First of all, I am a big fan of K-dramas. I’ve been watching them since childhood, and the journey still continues but lately, K-dramas have not been K-drama-ing at all. Most of the recent ones just don’t interest me and lack that amazing storyline and plot that they used to have.
I’ve been disappointed by a lot of the kdramas recently. I was excited to watch Good Boy, Moon River, and Our Universe but they failed in my expectation. I started watching Our Universe for the baby, of course, but the story is just not good. And No Tail to Tell, I was really looking forward to it, but it turned out to be boring, and even the chemistry wasn’t great.
Honestly, I feel robbed.
Why did I decide to watch ‘Pursuit of Jade’?
And just when I was so done with K-dramas, this one specific C-drama – Pursuit of Jade kept popping up on my Instagram and YouTube feed. I have watched some other C-dramas as well, so I’m not a beginner. I’ve watched Hidden Love and Revenged Love, but those were kind of boring for me.
So I wasn’t sure if I wanted to watch Pursuit of Jade or not. But after some consideration, and since it was quite popular among drama lovers, I decided to give it a try, and I’m so glad I did. The way Pursuit of Jade had me in a chokehold… it was so addictive. I couldn’t wait to watch the next episode. Their chemistry was mind-blowing, the cinematography was beautiful, and all the characters felt perfectly cast. The visuals were really good, and overall, it felt very refreshing.
I also liked the action and performances, and especially how the story was more female-centric, with a strong and brave female lead. I am gald I didn’t have the same disappointment that I had while watching Alchemy of Souls, the disappointment of not having any action scenes from female lead when she is said to be one of the powerful character.
Confusing war plot
But as much as I enjoyed watching Pursuit of Jade, I was also really confused about why the war was happening and who the actual villain was. One reason is that the characters are called by different names depending on their position and status, and those names keep changing throughout the story, which makes it hard to keep track. Another reason is the way the story is executed; it becomes difficult to connect different events and plotlines at times.
So here, I’m going to explain the politics of the war based on what I understood from watching it, along with some research.
Since naming was a problem for me, below are the names I am using here for this explanation.
Who is Who??
Main Leads
First, we have our main lead of Pursuit of Jade, Xie Zheng. He is the Marquis of Wu’an, a very powerful and feared warrior. At the beginning of the drama, he is on the verge of death when he meets our female lead, Fan Changyu. She finds him lying in the snow, almost buried under it, and saves him.
Fan Changyu is a butcher living in Linan. Her parents have passed away, and she only has her younger sister, Fan Chang Ning. She is kind-hearted and couldn’t leave someone to die like that, which is how their story begins.
Later on, it is revealed that Fan Changyu is the daughter of Wei Qilin, who is infamous as a traitor responsible for the Jinzhou massacre, where nearly 100,000 people were killed, including Xie Zheng’s father, Xie Lin Shan. Wei Qilin lived under another person’s identity in Linan town, not telling his own daughter about his identity as well.
Wei Clan
Wei Yan is the Prime Minister of Yin and also Xie Zheng’s uncle. Wei Qilin once served under him as a general. In the story, Wei Yan even attempts to kill both Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu. The present war depicted is essentially a civil war against Lord Changxin, in which Xie Zheng leads the army; it is during this war that he is injured and later saved by Fan Changyu.
Wei Yan wants Xie Zheng dead because he is trying to uncover the truth behind the Jinzhou massacre and avenge his father.
He Jing Yuan and Wei Qilin were once close friends, and He Jing Yuan had promised to protect Wei Qilin’s daughters. So when Wei Yan tries to harm Fan Changyu and Fan Chang Ning, he sends his trusted student, Li Huai An, to protect them.
Li Clan
Grand Tutor Li, Li Huai An’s grandfather, is a political rival of Wei Yan. The Wei and Li families are constantly in conflict, with power struggles in the palace over influence on the emperor. Later, Grand Tutor Li supports Qi Min in changing the emperor.
Sui Clan
Lord Changxin is the one who is rebelling and wants to gain power, along with his two sons, Sui Yuan Huai and Sui Yuan Qing. Although Sui Yuan Huai is the eldest son and is supposed to be the heir to Lord Changxin, he is treated badly by him, but at the same time, he is loved by Sui Yuan Huai.
Later in the show, it is revealed that Sui Yuan Huai is actually Qi Min, who is the true heir to the throne and the son of the late Crown Prince Cheng De. Altogether, this family is trying to gain power and is the main cause of the current civil war. Qi Min uses Lord Changxin and his so-called brother, Sui Yuan Qing, for his own gameplay and wants to become the emperor, which he believes is his rightful position.
Yu Qian Qian is a businesswoman living in Linan and has a good bond with Fan Changyu. Her son, Yu Bao Er, and Fan Chang Ning are also good friends.
Qi Min is obsessed with Yu Qian Qian. In the drama, he is extremely possessive and controlling, to the point that he even tries to hurt his own son, Yu Bao Er, just to make Yu Qian Qian stay by his side and control her.
Qi Clan
His Majesty, Qi Sheng, is the puppet emperor who is being controlled by both the Wei and the Li families. Both clans try their best to influence him and make decisions in their favor.
Qi Shu is the royal princess and is related to Qi Sheng, although I’m not completely sure if they are siblings or cousins. She has feelings for Gongsun Yin, who is the headmaster of Liu Yuan Academy in Heijian, as well as a military counselor and Xie Zheng’s close friend. She also helps in uncovering the truth behind the Jinzhou massacre from 17 years ago.
The late emperor (name is not mentioned in the drama), who actually caused the massacre, is the father of Qi Sheng and Qi Shu. He felt threatened by Crown Prince Cheng De, who was more popular than him, and wanted to secure the throne for himself.
I think Crown Prince Cheng De is the brother of the late emperor, because Qi Min says to Qi Sheng in the drama that he has ruled for many years and now it’s his turn.
Current War
Xie Zheng fights against the enemy, takes back the city his father had lost, and kills all the citizens of the enemy country living there. It is shown as a revenge for exactly what the other side had done to them before. This is also the reason why his reputation becomes so bad and feared.
During this battle, he gets shot and is later saved by Fan Changyu. However, it was not actually the enemy who shot him; it was Wei Xuan, Wei Yan’s son. Wei Yan wanted to kill his own nephew, as Xie Zheng was trying to investigate the truth behind the Jinzhou massacre, but I think Wei Xuan got the opportunity to act on it.
Since Xie Zheng’s body was never discovered, he is presumed to have died while fighting in the war. This is also why his fake funeral happens.
At the same time, the Sui family is planning a rebellion. Qi Min, who is hidden within them, wants to use this rebellion to claim the throne for himself. The Li family also seems to support this, mainly because they want to get rid of Wei Yan and gain more power.
Wei Yan, by any means, does not want the truth of the Jinzhou massacre to come out. He even tries to eliminate the entire Wei/Fan family, as they are the last real witnesses. This is why assassins are sent after Fan Changyu.
General He Jing Yuan, who had sworn to protect the Wei/Fan family, plays an important role here. He provides the Letter of Evidence, which states that Wei Qilin and his wife took their own lives in front of him to protect their two daughters, and that their daughters have no knowledge about the Jinzhou massacre. That’s when Wei Yan retreats his army. The battle is still ongoing to gain imperial power on one side and protect the truth that happened 17 years ago, the Jinzhou massacre, on the other side.
What had happened 17 years ago?
Since the late emperor felt threatened that Crown Prince Cheng De might take his throne, he decided to conspire with Lord Changxin to eliminate him and frame Wei Yan.
Wei Yan had a lover and was supposed to marry her, but suddenly she had to enter the palace as a consort. I’m not completely sure why (if anyone knows, please comment!). The late emperor then accused her of having an affair and claimed that she was pregnant. He also drugged Wei Yan with an aphrodisiac, making it seem like he had slept with someone else. I think this was all part of the plan to frame Wei Yan and ruin his reputation.
At the same time, Wei Yan and Xie Zheng’s father were supposed to defend a city from an invading nation. General Xie and Crown Prince Cheng De were already there, while Wei Yan was on his way with reinforcements and food. But when Wei Yan hears about the danger involving the consort (his lover), he turns back. Before leaving, he hands over the tiger tally to Wei Qilin (Fan Changyu’s father) so that the troops and supplies can still reach the battlefield.
However, the Sui family claims that the tally is fake. Because of this, the city falls, General Xie dies, and the Crown Prince is also killed. All the blame is then pinned on Wei Qilin and he is declared as a traitor.
There were actually two major fire incidents.
The first one happens after the death of Crown Prince Cheng De. His wife realizes that she and her son will be targeted next. So, with the help of Lord Changxin’s wife, she switches her son Qi Min with Sui Yuan Huai. Qi Min’s face is burned, and he is secretly taken away and raised within Lord Changxin’s family. The real Sui Yuan Huai is already dead. Lord Changxin himself is unaware of this switch, but his wife knows. Growing up, Qi Min becomes sickly and develops resentment, especially since he is not raised as the true heir.
The second fire involves Wei Yan’s lover. She sacrifices herself in a fire to protect Wei Yan so that he would not be labeled a traitor. After this, Wei Yan realizes that everything was a setup to destroy him. He completely loses control, wipes out his enemies, kills the emperor, and installs a puppet child emperor, Qi Sheng.
Later, Wei Yan marries a woman who is already pregnant and claims Wei Xuan as his own son, even though he is not biologically his.
After making Qi Sheng the emperor, 17 years pass, and once again the game for power begins to unfold.
Conclusion
I had jotted down everything that could clear the confusion and misunderstandings. I hope this helps. I have skipped a lot of subplots since they are easy to understand, so I didn’t think of including them. There are actually a lot of side characters who are important to the story, but I wanted to focus on the main plot.
I genuinely loved watching Pursuit of Jade. Before this, I used to avoid C-dramas because they have so many episodes, and I always thought I would never be able to finish them. I also found the ones I had watched before to be boring and predictable.
But I’m really glad I watched Pursuit of Jade. Now I’m trying to find more C-dramas to watch, so if you have any good recommendations, feel free to comment. And if you still have any confusion or want to add anything more than what I have written, do comment.