Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 AH :

Okay. So then in terms of timing, Ah Heng treated the Yellow Emperor's injuries after she divorced Shao Hao, after she took XY to live on Xuan Yuan Mountain with Empress Lei Zhu and Cang Xuan, and after Chang Yi, Chang Pu and Empress Lei Zhu had all died? But it must have been before the final battle between Ah Heng and Qi You / Chi You and the events immediately before the battle covered in chapters 17 - 19 of Volume 2. Was it right before that? Like chapter 16?

Yes, Chang Yi and his wife had died before the battle between Chi You and Huangdi. Huangdi got serious injured and Lei Zhu died on the same night in the end of chapter 16 vol 2. Huangdi was in serious condition, the scholars would like to call Quing Yang back. Of course it was impossible. Ah Heng wanted to treat Huangdi. Her skill was good but no-one knew. She used to practice medicine as Xiling Heng, a male doctor. 

In the last battle, Shao Hao helped Ah Heng on Xuan Yuan side using fake identity. 

 H19279:

Yes, Chang Yi and his wife had died before the battle between Chi You and Huangdi. Huangdi got serious injured and Lei Zhu died on the same night in the end of chapter 16 vol 2. Huangdi was in serious condition, the scholars would like to call Quing Yang back. Of course it was impossible. Ah Heng wanted to treat Huangdi. Her skill was good but no-one knew. She used to practice medicine as Xiling Heng, a male doctor.

This makes me feel for Ah Heng. She had so many terrible things to deal with. 

 H19279:

In the last battle, Shao Hao helped Ah Heng on Xuan Yuan side using fake identity. 

Oh interesting. I didn't realize Shao Hao wasn't using his own identity in the final battle. 

 AH :

Shao Hao handed the potion to Qing Yang, who drank it, causing Qing Yang to be unable to protect himself against Qi Yo. And Qi Yo mistakenly killed Qing Yang.
Ah Heng did not know that Qing Yang would end up taking the potion.  
Ah Heng told XY that Shao Hao wanted to use the potion to force the former Grand Emperor to abdicate the throne of Gao Xing, and that Qing Yang drank the potion accidentally.

Ah Heng made 2 portions, as requested from Shao Hao. Shao Hao used one to poison his father. He gave Quing Yang one so that Quing Yang could the same plan to Yellow Emperor. He persuaded Qing Yang to take his step (he became king by the time he gave it to Qing yang). He wanted Qing Yang to become King. Keep in mind Huangdi had several sons with other wife. 

Ah Heng didn't know Shao Hao's plan. Thus she didn't know Qing Yang got the portion.

Qing Yang was about to bring the water dissolved with the poison for Huangdi. but at the last minute he could not do so. He could not harm his own father. His half brother figured out and actually exchanged the liquid from the begining. And the one that Qing Yang drank himself contained the portion. 

Fury suddenly welled up in his heart, he shouted at Qing Yang: 

"We said we would fight side by side and then decide on a final battle, how dare you break our promise?"

 Qing Yang did not answer, just slowly turned his eyes to look at the Emperor, "Father, you know I want to harm you, right?" 

The Emperor came closer, arrogantly and coldly looked down at Qing Yang lying there, mocking: "Congratulations, you have saved me in front of thousands of thousands of troops, the future usurpation of the throne will definitely be more smooth." .” qing Yang sadly whispered: "Father, I admit that I once intended to harm you. Because I didn't want Chanf Yi and Ah Heng to become the second Wan Trach, I poisoned your water jar, but I didn't have the heart to take action, so I broke into the palace in the middle of the night, swapped the water jar for another, and dumped the water. It's toxic." 

The Emperor was startled, glanced at Di Banh in the distance and then looked at Qing Yang, his eyes softened a lot, the coldness disappeared, replaced by countless complicated and confusing worries, outsiders could not see it. 

Okay. He replied nonchalantly: "Actually, the jar of water you swapped was not poisonous a long time ago." Qing Yang smiled, "I understand. It turns out I was the one who drank that poisonous water. Father let me receive the retribution and decide my own life and death." 

Ah Heng heard the two people's responses and only vaguely understood them, but Shao  Hao understood everything. Qing Yang  had drunk the poison that Ah Heng had mixed. At the exact moment the poison appeared, he could not withstand Chi You's fatal blow. 

 AH :

Based on the translated scene descriptions, I don't see a huge difference between how XL creates distance between himself and XY in the novel compared to the drama. Unless I'm missing something?

 AH :

Do you mean the confrontation in chapter 46? Or do you mean when he makes XY cry in chapter 43 with his “There aren’t that many maybes!" line?

Sorry, I meant Ch46, when he deliberately took so much of her blood in an apparent callous act to stock up on healing pills. Even then, the lovers bug never retaliated, no matter how devastated she was, how she swore she did not want to see him ever again, so for all his efforts, her love for him never changed, which is a testament in itself.  

The interactions between Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao post-wedding are more harsh verbally in the script, though there are still moments of tenderness in later episodes. During Cang Xuan's wedding to A Nian, the script also has Xiang Liu telling her point blank that he was using the bug in her as a chess piece to check Cang Xuan, a scene I don't recall ever seeing in the novel (correct me if I am wrong). And from what I have translated so far, there are a lot less moments of tenderness on her part compared to the novel - instead what we do get more of are scenes that reveals his love for her when she is unaware. So we get the feeling that the script sometimes teeters into dangerous territory in terms of how much cruelty Xiang Liu can show towards Xiao Yao without endangering her life with the retaliation of the lovers bug.

For me, the distancing was more gradual in the novel. He does not say as much, does not throw as much cruel words to her even if he does call her a fool and keeps emphasising that everything between them was just transactional. The omission of Ch43 in the script is truly regrettable because it takes away so much of their interactions that reaffirm her feelings towards him, despite his harshness. Is it just me, or one always gets the feeling that even if he infuriated or hurt her, deep down, she cannot help but be drawn to him the next time they met, as if the meanness from their previous interactions never happened. Xiao Yao is an unreliable witness so taking the words she throws at him verbatim is to fail to read all that she leaves unspoken but gives us glimpses of through her actions, reactions and feelings.

 LilMoussySnow:

1- In drama (not show in novel), the part where XY was afraid of letting XL in her dreams, then she went off with Jing and XY bug start to hurt him. Is this because he either doesn’t want to love her anymore because of her rejection, so the bug bite him for changing his mind? (I don’t believe the bug influenced XY because she still loves him she just deny.)

I don't think it was about changing his mind.  He told her to swim back, but he obviously was following her to make sure she wasn't attacked by sea creatures.  I think it was seeing Jing carrying XY off, made him jealous / feel betrayed.  If there is betrayal or love is lost, the Poison Love Bugs will become Heartbreak Bugs, which is what I think was starting to happen.  But he controlled himself and the bugs and prevented that from happening.

This is why I think the allegedly leaked scene with Xl jealous of Jing and XY making out and about to throw away the Tears Pearl, seems completely out of line to me.  XL can never feel jealousy, because that can lead to the feeling of betrayal.

Also when XY kissed Jing shouldn’t the bug sense betrayal and bite her? 

 Kokuto:

We've been talking about that.  Whether physical acts count as betrayal.  I don't think so.  But others do.

I don't think so either, XY was about to marry Jing before his dissapareance, I belive XL would have tried to kill the bugs before that if that was the case. 

Now this is an electronic introduction after the drama version came out, so what charm does " Sauvignon Blanc " have after it has been changed again and again ? It will be a bad street from now on, who will care about it? Anyway, I don’t care about it anymore

This is yaoliu 

This is the only bonus image included with the first printing of the 2013 edition.This is what Tonghua himself said about Xiaoyao’s choice based on psychological shortcomings.