Red silk and golden sedan chairs fill the street. Drums and Suonas (唢呐) play a joyful wedding tune. But ahead, a funeral procession appears. White banners and weeping mourners carry the coffin of Changxing Hou (长兴侯). It is Chen Yanyun’s (陈彦允) wedding day, yet he does not hesitate. He stops his bridal team and says, “Give way.” Then, sitting tall on his horse in his bright red groom’s robe, he turns toward the coffin and gives a small, solemn nod.
The Unexpected Bow
On any other wedding day, encountering a funeral is considered the worst omen. Most grooms would feel annoyance or anger. They might rush past, pretending not to see. But Chen Yanyun (陈彦允) does the opposite. He stops his entire procession. He asks his people to make way for the dead. Then he nods to the coffin of a man who was never his ally. That nod is not for show. It carries no romantic subtext. It is pure respect – for a life that ended, for a family that grieves, for the simple dignity of death. In a genre filled with arrogant princes and cold CEOs, this small gesture feels revolutionary.
Meanwhile, the mourner Ye Xian (叶限) – who secretly loves Chen’s bride – also orders his funeral team to yield to the wedding. Both men, on a day that could have bred conflict, choose grace. Neither tries to assert dominance. Neither throws a tantrum. The scene lasts barely two minutes on screen, but it rewires what viewers expect from a male lead. He does not need to prove his power. He already has it. What he shows instead is a rare combination: authority paired with humility.
More Than Romance
Here is another surprise. Chen Yanyun is not the young, innocent bachelor most romance novels worship. He is fifteen years older than the female lead, Gu Jinchao. He has been married before. He has two children. He even has concubines. On paper, he sounds like the worst candidate for a dream hero. Yet readers and viewers fall for him harder with every chapter. Why? Because of how he treated his first wife, Lady Jiang (江氏). He did not love her. Their marriage was arranged, cold, and distant. But he never humiliated her. He never let servants disrespect her. He gave her full status and honor as his wife.
When Lady Jiang died, Chen Yanyun cried. Real tears. Not because he was heartbroken over lost love. He cried because he respected the years she spent by his side. He understood that she deserved mourning, even without romance. That moment in the novel – and later in the drama – cements his character. He does not confuse “not loving” with “not caring.” He separates passion from basic human decency. Many male leads would shrug off a deceased wife as a footnote. Chen Yanyun makes her death meaningful.
This is the core of his appeal. He is not a “love brain” – a character who exists only to obsess over the heroine. He has his own moral code. He protects his family, honors his past, and only then opens his heart to Gu Jinchao. When he loves her, he loves with the same steady respect. No manipulation. No jealousy tantrums. No locking her in a tower for her own good. He simply stands beside her, ready to shield her from storms. As one fan put it: “Fall in love with a man who is already good. Not a man who is only good to you.” That is Chen Yanyun.
A Man of Substance
Watch how he handles crisis. In one prison scene, Chen Yanyun sits in a dark cell, yet he still controls everything outside. He arranges protection forYe Xian, who is supposed to be his rival. He sends trusted men to Ping Yang (屏阳) to guard Ye Xian’s journey. He schemes and plans, but never to harm innocents. Every move he makes serves a larger purpose: protecting those he cares about and upholding what is right. His intelligence is not weaponized for revenge or greed. It is a shield.
His love for Gu Jinchao follows the same pattern. He does not force her. He does not suffocate her with grand gestures. Instead, he quietly removes obstacles from her path. He gives her space to grow. He respects her choices, even when those choices hurt him. This is not the flashy, all-consuming passion of teenage romance novels. This is adult love – patient, steady, and rooted in character. And that is precisely why he endures in readers’ hearts year after year. The world does not lack handsome, rich, or powerful male leads. It lacks men like Chen Yanyun: inherently decent, quietly strong, and honorable without needing a woman to redeem him.
