question to novel readers

 Nalyn B.:

Where can I read the novel season 2, which translates into English? Is there any link? Thank you!

Check the other thread. There is a link.

I personally read it on NOVEL BIN. 746 chapters

 Anthony Tumiwa:

if she is a princess, so why she stays and works for Bei Qi kingdom?

just reminder, my question hasnt answered yet :p

if i may add,

1. in early episode of season 1, it was indicated that Fan Xian, Fan Ruoruo, Fan Sizhi , all have different mother. So what happened to Fan Ruoruo's mother?

2. who is the mother of Lin Dabao dan Lin Gong?

3. It was said that Wu Zhu once fought a grandmaster, and the result was a draw. But who is the grandmaster with whom he fought? (That's before he fought Ku He in Bei Qi), and in his fight with Ku He, who won?

Interestingly, many scenes are different from the novel.

They decided to portray the emperor in the drama as if he didn't like FX. This is inaccurate. The Emperor actually favored FX, who was his preferred son. The emperor always wanted the CP until almost the very end, when he discovered that the CP and his aunt (the emperor's sister) were lovers.

In episode 14, the incident in the emperor's study never occurred. FX never exposed Cheng Ping, as it was prearranged between them to sow chaos and then dispel rumors in order to portray FX as incorruptible. Cheng Ping and FX genuinely respect and care for each other.

The storyline with the martial artist and three assassins never actually occurred. It was all part of the screenwriter's imagination. Similarly, the killing of the girl in the street and her father did not take place in the novel. The actual arc was darker, involving a brothel that abused and kidnapped young teens, and some of them were tragically killed behind closed doors.

Sidenote… FX exiled to a place few days away from the capital, nearby the official place of the revenue when he investigated and schemed and took over the smuggling who benefited the eldest princess and the princes. He came back to the capital. The revenue was handled by the eldest princess. Again SHE is the real villain in the novel. She was in love with the emperor (brother). In the novel, the emperor loved her but never crossed the line.

In the drama, I noticed several story arcs and characters that don't exist in the novel. They chose to reveal the genius mastermind FX after the events, whereas in the novel, we know what FX is planning before the events. As a result, the cunning personality of FX in the novel is much more obvious.

This just goes to show that as humans, we are constantly changing and complex. There’s no white or black. Everyone is gray. The emperor can love you one second, and order your death the next second. He is unpredictable, decisive and powerful. 

I guess they have to change some of the stuffs in the novel and add stuffs in the drama to pass review?

if you watched ss1 its the friend of guo bao kun that sued fan xian for beating gbk up

 Davaa Zogsoo:

Yeah i just remembered, how come he became fx enemy? Isnt he stupid

not stupid per se, just a person that is too flexible to the point that he has no principal and bottom line...

Person like that is so scary, he will only see gain and lose... actually, I just remember that maybe we have seen those kind of people a lot without even realizing it...

HZW just an opportunistic climber, as FX pointed out in season 1 at the poetry contest,  who got his in the end. 

Yes, big thank you to VincentGoh for this and other great explanations of the novel. I too read novel about 3 years ago and forget some of the finer details that Mr.Goh and others have pointed out (like the fact that the emperor did not personally kill FX’s mom but indeed planned it).  The drama writers have done a great job sticking to the main plot points of the novel, while adding (the fake death of FX by stabbing at the end of season 1) or rewriting or deleting bits of it ( like the character of Sisi - FX’s concubine) .   There is one  thing thar Mr. Goh wrote that clashes with my recall of the novel: I think he wrote that Emperor Qing ‘s martial arts were not as strong as FX,  I seem to recall the Emperor consistently bested FX in any one on one duel - thus making  the Emperor‘s martial arts better than FX’s.  But I will leave to him or others to clarify if my memory is wrong.

one last semi-spoiler, watchers of the drama should really appreciate the arc of Ruoruo - a hero in any age or sex.