often play together until Shen Huan’s parents want him to marry the daughter of the wealthy and influential Jiang family in Episode 30. This is because the Shen family has been close to Prince Xian. With Prince Xian’s downfall and execution, the Shen family is afraid that they will be implicated with the rebellion.

Shen Huan tells Shao Yao that she is special in his heart and that he has affections for her in Episode 31. But she is unable to grasp his meaning. So, he ends the relationship and says that they would not be able to meet again since a fiancee has been chosen for him. Shao Yao is sad but still brings him a gift for his engagement. In Episode 32, Shen Huan decides to break off the engagement and purposely acts vile in front of the Jiang family. He achieves his aim but is punished by his father as a result. When he goes and tells Shao Yao that that marriage is off, she is happy and confesses that she now understands what affection is and that she likes him. They become a couple then.

Other Key Events

Episode 1 – 25

• Hua Zhi starts doing business selling honeyed hawthorns in Episode 9. The family earns enough to move back to town in Episode 11.
• Bo Li is told that by his sister that his biological mother is Concubine Qin in Episode 12. He is adopted by Madam Qi because she has no children of her own.
• Hua Zhi hires a poor scholar, Zheng Zhi, to be the family teacher in Episode 15.
• Old Madam Hua dies in Episode 19 after her eldest daughter, Hua Jing, stressed her out with her evil deeds and unreasonable demands.
• Hua Jing commits suicide in Episode 21 after her husband divorces her.
• Madam Qi allows Bo Li to recognize Concubine Qin as his mother in Episode 21 after Shao Yao makes her see that it is Bo Li’s good fortune to have 2 mothers who love him.
• Hua Zhi convinces her aunt, Hua Xian, to divorce her abusive husband and moves back to the Hua family in Episode 22.
• Madam Wu gives birth to a baby girl in Episode 22.
• Hua Zhi meets her grandfather and other male relatives again in Episode 25 when she has made enough money to redeem one of them. But her Lord Hua stays put as he refuses to leave others behind.

Episode 26 – 40

• Hua Zhi cooperates with Bai Ming Xia to open a restaurant in Episode 29.
• The Hua family is given back their original home in Episode 29 after Hua Zhi saved and protected 6th Prince from being hunted down by Prince Xian.
• Madam Xia takes 6th Prince as godson after he saved Hua Duo who has fallen into a well in Episode 30.
• Bai Ming Xia asks for Fu Dong’s hand in marriage in Episode 30.
• Hua Qin decides to marry Sun Xiang in Episode 31 although he is not a good man as she thinks she won’t be able to find a better choice since she is a concubine’s daughter. Sun Xiang subsequently dies and Hua Qin takes control of his assets in Episode 38.
• The Shen family is arrested for their association with Prince Xian in Episode 32. All the members are freed in Episode 33 except for Shen Qi’s father and grandfather.
• Hua Zhi employs Shen Qi to be a teacher for the Hua family academy to help him support his family in Episode 33. He pays close attention to 6th Prince as the latter has had a later start than the rest due to this hard life in the palace. Shen Huan also starts working in Hua Zhi’s restaurant.
• Hua Rong marries Jiang Wei Zhi and follows him back to his hometown in Episode 33. She becomes pregnant in Episode 35 but kills herself in Episode 36 after her husband took her place to be the suicide bomber to blow up Yan Xi and died in the process. This is because Yan Xi has found out that the Jiang family has been receiving kickbacks from a rebel and they need to silence him.
• Zheng Zhi asks for Hua Ling’s hand in marriage in Episode 38.

Blossoms In Adversity Review – Women-Centric Drama

Blossoms In Adversity is a female empowerment drama just like The Legend Of Zhuohua and New Life Begins. Basically, you have a bunch of upper class women who have to struggle to earn a living after the male members of the family are sent into exile. So, these women have to learn to set aside their pettiness and support each other in order to survive. This is, of course, being led by the female lead who is smart, gutsy, and speaks the truth like her grandfather regardless of the consequences.

The female lead’s family is a complex one with many members. So, the first thing you will be bombarded with is the number of characters. You will have to slowly learn who’s who in the whole family. Apart from the official wives and children, there are also concubines and their children plus the maids. Hence, things can be rather confusing at the start.

Once you get past that, the story will move pretty quickly. While there is the overarching plot of the female lead’s plan to redeem her male relatives from exile, the story has many mini subplots that involve other members of her family along the way. This means the story will flow speedily from one character to the next. With quite a few characters to cover, their stories are told in a brief manner and don’t linger for long. Therefore, you are less likely to feel bored. But on the flip side, there is no depth to these stories to make you feel truly invested in them.

Near Perfect Main Characters

Being a women-centric drama, the male characters in the story are largely reduced to supporting roles. The female lead’s father and uncles are hardly seen since they are exiled. Even the male lead is overshadowed by the female protagonist at times. Moreover, the way he is written fails to effectively flush out the inner conflict the character should possess. He should be conflicted about the loyalty he has to show to the Emperor who brought him up and the dirty deeds he has to do on the Emperor’s behalf. There is a lack of angst here with this part of the story being not too well-developed.

The female male is also written to be almost perfect. Nothing fazes her and she faces everything calmly without fear. She is kind, feeds beggars, treats her maids with respect, and takes care of strangers that she comes across. I guess there is a feel good element to her character and story but it does have a tinge of perfectness there that defies realism.

Together with the male lead, there is no thought of going against the Emperor or overthrowing him despite his cruelty and paranoia even towards his own sons. There is this subtle message there that good citizens can kill rebels but not a ruler even if he treats his subjects like chess pieces and can’t take criticisms.

Substandard Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

The last few episodes is where this drama disappoints me in general. Another villain or two is introduced towards the end just like Wonderland Of Love and this just seems like a cop-out way to put an end to a cruel Emperor’s reign. Basically, the Emperor wants the male lead’s absolute loyalty and dedication. If he can’t have it, he will punish the one that has swayed his emotions which happens to be the female lead. It never crosses the couple’s mind to go against him and be free of his control. In fact, they try to save him and leave the dirty job of killing him to someone else who hardly appears throughout the drama.

I suppose it is hard to end it any other way when the leads are painted to be such upright people and the Emperor is the male lead’s uncle who raised him. Without a redemption arc for the Emperor, someone else will have to take the leads’ place to kill him off instead. It is certainly not a very satisfying ending but there is a lack of a political plot throughout that could give more depth to the Emperor’s final moments.

Some parts are also glossed over like the Emperor’s relationship with the male lead’s father. The male lead starts off wanting to know what happened to his mother. But when he did find out, the Emperor seems to want him to stop probing further as if there is some secret that can’t be divulged from the past. The things his father said also seem to indicate so but this storyline is subsequently cut off. This gives me the feeling that there is a missing piece there in the story.

Romance & Chemistry

The main couple’s romance is a matured one. They do talk things over and are always calm and rational in their interactions. They understand each other very well and their moments together can be sweet although the number of kisses are limited. Because they are not overly emotional and are rational people, their relationship is also a practical one that is grounded in reality. I like it that the female lead is independent and has no illusion of a fairy tale ending given their circumstances.

The chemistry between the leads also helps to bring out the romance. Although I still can’t forget Zhang Jing Yi’s chemistry with Chen Fei Yu in Lighter And Princess, her partnership with Hu Yi Tian in Blossoms In Adversity also deserves compliments. It is not the scorching kind to me but it is good enough to generate romantic vibes between them. The actress also exudes confidence that her role needs that matches well with Hu Yi Tian’s stoic character.

The other actress that impressed me is Lu Yu Xiao. It is hard to imagine her to be the same person that played a coldhearted spy in My Journey To You whereas her character in Blossoms In Adversity is an innocent and a pure-minded girl with stunted mental development. Hai Yi Tian as the Emperor is another actor that brought out the essence of the character with his commanding presence although you might hate him to the bones.

My Verdict – Addictive Watch

Despite some weaknesses, Blossoms In Adversity is an addictive drama to me. I think it has to do with the pacing and varied characters which help to keep boredom at bay. It doesn’t delve into too much details but let the story flow from one character to the next after the groundwork for the main plot has been laid out. This is not a palace politics drama but one of female empowerment. So, if you want to watch political intrigues and power struggles, this is not the drama for it. Instead, it focuses on characters, particularly females, and their stories.

I think the strength of this drama is also its weakness. The varied characters may relieve boredom but it also means a lack of depth to the overall story. Thus, if you don’t care for these side characters, you would start to lose interest by the middle of the drama. Perhaps concentrating on a few important ones would give the drama a stronger emotional foundation. As it is, things are spread thin across a large number of people in the story including some that don’t really make a difference to the main plot. This also takes away time to further develop the male lead’s story and the complexity of his relationship with his family.

For my review of Blossoms In Adversity, I will rate it 8/10. It is good for those who like a strong female lead who could overcome the odds in the face of adversity. The romance adds sweetness to the tough life she has to endure to achieve her goal. The drama has some emotional moments that will touch your heart and you should watch it for the family relationships apart from the romance.