Hopefully good news will cheer you up. Apparently, the Hi!6 LYF special that was filmed last year with Xiang Liu wearing the red robes, is supposed to make its appearance in the new episode with TJC tomorrow.liddi:
HOW COOL!! I hope there's no Xiao Yao to ruin it though. Fingers crossed.
And secondly, as @plor20 mentioned, TJC is taking legal action against 4 Weibo users for defamation and malicious attacks using offensive language.
Those lawyers are living the dream.
I finally properly listened to 美丽的孤独 Beautiful Loneliness. It is indeed such a gorgeous, poignant piece and I can truly understand why he said the song reminded him of Xiang Liu, particularly the line:
我化作地脉 无所不在的相伴
I transform into the veins of the earth, accompanying you everywhere
That's the most beautiful song in his new album in my opinion. It has Xiang Liu written all over it.
Those lawyers are living the dream.nathsketch:
Any chance you'll be returning to the profession after you've leveled up your Mandarin nathsketch? ^^
Was Ah Heng's wedding with Shao Hao at the end of volume 1?AH :
No. The original Vol 1 ended with A Heng's death, and her body plunging into Yu Abyss.
The 2019 revised edition extended Vol 1 by moving the first 3 chapters of Vol 2 to Vol 1, thus ending at A Heng and Chi Chen's reconciliation. I personally dislike this change, because I felt that ending Vol 1 with A Heng's death as a climax of the narrative was far more impactful than seeing them reconcile at the end of the volume, which, while a happier ending, felt unexpectedly anti-climatic.
Which one of them deliberately humiliated her?
Representatives of all three kingdoms had gathered at Yu Abyss because the River Map and Luo Book (Hetu Luoshu) was rumoured to be sighted there - this is the jade egg that was mentioned in LYF.
According to legend, the River Map and Luo Book were maps created by the Great Emperor Pan Gu which not only recorded the mountains and rivers of the Great Wilderness but also detailed the climate changes in every region. Possessing these maps would not only provide knowledge of geographical locations but also allow one to use climate changes to arrange formations, making them a coveted treasure for military strategists.
-- Once Promised Vol 1 Ch15
Everyone was fighting each other to gain possession over it in Yu Abyss. The Hetu Luoshu ultimately fell into Chi Chen's hands. After A Heng and him consummated their relationship for the first time in Bai Li, Chi Chen had Lie Yang split the egg into two halves based on her suggestion - half for him so that he could account for it in Shen Nong, and the other half for her so that Qing Yang could answer to the Yellow Emperor. However, when they parted, he came after her because Zhu Yu, who tailed them, stole his half of the egg, and he believed that A Heng seduced and deceived him in order to gain possession of the entire map. As such, he deliberately struck a bargain with Qing Yang and Shao Hao in exchange for him taking A Heng away for several days.
This is the excerpt which devastated me when I read it and I wish she had just dumped their collective sorry asses and left with Lie Yang and A Bi:
Shao Hao revived Qing Yang, while Zhu Yu helped Qing Yang onto the back of the chongming bird. A Heng carried Zhong Yi onto A Bi's back, and Shao Hao stood on the back of the xuan bird. They were all prepared to leave.
“Wait!”
Chi Chen walked over, tossing the River Map and Luo Book, and everyone’s eyes followed the jade egg up and down.
“Qing Yang, Shao Hao, I want to use this to exchange something with you.”
Qing Yang and Shao Hao asked in unison, “What are you exchanging for?”
Yan Zhuan and Hong Jiang both objected in unison, “No way!”
Luo Jia remained silent, secretly gathering his spiritual power.
Chi Chen smiled and pointed at A Heng, “Her!”
Yan Zhuan could no longer contain his anger and cursed, “You lunatic, don’t think that you obtained the River Map and Luo Book on your own. Without us, do you think you could have gotten it?”
Chi Chen ignored him and simply looked at Qing Yang and Shao Hao, “I want to invite the princess to stay in Shen Nong for a few days. What do you both think?”
Qing Yang and Shao Hao were silent.
A Heng felt a chill in her heart, and shivered slightly. Chi Chen’s smile was cruel. He did not really want her; he just wanted her to see that in the eyes of her brother and husband, she was worth less than an object. The most tragic part was—she was indeed worth less!
Chi Chen split the jade egg into two halves and showed them to Shao Hao and Qing Yang. “The mountains, rivers, terrain, and weather of the entire world are all contained within this. If both of you agree, you each get one half of the jade egg. If only one of you agrees, I will give the entire jade egg to that person.”
Chi Chen’s mind was incredibly cunning and malicious, forcing Qing Yang and Shao Hao into opposition with just a few words. They understood Chi Chen's trap but had no choice but to fall into it. They looked at each other with a hint of apprehension in their eyes, and then quickly looked away when their eyes met.
Like a cat toying with a mouse already in its paws, Chi Chen enjoyed watching every detail of Qing Yang and Shao Hao’s expressions.
A Heng said to Chi Chen, “Enough, I’ll go with you!”
She carried Zhong Yi to Qing Yang and said, “If we can’t get the River Map and Luo Book, we cannot account for it to Royal Father when we get back, so I’ll make a trip with Chi Chen to Shen Nong.”
A Heng kept smiling, as if Qing Yang would never use his sister as a bargaining chip, and this was entirely her own decision. Shao Hao understood A Heng’s smile perfectly at that moment, as if as long as she continued to smile resolutely, she would feel no sorrow.
As A Heng walked towards Chi Chen, Shao Hao suddenly called out, “A Heng!”
A Heng stopped and looked back questioningly.
In the dark night, A Heng’s eyes were as bright as stars. Shao Hao remembered the stars floating in the river of Gao Xin—those were the lights he wanted to protect.
The words at the tip of his tongue were swallowed back hard, his mouth full of helplessness and bitterness, but his smile grew even gentler, “Take care on your journey. I will send guards to fetch you in a few days.”
A Heng smiled as well. As she turned around, her steps quickened until she reached Chi Chen’s side.
Chi Chen raised both hands, and the two halves of the jade egg fell into Qing Yang’s and Shao Hao’s hands, respectively.
Qing Yang glanced at Shao Hao and ordered Zhu Yu to steer the chongming bird towards the northeast.
Shao Hao assessed his own injuries and guided the xuan bird towards the southeast.
Yan Zhuan gnashed his teeth in hatred but dared not chase after Shao Hao. Instead, he mounted the bifang bird to pursue Qing Yang.
A Heng immediately steered A Bi to block Yan Zhuan, raising a thick peach blossom wall in the air using the Face Forming Flower, and shouted to Chi Chen, “Don’t forget your promise.”
It would have been fine if A Heng did not mention the promise. As soon as she did, Chi Chen was reminded of A Heng’s deceitful sweet words from the past few days. The amount of joy he once felt now transformed to an equivalent anger. He coldly replied, “Of course I have not forgotten my promise. What I promised was to exchange it for you. I did not promise that Yan Zhuan could not take it back after the exchange.”
A Heng’s sadness and disappointment turned into grief and despair. This was the man whom she had overcome numerous obstacles for, and carefully given her heart to. He was the one whom she had fought against fate and tried hard to be with. He was the one whom she believed would trust her, love her, never abandon her no matter in life or in death, in honour or disgrace, in good or bad.
“Do you really hate me so much? Is there no trust or compassion left in you besides the paranoia and cruelty of a beast?” Just the day before, he was singing to her over and over with affection as deep as the ocean, but in a blink of an eye, everything was gone.
First Qing Yang and Shao Hao's abandonment, and now Chi Chen’s betrayal. In an instant, A Heng’s heart was crushed. She threw herself towards Yan Zhuan with no regard for herself, trying to stop him from pursuing her heavily injured brothers.
-- Once Promised Vol 1 Ch17
Later she thought that Chi Chen deliberately worked in tandem with Yan Zhuan to kill her, but ultimately still used her body to shield Chi Chen when she saw Yan Zhuan attacking him. By the time she plunged into Yu Abyss, her heart was devastated by Chi Chen's lack of trust in her and what she thought was her lover's utter betrayal.
Her death shook Chi Chen to the core, and from this, he learnt to wait and observe, not to immediately believe what he saw. We first see this change in him when he came back after being unconscious for over 5 years, only to find that A Heng had a daughter with Shao Hao - and while he first attacked her, ultimately he came back after that, willing to believe that she did not betray their love, and that whatever she did was due to extenuating circumstances. It is also this change that enabled him to observe Nuo Nai for over 10 years, long after he knew he was a spy from Gao Xin, and finally come to the conclusion that Nuo Nai could be trusted.
I thought Chi You tried to stop the wedding?
He did, but she repudiated him, claiming that she preferred Shao Hao over him. She had no choice as Qing Yang had already made clear to her what the consequences held for her mother and Zhong Yi if the marriage did not go through.
Any chance you'll be returning to the profession after you've leveled up your Mandarin nathsketch? ^^
Oh well, if it’s lawyer he needs, a lawyer he shall have >:)
HOW COOL!! I hope there's no Xiao Yao to ruin it though. Fingers crossed.
I don't know about that. We shall see.
Those lawyers are living the dream.
Any chance you'll be returning to the profession after you've leveled up your Mandarin nathsketch? ^^
As @AH said, you could offer your professional services!
That's the most beautiful song in his new album in my opinion. It has Xiang Liu written all over it.
Yes I really love it too. It is surprising because the tracks that were hyped initially were Mona Lisa and INU, but this is the one that captivates me most.
Love this fan's insightful analysis of TJC and his studio's love for Xiang Liu, Fangfeng Bei and Mao Qiu, and how the side stories he personally financed helped to bridge the gap between the novel and the drama, and address what was neither covered in the novel and the drama.
In term of business, I highly praise TJC and his team for this. They are very smart and business sensible at this. I don't know how it works in cinema industry in general and in China but in my field in my employment contract it included the term that all of my work and result that I made or discovered during my employment belongs to the company. The fact that TJC and his team can possess Mao Qiu account is a kind of LYF production team's loophole.
A few days ago, a lot of fans criticized the production team for removing weibo Xiang Liu's account and said that they exploited the name of Xiang Liu to create heat for the drama. I can partially understand the production team's POV. Now the drama has completed, to maintain an active account probably costs certain amount of effort and resources. However, it is also a kind of privilege for TJC that they let him to keep Mao Qiu as his own product. And as you can see there is secondary products made from Mao Qiu. Such products use connection with Xiang Liu's image and drama's scenes too. Mao Qiu, Xiang Liu and his related stuff or such scenes are all intellectual property of owner of LYF drama
A few days ago, a lot of fans criticized the production team for removing weibo Xiang Liu's account and said that they exploited the name of Xiang Liu to create heat for the drama. I can partially understand the production team's POV. Now the drama has completed, to maintain an active account probably costs certain amount of effort and resources.H19279:
That is not exactly true. The production team only deleted Xiang Liu's account. Xiao Yao, Jing and Cang Xuan's accounts all remain active and accessible.
What they did was recreate Xiao Yao's experience losing every memory from the xingxing mirror for Xiang Liu fans - which starts off with deleting all previous posts and posting the line he told A Nian after he destroyed the Lovers bugs: "Since we are not fated to be in this lifetime, it is better not to be indebted to one another, not to miss each other, as if we never met, never knew each other. "
The next day, the entire account was deleted. Just like how Xiang Liu erased his existence from Xiao Yao's life.
And that is devastating for Xiang Liu fans who are already mourning his death in the drama.
And as you can see there is secondary products made from Mao Qiu. Such products use connection with Xiang Liu's image and drama's scenes too. Mao Qiu, Xiang Liu and his related stuff or such scenes are all intellectual property of owner of LYF drama
If you told me last year that a Mao Qiu plush was what I needed in my life, I would never have believed you. Now I regret not purchasing it when it was readily available at the time. Hopefully they will release more Mao Qiu merchandise...
Kokuto:
HUGS
:)
plor20:
HUGS Headintheclouds!!!! (ಥ﹏ಥ)
Good news! JCT is taking legal actions against defamation!!!! (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡ Is this a good enough digital hug?! ♥‿♥
Hopefully good news will cheer you up
Thank you, my lovely ladies.
Liking characters, relationships. Whatever, don't care, go for it, hope you have fun. Real-life bullshit!! Pissed-off. Last year it was minimizing and weaponing domestic/intimate partner violence. This year, it's this racket. Gross.
which is also used in the final Mao Qiu video "The Great Wilderness Portal: The Nine Lives Strategy - Final Chapter: A Letter from Mao Qiu"
You are not going to fool me into clicking on that link, liddi. That freaking Mao Qiu video is still making me cry. Nope. No way. I ain't doing it.
I agree with everything you wrote even though I'm not in a bad mood, which means that no matter the mood we're in, Jingers will always be ridiculous. YAY!
Gosh! The behaviour just reminded me of the early years of shipping wars over Dawson Creek - amongst other things. Didn't get it then. Still don't get it.
I mean is there some kind of secret prize in proving my ship is the better ship, or my ship is the only ship? What's the pot? A few million USD? 'Cause if it is then I'm willing to throw my hat in the ring and make a complete tool of myself. The rising costs of living are killing me :-).
@Liddi
That is not exactly true. The production team only deleted Xiang Liu's account. Xiao Yao, Jing and Cang Xuan's accounts all remain active and accessible.
i did not know that other characters’ account were intact. Then their action of erasing XL’s account is very stupid. They should have treated all the main characters equally
Ahhhhh...yes. this mimicking of XY experience was VERY traumatic. Becusee unlike XY we were very intune to our love for XL, and having him erased was a double blow to the heart.
Ahhhhh...yes. this mimicking of XY experience was VERY traumatic. Becusee unlike XY we were very intune to our love for XL, and having him erased was a double blow to the heart.
indeed Xiang Liu’s account was there for communication with fans and viewers, not for protecting XY. They messed up drama plot with reality . Stupid and short sighted
I can't help but wonder if Xiang Liu made the right decision in keeping Xiao Yao in the dark about his true feelings for her. I know he was afraid of irreparably hurting her, possibly even causing her to follow him in death when he died, had he confessed his feelings. However, the passage you just shared proves Xiao Yao is capable of understanding of the reasons he chose to die on the battlefield and ultimately make peace with that fact.solarlunareclipse:
I am not as convinced that at that point in time, her cerebrally understanding the reasons he or anyone else would choose to die on the battlefield, meant that she accepted it and was at peace with it. Both the novel and drama showed that although she understood, she still resented her mother for abandoning her for the greater good of their people. As such, there is no telling whether she would be able to ultimately come to terms with and accept it, especially from the man she loved, or would she have acted as Chang Pu had.
In my eyes, Xiang Liu would have caused Xiao Yao less pain if he confessed his feelings to her, and let her be secure in knowing his love for her, even if he still refused to let them act on that love because of the consequences for her.
How can Xiao Yao smile when she sees a beautiful rainbow if she never knows that the only man she loved wholeheartedly and will never be able to forget actually profoundly loved her back in return? I believe it was healing for Xiao Yao to finally see her mother again and understand the depth of her mother's love for her. Similarly, I think Xiao Yao can only truly bravely face her emotions and heal if she knows Xiang Liu loved her.
He had already seen how she just keeled over and allowed the albatross demon to trap her under the ocean, hence him forcing her to promise to continue to live on, even if Jing never came back. What was to stop her from giving in to her grief if he confessed that he loved her too and accepted a life with her for a time, before dying on the battlefield as they both knew would happen? He could not risk that for her when he only wanted her to continue on living well without him. The best solution in his mind was for her to hate him so much that ultimately when he did die, any grief she might have would be minimised and she stood the best chance of going on to have a good life after that. He could not give her what she wanted - to be the someone she could rely on for life; so he did the next best thing - ensure that there would be someone who could be there for her when he couldn't, someone she was willing to marry, even if it was not the one she most wanted to spend her lifetime with.
I wonder, if given the opportunity, what Shao Hao would have done differently. If he had told A Heng that he wanted a real marriage instead of a political one, would A Heng have tried her best to forget Chi Chen and have a real marriage with Shao Hao? Or was it too late at that point regardless of how Shao Hao responded to her question?
He definitely regretted his decision. I am of the opinion he finally fell in love with her when she came back for him in Yu Abyss when he was badly wounded and together, they stood little to no chance of leaving alive - he told her as much, but by then she was already in love with Chi Chen. It's in this scene too that we understand why Shao Hao was the way he was:
Lying on Shao Hao’s arm, A Heng laughed and said, "I’m so stupid! I couldn’t save you and ended up sacrificing myself instead. Why didn’t you try to persuade me more just now? Indicate that you had resigned yourself to death and didn’t need me to interfere?"
Shao Hao kept his eyes closed and did not speak. After a moment, he said, "Because I’m very afraid of dying."
Earlier, after A Heng had run away, he was not afraid but just calmly felt the power of Yu Abyss increasing little by little, slowly engulfing him. He was already familiar with the feeling of darkness closing in because he had lived like this every day since he was a child. He once thought that Royal Father was the most reliable, but forgot that while Royal Father was his only father, he was not Royal Father’s only son. The old nanny whom he once thought cared for him the most, poisoned his food for hundreds of years. The sister whom he once thought he could trust, relayed everything he said to the Eminent Empress. He once thought... Time and time again, he had long grown accustomed to watching every family member and friend abandon him without hesitation, and he believed that this was the norm.
However, upon hearing A Heng’s footsteps rushing back, his calm shattered, and his heart raced as if he was secretly yearning for something. In the face of the Shen Nong army of a hundred thousand, he could talk and laugh calmly, but at that moment, he did not even have the courage to open his eyes to confirm.
A Heng sighed, “I’m afraid of dying too.” She thought of Chi Chen and felt very unwilling to die like this!
Shao Hao stared into the darkness in silence. It was strange. Now the gravity was so strong that he could not even sit up, yet he no longer felt the sensation of being swallowed up by the darkness. Perhaps what he feared was not death itself, but dying alone. The darkness of Yu Abyss was not frightening; what was terrifying was the darkness of being abandoned by everyone.
Suddenly, Shao Hao said, “A Heng, if... I’m just saying if, if there is a next life, I'm no longer Gaoxin Shao Hao, and you are no longer Xuanyuan Ba. No matter what you are like, I will be a husband who never abandons you.”
A Heng laughed softly, “There are already so many ties in this life; why should we bring the ties of this life into the next life? If there is a next life, I wish to live once with a clean slate.”
Shao Hao smiled as well. “You are right.”
-- Once Promised Vol 1 Ch15
However, after they escaped the abyss, he betrayed her by accepting Chi Chen's unconscionable deal. He regretted his decision and did try to start all over again with A Heng after she was recovered from Yu Abyss and resurrected. At the time, she pretended to have lost her memories, because she did not wish to face the betrayal leading up to her death. And I think A Heng might have given it a go after his vow, had Chi Chen not forcibly taken her away and finally broke down her defenses and reconciled with her immediately after that. Ultimately, I believe she made the right decision even though it led to so much tragedy.
Shao Hao stood at the edge of the cliff, his clothes fluttering in the cold wind, leaving behind an endless desolation. "A Heng, do you remember what we talked about in Yu Abyss?"
A Heng frowned and thought for a while before shaking her head apologetically. "I can't remember."
"At that time, I was ambushed by Yan Long and was on the brink of death. You could have escaped alone, but you chose to stay to save me, getting trapped in Yu Abyss with me. We both thought we would die for sure. Before dying, I told you that if there was a next life, we would be husband and wife."
A Heng smiled. "Aren't we husband and wife now?"
Shao Hao shook his head. "We merely had no choice but to be tied together by Xuan Yuan and Gao Xin."
A Heng remained silent, and Shao Hao spoke softly, "Since we walked across the bridge of marriage built by the xuan birds, whether we wanted to or not, we were destined to be entangled for a lifetime. Now that Heaven has given you another life, perhaps it is to give us a chance. Are you willing to try? To give you and me a chance to be a real couple."
A Heng did not answer and stared at the vast emptiness, not revealing what was on her mind.
Shao Hao asked, "Do you remember Chi Chen?"
"I don't remember."
Shao Hao seemed about to say something, but A Heng quickly interjected, "Since I have forgotten, it must not matter. Let it stay forgotten!" She smiled and looked at Shao Hao. "My brother said that Chi Chen and I were lovers. Do you mind what happened between me and him?"
Shao Hao replied, "Of course not. Our marriage was decided long ago. If I had the intention, no one could have snatched you away from me; it was I who pushed you away."
"Then why do you want to be husband and wife now?"
"I... I... When we first married, I made a covenant with you to be my princess consort only in name." The usually composed Shao Hao actually stammered with nervousness. "Now, I regret it."
A Heng gazed at Shao Hao, as if trying to see through his heart. Shao Hao felt his heart pounding as if the entire world had disappeared at that moment, with only A Heng clear and distinct before him, and each breath tore at his heart.
After a while, A Heng extended her hand to Shao Hao and said, "Alright, let's start all over. No matter what happened before, from now on, I will be your real princess consort."
Suddenly, a quick gasp came from below the cliff. Shao Hao raised his palm and gathered his powers, but saw an old mountain ape rushing out from the bottom of the cliff, clutching a vine and swinging onto a tree.
Shao Hao dispersed his spiritual power, took A Heng's hand, and pulled her into his embrace. He hesitated for a moment before gently kissing her forehead. A Heng leaned against him without any objection.
Shao Hao held A Heng tightly and whispered the most serious vow of his life into her ear. "What I want is more than just a princess consort. I want you to be my wife, for the whole of our lives, the only person in each other's hearts."
A Heng's body trembled suddenly. She wanted to lift her head to say something, but Shao Hao firmly pressed her head against his and murmured, "Don't say anything. I don't want to hear anything. You only need to remember my vow."
A Heng could feel the slight tremor in his hand, like a silent plea. After a while, she rested her head on his shoulder and slowly closed her eyes.
The fire pearl hanging in the mountain pavilion cast a bright red light on Shao Hao and A Heng, projecting two black shadows on the opposite cliff, leaning against each other, intimate and loving.
-- Once Promised Vol 1 Ch19 (originally Vol 2 Ch2)
Hrm, which scenes made Xiao Yao's true feelings for Xiang Liu more obvious in your eyes?
Off the top of my head:
- The added scene at the gambling den where they asked each other questions. When Fangfeng Bei asked her whom she loved, her answer was the person she wanted to spend her entire lifetime with. This would tie back to the 4th question he asked her in Qingshui Town which she refused to answer, which indicated it was neither Ye Shi Qi nor Jing. Having established that the person she had in mind was Xiang Liu, by extension, it also tells us that the one she loved was Xiang Liu.
- After the meal at the Lirong old donkey meat seller's place, she pointedly asked him whom she should marry if not Feng Long - a line that was not in the novel. His refusal to answer her, and his next words "I can only see you off here. Ahead... is your world." drove home to her the fact that he had no intention of being with her, hence her words to A Nian: "In the end, he is not someone I can journey together with", indicating that when she asked him that question about the difficulty of finding someone to journey with earlier, it was him she had in mind, which she followed up with more pointed questions that were all deflected by him.
- The implications of the red robes she wore (as opposed to the white robes in the novel and the leaked script) during the seven day wait by the ocean. Xiao Yao had to have worn it first, for Xiang Liu to respond in kind.
- The added scene of her tearful confrontation with Xiang Liu at Qingshui Town after she knew Fangfeng Bei was dead, and her devastated tears in the room as she cradled the bow.
- Her recollections to her grandfather about the time in Qingshui Town. Although her internal monologue about the Lovers bug from the novel was removed, what was added was her recalling with tears in her eyes, the time she drew on his face, and how she felt that he never intended to harm her. In that moment, Xiang Liu could feel her missing him, hence his words "A kind of feeling, puts two people in sadness." - which tells us that their feelings for each other are mutual, but the circumstances makes it impossible for them to be together.
- The repeated reference to the bugs with its proper name Lovers poisonous bugs (when Xiang Liu meets the Shaman King, when he destroys the bugs), reinforcing that the bugs could only be planted by lovers, and not just a one-sided love.
- The pain in her heart when she woke up from her nightmare before he died, and after she learnt of his death. In both instances, the Lovers bugs had been removed, so the pain was solely hers, for him. And the wordless tears she wept after his death, spoke far more eloquently of a deep-seated grief than any overwrought histrionics of the past. Also, correct me if I am wrong but I don't recall the drama ever showing her with any heart pain during the time when she was separated from Jing.
No. The original Vol 1 ended with A Heng's death, and her body plunging into Yu Abyss.
Ah okay. Not the wedding then. I guess that was earlier in volume 1?
the River Map and Luo Book (Hetu Luoshu) was rumoured to be sighted there - this is the jade egg that was mentioned in LYF.
Aha! Back story for the jade egg! I was always curious about how half of it ended up with Shao Hao and half ended up with the Yellow Emperor.
However, when they parted, he came after her because Zhu Yu, who tailed them, stole his half of the egg, and he believed that A Heng seduced and deceived him in order to gain possession of the entire map. As such, he deliberately struck a bargain with Qing Yang and Shao Hao in exchange for him taking A Heng away for several days.
Uh oh.
Chi Chen walked over, tossing the River Map and Luo Book, and everyone’s eyes followed the jade egg up and down.
So Chi You somehow managed to get both halves back?
A Heng felt a chill in her heart, and shivered slightly. Chi Chen’s smile was cruel. He did not really want her; he just wanted her to see that in the eyes of her brother and husband, she was worth less than an object. The most tragic part was—she was indeed worth less!
A Heng immediately steered A Bi to block Yan Zhuan, raising a thick peach blossom wall in the air using the Face Forming Flower, and shouted to Chi Chen, “Don’t forget your promise.”
It would have been fine if A Heng did not mention the promise. As soon as she did, Chi Chen was reminded of A Heng’s deceitful sweet words from the past few days. The amount of joy he once felt now transformed to an equivalent anger. He coldly replied, “Of course I have not forgotten my promise. What I promised was to exchange it for you. I did not promise that Yan Zhuan could not take it back after the exchange.”
A Heng’s sadness and disappointment turned into grief and despair. This was the man whom she had overcome numerous obstacles for, and carefully given her heart to. He was the one whom she had fought against fate and tried hard to be with. He was the one whom she believed would trust her, love her, never abandon her no matter in life or in death, in honour or disgrace, in good or bad.
“Do you really hate me so much? Is there no trust or compassion left in you besides the paranoia and cruelty of a beast?” Just the day before, he was singing to her over and over with affection as deep as the ocean, but in a blink of an eye, everything was gone.
First Qing Yang and Shao Hao's abandonment, and now Chi Chen’s betrayal. In an instant, A Heng’s heart was crushed. She threw herself towards Yan Zhuan with no regard for herself, trying to stop him from pursuing her heavily injured brothers.
Later she thought that Chi Chen deliberately worked in tandem with Yan Zhuan to kill her, but ultimately still used her body to shield Chi Chen when she saw Yan Zhuan attacking him. By the time she plunged into Yu Abyss, her heart was devastated by Chi Chen's lack of trust in her and what she thought was her lover's utter betrayal.
Ouch. Yes I can see why you would be devastated by Ah Heng's circumstances in this scene.
And I can see what you meant by Chi You's untrusting nature when you mentioned it before.
Her death shook Chi Chen to the core, and from this, he learnt to wait and observe, not to immediately believe what he saw. We first see this change in him when he came back after being unconscious for over 5 years, only to find that A Heng had a daughter with Shao Hao - and while he first attacked her, ultimately he came back after that, willing to believe that she did not betray their love, and that whatever she did was due to extenuating circumstances. It is also this change that enabled him to observe Nuo Nai for over 10 years, long after he knew he was a spy from Gao Xin, and finally come to the conclusion that Nuo Nai could be trusted.
Character growth. That's good I guess.
He did, but she repudiated him, claiming that she preferred Shao Hao over him. She had no choice as Qing Yang had already made clear to her what the consequences it held for her mother and Zhong Yi if the marriage did not go through.
Ah Heng did that? I didn't realize that. How devastating for Chi You... and for her to have to say that for her family's sake when she didn't mean it.
I am not as convinced that at that point in time, her cerebrally understanding the reasons he or anyone else would choose to die on the battlefield, meant that she accepted it and was at peace with it. Both the novel and drama showed that although she understood, she still resented her mother for abandoning her for the greater good of their people. As such, there is no telling whether she would be able to ultimately come to terms with and accept it, especially from the man she loved, or would she have acted as Chang Pu had.
He had already seen how she just keeled over and allowed the albatross demon trap her under the ocean, hence him forcing her to promise to continue to live on, even if Jing never came back. What was to stop her from giving in to her grief if he confessed that he loved her too and accepted a life with her for a time, before dying on the battlefield as they both knew would happen? He could not risk that for her when he only wanted her to continue on living well without him. The best solution in his mind was for her to hate him so much that ultimately when he did die, any grief she might have would be minimised and she stood the best chance of going on to have a good life after that. He could not give her what she wanted - to be the someone she could rely on for life; so he did the next best thing - ensure that there would be someone who could be there for her when he couldn't, someone she was willing to marry, even if it was not the one she most wanted to spend her lifetime with.
I agree with this.
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