Bai Lu Consoles Fans Over “Story of Kunning Palace’s” Sudden Broadcast

Bai Lu (白鹿) and Dylan Wang Hedi‘s (王鶴棣) new romcom Only for Love <以愛為營> has remained iQiyi’s number one drama since debuting on November 3. While Only for Love dominated engine searches and pulled impressive viewership in its first week of release, iQiyi shockingly released Bai Lu’s historical drama Story of Kunning Palace <宁安如梦> yesterday without advance notice. Bai Lu’s fans are upset as both her dramas will now compete for viewership although they are in different genres. The actress is also in the awkward position of having to promote two concurrently airing dramas.

Adapted from a high profile romance novel, Story of Kunning Palace stars Bai Lu and Zhang Linghe (張凌赫) in an intense hate-to-love relationship. Even though he was her most feared threat, fate intertwines their lives again after her rebirth as she tries to redeem her sins from the past. Besides the gripping plot, Bai Lu and Zhang Linghe’s rumored real-life romance added steam to the buzz surrounding Story of Kunning Palace.

Originally scheduled Story of Kunning Palace for release in May, iQiyi pulled it two hours before broadcast allegedly due to controversy surrounding supporting actor Zhou Junwei (周峻緯). The streaming platform did not provide an update on the broadcast date, worrying viewers whether the production would ever get to see the light until its apparent last-minute release on November 7.

However, Story of Kunning Palace‘s one-week release following Only for Love is upsetting fans, as the latter has not even released half of its full 36 episodes yet. Coincidentally, the main leads for both dramas, Zhang Linghe and Dylan Wang, were also love rivals in Love Between Fairy and Devil <苍兰诀> which was iQiyi’s biggest hit last summer.

When many of Bai Lu’s fans expressed dissatisfaction with the sudden broadcast of Story of Kunning Palace, the actress posted on social media that she hopes viewers will like her characters from both dramas. “This is the fate between Zheng Shuyi and Jiang Xuening with the audience. Fate has arrived, so both characters appeared in front of everyone. I hope Zheng Shuyi can bring positive energy and happiness to everyone, while Jiang Xuening’s perseverance can move you.” Bai Lu said that she tried to portray each character well and still has a long road ahead as an actress, seemingly hinting at her own surprise that two of her dramas are airing at the same time.