I see the point you are making, but that phrasing almost makes it sound like XL never gave XY anything. When he…
We have different interpretations then. The way I see it, in both the drama and the novel, for the vast majority of the story XY was not "always 'cowering' or on guard that he would hit her."
I see the point you are making, but that phrasing almost makes it sound like XL never gave XY anything. When he…
Oh you were referring to blabla100's original post in this thread.
I think she clarified that she shared the quote in that comment to illustrate the way that XY was interacting with XL. Specifically that XY didn't interact with XL like she was afraid of him.
Hi friends and fellow fans. I've noticed that there have been quite a lot of very long posts in the comment section recently. Nothing wrong with long posts of course (I've made my fair share of them too ^^), but as someone who has been on MDL for 7 years, I wanted to share something that I only figured out about 3 years ago after asking about it in the feeds.
The "mark as a spoiler" feature in the comment sections and feeds are primarily intended for / used to help hide spoilers from users who might not want to see them. But often MDL users will also use that feature to hide comments that are very long so that other users (especially users on mobile) can easily scroll past them quickly while still being able to open them and scroll through them if they want to.
Users who use the "mark as spoiler" feature this way do so as a curtesy to other users. It's not a rule or anything and you don't have to follow this approach if you don't want to. But it's a nice thing to do to make other users' experience just a little bit more pleasant and convenient.
I see the point you are making, but that phrasing almost makes it sound like XL never gave XY anything. When he…
I loved that moment in the novel when XL used the bug connection to share the burden of XY's heartache and then XY created the dark-coloured poisons for XL in order to purge the rest of her pain. I was sad to see it wasn't included in the drama.
You're also making me think of another moment in the novel that describe's XY's thoughts and feelings when she created her poisons for XL.
-----
Chapter 25:
Xiao Yao stared at the water clock and the minute hand was getting closer to the time of the wedding. Right now Jing and Yi Yang must be standing in the ceremonial hall. The water dropped one by one and each drop was like a poison dropping on Xiao Yao’s heart. It pierced her through into hundreds and thousands of pockmarks. Xiao Yao knew she shouldn’t think about it but it was like she was possessed and she stared at the water clock thinking of when Jing would say his vows.
The Tu Shan residence must be decked out and bustling with activity.
Jing wearing a groom outfit, standing side-by-side with Yi Yang.
The officiant calling out as Jing and Yi Yang started to go through the wedding rites. Yi Yang got her wish come true and she must be thrilled, but what about Jing? What was his expression….
Xiao Yao suddenly felt her heart beating wildly and was so unexpected she couldn’t catch her breath and it banished all the images in her mind.
Zhuan Xu asked, “Are you feeling sick?”
Xiao Yao shook her head. “No! But a bit stuffy and suddenly want some fresh air.”
Xiao Yao rushed out the door and Zhuan Xu hurriedly draped a fur cloak around her. Xiao Yao stood in the courtyard staring up at the blue sky. Why did Xiang Liu suddenly make her feel his presence? Did he feel her pain? Or was it because he was currently in Qing Qiu watching Yi Yang and Jing get married and remembered she might not be happy about it? Was he mocking her? Or trying to console her?
Zhuan Xu asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Xiao Yao said, “I suddenly remembered the voodoo bug I planted in Xiang Liu. My body’s pain, he has to feel all of it. But what about my heartache? Does he also need to endure it? He said he has nine bodies so my pain isn’t too much for him to endure. But what about the heart? He only has one heart!”
Zhuan Xu grabbed Xiao Yao by the shoulders and harshly said, “I don’t care what your relationship with him was in Qing Shui Town. Do not remain close to him now!”
Xiao Yao smiled bitterly. “I know!”
Zhuan Xu said, “Even though you keep saying the bug has no ill effects, when you’re all better it’s best to find a way to remove it.”
“Yes!”
Xiao Yao stared at the blue sky and quietly felt her heart beating as one with another heart. The pressure and pain on her heart lessened, probably because another heart was taking some of the burden from her.
Xiao Yao got better and she started making poisons again.
When she was sick Zhuan Xu got all sorts of herbs and medicines but she didn’t use much of it so now it came in handy to use.
Xiao Yao smiled as usual but all the poisons she made were dark color. Black bats, black crows, black lover birds, black hibiscus….each one she placed in the box and totally gave off the impression that the maker was in a foul mood indeed. But during the process of making these dark and dreary poisons, Xiao Yao released all of her pain.
...
She snuck away to the Tu Shan clan messenger service to mail the poisons to Xiang Liu.
Xiao Yao couldn’t help but smile when she imagined his displeasure when he saw this batch of poisons.
-----
Chapter 16:
Xiao Yao started spending more time developing her poisons. Late into the night, she would lay on the pallet playing with her poisons and thinking of how to make it even better in terms of prettier and not necessarily more poisonous.
She had memorized the Sheng Nong Herb Manuel left by the Flame Emperor, who the entire world regarded as the progenitor of medicine. She also flipped through all the Gao Xing and Xuan Yuan medical books. She didn’t doubt her poison's ability to be deadly, she just wanted to make it look pretty. She stared at the phoenix flower and researched a few days and worked a few nights and finally created a perfect replica of the small red phoenix flower with the same intoxicating fragrance. She made the poison layered on it like the morning dew.
Every one of her poisons was one of her longing, one of her missing, one of her feelings. She created it and watched it come to life in her hands, and then carefully put it away to send out.
Xiao Yao wondered what Xiang Liu would think when he saw the poisons. Would he call her a pervert / abnormal [变态]?
I just started s2 since it is almost ending and have to be honest i forgot a lot of stuff from s1. can someone…
Chi Chen was Chenrong's top general in the war between Chenrong and Xiyan.
In S1, we learned that when XY's mother led the Xiyan army in the last battle of the war, she and Chi Chen faced each other and, according to all reports, both died on the battlefield. Xiyan won that battle, so Chenrong was conquered by Xiyan.
Also in S1, we learned that Xiang Liu's life was saved by Hong Jiang. Hong Jiang was also a general for Chenrong and he leads the remnants of Chenrong's army, which retreated to the mountains outside of neutral Qingshui town after the last battle. After Hong Jiang and his remnant army were abandoned by the world, Xiang Liu returned to Hong Jiang to repay his life debt. But as he fought with Hong Jiang and the remnant army, Xiang Liu formed close bonds with Hong Jiang and his men. Hong Jiang adopted Xiang Liu as his son and Xiang Liu ended up fighting with them long after he had repaid his debt out of true affection and loyalty.
Hong Jiang and Chi Chen were both generals of Chenrong, but they were not close. And Xiang Liu started fighting with Hong Jiang's remnant army after Chi Chen reportedly died in the last battle. So Xiang Liu never met Chi Chen. But the two of them share many similarities.
When young XY ran away from Jade Mountain in S1, it was partly because she overheard upsetting rumours that the King of Haoling was not her real father and that her real father was actually Chi Chen.
When XY was nearly assassinated in S1, it was because a man who held a grudge against Chi Chen recognized that XY had Chi Chen's eyes and chose to take his revenge against Chi Chen's daughter.
CX made her mulberry wine, Jing gave her plum wine, while XY was busy making beautiful poisons for XL"Xiao Yao…
I see the point you are making, but that phrasing almost makes it sound like XL never gave XY anything. When he gave her the most.
CX and TSJ gave XY wine and I'm sure FFB would have bought XY many drinks and meals. TSJ also gave XY the fish amythest (which would allow her to breathe under water for ten hours) and CX gave XY the ruo mu flower (which would allow XY to command the ruo mu army).
But XL gave her transfusions of his essential blood on every full moon for 37 years. On average, there are 12.37 full moons a year. So approximtely 457 transfusions. Giving XY the ablility to breathe under water for any length of time without requiring assisstance, giving her the ability to swim faster than a dolphin, and even giving her better eyesight. The transfusions made XY a daughter of the ocean, and when XY felt like she had nowhere to go, XL reminded her that the ocean would always have a place for her.
XL accepted the bug transfer despite knowing that if XY died while the bug connection was in place, her death might cause his death. XL sacrificed an extra life to extend XY's life and sacrificed another extra life to break the bug connection between them so that his death would not cause her death.
XL spent over ten years teaching XY archery. He also commissioned a bow from the greatest master forger made from legendary materials for her, without taking credit for it. He gave her the means to protect herself.
XL chose to use an extreme and painful method of waking XY up at the end of her 37 years of healing so that she could get to TSJ in time to save his life. And, at least in the novel, when TSJ was "killed" in chapter 42, XL saved him and revived him in time to stop XY from becoming the Royal Mother. He ensured that XY would have a person to rely on.
XL added a figure (representing TSJ) to the ice crystal ball and carved his well-wishes for XY into the ice crystal ball before hiding it inside a big-bellied laughing doll that he carved himself and sending it to someone else (Sir Bi in the novel, Ah Nian in the drama) to give to XY as a wedding present. In the novel, the doll was the first thing that made XY smile in the days after she found out about XL's death.
I agree that the drama has added some new scenes (ones that are not in the novel) that make XL and TSJ seem like…
"Like every time he noticed Jing being nearby he will try to pull Xiaoyao closer to him, to make him upset/jealous?"
In the novel, I felt like it was the opposite of that. When XY got too close to XL and TSJ was nearby, he pushed XY away from himself and towards TSJ or used TSJ to keep XY from clinging to him or following him.
Chapter 24 - XY expresses that she wishes she could have been the person who saved XL and if she had she would only ever let him be FFB. XL sees TSJ behind XY and scares XY into TSJ's arms and XY runs away with TSJ.
Chapter 37 - XL walks across the ocean and XY speaks to him from the deck of a ship. XL casts a spell to prevent others from listening in, but creates an exception and allows TSJ to hear. When XL leaves, XY tries to climb over the railing of the ship to dive after him, but TSJ steps forward and holds her back.
Chapter 38 - After XL transforms and meets with TSJ, XY recognizes him. She clings to XL's arm until XL points out that he would have left if she wasn't clinging to him. XY asks if TSJ is still back in the gambling den where XL met with him, and XL tells her that TSJ has been behind her the whole time. TSJ then steps forward and takes XY's hand and XL leaves.
XL doesn't care for Jing. He simply saved Jing for XY because it is what she wanted. XL is too proud, caustic,…
I agree that the drama has added some new scenes (ones that are not in the novel) that make XL and TSJ seem like they aren't on great terms / might not like each other very much at certain points in the story. And we lost out on some nice moments between them (like each of them thanking the other in chapter 35). Those are among the many drama changes that sadden me. But even with those added scenes that indicated at least momentary instances of frustration or tension, I still felt like there was a certain level of respect between them.
For the novel, which scene are you referring to? Where XL laughed at TSJ and chastised him?
When XL put up spells that prevented others from eavesdropping on him and XY but allowed TSJ to listen in, I didn't view that as XL taunting TSJ. It felt like he was being cautious against the rest of the world, but not TSJ, who was allowed to listen in and reassure himself that XY was okay / come forward at the right time when he was mentioned or when XL wanted TSJ to hold XY back from following XL when he left.
I try so hard to see what people like so much about Xianglu but end up skipping his scenes because he annoys me.…
"I try so hard to see what people like so much about Xianglu but end up skipping his scenes because he annoys me. I don't know what he is so sad about when everytime he appears before Xiaoyao he finds someway to hurt her."
I'm assuming you really want to try to understand why some fans like XL, so I'll include some thoughts on three of the points you raised below. Please ignore if your comment was intended like a rhetorical question, not actually wanting a response.
----
"Aside from how he treated Xiaoyao in the past, in the present he went out of his way to ruin Xiaoyao's wedding and reputation to hurt her, at least that's the only reason I can think of, because as Jing had told him to do it earlier, he had enough time and enough excuse to do it."
(1) By ruining XY's reputation, XL ensured that XY would never again be put in a position where she would be asked to enter into a political marriage / a marriage with someone who did not truly love her. If she ever married, it would only be a marriage with someone who loved her so much that they wanted to marry her regardless of her ruined reputation (i.e., someone like TSJ/YSQ).
(2) XL frequently behaves coldly and harshly towards XY (especially at this point in the story, when he takes XY away from her wedding with Feng Long and "kills" FFB) to push XY away, to make her believe that he does not have feelings for her, and to prevent her from having any feelings for him / any hope that he will remain by her side as FFB. This is for XY's benefit.
XL knows that he will not be by XY's side for the rest of her life and plans/expects that he will eventually die on the battlefield with the Chenrong remnant army. He doesn't want XY to know about his feelings and all the things he has done for her and does not want her to have hopes / feelings related to him so that she (a person who already suffers from serious abandonment-related trauma) will be less hurt when he dies.
----
"Xiaoyao asked him to give her a reason not to marry Feng long but he doesn't. Only to torture Xiaoyao with his mind power just to know who she wants to marry."
Before pushing her to go to TSJ (which he does the next day, in part by telling XY that TSJ was the one who "hired" him to interrupt the wedding and that, if she doesn't believe it, she should go ask TSJ herself in order to verify it), XL needed to confirm that XY actually still wanted to marry some version of TSJ (e.g., YSQ). He got his answer and proceeded accordingly.
The pain XY felt was due to her own mind's refusal to answer (or even think about the answer to) XL's last question. This inner conflict is much clearer in the novel.
Also, as an aside, in the novel XL immediately pulled back his probing as soon as it became clear that XY was in pain. He didn't continue to push. I didn't like how they changed that in the drama.
----
"Then he continued his torture and threat by making Xiaoyao suffer the pain from the poisonous bugs for no apparent reason worth mentioning."
This is XL's final hard push at the end of a whole month in QS Town that he spent intentionally being cold and harsh towards XY. He is pushing her away from himself and towards TSJ, so she will begin to reconcile with TSJ and work with TSJ to resolve his marriage problem. Again, XL gains nothing from this. It is for XY's benefit. And it works.
Also, the pain XY feels through the bug connection in this scene is the pain that XL is experiencing in his own heart. Fans have speculated that it was pain caused by the Lovers Bugs, which were backfiring/retaliating due to XL's intense heartbreak due to letting XY go / pushing her away. XL normally used his power to control the bugs and bug connection in order to protect XY from experiencing this pain along with him (e.g., in S1 Ep19). But he chose to make her feel it briefly in this scene in order to push XY away / towards TSJ.
----
I'll add that a lot of fans' views of XL are influenced by the novel, which has some significant differences compared to the drama.
I'd say that most fans agree that she only had platonic (albeit very strong) love for CX in her heart. But there…
Good memory regarding those drama scenes!
Yes, I felt similarly about that part of the leaked script. We'll see if it ends up being exactly like that in the final version of the drama, or if it gets adjusted.
please help me: one thing I want to remember: Why XuanXuan is hated by his uncles and grandfather? I have an abstract…
CX isn't hated by his grandfather. But his grandfather will not coddle him (he must make his own achievements in order to be worthy of them) and sometimes his grandfather suspects that CX might harm him in pursuit of his ambition to take the throne (e.g., plan a coup or assassination in order to take the throne by force). Because he regretted setting up his eldest son (CX and XY's eldest uncle) to die due to similar suspicions, the King of Xiyan chose not to take forceful measures against CX. And he was even willing to allow CX to take the throne by force if CX had chosen to pursue that route.
CX's surviving uncles hate CX for two reasons.
The first is due to a terrible blood feud and cycle of revenge that goes back two generations. CX is the grandson of the King of Xiyan and his Queen. CX's survivng uncles were the sons of another woman: the King of Xiyan's third consort, who had a terrible blood feud with the Queen and her children that resulted in several deaths. In the drama, that included Chang Pu (CX's mother) killing their brother, Yi Peng. In the novel, Chang Pu tries to kill Yi Peng but ends up killing the Third Consort, and XY's mother then kills Yi Peng to prevent him from killing CX in retaliation.
The second is that Deyan (CX's 5th uncle) wants to be the crown prince / the King of Xiyan's heir. CX is his #1 rival for that position. So it would be in Deyan's interest to see CX killed or his reputation ruined beyond repair.
I'd say that most fans agree that she only had platonic (albeit very strong) love for CX in her heart. But there…
I'm glad you're enjoying (sort of) the excerpts!
Yes, it's not too hard to picture them having a happy, normal life together. They both spent more than a century wandering and living regular lives, but unfortunately separately (one in Gao Xing and the other everywhere except Gao Xing).
The doctor / wine maker vision wasn't CX's (at least, I can't recall him ever having that vision in the novel). I don't know if he could imagine living his entire life without power. But I feel like if he were given the choice of a happy, normal life without power but with XY vs. a life where he was Emperor of the whole world but without XY, there's a good chance he would pick the first option?
See, I would also want that, like SO much.But on the other side, it's kinda better that XY won't find out everything…
If only there were a fic that was written with the primary goal of providing closure by having XY find out (at the right time / many, many years later) about all the things that XL did for her. ^^
3 
1 
1 
I think she clarified that she shared the quote in that comment to illustrate the way that XY was interacting with XL. Specifically that XY didn't interact with XL like she was afraid of him.
The "mark as a spoiler" feature in the comment sections and feeds are primarily intended for / used to help hide spoilers from users who might not want to see them. But often MDL users will also use that feature to hide comments that are very long so that other users (especially users on mobile) can easily scroll past them quickly while still being able to open them and scroll through them if they want to.
Users who use the "mark as spoiler" feature this way do so as a curtesy to other users. It's not a rule or anything and you don't have to follow this approach if you don't want to. But it's a nice thing to do to make other users' experience just a little bit more pleasant and convenient.
You're also making me think of another moment in the novel that describe's XY's thoughts and feelings when she created her poisons for XL.
-----
Chapter 25:
Xiao Yao stared at the water clock and the minute hand was getting closer to the time of the wedding. Right now Jing and Yi Yang must be standing in the ceremonial hall. The water dropped one by one and each drop was like a poison dropping on Xiao Yao’s heart. It pierced her through into hundreds and thousands of pockmarks. Xiao Yao knew she shouldn’t think about it but it was like she was possessed and she stared at the water clock thinking of when Jing would say his vows.
The Tu Shan residence must be decked out and bustling with activity.
Jing wearing a groom outfit, standing side-by-side with Yi Yang.
The officiant calling out as Jing and Yi Yang started to go through the wedding rites. Yi Yang got her wish come true and she must be thrilled, but what about Jing? What was his expression….
Xiao Yao suddenly felt her heart beating wildly and was so unexpected she couldn’t catch her breath and it banished all the images in her mind.
Zhuan Xu asked, “Are you feeling sick?”
Xiao Yao shook her head. “No! But a bit stuffy and suddenly want some fresh air.”
Xiao Yao rushed out the door and Zhuan Xu hurriedly draped a fur cloak around her. Xiao Yao stood in the courtyard staring up at the blue sky. Why did Xiang Liu suddenly make her feel his presence? Did he feel her pain? Or was it because he was currently in Qing Qiu watching Yi Yang and Jing get married and remembered she might not be happy about it? Was he mocking her? Or trying to console her?
Zhuan Xu asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Xiao Yao said, “I suddenly remembered the voodoo bug I planted in Xiang Liu. My body’s pain, he has to feel all of it. But what about my heartache? Does he also need to endure it? He said he has nine bodies so my pain isn’t too much for him to endure. But what about the heart? He only has one heart!”
Zhuan Xu grabbed Xiao Yao by the shoulders and harshly said, “I don’t care what your relationship with him was in Qing Shui Town. Do not remain close to him now!”
Xiao Yao smiled bitterly. “I know!”
Zhuan Xu said, “Even though you keep saying the bug has no ill effects, when you’re all better it’s best to find a way to remove it.”
“Yes!”
Xiao Yao stared at the blue sky and quietly felt her heart beating as one with another heart. The pressure and pain on her heart lessened, probably because another heart was taking some of the burden from her.
Xiao Yao got better and she started making poisons again.
When she was sick Zhuan Xu got all sorts of herbs and medicines but she didn’t use much of it so now it came in handy to use.
Xiao Yao smiled as usual but all the poisons she made were dark color. Black bats, black crows, black lover birds, black hibiscus….each one she placed in the box and totally gave off the impression that the maker was in a foul mood indeed. But during the process of making these dark and dreary poisons, Xiao Yao released all of her pain.
...
She snuck away to the Tu Shan clan messenger service to mail the poisons to Xiang Liu.
Xiao Yao couldn’t help but smile when she imagined his displeasure when he saw this batch of poisons.
-----
Chapter 16:
Xiao Yao started spending more time developing her poisons. Late into the night, she would lay on the pallet playing with her poisons and thinking of how to make it even better in terms of prettier and not necessarily more poisonous.
She had memorized the Sheng Nong Herb Manuel left by the Flame Emperor, who the entire world regarded as the progenitor of medicine. She also flipped through all the Gao Xing and Xuan Yuan medical books. She didn’t doubt her poison's ability to be deadly, she just wanted to make it look pretty. She stared at the phoenix flower and researched a few days and worked a few nights and finally created a perfect replica of the small red phoenix flower with the same intoxicating fragrance. She made the poison layered on it like the morning dew.
Every one of her poisons was one of her longing, one of her missing, one of her feelings. She created it and watched it come to life in her hands, and then carefully put it away to send out.
Xiao Yao wondered what Xiang Liu would think when he saw the poisons. Would he call her a pervert / abnormal [变态]?
In S1, we learned that when XY's mother led the Xiyan army in the last battle of the war, she and Chi Chen faced each other and, according to all reports, both died on the battlefield. Xiyan won that battle, so Chenrong was conquered by Xiyan.
Also in S1, we learned that Xiang Liu's life was saved by Hong Jiang. Hong Jiang was also a general for Chenrong and he leads the remnants of Chenrong's army, which retreated to the mountains outside of neutral Qingshui town after the last battle. After Hong Jiang and his remnant army were abandoned by the world, Xiang Liu returned to Hong Jiang to repay his life debt. But as he fought with Hong Jiang and the remnant army, Xiang Liu formed close bonds with Hong Jiang and his men. Hong Jiang adopted Xiang Liu as his son and Xiang Liu ended up fighting with them long after he had repaid his debt out of true affection and loyalty.
Hong Jiang and Chi Chen were both generals of Chenrong, but they were not close. And Xiang Liu started fighting with Hong Jiang's remnant army after Chi Chen reportedly died in the last battle. So Xiang Liu never met Chi Chen. But the two of them share many similarities.
When young XY ran away from Jade Mountain in S1, it was partly because she overheard upsetting rumours that the King of Haoling was not her real father and that her real father was actually Chi Chen.
When XY was nearly assassinated in S1, it was because a man who held a grudge against Chi Chen recognized that XY had Chi Chen's eyes and chose to take his revenge against Chi Chen's daughter.
CX and TSJ gave XY wine and I'm sure FFB would have bought XY many drinks and meals. TSJ also gave XY the fish amythest (which would allow her to breathe under water for ten hours) and CX gave XY the ruo mu flower (which would allow XY to command the ruo mu army).
But XL gave her transfusions of his essential blood on every full moon for 37 years. On average, there are 12.37 full moons a year. So approximtely 457 transfusions. Giving XY the ablility to breathe under water for any length of time without requiring assisstance, giving her the ability to swim faster than a dolphin, and even giving her better eyesight. The transfusions made XY a daughter of the ocean, and when XY felt like she had nowhere to go, XL reminded her that the ocean would always have a place for her.
XL accepted the bug transfer despite knowing that if XY died while the bug connection was in place, her death might cause his death. XL sacrificed an extra life to extend XY's life and sacrificed another extra life to break the bug connection between them so that his death would not cause her death.
XL spent over ten years teaching XY archery. He also commissioned a bow from the greatest master forger made from legendary materials for her, without taking credit for it. He gave her the means to protect herself.
XL chose to use an extreme and painful method of waking XY up at the end of her 37 years of healing so that she could get to TSJ in time to save his life. And, at least in the novel, when TSJ was "killed" in chapter 42, XL saved him and revived him in time to stop XY from becoming the Royal Mother. He ensured that XY would have a person to rely on.
XL added a figure (representing TSJ) to the ice crystal ball and carved his well-wishes for XY into the ice crystal ball before hiding it inside a big-bellied laughing doll that he carved himself and sending it to someone else (Sir Bi in the novel, Ah Nian in the drama) to give to XY as a wedding present. In the novel, the doll was the first thing that made XY smile in the days after she found out about XL's death.
He gave her so much!
In the novel, I felt like it was the opposite of that. When XY got too close to XL and TSJ was nearby, he pushed XY away from himself and towards TSJ or used TSJ to keep XY from clinging to him or following him.
Chapter 24 - XY expresses that she wishes she could have been the person who saved XL and if she had she would only ever let him be FFB. XL sees TSJ behind XY and scares XY into TSJ's arms and XY runs away with TSJ.
Chapter 37 - XL walks across the ocean and XY speaks to him from the deck of a ship. XL casts a spell to prevent others from listening in, but creates an exception and allows TSJ to hear. When XL leaves, XY tries to climb over the railing of the ship to dive after him, but TSJ steps forward and holds her back.
Chapter 38 - After XL transforms and meets with TSJ, XY recognizes him. She clings to XL's arm until XL points out that he would have left if she wasn't clinging to him. XY asks if TSJ is still back in the gambling den where XL met with him, and XL tells her that TSJ has been behind her the whole time. TSJ then steps forward and takes XY's hand and XL leaves.
For the novel, which scene are you referring to? Where XL laughed at TSJ and chastised him?
When XL put up spells that prevented others from eavesdropping on him and XY but allowed TSJ to listen in, I didn't view that as XL taunting TSJ. It felt like he was being cautious against the rest of the world, but not TSJ, who was allowed to listen in and reassure himself that XY was okay / come forward at the right time when he was mentioned or when XL wanted TSJ to hold XY back from following XL when he left.
The good news is that the man she thought was her father (the King of Haoling) knew the truth all along and loved her anyway.
Leaked Script Ep20 (S02 E28) scenes 3-9 - Scroll to the bottom of the post to see how TSJ survives (like CX's hallucination, it is very different from how he survives in the novel): https://mydramalist.com/discussions/lost-you-forever/110123-xl-and-xy-story-and-romance-warning-spoilers?pid=2899213&page=410#p2899213
You can find links to liddi's translations of other parts of the leaked script in the relevant discussion thread.
I'm assuming you really want to try to understand why some fans like XL, so I'll include some thoughts on three of the points you raised below. Please ignore if your comment was intended like a rhetorical question, not actually wanting a response.
----
"Aside from how he treated Xiaoyao in the past, in the present he went out of his way to ruin Xiaoyao's wedding and reputation to hurt her, at least that's the only reason I can think of, because as Jing had told him to do it earlier, he had enough time and enough excuse to do it."
(1) By ruining XY's reputation, XL ensured that XY would never again be put in a position where she would be asked to enter into a political marriage / a marriage with someone who did not truly love her. If she ever married, it would only be a marriage with someone who loved her so much that they wanted to marry her regardless of her ruined reputation (i.e., someone like TSJ/YSQ).
(2) XL frequently behaves coldly and harshly towards XY (especially at this point in the story, when he takes XY away from her wedding with Feng Long and "kills" FFB) to push XY away, to make her believe that he does not have feelings for her, and to prevent her from having any feelings for him / any hope that he will remain by her side as FFB. This is for XY's benefit.
XL knows that he will not be by XY's side for the rest of her life and plans/expects that he will eventually die on the battlefield with the Chenrong remnant army. He doesn't want XY to know about his feelings and all the things he has done for her and does not want her to have hopes / feelings related to him so that she (a person who already suffers from serious abandonment-related trauma) will be less hurt when he dies.
----
"Xiaoyao asked him to give her a reason not to marry Feng long but he doesn't. Only to torture Xiaoyao with his mind power just to know who she wants to marry."
Before pushing her to go to TSJ (which he does the next day, in part by telling XY that TSJ was the one who "hired" him to interrupt the wedding and that, if she doesn't believe it, she should go ask TSJ herself in order to verify it), XL needed to confirm that XY actually still wanted to marry some version of TSJ (e.g., YSQ). He got his answer and proceeded accordingly.
The pain XY felt was due to her own mind's refusal to answer (or even think about the answer to) XL's last question. This inner conflict is much clearer in the novel.
Also, as an aside, in the novel XL immediately pulled back his probing as soon as it became clear that XY was in pain. He didn't continue to push. I didn't like how they changed that in the drama.
----
"Then he continued his torture and threat by making Xiaoyao suffer the pain from the poisonous bugs for no apparent reason worth mentioning."
This is XL's final hard push at the end of a whole month in QS Town that he spent intentionally being cold and harsh towards XY. He is pushing her away from himself and towards TSJ, so she will begin to reconcile with TSJ and work with TSJ to resolve his marriage problem. Again, XL gains nothing from this. It is for XY's benefit. And it works.
Also, the pain XY feels through the bug connection in this scene is the pain that XL is experiencing in his own heart. Fans have speculated that it was pain caused by the Lovers Bugs, which were backfiring/retaliating due to XL's intense heartbreak due to letting XY go / pushing her away. XL normally used his power to control the bugs and bug connection in order to protect XY from experiencing this pain along with him (e.g., in S1 Ep19). But he chose to make her feel it briefly in this scene in order to push XY away / towards TSJ.
----
I'll add that a lot of fans' views of XL are influenced by the novel, which has some significant differences compared to the drama.
Yes, I felt similarly about that part of the leaked script. We'll see if it ends up being exactly like that in the final version of the drama, or if it gets adjusted.
CX's surviving uncles hate CX for two reasons.
The first is due to a terrible blood feud and cycle of revenge that goes back two generations. CX is the grandson of the King of Xiyan and his Queen. CX's survivng uncles were the sons of another woman: the King of Xiyan's third consort, who had a terrible blood feud with the Queen and her children that resulted in several deaths. In the drama, that included Chang Pu (CX's mother) killing their brother, Yi Peng. In the novel, Chang Pu tries to kill Yi Peng but ends up killing the Third Consort, and XY's mother then kills Yi Peng to prevent him from killing CX in retaliation.
The second is that Deyan (CX's 5th uncle) wants to be the crown prince / the King of Xiyan's heir. CX is his #1 rival for that position. So it would be in Deyan's interest to see CX killed or his reputation ruined beyond repair.
Yes, it's not too hard to picture them having a happy, normal life together. They both spent more than a century wandering and living regular lives, but unfortunately separately (one in Gao Xing and the other everywhere except Gao Xing).
The doctor / wine maker vision wasn't CX's (at least, I can't recall him ever having that vision in the novel). I don't know if he could imagine living his entire life without power. But I feel like if he were given the choice of a happy, normal life without power but with XY vs. a life where he was Emperor of the whole world but without XY, there's a good chance he would pick the first option?