Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

@blabla100

To me things are simpler, XY's biggest fear, scarier than death, was being abandoned by a loved one. XY and XL were both aware of his path since the beginning, I don't believe for a second that he ever considered outliving his army, giving how devoted to his past, his soldiers and their cause was. I don't believe a woman has the power to change the principles of a man like that, regardless of how much that man loves her. XY even gave her 4th uncle as an exemple for her and for the readers to understand that sometimes you can love a woman to death and vice versa and still pick a different path. 

Agree that XL never considered outliving his army. XY would have realized this very early on when XL flew into a rage after she jokingly proposed that he betray Gong Gong and the Sheng Nong army and ally himself with the Yellow Emperor.

Both of them were also aware since the beginning that the Sheng Nong resistance army would inevitably fall.

Chapter 7

"It is laughable, and even I think I'm pretty pathetic. If I didn't have principles, then I would go talk to the Yellow Emperor and personally lead him to destroy Gao Xing."

Xiao Liu was silent and looked up at the cresent moon like a biscuit with a bite taken out of it. After a long time, he asked "What is General Gong Gong like? To lead a demon like you giving him your allegiance?"

"He's an idiot!" Xiang Liu quieted down for awhile and then said "He is a pathetic idiot. He leads a bunch of idiots, doing something pathetic."

Her so called rejection from chapter 13 is only secondary related to Jing and CX, at the core of it is her fear of not being strong enough to outlive him.

Agree that in Chapter 13, Jing was only a secondary reason for XY rejecting XL. I think her primary reason for the rejection was her refusal to betray her family, particularly CX. Before consenting to work for XL in Chapter 2 and consenting to XL's condition for accepting the love bug in Chapter 7, XY insisted that XL agree to conditions ensuring he wouldn't force her to act against her family. Moreover, at the time of Chapter 13, CX was more important to her than both XL and Jing since CX was her reason for survival during her 300 years of wandering. 

A fear of being "abandoned" by XL once his army faced inevitable downfall was, in my opinion, a secondary reason for her rejecting XL. Even if XY wasn't afraid of being abandoned, I think she still would have rejected XL because he was on opposing sides with CX. Conversely, if XL had not been on opposing sides with CX, but was still adamant in fighting for a hopeless cause, I could see XY dedicating herself to helping him find a solution out of the dire situation. This course of action would have mirrored her support for CX's long-shot bid for the throne.

XL and XY are similar in their unwillingness to compromise their principles for romance. Both understand each other's priorities, which is why they intentionally choose to keep their distance from each other to avoid complicating matters for themselves or each other.

Since XL is not an option, CX and Jing are the people XY chooses to nurture and rely on to alleviate her loneliness. As events occur to undermine these two relationships, XY descends into depression, impairing her ability to make rational decisions. Significant triggers for her worsening depression include learning of Jing's betrayal, CX taking Xing Yue as his empress, Jing's disappearance, and learning of CX's involvement in Jing's disappearance.

@AH

Thanks for the thoughtful analysis of Chapter 43. I found it very insightful. I largely agree with the points you made, especially that XY was hoping to find Jing and not just to goad XL into saving her by walking into an obvious trap. It’s aggravating that XY risks both Miao Pu's and XL’s lives to go on this escapade, but we see a pattern of her acting irrationally and not thinking through the consequences of her actions when she’s depressed.

You can file most my original interpretation under “conspiracy theories from someone who is not a big fan of TSJ.”

 solarlunareclipse:

@AH

Thanks for the thoughtful analysis of Chapter 43. I found it very insightful. I largely agree with the points you made, especially that XY was hoping to find Jing and not just to goad XL into saving her by walking into an obvious trap.

Thanks for opening the discussion! ^^

 solarlunareclipse:

It’s aggravating that XY risks both Miao Pu's and XL’s lives to go on this escapade, but we see a pattern of her acting irrationally and not thinking through the consequences of her actions when she’s depressed.

Agreed. Although luckily Miao Pu got a future husband out of it, and we the readers got some great YaoLiu moments. ^^

 solarlunareclipse:

You can file most my original interpretation under “conspiracy theories from someone who is not a big fan of TSJ.”

Lol! Everyone's entitled to their own interpretations and headcanons anyways, but calling them conspiracy theories is hilarious. ^^

Perhaps some of those conspiracy theories will lead to some fic writing?

@H19279

Thank you for the comparison between recollections in LYF with the scenes in Once Promised. I just realised I missed out an excerpt in Ch9, which describes her longing for them to be able to be together freely as a family. I wonder now about the what-ifs had A Heng taken Chi Chen's hand then, for them as well as Xiao Yao (and by extension her relationship with Xiang Liu). It would probably be far less complicated, since there would be no concerns of opposing sides to begin with.

Chi You handed Xiao Yao over to A Heng. "If she were my daughter, I would definitely be the happiest man in the whole world." Just as A Heng was about to take Xiao Yao from him, Chi Chen grabbed hold of her with one hand while carrying Xiao Yao in the other, and said, "Come away with me!"

Chi Chen's grip hurt A Heng to the bone. With him holding their daughter and pulling her hand, they were together as a family. All that was needed was for her to gently turn her hand back and she could hold his hand and follow him into the vast world, carefree and unfettered.

She could not help wanting to hold on to Chi Chen tightly--

-- Once Promised Vol 2 Ch9 

 H19279:

I don't know if one of the last part of the novel related to the hint that you mentioned. I found A Heng's yearning for Chi Chen would be similar to XY's yearning for XL the rest of her life

Thank you too so much for sharing the translation of the epilogue for Once Promised, which is so devastatingly painful to read, imagining A Heng living in such an existence for the next 400 years, fulfilling the promise she made to Chi Chen to live on for him and their daughter. 

Based on the few short excerpts as well as the epilogue, I see a stylistic difference in prose between the two novels. LYF is far more restrained and nuanced, very much in keeping with the characters themselves who are often a closed book, be it to themselves or others.  

On the other hand, what little I read of Once Promised feels more passionate, uncomplicated in a way, far more direct and bold in its narrative approach, similar to its lead characters. Would that be a fair assessment?

Now more than ever, I need to find the time to read the novel. 

The way I personally interpret chapter 13 and her so called rejection / confession îs like this

XL went to see her, he tried to air kiss her as he did before but she refused. Giving that, he thought WXL took him for a fool and everything was all lies and basically a charade from her part. They get on the surface and XY is able to explain herself to him and convince him that that's not true. She offered him the poisons she made for him and the mood îs back on track. Seeing how XY was not set on cut him off from her life and that she is happy to keep things more or less as before, he asked her why didn't she kiss him if nothing changed between them. XY went along and told him that she is scared. Scared of what? Scared because she is now a girl who's prone to dream and she is afraid of falling for him, because, as that old man explained în chapter 29, his life has no guarantee of tomorrow. That, to her, is scarier than death, giving her fair share of people who ended up abandoning her down the road.

 That was the moment when XL understood the whole situation and there is no doubt în my mind that him approaching her as FFB afterwards was not with the intention of raising up her hopes or prove to her that he is suitable for a girl to start dreaming of him. As stated before, FFB was a playboy, even CX was surprised as hell when XY seemed interested în his background. He told her something along the lines of "you can't possible be interested in someone like him", he was genuinly puzzled, because he knew XY well enough to know that FFB persoana is far away from what she wants în a man. Ofc, XY asked him to find out more about FFB's past because she had just found out with certainty that FFB is XL, but CX was clueless and his reaction speaks volumes to me. 

Although I have said it in this thread before, I can't help but want to retell my understanding of Xiang Liu after reading your discussion, hoping to find someone who thinks the same way as me :-)

In my opinion, Xiang Liu never "wanted to die", but he was clearly aware that if he remained loyal to the Chenrong Army, then eventually the Xiyan Kingdom would make a national effort to make sure he disappeared forever and completely to avoid any future troubles, this is a common political operation, just like what happened to him in the end. Like Xiao Yao once told Cang Xuan, if it were a one-on-one duel, no one in Dahuang could defeat Xiang Liu, but after all he is only one person, how could he defeat an entire country (actually, in the end, three countries, the whole world)?

Xiang Liu does not want to die, but he cannot abandon his adoptive father and comrades. As long as he lives, he will protect them. It was not that he wanted to die, but that he did not want to give up his duties in order to live, and he did not want Xiao Yao to marry someone who might die soon, so he did not pursue her. How could a man who loved life so much that he had collected almost every good restaurant in Dahuang, and elaborately designed every clothes he conjured, have a death wish?He also said himself, "As long as there is such scenery between heaven and earth, life is very precious."

 blabla100:

let's remember that when they were having dinner with that old man and he started rambling about how FFB's life has no guarantee of tomorrow, FFB used her own words from chapter 13 to make a point and agree with him.

"Let me tell you straight up, Fang Feng Bei’s life is here today with no guarantee of tomorrow. Even Jing who made a mistake is a better choice than Fang Feng Bei……..”

Xiao Yao slammed her wine bowl on the table and gave Li Jie Chang a piercing look “I’m already engaged and my fiancee isn’t him. So please, please, I beg you stop stepping all over Bei!”

Doesn't this scene take place after Jing is married, or XY has found out that FFYY is pregnant?  How is a married guy a better choice than FFB?  Isn't Li Jie Chang the gambling den owner of the fighting slave arena, who is also being supported financially by Jing?  Wasn't he spying on XY with Jing, right before this scene?  Isn't If so, I think he's beyond biased, obviously pushing his guy Jing, just as CX pushes his guy Feng Long.

 blabla100:

Xiao Yao glared at Chang and said to Fang Feng Bei “You are sure even-tempered with this guy.”

Fang Feng Bei drank his wine and said casually “Every word he said is the truth. I’m not a guy suitable for a woman to follow. Isn’t that something you already know?”

And how many times has FFB lied to XY?  How many times has he answered a question with a question?  How many times has XL said something he didn't neccesarily believe or that was untrue or that was done, just to push XY away?  I don't think XL thinks XY really is unworthy or an idiot -- both of which he has told her too.

These are unreliable of characters, i.e. ones who don't always tell the whole truth.

 ZYHLJ:

In my opinion, Xiang Liu never "wanted to die", but he was clearly aware that if he remained loyal to the Chenrong Army, then eventually the Xiyan Kingdom would make a national effort to make sure he disappeared forever and completely to avoid any future troubles, this is a common political operation, just like what happened to him in the end.

There's plenty of folks who agree with you this. :)

The Xiyan Kingdom had been making a national effort to eradicate XL for hundreds of years, and the Resistance Army since they 'conquered' Chenrong, long before XL joined them.  Xiyan failed.  The only reason they succeeded at the end, was because of CX -- and Haolin stupidly caving in to him, and agreeing to national erradication.

People keep saying the Resistance Army was doomed from the start, but that's not true.  Things were at a stalemate, and a successful assassination or an accident or an early imperial death, could have tipped the scales away from Xiyan.  Given who makes them, I think the statements that people keep pointing to are meant as foreshadowing, rather than knowledgable opinions or magical prophecy.