The Rebel Empress

Yu Jing and Gu Jiahui have been married for three years, but they've been too busy with their careers to think about starting a family. When Yu Jing's mother-in-law, accompanied by her niece, forcefully intrudes into their lives and pressures them to have children, their marriage is pushed to the brink of danger. Little do they know, behind this chaotic situation lies a sinister conspiracy. In the end, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law join forces to confront their cunning former father-in-law.

A pair of post-90s besties have chosen very different paths in life. Upon graduation, one stayed in Shanghai to focus on her career while the other returned to their hometown to get married. In recent years, they encounter unprecedented difficulties. For many years, Yuan Ge has been married to her job and hasn't bothered investing in relationships.

At first glance, high schoolers Xiang Hao Ting and Yu Xi Gu appear to be polar opposites: While Xiang Hao Ting is an outgoing, hot-headed extrovert and some-time bully, Yu Xi Gu prefers to keep a low profile and focus on his schoolwork. They seem bound for totally different futures – the bookish Yu Xi Gu looks destined for academic success, while life is just a long popularity contest for Xiang Hao Ting. But a quirk of fate – and a crucial intervention by a female schoolmate – results in the two young men’s paths crossing.

Directed by Peter Ho, the ten-part show with 60-minute episodes, explores relationship issues and marital challenges, and depicts painful dilemmas for the characters through a unique lens on their daily lives. The screenplay is by Ho and Chiang Yu-Chu.