@AH
Thank you for liking it. I’m so happy!
Regarding Cang Xuan’s reaction, let me explain one thing first. The daughters of ancient emperors in China often had great privileges in their private lives. Because many of princesses did not want to get married and become members of other families. The emperors were also not enthusiastic about marrying off his daughters to other families. In fact, many wealthy and prominent families in ancient China did not like to marry off their daughters, and many of them chose to recruit sons-in-law. If the daughter herself did not want to get married either, she might stay in her own family for the rest of her life, accompanying her parents and taking care of her brothers' children. This was especially true for the royal family. Therefore, many princesses remained unmarried or claimed to be Taoist nuns. But in fact, they raised lover(s) in their palace, while their emperor father or emperor brother pretending to be deaf and blind. Therefore, it can be said that in ancient China princesses were the only group of women who could live a private life like men without being criticized.
As for why Cang Xuan is not jealous, in fact, I think he has always had the confidence that no matter which man Xiao Yao likes, she will come back to him in the end, and he also has some sort of generosity of a "real wife", haha! This inspiration comes from: In the play, one day Xiao Yao went out on a date and didn't come back till the evening. Miao Pu asked Cang Xuan if they should go find her. Cang Xuan thought about it with an ugly face and then said, "No, she will come back when she has had enough fun." Haha, such humble!
ZYHLJ:@AH
Thank you for liking it. I’m so happy!
Regarding Cang Xuan’s reaction, let me explain one thing first. The daughters of ancient emperors in China often had great privileges in their private lives. Because many of princesses did not want to marry and become members of other families. The emperors were also not enthusiastic about marrying off his daughters to other families. In fact, many wealthy and prominent families in ancient China did not like to marry their daughters, and many of them chose to recruit sons-in-law. If the daughter herself does not want to get married either, she might stay in her own family for the rest of her life, accompanying her parents and taking care of her brothers' children. This is especially true for the royal family. Therefore, many princesses remain unmarried or claim to be Taoist nuns. But in fact, they raise lover(s) in their palace, while their emperor father or emperor brother pretend to be deaf and blind. Therefore, it can be said that in ancient China princesses were the only group of women who could live a private life like men without being criticized.
As for why Cang Xuan is not jealous, in fact, I think he has always had the confidence that no matter which man Xiaoyao likes, she will definitely come back to him in the end, and he also has some sort of generosity of a "real wife", haha! This inspiration comes from: In the play, one day Xiao Yao went out on a date and didn't come back till the evening. Miao Pu asked Cang Xuan if they should go find her. Cang Xuan thought about it with an ugly face and then said, "No, she will come back when she has had enough fun." Haha, such humble!
Thanks for that background!
His reaction made me think that he was handling it a lot better than he did in the scene they added in episode 24 of the drama where CX lurked outside of XY's room with a knife, threatened to kill TSJ if he broke XY's heart after he emerged from her room, and then dramatically clenched his hand around the knife and made himself bleed after TSJ left... plus, you know, CX killing TSJ in the novel before TSJ could marry XY. I thought Feng Long was the exception to the rule, but maybe it was just that CX's murderous jealousy was reserved for TSJ. ^^
plor20:I finished the chapter that explains Huayu's existence and originally had it as a middle chapter, and the other day, I felt it would be more interesting as a epilogue.
I look forward to seeing how it unfolds! Come to think of it, does Mao Qiu have transformation powers as well, or is he stuck with just the human form he cultivated?
plor20:You're welcome. I am happy you are enjoying it. I am writing a novel that is mostly Hmong/Miao-centric with elements of our folklore and history, interweaving it with some elements I love from western fantasy and wuxia genres.
plor20:Just recently, I have come to a realization about the structure after tackling it for almost half a year now, so I finally have an outline in my head of how to plot out the story. The chapters I have started mostly have been character-building, and I need to add some sort of plot soon.
Am I right in that it is a historical novel with mythical elements? Or is it purely mythical, with Hmong influences? Certainly, what you described sounds fascinating, a very novel premise, at least for me. Please do let us know when you do complete it.
AH :If one's father was 100% demon and one's mother was born half deity, half something unknown but then was altered, later in life, by blood transfusions that gave her certain demon traits, would one mathematically be more demon than not demon? It's a little early to hope too much, but perhaps Huayu's father was a white-haired demon who, unbeknownst to Maoqiu, survived or was resurrected somehow?
I missed this in the flurry of texts.
糖衣炮弹, a reviewer of Once Promised on Douban gave a very persuasive argument that Chi You was actually of the Pan Gu bloodline, based on several factors. Chi You had the ability to wield all five elements and control all the beasts. Based on creation of the world mythology, when Pan Gu died, his body was transformed into mountains and plains, his blood into rivers, his hair into grass and trees, his breath into wind, and his eyes into the sun, moon and stars.
The Pan Gu bow was easily taken and used by Chi You. Keeping in mind how the bow Xiang Liu gave Xiao Yao needed his blood to recognise its master, the reviewer pointed out that Chi You had no such issues with the Pan Gu bow, and deduced that this is because the blood in his body already deemed him as its master.
While I can't speak for the accuracy of this argument based on Tong Hua's universe, it is certainly very compelling indeed.
Back to Huayu's parentage. If her father somehow was a certain white-haired demon, who could her mother be? Chi Chen's daughter, who found a way to bring him back? Was the Guifang clan somehow involved? Would it actually be better if her mother was Xiao Yao or someone else?
AH :It's all rather complicated, but I do think "especially if it refers to a person one has been longing for, but may no longer be the same person who came back" could apply to some of those circumstances.
That is a complicated storyline indeed. Based on the plot you described, it sounds like it's more written from the ML's POV, rather than the FL's. Does that sound right?
AH :Sorry liddi!
Please don't be! Awful dramas need their audience too! Though you would be pleased to know that this time, I opted to watch the well-lauded C-adaptation of Three Body Problem (while concurrently reading the novel). So it's all good.
AH :Which is why I like to think that his soul waited long enough to see XY come to the island after his death, and then slept in the clam shell for 2,000 years instead of waiting for her awake all that time.
Ahh. In that case, it means that his soul only woke up again when she finally passed away, to be reunited with her. That would be a far better consolation than 等不到的等待 A wait that will never [have a chance] to see come true, because I cannot bear the thought of him waiting in vain for an eternity, forever alone.
ZYHLJ:The four heads already fought into a ball were interrupted by her scolding and came to their senses at the same time. Xiang Liu's tail rolled up, and the nine heads looked at her nervously.
This! Love how quarrelsome, how adorable they all are! Looking at Xiao Yao nervously? Are we talking about the same Xiang Liu, the King of the Seas, the demon who struck terror in all his enemies? Come to think of it, if each head was like an individual, which one fell in love with Xiao Yao? Which one decided to go on his noble idiocy path?
ZYHLJ:Xiao Yao watched Cang Xuan's eyes change several times in one breath, and suddenly had a bad feeling: Could it be that her brother had misunderstood her date with Fang Feng Bei?
ZYHLJ:When saying goodbye he said something weird like "You are a big girl now, and I can't restrict you too much, but you have to know it yourself", and also "Be careful to protect yourself, but you are a doctor yourself, so I don't need to worry too much", which made Xiao Yao keep thinking about how she could have answered just now all the way back to Tianyi Palace.
Cang Xuan must have thought it was one very vigorous tumble in the hay, judging from Xiao Yao's state! I'm surprised he did not blow a gasket right there and then. But then again, it is not in his nature to restrict her, particularly when he himself could not openly declare his feelings for her.
ZYHLJ:Nine pairs of bright little eyes looked at her expectantly from different angles.
Did I already mention that I adore them? Are they going to sleep with her, the same way Xiang Liu did the time he hid in her chambers?
Thank you very much for this truly enjoyable chapter, and I look forward to seeing how the story unfolds!
liddi:糖衣炮弹, a reviewer of Once Promised on Douban gave a very persuasive argument that Chi You was actually of the Pan Gu bloodline, based on several factors. Chi You had the ability to wield all five elements and control all the beasts. Based on creation of the world mythology, when Pan Gu died, his body was transformed into mountains and plains, his blood into rivers, his hair into grass and trees, his breath into wind, and his eyes into the sun, moon and stars.
The Pan Gu bow was easily taken and used by Chi You. Keeping in mind how the bow Xiang Liu gave Xiao Yao needed his blood to recognise its master, the reviewer pointed out that Chi You had no such issues with the Pan Gu bow, and deduced that this is because the blood in his body already deemed him as its master.
While I can't speak for the accuracy of this argument based on Tong Hua's universe, it is certainly very compelling indeed.
Very compelling! Thanks for sharing that theory.
liddi:Based on the plot you described, it sounds like it's more written from the ML's POV, rather than the FL's. Does that sound right?
From what I remember, I'd say more of it is from the FL's perspective than the ML's perspective, but we do get to see some parts from his perspective. Like his 500 years fruitlessly searching for the FL's soul in the underworld.
liddi:Though you would be pleased to know that this time, I opted to watch the well-lauded C-adaptation of Three Body Problem (while concurrently reading the novel).
Ooh how are you liking it? I have a friend who wants to watch the netflix adaptation but I'm a bit hesitant. I'd be interested to know if the Cdrama version might be better.
liddi:
AH :
Which is why I like to think that his soul waited long enough to see XY come to the island after his death, and then slept in the clam shell for 2,000 years instead of waiting for her awake all that time.
Ahh. In that case, it means that his soul only woke up again when she finally passed away, to be reunited with her. That would be a far better consolation than 等不到的等待 A wait that will never [have a chance] to see come true, because I cannot bear the thought of him waiting in vain for an eternity, forever alone.
I definitely would not want to come up with a scenario that even theoretically could risk that kind of an unrelentingly painful and tragic fate for XL.
I don't have all that convincing a rational for why it would shake out like this, other than "I like the idea of it", but I like to think that XL's soul slept for the 2,000 years after XY left the island, and then stirred when she approached the island. Specifically he would have started to stir when she used the abilities given to her by his blood in order to swim with Bei Xue and the pod of dolphins in the ocean next to Xian's ship when they were two days away from XL's island.
They sailed like that for three days and nights. The normally chatty Xiao Yao remained quiet for most of the journey, staring out over the waves, up at the moon, or at the ice crystal ball, as if willing it to answer her unspoken questions. Bei Xue grew more and more worried, but she knew that the sea never failed to ease her grandmother’s worries. On the fourth day of their journey, a pod of dolphins came to swim alongside the ship and Bei Xue convinced Xiao Yao to join them. Miao Pu shook her head and smiled at the sight of the grandmother and granddaughter leaping into the waves together and swimming faster than the dolphins, who raced to keep up. When Xiao Yao returned to the ship, she was smiling and the worry in Bei Xue’s heart eased.
Then, roused, XL's spirit was able to sense XY approaching, along with all the questions that were plaguing her. So the next night (when they were less than a day away from his island and more "in range") he sent her a dream that answered some of her questions, and enabled her to come to some realizations that answered a few more of her questions.
On the fifth night, Xiao Yao stared at the words carved into the ice crystal ball for hours before finally falling into a fitful sleep. In her dream, Xiao Yao saw a figure walking through the tents of a military camp, unaware of her presence.
Then when she arrived at the island and told her companions about XL on the beach, his spirit would have been awake and perhaps would have listened to XY telling his story. I definitely think his spirit would have been present (but unseen) when she thanked him for each of his gifts and sang her song for him again. And then when XY died and her body turned into light (like her mother's had when she died), I imagine XL's spirit returning to the ocean and to the clam-shell-spirit-manifestation where he had spent the last 2,000 years and I imagine XY's spirit feeling drawn to the ocean and to him - almost instinctively guided by his spirit, but so quickly you could blink and miss it.
Suddenly, something flickered in the corner of her eye. Bei Xue turned and saw a beautiful pink light emerge from the trees. In a moment, the light danced across Bei Xue’s path. Bei Xue turned to the ocean and blinked. Beyond the cresting waves, two figures appeared to be standing on the ocean’s surface.
@AH
I think that the time Cang Xuan conjured a dagger outside Xiao Yao's chamber and hurt himself with it, he did so partly out of jealousy and partly out of guilt, because Xiao Yao agreed to meet Jing at his request that time. He might have thought that Xiao Yao allowed Jing to stay so late to help him, after all, she didn't even want to see Jing before. Also, I think that smart as Cang Xuan, he might also know that Jing is extremely possessive of Xiao Yao, and he will not allow anyone to always occupy the top spot in Xiao Yao's heart. One day, this man will squeeze him out bit by bit with his extraordinary patience. A wife may be able to tolerate the existence of a concubine, but she can never tolerate the existence of a concubine who wants to replace her. Maybe this is also one of the reasons why he wanted to kill Jing. What do you think?
@liddi
Big Hug! =3=
In my setting, Xiang Liu has a more complex nervous system than ordinary creatures. His nine heads are connected to each other just like the left and right brains of a human being. They can work together or independently. Sometimes there are conflicts between them, but just like people also fight with themselves in their heads, this is not a big deal, and when they work together, their ability is greater than when working alone. Simply put, Xiang Liu's nerve center has nine parts and each one could work independently :-)
Regarding Cang Xuan’s reaction, I have already explained some to AH above and I'm copying and pasting it below for you:
The daughters of ancient emperors in China often had great privileges in their private lives. Because many of princesses did not want to get married and become members of other families. The emperors were also not enthusiastic about marrying off his daughters to other families. In fact, many wealthy and prominent families in ancient China did not like to marry off their daughters, and many of them chose to recruit sons-in-law. If the daughter herself did not want to get married either, she might stay in her own family for the rest of her life, accompanying her parents and taking care of her brothers' children. This was especially true for the royal family. Therefore, many princesses remained unmarried or claimed to be Taoist nuns. But in fact, they raised lover(s) in their palace, while their emperor father or emperor brother pretending to be deaf and blind. Therefore, it can be said that in ancient China princesses were the only group of women who could live a private life like men without being criticized.
As for why Cang Xuan is not that jealous, in fact, I think he has always had the confidence that no matter which man Xiao Yao likes, she will come back to him in the end, and he also has some sort of generosity of a "real wife", haha! This inspiration comes from: In the drama, one day Xiao Yao went out on a date and didn't come back till the evening. Miao Pu asked Cang Xuan if they should go find her. Cang Xuan thought about it with an ugly face and then said, "No, she will come back when she has had enough fun." Such humble!
In addition, after Xiao Yao told the lie that she fell to the ground, Cang Xuan only became suspicious, and he immediately associated this with Xiao Yao's sudden request to move. In order to verify his suspicion, he pretended not to notice and said the following words, then Xiao Yao's reaction confirmed his suspicion, like this. But I read it again yesterday and thought I didn’t write it clearly enough, so I changed a few words to make it clearer. Thank you so much for the tips!=3=
He will sleep with her, but not now. Now Xiao Yao is preparing a luxurious big vacation fish tank for him, haha! Stay tuned~
HeadInTheClouds:@ZYHLJ and @plor20
Hello my lovely ladies. Just letting you know that I am reading the stories. I'm not good with review/feedback so haven't said much, but I am reading. Please accept this cute cartoon (that I found online) as a token of my appreciation.
Thank you, so cute!! But why it is always Mao Qiu who get hurt!
ZYHLJ:@AH
I think that the time Cang Xuan conjured a dagger outside Xiao Yao's chamber and hurt himself with it, he did so partly out of jealousy and partly out of guilt, because Xiao Yao agreed to meet Jing at his request that time. He might have thought that Xiao Yao allowed Jing to stay so late to help him, after all, she didn't even want to see Jing before.
Good point!
ZYHLJ:Also, I think that smart as Cang Xuan, he might also know that Jing is extremely possessive of Xiao Yao, and he will not allow anyone to always occupy the top spot in Xiao Yao's heart. One day, this man will squeeze him out bit by bit with his extraordinary patience. A wife may be able to tolerate the existence of a concubine, but she can never tolerate the existence of a concubine who wants to replace her. Maybe this is also one of the reasons why he wanted to kill Jing. What do you think?
That makes sense to me. ^^
AH :Very compelling! Thanks for sharing that theory.
Tong Hua never properly explained Chi You's origins, but I find this theory more believable than the general belief that he was a demon. I wonder whether Tong Hua would ever deign to shed light to his origins, seeing he was already renamed to Chi Chen in her revised editions, and in doing so, distance her characters from any potential controversies.
AH :From what I remember, I'd say more of it is from the FL's perspective than the ML's perspective, but we do get to see some parts from his perspective.
Ah okay. The lyrics has a hint of bleakness and despair in it, though I am at a loss to understand what the English lyrics are meant to convey "Die bored, Not Mine."
AH :Ooh how are you liking it? I have a friend who wants to watch the netflix adaptation but I'm a bit hesitant. I'd be interested to know if the Cdrama version might be better.
I am enjoying the C-adaptation a lot thus far. I never read the books previously, so I am in a novel situation where I am reading the book alongside the drama viewing. Have not gotten very far yet (11 chapters, 3 episodes) but very keen to continue. I read great reviews about the C-adaptation, and not so complimentary ones about the Netflix version. What little I know of the Netflix synopsis indicates a focus that diverges from the source material, and having several characters representing an aspect of the original character, among other things. Still, I do intend to check out the Netflix version, but only after I have finished the C-version and the novel. Have you read the novel before?
AH :I definitely would not want to come up with a scenario that even theoretically could risk that kind of an unrelentingly painful and tragic fate for XL.
Thank you for pointing out when Xiang Liu would have woken up before Xiao Yao arrived at the island. It does also explain why Xiao Yao had the dream/vision of Xiang Liu on that last night when he prepared the crystal globe, and went to face the fate that awaited him. Before this, I always assumed that it was the discovery of the crystal globe within the big-bellied doll, the latter of which had also absorbed his power and blood, that led to the vision, because a tangible part of him still existed within the doll itself. I never thought that it would be his soul that sent her the dream, because I did not think he would have wanted her to see the desolation of that final night. But it makes sense that he would have wanted to answer her questions at last.
With that reunion, do you imagine them to still exist together in the manifestation of the sea shell? Or would their souls finally found rest upon their reunion, this time, together?
ZYHLJ:In my setting, Xiang Liu has a more complex nervous system than ordinary creatures. His nine heads are connected to each other just like the left and right brains of a human being. They can work together or independently. Sometimes there are conflicts between them, but just like people also fight with themselves in their heads, this is not a big deal, and when they work together, their ability is greater than when working alone. Simply put, Xiang Liu's nerve center has nine parts and each one could work independently :-)
Thank you for the explanation!
ZYHLJ:As for why Cang Xuan is not that jealous, in fact, I think he has always had the confidence that no matter which man Xiao Yao likes, she will come back to him in the end,
Hmm. I never quite saw Cang Xuan's relative "leniency" as indicating that he was fine with Xiao Yao conducting love affairs, as long as she came back to him in the end. For starters, Cang Xuan did not have much choice in the early days, and had to rely on whatever connections she could provide, even pushing her to get close with Jing even if it infuriated him. Secondly, he gave her a lot of free rein in her conduct, because they finally found her after losing her for 300 years, so he wanted her to be free to do as she wished, as much as possible. The novel uses the word "play" a lot when describing Xiao Yao's adventures and antics, including her times with Fangfeng Bei, and I believe Cang Xuan understood her well enough that as wild as she might be in her behaviour, there were still lines she would not cross, and he was confident in that knowledge. Just my two cents.
ZYHLJ:He will sleep with her, but not now. Now Xiao Yao is preparing a luxurious big vacation fish tank for him, haha! Stay tuned~
Wait til Cang Xuan realises that she had been sleeping (literally) and will continue to sleep with the enemy. Perhaps he would not be as charitable then! Will he see Xiang Liu's true form? Still, I can't imagine Xiang Liu reverting to his full-sized true form within the palace. It would mean one more palace for Cang Xuan to rebuild!
Looking forward to the next chapter!
AH :Ooh how are you liking it? I have a friend who wants to watch the netflix adaptation but I'm a bit hesitant. I'd be interested to know if the Cdrama version might be better.
Go for the Cdrama. The Neftlix drama is very underwhelming, and, except for the veteran actors like Jonathan Pryce, Liam Cunningham, and Benedict Wong, for example, the acting is not the best. They changed a lot from the cdrama and the novel. I couldn't relate to any of the characters, most of them were extremely annoying and/or useless.
Also, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff. I said wouldn't ever trust them again after Game of Thrones, so my expectations were already low.
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