Gu Long
The series was considered to be a major production by TTV at that time because most of the actors in the television station were involved in the project. Hsia Ling-ling was initially selected by Gu Long for the role of Tie Xinlan, but she ended up playing Xiaoyu'er instead. Gu Long praised Hsia's performance as "a classic of the classics". Su Ying and Murong Jiu, originally two different characters in the novel, were combined as a single role (played by He Szu-min) in the series to add a touch of creativity. News of Gu Long having an affair with Chao Tzu-ching surfaced when the series was being aired in 1977. Chao was heavily criticised in the media for being a "third party" as Gu Long was already married. Gu Long had previously constantly asked the screenwriters to give Chao a bigger role on screen. After the scandal was exposed, Chao was fired from the project and replaced by Chu Hui-chen. The screenwriters also changed the script to make Chao's character, Tie Pinggu, become disfigured.