Lost Love in Times (醉玲珑; Zuì Líng Lóng; literally "Drunk Ling Long" or "Exquisite Drunkenness") is a 2017 Chinese series. It's based on the novel of the same name by Shi Si Ye, and stars Liu Shi Shi and William Chan.
Qing Chen, a sorceress who protects the royal family of Great Wei, falls in love with Yuan Ling, the fourth prince. Their wedding ends in disaster when Yuan Ling's brother Yuan Zhan stages a coup during the ceremony. Qing Chen sends herself back in time to stop the coup, and finds she's created a parallel world where no one knows her.
A spin-off/continuation, Lost Love in Times Side Story: Exquisite Drunken Dream, aired shortly after the main series ended.
The series can be watched on Viki
and YouTube with English subtitles.
Contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: The emperor is very cruel towards his children. In the first episode he frames Yuan Ling for theft, because Yuan Ling is too skilled and the emperor thinks he's a threat. Noble Consort Yin goes a step further and sends an assassin to kill her son.
- Accidental Kiss: Cai Qian falls on top of Yuan Che. Her lips briefly touch his before she realises what happened and jumps away.
- Action Girl: Duo Xia. Among her other feats, she challenges Yuan Ling to a duel and holds her own against him for a long time.
- Altar Diplomacy: Duo Xia comes to Great Wei to marry one of its princes because her father needs allies to fend off an enemy kingdom.
- Animal Motifs: Butterflies for all of the sorceresses, and silver or gold butterflies for Qing Chen in particular.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Yuan Li is one for all of his siblings, but especially for Yuan Che. He chases Yuan Che around the palace, and on one of his previous visits he took his obnoxiousness up to eleven and forced Yuan Che to undress.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Yuan Li is the youngest of the emperor's sons. He's a bit of an idiot when not being a Royal Brat, but his father and most of his older brothers spoil him and let him get away with his behaviour.
- Bait-and-Switch: Yuan Che and Cai Qian realise Yuan Zhan arranged for them to meet. For a minute it looks like they think Yuan Zhan is trying to set them up, before they decide Zhan wants them to go to the palace.
- Battle Amongst the Flames: Duo Xia and Mu Ke Sha have a sword fight in the middle of a burning room. It ends with Duo Xia fatally stabbing Mu Ke Sha, before she dies when the roof falls.
- Big Brother Instinct: Yuan Ji, towards Yuan Ming. Unfortunately it leads to Yuan Ji's suicide in a misguided attempt to protect Yuan Ming.
- Blood from the Mouth: Shows up several times, including when Yuan Ling is injured by Ding Shui's attack.
- Broken Pedestal: Yuan Che admires and looks up to his father. This changes when Yuan An turns against Yuan Ling, falsely accuses him of rebelling, and imprisons Yuan Che to lure Yuan Ling back to the palace.
- Cain and Abel: Yuan An killed his older brother to become emperor.
- Catapult Nightmare: The emperor flings himself upright after he dreams of Yuan Ling murdering him.
- Cool Mask: Duo Xia wears one while pretending to be a man.
- Dead Person Impersonation: Qing Chen speaks to Yuan Ming while pretending to be Xian Wu.
- Death by Childbirth: Luan Fei's mother died soon after giving birth to her. Shortly before the birth one of her other daughters was kidnapped. The shock sent her into labour early.
- Decoy Getaway: Xiao Ji thinks he killed Yuan Ling, only to discover he killed a decoy.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight:
- Mei Ya dies in Qing Chen's arms.
- Luan Fei dies in Yuan Hao's arms.
- Dramatic Irony: Yuan Ling says the emperor is his father... five minutes after the viewer learns the truth about Yuan Ling's paternity.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Qing Chen disguises herself in the uniform of one of Xiao Ji's soldiers. Unfortunately this makes Yuan Ling think she's a traitor.
- Eunuchs Are Evil: Sun Shi is a variant. He's loyal to the emperor, but he's only too happy to help the emperor plot against Yuan Ling.
- Evil Uncle: Yuan An is this for Yuan Ling.
- Exact Eavesdropping: Zheng Tong overhears Noble Consort Yin discussing how she assassinated Yuan Xi and her plans to kill Yuan Ling.
- The Exit Is That Way: Yuan Ling says he's going to take part in designing the hospital. He walks away, only for Yuan Che to tell him he's going in the wrong direction.
- Florence Nightingale Effect: Qing Chen and Yuan Ling first meet when Qing Chen treats Yuan Ling's injuries.
- Head Desk: Yuan Li hits his head against a table when Cai Qian loses the archery contest.
- I Am Who?: Yuan Ling isn't actually Yuan An's son. He's the son of the late Emperor Ren Zong.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice:
- Yuan An does this to himself, using Yuan Ling's sword. It's part of Yuan Zhan's plan to claim Yuan Ling is a usurper. As soon as Yuan An is dead, Yuan Zhan accuses Yuan Ling of killing his own father.
- Mei Ya dies this way, when a soldier throws his sword at her.
- Ding Shui ( actually a puppet controlled by the real Ding Shui) dies when Yuan Ling stabs her.
- Happens to Xiao Ji, courtesy of Yuan Ling.
- Yuan Ming falls off a building and lands on a piece of wood with enough force for it to stab right through his armour and his chest.
- Mu Ke Sha runs onto Duo Xia's sword during their battle.
- I Owe You My Life: Yuan Ling offers to help Qing Chen get into the palace safely because she saved his life.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In the second timeline Yuan Zhan is in love with Qing Chen. He supports her in everything even though he knows she'll never love him back.
- The Lost Lenore: Feng Xian Wu, Yuan Ming's dead wife, is this for him.
- Love Makes You Evil: Mu Ke Sha's love for Duo Xia leads to him becoming a traitor after she marries Yuan Ling.
- Love Ruins the Realm: Most of the officials in Great Wei think Yuan Ling's marriage to Qing Chen is a threat to the realm. Yuan Zhan uses this to gain support for his coup.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Qing Chen fights off Yuan Zhan's soldiers while unarmed and in her wedding dress.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Yuan Ling is actually the son of Yuan An's older brother. His mother, Consort Lian, lied about his paternity. (With some help from Tao Yao and Xi Xie, who magically delayed the baby's birth.) Yuan An only learns the truth when Yuan Ling is an adult. Yuan Ling himself doesn't find out for another two years. The resulting drama is... ugly.
- Mistaken for Gay: There are rumours about Yuan Ling and Yuan Che's relationship, and they're so widespread that someone is surprised to see Yuan Che with a woman. Doubles as
Squick, since Yuan Ling and Yuan Che are brothers. - The Mourning After: Yuan Ming never remarried after his wife Xian Wu died.
- Now You Tell Me: Qing Chen gets Yuan Ling to drink medicine that tastes disgusting. After he drinks it she tells him there was something to make it taste better.
- Offing the Offspring:
- Noble Consort Yin has her son Yuan Xi assassinated to frame Yuan Ling.
- Feng Yan was one of the people responsible for the death of his daughter Feng Xian Wu.
- Princeling Rivalry: Most of the emperor's sons are constantly fighting among themselves, and even outright trying to kill each other. The emperor himself killed his brother for the throne.
- Replacement Goldfish: Qing Chen looks like Xian Wu, Yuan Ming's dead wife, so Yuan Ming wants her to replace Xian Wu.
- Royal Brat:
- In the past Yuan Li's antics included forcing Yuan Che to undress. During the series he gradually grows up, but his behaviour still causes headaches for his brothers.
- Yin Cai Qian isn't technically a member of the royal family (Yuan Zhan's mother is her aunt), but her behaviour is almost as bratty as Yuan Li's. Among other things she demands Yuan Che brings her food, and when she falls and accidentally kisses him she accuses him of taking advantage of her.
- Royally Screwed Up: The royal family of Great Wei. The emperor is a paranoid schemer who killed his older brother and forced his brother's widow to marry him, Consort Lian murdered the empress, Yuan Zhan stages a coup, several of the princes team up to attack Yuan Ling, and Noble Consort Yin assassinates her own son and poisons her grandson.
- Sadistic Choice: Yuan An forces Yuan Ling to choose between marrying Duo Xia, or watching Qing Chen be killed. Yuan Ling chooses the marriage. What Yuan An didn't know was that Yuan Ling, Duo Xia and Qing Chen had already agreed Yuan Ling would marry Duo Xia.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Yuan An is convinced Yuan Ling plans to overthrow and kill him, so he falsely accuses Yuan Ling of planning a rebellion and tries to have him arrested. When Yuan Ling returns he really is plotting against Yuan An.
- Sibling Triangle: Yuan Ling and Yuan Zhan both fall in love with Qing Chen. Subverted, since they aren't really brothers, but at the time they think they are.
- Slashed Throat: Yuan Ji commits suicide by cutting his throat.
- Star-Crossed Lovers:
- Played with. Qing Chen and Yuan Ling's fates are joined in a dual star; Qing Chen is the Evening Star, and Yuan Ling is the Morning Star. It's decreed that they will meet and fall in love. But in the second timeline, Qing Chen does her best to defy fate and make them Star-Crossed Lovers so they won't face a repeat of the first timeline.
- Played straight with Tao Yao and Xi Xie. In the first timeline Xi Xie dies, and in the second one Tao Yao dies. They don't get to be together in either.
- Sweet Polly Oliver:
- Qing Chen disguises herself as a male soldier to escape notice.
- Duo Xia pretends to be a man when she challenges Yuan Ling to a duel.
- Ming Yan dresses as a man while pretending to be Mo Bu Ping's student.
- Throwing Your Sword Always Works: A soldier kills Mei Ya by throwing his sword at her.
- Wedding Smashers:
- Yuan Zhan's coup happens on the day of Qing Chen and Yuan Ling's wedding. His soldiers attack during the ceremony.
- In the second timeline they get married again. This time Ding Shui attacks during the wedding.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Yuan Che disappears from the story in the last few episodes. The sequel series reveals what happened to him afterwards.
- White Sheep: Yuan Ling, Yuan Hao and Yuan Che are among the very few good people in the royal family. Their father and brothers are either usurpers, schemers, Royal Brats, or all of the above.
- Would Hurt a Child: Noble Consort Yin poisons Yuan Ting, her own grandson, to frame Yuan Ling.
- You Killed My Father: Yuan Ling discovers Yuan An killed his real father. When he returns he confronts him about it.Yuan Ling: Then what should I call you? Your Majesty? Uncle? Or the murderer of my father?
