Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 Symbolika1:

It's maybe because in the beginning she have some control.... wich she lose endorsing the princess process...?

Definitely. It was unfortunately a turn for the worst in terms of character development, even if crucial for the plot.

 blabla100:

For sure, but I feel like she didn't stay true to her character, they were like 2 different person. It is a difference between adapting yourself to a new situation and transforming yourself into a new person all of a sudden. Also, her romances are so contradictory, there was a chapter în the novel where she had a fun happy day with FFB,  she gets home, meets Jing, she feels bored în a way but yet she say she wants to spend her entire life with him. Like you're telling us something, but you are showing us something else. 

I read a very interesting comment on Facebook, regarding the ending and I feel it sums it up what you're saying. It was more or less like this: Sometimes what we need is not what we want, so we need to learn to want what we think we need.

 blabla100:

there was a chapter în the novel where she had a fun happy day with FFB,  she gets home, meets Jing, she feels bored în a way

I'm trying to think of which chapter this could be. Maybe chapter 16? But I didn't interpret it as XY being bored. TSJ thinks to himself that he is too dull compared to FFB, but that's his thought, not XY's.

XY was putting up a cold front at first because he hadn't ended the engagement yet or come to see her so she thought TSJ had lost interest in her, but her heart softens by the end of their encounter. 

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Chapter 16:

“So if I put it in my mouth I can swim underwater?”

“Yes, I tested it already.”

Xiao Yao was almost ready to put the gem in her mouth but when she heard this she quickly put her hand down and felt the gem was hot in her hands.

Jing was worried that Xiao Yao loved to play so much she got in trouble. “The longest time I swam was for one day, two nights. But I have powers so just to be safe don’t do it for longer than ten hours.”

Xiao Yao murmured a yes. Jing liked quiet over activity but to test the gem he swam for one day and two nights in the water.

Xiao Yao suddenly flopped on the pallet and buried her head in her arms.

Jing was shocked and his voice quivered “Xiao Yao, Xiao Yao, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I just hate you a little.” Every time when she steeled her heart, he always had a way of softening it. Was it because she saved him and took him home that she just couldn’t be heartless with him?

“I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t appear!” Jing didn’t know what Xiao Yao was thinking, all he knew was that Xiao Yao was very unhappy but earlier she was very happy with Fang Feng Bei.

Xiao Yao was so angry she threw the gem at him “You are such a big idiot! I don’t know why everyone else thinks you’re so smart.”

Jing didn’t dare duck so just sat there.

Xiao Yao was worried she broke the gem and asked “The gem?”

Jing helped her look for it and handed it to her “It doesn’t break that easily.”

Xiao Yao glared at him and played with the gem and groused “You came to Xuan Yuan Castle, why bring along….. Do you still want to end the engagement? If you don’t, then tell me earlier so I am not holding onto my promise with you!”

Jing hurriedly said “I want to end it! I already told my grandmother I don’t want to marry Fang Feng Yi Yang!”

Xiao Yao lowered her head and said nothing.

Jing continued “All these years, Yi Yang spent by my grandmother and is very close with her. She didn’t agree to let me end it but agreed to postpone the wedding. This time Yi Yang wanted to come to Xuan Yuan Castle and I didn’t want to take her but grandmother said the clan owed her for me to treat her like a little sister.”

Xiao Yao played with the gem and thought about it.

Jing said “Xiao Yao, my grandmother spoils me, I will be able to convince her.”

Xiao Yao said “I’ll accept this fish amethyst!” She put the necklace around her neck and then tucked the pendant into her robe.

Jing noticed and his heart skipped a beat and he lowered his head.

Xiao Yao said “I’m learning archery from Fang Feng Bei who offered to teach me which is why we’ve been hanging out.”

Jing’s heart soared and he said with a smile “No need to explain, and I have no right to ask you to explain. Just now, you coming back, that is enough.”

But she didn’t come back just now for Jing, she came back because of Zhuan Xu! Xiao Yao felt this pressure in her heart, was her relationship with Jing also subject to being used? Xiao Yao said “Do you remember promising me not to hurt Xuan?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know what my Gege wants to do, but if it doesn’t harm Tu Shan clan, can you help him a little?”

Jing warmly said “If it’s this request, you need not even ask. I actually came with Feng Long this time to discuss something with Zhuan Xu.”

“If you didn’t have something to discuss, then you wouldn’t have come?” Xiao Yao bit her lip and furrowed her brow.

Jing's heart skipped a beat and he explained “Feng Long asked me to wait for him but I couldn’t wait any longer and came first….”

“This is called coming first? I’ve been in Xuan Yuan Castle for twenty months now.”

Jing tried to think through what Xiao Yao said and he felt she meant he came too late. But he couldn’t quite believe she would mean that, so he had to think through each word and really wished she would say it again so he could hear her tone of voice.

Xiao Yao was silent and then sighed, standing up to walk away.

Jing grabbed her and stammered “Xiao Yao, you…you…you want to see me?”

Xiao Yao stared at him and he said with uncertainty “I know I’m rather dense at some stuff, if I made a wrong assumption, don’t be angry.”

Xiao Yao felt like she was looking at Shi Qi again and her heart softened “Do you want to see me?”

Jing nodded very solemnly. Because he missed her to the core, he thought of an idea and convinced Feng Long and then dragged Feng Long and Xing Yue thousands of miles to come to Xuan Yuan Castle to convince Zhuan Xu.

Xiao Yao was angry “Why didn’t you come?”

“Some things I needed to do.”

Xiao Yao sighed “How can you be so certain I won’t let another man into my heart?”

Jing shook his head, he was so uncertain.

Xiao Yao was so exasperated “You….are so stupid!”

Jing was taken aback, compared to Fang Feng Bei’s dashing charm, he really was too dull and staid.

@AH

No, it wasn't that chapter, maybe the next one? 

 AH :

The next chapter is where FFB comes to XY's bedroom injured and confirms that he is XL. 

I can't think of another chapter that matches that description. 

I think it was the chapter when she asked jing to pai t something for her. 

 AH :

That's later in chapter 16. XY was sleepy and falls asleep playing with TSJ's hair. I didn't get the impression that she was bored while spending time with him.

In between the scene I posted above and the painting scene, there is a moment where the novel says that XY was bored while ZX and TSJ were talking politics. Could that be what you were thinking of?

Let me check, maybe I misinterpret. 

 blabla100:

Bored was not the right word, it was just that this scene came right after a fun day playing with FFB and the contrast between her having fun with FFB and her having fun with Jing îs quite contradictory.. Like come on, she looks for zither, paints and chess?  It doesn't seem like her. Yes, one can argue that she was trying to please Jing, because he îs into this type of fun, but it seems forced no matter how I look at. At least she had enough poison on her.

I see what you mean. The way XY and FFB entertain themselves is quite different than the way that XY and TSJ entertain themselves. Less exciting for the reader perhaps. Although I did find it funny that she still ended up playing with poisons with TSJ.

Normal paints aren't her thing, but looking for a zither or a go board made sense to me. She likes playing go with TSJ (even though she's terrible at it), and she asked ZX or TSJ to play her a tune earlier in the chapter. That prompted TSJ to say that he hadn't touched a zither in 10 years, leading to the plot point later where XY encourages TSJ to play again and "teach" her. 

TSJ seemed up for anything. I'm sure he would've accompanied her to a dance hall like FFB if she wanted.