Introduction
The First Jasmine is a Chinese historical romance and political intrigue drama that blends revenge, palace conspiracies, strategic battles, and a slow-burn romance between two wounded souls who are forced into an unexpected marriage.
What sets The First Jasmine apart is its combination of clever political maneuvering, layered character development, and a mature romance built on trust, respect, and shared hardship. Rather than relying solely on palace drama, the series explores themes of loyalty, revenge, redemption, and the sacrifices required to protect both loved ones and the realm.
In this episode recap series, we’ll follow Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao’s journey through a world where every alliance comes at a price.
Let’s start!
Note: I will move all drama info into the full review article once the drama has finished. 😊
Drama Info
Drama title: The First Jasmine (Native title: 莫离)
Alternative title: Mo Li
Genres: Historical, Romance, Drama
Aired: 9 Jun, 2026 - ????
Episodes: 40 | Duration: 45 minutes
Directors: Lam Yu Fan (林玉芬) - chief, Leung Sing Kuen (梁胜权), Liu Zhi Jun (刘智君)
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Screenwriter: Xiao Xiang Dong Er (潇湘冬儿)
Adapted from the web novel "Sheng Shi Di Fei" (盛世嫡妃) by Feng Qing (凤轻).
Where to read the English-translated novel: MyDramaNovelWhere to watch: Disney+, WeTV, and Viki
OSTs
English-translated playlist: Peachey Blossom.
方寸之間 (“Within a Square Inch”) by Bai Lu (白鹿) and Cheng Lei (丞磊)
心世界 (“Inner World”) by Zhou Shen (周深)
Trailer
Synopsis
Confined to the mountains for eight years, Ye Li returns to the capital to marry the disabled Prince Ding, Mo Xiu Yao. Beneath the surface, she is a woman on a mission, methodically hunting those who destroyed her home. At the same time, her husband hides beneath his own facade, as he’s actually a strategist fueled by his own thirst for vengeance. As they navigate a treacherous court filled with the machinations of Prince Li—Ye Li’s childhood sweetheart who married her younger sister on the exact same day—the couple moves from mutual suspicion to a profound, life-altering partnership. Bound by secrets and dangerous ambitions, they must dismantle a web of conspiracies to secure the throne and restore peace – and might truly fall in love with each other in the process. (Source: Viki)
Characters
Relationship Chart
Main Characters
Bai Lu (白鹿) as Ye Li
Cheng Lei/Ryan Cheng (丞磊) as Mo Xiu Yao
Supporting Characters
Mo Jing Li (Cai Zheng Jie)
Ye Ying (Yang Shu Yi)
Han Ming Xi (Lin Mu Ran)
Guo Jin (Dong Jie)
Feng Zhi Yao (Xuan Yan)
Qin Zheng (Zhang Yue)
Ye Wen Hua (Qiu Xin Zhi)
Recap Episodes 1 to 6
Episode 1
Introduction: Ye Li has been ill since her return. Life in the mountains must be hard. On top of that, she was supposed to marry Prince Li. But with the swap, she’s marrying the disabled Prince Ding. Lishan Academy may be a fine place, but it’s not a match for the Capital. To think the peerless Prince Li and the crippled Prince Ding are holding weddings on the same day.
Ye Rong, Ye Li’s little step-brother, is the cute one. He helped Ye Li recover her precious dowry, full of land deeds and properties, from his own mother/Ye Li’s stepmother, Madame Wang.
We found out that the bride-swipe was arranged by none other than Prince Li himself! The late emperor had arranged marriage between her and Prince Li. However, Prince Li betrayed her and implored the Empress Dowager to betroth him to Ye Ying, Ye Li’s younger sister. What a scumbag! The Empress Dowager granted his request and then betrothed Ye Li to Prince Ding. Ye Li didn’t care whom she married to now, at least she could get away from the mountain. It appeared she was ‘banished’ there for eight years!
At Prince Ding’s mansion. Ye Li was blocked by Director Lv Cheng of the Bureau of Astronomy, who insisted that the prince had to copy sutra to atone the sins of his family. Ye Li threatened Lv Cheng that he disobeyed the Empress Dowager’s decree, and after that, wheeled the prince to the main hall to complete the wedding ceremony in front of Mo Xiuyao’s sister-in-law and the guests. Later, Prince Ding said coldly that she could stay at his mansion without bothering each other, or after one year, they could get divorced!
Episode 2
When Ye Li returned to the Capital two months ago, she actually went to Prince Ding’s mansion. She was shocked to find it in bad condition. From the locals, Ye Li found out what happened to Mo Xiuyao’s brother, Mo Xiuwen. Eight years ago, Mo Xiuwen brought his troops back to the Capital, unsummoned. Because of that, the border was attacked by the enemy and three cities were captured. Mo Xiuwen was executed. Mo Xiuyao’s leg was cripped in the war, so his life was spare.
Somehow, we found out that Lishan Academy, where Ye Li came from, owed a debt to Prince Ding’s Mansion. So Ye Li is determined to pay her gratitude.
The next day after the wedding, Ye Li went to visit her third uncle, Ye Wenshen, who knows about everyone and everything in the Capital. From him, Ye Li found out about the pesky Director Lv Cheng, who kept hindering Ye Li. Lv Cheng was a minor official outside the Capital, but he sucked up to Marquis Muyang and got a career shot. It seemed his hostility toward Mo Xiuyao was as per the Marquis’ order.
When Ye Li returned home, she witnessed Lv Cheng whipped Mo Xiuyao’s back until it was bloody. From the butler, she learned that Mv Cheng comes every month to hold a ritual of the Ding Mansion’s ritual. He would burn the sutra he ordered Mo Xiuyao to copy and whip him like a criminal.
After that, Ye Li tended to her husband. Although he’s cold, she didn’t mind. She was a bit disappointed that he didn’t remember her, though. Apparently, when she was younger, Mo Xiuyao saved her life from the bandits. Talking about childhood connection! No wonder she didn’t mind marrying her savior hero!
Episode 3
Well, Lv Cheng met his demise in this episode. Mu Xiuyao and viewers suspected the cunning Ye Li had to do with this to avenge her husband, but we didn’t what actually happened.
Ye Li accidentally found out that Lv Cheng’s real name was Lv Boying. She immediately deduced that Lv Cheng must have a dark past because he changed his name. Later, Ye Family guard named Li Feibai showed up and called Lv Cheng Lv Boying. Lv Cheng pretended that Li Feibai got the wrong person. It happened that they were near Gongshu Yang, the Prefect of Jingzhao, who was on the way to meet the Empress Dowager. Gongshu Yang mentioned Lv Boying’s name to Her Majesty. It turned out Lv Boying angered the empress in the past concerning a concubine. Her Majesty summoned Lv Cheng and threw him into prison.
Since Lv Cheng was known as Marquis Muyang’s subordinate, the Empress Dowager called the Marquis and scolded him for having such a despicable man as his subordinate. Marquis Muyang realized having Lv Boyang as his man was a mistake, so later he took Lv Cheng from the prison and buried him alive!
That night, Feng Zhiyao, the head of the Qingfeng Mingyue Tower, slips over the walls of Prince Ding’s Mansion in black. They apparently are friends and secret allies. Feng Zhiyao told the prince about Lv Cheng’s death. Upon hearing that the man who called Lv Cheng with his old name is Ye Family’s guard, Mu Xiuyao is suspicious that Lv Cheng’s fall had anything to do with his wife. He went to see her, but only found a paper with Lv Cheng’s name under Ye Li’s shoe. Ye Li acted innocent saying that she cursed Lv Cheng by stomping on the paper because Lv Cheng had bullied her husband. Feng Zhiyao thought the prince’s new wife was naive, but Mu Xiuyao was still suspicious.
Episode 4
We got to know the mystery behind Lishan Academy, where Ye Li came from. Lishan Academy was the education and cultural center of the Great Chu. About half of the court officials came from the Academy. However, eight years ago, the Emperor and the Crown Prince passed away. The current King was still little. The Empress at that time, now the Empress Dowager, wanted to ascend the throne. To protest against the throne usurpation, Lishan Academy’s headmaster, who is Ye Li’s maternal grandfather, closed down the Academy.
The court officials who graduated from the Academy supported that decision. In a fit of rage, the Empress attacked Lishan and isolated the Academy from the world. The officials from Lishan were framed, killed, exiled, and dismissed from their positions by Lu Changfu under various charges. At this time, Lu Changfu was sent to Huaixi for his new post as the new Military Governor. But Ye Li will never let him go.
Ye Li and her maids wove precious fire silkworm silk, which can resist wind and cold, to make a beautiful robe. However, this robe is not for Mo Xiuyao. Ye Li explained that while the silk is exceptionally fine, it is highly volatile and will easily catch fire if it comes into contact with phosphorus powder. Gotcha!
While working on the robe, suddenly they heard a commotion from Mo Xiuyao’s study room. He passed out. Ye Li and her servants rushed inside, only to see what was in the dark. There were scrolls and letters all over the place, full of curses on his executed brother, Mo Xiuwen, and the Heiyun Cavalry. Mo Xiuyao had tormented himself by living in the emotional darkness all this time. Unwilling to let her husband be chained by people’s hatred and the past, Ye Li burned down the scrolls and letters.
When Mo Xiuyao woke up, he was very angry at what Ye Li had done and ordered her to leave the mansion. She refused because she had already made her wedding vow to stay by Mo Xiuyao and share the joys and sorrows. She advised Mo Xiuyao not to let his life become a drama to watch in the eyes of his haters.
On the day of his departure, Lu Changfu got a new robe as a gift, which his wife thought it was from the palace. He wore it proudly to the court. A palace servant ‘accidentally’ bumped into Lu Changfu, spilling phosphorus powder all over him. Then, under the sun’s rays, his official robes heated up rapidly, and Lu Changfu was burned alive in front of everyone, like a human torch!
Since then, Mo Xiuyao has decided to no longer live in the past. No longer absorbed in himself, Mu Xiuyao began observing his wife’s day-to-day activities. Ye Li’s antics amuse him, but he also notices that she seems lonely. Mo Xiuyao doesn’t know that Ye Li secretly collaborates with her uncle to take down Lishan’s enemies! Meanwhile, Mu Xiuyao himself had also secretly helped the current Emperor secure his throne by overthrowing the powerful Marquis.
Episode 5
This episode tells about what happened after Mu Xiuyao decided to help the Emperor, and before Lu Changfu’s was burned to death.
After the Empress Dowager appointed Lu Changfu as the Military Governor of Huaixi, the Emperor secretly disagreed, but Lu Changfu was the powerful Marquis’ man. Mo Xiuyao took the chance to clear his name and his family name by offering to help His Majesty to clear the obstacles towards absolute rule. In return, Mo Xiuyao requested three things. First, to clear the name of the Heiyun Cavalry, restore the honor of the Ding Mansion, and exonerate his late brother Mo Xiuwen. Second, Mo Xiuyao requested the authority to inspect and supervise, the authority to apprehend and handle criminal cases, and the authority to submit secret petitions. Third, he asked the Emperor for one person, whom we didn’t know who or for what yet.
The first request was the most difficult one. Mo Xiuwen claimed that he had the Emperor’s order to return to the Capital. However, the edict was burned by Marquis Muyang.
Mo Xiuyao’s first mission was to kill Lu Changfu before he left the Capital. He must die in front of people, which is not easy. The Marquis would be suspicious that Mo Xiuyao was targeting him. Because of the danger, Mo Xiuyao urged Ye Li to leave and even proposed a divorce. Ye Li joked that Mo Xiuyao planned a rebellion. Mo Xiuyao brought up that he had saved her in the desert, and she saved him by bringing pastries to eat in the prison (since the Marquis blocked the food to Mo Xiuyao). So they are even; she doesn’t have to pay gratitude anymore. Awww, he remembered her! He thought she didn’t remember him, so he pretended to forget her, too.
The next day, Mo Xiuyao and his men planned to station assassins on the palace roof during the guard change, then shoot Lu Changfu while he was with the other officials. Before they executed the assassination, as we knew, Ye Li had burned Lu Changfu to death with the flame robe. Several of Marquis’ men were also eliminated.
Because of Lu Changfu’s death, the position of the Military Governor of Huaixi was vacant. Gongshu Yang was appointed to that position. Previously, he was the Prefect of Jingzhao. With the Jingzhao Prefect post now vacant, Mo Xiuyao was eventually appointed for that position with much debate at the court.
Ye Li and Li Feibai, who was the Ye Family’s guards were allies. He was Ye Li’s senior brother in Lishan Academy. Now that Ye Li is in the Capital, Li Feibai resigned from the Ye Family and worked at Qingfeng Mingyue Tower under Feng Zhiyao. Ye Li also secured her other senior brother, Wei Zhuang, as her shop steward.
Empress Dowager invited Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li, also Mo Jingli and his wife Ye Ying. Ye Li lied that everything was fine in Lushan Academy.
Episode 6
Ye Li pretty much made an impact on everyone at the meeting. She sucked up to the Empress Dowager by praising her with her eloquence. Mo Jingli had a nostalgia for Lishan Academy, where he studied and met little Ye Li, so he played an old song he learned from the Academy. Ye Ying, Ye Li’s sister, was angry with Ye Li because her husband played a song from the Academy, a place that he and Ye Li shared memories of. Ye Li was unfazed by her sister’s anger. She calmly said that since Mo Xiuyao was Mo Jingli’s uncle, Ye Ying should call her “Aunt”, lol. Before leaving the palace, the Empress Dowager called Ye Li personally and asked more about Lishan Academy. She was shocked upon learning that Ye Li’s mother had passed away.
At night, Mo Xiuyao heard that his wife asked the servants about a saw and an axe. He was suspicious about what his wife was doing, so he followed her with his guard. Ye Li and her maid went to an old house, to the courtyard. While her maid was keeping watch, Ye Li started to cut a gingko tree down! Mo Xiuyao thought she was trying to steal the tree. The sound of the fallen tree woke up the owner, He Jin, and the household. Ye Li ran away but was caught by Mo Xiuyao and taken back home.
Ye Li explained that cutting down the tree was to fulfill her promise to her senior brother, He Minghui, who hated that tree. He Minghui believed the tree was blocking his career luck after he failed his civil exams twice.
He Jin saw the Prince Ding’s carriage, so he visited Ye Li the next day. He knew Ye Li was from Lishan Academy. He hadn’t heard from his son for eight years. Ye Li assured the old man that his son was doing well.
TL;DR
- Ye Li returned from Lishan Academy in the mountains to the Capital to marry Prince Ding Mo Xiuyao.
- Her real intention is to execute a meticulous revenge plan to kill the wrongdoers of the Lishan Academy.
- Her first target is Lu Changfu, whom she burned to death with the flame robe.
- She also avenged her husband by indirectly killing Lv Cheng.
- Some events, although they seem fillers, gradually show us significant characters’ connections with the main plot.
Alright, cutting down a tree seems like one of Ye Li’s antics, so Mo Xiuyao thought. Viewers may think it’s a filler scene. However, is it really insignificant, or is there a secret behind that? Let’s continue to the second part to find out what secret(s) Ye Li is keeping!
