Hui Dao Gu Dai Dang Zhui Xu (2023)

一婿二赘 (yī xù èr zhuì) - The Son-In-Law

A “zhui xu” (赘婿) is a man married into a woman’s family and their offspring would adopt the wife’s family name to continue her bloodline and would inherit her family’s status and fortunes. This is usually done when the woman’s family does not produce a legitimate son for an heir. Such practice is common in ancient and modern-day China, especially for wealthy families. The 一婿二赘 here means one man being married into 2 women’s families which is very unusual, and that makes this story very interesting.

Li You is married into a wealthy family as a “zhui xu”. However, he is looked down on by his wife and her family and they constantly bully, belittle and beat him. One day, he is beaten so badly that he loses consciousness. In his coma, he dreams he returns to ancient times and becomes a low-level constable. He brings his modern-day knowledge and impresses many with his resourcefulness, intelligence and most of all, his poetic ability. He always seems to compose poems on the spot that describe the situations at those particular moments. He gains fame and many become his allies including his superiors.

Two men, a merchant and a military official, are looking for “zhui xu” (sons-in-law) for their daughters, one a business woman while the other a martial artist. Both fathers choose Li You for their daughters because of his amazing talents. As it turns out, Li You is forced into two marital contracts that none would agree to rescind. Li You’s boss, the magistrate, rules informally that Li You oblige both marriages by alternating his nights between two wives. Li You accepts the arrangement with one caveat: if he excels beyond his fathers-in-law in terms of wealth and status in three years, his marital status would be reversed, and he is no more a “zhui xu”, thereon, his wives would follow him into his “Li” household.

As the days go by, Li You helps solve many administrative issues and with his martial art wife, he cracks criminal cases for the magistrate and gets his promotions one after another. At the same time, his business acumen helps his business-minded wife in expanding their business and profits. Both women fall in love with him because he is kind and gentle to them. And for Li You, he also falls in love with both women with no preference for one over the other.

This drama hasn’t caught much attention in MDL, probably because of unavailability of good English subtitles at the time of this writing. But the lack of attention is also most likely due to the choice of the male lead actor, Guan Yunpeng who may not have a wide fan base. “Zai Xia Li You” is the first drama for Guan Yunpeng playing a main role. Though not as good looking as the other more popular and prominent actors, I find the choice very appropriate. Guan Yunpeng looks like a wimpy kid who is exactly the character of Li You. His timidness and helplessness with fast-to-please demeanor, and at times his courage and determination, are all well performed and believable.

The whole cast is well selected though most of the actors have low public profiles. Each actor carries out his/her respective role very convincingly. Having said that, I find at the beginning scenes in modern times, the characters are overexaggerated and overacted (I almost dropped this drama because of the overacting). Fortunately, such cringey acting only lasts for a few minutes and has not affected the overall performance that comes later.

My Verdict

This is an interesting story of a wimpy character that turns into a hero as he grows. However, the script has multiple plot holes. One of the characters, Li Huan, a singer, seems to have a background that crosses paths with the antagonists, but her plot arch has never been explored and developed for closure. The motives of the antagonists are also not compelling and the ultimate villain behind all the heinous schemes is yet to be revealed and brought to justice. The ending of the dream is satisfactory. However, Li You is still in a dream when the story ends in present time; he remains at status quo in reality (still a lowly "zhui xu").

For romance buffs who believe in a one-to-one relationship for a man and a woman, this story may not go down well with them as Li You loves and cares for both wives equally and receives the same admiration and love from the two wives who are amiable to each other.

For a drama which does not boast popular actors with elaborate spending, I’m surprised by its beautiful soundtracks which the production did not skim on. The detailed explanation and analysis of the poems used in each episode are impressively elaborated at the end of the episode. It is very enlightening to understand the contemporaneous culture, life and feelings of the respective poets through their poems.

Overall, this is an unexpected drama that I have enjoyed. It provides a decent watch in between shows and deserves some attention. Poetic with an interesting storyline. Don’t miss it!

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