Title: The Tale of the Purple Hairpin

Producer: Ye Xuan

Directors: Tan Qiao, Liang Guoguan

Starring: Ronald Cheng, Gigi Wu, Ruby Lin, and Cheng Cheng

First broadcast date: August 14, 2013

Broadcasting platform: Shandong TV

Plot Summary:

During the reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty, Nalan Dong spent years roaming the countryside as a chivalrous hero, earning the nickname “the Yellow‑Cloaked Wanderer.” He formed a sworn brotherhood with Li Yi, a gifted scholar from Longxi, and the two set off for Chang’an on the eve of the imperial examinations. There, Nalan Dong happened upon three renowned courtesans of the capital—Huo Xiaoyu of the Zitan Hall, Du Yinong of the Chenghuan Pavilion, and Mo Yue of the Yaoyue Residence. Through a series of chance encounters marked by spirited rivalry, the four became close friends. Huo Xiaoyu, whose beauty and talent were unparalleled and whose singing and dancing were nothing short of extraordinary, secretly captivated Nalan Dong. Later, upon seeing the purple‑jade swallow hairpin she wore, he realized she was the wife to whom he had been betrothed since infancy. He went to his mother, Princess Ningguo, to confirm this, only to be rebuffed—a setback that left him too afraid to reveal his true identity to Xiaoyu. Meanwhile, unaware of their arranged marriage, Xiaoyu treated Nalan Dong with cold indifference.
On the eve of the Lantern Festival, Xiao Yu inadvertently dropped her purple hairpin, which was picked up by the talented scholar Li Yi. Mistaking it for a heavenly match, the two pledged their lives to one another. Seeing their tender affection, Nalan Dong, bound by fraternal duty, could only conceal his love for Xiao Yu deep in his heart, offering silent blessings and treating her as a sister. Yet Xiao Yu’s fiery temperament, coupled with her jealous and suspicious nature toward Li Yi, brought countless trials to their relationship. In a contest of talent, Xiao Yu won the title of “Flower Queen,” only to be forced into a marriage alliance—she was betrothed to Princess Ningguo as part of a peace treaty with the Turks. The khan even demanded that the Tang emperor grant her hand in marriage, elevating her to empress. Thanks to Princess Ningguo’s strategic aid, Xiao Yu and Nalan Dong staged a sham union, allowing her to narrowly escape disaster. Meanwhile, Li Yi, misunderstanding that Xiao Yu had grown close to Nalan Dong, sent her a heartless letter and agreed to become a son-in-law of the Lu family, marrying Lu Jinglan. Believing Li Yi had come to despise her, Xiao Yu, in turn, consented to marry Nalan Dong. Thus, the love between Li Yi and Xiao Yu seemed destined to end here. During the marriage‑by‑alliance to the Turks, Nalan Dong discovered that Princess Ningguo was not his birth mother. No matter how persistently he pressed, she refused to reveal even the slightest hint, warning that uncovering her true identity would invite calamity. Determined to trace his real parents, Nalan Dong embarked on a journey fraught with twists and turns—eventually succeeding in reclaiming his ancestral roots.