Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 Kokuto:

Gandalf

But Gandalf came back with a promotion and a better haircut.

 Kokuto:

and Boromir

Please don't. This scarred me when I was 11. It'll happen all over again, won't it? Oh my gosh, it will.

 AH :

Ooh I hadn't heard about that before. Great tidbit! 

It was kind of shocking when I watched it, cause it was an immediately and emphatic response.  And for me, totally unexpected.

 Dramadoggy2021:

Thank you…what a sweet trailer with both TJC and the girl with such sweet smile..is it coming out soon?  …we need it to be handy when lost you forever season 2 comes out …if not we will be depressed …

Rumor has it will in October, so pretty soon.

He also has another contemporary with Wang Churan coming, that looks less ...sweet, with more banter.   He's also playing the male lead in that.  I'm really looking forward to that one, but I haven't heard anything on it's release.

 AH :

XL: XY is going to live whether she likes it or not. I'll use up as many lives, give her as much essential blood, and spend as much time healing her as necessary to bring her back from the brink of death every time. As for myself, I am going to die on the battlefield whether she likes it or not. I'll try to make her not love me too much before I die so my death is a bit less devastating to her, and I'll use one of my lives to bring her fiancee back from the dead so she can marry him.

This is true love right here. Such a selfless person....

 AH :

CX: XY is not allowed to die before me. If she seems dead, I'll give any order and make any trade necessary to bring her back. In the meantime, I'll wipe out the people who hurt her. But also... I'd rather kill XY's fiancee than let her marry him and leave me. If XY kills me for it, I understand. If she kills herself too, even better. Then I can still keep her by my side even in death and not worry about leaving her behind.

After reading all three descriptions, who would ever want CX for XY? lol He's the most selfish out of all of them.

 Elise:

I rarely watch modern cdramas... but I will for TJC. Maybe his new one will cure my XL depression 

I'm the same.  I'm totally a costume / historical junkie.

 AH :

XL: XY is going to live whether she likes it or not. I'll use up as many lives, give her as much essential blood, and spend as much time healing her as necessary to bring her back from the brink of death every time. As for myself, I am going to die on the battlefield whether she likes it or not. I'll try to make her not love me too much before I die so my death is a bit less devastating to her, and I'll use one of my lives to bring her fiancee back from the dead so she can marry him.

So he really is the absolute bestest, most specialest guy in the whole Universe, is that it?

Never doubted it, not even for a second.

 Elise:

After reading all three descriptions, who would ever want CX for XY? lol He's the most selfish out of all of them.

I agree. There's a point in the novel where XY gets a good portion of her happy ending (she sets up her own medical clinic on an island), but ZX can't stand her not being with him. So he uses his own safety to force her to come back to live with her grandfather as a princess again so he can still visit her everyday. 

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Chapter 30:

Zhuan Xu accompanied Xiao Yao and Ah Nian to the cloud carriage. As they neared Zhuan Xu saw five large cloud carriages stuffed with luggage trailing behind the passenger one.

Xiao Yao never used luggage carriages when she left so Zhuan Xu chuckled “Ah Nian, you sure have a lot of luggage, did you clean out your entire residence?”

Ah Nian blinked a few times. “It’s not all mine.”

Zhuan Xu turned and stared at Miao Pu who reported, “Three of the luggage carriages contain the Eldest Princess’s luggage.”

Zhuan Xu’s expression shuttered so quickly Miao Pu was alarmed and immediately knelt down. Zhuan Xu calmed himself and turned back around with a smile. “Xiao Yao, you come here, I have something to say to you.”

Xiao Yao was already sitting in the cloud carriage with her eyes closed ready to nap so she yawned and walked out of the cloud carriage. Zhuan Xu pulled her to the side while she lazily asked, “What’s so important?”

Ah Nian stared curiously at them but Zhuan Xu placed a spell so she couldn’t hear anything.

Zhuan Xu asked Xiao Yao, “When are you coming back?”

“I haven’t thought about it, I want to live with Dad for a bit and then think about coming back!” Xiao Yao was perplexed, didn’t he already ask her before?

“Can you come back in one month?”

“No way!” With the wedding discussions just underway, Zhuan Xu and Xing Yue’s wedding couldn’t be held in just one month.

“Can you come back in two months?”

“Probably not.”

“Three months?”

“No.”

“Four months?”

“No.”

Zhuan Xu actually went down the list of months one by one while Xiao Yao said a string of no, not likely, and probably nots.

...

“Can you come back in thirteen months?”

Xiao Yao felt she couldn’t say “probably not” to that so slowly said, “I don’t know.”

Zhuan Xu said, “Fine, I’ll send someone to fetch you in thirteen months.”

Xiao Yao quickly added “No need, if I want to come back then I’ll come back.”

Zhuan Xu appeared to not hear what she said. “In thirteen months, I’ll send someone to fetch you back.”

Without waiting for Xiao Yao’s reply, he walked towards the cloud carriage ready to send her off.

Xiao Yao walked over and muttered “Coming and going, I’m already used to it, why need someone to come fetch me? What if thirteen months later I’m not ready to come back, wouldn’t that be a wasted trip? Whatever!”

Zhuan Xu stopped and stared at Xiao Yao and it actually made her heart lurch so she quickly looked down.

Zhuan Xu said “If you don’t come back, I will go to Five Gods Mountain to get you.” And then he walked off in big fast strides.

Since the dawn of time the Emperors never met each other. Even if the Grand Emperor was Zhuan Xu’s master, now that Zhuan Xu was the ruler of a kingdom he still could not go to another kingdom. Xiao Yao wondered if she heard wrong and chased after Zhuan Xu “What did you just say?”

Zhuan Xu shoved Xiao Yao into the cloud carriage and said to both girls “Don’t play too much on the way home and go straight to Five Gods Mountain. Say hello to Master for me. Have a safe trip!”

...

Xiao Yao told her dad she didn’t want to live on Five Gods Mountain anymore but he wouldn’t let her leave. The father-daughter fight ended in a compromise, Xiao Yao left Cheng En Court and went to Ying Province Island.

In the past Xiao Yao was always in ready-to-fight mode as she earnestly learned her poisons and practiced her archery. After losing Jing and seeing Zhuan Xu ascend the throne, she had nothing left to lose and nothing left to protect. Xiao Yao deflated entirely and gave up her archery and didn’t study poisons other than to make poisons for Xiang Liu.

She had a lot of free time now and to pass the time she opened a medical clinic on the island. It was normal to have female doctors in the vast wilderness but Xiao Yao always wore a veil so it was hard for patients to trust her which is why her clinic had very few patients.

Xiao Yao didn’t mind, every day after lunch she would open the doors to see patients with Shan Hu waiting in the front while Xiao Yao was in the back reading medical texts and studying herbs.

Sometimes a few poor patients would come by since they couldn’t afford the other clinics. They tried out Xiao Yao’s treatment and discovered it worked so gradually more patients came. But it was always the poor fisherman from the area and sometimes they even paid her in fresh caught fish.

Xiao Yao would then cook the fish for Shan Hu and Miao Pu and both girls found their mouths watering to discover the Princess cooked fish as good as the royal chefs!

This type of ordinary life went on day after day until Xiao Yao forgot how much time passed. Then the person sent by Zhuan Xu arrived to fetch her and she realized thirteen months had passed. But she didn’t want to go back. In the past she accompanied him because the road was dangerous and no one else would walk with him but her.

Now he was the ruler of a kingdom with the bravest men following him and the most beautiful women by his side. His grand ambitions were slowly taking shape. And she was tired and wanted to live only this ordinary life and didn’t want to face the ups and downs that affected countless lives.

Xiao Yao wrote a letter and had the servant bring it to Zhuan Xu. She waited a few days and saw Zhuan Xu had no response and took that as his consent for her not to go back. She let out a sigh of relief and went back to living her boring life.

A few days later, a fisherman brought Xiao Yao a basket of fresh caught sea urchin at her request. She had discovered new herbs not cataloged in the Sheng Nong Herb Manual – when the Flame Emperor was writing it he lived inland so didn’t have a lot of access to herbs in the sea. Xiao Yao discovered new herbs from the ocean after talking to the fishermen and hearing their own concoctions and sea urchin was one such new find.

Xiao Yao pulled up her sleeve and started cleaning the sea urchin, the meat could be eaten tonight while the shell would be dried and turned into good medicine.

The courtyard door opened and a person walked in.

Xiao Yao had her hands full so didn’t lift her head “Go wait in the front if you are here to see the doctor.”

The person said nothing and also made no move to leave.

Xiao Yao raised her head and saw it was Zhuan Xu and was so startled her knife slipped and cut her finger.

“Is it serious?” Zhuan Xu hurriedly asked.

Xiao Yao pressed down on her bleeding finger “Why are you here? Are you crazy?”

“Let me see it.”

Xiao Yao handed her hand to Zhuan Xu and said “I’m fine! You’re the one in danger!”

Zhuan Xu used his handkerchief and water to clean the wound and then took out pills which he crushed over the wound and the blood stopped. Xiao Yao asked “Who knows you’re here?”

“If you leave with me right now, not many people will know. If you don’t leave with me right now, I don’t know who will find out. Maybe…..the entire vast wilderness!”

“You…..are you threatening me? Are you using my worry for your safety?” Xiao Yao asked in disbelief.

Zhuan Xu raised an eyebrow and thought about what she said before replying “Yes, I am putting myself in danger to pressure you.”

Zhuan Xu was being such a bastard right now! When Xiao Yao lived in the market place she was also used to being a bastard so now she was ready to see who was more unreasonable! Xiao Yao said “I don’t believe that if I don’t leave with you then you won’t go back! Stay if you want!” Xiao Yao sat back down and resumed cleaning the sea urchin.

Zhuan Xu kicked a wooden stool over and pulled his sleeves up and sat down to help Xiao Yao clean the sea urchin. He didn’t even need a paring knife and with a light squeeze of his hand he pulled out the meat cleanly. He also spent plenty of time down in the market places with the ruffians and right now it was two equally stubborn bastards butting heads. The one that was more ruthless was going to win.

Zhuan Xu cleaned the sea urchin and discussed with Xiao Yao how to eat it. He lived in Gao Xing for two hundred years and knew way more about how to prepare seafood. Xiao Yao was in a daze, Zhuan Xu always gave in to her and she never opposed his wishes. This was the first time in their lives where they butted heads and Xiao Yao actually didn’t know what to do.

The two finished cleaning the sea urchin and Zhuan Xu helped Xiao Yao wash the shells.

A patient arrived and Xiao Yao put on a veiled hat and ran out to see the patient all while praying that Zhuan Xu would be gone by the time she got back.

When she got back, Zhuan Xu was still there and cutting firewood for her.

It was getting dark and Zhuan Xu headed to the kitchen to start dinner. Xiao Yao stood in the courtyard as stiff as a wooden board and so was Miao Pu and Shan Hu. After half an hour Zhuan Xu called out “Dinnertime!”

Miao Pu awoke from her daze and ran into the kitchen to bring out the dishes. Gao Xing was warm all year round so most families dined outside in the courtyard. Miao Pu wiped down the table and set it with the dishes and utensils.

Zhuan Xu called out “You guys come in and eat as well."

Almost ten of Zhuan Xu’s personal guards filed in and Miao Pu handed them each a bowl of food and each took it silently and went to the corner to eat.

Zhuan Xu said to Xiao Yao “Let’s sit down and eat!”

He prepared a bowl for Xiao Yao and she silently ate from it. He placed a piece of sea urchin in her bowl “Try it.”

Xiao Yao ate it but couldn’t taste anything.

After dinner Zhuan Xu didn’t appear to be planning to leave. He told Miao Pu to prepare bedding for him and he started heating water in the kitchen to run a bath.

Xiao Yao finally couldn’t take it anymore and asked “Are you really doing this?”

Zhuan Xu said “Do you think I traveled thousands of miles to Five Gods Mountain to come play around with you?”

Xiao Yao knew she had to be ruthless to win but she couldn’t play around with Zhuan Xu’s personal safety so she tossed in the towel and angrily said “I’ll go with you! But you remember that I didn’t go willingly!”

Zhuan Xu said nothing and with the wave of his hand all the fires in the kitchen went out. He walked out and called “Back to Sheng Nong Mountain.”