Dang, I’ve heard this in a few places (see here for one) and it goes to show that there is always a lot of attempt to salvage projects to air and recoup some money even when shit hits the fan. C-drama The Emperor’s Love with Wallace Chung and Yuan Bing Yan has been in limbo for over a year since her tax scandal last July 2022 which wasn’t fully resolved until this week. As the weeks dragged into months, the production reportedly started taking measures to ensure it could air even if Yuan Bing Yan’s situation wasn’t resolved. It slashed the episode count in the third round of reviews down from 32 to 30 episodes and also cut Yuan Bing Yan’s total screen appearance to six episodes and changed the story to between the male lead and the second female lead, who is rising supporting actress Zhang Yue (from Love Like the Galaxy as the hot tempered bestie). Fans also noticed a new poster above made the female lead super tiny against the backdrop of a giant moon, which my god so much lulz, and asked if it was the love story between the male lead and the moon. Reportedly the production was hoping to air drop this drama in September but alas Yuan Bing Yan’s tax problem became confirmed in that short period of time and now it’s back to being on the shelf.