In the Name of the Blossom (2025) 锦绣芳华
Summary:
Picking up immediately after where Flourished Peony left off, Yang Zi’s He Wei Fang is running the biggest flower shop in Chang An but she is in a fake marriage to Jiang Chang Yang Ft Li Xian as his mistress.
Now extremely wealthy, He Wei Fang unexpectedly learns the truth about her mother’s death which leaves her aimless. After a harrowing accident, she learns that being a business person can also benefit the people so she helps teach others to start their own businesses and opens up medical clinics, all the while helping Jiang Chang Yang and the Emperor face off against the Prince of Ning who wants to take over the throne.
Initial Airing Date: June 30, 2025
Total episode count: 25
Platform: MangoTV, Hunan television
Final Rating – 6.9/10: Despite a continuation of the story, Part 2 does not fully capture the magic of season 1. Pacing issues, stale/forced conflicts and emphasis on romance undercut the beautifully shot and high production drama.
He Wei Fang 何惟芳 Yang Zi 杨紫
Daughter from a wealthy merchant family. Knows how to grow peonies
jiang chang yang 蒋长杨 li xian 李现
A corrupt official with close ties to the Emperor
liu chang 刘畅 Wei Zhe Ming 魏哲明
Husband to He Wei Fang. Former lover of Princess You Zhen
li you zhen 李幼贞 zhang ya qin 张雅钦
Recently widowed princess that still loves Liu Chang
Overall Thoughts
This is Yang Zi’s second drama in 2 years to air a “part 2”. Except both (this one and Lost You Forever) could not maintain the momentum from Season 1 and the story quality dipped in season 2, despite being shot at the same time. While Flourished Peony is in the mix for top 10 dramas by viewership this year, part 2 or In The Name of the Blossom didn’t even make it to the top of the rankings when it aired, placing solidly in 3rd place behind In the Name of Justice 以法之名 and A Dream within A Dream 书卷一梦.
The production quality of the drama remains top notch. The costumes are exquisite, the makeup and hairstyles gorgeous, historical components plentiful. It’s a breathtaking drama to watch that adds a little more warmth and is overall more romantic and idealistic of the Tang Dynasty than next door’s The Litchi Road. I am caught oggling at the beautiful clothes that He Wei Fang wears and am wondering if I can buy them myself to cosplay in my spare time.
The problem with season 2 is the plot. Season 1 was primarily about He Wei Fang’s independent growth and the challenges she overcomes to become a business leader, without men. However, season 2 spends more time emphasizing the romantic relationship or the will-they wont-they dynamic between Jiang Chang Yang and He Wei Fang while de-emphasizing her business accomplishments. Her achievements in creating various businesses and helping create a blooming peony display in the dead of winter seemed too easily done while her relationship with Jiang Chang Yang was more challenging. Add to the fact that the Princess and Liu Chang basically did not learn anything from season 1, season 2’s plot points seemed almost recycled.
I did still enjoy watching season 2, primarily for the production, but it was not as thought provoking as season 1 by a long shot.
What Suffered
- Changing the Drama Name: People online were well aware of Part 1 or Flourished Peony, but many comments I saw online showed people not realizing part 2 was airing. It didn’t help that instead of saying “Season 2” of Flourished Peony, the drama came out with an entirely new name so I saw some people confused as to what the drama was about. It didn’t help that the drama had a short recap at the beginning of what happened then dove straight into season 2. This meant that a lot of the emotional hits that were so important in season 1 did not have time to really set in and I was left really having to think of who this character was, why were they important, what’s the conflict happening here. I completely forgot who Li Xing was (He Wei Fang’s cousin), as well as Aunt Feng (Jiang Chang Yang’s aunt) and had to think hard about who they were.
- Weaker Antagonist: Season 1 was thought provoking because it focused on the challenges both men and women faced in that society at the time and how some of that is still true today. While there was still some of that conflict, namely in the concubine Lian Zhou that was sent to Jiang Chang Yang, the main antagonist here was the Prince of Ning who wanted to take over the throne. This falls into familiar territory where everyone has to figure out how to fend off this person to protect the crown. We know he’s a bad guy who is corrupt and is amassing weapons. That doesn’t necessarily. But this conflict then doesn’t hit as hard on the emotional level to be memorable.
- Recycled conflict: Throughout season 2, Liu Chang is STILL pining over He Wei Fang. This means that both he and the Princess continue on to cause trouble for He Wei Fang and Jiang Chang Yang when He Wei Fang especially wants nothing to do with them. While this was interesting in Season 1, I found myself rolling my eyes when Liu Chang continues to harass/pine for He Wei Fang for the umpteenth time. But hey, at least he knows full well that he is doing exactly what the Princess is doing to him.
- The Princess was no where near as interesting this season. She was relegated to a largely background character. I understand why – the story now is focused on her father’s treasonous actions – but I wish there was more for her to do.
- Very Romance heavy: We all know that Jiang Chang Yang and He Wei Fang are going to end up together and I quite enjoy their romance because Yang Zi and Li Xian have great chemistry, but I feel like romance took center stage in season 2 while He Wei Fang’s business activity took more of a backseat. Or more accurately, her business activities were accomplished too easily. She would be met with a big challenge but then half an episode later, she would be able to solve it. Create a new medical clinic? Let me explain that all in 5 lines of dialogue and look, we have it all set up. The most interesting pieces of the drama to me were actually when she was on her own in the end of the drama, heading north. There, we see her be the intelligent business woman again which is where He Wei Fang shines. I think season 2 would have benefited from a few more episodes to help flesh out some more of these “business” related conflicts if they wanted to keep the romance piece.
What Still Worked
- Complex Female relationships – Female relationships are the anchor to this overall universe and there were still a few in season 2 that gave me food for thought.
- Xue Xi – She is the daughter of a powerful family but freely gave help to save He Wei Fang’s life. She knows full well that her position in life means that she is likely not going to be able to marry freely. She tests Jiang Chang Yang because marrying someone she knows is probably better than marrying a random person for political gain. However, she knows when to step back when she sees that Jiang Chang Yang’s heart is with another. Xue Xi is mature, poised, kind-hearted and clear-headed. A great example of someone people should aspire to be
- Lian Zhou – folks online at the end of season 1 had many fanfics or fan clips cut together joking about how Lian Zhou, the concubine that the Prince of Ning sent to Jiang Chang Yang, should just live happily ever after with He Wei Fang. She’s interesting because her backstory is very similar to He Wei Fang’s. But not everyone has the bravery to take that step that He Wei Fang took for independence. Lian Zhou’s decision was quite understandable for someone in her position in life. It makes one think, similar to how Qin Sheng Yi behaved in season 1, what would you do if you were in Lian Zhou’s shoes?
- Stunning cultural injections: I wonder if we do a deep dive on the history depicted in this drama. There were so many unique dances and performances in both seasons that I am overall in awe that the production spent so much time and energy to include this pieces on screen for brief periods of time. I would not mind an extra 2-3 episodes of this drama if it meant we saw some of these performances for longer than 1-2 minutes. Give me the full 10-15min cuts!
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD – Let’s Talk The Ending
- Liu Chang and Princess Li You Zhen’s fair ending – You know? I was actually shocked to see Liu Chang’s fate. I didn’t expect it. Everyone online was expecting that they would just go off on their own but then was flabbergasted at the sudden change. Speculating who the culprit was but it didn’t matter. I thought his fate was rather fair because it could have been any of the people Liu Chang harmed. Karma finally came back to him. He was not going to have his “happy ending”. His final words though, were touching. He did not cry for help. He did not say he was in pain. He only implored his wife to not cry. Maybe he realized that their provincial life was always a dream. He accepted his fate and perhaps in that final moment, he realized that he was leaving behind someone who loved him deeply. Poor Li You Zhen. No, she was not too harsh in leaving Liu Chang behind. I thought her reaction was well acted. Someone who is so shocked but heartbroken to take in any more emotion. Her numb reaction is similar to Liu Chang’s in that she probably knew that this was coming to them for all the sins they have committed. The screenwriters gave her mercy so that she can repent for her crimes.
- Historical Ties – He Wei Fang, Jiang Chang Yang, and the rest of the cast including those in the Imperial Family seemed set for their happy ending. The problem is, we know what history will bring. The emperor in this drama is the same one in the Longest Day in Chang An. We know that in a few decades, this Emperor will discard the consort he deeply loves right now for a younger woman and cause the An Lu Rebellion. That is the challenge with this time setting. The early reign of Tang Xuan Zong’s reign was one of prosperity and wealth but then declined into corruption as the years go by. I’m going to pretend that this entire group did live their happily ever after. After all, the Tang Dynasty was probably when women had the most rights amongst all the dynasties.
- THOUGH!!! I WILL point out that I remember distinctly seeing scenes where one of the Royal Consorts had FRESH lychee. Which, as we know in history, did not happen until much later. 🙂