Decreed By Fate (千金难逃) is one of those lower budget Chinese dramas that you might binge on when you have nothing else to watch. It is short and you can easily finish it within a day or two if you find the story interesting. This is not the kind of drama that you would expect much from since it has no big names to offer. Nevertheless, such productions can still spring a nice surprise at times if they get most of the critical components right such as the leads’ chemistry and plot execution. So, did this title manage to offer something special to the viewers? Find out in my Decreed By Fate review below.
My rating: 7/10
Episodes: 16
Type: Historical Romance
Aired: March 2022
Images Credit: iQIYI YouTube
The Cast Of Decreed By Fate
- Li Jiu Lin as Lu Ting Xiao / Yin Si Shen
- Chen Fang Tong as Ye Rong Er / Wen Ren Jing
- Wu Cheng Xu as Fang Xian Xun / Lin Xie
- Cheng Yu Feng as Liu Zhan
- Xu Ning as Zheng Lin
- Tian Feng as Hong Yuan Shan / Master Hong
- Xu Shao Hang as Wang Yi Zhi
- Jiang Rui Ze as Qin Yi Yi
Main Characters
Lu Ting Xiao / Yin Si Shen
Ting Xiao is Yin Si Shen’s assumed identity. He is actually a general but pretends to be a renowned matchmaker. He has a stern face and seems to be cold and unapproachable. Yin Si Shen has been away for a long time and has just returned to the capital of South Kingdom. Wan Yu is his assistant.
Ye Rong Er / Wen Ren Jing
Ren Jing is Rong Er’s assumed identity. She is a nominal princess but likes an unrestrained life. She has a tomboyish attitude and a brashness to match but is still young and innocent. Her parents have died and her father was Lord Lian who didn’t return after leaving on a mission. Rong Er has a loyal servant, Ah Ling, who is like a sister to her.
Fang Xian Xun / Lin Xie
Fang Xian Xun’s real name is Lin Xie. He is a general but pretends to be weak in martial arts to become Rong Er’s disciple. He appears as fun and friendly but has a secretive background. Vice General Wang is his assistant.
Supporting Characters
Liu Zhan & Zheng Lin
Both men are matchmakers and Ren Jing’s business rivals in Pingyang. They are petty men with the bad intention to drive Ren Jing out of business. Liu Zhan also has a crush on Ah Ling.
Hong Yuan Shan / Master Hong
Master Hong is one of the richest men in Pingyang. He is a kind man and philanthropist on the surface. He has a son, Young Master Hong, who is a womanizer and loafer.
Wang Yi Zhi
Wang Yi Zhi is a brothel operator. He is a businessman on the surface but has his own secret agenda. His partner is Master Hong.
Qin Yi Yi
Yi Yi is a dancer at Wang Yi Zhi’s brothel. She is popular among the men and catches the interest of Young Master Hong. But she already has a secret lover who is a scholar.
Synopsis
Rong Er is a nominal princess of marriageable age. However, she is an unladylike princess who shuns conventions and marriage. During a confrontation with a bully, she meets a dashing guy who introduces himself as Fang Xian Xun. He is using a fake name as he is at the capital on a secret mission but becomes attracted to her and follows her around as her disciple.
As Rong Er is not keen on marriage, she tries to create a bad image for herself to scare away potential suitors by arranging a date at a venue with male courtesans. However, she bumps into a muscular man instead who pretends to be a courtesan to play along with her. The man is actually a general who has quietly sneaked back into the capital after having been away for a long period of time. Hence, Rong Er has no idea of his identity.
Not long after, a sudden decree from the Emperor forces Rong Er to marry Yin Si Shen. She doesn’t know how he looks like as her face is covered with a veil during the wedding ceremony. After the ceremony, she runs away to Pingyang as Wen Ren Jing and sets up a matchmaking business that handles divorce cases. Her intention is to make a name for herself so that she can then file for divorce for her own situation. She also leverages on the name of Lu Ting Xiao who is a renowned matchmaker in the capital to claim legitimacy to the business.
After a few months, the muscular man she met earlier turns up at Pingyang and claims to be Lu Ting Xiao. Fang Xian Xun also arrives not long after to be close to Rong Er. Both men end up fighting for her affections while being involved in a secret investigation in the background.
Decreed By Fate Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
Decreed By Fate has a happy ending for the couple but with more to the story on the investigative end. The last scene simply leaves viewers hanging with an expectation of a second season just like Sword Snow Stride and Douluo Continent. Rong Er and Yin Si Shen have just returned to the capital as a happily married couple when he receives urgent news that requires him to leave for North Kingdom in anticipation of a battle. Rong Er accompanies him. Lin Xie is back at North Kingdom and is thrown into the same jail as Lord Lian. He greets him as a subordinate and the drama ends there.
When Did The Couple Get Together?
Rong Er is decreed to marry Yin Si Shen very early on in the drama. She then flees to Pingyang after the wedding ceremony before even finding out how Yin Si Shen looks like. Yin Si Shen then turns up at Pingyang to look for her but pretends to be Lu TIng Xiao. After spending more and more time together, Rong Er falls for him and he lets her know his feelings in Episode 10. They become a couple then.
Yin Si Shen quietly leaves Rong Er in Episode 11 to protect her life as well as to look for an antidote to save her. This is because she has been poisoned by Qin Yi Yi on Wang Yi Zhi’s orders. The poison will be triggered if she experiences deep love for another. Rong Er is angry with Yin Si Shen for leaving without a word. When he returns after finding an eccentric doctor to treat her, he promises her that he would never leave her again. Rong Er also asks Yin Si Shen to marry her in Episode 12 and he agrees.
After settling all the required matters in Pingyang, the couple move back to the capital to meet Yin Si Shen’s parents in Episode 16. He also recreates the atmosphere for their wedding night to begin life as a truly married couple.
Real Identities
Yin Si Shen is a respected general of the South Kingdom and has the ears of the Emperor. He pretends to be Lu Ting Xiao as he is also investigating the case of his missing cousin sister in Pingyang. Rong Er learns of his real identity in Episode 14 through Wang Yi Zhi when he holds her hostage.
Lin Xie’s identity is more ambiguous and is not fully explained in the drama. Viewers will know that he is General of Wu Chang of the North Kingdom in Episode 11. However, he also holds a badge that identifies the holder as a member of an intel organization established by Lord Liang of the South Kingdom. At the end of Episode 16, he is seen greeting Lord Lian in prison.
Both Yin Si Shen and Lin Xie know each other’s identity through their own intel network. They also have orders from their respective Emperor to kill each other. But having spent time together, they have learned to trust one another through Rong Er. Hence, they put up a show for the spies to report back to their respective Emperor that they are at each other’s throats in Episode 15. They part ways then with Lin Xie heading back to the North Kingdom and Yin Si Shen and Rong Er returning to the South Kingdom’s capital.
The Villain
The ultimate villain is Wang Yi Zhi. Basically, he is using Master Hong to smuggle abducted young ladies from the South Kingdom to the North Kingdom to be trained. These ladies are then sent back to marry officials of the South to infiltrate the kingdom’s administration. However, Wang Yi Zhi has also showed signs of treason against the North Kingdom and hence, he is wanted by both states.
Wang Yi Zhi runs a brothel in the South Kingdom as a front for his works. Qin Yi Yi is one of his recruits who is forced to follow his orders in exchange for her lover’s life.
Decreed By Fate Review – Low Budget But Amusing
I see Decreed By Fate as something that you could watch in between serious dramas. It is a title that is easy to binge on because it is only 16 episodes in length with 30 minutes per episode. Don’t expect this to have the quality of Novoland: Pearl Eclipse or The Long Ballad as the lower production budget is pretty obvious throughout the drama. The costumes are average-looking and the filming locations are also limited to a few settings.
On top of that, the editing is also off with abrupt scene transitions at times. Some clips are missing and as a result, certain happenings have no follow through. Perhaps the producers are trying their best to keep the drama within 16 episodes with these cuts but the editing does seem amateurish to a viewer. The good thing though is that these weaknesses do not render the whole drama unwatchable. This is because the story is still understandable and the setting has a fun-like feel to it. It is intended as a rom-com and it succeeded in giving viewers that same vibes.
Plot Twists
Decreed By Fate has an unconventional female lead for a historical drama. It has a reverse harem feel at the beginning with the female lead admiring 2 men for their good looks and body. You could be wondering who is the male lead and the girl’s partner eventually at the start. So, it is amusing to watch for that less than common storyline. Of course, the 2 men are also fighting for her affections and you will get more laughs from them.
In addition, there are also plot twists to the serious matters to make the story more interesting. After all, rom-coms tend to be very predictable and this drama seems to make an effort to move away from that same problem. I think it did well in this aspect despite its short length. It doesn’t go off tangent completely but at times, you could be guessing which of the 2 paths the story would take. For instance, would the second male lead be a hero or a villain?
Therefore, the plot is quite well executed notwithstanding the poor editing and simplistic presentation. Just don’t expect detailed political maneuverings à la Nirvana In Fire 1 or intense investigations like Luoyang. Treat it like a typical rom-com and don’t be too serious about the plot and the leads’ antics. That is the only way to enjoy Decreed By Fate. Otherwise, you will find plot holes here and there as well as a not so likable female lead.
An Unconventional Female Protagonist
Rong Er is not an instantly likable female character. I don’t find her annoying but neither does she seem adorable to me. So, I’m kind of indifferent to her antics. She has a fun side to her but with a touch of rebelliousness against conventions which reminds me of Ban Hua in A Girl Like Me but without the meanness. On the positive side, Rong Er is independent-minded and dares to go for what she wants. But on the downside, she can be impulsive and a little immature.
In the drama, Rong Er gets entangled between 2 men. As the story progresses, you can guess who she would end up with. But you really need to be able to see the humor behind the lighthearted love triangle to enjoy Decreed By Fate. Rong Er enjoys the company of the 2 men and doesn’t find it necessary to cut one off completely even when she has made her choice. Hence, the 2 men are forced to tolerate each other to be in her company and they end up having their own brand of love-hate friendship.
In short, the ingredients of a rom-com are all there by playing up the love triangle. If you like this reverse harem plot, you won’t mind Rong Er’s antics and will find the whole scenario entertaining even if she is not particularly lovable as a female lead.
More Than Pecks
With only 16 episodes, the romance occurs rather abruptly for the main couple. She suddenly feels she has romantic feelings for this guy rather than the other one and allows him to kiss her and hey, they are in a relationship! Therefore, I don’t find Decreed By Fate to be particularly sweet and fluffy for a rom-com. It is more humorous than romantic to me.
However, they are not stingy with the kisses despite the short story. At least, they are shown to be properly kissing unlike the couple in Royal Feast and The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion. The chemistry between Li Jiu Lin and Chen Fang Tong is only so-so to me but they make it up with the kisses when the scenes called for it. These 2 leads are not that popular overall with Li Jiu Lin having played mainly supporting roles to date including Your Sensibility My Destiny and Time Flies And You Are Here.
Personally, I see better chemistry between Chen Fang Tong and Wu Cheng Xu. Perhaps Wu Cheng Xu is portraying a cool character and the more relaxed interactions with the female lead give much more room to generate some sparks between them. Whatever it is, the 2 men are eye candies and there is a bonus of shirtless scenes for female fans.
My Verdict – OK To Pass Time
Is Decreed By Fate a must-watch? The short answer is no. This is far from an award-winning drama. But it does have its value among Chinese drama fans because it fits the category of “when you have nothing better to watch” rather well. The short 16 episodes help to make it binge-worthy. This means the time investment makes it justifiable even if the story is simplistically told and the production budget is limited.
Take the plunge with a low expectation of a typical rom-com and it should end up being not too bad at the end of it. I didn’t expect this to be any good when I started but I still sat through all the episodes without skipping. The weaknesses like the editing would be obvious for regular drama watchers. Fortunately, the strengths more than make up for the weaknesses such as the humor and plot twists.
For this Decreed By Fate review, I would give it a score of 7/10. Watch but don’t take it seriously and you will find it pleasurable and amusing. If you want a water-tight story, great acting and chemistry, or even a highly romantic drama, this is not it. But if you are looking for something fun and short to fill your time, this is an ideal candidate. You will not find it amazing once you are done but neither would you feel that you have wasted your time. The rewatch value may also not be there but it should be sufficiently amusing the first time round.
==> Decreed By Fate is available on Amazon Prime (affiliate link)
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