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| Liu Yuning’s at it again, dodging spoilers like a pro — but fans aren't having it! |
Liu Yuning, the multi-talented singer-actor leading the highly anticipated period romance drama The Prisoner of Beauty (折腰), popped onto livestream to chat with fans on May 21. But what started off chill turned into a bit of chaos when someone dropped the ultimate landmine: “Will anyone die at the end of the drama?”
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Without missing a beat, Liu Yuning hit back with this gem of a metaphor:
“That question is just like asking me to rent the first volume of Detective Conan and immediately point out the culprit on the first page.”
Classic Liu. Smooth, vague, and very much not confirming anything. Basically, he’s keeping his lips zipped and the suspense alive. “Don’t spoil the fun,” he added, urging fans to enjoy the journey and let the plot twist as it pleases.
But of course, internet sleuths have been nose-deep in leaked scripts and so-called insider reveals. Liu addressed that too — not with shade, but with a bit of ‘please behave’ energy:
“If you secretly read it, fine. But don’t go around telling others.”
Then came a proper warning: “Don’t trust any of those ‘Scan this QR code to watch the full drama’ links. That’s dodgy.”
Now, all that would’ve been pretty standard idol PR — if fans didn’t still have beef from the last time Liu pulled the ol’ happy-ending switcheroo.
Flashback to A Journey to Love (一念关山). Liu went on air back then saying the drama had a “happy ending.” Except... plot twist: nearly the entire main cast got wiped out. One survivor. ONE. And fans? Yeah, they haven’t forgotten.
Weibo was flooded last night with cheeky comments like:
“Liu Yuning? Oh we don’t trust him anymore.”
“Remember A Journey to Love? Happy ending my foot!”
Even though most fans were joking, you can tell they’re still low-key traumatised. But hey, they get it — no actor’s gonna spill the finale. And Liu’s known for being tight-lipped when it comes to spoilers.
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So, What Happens in the Novel?
(Spoiler alert — skip this bit if you’re holding out for the drama-only version)
In the original novel version, The Prisoner of Beauty goes full imperial politics meets star-crossed romance. Wei Shao’s final enemy is Liu Yan — not just any old baddie, but Xiao Qiao’s ex-fiancé, out for revenge and heartbreak closure.
He teams up with Su E Huang, tries to block Wei Shao’s rise, but spoiler — it all crashes down. Liu Yan loses again, gets captured, and Wei Shao officially claims the throne.
Plot twist? Xiao Qiao is actually a time-traveller from the future (yep, sci-fi in your period romance), who took over the body of the real Xiao Qiao after she died. Wild.
Post-war, there are some bonus chapters:
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Wei Shao refuses concubines, stays mad loyal to Xiao Qiao even though they only have a daughter.
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Officials keep offering up noble ladies, he keeps turning them down.
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Xiao Qiao starts pushing reform ideas, like the imperial exam system to bring in smarter court officials.
Will the drama follow this exactly? Doubt it. The team’s probably got twists of their own cooked up — which Liu Yuning is clearly not spilling.