Seriously! How could she demand to be the only woman in a relationship, because she didn't want to end up like her grandmother, and totally ignore she was doing exactly what her grandmother did, set her sights on a man who already was in a relationship??? It's insane.Kokuto:
XY is the epitome of the idiom, "Be careful of what you wish for" as well as "Like mother, like daughter." She wished so hard not to be like her mother and every woman in her life, only to end up just like them. But for her situation is even sadder, because at least with her mother, Ah Heng was able to love the man of her life. As for her grandmother, I actually don't feel that bad for her...excuse my French...but she kind of got what she deserved. lol.
On the subject of the 15 years promise:HeadInTheClouds:
1) The discussion shouldn't even be what Jing intended to do or whether he reasonably believed that he could deliver, but whether it should have even been asked in the first place. And the answer to that is a solid NO. Jing was an engaged man, and unless and until he got himself free, he should not be asking anyone to bind themselves to him. PERIOD. He was supposedly a "gentleman", he would know that this is not the action of a gentleman. His action was motivated out of pure selfishness. His action was wrong, wrong, wrong right at its inception. Any further discussions on this are excuses and justifications for this wrongful act.
TSJ himself knew that he shouldn't have said what he said and asked WXL to wait for him, since he was engaged. He acknowledged that outright before he made the ask. But XY didn't seem to think that he was wrong for asking. She knew what he wanted to say and waited patiently for him to say it. It even seemed like she prompted him.
For that reason, and for other reasons we've covered in this thread before, I don't view TSJ making that ask as all that terrible a thing for him to do.
----
Chapter 8:
Shi Qi’s breathing was erratic and his heartbeat was also fast. Xiao Liu knew what he wanted to say but was embarrassed to say. So she didn’t rush and instead nestled like a cat on his shoulder waiting patiently.
“Xiao Liu….I……I know I am engaged and have no right to say this to you…..and I never dared to….but…….I will call off the engagement, I will call off the engagement! You wait for me for twenty years….no…..no, fifteen years. You give Tu Shan Jing fifteen years, and after fifteen years I’ll give you back a Ye Shi Qi.”
Xiao Liu asked, “How do you want me to wait?”
“You…..you won’t let another man……into your heart.”
Xiao Liu was silent.
In the darkness, Shi Qi couldn’t see Xiao Liu’s expression and he was so nervous he forgot to breathe.
Xiao Liu suddenly burst out laughing and Shi Qi didn’t know if her laughter was mocking him for daring or….
Xiao Liu said, “You, you really don’t know me at all. My heart is cold and there is a hard shell encasing it. Forget fifteen years, likely in fifty years there won’t be a man who goes inside.”
Shi Qi asked, “So you’re agreeing? Let’s make a palm promise.”
Xiao Liu lazily raised her palm and Shi Qi felt where it was and then solemnly pressed his palm on hers. After they joined palms, he didn’t release and instead tightly held her hand. “Xiao Liu, I’m, I’m so happy.” His voice was quivering as his heart soared.
Xiao Liu couldn’t help but smile.
2) To call Jing's naive is to infantilise him; it diminishes the magnitude of responsibility that he should bear for his actions. Jing was an adult. He would have known his own ability, his grandmother, his family circumstances and what he could reasonably do or not do. If he doesn't then he's more pathetic than he already is. The decision-making power to break the engagement was not 100%, solidly in his hands; if it were he wouldn't have asked for the 20/15 years. He would have known that he has to deal with the FFYY, the FF's family, his clans and his grandmother - all of these parties have a stake in this engagement. That's not one, but 4 other sources of influence that diminished his control over this situation. These things are not unforeseeable circumstances. They are very much foreseeable obstacles to his ability to deliver on his promise. Yes, we make promises even when we're not 100% certain. But I do not make promises where I need 4 other people to co-sign it to make it happen. That's like promising someone to sell them a car that has 4 other people's names on the deed. I guess I'm not as naive as Jing.
Like I said, don't write cheques unless you have money in the bank and this is Jing, writing XY a cheque while he waits for his grandmother, his clans, FFYY and the FF's family to (hopefully) deposit the money. This isn't naivety. This is a scam. It's a con. And like a good con artist, he targeted and exploited his victim's vulnerability - selling and promising to fulfil her hope in a future outcome - while reaping the benefits for himself. He doesn't know if he can fulfil his end of the bargain, but with this promise, he successfully binds her to him. He ensured her investment, her attachment to this promised outcome and to him. An attachment that XY never managed to extricate herself from; continuously making excuses for his constant failures. This 15-year promise was designed to benefit Jing first and foremost. This promise was a metaphorical prison that con man Jing lured and trapped XY into. Self-serving rat.
Naiveté does not exclusively belong to children. Adults can be naive at any age, and recognizing those instances of naiveté in an adult doesn't necessarily equate to infantilizing that adult. While many TSJ fans do infantilize him, sometimes to a truly incomprehensible degree, I don't think calling him naive for believing that his grandmother would accommodate his wishes should be grouped in with that infantilization. I also don't think that that belief makes TSJ pathetic.
Since he intended to leave the Tushan clan and to return YSQ to XY at the time that he made the promise, control over ending the engagement really did rest with him as long as nothing unexpected happened to force him to stay with the clan (e.g., his grandmother using her pain and poor health the way she did in chapter 23). TSJ presumably wanted to break the engagement the right way (i.e., with minimal harm to FFYY, who he viewed as an innocent victim of the circumstances, and with minimal harm to himself and the Tushan clan), which would require time before he walked away.
After the promise was made, variables changed and TSJ became aware of new information that made him change his plans, including planning to stay with the Tushan clan and to retain his name and status (at least until the assassination attempt against XY made him change his mind). In the context of his changed plans, he no longer had the same ability to unilaterally end the engagement even if he couldn't convince others (his grandmother, the clan elders, FFYY and the FF family).
XY never seemed like she wanted to extract herself from the promise. In some ways, it was more like the opposite. Like she was frustrated and felt neglected when TSJ gave her space, stopped reminding her about the promise, and didn't ask her why she was spending time with FFB.
I personally don't view the promise as a cunning plan that TSJ sprung on XY. iirc, we've discussed that topic at length in this thread already so I won't try to cover it again.
These things are entwined. I said before that I don't judge Jing solely from the position of whether he's fulfilling XY's needs. Him living and dying for XY is a black mark against him. I judge his actions and what it tells me about his character. Here, it isn't about him working on breaking his engagement to FFYY, it's about him cowardly sleeping for 37 years. It's judging him for abandoning all of his other responsibilities. If Jing was less of a spineless coward, he would have stayed awake. He robbed himself of the opportunities to fulfil his promise to XY through his own cowardice. And that's what I'm judging him for.
When it comes to fictional characters, living and dying for a romantic interest isn't something that I personally view as a black mark against the character. Some of my favourite fictional characters and pairings could probably be described that way. Although TSJ doesn't fit in all that well with them... his coma just doesn't have the same intense vibes. That said, I don't really view TSJ falling into a coma (with his soul seeking death) as an action that make TSJ a "spineless coward". Abandoning responsibilities I can sort of see... he had been playing a key role in helping CX and when he was in a coma CX and Feng Long struggled without him. He was also supposed to become the next Tushan clan leader. Although he wasn't clan leader yet (and did not want to be), wasn't married yet, and wasn't a father to TSZ yet, he presumably still had some responsibilities related to the clan and its business. But "abandoning" those relatively minor responsibilities (compared to the much greater responsibility of a clan leader or an emperor, for example) because XY died doesn't seem all that terrible to me.
This has me thinking about all the characters that chose death, or accepted death, in the novels.
Chang Yi choosing to die with his soldiers. Chang Pu choosing to die in order to join Chang Yi in death. Ah Heng longing to die with Chi You, but promising him that she would stay alive long enough to pass his message to XY before finally getting to join him in death. TSJ trying to die with XY. XY accepting her assassination / imminent death so she could join TSJ in death. XY trying to poison herself to death after finding out that CX orchestrated TSJ's murder. CX accepting XY killing him and remarking that it was good that she was going to kill herself along with him. XL choosing to die with his comrades on the battlefield... Are they all cowards? I personally don't think so.
AH :
My point is that TSJ could have acted selfishly and tried to stop XY from being with XL/FFB during that time. But he didn't, and I think that provides some insight into his thoughts and his actions related to XY by that point in the story.
I guess this comes down to our very different view of this character. No surprise there :-). You see this as him being selfless. Given his history of selfishness, cowardliness, and passivity - this is just more of the same thing for me.
In reality there probably isn't a real difference and it's all semantics, but to me "being selfless" feels like a step above "not being selfish", and I don't think TSJ has earned being described as "selfless" for this. Just "not selfish" or even "not as selfish as he could have been".
Thanks for sharing.
You're welcome. ^^
I also came across a post that detailed how A-Heng was actually an amalgamation of two mythological characters. Quite a bit of detail into the various myths that were the basis for LYF.
That sounds interesting!
16 hours agoH19279:
AH :
especially in this circumstance where TSJ was probably also afraid of hurting XY + how XY would react, I still found myself frustrated with TSJ for not taking that opportunity to tell XY what happened.
I was also annoyed when he later told XY that he never had the chance to tell her about it.
AH :
Jing said, “I wanted to find the chance to tell you this but you rushed to make medicine for Grandmother and I never got the chance. After you were done, before I could tell you, Yi Yang fainted….Xiao Yao, I’m sorry!”
Was he afraid of hurting XY or losing her?
I don't think it has to be one or the other. My speculation is that the possible reasons for his hesitation about telling XY what his grandmother and FFYY had done to him include: (1) talking about something as traumatic as his grandmother betraying him and roofieing him and his fiancee (who is disgusted by him) date raping him so the two of them could try to force him to marry FFYY despite his years of requests to break off the engagement... not an easy thing to do; (2) in addition to the topic being painful, it was also something that clearly made TSJ angry, frustrated, and despairing, and might also have made him feel ashamed; (3) he knew this information would hurt XY badly; and (4) he knew this information would hurt their already strained relationship, and it might even make XY leave him. Although he almost seemed surprised when XY ended the relationship and gave him wedding blessings in advance. Maybe he was just surprised by her manner?
My guess is that his hesitation wasn't due to just one of those factors, but rather a combination of them.
-----
Chapter 25:
Jing’s heart churned in pain. “Xiao Yao, I…..”
Xiao Yao silently stared at him and intently listened.
Jing said with great difficulty, “Three months ago, the first time you gave Grandmother the pills, Yi Yang started sticking really close to me. Usually I could leave Qing Qiu to avoid her but Grandmother was sick so I couldn’t go anywhere. One night she tried to kill herself and even Grandmother was alarmed. She chastised me so I had to keep her company as she recovered. Later….I thought I saw you and you kept smiling at me…..” Jing’s face was filled with regret and anguish. “I don’t know what happened but I woke up and I was sleeping with Yi Yang in my arms.”
Xiao Yao coolly explained, “You likely got entranced by a confusion spell and then a love potion. You learned from me for a long time, how could you so easily fall into Yi Yang’s medicinal trap?”
Jing’s hands were clenched into a fist and he was filled with rage, but then he released it. “My Grandmother set up the trap.” His dearest family tricking him left him nowhere to turn to release his rage.
Xiao Yao was astonished. “It was the Grand Madam.”
Jing curled over in pain and put his hands on his face. “Yi Yang told me that she just wanted to be my wife. If I wanted to I could kill her. In that instant I really wanted to kill her, but I wanted to kill myself more…..I escaped from her room and ran to Zhi Yi. I didn’t dare go see you and instead hid in the Li Jie tribe gambling den and drank myself into a stupor. Ten days later the owner kicked me out back to Little Zhu Rong’s residence when I learned that you had long left for Gao Xing.”
Xiao Yao thought and realized this was why Jing was so strange and didn’t contact her while she was gone.
Jing said, “I wanted to find the chance to tell you this but you rushed to make medicine for Grandmother and I never got the chance. After you were done, before I could tell you, Yi Yang fainted….Xiao Yao, I’m sorry!”
Xiao Yao was silent and then said, “Thank you for telling me this. Now I know at least that I didn’t misjudge you. My trust was not wrongly given. But what’s happened has happened and nothing can be reversed. Don’t blame yourself anymore.”
Xiao Yao took off her fish amethyst necklace and placed it in front of Jing. “The Grand Madam will likely hold your wedding to Yi Yang soon. I won’t be attending to congratulate you. I’ll give you my blessings early now – respect and love each other until your hair is white.
Jing’s head jerked up and he stared at Xiao Yao.
In the dish, the lilies Ah Nian conjured up were wilting and as each petal fell and each leaf wilted, Xiao Yao sat on the pallet seemingly looking at him and seemingly not seeing him. The distance between them was but one crystal dish, but it felt as far and wide as the ends of the Earth.
Jing’s hand shook and he picked up the necklace and walked out of the residence. His footsteps were one light one heavy and he had no clue how he walked back to Zhuan Xu’s residence.
Feng Long saw the despondent Jing and tried to lighten the mood.
He had 3 months while she was in Gao xin. Taking the reason of respecting her private space/time or thinking of that anyway she would be back in 3 months is just poor excuse. And then XY went to Qing Qiu for making and teaching his physician to make the medicine. She had been staying there and working on it for 7 days. He did not interfere the whole time. XY for sure had to rest, to eat and sleep during these time. He wanted the medicine to be made and the knowledge transfer to go throught smoothly. Because it was beneficial for his Grandmother. He was greedy and selfish. There might be a scenerio that Jing wanted to hide this incident or deal with FFYY at the backstage.
Moreover, both Jing and XY lacked trust to each other. XY later admitted her mistake about standing by and watching Jing dealing with FFYY and his difficulty. Maybe Jing knew that XY did not love him enough and he was afraid of losing her so that he did not dare to tell XY such big incident with FFYY for them to solve together.
It seems like the process of making the medicine was fairly gruelling. I'm not sure if it would have been great for TSJ to discuss what happened with XY at a time when she was exhausted. But, at the same time, putting it off longer and longer also isn't good.
And I agree it did seem like perhaps TSJ might never have brought up what happened if he hadn't been forced to explain things to XY after FFYY's pregnancy reveal. Hesitating and delaying is bad. Not ever telling XY about it if he didn't have to would have been despicable. That said, I don't think TSJ would have been able to put off discussing it with XY forever, even if FFYY's pregnancy was taken out of the equation. XY noticed that he was acting strangely and at some point I think she'd confront TSJ about it (maybe still thinking that his behaviour was due to her leaving for Five Gods Mountain without telling him) and he'd have to give some kind of explanation. I don't think he'd lie in that circumstance, but putting XY in the position of having to confront him would, again, be wrong of him and unfair to XY.
It's quite surprising that such a smart person as Jing could not figure out FFYY's intention.
I think he was on guard against FFYY but was blindsided by his grandmother being the one to betray / drug him.
Why did not FFYY go straight to tell his grandmom about that they consumated and forced Jing to take responsibility right away. Then FFYY might be waiting for bigger surprise.
I don't think TSJ was thinking clearly when he woke up (he wanted to kill FFYY, wanted to kill himself more, and ended up running away and drank himself into a stupor for 10 days). After returning home, he probably should have questioned why FFYY and his grandmother didn't try to use the circumstances to force TSJ into marriage right then. Perhaps he thought that FFYY was only going to try to use his own conscience to pressure him to marrying her now that he (thought) he had slept with her. But expecting him to anticipate that she didn't do so because she was pregnant seems like a long shot. Unless deities are different from humans, FFYY wouldn't have known that she was pregnant right away, and TSJ didn't know that FFYY was actually sleeping with TSH regularly (so she could keep trying to get pregnant until she succeeded).
I do wonder... did FFYY try to get pregnant with TSH as soon as TSJ woke up from his coma and then trick TSJ? If so, did she already know she was pregnant before she tricked him, even though XY's estimated timing for FFYY's pregnancy lined up very closely with the date when TSJ was tricked? Or did she trick TSJ first, and then try to get pregnant with TSH right after and was lucky enough to be successful within the right timeframe?
You had said that when Jing asked for the promise he didn't anticipate some issues such as the tie between his grandmom and FFYY, his brother etc... But he knew in advance FFYY was kind of unofficial wife and had been living in his house for 10 year. How could an educated and noble girl accept money or kind of price to exchange for her virtue and reputation?
I think he anticipated most of these barriers, but did not anticipate quite how difficult they would be to overcome, especially if he didn't have the option of leaving the Tushan clan as a he originally planned.
And ok, even if we overlook that popped-up moment in the dragon bone prison, later he still kept reminding XY the 15 year promise and asked her over and over again to keep her heart for him: in chapter 14 and chapter 16 and sending plum wine (again) every 15 days when she resided in Sheng Nong mountain (chapter 18). By that time, he had the reaction from his grandmom and FFYY about the idea of calling-off the engagement. In chapter 14, he persuaded XY that FFYY did not like him and disputed him, he even hid the fact that his grandmother would not allow Jing disappear (to be YSQ) again. And in chapter 16 he told XY that he might get what he wanted because his grandmother loved him. XY was sad and distressed in her heart when she asked him to help CX if it was not harmful to Tushan clan. She felt like she and Jing participated in exploiting and being exploited. She was worried that she exploited/took advantage of Jing to help CX. But she probably did not realize that Jing exploited her softheart to YSQ. And I was surprised that he just simply accept her committment to the 15 year waiting for granted althought he said he could not call off the engagement. He could have told her that he cherished her intention and tried his best but if she found someone better, she could go for that.
It's true that once the variables changed and he became aware of all the new information that impacted his plans (e.g., XY's identity, TSH's role in the family, his grandmother and FFYY's opposition to ending the engagement) TSJ could have told XY that she didn't have to keep her side of the promise. That he would still try to fulfill his side, but she was no longer obligated to guard her heart or to wait for him. I understand why many fans, especially YaoLius, would feel that that would be the only morally acceptable thing for him to do.
While he didn't do that, he did tell XY about the difficulties he had encountered, and still seemed to hold out hope that he would be able to deliver on his promise within 15 years despite those difficulties, even though the odds were lower than he originally might have thought.
I've covered this at length in this thread before, but some fans seem to view the promise as something that really imposed huge constraints on XY that forced her to act differently from how she wanted to act... and I don't view it that way. So I don't feel all that frustrated by TSJ not going to XY and telling her she doesn't have to keep her side of the promise.
17 hours ago
AH :
By sheer luck, I stumbled across this summary from Koala today:
The Yellow Emperor and his Empress Xi Ling Lei Zhu’s backstory.
Wow. Just wow. You guys weren't kidding about Grandpa Emperor getting a whitewash in LYF. And XY knew all of this?
The parallels between their relationship and YaoJing are stunning. I was joking about blindness running her XY and CX's family, but it appears to be true. How did XY not have alarm bells going off with Jing? It's mind boggling.
It seems like XY had some idea of certain things (e.g., her grandmother loved her grandmother once), but didn't have a full grasp of all the details of her grandfather and grandmother's story.
She also definitely knew that her grandfather didn't hold her Ninth Uncle accountable for the role he played in CX's father's death, and CX's father's death led to CX's mother killing herself, her grandmother dying, and her mother going to battle and "dying" for Xuan Yuan.
-----
Chapter 15:
Xiao Yao arrived at the front of the Court where a white haired old man with a face full of wrinkles, thin and frail, laid on the pallet with his eyes closed as if tired and was napping. He heard Xiao Yao’s footsteps and opened his eyes and looked at her with a still sharp and incisive gaze.
Xiao Yao and Zhuan Xu both thought of their beloved passed grandmother at that moment and both knelt down simultaneously and said at the same time, “Your granddaughter/grandson is back.”
The Yellow Emperor waved his hand, “Come here.”
Xiao Yao and Zhuan Xu bowed three times and then stood up and walked over to him. Xiao Yao was so casual she sat right own on the pallet while Zhuan Xu remained standing respectfully.
The Yellow Emperor stared at Xiao Yao “You don’t look like your mom, but your face shape and mouth does look like your grandmother, exactly like when I first met her.”
Xiao Yao’s memory of her grandmother was old and shrivelled and a face full of wrinkles so she didn’t know if she looked like her so could only smile.
The Yellow Emperor guessed what she was thinking and said, “Your grandmother was once young like you. Her beauty and talent was world renowned throughout the vast wilderness. So many men wanted to marry her. Sadly, she chose the wrong person.”
Xiao Yao was stunned and didn’t know what to say to that. She couldn’t agree that her grandmother married wrong, or say that she didn’t marry wrong. Because she sensed that her grandparents had a falling out towards the later part of her grandmother’s life. In the years before she died, her grandfather never came to see her. Actually, other than the time her grandfather grabbed a sword and tried to kill her mother, she never saw her grandfather in Cao Yun Court until her grandmother died. Her grandfather was injured and then he moved to Cao Yun Court.
Xiao Yas was silent as if processing what he said but the Yellow Emperor didn’t mind and just smiled and stared at her.
...
The Yellow Emperor said, “You both go rest. I’m living in your grandmother’s old residence and the rest are all empty. You can live wherever you want. I don’t like noise so there are very few maids here. If you aren’t used to it….”
Xiao Yao interjected, “We’re used to it, when grandmother was still alive there were few maids around and I remember the weeds in the back palace yard being as tall as me. Gege and I played hide and seek there even.”
The Yellow Emperor closed his eyes and waved them off with a smile.
...
Xiao Yao sat at the dressing table and opened an accessory box. Inside was a ruby red headdress that glittered with life as if its owner was coming back right to wear it. But really in Xiao Yao’s memory, its owner never wore it before. She put it on her head and it was magnificent and a crowning glory but it was hard to imagine her grandmother wearing something as flashy as this.
“If you like it, take it.” The Yellow Emperor’s voice reached her.
Xiao Yao put down the accessory and closed the box. She shook her head, “A woman wears this for someone to see, or more accurately to entrance a man. If I wear this and a man looked at me, I won’t know if he’s looking at the hair piece jewels or me. What if I mistake his feelings and fall for him for real. Aren’t I just looking for trouble?”
The Yellow Emperor was stunned while Xiao Yao stared at him and casually said, “Grandmother really liked you at one time.”
The Yellow Emperor stared at her with anger in his eyes. “How can you speak to an elder this way?”
Xiao Yao looked like she could care less. “I like to talk, if Grandfather doesn’t like to hear it, then pretend you didn’t hear it. You all are great at pretending to be deaf and mute whenever you want.”
The Yellow Emperor stared at her and then sighed heavily. “How did you get this personality? You are totally different than your mom and grandmother.”
Xiao Yao laughed and made a face. “Why do I want to be like them? The guy gets all the good stuff but the woman suffers!”
The Yellow Emperor was exasperated and said to Zhuan Xu, “Let’s stop. Want to eat?”
...
The Yellow Emperor saw that Zhuan Xu was still expressionless and calm and a fleeting look of satisfaction passed through the Yellow Emperor’s eyes. He waved the kids off and headed in to rest.
The two walked off before Xiao Yao asked, “Gege, you really want to come back and take care of Grandfather?”
Zhuan Xu nodded.
Xiao Yao asked incredulously, “You don’t hate him? I do hate him somewhat which is why I was so biting with him back there.”
Zhuan Xu said, “I understand a lot of what he did probably because I’m also a man. In his position, he was not wrong. His choice hurt a lot of people, including grandmother, dad, mom, auntie, you and me, but he also made a lot of people happy. He built Xuan Yuan, he destroyed Sheng Nong, he was the Emperor who united the Middle Plains under one rule. No one sees what he sacrificed and his pain to get there. Do you know, when I was playing chess with him, I knew he had a back injury from a previous battle but he never showed a hint of pain and was always alert and ready to strike. This kind of man, even if he wasn’t my grandfather, I would still respect him. Because he’s my grandfather, I not only respect him, I also love him.”
Xiao Yao sighed, “It’s lucky being his citizens, but unlucky being his family. You are such a weirdo, he ignores you for two hundred years and let the uncles try to get rid of you, and you still respect and love him.”
Zhuan Xu smiled. “Xiao Yao, do you hate those two maids who were gossiping about you? Because of them you wandered for hundreds of years.”
“No, if it wasn’t for those two hundred years, I’m not the person I am today. I would have grown up peacefully with my dad but I like who I am today. I’m not scared of anything because I’ve lost everything. No matter what I encounter, I will take a knife in my own hand to destroy my obstacle like I killed that Nine-tailed fox.”
“If the royal uncles didn’t force me, I wouldn’t have gone to Gao Xing, and I wouldn’t have seen another world. Without their assassination attempts and plots, I wouldn’t have become wily, calm, powerful in the face of danger. We vanquished obstacles and crushed it under our feet and put it inside of us to give us strength. We don’t see obstacles as bad, and Grandfather is like us as well, which is why he chose to let go.”
Xiao Yao laughed, “Fine, fine, I can’t argue with you. I’ll be careful and not try to bait him in the future.”
They arrived at the phoenix tree and both stopped. Zhuan Xu stroked Xiao Yao’s head and said “No need, you can say whatever you feel. You are his granddaughter and he likes your candid nature. Even if you have resentment towards him, he’s not just anyone, he can handle your resentment and anger.”
Xiao Yao made a face and said nothing.
-----
Chapter 18:
They had walked into a room by then and everyone laughed to hear that. Xiao Yao sighed and realized why the Yellow Emperor saw the Middle Plains as a challenge. All the bloodlines were connected and even if the clans and families were rivals, when push come to shove they would all unite against an outsider enemy. Even more surprising was to hear how powerful the Xi Ling clan and her maternal grandmother were. Everyone wanted to be related to the Xi Ling clan and Lei Zhu, and in comparison the bloodline of the Xuan Yuan Yellow Emperor was less influential here.
-----
Chapter 29:
The Yellow Emperor said, “You leave, too! Don’t spend the entire day in the court with an old fogey like me. With Zhuan Xu and me here, you should learn from Ah Nian and be more impetuous and do what you want.”
Xiao Yao casually said, “It’s because you and Zhuan Xu are here that I don’t dare be impetuous and do what I want. My bloodline has destined me to be tied down so why even bother? If I said right now that I’m going to find Xiang Liu to play with, will you agree?”
The Yellow Emperor grew silent and seemed very concerned. “I won’t agree. Zhuan Xu and he are destined to battle to the death one day. I don’t want you to be devastated when that day comes. Anything else you want, I will do my best to give it to you.”
“Zhuan Xu is a man and now the Emperor so that is why you are so strict and demanding with him. I’m not the same, you want to pamper and coddle me because you want to alleviate your guilt towards Grandmother, my Mom, my Uncles, all of that you want to now give me. But there is no amount of power in this world that can guarantee my happiness. Plus what you owe them is owed to them and you can never make it up with me, and I don’t want it! You just be my grandfather, and like all the grandfathers in the world, you worry about my future marriage and happiness but can do nothing about it other than worry until in the end you sigh and say “grandchildren have their own fated happiness!”
-----
Once Promised Volume 2 Chapter 17:
Ah Heng took one child in each hand, “Let’s go see grandmother and uncles.”
Along the way there, Xiao Yao chatted non-stop but Zhuan Xu bit his lip and said nothing. When they arrived at the graves, Xiao Yao and Zhuan Xu both bowed.
Ah Heng embraced Zhuan Xu and said, “Your grandmother didn’t want to be buried here in Xuan Yuan, in her will she asked to be returned to her homeland the Blue Dragon’s Head. But your grandmother was the Empress and your grandfather refused to honor her wishes and send her so far away. I might not be able to honor that wish for her as well so can you promise your Auntie something? One day when you can make the decisions, please re-bury your grandmother at Blue Dragon’s Head. No matter whatever objections come your way, never ever bury your grandfather with your grandmother.”
Zhuan Xu nodded his head firmly, “I promise. I will honor Grandmother’s last wishes, I will never bury Grandfather with Grandmother.”
Ah Heng pulled Xiao Yao into her arms, “Xiao Yao, tomorrow Mom will be taking you somewhere.”
“Where?”
“A place Mom lived once before. It’s very beautiful and peach blossom trees bloom all over. The peach blossoms bloom in all four seasons.”
Ah Heng killed him for revenge of CX’s parents.
My understanding is that CX knew that Ah Heng killed Ninth Prince Yi Peng to protect CX at Chang Pu's request, since Chang Pu knew that Yi Peng would likely target CX to get revenge against Chang Pu for killing his mother after Chang Pu committed suicide.
But CX didn't know that Yi Peng stabbed himself in the heart after Ah Heng poisoned him (sort of - she used medicine instead of poison), so Yi Peng sort of killed himself.
-----
Chapter 22:
Zhuan Xu coldly huffed, “A load of nonsense! My Auntie did kill my Ninth Uncle, but that wasn’t because of some affair coming to light. It was….” Zhuan Xu paused, “It was because my Mom wanted to kill my Ninth Uncle and inadvertently killed my Ninth Uncle’s mom, Consort Tong Yu, who was my Grandfather’s third wife. My Mom knew my Ninth Uncle would kill me in vengeance so she begged my Auntie to protect me before she committed suicide. My Auntie agreed to protect me, and to do so she killed my Ninth Uncle.”
-----
xiaoyuer translated the scene where Yi Peng died in Ah Heng's arms:
Scene Translation: At Death’s Door, Their Final Meeting
That day was also Tong Yu Shi’s [1] funeral, but because Lei Zu is the Queen, Qing Yang is the future Huang Di [Yellow Emperor] in everyone’s hearts, and Huang Di announced that Chang Pu had been wounded on the battlefield, and had died from her wound, so her funeral was obviously more important than the Tong Yu Shi “passing due to illness”. Tong Yu Shi’s grave was drearily silent, with only Yi Peng accompanying her.
A’Heng walked over, Yi Peng shouted: “Get lost!”
A’Heng ignored him, and still walked toward the grave. Yi Peng flew into a rage and raised his palm to strike A’Heng, each strike was violent with the intent to kill: “Have you come to gloat?”
While evading him, A’Heng said: “What should I gloat about? Gloat that you have my caused the deaths of my three blood-related brothers? Gloat that your mother has forced my mother so much that she does not have many days to live?”
Surprised, Yi Peng uncertainly asked: “What rubbish are you talking about? Isn’t Qing Yang alive and well?”
“He is already dead. When you plotted to make our Royal Father mistakenly believe that he really wanted to poison our Royal Father, the poison he drank began to take effect just when he was dueling with Chi You, so he died at Chi You’s hands.”
“Then that Qing Yang who is living in seclusion underneath Gui Xu Shui to heal his wounds is fake?” Yi Peng began to laugh loudly, laughing so hard that he could not catch his breath: “Mother, did you hear this? The villain who caused elder brother’s death had actually died long ago! That old poisonous woman is also about to die!”
A’Heng watched coldly. After Yi Peng was finished laughing, he then looked at A’Heng and said: “With you personality, this should be the memorial you are giving to me. Little sister, how are you planning to kill me?”
A’Heng said: “I already have.”
Yi Peng smiled and said: “I believe you, but I don’t understand.”
“A few thousand years ago, my mother and Yan Di [Flame Emperor] were sworn brother and sister. When Yan Di was critically ill, he gave me his life’s work, Shen Nong’s Book of Chinese Medicine.”
Yi Peng suddenly understood: “No wonder you could hide how long you were pregnant with that little bastard, but even with Shen Nong’s Book of Chinese Medicine, you cannot easily poison me.”
“I know, but have you forgotten? We were taught by the same shifu [2], and I am very familiar with how your lingqi [3] operates. I prepared the poison in two steps. The first step, was just right here.” A’Heng looked at Tong Yu Shi’s tomb: “These past few days, you have been kneeling here, often for the entire night. When you are grieved, the lingli that protects your body weakens a lot and can easily be invaded by evil influences.”
“This is an open grave that has been blessed with lingli, if you used poison, it would have definitely changed.”
“Yes, so what I used cannot be considered a poison. Actually it is a medicine to greatly increase lingli, and can cause your lingli to rise quickly in a short amount of time. I had just told you that Qing Yang had already died, and your spirit was agitated. When you laughed uproariously, you breathed in many things that you shouldn’t have breathed in. This is also not a poison, but when paired with the medicine that was already in your body, combined with how your lingli specially operates, it will lead all your lingli to converge in your heart. In the end, your heart will not be able to control your powerful lingli, so your heart will explode and you will die.”
Yi Peng paused in surprise and A’Heng said: “I am Yan Di of Shen Nong’s disciple, not the disciple of Jiu Li’s King of Poison. I do not need poison to take someone’s life.”
Since life no longer has joys, why should he be afraid of death? Yi Peng smiled, gathered all his lingli and wanted to kill A’Heng with one strike: “Then that’s fine. We will go together!”
A’Heng quietly stood there without moving. Yi Peng released half of the force in his palm and fell down in front of the grave.
The lingli he had just gathered all surged into his heart, the blood vessels in his heart were seemingly about to burst open, putting him in so much pain that his entire body twitched.
Yi Peng tried his best to control the turbulently flowing lingli. His face turned from white to green, and from green to red, his countless lingqi seemed like a countless number of poison snakes delving into and biting at his heart. His face trembled with pain.
A’Heng squatted next to him, the emotion in her eyes was very complex. She hated him, so she planned this painful death for him, but seeing him in so much pain now, she also was in a lot of pain.
“Yi Peng, if I do not kill you, will you still try to kill Zhuan Xu?”
Yi Peng was in so much pain that his face was contorted, but he still laughed wildly and fiercely said: “Yes! His mother killed my mother. How could I let him off? All of you must die… ah!” He was in so much pain that he could no longer speak, his hands beating at his chest. He tore his clothes to shreds, revealing a scar on his right shoulder. It was circular with five faint purple shadows, in the shape of a claw.
A’Heng’s expression quickly changed and her eyes were filled with tears.
“Ah—ah—“ Yi Peng was in so much pain that he cried out pitifully, falling at A’Heng’s feet, coiling into a ball, and the scar on his shoulder became even more pronounced.
A’Heng stretched out her trembling hand, placing it on Yi Peng’s shoulder, sending her lingli into his body, slowly relieving Yi Peng’s pain. Yi Peng tore at her, pushed her, and hit her: “Scram!” But she did not move away, allowing Yi Peng to strike her. Yi Peng ripped her sleeve, revealing her arm. There was a scar on her arm, very similar to the scar on Yi Peng, and looked like half of a claw.
As Yi Peng hit her arm, he suddenly slowed.
A’Heng’s lingli began to work and the pain slowly vanished. This disappearing pain seemed to have emptied the grief and hate in his heart. His heart seemed to have turned into a deep pool of water, clean and clear, with sunlight passing through. At the bottom of the pool was a young man who did not know what worries were.
Their Royal Father mandated that he would study together with A’Heng, and chose the same shifu for them, but his mother forbade him from speaking to A’Heng. Every day in the early morning, A’Heng would always hide in the corner waiting for him, and they would go to class together, holding each other’s hands.
In the summer afternoons, they jumped into water together from a high bridge, competing who would make the largest splash. In the snowy winter, they would lie in the snow together, using wicker baskets to catch birds. He gave the parrot he liked most to A’Heng and A’Heng embroidered a hebao [4] for him, making the most beautiful tassels on that hebao.
The Huang Jing Mountain overgrown with weeds was their secret playground. They would race each other, catch butterflies together, catch crickets together, and dig for earthworms together. She would say to him: “Ninth brother, slow down a bit” and he would say to her: “A’Heng, hurry up.”
Perhaps it was because their mothers and older brothers forbade them to play together, but both of them were rebellious and wanted to be together even more. They were obviously very good friends, but when their entire family got together, they would pretend not to know each other, but behind other people’s backs, they would smile at each other and secretly make funny faces at each other, pleased that their parents and older brothers did not know their little secret.
When they ate together, because of age, the two would sit next to each other. They did not dare to speak, but underneath the table, he would poke her and she would kick him lightly, both pursing their lips to hide their smiles.
They heard that Uncle Xiang Wan caught a very powerful demon, so they skipped class to see the big demon together. Their heads inched together, and after whispering for while, they came up with countless cunning schemes and actually tricked all the guards to leave. They ran in and unwittingly destroyed the restraints, releasing the fierce and brutal demon. They were so afraid that they ran wildly. A’Heng was wearing a skirt so she was unable to run quickly and was caught by that demon’s claw, and broke her arm. He turned around and saw A’Heng, half of her body was covered in blood, and she was shouting at him: “Ninth Brother, run away! Hurry and run away!”
He was so scared, he really wanted to run, but he was even more afraid that the demon would eat A’Heng, so he ran back to save A’Heng. He jumped towards the demon, waving his hands: “Come at me, come at me! Come and chase after me!”
The demon was infuriated, it abandoned A’Heng and came to pursue him. He could not outrun that demon and was caught by that demon, whose sharp claw pierced his shoulder, while the other sharp claw headed towards his heart. Dragging her broken arm, A’Heng quickly leapt on that demon’s shoulder and forcefully smashed that demon’s eyes, why crying: “Ninth Brother, Ninth Brother. Are you hurt?”
He did not want to be weak like a girl, so he used all his effort to make a funny face at A’Heng. Acting like he wasn’t bothered at all, he breathed in and said: “This demon can be considered quite powerful.”
A’Heng was teased by his funny face that she stopped crying and smiled.
Luckily Uncle Xiang Wan quickly appeared and saved the two of them. Even though their uncle and their brothers all begged leniency for them, their Royal Father was very angry, so he confined them and ordered the physicians to keep their scars, as a reminder of their punishment.
Those days when they studied together, played together, rebelled against their parents together, tricked their older brothers together….
Yi Peng grasped A’Heng’s arm, with an absent-minded expression, as if he didn’t understand how they became like how they are today.
“A’Heng.” Yi Peng called out lightly. Since Third Brother Xuan Yuan Hui had died, he had only been willing to politely call her little sister.
A’Heng’s tears trickled down: “Ninth Brother.” Since Qing Yang had died, this is the first time she has truly viewed him as her older brother.
Yi Peng smiled slightly and said: “If we didn’t grown up, wouldn’t that be great? I really want to go back to how we were when we were little.”
A’Heng’s lingli could no longer fetter his lingli and the pain began to intensify. Yi Peng quietly took the dagger from A’Heng’s waist – that dagger Chang Pu used to commit suicide, and used the last bit of his energy to stab it into his heart: “A’Heng, this time, the demon was too powerful. We all lost.”
“Ninth Brother, Ninth Brother…”
A’Heng called out, frightened and confused. Her entire face was covered in tears, but Yi Peng only made a funny face at her.
That funny expression stiffened on his face and became his eternal goodbye.
“Ninth Brother!” A’Heng hugged Yi Peng, choking with sobs.
On the hillside, butterflies fluttered quickly. There was a young man and a young girl running and leaping in the wind, and their happy laughter rippled with the wind. A’Heng, A’Heng, hurry up, hurry up!
Ninth Brother, Ninth Brother, slow down a bit, slow down a bit!
_______________________________________
[1] Chinese: 氏, used to indicated ‘belonging to the family of’
[2] Chinese: 师傅, teacher
[3] Chinese: 灵气, spirit/power
[4] Chinese: 荷包, a small bag for carrying loose change and other small things.
@AHblabla100:
Thank you for posting that summary about Yellow Emperor and XY's grandmother, AH, I was always very curious about their story.
You're welcome. ^^
What I personally got from it it's not that XY chose to follow her grandmother's path, on the contrary, unlike her and her mom, she chose not to pick someone guided by her heart, since both of them did and ended up being hurt.
I agree with this.
IMO, whatever she knew about her grandmother loving her grandfather (and later on, her mother loving her father) along with her other life experience would have contributed to her to trying to deny / avoid her feelings for XL to avoid being hurt.
When she talked about a man's hands making her fear that he would let go, I wonder if her views were influenced by how her grandfather emotionally abandoned her grandmother in favour of Tong Yu?
-----
Chapter 8:
Xiao Liu’s legs were in excruciating pain and he leaned on Shi Qi and murmured to himself “If I knew it was so painful to run, I would have chosen not to run. But if I didn’t run, then I would have never known that you would do anything for me. But what shall I do now? It would have been better had you not helped me. I could have easily severed my longing and hope. Or when we were surrounded back there, it would have been better had you not told me to run away by myself. Xan Tian Er’s life is a struggle, and when a man thinks he is helping her by easing her struggle, he is putting her into a different kind of struggle. She is now struggling with the fear that he would leave her one day and she’s left struggling all alone again. Which of the two struggles is harder? Perhaps most women choose to struggle with a man easing her load, at least there is some happiness, some hope that the man won’t let go one day. But I’m not like that! I would rather be roasted all alone, struggle all alone, because at least my hands are free. Pain makes me hope for escape, a man’s hands make me fear he’ll let go. I would then reach out and hold onto him tightly, collect all the happiness tightly. Right now Xan Tian Er is able to save herself because I helped her. But who will help me? The Gods can help humans, but who will help the Gods? No one! I still feel it’s safer to hide in my shell. I’ve suffered so much in my life already, I don’t want to suffer more, I don’t want to be hurt more…..”
That's one more reason for me to believe that she never actually loved Jing romantically and he was basically just her scapegoat.
You know me, I personally think XY did have some romantic feelings for TSJ. But, IMO, the fact that he made her feel safe in the sense that he made her believe that he was not capable of falling out of love with her or leaving her, even for noble reasons, made him her first choice. That and the fact that XL was CX's enemy and XL didn't let her see his true feelings and (later on) pushed her away (and towards TSJ).
But CX didn't know that Yi Peng stabbed himself in the heart after Ah Heng poisoned him (sort of - she used medicine instead of poison), so Yi Peng sort of killed himself.AH :
He stabbed his heart just to release him from physical and emotional pain. The way Ah Heng poisoned him broke his heart. So he would certainly die very painfully.
In the summary that you posted earlier, it focused on Ah Lei and Concubine Tong Yu. However, it ignored that fact that Yellow played big role in that tragedy. Concubine transferred her hate and hatred to her sons. 3rd son Xuan Yuan Hui played big role in Yun Zhe's death. Qing Yang had not been interested in politics before and he confronted his father to punish XY's 3rd uncle but Huang Di did not do anything. Then killing of revenge just kept going. Huang Di also cut tie with Tong Yu which deepened her hatred toward Consort Lei and her children. In Once Promised, all three royal families had tragedy. Huang Di's harem and his family was a big mess and he should be blamed for creating the tragedy for his beloved partners and their children (all died by the end).
When she talked about a man's hands making her fear that he would let go, I wonder if her views were influenced by how her grandfather emotionally abandoned her grandmother in favour of Tong Yu?
I don't think that XY knew much about her grandparent's story. Xuan Yuan King had abandoned Tong Yu thounsand year before Xiao Yao arrived in Xuan Yuan. What CX knew about his father and uncles were told by Ah Heng when he was very small (when Ah Heng told her mom about Chang Yi's death). At that time, the grandmom told him to just listen and memorize because he became the only man left in the family. Even in CX's view the fighting between Yellow emperor's sons was mainly due to power issue, fighting for the throne.
Xan Tian Er’s life is a struggle, and when a man thinks he is helping her by easing her struggle, he is putting her into a different kind of struggle. She is now struggling with the fear that he would leave her one day and she’s left struggling all alone again.
Kaola translation missed a lot of detail in XY's monologue. Google translation and full analysis of that paragraph is here. For that part is was different in the original text. "Sang Tianer longed for a man to save her, but in fact, a man could not save her at all. The man gave Sang Tianer a few drops of honey, turning one kind of pain into another kind of pain. For Sang Tianer, life is a stove burned her every day, causing her pain. The man seemed to have picked her up to save her from the pain, but in fact the man only changed Sang Tianer's pain from the pain of being burned to the fear that the man would let her go.". In my view, this part is XY's observation on Sang Tian Er's case. Tian Er was afraid that Chuanzi would let go because of her her history. And later what WXL thought is channelling her case with Tian Er's case. The person who gave her a few drop of honey was XL but she was afraid of the he would let go because of his reponsibility to the resistance army.
But I’m not like that! I would rather be roasted all alone, struggle all alone, because at least my hands are free. Pain makes me hope for escape, a man’s hands make me fear he’ll let go. I would then reach out and hold onto him tightly, collect all the happiness tightly.
But I won't! I would rather be burned and suffer every day. My hands are free, and the pain will make me think about escaping. But when I am hugged by someone, I will use both hands to hold him tightly because I am afraid that he will let go. I would forget to think because of the few drops of honey he gave me.
I don't think that XY knew much about her grandparent's story.
Agreed. But she did seem to know that her grandmother loved her grandfather once, but that changed and later on her grandmother even did not want to be buried by her grandfather's side.
She knew that her grandfather chose to side with Ninth Prince Yi Peng and Consort Tong Yu rather than holding Ninth Prince Yi Peng accountable for the death of Fourth Prince Chang Yi (her grandmother's son). She probably also knew that Consort Tong Yu (and not her grandmother) was her grandfather's favourite wife before Chang Pu killed her.
She also knew that her grandfather never came to visit her grandmother's eastern peak for the entire time that she lived there while her grandmother was alive.
In my view, this part is XY's observation on Sang Tian Er's case. Tian Er was afraid that Chuanzi would let go because of her her history.
Yes, clearly. But Tian Er made one choice (choosing to be held by a man, but fear being dropped / left to struggle alone again / burn again), and XY thought she would make a different choice (choosing to burn / struggle alone).
I was wondering if perhaps her observation of her grandmother and grandfather's relationship might have played a role in leading XY to feel that she would prefer burning over the fear of being dropped.
Xiaoliu's legs were in severe pain. He leaned against Shiqi and murmured to himself: "If I had known that I couldn't escape despite all the hard work, I might as well not have escaped. But if I didn't escape, how could I know you are willing to fulfill my wish? But what should I do now? If you don't agree to help me, I can happily cut off my thoughts. If only you didn't let me escape alone when I was surrounded just now. Sang Tianer longed for a man to save her, but in fact, a man could not save her at all. The man gave Sang Tianer a few drops of honey, turning one kind of pain into another kind of pain. For Sang Tianer, life is a stove burned her every day, causing her pain. The man seemed to have picked her up to save her from the pain, but in fact the man only changed Sang Tianer's pain from the pain of being burned to the fear that the man would let her go. The pain of being burned again. Which of the two pains is more painful? Maybe many women will choose the pain of being held. At least there are a few drops of honey occasionally. At least they are not being burned. At least they can hope that the man will never let go. But I won't! I would rather be burned and suffer every day. My hands are free, and the pain will make me think about escaping. But when I am hugged by someone, I will use both hands to hold him tightly because I am afraid that he will let go. I would forget to think because of the few drops of honey he gave me. In fact, she was the one who finally saved Sang Tianer, not a man! Sang Tianer has me to help her, but who will help me? God can help humans, Who will help the God? Obviously not! I still think it is safer to hide in a hard shell. I have suffered too much in my life, and I don’t want to suffer anymore or get hurt again.. (Google translation)
What a powerful, gorgeously written metaphor. Thank you for sharing this alternative translation!
Huang Di also cut tie with Tong Yu which deepened her hatred toward Consort Lei and her children.
He cut ties with Tong Yu?
Huang Di's harem and his family was a big mess and he should be blamed for creating the tragedy for his beloved partners and their children (all died by the end).
I agree, he bears a lot of the culpability.
Out of his ten children, didn't Fifth Prince Cang Lin, Seventh Prince Yu Yang, and Eighth Prince Qing survive? They all appear in LYF.
Lei Zhu died of a broken heart. Tong Yu was killed by Chang Pu. Do you happen to know how the Yellow Emperor's two other wives died by any chance?
Out of his ten children, didn't Fifth Prince Cang Lin, Seventh Prince Yu Yang, and Eighth Prince Qing survive? They all appear in LYF.
those are from other concubines. Huang Di loved 2 women in his life: Ah Lei and Tong Yu and had 6 children and 1 unborn baby with these 2 women. All of them died.
Ah Lei actually played crucial role to his success. She said that she built up Xuan Yuan kingdom. Ah Lei had power, her clan and knowledge to help Huang Di. She even fought along with him and rescued him several time. His nickname Yellow emperor came from the golden amour that he had wore while fighting alongside with Ah Lei who had silver color amour.
He cut ties with Tong Yu?
Yes. Probably when he knew that Tong Yu's sons killed Ah Lei's sons. Yi Peng recalled when his mom died that when his mom cried out and begged Huang Di for him; he even scolded her, saying what little old love left had been destroyed by her madness and cruelty; Huang Di ignored his mom who was holding his sleeve, crying it wet. Huang Di coldly kicked her and stormed away (this was translated from the vietnamese translation; I don't know why it is said the Tong Yu begged Huang Di for "him" if it happened a few thousands years before)
Huang Di had known Tong Yu when he was just a young man and he promised to give her a big house and watch the moon with her (they had sex before marriage in nature under the full moon). Later, Ah Lei also came to him under the moonlight. Huang Di liked to watch the moonlight but his memory was blur. He did not distinguish the girl that he longed was the one tremble in his arms or the proud one who confidently walked to him under the moonlight.
It was said in the novel that Huang Di build a palace for Tong Yu. The name of the palace means pointing to the moon. However, for thousand of years he did not watch moon together with her.
Do you happen to know how the Yellow Emperor's two other wives died by any chance?
No, I don't remember. Probably political marriages
I was wondering if perhaps her observation of her grandmother and grandfather's relationship might have played a role in leading XY to feel that she would prefer burning over the fear of being dropped.
XY realized that her grandmom had probably loved her grandfather at one point when she saw the jewelry in her grandmom's palace (chapter 15). She also knew that at the end of her grandmother's life, her grandmom was distance from her husband thus she did not want to be buried by him in Xuan Yuan but in her hometown. She knew that Lei Zhu died because of heartbreaking and she was very sorrow at that time. Her husband was busy with his kingship. "Xiao Yao laughed and made a face “Why do I want to be like them? The guy gets all the good stuff but the woman suffers!”" And she knew that she scared of men like her grandfather" " But I know I’m scared of a man like you. In your heart, there will always be choices that are more important than the woman you love. ". (Chapter 16). In WXL's view, Xiang Liu was kind of similar to Huang Di. XL took great responsibility and loyalty to Sheng Nong army. And men like XL or Huang Di would not place woman that they loved as first choice which is the prerequisite for her
those are from other concubines. Huang Di loved 2 women in his life: Ah Lei and Tong Yu
Ah I see, you weren't referring to all his wives and children, only to Lei Zhu, Tong Yu and their children.
His nickname Yellow emperor came from the golden amour that he had wore while fighting alongside with Ah Lei who had silver color amour.
That's an interesting detail.
Yi Peng recalled when his mom died that when his mom cried out and begged Huang Di for him; he even scolded her, saying what little old love left had been destroyed by her madness and cruelty; Huang Di ignored his mom who was holding his sleeve, crying it wet. Huang Di coldly kicked her and stormed away (this was translated from the vietnamese translation; I don't know why it is said the Tong Yu begged Huang Di for "him" if it happened a few thousands years before)
Wow. And I guess this was before Lei Zhu died, since Chang Pu killed Tong Yu before Lei Zhu died?
But the Yellow Emperor still didn't go to visit Lei Zhu before she died, even though he behaved like this towards Tong Yu before she died?
Huang Di had known Tong Yu when he was just a young man and he promised to give her a big house and watch the moon with her (they had sex before marriage in nature under the full moon). Later, Ah Lei also came to him under the moonlight. Huang Di liked to watch the moonlight but his memory was blur. He did not distinguish the girl that he longed was the one tremble in his arms or the proud one who confidently walked to him under the moonlight.
It was said in the novel that Huang Di build a palace for Tong Yu. The name of the palace means pointing to the moon. However, for thousand of years he did not watch moon together with her.
Yikes. The Yellow Emperor was right, men like him are not suited to be husbands. Pity any woman who falls for him.
-----
Chapter 16:
The Yellow Emperor rested on the pallet and stared at Xiao Yao.
She continued, “When I became a girl again, I thought marrying is so far away and never thought about it. But I know I’m scared of a man like you. In your heart, there will always be choices that are more important than the woman you love.”
The Yellow Emperor was expressionless and he said, “Men like me are not suited to be husbands.”
AH :
Do you happen to know how the Yellow Emperor's two other wives died by any chance?
No, I don't remember. Probably political marriages
It seems like at least one of them he married ostensibly for political reasons (but also to pave the way for Tong Yu to become his third wife). But I haven't been able to find any info about their deaths.
One translation I read said:
Xuan Yuan Mountain has four peaks - east, south, west, north. The Yellow Emperor's first wife Lei Zu, second wife Fang Lei, third concubine Dan Yu, fourth concubine Mo Mu each occupy one peak. The highest peak is the East Peak Chao Yun Peak, which is where Lei Zu stays, the mountains are so high they pierce the clouds. It's the first place you can see the sunrise in Xuan Yuan Country.
-----
Koala's summary from a few pages back said:
Then the Yellow Emperor asked to take his first consort* to stem a rebellion in the East, Qing Yang was angry but Yun Zhe understood the implications and urged his mother to agree to it. She did. Only later did she realize he was setting her up so that he could take a third consort** from another small Xuan Yuan tribe. When Lei met her she was floored – the third new consort was none other than the pregnant woman who begged her to not marry that day. Her name was Tong Yu and she was the Yellow Emperor’s first love and he simply was biding his time until be could bring her back.
* I think Koala probably meant first consort / concubine / pínfēi but second marriage (with Empress Lei Zhu being his first wife / marriage).
** I think Koala probably meant second consort / concubine / pínfēi but third marriage.
-----
Chapter 27:
In the middle of Summer, the Yellow Emperor proclaimed that he was going to personally survey the Middle Plains.
The last time the Yellow Emperor visited the Middle Plains was over two hundred years ago, and that trip was terribly eventful. The former Sheng Nong Mountain Head of the Palace Guards attempted to assassinate the Yellow Emperor and actually breached layers of protection to arrive right before the Yellow Emperor and almost succeeded in cutting him down. At the nick of time it was Sheng Nong’s former General Hou Tu that saved the Yellow Emperor from the brink of death.
After that the shadow of the sword struck down and blood flowed everywhere with many many people dying in the Middle Plains. Many people also died in the Xuan Yuan Court. The Yellow Emperor’s sixth son Prince Xuan Yuan Xiu died in that aftermath while the eighth son Prince Xuan Yuan Qing was jailed. Just like that the once glorious Wan Lei family fell from grace. [TN: The Yellow Emperor’s sixth and eighth sons are born from his fourth* Consort the daughter of the Wan Lei family]
* I think Koala might've gotten the number wrong here and she was actually the Yellow Emperor's second wife / first consort.
The first time the Yellow Emperor visited the Middle Plains was when he battled and defeated Sheng Nong’s General Qi Yo and united the Middle Plains before leading his troops to ascend Sheng Nong Mountain to pray to the Heavens; the second time the Yellow Emperor visited the Middle Plains was when he was almost assassinated; now would be his third time visiting the Middle Plains and to the families and clans there, each time the Yellow Emperor visited the Middle Plains had resulted in blood flowing like a river so everyone believed this third time would likely be no different.
-----
Chapter 29:
The Wan Lei family was one of the prominent families of the North and the Yellow Emperor himself married a Wan Lei daughter as his second consort with a position just below Empress Lei Zhu. The Wan Lei Consort gave birth to two princes – Sixth Prince Xiu and Eighth Prince Qing. But now one Prince was dead and the other imprisoned forever and the Wan Lei family’s star had fallen. The Yellow Emperor ignored the Wan Lei family and Cang Lin hated them for supporting Sixth Prince Xiu in the battle for the throne with Cang Lin. All these years Cang Lin and Yu Yang constantly found ways to denigrate them and make their life miserable.
Everyone thought that Zhuan Xu’s next wife coming from one of the Northern prominent families would at least be a powerful family so it was a shock to see him pick the thoroughly beaten up and down on its luck Wan Lei family.
The Wan Lei family finally got a chance to rebuild its prominence and was very grateful to Zhuan Xu. Not to mention the family hated Cang Lin and Yu Yang hence the family threw its full and unreserved support behind Zhuan Xu.
The Wan Lei family followed the Yellow Emperor from the inception of the Xuan Yuan Kingdom and thus quickly regained it’s prominence as one of the most powerful clans of the North.
-----
I assume Fifth Prince Cang Lin and Seventh Prince Yu Yang were the sons of the Yellow Emperor's fourth wife.
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10 dramas/movies with ____? #412 minutes ago
