Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 H19279:

it can be meant  plz accept it that this is the last poison and no more in future. the last sentence is plz kindly accept it (word by word is accept it with small smile)

I honestly don't believe this holds any water, bias aside. Kindly accept it it's a plea, a plea to him to accept the poison, not a plea to accept the fact that it's her last poison.

She warn him in advance that once she gets married she won't be making him any more poisons and he definetely didn't raise a fuss or anything that would lead her to believe that she's going to need some precautionary measures. 

She waited by the sea for 7 days, what did she wait for if not for him? When FFB arrived at the wedding to tell her not get married, she replies with "you're telling me now not to get married"? What's that supposed to mean other than being angry at him that he didn't come sooner. If it's a case of cause (getting married) and effect (last poison) one would expect that it's more natural to fix the effect and not the cause. 

The note she sent him said she's getting married in 2 months. When they got to QSTown the first thing she asked him is when did you find out I was getting married and his answer was 2 months ago. Again, what's that supposed to mean if not her wanting to know  if he embarrassed her on pourpose or if he by any chance got her note too late. 

To me it's a clear cut and I really don't believe TH tried to be vague on this one at all. Add to that the crystal ball and its description and we have the whole picture. 

 blabla100:

To me it's a clear cut and I really don't believe TH tried to be vague on this one at all. Add to that the crystal ball and its description and we have the whole picture. 

I personally agree with your interpretation of why Xiao Yao sent the crystal ball. It was a confession, a plea, and an ultimatum. My approach to analyzing the novel is similar to yours—I agree that to properly interpret intent, we can't just take at face value the most conservative interpretation of what is literally written. To use your words, that would be missing the forest for the trees. We need to analyze actions in the context of the numerous clues that Tong Hua liberally spoon-feeds us. The introduction to the book told us that the proper way to read the novel is by interpreting the "snakes in grass, lines in dust" clues scattered throughout the novel. Tong Hua makes plentiful use of the "grass snake, dust line" writing technique throughout the novel, which contains a treasure trove of metaphors, shadow characters, and parallel situations to provide structural clues, foreshadowing, and reveal character intent.

Some of these clues are difficult for us to pick up since we're reading a translated version of the novel that glosses over some details and misses out on some nuances of the original meaning of words. However, these clues cannot be discarded if we want to understand the novel as the author intended.

That said, it's perfectly valid for readers to not necessarily care about interpreting a work as the author intended. Some readers want to interpret the novel in a way that makes it easier for them to like the protagonist (I'm guilty here). Other readers want to interpret the novel in a way that aligns with their moral compass. Still, other readers want to rewrite Poisonous Lovers' Bugs as Poisonous Not-Really-Friends Bugs and believe that Xiao Yao was completely fulfilled by the YaoJing "romance." To each their own.

End Rant :)

 plor20:

And they have disregarded and rewritten WXL and XL intimacy becuase it stemmed from a violent meeting.

After the 1st time, when XL drank XY's blood in retaliation for her poking fun at his nine heads, there was always consent for the intimacy. When XL came to WXL's room injured, WXL consented to XL drinking his blood to heal. When WXL sought out XL (using Chuan Zi's marriage as an excuse) after months without seeing him, the two consented to physical intimacy for the sake of being physically intimate.

Xiang Liu asked “Did you bathe?”

Xiao Liu was still cheeky “Bathed super clean, just waiting for my lord to arrive.”

Xiang Liu’s hand grabbed Xiao Liu’s shoulder and he lowered his head. Xiao Liu docilely tipped back his neck and when Xiang Liu’s sharp fang pierced his skin and started drinking his blood, Xiao Liu didn’t close his eyes and instead looked at the moon.

-- Vol 1 Ch 4 (Chapter 4)

It's not that XL couldn't see for himself whether WXL's neck was clean. Besides, WXL having a clean neck never particularly bothered XL before. He asked whether WXL bathed because he was flirting with WXL and because he wanted to get WXL's consent to be physically intimate.

 plor20:

TH wrote FFYY and Hou to mirror YaoLiu — that a physical and intimate relationship doesn't necessarily mean it's true love — while illustrating with Chuanzi and Tan'er that faking it till you make it is also possible in love.

Agree with Chuan Zi/Tian Er being a shadow relationship for YaoJing. There are a lot of parallels between the two relationships, including the fact that CX initially prevented both marriages from happening (by raising the price for Tian Er's freedom & taking part in Jing's disappearance). We know that Tian Er initially faked affection for Chuan Zi, with real affection gradually mixing in with the fake affection. We don't know if Tian Er's affection for Chuan Zi truly turned into love in the form that the PLBs would accept. 

I agree that FFYY/Hou is a shadow relationship for YaoLiu, but I see them more as foils for YaoLiu rather than mirrors. I do think FFYY and Hou were lovers in a way that the PLBs would accept, but they were lovers who ultimately betrayed each other--something YaoLiu never did, nor would do.

I believe Tong Hua provided many other shadow relationships as hypothetical mirrors for YaoLiu:

• A Heng and Chi Chen - What would happen if YaoLiu expressed their love despite having opposing stances.
• Miao Pu and Zuo Er - What would happen if XY had saved XL and there was no opposing stance.
• Chun Tao and Ma Zi - What would happen if FFB married into XY's family. 
• Wen Xiao Liu and Lao Mu - What would happen if XL and XY both abandoned their loyalties and responsibilities to be together.
• A Nian and Cang Xuan - What would happen if Hong Jiang surrendered to Xuan Yuan.

Most of these relationships are shallow mirrors for YaoLiu, with the sole purpose of showing that YaoLiu could have been together in all of these scenarios. We can't take the feelings that CX had for A Nian (which was sibling affection rather than romantic love) and apply them to infer how XY felt about XL, even though CX is a shadow character for XY and A Nian is a shadow character for XL.

As far as shadowing YaoLiu's actual feelings towards each other, I feel that only the A Heng/Chi Chen dynamic mirrors the YaoLiu dynamic.

"One of the biggest hurdles for Jingers to accept XY loving XL is because YaoLiu never had any physical intimacy,"

 I see it completely differentely, the intimacy between yaolin is steaming hot, with lots of sexual tension going on, while YaoJing is more or less 2 school kids going on a few dates togheter. 

 blabla100:

"One of the biggest hurdles for Jingers to accept XY loving XL is because YaoLiu never had any physical intimacy,"

 I see it completely differentely, the intimacy between yaolin is steaming hot, with lots of sexual tension going on, while YaoJing is more or less 2 school kids going on a few dates togheter. 

I agree with you. 

 plor20:

One of the biggest hurdles for Jingers to accept XY loving XL is because YaoLiu never had any physical intimacy, like kissing or sleeping together when she was a woman. And they have disregarded and rewritten WXL and XL intimacy becuase it stemmed from a violent meeting. But I've always argued from the beginning that YaoLiu is indeed a love affair because lovers can exist without physical and sexual intimacy. Like I get it, why would you have intimacy with someone you don't love?

There are a lot of itmacy between them, especially during the 37 years: XL fed XY blood via mouth contact. He caressed her, held her tight for long even after the treatment. Every night he slept next to her. XY knew it and she waited for his return everyday. It implied her approval to his action

Their archery lesson also requires certai amount of closeness. 

She caressed or grabbed his hair several time. She showed her despair only in front of XL .

And the scene in chapter 43 when she tried to keep him when he was injured was describle as if a typical literatural sex scene (just no comsumation in reality).

She voluntarily let him suck her blood when XL got injured by CX's subornates in chapter 5

and what happened in the pool in chapter 6 when he first bit her from anger then both of them got arose 

YaoJing's intimacy is overated, IMO. I don't think it's their romantic gestures that make people believe in them, but XY's heartbreak over him, especially that blood spitting scene. A lot of jingers didn't pay much attention to what she said to CX, that she's not sad because of Jing, but because she trusted the wrong person, whatever. 

I am trying to recall their romantic scenes, but I can't think of any that's particular iconic. The first time when she tried to kiss him he refused, because he didn't want her pity. The next time was that underwater scene, in which he refused again because he wasn't the one in her eyes. When they finally kiss, he says he gave in because she was too alluring and he's more selfish now. There's also that spider web scene, when she says that she feels like a child again. A lot of sugar on the top, but there's not much depth. As opposite to YaoLin, their intimacy level is next level IMO, it's as if they have known eachother for a lifetime already. 

@solarlunaeclipse

I think I get where you're going, but I personally still feel that A Nian is Jing's shadow. CX replaced A Nian with XY when they were apart, XY replaced XL (and her mom, if you ask me) with Jing. A Nian was willing to accept anything for CX, Jing was willing to do the same as long as he can remain by XY's side.  A Nian had no other purpose other than CX, while Jing biggest wish was to be with XY. I don't know, there were more similar things, but I can't remember them atm.