My Sassy Princess Review

I think many people can’t resist watching My Sassy Princess (祝卿好) because of Zheng Ye Cheng. He has the required look to portray the role of a general in historical dramas. Of course, looks alone is certainly not enough to promote a drama and make it shoot up the charts. The plot has to be good too to get a high rating from viewers. So, how is the story with this one? Is it worth watching or merely hyped up because of the leads? I have gone through the whole 22 episodes and below is My Sassy Princess review for those who are interested to give this a go.

My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 22
Type: Historical Romance
Aired: April 2022
Images Credit: iQIYI TW Facebook

The Cast Of My Sassy Princess

• Crystal Yuan Bing Yan as Liu Ling / Princess Chang Le
• Zheng Ye Cheng as Shen Yan
• Merxat Yalkun as Shen Yu
• Zhang Yue as Xu Shi Jin
• Yang Zhi Wen as Ling Bi
• Guo Xiao Tian as Luo Fan
• He Ming Han as Lu Ming Shan
• Hai Yi Tian as Prince Guang Ping
• Zhou Mei Yi as Lu Qian
• Yue Yao Li as Duke Ding Bei
• Mao Fang Yuan as Liu Wang / Crown Prince

Main Characters

Liu Ling / Princess Chang Le

Liu Ling is the eldest daughter of Prince Guang Ping and the late Zhang Yun. She has a strained relationship with her father and stepmother and is deemed to be a wicked princess. Liu Ling is sassy and impudent without a care for her father’s and her own reputation.

Shen Yan

Shen Yan is one of the commanders of the Jin Lin Guard. He is in charge of the Bei Dian Bureau which is responsible for investigations and the arrests of criminals. He is known as an unsmiling and cold-faced official with a no-nonsense attitude. Shen Yan is a good martial artist and an astute investigator. His father is Lord Shen who is a veteran official in the royal court.

Supporting Characters

Shen Yu

Shen Yu is Shen Yan’s elder brother. He is the chief of Nan Dian Bureau which is the government’s intel organization. He is a smart man with a longing for his beloved but hides it through his indulgence in good times and female company.

Xu Shi Jin

Shi Jin is the lady-in-waiting of the Crown Prince. Her job is to serve him like a servant as well as offer her advice on strategic issues. Shi Jin is shrewd, determined, and patient. Her parents have died as her father was accused of stealing silvers from the state Treasury. Her grandfather is Lord Xu who is an official in the royal court but their family has been bearing the burden of her father’s alleged crime.

Ling Bi

Ling Bi is Liu Ling’s personal maid. They share a good relationship and Ling Bi cares for Liu Ling’s happiness.

Luo Fan

Luo Fan is the captain of the Bei Dian Bureau and Shen Yan’s loyal subordinate. He is a more amiable guy compared to his boss.

Lu Ming Shan

Ming Shan is the grandson of Lord Lu who is an influential official. He is an ambitious and spiteful man. Ming Shan is a concubine’s son and is only grudgingly accepted by Lord Lu due to a lack of male heir in the Lu family.

Prince Guang Ping

Prince Guang Ping is Liu Ling’s father. He is the Emperor’s brother. He has a strained relationship with Liu Ling after the death of her mother who was his first wife.

Lu Qian

Lu Qian is Prince Guang Ping’s current wife and Liu Ling’s stepmother. She has her own daughter with Prince Guang Ping named Run Xiang. Lu Qian is also Lord Lu’s daughter. She is a hypocrite who is always pretending to be a good stepmother to Liu Ling in front of others including her own husband, but hates her in private.

Duke Ding Bei

Duke Ding Bei is Liu Ling’s maternal grandfather. He dotes on her and finds joy in indulging his precious granddaughter. He is a retired high-ranking official who is still much respected. Duke Ding Bei has a son and a daughter-in-law who are not too happy with his partial attitude towards Liu Ling.

Liu Wang / Crown Prince

The Crown Prince of Wei takes on much of the state’s administrative duties due to the Emperor’s ill health. He is also Liu Ling’s elder cousin brother as their fathers are brothers. He is a cunning man who sees people reporting to him as dispensable and mere pawns to be used to achieve an aim. The Crown Prince expects total loyalty and gratitude from his subordinates.

Synopsis

Liu Ling was conferred the title Princess Chang Le by the Emperor when she was born. She had a happy childhood up until the death of her mother when she was 5 years old which she blamed on her father and stepmother. Her hatred for them is an open secret and caused her to be deemed as a wicked princess. After a quarrel with her stepmother on her 20th birthday, Liu Ling meets Shen Yan by chance. She is drunk while he is chasing after a criminal. Shen Yan is a commander of the Jin Lin Guard which is responsible for criminal investigations.

Liu Ling is attracted to Shen Yan at first sight and goes all out to get close to him. On the other hand, Shen Yan tries his best to keep her at a distance. But he gradually falls for her when he learns that she is not the wicked princess that everyone makes her out to be. However, their relationship faces objections from both their families. On top of that, Shen Yan’s investigation into a state robbery case is rattling the powerful Lu family. Inevitably, Liu Ling gets drawn into the danger due to her love for Shen Yan.

My Sassy Princess Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

My Sassy Princess has a happy ending. There is a time lapse of 5 years later in the last scene. Liu Ling and Shen Yan have a son and she is having a tough time trying to discipline him. The boy seems to have the same impudence as his mother. The couple is still as loving as ever and the drama ends with them sharing a kiss.

5 years before that, Shen Yan managed to defeat Prince Guang Ping when the latter launched a rebellion. He was assisted by Shen Yu and Shi Jin who worked in the background. After the rebellion was crushed, Shen Yan was rewarded by the Emperor. He also managed to secure a token from the Emperor to let Shen Yu and Shi Jin go. Shi Jin was imprisoned by the Crown Prince previously and Shen Yu broke into the prison to rescue her. With the Emperor’s pardon, they left the capital to lead their lives elsewhere as a couple.

Ling Bi and Luo Fan also ended up together. She teased Luo Fan that Liu Ling had picked a husband for her and he was forced to confess as a result.

When Did The Couple Get Together?

Liu Ling and Shen Yan got together in Episode 6. This was after Shen Yan jumped after Liu Ling when Ming Shan flung her off the cliff. During their time at the bottom of the cliff, they protected each other from enemies hunting for them. Liu Ling also narrated her childhood experience to Shen Yan and the way her mother died. She wanted his assurance that he wouldn’t love anyone else but her forever. He told her that love is risky but beautiful. Once they give their hearts to each other, they cannot let go anymore. Liu Ling agreed and they sealed their relationship with a kiss.

The Emperor decreed them to marry in Episode 19 following Shen Yan’s success in getting the state’s stolen silvers back from the hostile neighboring state of Yigu. They had their wedding ceremony in Episode 20. By the end of the drama, they already have a young son.

Is There Any Breakup?

There is no love triangle between the couple but they did have a misunderstanding in Episode 10. Liu Ling began to have doubts whether she could give Shen Yan a lifelong promise of love due to her own psychological baggage after what happened to her mother. The objection to their relationship from Shen Yan’s mother as well as her own grandfather sowed that seed of doubt. However, they cleared their misunderstanding in Episode 12 after Shen Yan convinced her that she shouldn’t feel that she doesn’t deserve him.

Shen Yan promised Liu Ling that he will marry her when he returns from a mission in Episode 13. But Ming Shan instigated the Yigu Crown Prince to ask for Liu Ling’s hand in marriage while Shen Yan was away. The Emperor issued the edict to avert a war in Episode 14. Liu Ling had no choice but resigned to fate after her grandfather fell sick because of her case and peace between 2 states rested on her shoulders. So, she told Shen Yan that she doesn’t want him anymore and broke up with him upon his return from his mission in Episode 15.

Shen Yan was angry with Liu Ling initially for giving up on him. But he decided to get her back with Shi Jin’s plan in Episode 17. He asked Liu Ling to trust him as he took on the task of being the escort for her wedding convoy to Yigu. But it is a front for him to recover the state’s stolen money hidden in Yigu. After the money was successfully smuggled out, Shen Yan and Liu Ling fled back to Wei in Episode 19. As a reward for his effort in recovering the stolen money for the state, he got to marry Liu Ling.

Who Stole The Money?

Lord Xu was the one who stole the money from the state Treasury by hiring Yun Yi to do the job. His collusion with Prince Guang Ping is revealed in Episode 14. A big chunk of the money was given to Prince Guang Ping to fund his rebellion. In return, the prince married Lu Qian. If he succeeds, the Lu family will then be part of the royal family.

As investigation intensified into the robbery case and more suspects are caught, Ming Shan ratted on his grandfather to save himself in Episode 18. Shen Yu provided the evidence on Lord Lu’s crimes. Together with Ming Shan’s proof, Lord Lu was arrested and imprisoned. The Xu family’s name was finally cleared in Episode 19 after being framed by Lord Lu to cover up his tracks. In his prison cell, Lord Lu hinted to Shen Yan about Prince Guang Ping’s complicity in the robbery. He also admitted that it was Lu Qian who pushed Liu Ling’s mother into the lake to kill her. Zhang Yun was against Prince Guang Ping’s plan to rebel.

All along, Prince Guang Ping felt he was entitled to the throne as he won wars for the late Emperor. While he was busy fighting for the state, he got bypassed instead and his brother inherited the throne. In Episode 21, Prince Guang Ping reached a deal with the Yigu Crown Prince for his support in the rebellion. But he was played out when the Yigu Crown Prince withdrew his troops at the last minute to protect his own selfish interest. Hence, Prince Guang Ping was defeated and he chose to end his life at his wife’s tomb in Episode 22. Ming Shan who was siding with Prince Guang Ping was also killed by Shen Yan during the rebellion.

Shen Yu And Shi Jin

Shen Yu and Shi Jin were childhood friends. They have feelings for each other all along. However, when Shi Jin’s father was accused of being a robber of the state Treasury, her life changed. She wanted to clear her family’s name and got into the palace through Liu Ling’s connections. Shi Jin and Liu Ling regard each other as sisters as their mothers were very close to each other. The Xu and the Zhang family were firm friends for generations.

Due to her work for the Crown Prince and the risks involved, Shi Jin maintained a distant relationship with Shen Yu to avoid implicating him. Shen Yu longed for her but gave her space to do what she wanted. He was contented watching her from afar and protected her as the masked Ghost-Faced.

After her family name was cleared, Shi Jin wanted to leave the capital in Episode 20. But she was stopped by the Crown Prince who was unhappy that she was ungrateful and disloyal towards him. Shen Yu broke into the prison to rescue her in Episode 20 and they escaped together with their family’s help in Episode 21. Due to their contribution in crushing Prince Guang Ping’s rebellion and Shen Yan’s plea, the Emperor let the couple off in Episode 22 and they left the capital together.

My Sassy Princess Review – Takes Time To Warm Up

If first impression counts, My Sassy Princess will probably be unappealing to many viewers. This is because the female protagonist is not an instantly likable character. In the first few episodes, she comes on as irresponsible, immature, and impudent. Therefore, don’t expect a demure and gentle princess but one who is rebellious and intends to get her way with the man she likes.

If you find her to be a real turn-off in the beginning, it might seem hard to sit through enough episodes for you to slowly warm up to her. You will also have to tolerate her way of seducing the guy which is blatant and direct. It is very different from the typical relationship development in romance dramas whereby the leads are coy about their feelings for each other and they don’t confess until midway through the story. But for Liu Ling in My Sassy Princess, she is already in love with her man at first sight and chasing after him from the very first episode.

Personally, I find the change is refreshing despite her not so likable character. At least, I see a different romance pattern than the usual. If you don’t mind an upfront princess who couldn’t care about modesty and conventions, then you might like Liu Ling better. But if you prefer the more traditional guy chases girl scenario, then she will appear as coming on too strongly.

Don’t Take It Too Seriously

Although My Sassy Princess doesn’t have a strong rom-com flavor like Decreed By Fate, it is also not a drama that can be taken too seriously. The plot is simple with only 22 episodes to fit in a romance and investigation into a robbery. If you want detailed political maneuverings and palace intrigues in the mould of Sword Snow Stride or Stand By Me, this is not the drama to binge on.

The focus is more on the romance and with the female lead clearly after the male lead, you will get a flirty feel in their interactions especially in the beginning of the drama. Don’t be too critical of the princess’ antics and you will be able to enjoy their relationship development. But if you view things seriously, her behavior will become questionable and the romantic vibes will become subdued as a result.

The plot itself is predictable and there is no big mystery as to who are the villains. The cliches are there and you can already foresee them happening for certain scenes such as the couple falling off a cliff and surviving as well as the female lead being forced to marry someone else because of a decree. Thus, the plot is pretty average overall and it is hardly a selling point on its own. What enhances the storytelling and makes the drama more watch-worthy is none other than the chemistry between the leads.

Great Chemistry

I think the chemistry between Yuan Bing Yan and Zheng Ye Cheng practically saves My Sassy Princess from mediocrity. The flirtations would only look romantic if viewers can feel that the leads are into each other which they managed to do convincingly throughout the drama. So, once they got together, the love is obvious and you will be able to feel their sorrows when they face difficulties.

There are quite a few kisses between them and the blazing chemistry means these would be the highlights of the drama. Unfortunately, some have been deleted while others could have been cut short. The unevenness in the scene transitions shows with these poor edits. Perhaps the kisses are too numerous or raunchy for their domestic audience but it is a real pity to have been deleted given their great chemistry.

In addition, Zheng Ye Cheng’s charisma as a cold-faced commander also helped to attract viewers. He seems to have perfected this kind of role with his domineering screen presence and aura. He also played a similar character in The Sleepless Princess which is why Shen Yan shouldn’t really be a challenge for him to portray. This is my second time watching Yuan Bing Yan after Love And Redemption. She brought out the essence of the character in My Sassy Princess and I think she did well with what she was given.

My Verdict – Watch For The Chemistry

My Sassy Princess will not satisfy those who want a great plot of a palace power struggle. It will also be disappointing for those who prefer a more traditional boy chases girl romance. On top of that, not everyone will have the patience to tolerate the “sassiness” of the female lead. You need to watch about 6 episodes to find out more about her background to slowly understand her character and behavior. Therefore, I’m not sure if more critical viewers will find this worth sitting through unless they are totally hooked on the leads’ chemistry right from the start given that the first impression of the drama may not be too flattering.

However, once you get over the initial bump, it gets better as the drama progresses. By then, you should find the female protagonist more acceptable. The leads’ good chemistry certainly helped me to hang on and I believe it contributed much to its marketability. The fighting scenes and Zheng Ye Cheng’s ability to execute those martial art moves beautifully provided another reason for me to stay on longer.

Chemistry And Kisses Sell

I believe this drama is getting a lot of attention in China as at the time of this review. I think the leads did a good job overall and they deserve the good results notwithstanding the very ordinary plot. All I can say is romance dramas are very dependent on chemistry to make it work. Kisses sell as well but they have to be well-executed with the couple’s sizzling chemistry being the prerequisite for the scenes to feel romantic to the viewers.

So, the hype surrounding this drama centers mainly on the couple rather than the story to me. Consequently, for this My Sassy Princess review, I would give it a score of 7.5/10 because the plot doesn’t justify a higher rating in my opinion. But it doesn’t mean it is not enjoyable especially if you are a big fan of Zheng Ye Cheng and Yuan Bing Yan.

In conclusion, the romance flavor is strong with this couple. I think the story execution also effectively satisfies every girl’s fantasy of a handsome and domineering lord being conquered by a sassy princess that is typical of historical romance novels. Perhaps this is why it is one of the top dramas for the year to date.