General’s Lady Review

The drama title, General’s Lady (将军家的小娘子), already sums up pretty well the story that is to be told. Basically, it is about a young lady who is sent to be married off to who else, but an army general. This is a romance historical drama with 30 episodes in total. I started watching this with no inkling of what to expect and this is also the first time that I have come across Tang Min. Anyway, my General Lady’s review below will reveal more including the ending for those who are interested to know how the drama concludes.

My rating: 6.5/10
Episodes: 30
Type: Romance
Aired: October 2020
Images Credit: Youku

The Cast Of General’s Lady

• Tang Min as Shen Jin
• Caesar Wu Xi Ze as General Chu Xiu Ming
• Cao Jun Xiang as Chu Xiu Yuan
• Lu Jia as Rou Rou
• Liu Yin Jun as Xiao Su
• Xin Zi as Shen Shu
• Ke Nai Yu as Shen Zi
• Xiao Yu as Shen Jing
• Ge Shi Min as Ruo Nan
• Zhao Wen Ming as Lord Situ
• Zheng Sheng Li as Lord Liu
• Zhang Ying Chen as Emperor
• Gao Yi as Duke Rui
• William Yang Wan Li as Bai Zi Tou
• You Cong as Xiao Cong

Main Characters

Shen Jin

Shen Jin is the third daughter of Duke Rui. Her mother is Concubine Shu and they are often bullied due to their low status. But Shen Jin is mischievous and gutsy. She is an expert at picking locks and often masquerades as a man, Lord Jin, to have fun in the streets.

General Chu Xiu Ming

General Chu is based at the border. He is a powerful general with a fearsome reputation which attracts lots of rumors. He is stern and serious to outsiders as befitting his role and duty to protect the country. His parents have died when he was a kid.

Chu Xiu Yuan

Xiu Yuan is General Chu’s lieutenant and also cousin brother. They share a close bond. He is loyal and a dutiful subordinate.

Rou Rou

Rou Rou is Shen Jin’s personal maid. They met when they were still kids and Shen Jin took her in from the streets. They are very close to each other. Rou Rou is a little slow-witted but in a harmless way.

Xiao Su

Xiao Su is the Commander of the Imperial Guards. He is also Shen Jin’s childhood friend together with Rou Rou. Xiao Su is a trustworthy and loyal friend.

Supporting Characters

Shen Shu, Shen Zi & Shen Jing

The 3 of them are Shen Jin’s half-sisters. Shen Shu is the eldest sister and the closest to Shen Jin. She is married to Marquis Wang. Her mother is Duke Rui’s official wife. Shen Zi is the second elder sister while Shen Jing is the youngest. Both Shen Zi and Shen Jing share the same mother, Concubine Xu. Shen Zi and her mother are bullies while Shen Jing will follow what they do. Shen Zi is a very jealous lady while Shen Jing is revengeful.

Ruo Nan

Ruo Nan is Shen Jin’s acquaintance from childhood. They used to challenge each other when they were kids. Ruo Nan grew up on the streets and was escorting goods for a living.

Lord Situ

Lord Situ is the Prime Minister of the country. He seems like a fair man in the royal court. He likes to play pitch-pot which requires the participants to throw arrows into a canister from a distance.

Lord Liu

Lord Liu is a senior minister with his own agenda. He is deceitful and wants to eliminate General Chu to fulfill his own plans.

Emperor

The Emperor is a responsible man who cares for the people. But he is also a suspicious man. While he appears ignorant at times, he is actually a calculating and sharp person.

Duke Rui

Duke Rui is one of the Emperor’s brothers. He is a harmless man who likes women but will evade problems brought on by his feuding concubines and daughters.

Bai Zi Tou

Bai Zi Tou is General Chu’s loyal subordinate who helps to oversee the soldiers. He likes Xiao Cong and assumes that the feelings are mutual.

Xiao Cong

Xiao Cong is a servant at General Chu’s mansion. She has feelings for Xiu Yuan who is clueless.

Synopsis

The Emperor decrees that the second daughter of Duke Rui is to be married off to the Earl of Yongning. The Earl is General Chu who has been stationed at the border for years to guard against the country’s enemies. He is known as a demonic general who is fierce and ruthless. Duke Rui’s second daughter is Shen Zi but she refuses to marry General Chu due to his reputation. She argues that Shen Jin is the second daughter as they are both born at about the same time to different mothers.

Shen Jin agrees to take Shen Zi’s place to save her mother from being bullied by her half-sisters. She travels to the border with her maid, Rou Rou, to start her life with General Chu. Shen Jin is surprised that General Chu turns out to be a handsome man and very different from what the rumors made him out to be. She falls in love with him as he gradually discovers his own feelings for her.

Shen Jin and General Chu’s love for each other deepens after a series of events. Then, they have to return to the capital as General Chu investigates the fire that killed his aunt and her husband, the 8th Prince, 16 years ago.

General’s Lady Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

General’s Lady has a happy ending which is as expected given the drama’s romantic theme. General Chu and a pregnant Shen Jin are preparing to leave the capital to go back to the border as they are more comfortable with life there. Everyone is there to send them off. But Shen Jin suddenly goes into labor at the last minute. Everyone then panics and shouts for a doctor and midwife. That concludes the actual story. The General’s Lady episode summary would have more details of the whole drama.

In the bonus scene, viewers are shown that the tale is a script. The screenwriter is Shen Jin while Chu Xiu Ming is the director’s assistant who is sent to collect the script. He seems to be a little shy with her while she finds him amusing. So, she changes the name of her male character from Wu Xi Ze to Chu Xiu Ming. General Chu and Shen Jin’s little son also appears in the last scene. They are at the barracks and their son is being trained to be a soldier to defend the country.

Xiu Yuan’s Real Identity

Xiu Yuan’s father is the 8th Prince who was also the Crown Prince then. His mother is also General Chu’s aunt. A fire at their mansion presumably killed both of his parents. Xiu Yuan is then brought to the border by the Chu family and his real identity is kept a secret. General Chu has been investigating the case for many years to find the murderer.

After the case has been solved and the 8th Prince reappears, the current Emperor is adamant that he should pass the throne to his elder brother. He has always been a reluctant ruler and has also been quietly flushing out the traitors. But the 8th Prince also has no interest to rule. So, they make Xiu Yuan the new Emperor instead.

Who Killed Xiu Yuan’s Parents?

The murderer is Lord Situ while his underlings include Lord Liu and a few other ministers who are all conspiring to overthrow the current Emperor. 16 years ago, the 8th Prince had been investigating an embezzlement case involving military funds. Lord Situ had taken the money and was worried that he will be arrested. So, he tried to kill the 8th Prince with an explosive. When that failed, Lord Situ burned down the prince’s mansion. Everyone in the mansion was presumed dead.

However, Xiu Yuan’s mother had hid Xiu Yuan in a secret chamber when the fire started. While she died, her husband survived. But the 8th Prince thought his whole family had perished in the fire. He hid his identity and lived as a deaf and mute Uncle Hua while anonymously sending hints to General Chu to aid in his investigation. The hints are sent through Duke Rui’s consort as the latter and his wife used to be close friends. Xiu Yuan was saved by the current Emperor and sent to the Chu family to be taken to the border.

The Side Couples

Xiao Su and Rou Rou got married. It is Rou Rou who moved things along by tricking Shen Jin that she is pregnant. This forced Shen Jin to arrange for a wedding for her and Xiao Su who happily complies. In the last episode, Rou Rou is already 3 months pregnant.

Xiu Yuan and Ruo Nan end up together. When Xiu Yuan becomes the Emperor, Ruo Nan is his Empress. Bai Zi Tou and Xiao Cong also become a couple.

General’s Lady Review – Thin Plot

After sitting through about 10 episodes of General’s Lady, my impression is that this drama has a very thin plot. The overarching story of investigating the deaths of the 8th Prince and his wife only intensifies in the last 4 episodes. The rest are basically filled with the main couple’s daily interactions and misunderstandings as different events unfold. They don’t really add much to the main plot except to make viewers feel all the fluff and sweetness after each misunderstanding is resolved. This is very unlike The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion or Maiden Holmes whereby there is actually a lot more going on besides the romance.

A Lot Of Fillers

For the first 8 episodes, the main couple is blowing hot and cold as they start to get to know each other and explore their growing attraction for one another. Then, the next 8 episodes is about 2 princesses who come visiting and causing jealousy as well as misunderstandings. When General Chu and Shen Jin return to the capital, the majority of the screen time is taken up by her feuds with her half-sisters and her father’s new concubine. Of course, Xiu Yuan and Ruo Nan’s relationship also shares some of the limelight. The drama only focuses on the murder investigation as it moves towards its conclusion.

There is nothing wrong with this kind of filler-type drama especially for the romance genre. Dramas like Intense Love also has nothing much going on throughout most of the episodes except to give viewers that fluffy feeling. If you like this type of stress-free romances, then General’s Lady might resonate with you.

Kisses Galore

General’s Lady is one of the few dramas that have hugs and kisses in almost every episode. The only other historical drama that I could think of that has that many kisses is The Love By Hypnotic. However, all the kisses are nothing too steamy. I see them as more of love expressions rather than long passionate smooches. But I guess it will satisfy viewers’ craving for more sweetness in the couple’s interactions.

However, to me, it is not about the number of kisses but the chemistry between the leads that make or break a romance drama. Caesar Wu and Tang Min do look compatible and the couple vibe is there. However, I don’t see their chemistry as being off-the-charts like Dilraba Dilmurat and Vengo Gao in Eternal Love Of Dream although it is good enough to entice viewers. Perhaps Tang Min’s character makes it hard to elevate the on-screen romance to another level that could really move the audience. Hence, the relationship of the main couple on-screen is sweet but nothing extraordinary to make it memorable for me.

Acting

Shen Jin is a bratty character and Tang Min successfully evokes the required brashness and willfulness traits in that role. It is interesting to watch her performance, that is if you don’t mind the character that she plays.

As for Caesar Wu, he portrays a serious and stern general. While he looks cool enough for the role, the commanding aura of a battle-hardened military man is lacking in his portrayal. I think Zheng Ye Cheng does it better in The Sleepless Princess in the way he emits the rough edges of a man who has seen much in the battlefield. But Caesar Wu could switch pretty effortlessly from a stern-faced general when facing outsiders to a lovestruck one when he is with his beloved. So, that contrast is satisfying to watch as we chase after the romantic feel in the drama.

My Verdict

General’s Lady is a drama that is very character-driven as the plot is thin. Therefore, you need to like the main characters for this drama to be watchable. The main problem for some viewers is that the female character, Shen Jin, is kind of immature and bratty. So, if you cannot stand Shen Jin, then General’s Lady becomes annoying to watch.

Personally, I can tolerate Shen Jin’s immaturity. What I’m more bothered about is the repetitiveness of the love proclamations. The love between the 2 leads develops rather quickly in General’s Lady. By Episode 8, they are already certain that they are in love. The general pampers and indulges his lady throughout the drama which is sweet but it also becomes repetitive after a while. It is just a little overdone to me although you might have a different idea if you like lots of mushiness in your romance dramas and not too particular about the thin story.

For this General Lady’s review, I would give it a 6.5/10 rating. I’m not too fond of all the fillers that hardly tie back to the overarching plot and the lack of character growth in the female lead. But it does have a sugary feel with little stress throughout. I guess the overall watchability value will depend on your appetite for simple romance stories and an indulgent male lead with a bratty lady.