Novel's Tidbits & Discussion

I haven't touched the novel except for one part around 174 that PWX goes amnesiac and forgotten about his love for LR. Do you know in which part of this lifetime the memory loss happen? Is it after they finally won the battle for the throne or.....?

 AnastasiaWun:

I haven't touched the novel except for one part around 174 that PWX goes amnesiac and forgotten about his love for LR. Do you know in which part of this lifetime the memory loss happen? Is it after they finally won the battle for the throne or.....?

It was after their daughter was born and it's just a comedic chapter nothing serious.

 Xiao An:

well in the end Su Rong Qing defeated by them, lost everything  even his own identity because infront of everyone he was dead as a sinner who rabelled against the crown prince.And he saw everything that he choose the wrong way.So of course he would never return

Did PWX let go free because he pity SRQ or because he thinks LR doesn't want him dead? 

 AnastasiaWun:

i don't understand SRQ. Since he knows his past life, why is he still going along with the aristocrats and not take the opportunity when the Princess proposed to him at the Prince Consort selection meeting!

In this lifetime, he appears to love LR and even propose to her when he learns abt PWX's death. But does he really love her?

If he  does love LR, why then team up with Consort Rou to go against LR in this lifetime!

I agree with Xiao An's reply, in SRQ's head, Li Chuan will never be an option. He has a big grudge that Li Chuan killed all his family in the past but cannot see clearly why Li Chuan did that. He blames Li Chuan for the order to poison Li Rong but fails to self-introspection with or without that order he is the one who does it with his hand. Teaming up with Consort Rou is his only option so Li Chuan cannot ascend the throne. Like Xiao An said SRQ doesn't want to admit that everything can change and then fails to see the bigger picture. In this second chance of life, SRQ still lives in the past, not the present.  

Let me add something. I think SRQ's love for LR is selfish love. He wants LR to be his 'domestic' wife, he will protect her, and keep them safe by teaming up with aristocrats. It's kind of like let's not go out of the box. But, he failed to understand Li Rong. She is someone who has a big dream, not a beautiful bird in a cage. Even after Li Rong says to him in Ep. 16 that she wants to live in a world that aligns with her values, the world of justice and fairness, he replies fairness is too luxurious. On the other hand, Pei Wen Xuan can understand and support Li Rong fully. His love for LR is unselfish one that he always puts Li Rong above everything. He does not hesitate to advise when LR misses a step but never suppresses her dream. I will quote Ep. 19 preview

"If she wants the world, I can give it to her. If she wants peace and quiet, I can give it to her too. What's more, as a husband, love for his wife is not to confine her. But, it's about what she wants to do and I have the ability to let her do it with impunity." - Pei Wen Xuan. 

So someone told me to enter this into the discussion section. It is the political backstory of the novel and drama.

The aristocratic families controlled so many things. They had the rights to own vast land, servants and slaves. They could own soldiers and some were giving permits to engage in things like iron smelting, etc. And they were exempt from taxes. Their descendants and family members were also appointed into official positions without needing to write any examinations and they had no quotas restricting them.
On the other hand, there were ordinary or poor families like the Pei and Qin family. PWX's dad was recognised by the crown prince, the current emperor, and someone in the Qin family was noticed for his poetry, and then they had military prowess, that is how they became an aristocratic family. In Hauling, the aristocratic families are divided into 3 levels, and the Shangguan and Su families are in the top. I do not remember if the Pei and Qin families even classify under the 3rd level.
The imperial exams were an opportunity for people from poor families to get official positions and lift their families up. But this was made very difficult by the aristocratic families. They were the ones that set every thing up for the imperial exams, so they could replace names with people they favoured and not give a chance to the poor students. PWX would not have been a top scorer if his dad was not already recognised. They would have made him lose his position. Even for the poor students that finally made it and passed the imperial exams, they were given very low positions and they made things very difficult for them at work, so most of them would end up quitting. So many poor students, when it was close to the time for the exams, they would come to the capital and stay there and submit poetry or other works they had written to nobles, in hopes of getting recognised.

The other problem with this is that children from aristocratic families had all the resources, including time and comfort, they needed to be very well educated. They were raised to excel in all the arts. Martial arts, literature, sports, etiquette, etc. So obviously it would also be difficult for a poor student to compete, even after they had studied for the same amount of time.
The other argument and issue was that students from poor backgrounds that eventually became officials did not have integrity. They were not motivated to carry out their duties and took bribes to do anything. Students from aristocratic families on the other hand were taught about dignity and integrity and etiquette and how to maintain their reputations. They were taught order and rules. This leads to another of SRQ's points. In these families, they took care of things internally. They disciplined based on the rules of the family. This is something SRQ learnt and what he wanted to maintain.

I could forgive Li Chuan for killing Li Rong because he was "protecting" the princes as he felt the only thing "restraining" Li Rong as the head of the nobles was her love for him, and as he was dying, she had to die. 

I ABSOLUTELY can NOT forgive Shangguan Ya. From the start to the end nothing she said or did with Li Rong had an ounce of honesty. She was fine with tainting the imperial bloodline and pretended to be blind when SRG killed Zhenzhen- which led to the extermination of the Su Clan and then convinced SRQ to help Li Chuan kill Li Rong. The chaos of Li Chuan's Dynasty were all related to her actions and she just stands right of centre stage and acts like she isn't the main character all along. ???? Shangguan Ya is the worse

Even with not knowing the past; her relationship with Lin Febai always gave me the??????. After going all around everywhere with SRG she was flirting with LFB and wanted to marry him. She knew what kind of drama it would cause but she always has to think about herself. If LFB was a weird possessive man, she could have ended up repeating the previous life marital chaos. She's really not somebody you can keep as a close friends. The way her mind works is bad and dangerous.

And although they don't explain it in the novel, I don't believe the events leading up to QZZ murder by SRG did not involve her influence- it was a common harem move to raise popularity of a concubine and offspring that can't manage the fame; so someone that is pressed will kill them. The Empress that Li Rong said had firm control over the harem just happened to experience the death of her only rival...by luck? 

She manipulated SRG to kill Zhen Zhen, LR to fight for her son to be crown prince and then SRQ to kill LR (although he didn't need much push really). The only person that just knew she was off was Li Chuan and everyone treated him like a madman (well deservedly so).

Yes In that part I felt bad for Su Rong Hua.He was used and fooled by SGY most of the time and the actual chucklehead for me was him.

And honestly saying even though many readers and watchers liked SGY but I like qin zhen zhen more despite her having least part