New Life Begins Review

I was looking forward to watching Bai Jing Ting again when I decided to give New Life Begins (卿卿日常) a try. After all, he has been in the news not too long ago, i.e. November 2022, when his relationship with Song Yi was exposed. This reminded me to check out his latest projects and I discovered this one to binge on. It is a historical romance drama with some comedy to lighten the mood despite the palace politics involved. It also has a generally positive feedback from viewers. I have my own thoughts on this drama and you can check out my New Life Begins review below for more details.

My rating: 8/10
Episodes: 40
Type: Historical Romance
Aired: November 2022
Images Credit: iQIYI Taiwan Facebook

The Cast of New Life Begins

• Bai Jing Ting as Yin Zheng / 6th Prince
• Tian Xi Wei as Li Wei
• Edward Zhang Xiao Chen as Yin Song / 2nd Prince
• Chen Zi Han as Zhao Fang Ru
• Chen Xiao Yun as Hao Jia
• Liu Guan Lin as Yin An / 3rd Prince
• Liu Meng Meng as Dong Hai Tang
• Ji Xiao Fei as Yin Jun / 4th Prince
• Chang Long as Yin Qi / 5th Prince
• Fan Shuai Qi as Shang Guan Jing
• Gao Shu Guang as Lord of Xin Chuan
• Zhang Rui Jia as Lady of Xin Chuan
• Liu Mei Han as Song Wu
• Wei Zi Xin as Su Shen
• Hou Chang Rong as Dai Di
• Liu Ling Zi as Yuan Ying

Main Characters

Yin Zheng / 6th Prince

Yin Zheng is the 6th Prince of Xin Chuan. He is a son of a concubine named Madam He and has been an unfavored prince all along. However, Yin Zheng is intelligent with a strategic mind. He is cautious but ambitious. He has also been suffering from gastric problems since young and is thought to be a weak man. Yin Zheng is a picky eater.

Li Wei

Li Wei is the daughter of a low ranking official from Ji Chuan. Ji Chuan is a region that practices monogamy and gender equality. Li Wei has a close knit family that comprises of her parents and younger brother, Li Cang. She is a warm and sincere young lady. Li Wei is friendly and has good people skills. She also loves to eat and is a foodie.

Supporting Characters

Yin Song / 2nd Prince

Yin Song is the Eldest Legitimate Prince of Xin Chuan as his mother is the legal wife of the ruler. He is expected to be the next Lord of Xin Chuan. Yin Song is arrogant and tends to throw his weight around when it comes to his younger brothers. He is also a self-centered and envious man. He is married to Zhao Fang Ru.

Zhao Fang Ru

Zhao Fang Ru is Yin Song’s legal wife. She comes from Dai Chuan which is a region rich in natural resources. Her family owns half of Dai Chuan’s coal mines. Zhao Fang Ru is a petty and spiteful woman.

Hao Jia

Hao Jia comes from Yan Chuan. Her mother is a concubine and hence, Hao Jia has learned how to survive as someone in the lower rungs of the family hierarchy. As such, Hao Jia knows how to scheme to get what she wants. She appears as courteous, sensible, and cultured. Hao Jia is also Li Wei’s old friend and has the intention to be Yin Song’s woman.

Yin An / 3rd Prince

Yin An is the 3rd Prince of Xin Chuan who prefers to stay out of palace affairs. He keeps a large number of women but they are all good friends with a shared feeling of disdain towards him. Yin An is rich and good in business but can be shameless with an amusing sense of self-importance especially when it comes to his interactions with his women.

Dong Hai Tang

Dong Hai Tang is Yin An’s legal wife and comes from Cang Chuan. She is a friendly woman who is also tired of her husband’s antics. She gets along very well with all her husband’s concubines who include Bai Lu, Shuang Jiang, Da Shu, and Xiao Man. Together, they will think of different ways to avoid Yin An.

Yin Jun / 4th Prince

Yin Jun is the 4th Prince of Xin Chuan and Yin Song’s underling who gave him a post in the Ministry of Rites. He fawns over Yin Song to curry his favor given the latter’s status and power. He is married to An Xi Yuan.

Yin Qi / 5th Prince

Yin Qi is the 5th Prince of Xin Chuan. He is a very playful prince with a roving eye. He has no interest in studying and court affairs but spends his time fooling around. However, Yin Qi is funny and harmless. He is attracted to Hao Jia at first sight but ends up having to marry Shang Guan Jing.

Shang Guan Jing

Shang Guan Jing is a princess from Dan Chuan which is a region where women rule over men. She is a tough lady with fighting skills. She is also fierce, direct, and rough. But Shang Guan Jing is honest although unladylike. She strikes up a warm friendship with Li Wei in the palace.

Lord of Xin Chuan

The Lord of Xin Chuan is the ruler of Xin Chuan and overall head of the 9 regions. He has 11 sons with one having died young. He is a fair ruler who will evaluate all options to maintain peace and harmony among the different regions.

Lady of Xin Chuan

The Lady of Xin Chuan is the Lord of Xin Chuan’s official wife. She is also Yin Song’s biological mother.

Song Wu

Song Wu is Yin Zheng’s foster younger sister. She was brought up by Yin Zheng’s biological mother but sees herself as Yin Zheng’s prospective wife. She is willful and temperamental.

Su Shen

Su Shen is Yin Zheng’s steward. He is loyal to his master and knows his deepest feelings.

Dai Di

Dai Di is the princes’ teacher. He recognizes Yin Zheng’s talent and intellect. Hence, he would often advise and help Yin Zheng to try to gain the Lord of Xin Chuan’s attention.

Yuan Ying

Yuan Ying is a princess of Jin Chuan and the only daughter of the ruler. She is a calm and domineering woman with her own thoughts who hates being forced to do things against her will. Yuan Ying is also sharp and strict.

Synopsis

After a war among the 9 regions, Xin Chuan emerged triumphant. In a brokered peace alliance, the rest of the regions are required to pay tribute to Xin Chuan periodically by offering suitable young ladies to be chosen as wives and concubines to the Xin Chuan princes. The 6th Prince, Yin Zheng, is the most low profile and least favored among all the princes but the most intelligent and strategic.

Li Wei is one of the reluctant candidates sent to Xin Chuan from Ji Chuan to attend the selection process. She comes from a pretty ordinary family as her father is just a low ranking official in Ji Chuan. However, she has no interest to be a prince’s wife or concubine as she believes in monogamy and gender equality which is Ji Chuan’s custom which is different from Xin Chuan’s practice of favoring men over women.

Thus, Li Wei purposely does badly to fail the selection process. But Yin Zheng picks her instead as he doesn’t want to be seen as using his marriage to gain political alliances in his father’s eyes. Due to her bad showing, she could only be made a concubine rather than an official wife. Thus, Yin Zheng and Li Wei start off as working partners rather than a married couple. Yin Zheng has his own agenda while Li Wei is hoping to go home eventually.

However, both of them begin to fall in love with each other after some time together. Just when Li Wei decides to stay and become Yin Zheng’s official wife, he is decreed to marry a princess from Jin Chuan.

New Life Begins Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

New Life Begins has a happy ending. The Lord of Xin Chuan agrees to let Li Wei to be Yin Zheng’s legal wife and also appoints him as the Crown Prince. The couple take their vows in a temple in Li Wei’s hometown in Episode 38 and have their wedding ceremony in Episode 39.

As the Lord of Xin Chuan gradually takes a backseat in the state administration, Yin Zheng supports Li Wei to reform old practices to allow women more rights and freedom. In Episode 40, they change the wife selection convention to a talent selection to train female officials sent from the different regions. Li Wei and friends become nostalgic and see the younger version of themselves in these women as they too were once sent for selection.

Towards the end of the drama, everyone gets together for the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration. Li Wei is in the early stages of pregnancy. Yin Qi and Shang Guan Jing intend to travel to different places. Yin An is still wooing back Dong Hai Tang and his other women and getting bullied in the process. Hao Jia is running her own business. The last scene is of them sitting on the rooftop to admire the moon while chatting with the wish that every subsequent year will be better than the last.

When Did The Couple Get Together?

Yin Zheng begins to develop feelings for Li Wei in Episode 7. When the Danchuan ruler wants to marry him, he informs her that he has already fallen for Li Wei in Episode 8. However, Li Wei assumes that Yin Zheng is only saying so to avoid the marriage which frustrates him. He kisses her while drunk but couldn’t remember it the next day. Li Wei feels awkward after the kiss and unsure of her own feelings for Yin Zheng.

As Yin Zheng treats Li Wei very well and is protective of her, she gradually feels touched by his gestures. In Episode 10, Yin Zheng makes it clear to his mother that he intends to upgrade Li Wei from being his concubine to a legal wife. He also confesses to her at the end of the episode. Li Wei agrees to become Yin Zheng’s legal wife and stay with him in Episode 11 after thinking it over.

However, a royal decree forces Yin Zheng to marry Yuan Ying in Episode 12. As Yuan Ying doesn’t agree to the marriage herself and wants a divorce when the situation permits, Li Wei decides to remain as Yin Zheng’s concubine. But she doesn’t want to consummate their relationship until Yuan Ying is out of the picture which occurs in Episode 32. Li Wei first kisses Yin Zheng in Episode 34 and tells him that she only likes him after he becomes jealous of the new chef that she hired. They consummated their relationship in Episode 37.

Is There Any Love Triangle?

No, there is no love triangle involved although Yin Zheng is forced to marry Yuan Ying, a princess from Jin Chuan, in Episode 12. Yuan Ying has no interest in the marriage just like Yin Zheng. She doesn’t want to be a commodity in the relationship between the 2 states and has a higher ambition than being someone’s wife. So, her aim is to help Yin Zheng to gain power in the royal court as soon as possible so that he can then free her from the marriage. Yuan Ying even becomes Li Wei’s teacher to train her up so that she can undertake the responsibilities of a legal wife in the future.

When the time is ripe in Episode 31, Yuan Ying tells Yin Zheng that she wants to leave. While the Lord of Xin Chuan agrees to grant them a divorce, Yuan Ying’s father is against it initially. He only agrees after Li Wei and Yin Zheng convince him that Yuan Ying is destined for bigger things. Yuan Ying becomes the first female official of Jin Chuan in Episode 32.

Song Wu also likes Yin Zheng initially and keeps harassing Li Wei out of jealousy. But she realizes that what she feels about Yin Zheng is only admiration in Episode 18. In Episode 19, she meets a scholar whose name sounds like hers. He is a commoner. Song Wu then decides to forego her noble status in Episode 19 to marry him.

Shang Guan Jing And Yin Qi

Yin Qi didn’t get to marry Hao Jia whom he was attracted to initially as she was taken by Yin Song. Instead, he is made to marry Shang Guan Jing, a princess from Dan Chuan, who is fierce and rough. He gets on Shang Guan Jing’s nerves when he asks for her permission to take a concubine and later has to coax her back to maintain harmony between Xin Chuan and Dan Chuan. Hence, their relationship is full of bickering although Yin Qi tries to pamper her after the incident.

In Episode 13, Shang Guan Jing’s attitude begins to soften when Yin Qi is poisoned for eating the wrong food and still think of protecting her from the risk of being blamed. Although they still bicker now and then, Yin Qi again stands up for Shang Guan Jing in Episode 21 when she is being embarrassed by his younger brother. He tells her that he just wants her to be happy. Shang Guan Jing finds that she may come to love Yin Qi after all. She even starts to get jealous in Episode 27 when his first love, Hao Jia, is now a divorcee.

In Episode 28, she decides to stay with Yin Qi although she has the right to divorce him after he has been demoted to be a civilian due to Yin Song’s evil scheme. But Yin Qi feels that she is better off without him and drives her away in Episode 30 by claiming that he still likes Hao Jia. Then, news arrive that Shang Guan Jing is taking another husband in Dan Chuan. Yin Qi rushes there to pursue her back. Although Shang Guan Jing still wants a breakup in Episode 32, they still end up traveling the world together. They reconcile in Episode 34.

Yin Zheng’s Relationship With His Mother

Yin Zheng has a distant relationship with his mother, Madam He, all along. He was abandoned by his mother during his childhood and raised by nannies. After Hao Jia’s bout with depression in Episode 25, Li Wei understands why Madam He abandoned Yin Zheng. She also explains to him what could have happened to his mother. In Episode 26, Yin Zheng overhears Li Wei’s conversation with his mother regarding her postpartum depression after giving birth to him.

Madam He apologizes to his son about the past. Yin Zheng doesn’t blame her after better understanding of the illness. Mother and son reconcile after the heart-to-heart talk.

Yin An And His Women

Yin An only finds out that his women are fooling him in Episode 19. Initially, he thought he is the one who is sterile when none of his women are able to conceive. However, they were consuming birth control pills behind his back as they find him despicable. When things come to a head, the women choose to leave him. Together with Li Wei and the rest, they open a restaurant to advance women’s right to work and open a business in Episode 21.

Yin An finally finds out how annoying and wrong he is in Episode 22 when he is at the receiving end of the same treatment by his uncle. He starts to repent and wants to regain the trust of his wife and concubines.

Hao Jia And Yin Song

Hao Jia is pregnant with Yin Song’s child in Episode 22. But she isn’t happy as she has been badly treated by Yin Song and becomes depressed. She has plans to escape with Li Wei’s help but her mother talks her out of it for her own selfish reasons. Hao Jia then gives birth to a baby girl in Episode 24 to Yin Song’s anger as he is hoping for a son. She falls into postpartum depression and is grounded up by Yin Song in Episode 25. Subsequently, she attempts to commit suicide but is saved.

Through Yin An’s request, the Lady of Xin Chuan issues an edict to allow Hao Jia to leave Yin Song in Episode 26. Yin Song is also tricked to let Hao Jia to gain custody of their baby by giving him the idea that the baby’s birth chart is ominous. Hao Jia then starts a new life with the help of her friends. Eventually, she starts a cosmetics stall to be her own boss in Episode 30.

Yin Song is caught for counterfeiting notes in Episode 29. He has plotted to cause Yin Zheng trouble but it is Yin Qi who is demoted instead. Yin Zheng gets back at him but submitting evidence of his wrongdoing to their father. Thus, Yin Song is stripped of his position. Zhao Fang Ru asks for a divorce from him in Episode 30 after what he had done to her to prevent her from getting pregnant. Yin Song is exiled to the border in Episode 31. Zhao Fang Ru decides to return to Dai Chuan to manage her family’s mines in Episode 33.

Yin Jun And His Wife

After Yin Song’s departure, Yin Jun begins to slowly win over the court officials to his side. He is calculative and scheming to gain his father’s recognition to be the heir. However, Yin Jun’s scheme to kill off Yin Zheng during a humanitarian mission is found out by the Lord of Xin Chuan. Hence, he is disfavored but his wife, An Xi Yuan, is unwilling to give up. As both of them are offsprings of concubines, An Xi Yuan want legitimacy for the sake of her unborn child.

To achieve her aim, An Xi Yuan induces labor so that her son will share the same birth date as the Lord of Xin Chuan in Episode 37. Being the eldest grandson with the same birth date as his grandfather, the couple thinks that it will be to their advantage in the struggle for the throne. However, the Lord of Xin Chuan could see through their scheme. He warns Yin Jun to repent and suggests him to divorce An Xi Yuan who is influencing him in a negative way in Episode 38.

However, Yin Jun loves his wife and pleads with his father not to issue a divorce decree. The couple learned their lesson and decide to forego their ambition to settle for a safer life. Yin Jun also apologizes to Yin Zheng in Episode 39. Yin Zheng decides to offer Yin Jun a more important ministry to handle to give him a chance to gain achievement in return.

New Life Begins Review – A Lot More Besides Romance

I started New Life Begins expecting it to be a full-blown romance drama. But nope, this is more than romance. In fact, the sisterhood and women empowerment kind of overshadow the romance. Therefore, this is not a serious love story like Immortal Samsara and Love Like The Galaxy. You will have to tone down your expectations if this is what you are after.

However, that doesn’t mean that the drama is boring without more romance. It is actually funny in the beginning with each character having vastly different personalities since they come from different regions. The distinct family backgrounds and life experiences also influence their mindsets and decisions. With this potpourri of personalities, the whole drama generally has a light feel to it. You can also say it is utopian-like as the whole bunch of women are super good friends although some of them should have been rivals given that they have to share the same man in a patriarchal society.

In that sense, New Life Begins is purely fiction and has to be seen in that light. The modern concept of feminism in that historical time setting is also obviously a fairy tale. So, you can’t take the drama too seriously and expect it to follow the right historical context. It is just using the modern world’s practices like monogamy and women’s rights and applying them to an ancient time period which makes the whole story peculiar but relatable.

No Toxic Female Rivalry

The one thing that I find refreshing about New Life Begins is the sisterhood among all the female characters. It is very different from the usual palace dramas whereby the women are always scheming against each other for selfish reasons like in Royal Feast. Or they become enemies because their husbands are rivals for the throne.

In this drama, the women are supportive of each other. It doesn’t matter if one is a wife and the other are concubines living under one roof. They are all like sisters. When almost all the wives and concubines of the different princes form a clique, that is when women empowerment becomes possible. So, the drama switches to the friendship as well as gender equality fight midway through after the initial focus on the romance.

If you have had enough of toxic females in a harem or among princesses, then New Life Begins will feel more wholesome. Having said that, there is also the question of whether the feminism thingy has gone overboard with a fierce supporting character.

Feminism To The Extreme?

In the drama, the supporting character, Shang Guan Jing, is a princess from a matrilocal region where women rules. It is the total opposite from the practices of her husband’s homeland of male domination. But Yin Qi, the husband, is weak and talentless although happy and funny. Some viewers enjoy this romance between a domineering woman and an amusing man. It is like watching a slow burn romance of seeing how she is tamed by his sincerity.

However, there is a lot of bickering in the relationship and he is also taking a lot of abuse from her. You can see that she is always hitting him or rolling her eyes towards his foolishness. If you watch it from a serious point of view, this is domestic violence with the man being the victim. I don’t think everyone will be comfortable with this couple’s relationship.

But if you see it purely from an entertainment angle, then their antics will become funny instead. The fights and beatings are their modes of communication. She means no harm as that is part of her rough personality while he lets her do it out of love. Personally, I don’t enjoy their romance as it got draggy. The bullying is amusing up to a point before it gets repetitive and the push and pull becomes too lengthy to my taste.

No Prolonged Palace Politics

Although the palace affairs also take up a good part of the drama, it is nothing too complicated or in-depth. The villain is not going to hound the hero until the very last episode in the contest for the throne. In fact, the villains are not all bad as their life experiences make them take on the wrong path. So, this is not another palace drama with elaborate plots like Stand By Me or Sword Snow Stride.

The rivalry between the protagonist and designated heir takes place amidst other issues revolving the women in their social circle. You don’t get continuous plotting against one another as the drama also focuses on sisterhood, romance, and gender equality. The attention is spread out among the different characters as well and not just the 2 rivals.

Acting And Chemistry

This is the first time I’m watching Bai Jing Ting in a historical drama. The last 2 dramas that I have caught him in are Reset and You Are My Hero whereby his roles are very different from the one in New Life Begins. To me, he did well to give the character a very unique personality. He is not all masculine and fearless and yet, he is neither weak nor timid. He is regal and princely but he also has funny expressions when interacting with his beloved. Bai Jing Ting makes Yin Zheng a multifaceted character that naturally displays different sides of himself in front of different people.

Tian Xi Wei is ideal for the role of Li Wei with her innocent sweet look. She gives Li Wei a warm and friendly disposition which I suppose makes it convincing that she could easily make friends in the story. Put the 2 leads together and you get a good-looking couple for a romance drama. The chemistry is good but not on fire to me. At times, they seem like close friends rather than lovers but it does get better as the drama progresses.

The best kisses are held back until the last few episodes. Prior to that, the relationship is pretty innocent. You can blame it on the plot which sways away from the romance at certain stages of the drama. Maybe that is why there is a lack of yearning in the relationship unlike One And Only and by extension, the chemistry becomes muted in line with the plot.

My Verdict – A Positive Watch

Generally, New Life Begins has a positive and wholesome feel to it. It is light enough for some amusement and yet, sufficiently serious to evoke warmth and sweetness. It is more than just romance with politics, family, friendship, and women rights thrown in. The whole story also gives spotlight to the supporting characters and not just the leads. So, what you will get is a mix of stories from the different characters that are weaved together to form a coherent plot. Some will like it but others don’t as it may seem like the drama is running all over the place.

For me, I do think that 40 episodes is a bit too long. Some characters are brought in and then disappear after a few episodes such as the eldest prince. The necessity of the second villain is debatable with the simplified manner he is brought to book. There are also a lot of filler scenes towards the end although you can also interpret it as having a complete rather than a rushed ending that plagued even big budget productions such as Who Rules The World.

However, the good thing is the drama isn’t draggy until it becomes so boring that you start skipping scenes. This is where the multitude of characters help as the focus changes before it descends into monotony. The cinematography isn’t the best but the costumes and different palace settings will give you a feeling of a quality drama with their grandeur.

Thus, for this New Life Begins review, 8/10 would be my score for it. It is charmingly unique with its sisterhood theme. Women that you expect would turn adversarial towards each other do the opposite. This refreshing approach is why I give it a high score. So, catch it if you want none of the toxicity of female rivalry in a historical drama.

=> New Life Begins is available on Amazon Prime (affiliate link)