The Starry Love[1] is a 2023 Chinese guzhuang drama based on the novel of the same name by online author "Once Upon a Time Junhua", the third installment of the "Honey Trilogy" produced by Perfect World Pictures. Directed by Zhu Rui Bin and starring Chen Xingxu, Li Lan Di,[2] Chen Muchi and He Xuanlin. It premiered on February 16, 2023, on Jiangsu TV and Zhejiang TV, synchronized on Youku and premiered on LINE TV in Taiwan.[3]
| Channels | Location | Broadcast Date | time | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jiangsu TV | China | 16 February 2023 | 19:30 | 2 episodes per day from Sunday to Thursday, 1 episode per day on Friday and Saturday |
| Zhejiang TV | ||||
| Youku | VIP membership syncs with TVB | |||
| Jiangsu Video Channel | China | 8 March 2023 | ||
| MONOMAX | Thailand | 23 March 2023 | ||
| astro double star | Malaysia | 1 April 2023 | 18:00 | Monday to Sunday |
A twin flower was born from the Purple Qi of the Earth Vein of Dongqiu; however, the four former rulers of the Mortal, Beast, Heavenly, and Void realms decided to destroy it believing it would be best for the four realms. In order to survive, the flower spirit drifted into the belly of the mortal Empress, giving birth to two princesses, Qingkui and Yetan, one with the power of purity (Qingkui) and the other (Yetan) with the power of impurity. The older sister, Qingkui, was born with a holy light from the sky, loved by all the people and the father's treasure, admired by the human race, and was granted to be married into the Heavenly Realm as a heavenly consort. The younger sister, Yetan, was born with a bad omen from the sky, the queen died from childbirth in a strange way, which was considered unlucky, so she was chosen to be married into the Void Realm as the crown princess. When the two worlds welcomed the marriage, the twin sisters' sedans were accidentally switched. The younger sister, Yetan, married into the Heavenly Realm and became a happy couple with the Empyrean Shaodian Youqin, while Qingkui, the older sister, married into the Void Realm and became a lovely couple with the Third Prince Chaofeng. The two lovers are faced with a huge test between their love and their concern for life. With their courage, the two sisters battle against enemies, bring peace and keep the four realms safe for all time.
Main Cast
| Actor | Roles | Introduction |
| Chen Xingxu[4] | Shaodian Youqin | Empyrean XuanshangHe is the eldest son of the Emperor and Empress of Heaven, the brother of Qingheng and Ziwu, the husband of Yetan, the brother-in-law of Qingkui. When he was young, his father wanted him to protect the Seal of Guixu despite his mother's objection. He decided to do so because his brother was too young, as a result, he went through training and gave up on his emotions. He came back a few years later. At first, he was disturbed by the arrival of Yetan (the fake Qingkui), however, the two grew close to each other. When Youqin died in attempting to fix the Seal of Guixu, Yetan went into the Mortal Realm to find his three shards of consciousness to revive him, thus, he was able to come back to life. When he learns that Yetan was married into the Heavenly Realm by mistake, he doesn't care at all because he loves her. When Yetan's identity of being a descendant of the Purple Qi of Dongqiu was known, the rulers of the other realms began hunting for her and the Heavenly Emperor ordered for her to be executed. Youqin refused this order and as a result, was given a spell to make him lose memory of the past events including her, however, he remembered everything including Yetan. In order to bring peace to the four realms, Yetan sacrificed herself, as a result, Youqin became heartbroken. To make up for his mistakes, the Heavenly Emperor gave Youqin a method in reviving the Purple Qi of Dongqiu, Youqin used his heart blood to nourish Princess Qingkui's purity qi, while Chaofeng nourished Princess Yetan's impurity qi with his heart blood. Then they waited for the twin flowers of the Purple Chi of the Earth Vein to be reborn. |
| Lamu | Fire Demon (First Piece of Divine Consciousness)He descended into the village called Yue Wo in the Mortal Realm. He has red hair and a bad temper caused by a constant misunderstanding. He is called the Fire Demon by the villagers, but is actually a kind-hearted and quiet protector of the villagers. Yetan gives him the name "Lamu." He eventually leaves the village with Yetan and falls for her. | |
| Mei Youqin | Master of the Assassin's Hall of Fragrance (Second Piece of Divine Consciousness)An assassin born in the Beast World, he is in fact a bluff who uses unclaimed cases to write his own glorious history and recruit his men. When he meets Yetan, he was very cold towards her, but later on he nicknames her "Qian'er", and marries her. When Yetan was injured by frost poison, a magical spell from the Void, he gives up thousands of dollars to save her. | |
| Wenren | Owner of the Colorful Pavilion (Third Piece of Divine Consciousness)Yetan first met Wenren on Mount Linglong, he gave her the name "Yuexia." He has many affairs with women in the mortal realm. In the process, he abandons this and falls in love with Yetan. | |
| Li Landi | Liguang Yetan | The Second Princess of MortalsOne of the two flowers of the Purple Qi of Dongqiu, married to Youqin as the Consort of Heaven. Sister-in-law of Qingheng and Ziwu, sister-in-law of Chaofeng. The youngest princess of mortals, sister of Qingkui, originally the crown princess of the Void, later the wife of Youqin. Yetan entered the Heavenly Realm by mistake. She witnessed Chaofeng attempting to assassinatehis older brother. So she was swapped with her sister in order to keep this secret hidden. When she was born, the Queen, her mother died in childbirth, and was thus seen as a jinx. After entering the Heavenly Realm, she got into a lot of trouble because of her unrestrained personality, but later on, when Youqin died from resealing Guixu, she travelled to the Mortal and Beast Realms to find his three soul shards of consciousness to revive him. She later learns from Suzhi that she and her sister are the twin flowers of the Purple Qi of Dongqiu, and after the fall of her sister, she went to avenge her death. Suzhi informed her that her blood could nourish the remnants of Qingkui's flower spirit. With the help of Suzhi, Yetan finally regained the power of the flower spirit and joined forces with Chaofeng to kill the king and queen of the Void, and also annulled the Heavenly Emperor's lifelong cultivation. She wanted to go back to the world with Shaodian Youqin, but the vengeful Suzhi tricked her and took her to the ruins of Dongqiu. Suzhi claimed that she wanted the Four Realms to bury Dongqiu with her as she couldn't give up her desire for revenge. Youqin finds the badly injured Yetan and wants to save her, however, she realises that only the Purple Qi of Dongqiu can save the Four Realms. In order to save the Four Realms for all eternity, she sacrifices herself, however, she and her sister were reborn. |
| Chen Mushi | Chaofeng | Third Prince of the VoidHe is the son of Yanfang and Xue Qingxin, the half-brother of Wudai and Dingyun, the husband of Qingkui, the brother-in-law of Youqin, and the brother-in-law of Yetan.On the surface, he appears to be a lustful and useless man, but in reality, he secretly wants to complete the great task of becoming the King of the Void. In the ceremony to welcome the twin princesses, he swapped Qingkui with Yetan because she was a witness to him in attempting assassinating his older brother Wudai. At first, he pretended to protect Qingkui in order to use her, but was gradually convinced by Qingkui's kindness and fell in love with her. When QingKui's identity as a descendant of the Purple Qi of Dongqiu was known, the Void King and the other rulers of the realms wanted to execute her, but Chaofeng refused his order. As a result, the Void King imprisoned him in the Cave of Haunted Souls for enternity. When he was imprisoned there, the Void Queen tortured him, but Yetan helped him break free. When Qingkui killed herself, he was a heartbroken. In order to revive Qingkui, he settled in Dongqiu with Shaodian Youqin. He used his own heart blood to nourish the impurity qi of Princess Yetan, while Shaodian Youqin nourished the purity qi of Princess Qingkui with his own heart blood to help and wait for the rebirth of the twin flowers of the Purple Qi of Dongqiu to be reborn. |
| He Xuanlin | Liguang Qingkui | The First Princess of Mortal One of the two Purple Flowers of Purple Qi of Dongqiu, married to Chaofeng as his wife. Sister-in-law of Youqin. The eldest princess of the Emperor and Empress of the Mortal Realm, older sister of Yetan, originally betrothed as the Heavenly Crown Princess of the Heavenly Realm, later the wife of Chaofeng. The Eldest princess of Humans. She was born with a holy light from the sky and was loved by all the people. She is gentle and strong, kind to others and concerned about her country and people. Knowing that her sister, Yetan, was the opposite of her own and bullied by others, she loved and protected her. Later, she entered the Void Realm by mistake and was despised by the people of the Void because of her status as a human being. Despite this, she treated everyone in the Void with kindness, and even set up a hospital for the injured. Later on, from Suzhi she learns that she and her sister are the twin flowers of the Purple Chi of the Earth Vein of Dongqiu. Despite being assured they were to be let off, the Heavenly Emperor and King of the Void seized them and pushed them all in a corner, while trapping Youqin and Chaofeng. In order to save her sister from being killed, she killed herself, however, she and her sister were reborn. |
| Actor | Roles | Introduction |
| ZhouTie | Shaodian Xiaoyi | Emperor of HeavenThe father of Youqin, Qingheng and Ziwu. He was a strict guardian of towards his three children, he even disapproved of the relationship between Youqin and Yetan. When he was alerted about Qingkui and Yetan's true identity as the Purple Chi of the Earth Vein of Dongqiu, he sent orders to execute them, he at first refused to let go of the twin flowers even after repeatedly being persuaded to do so by the people, but did so after much persuasion, however, this was just a trap for Qingkui and Yetan which eventually led to Qingkui cutting her own throat to save Yetan. In order to help Suzhi revive the flower spirits of Dongqiu, Yetan went to the Heavenly Realm to ask the Heavenly Emperor to hand over the Spiritual Lamp. The Heavenly Emperor handed it over, not realising that all the flower spirits had been destroyed by the previous Emperor with the Supreme Divine Fire ten thousand years ago. The Heavenly Emperor decided that Yetan was a demoness and wanted to kill her, but Yetan finally defeated the Heavenly Emperor and abolished his cultivation. When he finally learns that she had sacrificed himself to save the Four Realms, he thinks back on what he had done and is ashamed of himself. He passes the throne of the Heavenly Emperor to Qingheng and proposes to rebuild Dongqiu, which may be able to call the Purple Chi of the Earth Vein to be reborn. |
| Kong Songjin | Xia Nihong | Queen of Heaven, Mother GoddessDescendant of the Xia tribe; mother of Youqin, Qingheng and Ziwu. Gentle and virtuous, she cannot bear to part with Youqin, who has a heavenly destiny. She has repeatedly helped Yetan many times In the end, she took the entire Xia clan with her and left the Heavenly Realm as well as abolishing her marriage relationship with the Heavenly Emperor. |
| Zhouzhan | Shaodian Qingheng | Second prince of the Heavenly Realm, later Emperor of HeavenHe was the younger brother of Youqin and the older brother of Ziwu, and was the commander-in-chief of the Southern Heavenly Gate when the Void attacked the Heavenly Realm. He eventually succeeded to the throne and became Emperor of Heaven. |
| Dai Yaqi | Shaodian Ziwu | Young princess of the Heavenly Realm, later consort of the Young Lord of the Beast RealmSister of Youqin and Qingheng. She thought that the pupp on the road was a pet and named him Ah Chai, later she found out it was the Young Lord of Beast Realm, Di Lanjue in animal form. She eventually fell in love with him and married him, becoming pregnant with his child. |
| Bai Yufei | Husui/Suzhi | A native of DongqiuShe was rescued by Yetan. When Dongqiu was destroyed, she put a strand of her soul on a caraway plant. When one of the subordinates from the Void attacked her and the others, she eventually revealed the twin sisters identity as the Purple Chi of the Earth Vein of Dongqiu. She had a relationship/friendship with Qingheng, but, due to her desire for revenge, she left him, and tricked Yetan into following her to the ruins of Dongqiu and tried to murder her, but instead she sacrificed herself. |
| Li Bao'er | Lingpu Grandmaster | The Ten Thousand Year Supreme God He resides in the Xuanhuang Realm, in charge of alchemy, and specialises in collecting treasures for the production of magic weapons under the sky. Ten thousand years ago, he secretly rescued the flower spirits of Dongqiu in a lantern. |
| Lu Junyao | Immortal Xiao Yu | The Ten Thousand Year Supreme GodShe is in charge of praying for blessings and avoiding disasters. |
| Fu Hongsheng | Thunder Heavenly Father | The Ten Thousand Year Supreme GodHe is in charge of thunderbolts. |
| Cao Jie | Feichi | Transformed by a dragonfly, one of Youqin's attendant. He has always been very devoted to Youqin and Princess Yetan. |
| Li Junzhe | Hanmo | Servant of Youqin. |
| Zhang Chenglang | Er Lang Shen | He is in charge of the Southern Heavenly Gate and secretly helps Yetan to succeed in her search for divine knowledge down in the world. He respects her very much. |
| Chen Siche | Xia Biqiong | From the Xia clan, cousin of Youqin. She loves Youqin and is therefore hostile to Yetan. |
| Wei Bingye | Xia Tuiyun | From the Xia clan, the older brother of Biqiong. The deputy deacon of the Upper School. He was injured by Youqin when he deliberately harmed Princess Yetan. |
| Cao Jun | Qinli Star King | The Upper Book Capsule Deacon. |
| Zhu Xiang | Guangtian Jiangjun | General of the Heavens，mistakenly referred to by Yetan as the Cremation Generals and the King's Bastard Generals, acts only on the orders of the Emperor. |
| Cheng Cheng | Xuanguang Shenjun | Teacher of Shaodian YouqinHe died a thousand years ago to repair the seal of the Returning Ruins. Shaodian Youqin was told of his mission as a Divine Monarch and told to be ready to lead the way at any time to repair the Returning Ruins. |
| Sa Dingding | Yuhe Xianren (Immortal Yuhe) | She is in charge of the cranes in the sky. |
| Gao Yuqing | Chashen Luyu | In charge of the tea tree in the heavenly realm. |
| Actor | Roles | Introduction |
| Tang Guozhong | Yanfang | The King of the Void A fierce and vicious King who wanted to destroy the heavenly realm at all times. He told his three sons whoever succeeded in killing Youqin would become the Crown Prince of the Void; as a result, the brothers fought against each other for years. In particular, he disregarded the third prince, Chaofeng, and favoured the eldest and second prince. He was eventually killed by Yetan. |
| Michelle Hu | Yingzhao | Queen of Shen Yuan and mother of DingyunThe former mother of the Snake Clan, a ruthless woman who always wanted her son to be crowned king. She was eventually killed by Xue Qingxin.。 |
| Wan Ran | Xue Qingxin | Snow Consort of the Void, mother of the Chaofeng Remnant of the Fuzhu Clan. Her clan once committed crimes, as a result, she is low in status and disregarded. A kind person who repeatedly advised her son to keep a low profile and not to cause trouble. She hopes that her son will get through the whole thing safely. She is very fond of her daughter-in-law, Princess Qingkui. |
| Jiang Xiaolin | Wudai | The Great Prince, later King of the VoidHe is a simple-minded man with superb martial arts skills who admires Qingkui for her skill in casting needles and confesses his love for her many times. Later, he became the King of Void and got together with Luoluo. |
| Dan Zengpumei | Dingyun | Second Prince of the VoidThe son of the Queen of Shen Yuan, he is a deep-rooted man with little ability. Later, when he tried to harm Yetan and the others, he was removed by Youqin, who was resurrected after his divine sense was merged into one. |
| Ji Tianyu | Jia Luoluo | Saintness of Snake Clan, later became the consort of Wudai. She was called an ugly girl because of the scars of snake scales left by the molting of the Snake Clan, but was later cured by the healing skills of Qingkui. She offered an antidote for the snake poison to help Chaofeng recover his cultivation. She was fond of Wudai and eventually became his consort. |
| Cao Bo | Gu Haichao | Followers of ChaofengScout Army General. Likes to sneer at Chaofeng, but is actually very loyal to his master. Loves Susui. |
| Wang Ruoxi | Sushui | Followers of ChaofengResponsible for the care of Liguang Qingkui. Likes Gu Haichao. |
| Li Long | Sicao | Deacon of the Soul Wraithing Cave, in charge of the Void prison. He has been a friend of Chaofeng for many years. |
| Gong Zhengye | Zhu Jiuyin | Followers of the DingyunHe was killed by Chaofeng at the hands of Qingkui when he discovered her identity. |
| Zhu Duanshan | The brother of Zhu Jiuyin, he joins Dingyun's men in order to avenge his brother's death on Chaofeng. After trying to kill Qingkui and Yetan, he kills Manman and is eventually killed by Yetan in revenge. | |
| Actor | Roles | Introduction | |
| Xia Jiawei | King of the Beasts | Lord of the Beast World The father of Di Lanjue, he is timid and afraid of the Queen. He loves to grow fruit trees and is afraid of offending the Gods and the Sinking Abyss, so he keeps a low profile. He hopes that his son will marry the young princess of the Gods, Ziwu, and has chosen her as his daughter-in-law. | |
| Yu YANG | Queen of the Beasts | Queen of the BeastsThe mother of Di Lanjue, who loved him very much. | |
| Qin Tianyu | Di Lanjue | Prince of the Beast RealmHe falls in love with and marries Ziwu. | |
| Wang Lina | Manman | A spirit bird of the Beast RealmShe is a pink bird, more beautiful than a phoenix, and is a close friend of Yetan, who secretly accompanied her into the heavenly realm. In order to save her sisters, she was killed by the Zhu Duanshan from the Void Realm. |
| Actor | Roles | Introduction |
| Xia Minghao | Emperor Tun | The Emperor Tun of HumnansFather of Qingkui and Yetan. He is a timid and fearful man who has always felt that the human race is the weakest. For 18 years, he treated Qingkui as a precious treasure and treated Yetan coldly every time, not even as a daughter. He put the young Yetan in danger many times, leaving Yetan to rely on herself. After learning that his two daughters were married by mistake, he learns that Yetan has the blessing and protection of Shaodian Youqin. He finally reveals that he loves both of his daughters, but because the world has always targeted Yetan, he does not dare to show his father's love to her directly. |
| Huang Xiaohui | Tun The Queen | Queen of the Human Li, mother of Qingkui and Yetan. She died in childbirth after giving birth to Princess Qingkui and then to Princess Yetan, posthumously named Empress Xiaowen Shun. |
| Chen Jingbo | Liguang Chiyao | The Grand Chancellor of Humans.Served for three dynasties. After the birth of Yetan, he wrote to Emperor Tun to have her executed. After Emperor Tun told Youqin why Yetan had been neglected in the past, Youqin replaced the Star of Fate with a Jinx Star, as a result, Chiyao was dismissed by his ministers. |
Filming began on 21 September 2021 with the announcement of the main cast of the series, which was promoted as the third chapter of Perfect World Pictures' "Honey Trilogy".[5] The first stills were revealed on 19 October of the same year, and the production was closed on 6 January 2022 and entered post-production.[6] Executive producer Liu Ning said that post-production special effects took about 10 months,[7] and the team behind the show also revealed that the show uses a variety of national colours to recreate the aesthetics of the "Four Realms" - the cool immortal blue of the Heavenly Realm, the rich purple and black of the Abyssal Realm, the passionate bamboo and red of the Beast Realm, and the national ink colours of the Returning Market.[4]
In June 2022, the first trailer for the show was revealed.[8] The first teaser trailer was revealed in June 2022, and the show received its distribution licence from the General Administration of Radio, Film and Television on 27 December.
On 10 February 2023, a media viewing was held in Beijing, with the main actors Chen Xingxu, Li Landi, Chen Muchi, He Xuanlin and Qin Tianyu, executive producer Liu Ning, artistic director Liu Ling and music director Sa Dingding attending the event. Liu Ning stated that the series insisted on using original voice performances and did not use voice actors.[9] 14 February, the series was announced to premiere on Jiangsu TV and Zhejiang TV on the same month, with the release of the scheduled poster and teaser. On 20 February, the lead actors Chen Xingxu and Li Landi held a promotional event at Sina Weibo headquarters,[10] and on 23 February, a press conference was held in Guangzhou with Liu Ning, Chen Xingxu, Li Landi, Chen Muchi, He Xuanlin, Qin Tianyu, Zhou Lijie, Dan Zengpumei, Dai Yaqi, Cao Bo and other creators.[11]