Princess Agents is a 2017 Chinese television series based on the novel 11 Chu Te Gong Huang Fei (11处特工皇妃) written by Xiao Xiang Dong Er. It stars Zhao Liying, Lin Gengxin, Shawn Dou and Li Qin.
Title: Princess Agents (特工皇妃楚乔传)
Episodes: 58
Release date: June 5th, 2017 2 episodes every Monday to Thursday on Hunan TV
Where to watch: watch it on youtube with Eng Sub!
Episode 38
After Xiao Ce left, A Chu lies there half conscious. She notices more masked assassins sneaking up on her. With one twist of the weapon that Xiao Ce left for her, she kills off the assassins and falls unconscious. When she wakes up, Yuwen Yue is already sitting next to her. Because he wants her to owe him a favor, he picks her up and run away from the rest of the approaching assassins and kills them off. Yan Xun also arrives in time to rescue her. He flings her onto his horse and run back to the city.
Yuwen Yue finds Xiao Ce safely sitting on a log. Xiao Ce hands him a piece of paper with an address and tells him that he found it on one of the assassins. Knowing that Xiao Ce is just using him to get right of Da Liang spies, Yuwen Yue follows the address and finds Tao Ye, a trusted Da Liang spy. They hypnotizes her into revealing all the Da Liang headquarters in Chang An. Yuwen Yue sends his guards to break down most of the headquarters.
Without Da Liang spies to help Yan Xun escape, Xiao Ce approaches him to form an alliance. He gives Yan Xun a map of all the army camps on the city outskirt. Yan Xun accepts it but warns him to not do it again next time. Xiao Ce understands that he is referring to putting A Chu at risk. Yan Xun returns to caring for the unconscious A Chu thru the night.
From Tao Ye, Yuwen Yue finds out what Yan Xun is planning on doing and all the officials that is working with Yan Xun and Da Liang. He meets up with Yan Xun and names all the officials that Yan Xun is in touch with. Yan Xun’s plan is to create chaos and massacre thousands of people in the city in order to ensure his escape on the night of the wedding. Yuwen Yue tells him that he will stop his plan at all cost. Stoned face Yan Xun gets up and leave. Yuwen Yue asks if Xing Er knew about his plan. He walks away without answering.
Now that their plan is ruined because of Yuwen Yue’s meddling, Yan Xun enters the palace to see Chun Er under the excuse of planning for the wedding. The king arrives and asks Yan Xun which army friend does he want to accompany him back to Yan Bei. The king suggests Yuwen Yue but Yan Xun politely rejects his suggestion. The king, however, keeps on insisting Yuwen Yue as the prime candidate.
A Chu recovers from her injuring. Zhong Yu tells her that He Xiao from Xiuli army is in trouble. He is accused of stealing army’s weapons. There was record that he claimed the bows and arrows that Yuwen Yue issued to the troop but it was not found. He tells them that he never claimed it but the general ignores his statement and wants to use that issue to kill him. A Chu rushed to the scene during the chaos and tells the general that she’s the one that lost the order to claim the weapons. However, if the general wants to kill her, she suggests he speaks to the higher ups first. With no other choice, the general leaves to report to the higher up.
Episode 39
He Xiao and A Chu continue kneel while the chief commander goes to “report” the case to higher up. Because of her injury, A Chu couldn’t endure any longer and fainted. Yuwen Yue receives a anonymous note regarding A Chu’s situation and rushes back to camp. He sees A Chu and carries her back to his tent. While unconscious, she grabs onto his arm and he stays with her thru the night.
The king is updated on the case at Xiuli army. He suspects that Yuwen Yue is working with Yan Xun. Especially since Yan Xun didn’t want Yuwen Yue to leave the army to send him back to Yan Bei. A Chu returns to the manor and tells Yan Xun about Xiuli army’s situation. She recommends them as his support. He doesn’t want to use them because of their betrayal toward Yan Bei but Zhong Yu convinces him. A Chu sets up a meeting between He Xiao and his men to see Yan Xun. Yan Xun tells them that even thou they betrayed Yan Bei, he will accepts them back once they help him escape back to Yan Bei. He Xiao and them willingly help Yan Xun at all cost.
Back in the palace, consort Lan returns to the news that her son is missing. She freaks out and yells at the maid. The maid tells her that the prince went missing after Yuwen Huai’s men came to drop gifts off. She realizes right away that Yuwen Huai is behind the abduction. She sends people to summon Yuwen Huai. On his way into the palace, the king also summons him. The king gives him and Zhao secret assignments that must be completed at all cost. After Yuwen Huai leaves, he decides to let consort Lan wait on him instead.
A Chu goes to visit Xiao Ce with a list of people that he can use to accompany him back to Da Liang. But every name he calls out, she has something to say that make that person a bad choice. Finally, he picks prince Xiang as the prime contender. She praises prince Xiang as one of the best choices. Xiao Ce realizes that she just want to use him to lure prince Xiang away so that there’s one less obstacle in Yan Xun’s escape plan. Since Xiao Ce formed an alliance with Yan Xun, he agrees to the plan.
Prince Xiang receives news that Yuwen Yue was assigned as guarding under the order of the king. Before he can confront the king, he receives another news that he will be in charge of sending Xiao Ce back to Da Liang. He realizes that it was all Yan Xun’s scheme. He visits mister Wu for advice and Wei Shuye to tell him to protect Chun Er during the wedding night. On the other side, Yan Xun, A Chu and Zhong Yu are planning their escape route for the night of the wedding.
Episode 40
The day before the big wedding night, Xiao Ce heads back to Da Liang. A Chu sends him off. They both joke about welcoming each other to their hometown (Da Liang/Yan Bei) once everything is over. Yan Xun plans out the escape route again with Zhong Yu. He tells her to send A Chu off first. Yuwen Yue, who was sent to guard a court, asks Chun Er if she can request Chu Qiao to guard the court with him. She agrees. A Chu is asked to enter the court where she meets Yuwen Yue and Yuan Song. Yuan Song tells her that he will accompany Yan Xun to Yan Bei too. On the other side, consort Lan sneaks out to meet Yuwen Huai for her son. She reveals Chu Qiao’s identity as daughter of Luo He and heir of Feng Yun Ling to Yuwen Huai in exchange for her son. He ignored her in the end.
The day of the wedding, the army picks Yan Xun up and heads toward the palace. On the way to the court, Zhao Dong Ting and his men ambush Yan Xun’s crew. As expected, Yan Xun is already prepared to reverse the attack. Xiuli army ambushes Zhao Dong Ting in return. Yan Xun steps down from the carriage. With a sword, he slashes Zhao Dong Ting. Getting revenge for his family. He declares that he’s rebelling. Chun Er is worried about the delay. A guard is rushing to report to the king tha Yan Xun is rebelling and tells her on the way. She knocks him down and rushes to the inner court.
Everyone in the inner court is still oblivious to the chaos outside. Chun Er runs toward the king and begs him to cancel the wedding between her and Yan Xun. She cries and begs that she doesn’t want to marry Yan Xun anymore. The king ignores her request. The king orders Yuan Song to “escort” her out. As they drags her out, she continues to beg the king to cancel the wedding as an attempt to save Yan Xun. During the chaos, A Chu sneaks out and Yuwen Yue notices.
A Chu picks up her hidden weapons and tries to climb the wall. Yuwen Yue follows her and asks if she’s leaving now. A Chu tells him to leave her alone and the two fight. The guards hear noise and arrive to investigate. Yuwen Yue pushes A Chu to the corner and tells her to be quiet. After the guards left, he also let her go. Before she leaves, he tells her that Yan Xun is no longer the same as before and that she will regret her decision to help him. She confidently says she won’t and climb up the wall.
Outside the palace, A Chu sees the horrid of war. Children left alone and crying on the street next to their parents’ bodies. Stores being robbed and robbers killing the owner that is trying to stop them. Women being rapped. Yan Xun arrives on horse and ushers to leave. Chun Er also arrives at the scene. She begs Yan Xun to stop the rebel and just ask the king for forgiveness. He completely ignored her. Yuan Song also arrive with his men. Seeing Chun Er begging, seeing Yan Xun rebelling, and seeing A Chu following him, he feels betrayed and cuts off all tie with them. Chun Er continues to beg Yan Xun to stop the war, to return to being Yan Xun Gege but he just turn his horse away and left.
Episode 41
Yan Xun asks A Chu to leave the city first and wait for him outside. Xiuli army arrives to support him. He decides to destroy the school where all the royals and lords attend in Chang An during this chaos but Yuwen Yue was one step ahead and arrives to stop him. The friendship tie is cut and Yan Xun leaves as a favor to Yuwen Yue for the time he protected him. Yan Xun heads for the gate and order Xiuli army to delay the advancement of the troops.
Once Yan Xun leaves the city, he lies and says that the Xiuli army is sacrificing themselves for his escape and orders his men to close the city gate and barricade it and burn the bridge Xiuli army arrives at the gate but cannot open it. They are cornered by troops closing in in all direction. They realize that Yan Xun had abandoned them. The army spirit is low but He Xiao tells them that the debt toward Yan Bei is repaid and they must fight bravely as the pride of Xiuli army. But with so many arrows, the men in Xiuli army fall one by one. Outside the gate, A Chu tells Yan Xun to go one without her. She will go back to lead Xiuli army. She rides her horse across the burning bridge and back into the city.
When all hopes is lost, A Chu opens the gate, raises the flag, and declares that Yan Bei had not abandoned them. She will lead them home! Yuwen Huai steps forward from his protection and wants to kill her. The two pick up the sword and fight. Using a small opening in the status, A Chu forces her sword thru and slit Yuwen Huai’s neck. She grabs her sword and slashes him across the chest. Once Yuwen Huai fall, Xiuli army battle their way out of the city.
Xiuli army fight against the wei army under A Chu’s command. They won against Wei troops over and over again but A Chu decides to retreat. Without proper weapon, food, and medicine, Xiuli army won’t last long. Now that they are traitors to both Wei and Yan Bei, they feel like they don’t have a home. A Chu promises that Yan Bei had not abandoned them. He Xiao and the army declare to follow A Chu and swear loyalty to her.
Yan Xun decides to camp out to wait for A Chu to meet up with him. But they can only wait one more day before they need to head out again. Chun Er wanders the forest to look for Yan Xun. She feels that she now belongs to Yan Xun because of the wedding and wants to follow him. Yuan Song disguises himself as one of Yan Xun’s men and want to assassinate Yan Xun.
Chexmix: I love the part where A Chu picks up the flag and tells the men that she will bring them home!! So epic! This will be the second turning point in this drama. The first one with Yan Xun turning evil. At the same time, it turned Xing Er against Yuwen Yue. The second one with Chun Er turning dark, but this time it will bring A Chu and Yuwen Yue back together. Can’t wait for the future episodes!! XD Brave to Shawn for such a convincing Yan Xun. When Yan Xun no longer had to tone down his revenge plan, his character is practically oozing with hatred. (Lol. the dark eyeliner helped too I think. Heh)
Cnewsdevotee 
Lizzieyen, very well said.
it was an emotional 2 episodes but I cried the most each time I watch the scene when cq came back to save xuili army and the cave scene where she held princess chuner. Yes, looking forward to next week episodes.
LikeLike
Chun er, song er and wei shuye should all just disappear and live in their own little world and pls take concubine lan with them..they are all so lame and pathetic even from the start and now blaming their stupidness on cq..i mean really now, song er really thought yx has chun er when yx hates the sight of her, chun er having to be raped to open her eyes that she cant have yx, lan losing her child because of her arrogance towards ywh and somehow, they figured its all cq’s fault..mind-boggling..
LikeLike
Finally caught up and loving it! Glad that the show seems to be coming together to tie up the loose ends and flesh out the characterization:-
1. Very pleased that CQ is not declaring war on Wei Kingdom because she loves YX. As she told Yuan Song, YX gave her a lifeline 3 years ago when she thought that everyone (literally her perception that YWY breached her trust) abandoned her and she decided to stand together on Jieyou Platform and she would be loyal to him thereafter. She isn’t really any different from YX’s other female lieutenant in that she would be his people but not necessarily his woman. While YS was right in that she was not romantically interested in YX, she was much more emotionally invested and interlinked with YX way more than she could ever be with YS – in fact, I don’t think CQ ever pretended otherwise or manipulated YS’s feelings for her to achieve any plans but YS was too much of an entitled brat to accept things as it really is.
2. I do think that while CQ is not madly in love with YWY, she has strong romantic feelings for him which strengthened after their cave experience when he came to rescue her but that was abruptly halted when she thought he was using her. However, CQ is a person who thinks in black and white (while YWY is a person who has thinks in shades of grey) and once she decided to be loyal to YX, it is hard for her to give up that conviction and deviate from that path. After she and YWY met again, the latent feelings were definitely there but she could and would not reverse from the path she was on with Yan Xun to escape Chang An and return to Yan (where she too supposedly has roots). In all her interactions with him, I actually felt that she was trying to get YWY off the fence and be unequivocally on their side against the Wei King and once it was clear he wouldn’t (despite his obvious concern for her and YX wellbeing) , she tried to cut off ties with him and draw the line in the sand. The reality was that, she could never hurt him and him, her and they both knew it so it was really playing with fire and betting whether one would get burn. A clean break would have been the best if it was fated that they would be in opposing camps – unlike YS whom she cares for as a friend, YWY was definitely a man she cares a lot more for any unnecessary entanglement was just going to be more painful. I thought the show did well in showing the subtle hints – her subconsciously hanging on to him while she was asleep (she is never like that with anyone else), her looking back worriedly when he was fighting off the Laing Princess’ assassins after she was rescued by YX and her holding on to that blasted sword!
3. I like that YWY while clearly has strong romantic feelings for CQ, let her go on the wedding day. He could have kept her if he really wanted to but ultimately he knew that with her character, she would not give up her plans for him. She didn’t follow YX for love and she wouldn’t also stay with YWY for love. Rightly or wrongly, she felt that she was doing the right thing (doing nothing would mean that the Wei king would kill them all) and she couldn’t betray YX by abandoning him at the last minute if she chose to stay with YWY. It is only because YWY lives and thinks in shades of grey, that he can be so self assured to let her go and have faith in her that she is capable enough to survive. Unlike a truly love sick puppy who would have gone after her to protect her, he didn’t – he gathered whatever army that was available and protected the palace and all king from onslaught. Similarly, YWY did not immediately think for YX and CQ an escape route out of Chang An – he would assist them if they wanted him to but he would not do so via noble idiocy ( like when he protected them 3 years ago silently by standing watch outside the jail) because he recognizes that they are the aggressor in this instance and many innocent lives would be lost – he can scuttle YX’s plans of flooding the city (in which more lives would have been lost) , handicapping the Laing spies who would have assisted them but he didn’t expect that the Xiuli army would have aided YX. He also didn’t want to condemn them to certain death and hence not informing the Wei King that he knew of YX’s plans but would do his best to minimize casualties come what may. Notice that even his grandfather acknowledges that what happened was due anyway to the paranoid Wei King.
3. And ah, the realities of war. How do you declare war against a kingdom/country without declaring war on its citizens? It is simply not possible and CQ is learning it first hand – you can minimize casualties / put in safeguards etc but collateral damage is inevitable. YX’s fury is understandable – his family slain, thousands of innocent Yan civilians slaughtered – but is an eye for an eye really the only solution? Does Wei kingdom need to offer 1,000 lives to compensate for the 1,000 Yan lives lost? Him wanting to protect himself and escape Chang An is only right (and that was CQ’s thought too – strike first or be hunted) but his method of scorched earth (she was not aware of the scuttled flood-the-town idea, or let prisoners escape to wreck havoc in the town or exterminate innocent young children in Chang An school for nobles to end the family line and Wei’s power succession) was not. One cannot proclaim to be the victim seeking justice while enveloping innocents in bloodbath – the end does not justify the means. What CQ told the Wei soldiers who violated CE encapsulates what she has always believed but only now realizing that no matter how hard you plan or try, innocents will suffer if outright war commences.
5. The only 2 parts where I nearly teared up (unlike NiF where I lost track of all the unwitting tearing up scenes!) was (a) when He Xiao realizing that the Xiuli Army was abandoned – they too have lost their families and lived wretchedly in enemy’s territory for 3 years – why does YX think his pain is more than theirs and they should all pay? They are soldiers who take orders and not the ones who start the war. Leaving them as final defense I can understand but locking the doors was really a step too far. If not for their 500-strong men there was no way he could have left Chang An (b) when Yuan Song finally faced up to what he probably always knew but didn’t want to face – the loss of innocence is always painful but in such a brutal way is heart wrenching anyway one looks at it.
7. Chun-Er you poor child. Hers is definitely an extreme case but this is really a reminder to all parents to not over coddle one’s child, insulats them from all that is bad and bestow upon them such a generous sense of entitlement that results in a complete lack of awareness and the mistaken belief that everything will love me and it will all turn out fine just because I am the Princess/most beloved child/ rich/kind/sweet/loving/etc. I do like that unlike Yuan Song, Chun Er is actually more like her father once her self protection kicks in – it is truly unfortunate that it took such a dreadful event to jolt her but I am interested to follow her trajectory.
Anticipating next week’s episodes – where I think that CQ is a refreshing heroine is not that she fights well (I read some comments in other Forum that it’s frustrating that she needs to be saved so often but she is only human and not a super fighting machine) or has a noble cause (it maybe in the book but in the drama there has yet to be any indication that she wants to abolish slavery just that she feels that life is unfair) but that she is her own person and not ultimately compromised by romantic love. Even Wonder Woman needed to be reminded by her romantic love to regain her spirit/courage and fight for the greater good! CQ meanwhile gets her strength from her beliefs and her convictions and it is her journey to learn and discover the subtle nuances navigating that to find the right balance.
LikeLike
Great comments!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have so much to say but I will keep it short 😛
First, finally! I think YX’s arc dragged on for too long and it was getting really draggy last week. Then XC came in and the plot picked up again. This week the plot is finally moving forward and we can see how some of the characters have changed and are changing.
As for CQ, I think I finally understand her. She is doing some growing up in these episodes. When YWY tells her that she will regret it, but she doesn’t believe him. Only to see the consequences of her war and how many innocent lives are lost. I think when she saw that, she regret it a little. Then YX abandoning the army, she just couldn’t stand by and let that happen. CQ has her own inner moral code. Foremost is her survival and the survival of those that she feels that she needs to protect such as her sisters and YX. I don’t think CQ ever saw YX romantically but more like a brother that needed her protection. After that, I believe she is guided by what she considers morally wrong. When YX is riding his horse towards her you can see that she can’t recognize him anymore. This is the start of her rupture with YX.
I believe she has some form of attachment to YWY since she understands that he has helped her many times. But I don’t think she has romantic feelings towards him. For the most part, she is confused by him. Why does he keep helping her? Why isnt he affected by her attitude towards him? etc.
In regards to YWY, it is obvious he puts CQ’s safety above all else that is why he didn’t reveal her plans to the Emperor and he let her escape. He wanted her to understand how her plan could hurt a lot of people, but she wasn’t ready. I think after this war she learned a thing or two.
LikeLike
XC is so damn smart..same with zhou yu..i cant believe ywy expects yx to escape without a war
LikeLike
Have you already watched the whole series? Is it already aired completely in China?
LikeLike
It’s being uplaoded on Youtube around the same time it is airing on TV. There’s like 2 weeks left so it’s still being broadcast. All the episodes that aired you can find on their Youtube channel.
LikeLike
I don’t like Xing’er/A’chu that much, she keeps changing her mind (love?) between Yuwen Yue and Yan Xun…back and forth…it’s like she uses them…when one doesn’t behave the way she wants, she turns to the other one and vice versa…why doesn’t she stay (love) one guy only?
LikeLike
In her defense, A Chu never loved YWY nor YX. She’s a very independent woman that follows what she believes and allies with those that follow that same belief. She was never loyal to YWY. He killed her brother but she stayed by his side because she was too weak to survive on her own at that time. As For YX, she trusted him and believes in his character. He promises her freedom and peace in Yan Bei and ultimately, I think that’s what she wants. But when YX changed to someone who is as wicked as Zhao Xifeng and Yuwen Huai, A Chu of course would not follow his actions blindly. She’s, again, a very independent woman. Why would she stay loyal (or even love, in your word) someone who doesn’t share the same belief as she does? and why does she have to love one guy only? People change, and she, of course, changes too as you experience things in life. I think that’s the 3D part Chu Qiao’s character.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agree, she never did anything out of love. She also marches to the beat of her own drum and never blindly follows anyone. If she feels her trust has been betrayed by someone, she will definitely not stick around.
LikeLiked by 1 person