Yu Zheng who is the producer also writes the screenplay and has a cameo in the drama.
Yang Rong was confirmed as the lead very early on to the delight of fans, which is why the sudden change in cast to Guan Xiao Tong resulted in some controversy. When filming began, Yang Rong expressed her support for the production by posting on weibo, "Feng Qiu Huang is a novel that I like very much. Director Li Hui Zhu is a director that I admire very much. Wishing Feng Qiu Huang good luck on the opening ceremony."
Actress Viann Zhang was casted to play Wang Yi Zhe which is a male character in the drama.
According to the novel,"When he became emperor, she told him, "Although your highness and I are of different sexes, we are the children of the same father. Why can you sleep with so many different women, while I must be only with my husband? This is so unfair! And after the Emperor Liu Ziye heard his elder sister's words, he ridiculously thought it made sense. So he immediately corrected his "wrong ways" and painstakingly selected thirty handsome youths for her to enjoy."
To the disappointment of fans, Yu Zheng changed up the storyline to deviate from the source novel.