The series received mixed reviews. It was praised for its tight plot and fast storyline and vivid character personas.[3] It was also praised for showcasing the story of growth of a strong and independent female lead, as well as fleshing out the background stories of various supporting characters.[4] Viewership ratings also reached as high as 2%, making it one of the highest rated drama of 2016.[5] However it was criticized for its cliché plot devices, illogical plot details, use of excessive and inappropriate makeup, and dubbing of actors' voices.[6] Investigations and a lawsuit showed that the original novel was heavily plagiarized from other similar stories.[7][8][9] However, the series was nominated for several awards, winning actor & actress awards for both Luo Jin and Tiffany Tang, and Best Chinese Language Drama award at the 5th Annual DramaFever Awards.
During the chaotic Northern and Southern Dynasties, among Northern Liang's royal family lived a princess named Feng Xin'er (Tiffany Tang) who was kind, carefree and loved by all. Chiyun Nan, a marshal from the Chiyun clan of Northern Wei, was driven by greed to overrun Northern Liang and turned it into a bloodbath, killing almost the entire royal family and forcing the princess to survive on her own.
Li Weiyoung, the daughter of the Prime Minister of Northern Wei and his seventh concubine, shielded the princess from harm. However, Weiyoung was killed by the Chiyun family, of which the Prime Minister's first wife, Chiyun Rou, was a member, who were not pleased when she was recalled to the Prime Minister's manor. Xin'er assumed Weiyoung's identity and resided in the manor, where she was disliked and shunned by her older half-sister Li Changle and her mother Chiyun Rou. She thus took it upon herself to fight against the Chiyun clan and became entangled with Northern Wei's prince, Tuoba Jun (Luo Jin). She also attracted the eye of Tuoba Yu (Vanness Wu) who saw her as a chess piece to his ultimate aim of being Emperor. Through her struggles, she gained wisdom and was finally able to find peace for her family while living true to her heart.
Kind, bright and intelligent, she seeks to investigate the truth after her kingdom is destroyed and her family is assassinated. Being, in reality, the princess of Northern Liang, she assumed her friend Weiyoung's identity as the illegitimate daughter of Prime Minister Li, in order to be able to avenge her own family as well as Weiyoung. In the process she falls in love with the Emperor's grandson without knowing his status at first, then tries to rebuff him when she realizes who he is. In the end, Weiyoung becomes Tuoba Jun's wife, and bears him a son. After Tuoba Jun's death five years after the events in the drama, she becomes the Empress Dowager with their young son ascending the throne.
Bright, sunny and compassionate, Tuoba Jun is the Emperor's favorite grandson as well as the deceased Crown Prince's son. As a result, he is targeted by the Emperor's sons, Tuoba Han and Tuoba Yu. However, he doesn't care about royal politics. His sincerity and unwavering love towards Weiyoung, despite her desire for revenge, makes her fall for him. In the end, he finally becomes Weiyoung's husband and together they have a son, and Tuoba Jun ascends the throne as Emperor. Tuoba Jun eventually dies from an illness five years after the events in the drama.
Cunning, ruthless and cold-blooded, Tuoba Yu's greatest ambition is to become the Emperor and rule the world. He is attracted by Weiyoung's intelligence and wit, and plans to use her as a chess piece to realize his ambitions. However, he soon falls for her, and is willing to go to extreme lengths to have her by his side.
Mao Xiaotong[12] as Li Changru, Daughter of the 2nd aunt of the Li Family. Weiyoung's younger cousin.
She has been in love with Tuoba Yu since she was young. Having been oppressed and overshadowed by her elder cousin Li Changle from a young age, she becomes ruthless and seeks to topple her cousin. She hides her hypocritical and scheming nature behind her weak and delicate appearance. She treats Weiyoung sincerely at first, but turns against her when she discovers that Tuoba Yu has fallen for her, and as a result she betrays Weiyoung. She eventually becomes pregnant with Tuoba Yu's child. Near the end of the series, Changru tries to kill Weiyoung but manages to kill Tuoba Yu. She then kills herself out of misery for inadvertently causing Tuoba Yu's death.
Li Xin'ai[13] as Li Changle, Daughter of Chiyun Rou and Li Xiaoran. Wei yang's older half-sister.
Known as the #1 beauty in the capital province, she is arrogant and selfish, believing that no woman is better than her. The appearance of Li Weiyoung makes her insecure and jealous. She seeks to get rid of Weiyoung and marry Tuoba Jun on whom she has had a crush for a long time. After she frames Li Weiyoung for the death of the Crown Princess (Tuoba Jun's mother), she eventually becomes the wife of Tuoba Jun. When it is discovered that she is the real murderer, she has to kill herself as punishment.
Supporting
Northern Wei
People in palace
Canti Lau[14] as Tuoba Tao, Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei. He was betrayed by Zong Ai at the end.
Tuoba Jun's deceased father. He was framed by Zong Ai as well as Tuoba Yu, imprisoned by the Emperor, and dies of acute illness shortly after.
Xu Rongzhen[17] as Crown Princess, Tuoba Jun's mother, died after Changle stabbed her with a hairpin.
Zhang Tianyang[18] as Tuoba Han, Prince of Dongping
He tries to murder Tuoba Jun on the hunting grounds by setting a hidden trap, which Changle uses as well to get rid of Weiyoung after discovering it. In an attempt to take down Tuoba Yu, whom he sees as a threat in his ambitions to become the successor, Tuoba Han frames Weiyoung for attempting to poison the Empress. When the truth of all his schemes and the collusion with local authorities to enclose lands for personal gains is exposed, the Emperor is about to have him and those involved executed, but instead he is banished as a civilian and confined in his own manor.
Chen Yuqi[19] as Tuoba Di, Ninth Princess (Princess Shanggu)
She initially dresses as a man to make fun of Li Minde, thinking he is the one who wants her hand in marriage. After learning archery and spending time with him, she falls in love with him. Although her love is initially not reciprocated, she takes it in her stride and continues to help Li Minde protect Weiyoung. In the end, she gets together with Li Minde after nearly losing her life.
Hou Ruixiang as Zong Ai, The Emperor's personal eunuch.
He is actually Tuoba Yu's underling, bribed when Tuoba Yu was 13. He is discovered for his betrayal after trying to steal the account record that proved the Crown Prince's innocence. This also results in him killing Emperor Taiwu.
Official in the royal court. Stood up for Tuoba Jun in court, and pleaded Yu for his innocence. Ultimately submits to Yu, but he still remains loyal to Tuoba Jun.
Rui Weihang[20] as Cheng De, Tuoba Jun's subordinate. He likes Jun Tao.
First lady of the Li family. Li Xiaoran's wife; Li Minfeng and Li Changle's birth mother. An evil woman from the Chiyun family who conspires to kill Weiyoung so that she will not overshadow Changle and ruin their plans. She dies from poisoning herself in a scheme to get rid of Weiyoung.
Second lady of the Li Family. Li Changru and Li Changxi's birth mother. Also a cunning and arrogant woman.
Wang Wanjuan as Zhou Xuemei
Third lady of the Li Family. Li Minde's adoptive mother. She is killed by Chiyun Rou, who plotted to deliberately infect her with a highly contagious disease.
Li Weiyoung's birth mother. A kind woman, she discovers that Xin'er is not the real Weiyoung but helps keep her secret, and decides to consider Xin'er as her daughter after she confronts her with the truth.
Nan Fulong as Li Minfeng
Eldest son of the Li family. He is power-hungry, lustful, and manipulative. He uses Zi Yan to harm Weiyoung, and dumps her after that. He is killed by Jun Tao after an elaborate plot set up by Weiyoung to avenge Zi Yan's death at his hands.
Li Yixiao as Li Weiyoung (real)
Second mistress of the Li household. She was thrown out of the Li household as she was born on an inauspicious date. Li Weiyoung saves Feng Xin'er's life and is killed not long after. After Weiyoung's death, Xin'er assumes her identity to avenge both the murder of her father and grandmother, and also Weiyoung herself.
Li Weiyoung's personal servant. She betrays Weiyoung after being manipulated by Li Minfeng. She becomes pregnant with his child, and ends up in his household where she is mistreated daily by him. She was rescued by Zhou Xuemei, and died in Weiyoung's arms.
Peng Yingying[29] as Cui'er, Seventh Madame's personal servant.
Jin Pohan as Rong'er
Li Changru's loyal servant who is her accomplice in killing Bai Zhi.
Chang Shixin as Tan Xiang, Li Changle's personal servant.
Wang Tianhong as Liu Hong, Li Changxi's personal servant.
Dai Chunrong as Madame Liu, Li Weiyoung's caretaker.
She mistreats Weiyoung and after her death, agrees to help pass Xin'er off as Weiyoung to prevent her family from being harmed. She later betrays Xin'er and reveals the deception after being threatened by Chiyun Rou.
Zhu Xingyu as Ping An, Li Minde's subordinate.
Tan Songmei as Mother Luo, Old Granny Li's personal servant.
Great general of Northern Wei. Chiyun Rou's nephew. He plotted and framed King Hexi of Northern Liang for rebellion in order to satisfy his greed. He eventually works for Tuoba Yu after he saves his life.
The author of the source novel was involved in a plagiarism case, where it was alleged that she used a software to copy over hundreds of other works to write her own novel. An alliance formed by 12 writers, including famed wuxia novelist Woon Swee Oan, joined to sue Qin Jian.[9][38]
According to Beijing News, a group of volunteers compared The Poisonous Daughter (Chinese: 庶女有毒) with more than 200 other novels. They found that out of 294 chapters, only nine chapters were original.[7]
On May 8, 2019, the Chaoyang District People's Court has declared Qin Jian guilty of infringing the works of Shen Wenwen, who wrote the novel 身历六帝宠不衰 that The Poisonous Daughter was copied from. Qin Jian has to compensate Shen Wenwen a total amount of CN¥136,500 ($20,000) for economic loss and intellectual copyright protection within 10 days of the verdict. Moreover, she must immediately cease sales and distribution of the novel upon the day the sentence is handed down.[8]
