He'd thought it was just a simple time-travel drama—so why did it suddenly make him feel like crying?
Su Yan and Shinozaki Ikumi... couldn't they just produce a normal show for once? Why were their dramas always like this?
Cao Huan tried to steady his emotions, but quickly realized something.
Wait a second—this was only the second episode!
Historically, Lu Yuan died in her later years, after being overthrown by her adopted son, Chu Tongshang.
But in the first time-travel, she died at the age of 36, after taking a bolt to the back to save the protagonist.
Now that the protagonist had returned to when Lu Yuan was only 26, there were still ten years left. There was no way she'd die that night, too, right?
There might even be a chance to take down that corrupt official Li Yong while he was at it.
At this point, Cao Huan had basically pieced together the main plot.
On the surface, it looked like a historical drama about the political and military struggle between Empress Lu Yuan, Prime Minister Li Yong, and several neighboring nations like Beilie, all pressing in on the Sheng dynasty.
But at its core, it was about a modern man—Shen Buyan—traveling through time to save Lu Yuan, to rewrite her tragic fate, and clear the false legacy that had branded her as a "demon queen" in history.
What a fresh concept.
Cao Huan had never expected 'An Ancient Love Song' to surpass 'Rurouni Kenshin' in emotional impact. He'd started watching it just because of his love for 'Rurouni Kenshin' and Yukishiro Tomoe.
But now, the story and the setting had truly drawn him in.
The next segment on TV revealed why Shen Buyan had been targeted by assassins.
It turned out, the fool he had helped earlier was none other than the current emperor of the Sheng dynasty—Emperor Yuanqi himself.
The assassins had heard rumors that the emperor would be out in disguise that night during the Shangsi Festival and had come to kill him.
But because Shen Buyan helped him, the emperor gave Shen a token of high importance, causing the assassins to mistakenly think he was the emperor.
That's why they'd attacked Shen Buyan.
And that was why Lu Yuan—who at this point wasn't empress but merely a palace official—and General Lu Shi showed up to save him.
The assassination arc ended, and what followed was some light-hearted sweetness.
Though not between the main couple—rather, between Yi Hua and Lu Shi.
It was obvious these two liked each other, but neither had confessed yet.
Cao Huan still felt it was a bit far-fetched for someone just over twenty like Lu Shi to be a general, holding nearly half the kingdom's military power.
But then again, Xia's real history had seen plenty of similar cases, so it wasn't too unbelievable.
Meanwhile, Shen Buyan finally spoke up, asking Lu Yuan some questions.
"Your Majesty, may I ask—what year is it now in the Yuanqi era?"
"What do you think?"
"Year 15?"
Lu Yuan's expression faltered noticeably when she heard that.
After a long pause, she replied:
"It is currently Yuanqi Year 5. And I am not an empress—I'm just a palace official."
Shen Buyan's guess was confirmed.
And just like Cao Huan and countless other viewers watching from home—
He wasn't going to waste time beating around the bush.
No stalling. No games.
Shen Buyan directly laid it all out:
Li Yong would betray the nation in ten years.
He would defect during the Shangsi Festival, smuggle out classified military secrets through the east gate, and take Lu Yuan's adopted son hostage.
All of it.
"Yes, finally! That's how a real person would act!" Cao Huan was thrilled.
He'd had enough of dramas where the protagonist dragged things out, bottling up important information that could've avoided disaster, just so the plot could move in the direction the screenwriter wanted. That kind of forced writing always made characters look dumb.
But not this time.
Lu Yuan turned her back to Shen Buyan, expression unreadable.
After a long silence, she finally faced him.
"What are you talking about? I don't have an adopted son. And Chancellor Li would never betray the nation."
Her face was calm. No hint of emotion.
Cao Huan opened his mouth—then shut it.
Of course, she wouldn't believe him. Even he wouldn't believe someone saying that kind of thing in real life.
If someone walked up to you and said your son would get hit by a truck ten years from now, would you believe them?
Cao Huan figured he'd beat that person senseless for cursing his kid.
The fact that Lu Yuan didn't immediately have Shen Buyan dragged off and beaten just showed how composed she really was.
Or maybe it was because he'd just saved the mentally disabled emperor, earning the imperial token—so as a palace official, Lu Yuan had no choice but to treat him with respect.
And then came the most jaw-dropping scene of the episode—
After leaving Mirror Flower Tower, Lu Yuan boarded Li Yong's carriage.
That's right.
Lu Yuan had been promoted to a palace official under Li Yong's recommendation.
And her brother, Lu Shi, was Li Yong's adopted son.
As the ending theme played, Cao Huan was left speechless.
"...What?"
In Episode 1, the 36-year-old Lu Yuan and Li Yong were mortal enemies.
In Episode 2, are the 26-year-old Lu Yuan, Li Yong, and Lu Shi all on the same side?
Good grief.
She controls the court, her brother controls the military...
And this is the guy who'll betray the country?
With the emperor being mentally unstable, doesn't that make Li Yong the actual ruler?
And why did they have to end the episode at this intense moment?
Cao Huan felt a mix of frustration and awe.
He opened the official forum page for 'An Ancient Love Song' on SakuraNet—
Only to see the comment section already on fire.
"That line from 36-year-old Lu Yuan—'We'll meet again'—had me in tears."
"For Shen Buyan, it was a reunion. For Lu Yuan... it was goodbye."
"Now it makes sense where Lu Yuan's feelings in Episode 1 came from—it's from the second time travel."
"What on earth did Shen Buyan do during this second trip that made the 36-year-old Lu Yuan willing to die for him?"
"Also, why did she marry that mentally disabled emperor? Something's off there."
"There are more and more mysteries now."
"I hope Su Yan keeps it up. Please let the second time-travel actually change her fate, so she doesn't die at 36."
"Here's one thing I don't get: didn't 26-year-old Lu Yuan not believe Shen Buyan? Then why did the 36-year-old woman believe him enough to prepare an ambush at the east gate?"
"People can change. The protagonist's actions clearly start shifting her perspective. That'll probably be what Episodes 3 and 4 are about."
"My brain is fried. If she really believed him at 36, then why did she still die?"
"What if—it was because she believed him, that she ended up dying? It's the butterfly effect. If she hadn't trusted him, maybe she would've lived out her life and died much later, as history originally recorded."
"That's a mind-bending idea. So her death at 36 was the result of meeting the protagonist?"
"Meaning, no matter what Shen Buyan does in this second time travel... he might already be doomed to cause her death?"
"No way... don't tell me this is another tragedy? 'Rurouni Kenshin' was already painful enough. Why is 'An Ancient Love Song' going down the same road?!"
"Not necessarily! This is all just speculation. Lu Yuan isn't the empress yet. Her brother isn't dead. If Shen Buyan can change the course of events from here, then it means history can be changed."
"Don't forget, there were five jade shards. That means the protagonist has four chances to time-travel. If the past can't be changed, why even give him that setup?"
"Wait—five shards, four chances? Didn't you fail elementary math? That's five chances."
"...Uh, I can't even respond to that. If you don't get it, maybe just don't talk. Also, pay attention—those five shards eventually form a complete ring!"
"To defy history, to change it, to save someone doomed to die—that's what makes him the protagonist. I really didn't expect this kind of brilliance from a late-night filler show. I haven't seen 'Rurouni Kenshin', but you guys keep hyping it—guess I just found something to watch during my night shift."
"Exactly! The protagonist should be able to do what we can't. It looks like Lu Yuan's death is set in stone, like a tragic ending—but I believe Su Yan-sensei won't let her go out like that."
"...Are you sure about that?"
"Believe in Su Yan? Did you forget how Yukishiro Tomoe died?"
When a drama starts getting mind-bending, the discussion always heats up.
Even though 'An Ancient Love Song' still had a small late-night viewership, the depth and intensity of online discussion were already solidly established.
In fact, most people who had seen it agreed—it was way more interesting than the A-grade dramas airing on the Big Three networks.
Those shows were just full of tired formulas, relying entirely on star power and production values.
But this?
This was something new.
A time-travel story—and even a reverse time-travel story—like this had never been done before in the Xia Nation's drama industry.
With fresh concepts and unpredictable twists, it was impossible to guess where the next episode would go.
It might still be niche for now, but compared to other shows airing this season, its reputation was already miles ahead.