Chasing Dramas Karen and Cathy

Ying Luo has been enjoying her time in Yuan Ming Yuan with the Empress Dowager for the last three years but then is urged by Fu Heng to return to the palace. A new woman given the name Chen Bi has appeared in the palace and has captured the full attention of the Emperor. This woman is such a threat that even the Empress Nala has decided to work with Ying Luo to bring her down.

Karen and Cathy discuss the Chinese social media landscape including apps such as Weibo, Xiao Hong Shu, Dou Yin and others that help keep them up to date on the latest Chinese entertainment news and stay in the know on Chinese pop culture.

The Empress Nala takes a swing at the Empress Dowager by exposing to the Emperor that the Empress Dowager is not his actual birth mother, but instead the woman who killed his birth mother to claim him as her own. It doesn't look good for the Empress Dowager but then we are reminded that she is the cunning and intelligent Zhen Huan who won't be taken down so easily. Even Ying Luo has to learn a few things from the Empress Dowager.

In our latest In the Know podcast episode, Cathy congratulates Michelle Yeoh on her well deserved Oscar win. Fan Bing Bing also turned heads on the Oscar red carpet! Then we discuss the Top 20 apps in China to provide some context for the social media landscape in the country.

The Emperor is angry at Wei Ying Luo for killing Er Qing but was about to make amends with her until he learns another one of her hidden secrets. She has been taking a contraceptive tonic. Feeling betrayed, the Emperor concludes that the only reason why Wei Ying Luo entered the palace was to enact revenge for the late Empress. Wei Ying Luo does not deny this and essentially becomes forgotten in the palace. She rightly deduces that it was her adoptive brother Yuan Chun Wang who betrayed her and informed the Empress of her actions. With Wei Ying Luo forgotten, the Empress now successfully captures the attention of the Emperor. 

Chinese celebrities hit up Milan and Paris fashion week with Xiao Zhan gaining plenty of praise for his looks and marketability at various shows. Karen and Cathy discuss their favorite celebrity looks and those with fashion faux pas. Elsewhere, many eyebrows were raised after high quality behind the scenes video of Zhao Lu Si and Wu Lei's interaction on horseback during the filming of Love Like the Galaxy. Zhao Lu Si was heard cussing up a storm at Wu Lei and hitting him repeatedly after she was startled during filming.