Novel chapter summaries

(Where season 2 should start!)

29:
Cang Xuan visits his retired emperor grandfather and Xiaoyao often. He is going to take another consort, again for political reasons. His grandfather asks Cang Xuan to find a way to get Xiang Liu on their side. Bei meets with Xiaoyao who tells him that she will no longer make him poisons after she is married. Xiaoyao tells Cang Xuan how unwell she has been since breaking up with Jing and Cang Xuan deeply regrets encouraging Xiaoyao to get close to Jing when he needed his help.

30:
Cang Xuan plans to make Xing Yue his empress to further consolidate his rule. Ah Nian and Xiaoyao prepare to return to Gao Xing .Cang Xuan is unhappy to see Xiaoyao go and tries to pin down a time for her return which she refuses to do. Cang Xuan takes on the title of the Black Emperor. After several months, he personally drags Xiaoyao back to Xuan Yuan. He promises her that he will always find her, no matter how far she runs. Cang Xuan asks their grandfather if Qi Yo is really Xiaoyao’s father which he confirms.

31:
Xiaoyao’s grandfather gives her a rare medicine book which sparks her interest to learn medicine. Feng Long comes to her to set a wedding date. Cang Xuan is upset about it and wishes he could be the one for Xiaoyao but he knows he no longer has the right. He does not go to see Xiaoyao for several days. Xing Yue has come to realize Cang Xuan’s obsession and love for Xiaoyao; she believes that he even said her name during their consummation. However, she feels reassured that Xiaoyao will soon marry her brother. Xiaoyao sends off her last poison to Xiang Liu - it has an intricate scene of a mermaid reaching out to a cold merman that stands in the distance (there is a reference to this in the epilogue). Cang Xuan and Xiaoyao get drunk and he tells her that he wants her to be his empress but she is too drunk to comprehend his words. Xiang Liu stares at Xiaoyao’s last gift and thinks about how they could never be together.

32:
Feng Long and Xiaoyao’s wedding processions begin. Feng Long tells Xiaoyao how Jing came to him to try to convince him to cancel the wedding but they disagreed. Fangfeng Bei stops the marriage procession and reminds Xiaoyao that she made a blood oath to him in the past - she would do what he says in the future (see Chapter 7). Xiaoyao is embarrassed and regretful towards Feng Long but she leaves with Bei. He takes her to Qing Shui town where she lived as Wen Xiao Liu ninety years ago and sees the children and grandchildren of her adopted family. Xiang Liu tells her Jing hired him to stop her wedding for thirty seven years worth of army provisions.

33:
Xiaoyao confronts Jing about stopping her wedding and the two have a long conversation. Jing apologizes to Xiaoyao about the wedding but states he couldn’t let her get married and be unhappy. He also explains the situation with Yiyang - he has realized that Yiyang and his brother Hou have been having an affair and their son, Zhen, is actually his brother Hou’s son with Yiyang. He never slept with Yiyang. Yiyang even killed Hou’s wife who tried to tell Jing the truth. Jing is now on guard against Hou and Yiyang. Jing also told Feng Long that he was the one who hired Fangfeng Bei to stop their wedding. Xiaoyao returns to Cang Xuan and together with her dad and her grandfather, they spread a rumor that Fangfeng Bei was killed so Xiaoyao returned to Xuan Yuan.

34:
Cang Xuan finds Xiaoyao embroidering for Jing and is jealous so he tells her to do one for him as well. Xiaoyao speaks with Jing’s servant and finds a pattern of Hou trying to seduce those close to Jing in an effort to prove that he is better than Jing. Xiaoyao comes up with a plot. She goes to a party with Jing, Fangfeng Yiyang and Hou present and has Jing demonstrate his devotion to her by diving in the water to pick a flower for her. Hou takes the bait and becomes interested in Xiaoyao and these two go on a few dates. Hou gives Xiaoyao a precious fish amethyst that he had previously given to Yiyang and Xiaoyao subtly shows it off to Yiyang which makes her furious. Xiaoyao meets Jing privately and explains her plot. Jing secretly records Hou and Yiyang meeting where they reveal their relationship and their son’s true paternity. He shows it to the Tushan clan elders and Hou turns around and blames Yiyang for seducing him and she doesn’t refute his claims. Yiyang chooses to sacrifice her essential soul blood to the Tushan clan god which is a slow death. The official rumor is that she caught a deadly disease. Hou gets a tap on the wrist and is banished from the clan.

35:
The rumor that Xiaoyao is Qi Yo’s daughter is rapidly spreading through the public. Xiaoyao thinks it is likely Feng Long or Xing Yue’s doing. Qi Yo is universally hated by both the Middle Plains and Xuan Yuan so Xiaoyao is now hated as well. Cang Xuan takes Xiaoyao and Jing out to dinner where they overhear a general who fought with Xiaoyao’s mother - he confirms that Xiaoyao’s mother explicitly said that she had loved Qi Yo for hundreds of years. Xiaoyao is shocked. Jing privately confronts Cang Xuan who confirms he has spread the rumor to spare Xiaoyao some hurt in the future. The Grand Emperor, Xiaoyao’s former adoptive father, takes her name off the family register - she is no longer a princess of Gao Xing. Cang Xuan and their grandfather arrange for her to be adopted into her grandmother’s family.

36:
Fangfeng Yiyang’s death is announced officially. Jing takes Xiaoyao out to travel and arranges a meeting with the Grand Emperor where he asks him to tell Xiaoyao the truth of her parents’ love affair. The Grand Emperor takes Xiaoyao and Jing into the blistering desert where they find a peach blossom forest. Xiaoyao is immediately comfortable from the vicious heat inside the forest but it isn’t the same for Jing or the Grand Emperor. Xiaoyao’s mother appears - she became the drought monster in the war four hundred years prior. Qi Yo became the peach blossom forest. Xiaoyao’s mother asks about Cang Xuan and is glad to see Xiaoyao and Jing together. She shows Xiaoyao her story with Qi Yo - they fell in love, then Xiaoyao’s mom had to marry for political reasons and the war placed her and Qi Yo on opposite sides. She summoned the sun’s power during the battle but lost her consciousness and became a killing demon. Qi Yo saved her by giving his heart to replace hers that was lost in the sun’s power. After meeting Xiaoyao, her mother is released from being the drought monster. The desert and the peach blossom forest disappear.

37:
The Grand Emperor is gravely injured from being in the desert and his hair has completely turned white. He declines Xiaoyao’s pleas to treat him. Jing and Xiaoyao go to Qi Yo’s village to pay their respects. They discuss the Lover’s Bug with the Voodoo King and initially have the impression that Xiang Liu and Xiaoyao will live and die together but Xiaoyao holds hope that this is not true as she has no relationship with Xiang Liu and the bug was moved from Cang Xuan to Xiang Liu. She meets Xiang Liu briefly but he doesn’t tell her how to remove the bug. Xiaoyao returns to tell her grandfather what happened in the desert. Cang Xuan is happy to have Xiaoyao back but dismayed that he cannot accompany her travels like Jing can.

38:
Xiaoyao starts to create a new medicine manual with the help of one of Cang Xuan’s doctors.
Cang Xuan starts his attack on Gao Xing which upsets Xiaoyao. He explains that the Grand Emperor (Xiaoyao’s former father before discovering she was Qi Yo’s daughter) is responsible for his father’s death and therefore his mother’s suicide. Xiaoyao is so upset that she throws a chalice at Cang Xuan’s head. They later make up. Jing comforts Xiaoyao. The mourning period for Yiyang is now over so Jing can remarry and proposes to Xiaoyao. He gets permission from her grandfather (the Yellow Emperor) and Cang Xuan also gives his permission but privately reflects on how much it hurts him to do so.
Xiaoyao decides she wants to finish the medicine manual before getting married so eight years pass; she and Jing remain engaged.
She bumps into Xiang Liu who just had a meeting with Jing. They both inquire about how to remove the Lover’s Bug and Xiang Liu reiterates that he does not know.

39:
The war between Gao Xing and Xuan Yuan has been going on for ten years but Xuan Yuan is slowly winning. Feng Long is Cang Xuan’s general in this battle against Gao Xing and loses a minor battle so Cang Xuan, Jing and Xiaoyao go to Gao Xing to meet him. Xiaoyao feels awkward meeting Feng Long again but there’s no hard feelings. Ah Nian breaks into Cang Xuan’s military camp to try to convince him to stop his attack on Gao Xing but he refuses and sends her back.

40:
Two of Gao Xing’s tribes are unhappy with the current Grand Emperor and the choice of successor in Ah Nian and so they defect to Cang Xuan’s side. Xiaoyao hears that the Grand Emperor is unwell and fights with Cang Xuan to go to him. Jing and Xiaoyao are joined at the last minute by Cang Xuan and they find the Grand Emperor plagued by his sorrows since he was last with Xiaoyao in the desert. He explains to Xiaoyao that he pushed her away because he didn’t want her to feel caught between Cang Xuan and him. The Grand Emperor tells Cang Xuan that he has raised him to be his successor all along and asks him to take Ah Nian as his second empress. Cang Xuan is somewhat reluctant about marrying yet another woman in front of Xiaoyao and again has regrets about using her to manipulate Jing in the early days. Cang Xuan and the Grand Emperor lament together that they could never be with the one they loved. Wedding plans are arranged for Cang Xuan and Ah Nian.

41:
Cang Xuan is unhappy to see Xiaoyao preparing a wedding gift for him and Ah Nian. Xiaoyao can see he is upset but doesn’t understand why; it’s just one more wife to add to his collection. Cang Xuan tells her that for once he’d like to marry a woman he loves, he would always listen to her and take her side. Xiaoyao asks him if it was between her and the woman he loves, who he’d listen to. He pointedly says Xiaoyao but all subtle hints are lost on Xiaoyao. The wedding goes ahead, Ah Nian becomes Cang Xuan’s second empress and her father abdicates to Cang Xuan.
Fifteen years pass and Xiaoyao finally finished her medicine manual. Jing and Xiaoyao set a wedding date for three months later. Jing has a strange feeling that Cang Xuan isn’t happy about the marriage but ignores it. Xiaoyao innocently asks Cang Xuan if he found the woman he loves and he asks her if he did, whether he should hold on to her, to which she says of course. Xing Yue visits Xiaoyao, she states how happy she is for Xiaoyao and Jing and secretly thinks to herself that she’s glad Xiaoyao will be going away from Cang Xuan.

42:
It’s less than a month to the wedding so by tradition, Jing and Xiaoyao can’t see each other. Jing goes back to Qing Qiu to prepare but then gets news that his son/nephew, Zhen, is unwell in Qing Shui town where Jing also had Yiyang sent after he faked her death. It turns out to be a trick - Hou had Yiyang poison their son to lure Jing to them. Jing and Hou fight, Hou is about to kill Jing when Yiyang shoots an arrow into Hou. She apologizes to Jing and then embraces Hou, shoving the arrow into her as well and ending her life and Hou’s together. Hou uses the last of his strength to kick Jing into Qing Shui river. Xiaoyao arrives and frantically searches for Jing in the river. Cang Xuan later comes and assists in the search while simultaneously trying to take care of Xiaoyao who becomes increasingly unwell as the search for Jing turns hopeless. Eventually the day they were meant to be married arrives and Xiaoyao dresses in her wedding gown, waiting for Jing and swearing on the moon that she is his wife from now on. Cang Xuan is furious when he hears about that and immediately leaves.

43:
Xiaoyao receives a message with Jing’s voice telling her to go to the East Sea and tell no one. She is met by a mysterious lady who gives a drink and tells her that she will take her to meet Jing. The lady turns out to be an assassin who has been paid an astronomical amount to kill Xiaoyao. Xiaoyao doesn’t resist as she believes she will be accompanying Jing in death. Xiang Liu saves her but is gravely injured and drinks her blood to recover. He makes her promise to stay alive even if Jing is dead. They try to find out who hired the assassin. Xiaoyao narrows it down to either Xing Yue or Feng Long. Xiang Liu leaves after he’s healed. Xiaoyao returns to find a sleep deprived and disheveled Cang Xuan and takes care of him.  He vows to find out who tried to kill her.

44:
Cang Xuan encourages Xiaoyao to set up a medical clinic as a way of getting her mind off Jing. Feng Long visits her as he misses Jing. This makes it clear to Xiaoyao that Xing Yue is the most likely one to have hired the assassin though she can’t understand why. There is another assassination attempt on Xiaoyao. She overhears Xing Yue admitting to being the mastermind behind the attempts on her life as the latter argues with Feng Long. Cang Xuan rushes back just in time to save a delirious Xiaoyao who calls him “Jing”.

45:
Xiaoyao confronts Xing Yue about wanting to kill her. Xing Yue realizes Xiaoyao doesn’t recognise Cang Xuan’s romantic love for her and attempts to spell it out for her only for Cang Xuan to overhear her. Cang Xuan and Xiaoyao finally have it out - he’s in love with her. He asks her for a tiny piece of her heart. She just cries. Eventually, they go back to how they were before, ignoring what was said. Another consort voluntarily takes the blame for Xing Yue. Cang Xuan is just happy Xiaoyao is still there with him.

46:
Four years later, Cang Xuan and Feng Long make plans to attack General Gong Gong AKA Xiang Liu’s savior and foster father. Feng Long visits Xiaoyao to ask her why she didn’t tell Cang Xuan that he was going to help Xing Yue kill her. Xiaoyao responds that it makes them even after she left him at the altar. He begs her to speak up for Xing Yue who has been ignored by Cang Xuan for the last few years since she attempted to kill Xiaoyao. Feng Long loses an important battle so Cang Xuan and Xiaoyao go to Qing Shui town to meet him. Xiang Liu attempts to kill Cang Xuan but Feng Long takes the arrow instead. Xiang Liu used his blood to coat the arrow so Xiaoyao scrambles to find a way to save Feng Long but it’s no use and Feng Long uses his dying breath to plead for Xing Yue. His death throws the Xuan Yuan army into chaos. Xiaoyao calls out Xiang Liu who coldly tells her that someone had a hand in helping Hou kill Jing. She gives him an urn of blood to repay all her debts to him and they break ties. He turns her blood into a jewel and gives it to a merman. He is heavily injured but resigned to his lonely fate.

47:
Xiaoyao compiles a list of suspects that could have had a hand in Jing’s murder but after six months, can only think of Xiang Liu as the most likely culprit. However, though initially disbelieving, she wonders if Cang Xuan could have had a hand in it. When he comes to see her, she talks of Jing until Cang Xuan gets frustrated. He admits his involvement in Jing’s death. Xiaoyao loses it and shoots arrows at him. She is put under house arrest. Xiaoyao sends a message to Cang Xuan to meet her by their swing and then poisons herself and Cang Xuan.

48:
Cang Xuan isn’t dead as he didn’t have as much poison as Xiaoyao who is technically dead but being preserved by a weak heartbeat (due to the Lover’s Bug) and a magic coffin. To save her, she needs either the person who saved her last time (Xiang Liu) or the Royal Mother (her master). Cang Xuan leaves Xiaoyao’s body with the Royal Mother. Xiang Liu breaks through the defenses placed around Xiaoyao and kisses her, feeding her his essential life blood to heal her. He then kills the Lover’s Bug by stabbing himself in the heart, taking one of his lives (9? 8?). He disappears after, keeping the promise Xiaoyao made about never seeing him again.

49:
Xiaoyao wakes up, disappointed she didn’t die. The Royal Mother has to pick a successor and asks Xiaoyao if she is willing. Knowing this is the only way to stay away from Cang Xuan, Xiaoyao agrees. She is given three days before she officially becomes the Royal Mother. When Cang Xuan finds out, he desperately pleads with her to not become the Royal Mother and promises her freedom in return. Xiaoyao refuses. She is just about to become the Royal Mother as Cang Xuan watches in dismay when Jing sweeps in and states he’s here to pick up his fiancée! They joyously reunite. Jing explains he was saved by a mercouple who happened to find the right “herbs” to save him (refer to the end of Chapter 46). He already figured out that Cang Xuan was trying to kill him. He and Xiaoyao go to Cang Xuan and have a brief talk.

50:
Jing and Xiaoyao say goodbye to the Royal Mother who dies a little while later. They return to the Tushan clan home for a bit to check on things and say their goodbyes. They visit Xiaoyao’s adoptive dad to explain where she’s been all this time. Xiaoyao visits her grandmother’s tomb and finds Cang Xuan there. They sort of make up and he gives her the Ruomo flower and introduces her to his parents’ graves as the woman he loves. He promises to only be her brother if she keeps the Ruomo flower. He gives her his blessing to marry Jing. Xiaoyao and Jing finally marry. Xiaoyao asks Cang Xuan to spare Xiang Liu and he asks her if Xiang Liu is Fangfeng Bei. He says he’ll spare Xiang Liu as long as he disappears.

51:
Xiaoyao hears the news that Xiang Liu died after being shot with arrows while impersonating General Gong Gong. She is devastated. Jing and Xiaoyao go traveling toward the ocean.

Epilogue:
Xiang Liu is getting ready to go to his final battle but before he does, he carves a doll which resembles what Xiaoyao looked like when he first met her - big bellied and laughing. It is to be given to Xiaoyao as a wedding present but by someone else. He creates a crystal ball to go inside the doll in which there is a tableau similar to the last poison gift Xiaoyao sent him before her intended wedding to Feng Long (see Chapter 31) but this time the mermaid holds hands with a smiling man and the merman still in the distance. He carves his wishes for Xiaoyao into the crystal ball - “the ability to take care of yourself, someone to rely on, a place to go - wishing you a lifetime of worry free happiness”. He seals it inside the doll with his power to make it impenetrable. After he sends off the doll, he thinks that he has tried his best to make those wishes come true - teaching her archery to take care of herself, she has Jing to rely on, she can wander the world without worries. Now that he’s not going to be around to watch and protect her, he hopes she’ll take good care of herself and be worry free and happy.

What a journey this book is!

Full disclosure though: I am not 100% sure I understand the whole Lover’s Bug ordeal so I have tried to explain what I have understood and if it’s not clear, that’s on me and I am sorry! 

Honestly, read the translation when you can. It is amazing!
Cannot wait for season 2! Happy drama watching :)