Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

This person is filled with so many misconception about the YaoLiu loveline. Must be reading the novel literally, as is, skipping over themes, metaphors and such. I've encountered a few people whose reading comprehension and/or willful ignorance of Tong Hua's usage of prose and poetry. Every single one of these kind of readers interpret Yaoliu as platonic, ignoring the mere fact that XY would have died if her heart betrays XL's heart.

 Kokuto:

I don't remember a definitive term for Xiang Liu being in your translations, liddi.  Any idea what this Jing fan is talking about?  Is it XL the Platonic One?  XL the Rebound Guy?

There is no talk about Xiang Liu being the one she chose on the rebound. What is stated in Ep20 scene 5 when Xiao Yao was at Jade Mountain, feeling betrayed because Cang Xuan knew who assassinated Jing but did not tell her, is a note in the script as follows:

[Xiao Yao walked towards the waterside pavilion by the banks of Jade Lake in Jade Mountain, playing with a peach blossom branch in her hand, and started talking to her reflection in the lake. (Note: Since Xin Yue killed Tushan Jing, there was no way she would let her get away with it. Nonetheless, she had already worked out the chain of events and realised that Cang Xuan and the old Xuan Yuan king already knew even before Feng Long confessed, but merely chose to keep the truth from her, which told her where they stood in the matter. She fought side by side with Cang Xuan all this while, but this time, they were on opposing sides because of the throne. Or perhaps it could be said that she chose to stand against Cang Xuan because of Tushan Jing. The one who was the most afraid of being alone had lost her lover, had lost her friend (she severed ties with Xiang Liu over Cang Xuan in the previous episode), and would soon go against her family, ultimately she could only choose to be alone. Xiao Yao was calm and rational, yet unbearably desolate. In this scene, there is immense yet quiet grief, like someone drowning, clearly knowing death awaited but without any struggle because her mind was too clear. If their breakup in the dream sequence was dramatic, then this current breakup is realistic, just taking step by step towards separation.) ] 

-- leaked script Ep20, scene 5

At this point in the story (by the end), her lover was Jing, and the one who refused to respond to her appeal via the crystal globe had made it clear he could only be just her friend (if even that). And because of the assassination attempt on Cang Xuan where Feng Long died, even that too was lost to her. This is in line with the script pushing the official pairing, and downplaying the hidden line which is her mutual love with Xiang Liu. 

As for the rebound guy, that is a load of rubbish. The official line as stated by Yang Zi was that they both knew clearly that their opposing stances meant they could not be together. She also implied that had Xiang Liu chosen to express his feelings, everything might have changed e.g. Xiao Yao would have ended up with him (and re-enacted her parents' tragedy). Also Yang Zi stated emphatically that Xiao Yao did not choose Jing. She ended up with Jing because Xiang Liu and Cang Xuan did not choose her:

"Actually I feel that Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu is not just a simple who loved whom. They were both... I felt that in the beginning, everyone had the chance but the reality is that they did not choose Xiao Yao. This was not up to Xiao Yao to choose. One thing I really pitied Xiao Yao is that her character's fate was such that she had no option to choose anyone. In the beginning, I felt that perhaps Cang Xuan also had a chance. That is my opinion. But Xiang Liu had his 国家大义 (greater responsibilities to the nation). To some extent, I feel that Xiang Liu achieved a good, perfect end for himself. He was a general, and in the end he died on the battlefield, fulfilling his life's meaning and duties. So from a certain viewpoint, that was also a good end for him. His life was fated to not be able to be with Xiao Yao. In the previous generation, due to the problem of standpoint (opposing sides) and fate, my mother A Heng and my father Chi Chen ended up with a tragic ending. As such, in this generation, it is possible that Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao were fated not to be able to be together. They are... as everyone watching the drama feels that they should be a certain way... but they are always one person moves forward, and the other takes a step back; one person takes a step forward, the other person moves backward. In some ways, everyone was very clear-headed because from the start, they knew that the both of them would never work out. I think we should interpret it in this way, rather than just focusing whether they do love or do not love each other. I think that is not what this drama, or Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao are trying to convey.
:
Also I feel that Xiang Liu is very noble. He did not let Xiao Yao see how he really feels because he knows that, after he expresses his feelings, perhaps everything would change. 
:
Why did Xiao Yao choose Jing? In Jing's world, Xiao Yao is the only one. She did not choose Jing. Rather it is... Xiang Liu has his loyalty to the nation. He could never be with Xiao Yao based on his stance because his priority is his country. Gege is also not possible because he is going to be king, so in this world, only Jing can put Xiao Yao first. "

-- Yang Zi's live broadcast interview 8 Aug 2023

 liddi:

MDL notifications is no longer working again. Is it just me or affecting everyone else too? The nightmare of trying to keep track of responses in multiple threads...

It affecting multiple threads for me. Sometimes it comes one for one, and tunes off for another vice versa. So far, the only thread that's working for me is this one and the comment section. 

 plor20:

It affecting multiple threads for me. Sometimes it comes one for one, and tunes off for another vice versa. So far, the only thread that's working for me is this one and the comment section. 

Yes, sounds similar to me, except in my case, the notification works on random threads (thread A now, thread B later), but so far seems consistently fine for messages.

 liddi:

[Xiao Yao walked towards the waterside pavilion by the banks of Jade Lake in Jade Mountain, playing with a peach blossom branch in her hand, and started talking to her reflection in the lake. (Note: Since Xin Yue killed Tushan Jing, there was no way she would let her get away with it. Nonetheless, she had already worked out the chain of events and realised that Cang Xuan and the old Xuan Yuan king already knew even before Feng Long confessed, but merely chose to keep the truth from her, which told her where they stood in the matter. She fought side by side with Cang Xuan all this while, but this time, they were on opposing sides because of the throne. Or perhaps it could be said that she chose to stand against Cang Xuan because of Tushan Jing. The one who was the most afraid of being alone had lost her lover, had lost her friend (she severed ties with Xiang Liu over Cang Xuan in the previous episode), and would soon go against her family, ultimately she could only choose to be alone. Xiao Yao was calm and rational, yet unbearably desolate. In this scene, there is immense yet quiet grief, like someone drowning, clearly knowing death awaited but without any struggle because her mind was too clear. If their breakup in the dream sequence was dramatic, then this current breakup is realistic, just taking step by step towards separation.) ] 

Oooooh I didn't see this part of the leaked script, so that is how they changed one of the biggest plots of the story, and explains why XY decided to leave without saying goodbye to CX. It was the betrayal and the fact that he would no longer stand on her side, but power. Still not as consistent or convincing as what was in the original. Also cannot imagine Xinyue killing TSJ just to make XY unhappy. I mean without him around, CX would be able to have XY all the time, which Xinyue would not want. It makes more sense for CX to do it

So in the end, instead of CX becoming morally grey over his love for her, they wanted him to be a ''good'' guy and dampen down that obsessive love (because it was also taboo??).  I really don't like this. In the novel, CX would never choose sides because as it was mentioned before, he never really had a choice between power vs XY. It totally changes how his character has been portrayed all this time and diminishes the special bond the two have. This is awful. CX was obsessive and selfish in the end of the novel but the one thing I still admired about him was that he would never abandon her/their relationship over others/the throne.

In terms of XL, there were many hints on their love in the novel. As YZ said, she didn't really get to pick and choose, it was more of circumstances and who could fulfill her criteria in the end. That was what made this novel so interesting - the relationships between XY and the 3 men, whom she had love for. And this leaked script for S2 destroyed her special bond with both CX and XL and takes away the beauty of the story. It all just seems so one dimensional.

 liddi:

At this point in the story (by the end), her lover was Jing, and the one who refused to respond to her appeal via the crystal globe had made it clear he could only be just her friend (if even that). And because of the assassination attempt on Cang Xuan where Feng Long died, even that too was lost to her. This is in line with the script pushing the official pairing, and downplaying the hidden line which is her mutual love with Xiang Liu.

Ah, okay, so at one point in the script, near the end, a stage direction / note refers to XY's thinking / talking to herself of XL as a friend -- not even her soulmate, eh, XY?   So, of course, all those times that XY was thinking how much she pitied Jing, means he's just someone she feels sorry for, right?  I thought this was like a casting list or end credits or something actually "definitive."

Yes, it smacks of them pushing the official CP again, but if it is XY's thought, we know she lies to herself regularly.  She knows they are both connected by the Lovers Bug still.

 liddi:

As for the rebound guy, that is a load of rubbish. The official line as stated by Yang Zi was that they both knew clearly that their opposing stances meant they could not be together. She also implied that had Xiang Liu chosen to express his feelings, everything might have changed e.g. Xiao Yao would have ended up with him (and re-enacted her parents' tragedy). Also Yang Zi stated emphatically that Xiao Yao did not choose Jing. She ended up with Jing because Xiang Liu and Cang Xuan did not choose her:

Yes, though the only time that XY finds courage is when Jing is taken from her.  At least the actors understand what is going on.

 liddi:

When things are less hectic, I would love to revisit the S1 script and compare it against the drama to see what other differences there are. A very quick glance already tells me that the way the episodes were broken up in the script were also slightly different. There are 28 episodes in S1 script, but the material covers up to 30 episodes in the drama ( (ending with Cang Xuan telling Xiao Yao's puppet to also pity him and not make him wait too long after she was taken to the ocean for healing). Not sure if there are scenes that did not make it to the final cut, or just the way they edited/timed the scenes.

That would be awesome, when you have the time.  I'd be very curious about cut scenes also.  That's interesting that they cut the episodes, to add two more.  Keeping my fingers crossed for season 2.

Thank you again, liddi, for the translations!

 Sssnoopyyy:

Oooooh I didn't see this part of the leaked script, so that is how they changed one of the biggest plots of the story, and explains why XY decided to leave without saying goodbye to CX. It was the betrayal and the fact that he would no longer stand on her side, but power. Still not as consistent or convincing as what was in the original. Also cannot imagine Xinyue killing TSJ just to make XY unhappy. I mean without him around, CX would be able to have XY all the time, which Xinyue would not want. It makes more sense for CX to do it

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  So, the reason why XY breaks with the person she has been intensely loyal to all this time, is because he didn't tell her who killed Jing??  Really?  That was it?

 Sssnoopyyy:

I know I am so upset looool. They made us wait a whole yr for this kind of story? What is this, a deflated balloon? 

The latter actions are neither consistent with the character development nor convincing. Give us back the proper CX, XY, TSJ and XL!

Ugh so upset on how they butchered my YaoXuan development. 

side note, I cannot help but think of the Kdrama Boys Over Flowers when I think of XY, TSJ and XL. Similar to in BOF, the female leads have a husband and a soulmate. 

I don't know.  I don't like any of the character changes, but "It's a dream" really ticks me off.  I hope they cut that out.

Haven't watched that show.  But I heard it was popular.