The King's Woman

I. Introduction

The King's Woman is a 2017 Chinese television series starring Dilraba Dilmurat and Vin Zhang. It is adapted from the novel The Legend of Qin - Li Ji Story. The series aired on Zhejiang TV every Monday to Wednesday, from 14 August to 4 October 2017.

The producing team of The King's Woman included Chen Minzheng, the fashion designer for Empresses in the Palace and the creative director for Nirvana in Fire and The Disguiser, Zhao Changyong. The series was filmed on set at the Hengdian Studios throughout the Lunar New Year of 2017.

II. Synopsis

Gongsun Li is the granddaughter and disciple of military commander Gongsun Yu. When she was young, she met and rescued Ying Zheng, who then fell in love with her at first sight. When the Qin troops were attacked, Gongsun Li's childhood lover, Jing Ke was poisoned while protecting her. In order to attain the antidote for Jing Ke, Gongsun Li agreed to marry Ying Zheng.

However, she found out that she was already pregnant with Jing Ke's child. Ying Zheng decides to hide the truth for Gongsun Li, treating the child, Tianming, as his own. Gongsun Li was deeply touched by Ying Zheng's actions. At the same time, Han Shen (Sun Li and Jing Ke's senior) entered the palace to save her and stayed on in the palace as an imperial guard. After much time, Gongsun Li comes to know a kinder and lesser known side of Ying Zheng and begins to fall for him. Facing the harem, the schemes of the concubines, and Ying Zheng's mercurial nature, Gongsun Li uses her wits, intelligence, and kindness to earn the love and respect of everyone.

Although, Jing Ke tries to free Gongsun Li and his child from the Qin Palace. He attempts to assassinate Ying Zheng, but the plan fails and he is killed. Gongsun Li witnesses the murder of her former lover, and willingly lets herself die by Ying Zheng's sword. Ying Zheng is greatly saddened and lost his human nature. He would later become the first Emperor of China, sparking the events of Legend of Qin.

III. Trailer

IV. Episodes

V. OSTs

VI. Reception

The drama garnered over 1.5 billion viewers in total on Youku. The series placed first in television ratings and became one of the most searched and discussed topic online during its broadcast with around 1.2 billion readers on Weibo and shares over 5 million. It has received the scores such as 7.5 on IMDB, 7.8 on Mydramalist, 8.8 on Rakuten Viki &, 4.7 on Douban.