New costume drama Echoes (朝玉阶) has officially confirmed Bai Lu and Chen Zheyuan as the leads. The announcement comes as Bai Lu celebrates her 32nd birthday today. It marks the first time the two popular stars are working together, and there’s much to talk about. For fans of Bai Lu who celebrated her leaving the company, this is being dubbed the “breakup” project as it may well be her last project with her former manager Yu Zheng’s Huanyu agency now that they’ve parted ways. As for Chen Zheyuan, there’s no forgetting that Yu Zheng had thrown shade at the actor repeatedly when billing wars were at its peak over his drama Royal Betrothal with Wu Jinyan, before toning things down and now working together.
Echoes has been unveiled at iQIYI’s 2026 Conference, where its concept poster was also released. It shows a heroine as the puppeteer holding the strings of the male lead, but the big picture reveals yet another puppeteer behind the scenes wearing the same clothes as the heroine. Billing order automatically puts Bai Lu in front of Chen Zheyuan based on their surname strokes.
The story is a bit different as far as time travel dramas go with the heroine, Lu Zhaoxi, unexpectedly travelling twenty years into the future upon entering the palace. There, she encounters Consort Yu. The two initially view each other with hostility, but gradually come to understand one another and work together to uncover the truth behind their fate. Aside from Lu Zhaoxi, Bai Lu will play her other identity aka “disguise” as Yan Zhaozhao. Chen Zheyuan will play a powerful court official named Tu Yin. The screenplay is written by Ren Yanan, known for being the screenwriter of The Double, and is based on an original screenplay.
avarachika
Oh, sounds pretty interesting. Maybe I’ll finally watch a Bailu drama after so long.