Chinese Title: 洪武三十二
English Title: Relic of an Emissary
Genre: Costume Martial Arts, Historical Fiction
Producer: Wong Wai Sing (The Academy, On The First Beat, E.U, Love Exchange)
Notable: ancient version of 'E.U'. Featured on 2011 TVB Sales Presentation.
Filming: April - July 2010
Episodes: 30

RELEASE DATE: APRIL 4, 2011

Cast:
Joe Ma
Michael Tse
Sammul Chan
Kate Tsui
Elanne Kong
Joel Chan
Skye Chan
Sire Ma

Official Synopsis
The founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, CHU YUEN-CHEUNG have just passed away. CHU WAN-MAN (Chan Shan Chung), who is the son of his designated heir, is made his successor.

MAN's bodyguard NGO SIU-FUNG (Michael Tse) is ordered to search for CHEUNG's lost will and in the course of his investigation, he gets to know the Prince of YIN CHU TAI's (Joe Ma) counsellor, MA SAM-PO (Sammul Chan).

FUNG and PO appreciate and respect each other, but FUNG reminds himself not to drop his guard, as TAI is coveting the throne of MAN.

One day, FUNG loses his memory during a mission and has turned from a cruel person into a sympathy filled man. PRINCESS WING-YEUNG (Elanne Kwong) has never liked or trusted brocade guards so she tells PO, a good friend of hers, to guard against FUNG.

MAN still thinks very highly of FUNG, but FUNG has become distrustful since his accident and for a reason he does not know, he finds the mysterious SHUM TSIN-SAM (Kate Tsui) and TAI, to be familiar.

Later when he comes to know a secret mission, he is caught in a dilemma of anger and guilt.

Brief Plot Overview:
The story takes place during Cheng Wo's younger years, several years before his voyages. When the Kin-man Emperor ascended to the thrown in 1399, he changed the era name to "Kin-man First Year" (建文元年). After Chu Dai usurped the throne in 1402, he purged all of Kin-man's supporters and ordered all documents that recorded the era name "Kin-man First Year" to be changed to "Hongwu Year 32" (洪武三十二年) in order to establish himself as the legitimate successor of the Hongwu Emperor, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty.



Info
* Joe Ma as Chu Dai (朱棣), the Prince of Yin (燕王) and the fourth son of Hung-mo. Dai is upset with the crowning of his nephew the Kin-man Emperor, and starts a rebellion.[4] After four years of civil war, Dai usurps Kin-man's throne and becomes crowned Sing-cho of Ming.

* Michael Tse as Ngo Siu-fung (敖笑風), a Gamyi Wai commander and Kin-man's favorite subordinate. He loses his memory after an accident but slowly regains it as the story progresses.[5]
o Also plays Ngo Ho-sang (敖可生), Fung's father.

* Sammul Chan as Ma Sam-bo (馬三保), who later receives the name Cheng Wo (鄭和), is Dai's personal bodyguard and most trusted adviser. When Sam-bo was eleven, he was captured by the Ming army and was made a eunuch. After Dai overthrows Kin-man, Dai sends Sam-bo to explore the West as an excuse to look for the escaped Kin-man.[6]

* Kate Tsui as Chin Sam-leung (千三娘), a spy who works for the Gamyi Wai. She goes undercover as a madam who owns an established brothel to obtain information regarding Dai.[7]
o Also plays Chor Chor (楚楚), Sam-leung's younger twin sister.

* Elanne Kwong as Princess Wing-yeung (永暘公主), Dai's younger sister.

* Joel Chan as Chu Wan-man (朱允炆), the Kin-man Emperor (建文帝). He is Hung-mo's grandson and Dai's nephew. Kin-man is described as a caring and gentle emperor, who places the well-being of his country and people first. He regards Siu-fung as his best friend. After Dai successfully usurps his throne, he escapes.[6]

* Skye Chan as Princess of Yin (燕王妃), Dai's wife.[8]

* Macy Chan as Sat-yan Ko-wah (薩人高娃), a skilled Mongolian female assassin who falls in love with Sam-bo.[9]

* Sire Ma as Fu Siu-kiu (傅小喬), a maid who serves in the Gamyi Wai dormitory. She was once the daughter of a noble, but due to certain legal matters, her family was arrested. She was almost sold to a brothel, but was saved by Princess Wing-yeung.[10]

* Kaki Leung as Empress Ma (馬皇后), Kin-man's empress.

* Charmaine Li as Tim-yee (甜兒), the intelligent personal maid of Princess Wing-yeung.[11]

* Yoyo Chen portrays an escort who works at a brothel. She sings and dances instead of being a sex worker. She applies a fake birthmark on her face to prevent clients from being attracted to her.[12]

* Lau Kong as Dou Hang (道衍), a Buddhist monk. He later becomes Dai's strategist, and receives the name Yiu Kwong-hau (姚廣孝).

* Wilson Tsui as Fong Hau-yu (方孝孺), a faithful Confucian scholar who serves for Kin-man Emperor.

* Dickson Lee as Chai Chun (齊泰), a lord who serves Kin-man Emperor.

* Carlo Ng as Wong Chi-ching (黃子澄), a lord who serves Kin-man Emperor.[13]

* Angel Chiang as Siu-lai (小麗), Princess of Yin's personal maid.[14]

* Benjamin Yuen as Lee King-lung (李景隆), a youthful and loyal general who serves for Kin-man Emperor. He falls in love with Princess Wing-yeung.[15]

* Fred Cheng as Chung-leung (忠良), a Gamyi Wai.

* Law Lok-lam as Chu Yuen-cheung (朱元璋), the Hung-mo Emperor (洪武帝). He was raised in a Buddhist monastery. He came in power through joining the Red Turban Rebellion, becoming its leader. After defeating the Mongolians, rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, he established the Ming dynasty, becoming the dynasty's first emperor.

* Bryant Mak as Little Chuen (小泉子), a young eunuch.

* Deno Cheung as Chu Suk (朱橚), the Prince of Chow (周王) and Hung-mo's fifth son.

* Dexter Young as Chu Pak (朱柏), the Prince of Sheung (湘王) and Hung-mo's twelfth son.

* Jess Shum as a singer who works at a brothel.[16]

* Grace Wong as Foh Yim-yim (火炎炎), a ninja and Siu-fung's first love.

Production

DEVELOPMENT

After Michael Tse's successful and popular portrayal of the undercover cop Laughing Gor in Wong's 2009 crime drama The Academy III: E.U., TVB had notions of creating a fourth installment of The Academy that would potentially continue with the character's story. After several negotiations with the company, Wong decided to drop the idea and instead went to produce a costume drama version of the series.[2] The working title of the drama was changed from "The Turbulence of Jingnan" (靖難風雲) to "Hongwu 32".

CASTING

First intended to be a continuation of The Academy series, casting for Relic of an Emissary (then known as "The Academy IV") placed an emphasis on keeping the original The Academy cast. Sammul Chan was the protagonist Lee Pak-kiu for all three installments; Kate Tsui was introduced in the second; Elanne Kong, Michael Tse, Kaki Leung, and Joel Chan were introduced in the third. After major changes were added to the script, which included story setting and character background, slight casting changes also occurred. Instead of Michael Miu leading the serial drama, Joe Ma was chosen instead. His portrayal of King Fuchai of Wu in The Conquest sparked interest for Wong to cast him as Chu Dai. Wong further mentioned that he wanted Ron Ng to be part of the cast as well, who portrayed the other protagonist Chung Lap-man in The Academy. However, the writers could not afford to write in another male lead.

PICTURES


(credit: Relic of an Emissary Wiki)

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