Before we can go over the novel’s ending, there are some pretty important secondary characters (most of them had very few scenes in the drama) we need to go over for the story to make sense.
From left to right:
Tian Ru Jing– A seer that is feared and respected by all. Thanks to a “bracelet” that is like a SUPER advanced smartwatch from the future (except this one could also send out force fields to protect its owner), Tian Ru Jing has been taught since he was young by his master that the bracelet is a heavenly gift and mandate. Believing the future foretold by the bracelet is heaven’s will, Tian Ru Jing (and his master before him) is determined to remove anything that could change the future…meaning people like our two leads. Despite being perpetually aloof, Tian Ru Jing is actually quite innocent which means his whole world will be shaken once our heroine comes into his life and becomes the first person to challenge his assumption about the future. (It doesn’t take long for our heroine to figure out what the bracelet and tries to convince Tian Ru Jing to help her change the world for the better.) Tian Ru Jing’s master was not a nice man by any stretch of the imagination. Convinced that the heavenly mandate must be fulfilled by ANY means, Tian Ru Jing’s killed a lot of innocent people in the process of trying to figure out the bracelet’s powers. Tian Ru Jing’s master is also the one that used the bracelet’s power to wound Roung Zhi then gave him to the Princess as a male concubine. Roung Zhi of course could’ve forcefully left the princess’ house if he really tried but he figured over there was just as good as another place.
Wang Yi Zhi– A famous noble from an elite family. Despite his background, Wang Yi Zhi is a carefree soul and is not tied down to anything or anyone for that matter. I am really not sure why they used an actress for this character. I will admit that actress Viann Zhang’s portrayal of Wang Yi Zhi was quite mesmerizing but still, this character really should not have had any feminine feel to it. Wang Yi Zhi is friends with our heroine and the only one that could rail up our hero’s jealous side. Roung Zhi is not so much worried about Zhu Que falling in love with Wang Yi Zhi (this character seems so carefree I am not sure he would ever fall in love with someone) but Wang Yi Zhi is the only one that had the ability to give our heroine the carefree life she dreamed off…far far away from our hero.
Huan Yuan- An extremely talented poet who ended up as one of the Princess’ concubine after his noble family fell into ruins. At first extremely resentful of the Princess, Huan Yuan eventually falls in love with our heroine after he became her right hand man. Knowing full well that Zhu Que only has eyes for Roung Zhi, Huan Yuan has never allowed himself to reveal his true feelings to Zhu Que.
Hua Cuo– A highly skilled swordsman who thinks of Roung Zhi as his best friend. Severely wounded after he battled Tian Ru Jing’s master for Roung Zhi’s sake, Hua Cuo ended up in the Princess’ manor with our hero because the Princess was the only one with the money to pay for his expensive medicines. When Roung Zhi revealed his true identity to our heroine, he also cruelly admits to Hua Cuo that their friendship was only ever a useful tool to him. Stunned to realize the extent Roung Zhi had used him, Hua Cuo becomes obsessed with seeking revenge against his ex-best friend.
Guan Canhai– A highly skilled mysterious swordsman who had the same master as Roung Zhi. He is also an older brother figure to our hero. Also a master physician, Guan Canhai is an important character in the story because Roung Zhi eventually disguises himself as Guan Canhai so he can spend time with our heroine as her neighbor.
A summary of the novel’s ending:
- Roung Zhi’s sister betrays him and joins forces with Tian Ru Jing AND Hua Cuo to lay a trap for him. Knowing Zhu Que is Roung Zhi’s only weakness, Tian Ru Jian sets it up so Roung Zhi would have to choose between his ambitions or letting everything go and try to save our heroine who is about to be killed by Hua Chu 2,000 miles away. Shaken to the core at the mere thought that Zhu Que is in danger, Roung Zhi promptly conceded defeat to his sister and strikes a deal with Tian Ru Jian to use the bracelet to instant transport to 2,000 miles away so he can save our heroine.
- In a hurry to get to Zhu Que’s side as soon as possible since each wasted moment could mean her death, Roung Zhi follows Tian Ru Jiang into a room and asks “What do I need to do?” Letting out an easy smile when Tian Ru Jiang just stares back at him in silence, Roung Zhi says “Oh, Well. Zhu Que said before there is no such thing as a free lunch. I no longer have anything in my possession so the only thing I can do is beg.” So stunned as he watches Roung Zhi kneels down in front of him that he stumbles backward, Tian Ru Jing’ body begins to shake uncontrollably. Years ago, Zhu Que did the same thing. To save Roung Zhi, Zhu Que did the same exact thing. Tian Ru Jing felt utter despair that moment. Even being separated by thousands of miles, those two are still of the same heart. Like a perfect circle, there is not even one inch of space for anyone else. (Our heroine had a chance to go back to her own timeline but she gave it up to save Roung Zhi.)
- A bit unsettled when Roung Zhi listens serenely to his plan that would allow our hero to instantaneously transport to where Zhu Que is, Tian Ru Jing wonders to himself if Roung Zhi guessed their secret plan. Roung Zhi was indeed not fooled by Tian Ru Jing. Thanks to many conversations with Zhu Que about the future and the bracelet, Roung Zhi had no trouble figuring out that using the bracelet will come at a great cost to himself.
- Realizing as well that the bracelet is most likely a trap, Guan Canhai begs Roung Zhi to reconsider but Roung Zhi replies instead “Brother, you don’t understand. I can cut off my hand but how do I cut out my own heart? I have never been truly happy in my life other than few carefree years we had as children. Zhu Que, is the only one that makes me feel like a person. Brother, I beg you. Let me be willful one more time.”
- Roung Zhi uses the bracelet and was able to save Zhu Que at the nick of time right before Hua Chu kills her. Hiding the fact that his body is barely holding together, Roung Zhi smiles at Zhu Que, pulls her into an embrace and says casually “I finally found you. I missed you so I came.”
- Agreeing easily when Zhu Que still can’t get over the many obstacles between them (Our heroine is from the modern time so she really has a hard time with Roung Zhi’s cold personality especially when it comes to taking lives) and decides to leave with her trusty right hand man Huan Yuan, Roung Zhi amicably arranges a ship and sends her off personally.
- Unsettled as she stands on the ship’s deck watching the ship pulling further and further away from Roung Zhi, Zhu Que finally figurer out the nagging feeling that refuses to be ignored. Her body suddenly going rigid, Zhu Que thought “No! Something is wrong! If Roung Zhi came all this way then how would he just let her leave like this? Why would he send her away from him if he was victorious against Tian Ru Jing? Someone like him would never assume she is safer out of his control!” Marching forward, Zhu Que yells “Stop the ship. I am getting off!” Fill with such an overwhelming panic that even her thoughts are jumbled, Zhu Que only has one single thought “Find him! She must make sure with her own eyes that he is okay.”
- Climbing up the mountain aimlessly, Roung Zhi feels like every bone in his body is being crushed repeatedly but when he looks down his body still looks unharmed from the outside. His eyesight becoming blurry, Roung Zhi can no longer tell if he is alive or not, the only thought left in his head is to keep walking forward in the unforgiving cold. A strange smile appears on his lips when he hears hurried steps behind him, Roung Zhi straightens his robe lightly then sits down. At first thinking she had worried for nothing when she sees Roung Zhi sitting like he is simply admiring the lovely view, Zhu Que’s feeling of relief quickly turns to alarm when in the middle of talking Roung Zhi’s body starts to bleed. Horrified as she watches beads of blood showing up on Roung Zhi’s eyes and mouth, Zhu Que cries in panic but our hero just comforts her softly even as his ears and nose start to bleed as well. Unable to speak as Roung Zhi calmly tells her what had happened with Tian Ru Jing then lists off everything he had arranged to take care of her after he is gone, Zhu Que’s horror escalates when Roung Zhi’s body itself starts to look like countless invisible knives are slashing at it.
- Staring at his face that is still serene and the expression in those eyes as calm as ever, Zhu Que jumps forward to wrap her arms around the man that is dying for her right in front of her eyes but Roung Zhi moves out of her reach. Backing up until he is at the edge of the cliff, Roung Zhi says “Don’t come close to me. The strange forces inside me are out of control. You should step away so it won’t accidentally hurt you. You guys are here. Good, take her away…wait, who are you?” Through his blurry vision Roung Zhi had spotted two figure coming and mistakenly assumed it must be Zhu Que’s men but after a moment he realizes one of the men is actually Hua Cuo who somehow survived taking three arrows from Roung Zhi. The next part is kinda similar to the drama. Stunned to see Roung Zhi neigh to death, Hua Cuo yells this was not what he wanted from Roung Zhi then cuts off his own arm.
- Leaving Zhu Que with one last smile, Roung Zhi throws himself off the cliff after saying “I don’t want to leave a body behind. Don’t look at me either. Dying this way must be truly ugly.”
- Losing her will to live with Roung Zhi gone, Zhu Que looks up when the other man with Hua Cue turns out to be her younger brother, the young emperor. Giving her brother a smile with a hint of relief in it, Zhu Que says “Did you come to kill me? Do it then.”
- After wandering around aimlessly and seeing first hand the sufferings of the people, the young tyrant emperor finally did understand a bit of what his older sister had been trying to get through to him. The young emperor still had plenty of resentment against his sister but staring at Zhu Que laying numbly in the snow, the young man is surprised to discover that his gut reaction is concern that she would be cold. All his pretense breaking down when he notices that Zhu Que is still wearing the robe he gave her years ago and has obviously taken great care of it, the young emperor runs off after yelling “How can you be like this! How can you be like this!”
- Hoping for a miracle, Zhu Que looks for Roung Zhi’s body relentlessly convinced that as long as they don’t find it then there is a possibility he is still alive. However, all of Zhu Que hope is shattered when Guan Canhai personally confirms that one of the body they found was indeed Roung Zhi’s. (The reason Guan Canhai gave was that Roung Zhi’s shoulder bone was deformed after suffering abuse as a child. The skeleton they found matched Roung Zhi’s childhood injury.)
- Completely without hope now, Zhu Que passes each day like she is just waiting for death to come. Following a secret passage down to the basement, Guan Canhai stands in front of a stone casket and says “Today, Lui Sang (the princess’ youngest concubine, more like a younger brother to our heroine) came to visit her.” A raspy reply comes from the stone casket “That’s good. Lui Sang’s presence will help. If she keeps going like this she will eventually get sick.” Leaning against the wall, Guan Canhai wince “I helped you lied to her before and now I am helping you to lie again. I bet never in her dream would she guess that everything I said about that skeleton was made up according to the skeleton’s condition. Just like last time, this house is still hiding an extra person, you.” (He is referring to when our hero disguised himself as Guan Canhai to spend time with our heroine. Guan Canhai was Zhu Que’s neighbor but unbeknownst to our heroine, Roung Zhi was also hiding in his brother’s house and would disguise himself as Guan Canhai.) With a sigh, Guan Canhai asks “Why are you going to this extent. Why did you trick her into believing you are dead? Isn’t she like this because of you?” The voice from the stone casket replies “Of course she has to believe I am dead. It is better to hurt briefly then to suffer with no end in sight. How can I ask her to look at what I have become every day?” With another sigh, Guan Canhai knows he has nothing to counter Roung Zhi’s words. Even without seeing, Guan Canhai has no trouble knowing what condition Roung Zhi is in. If someone looked into the stone casket then they would see a person…or a being that really can’t be called a person anymore, the being’s whole body shatters then instantly heals in a never ending cycle. Soaked in a pool of blood, the body of the being is in a perpetual cycle of death by shattering then resurrection. Concerned when Roung Zhi’s words are suddenly interrupted by a fit of coughing, Guan Canhai asks “What’s wrong?” After a long while, Roung Zhi replies nonchalantly “My throat shattered for a while there. Anyone sees me like this would be plagued by nightmares, let alone her. I don’t want her to see me like this. Moreover, I don’t have any idea when this is going to end. Perhaps I am still going to die so instead of letting her suffer with me, it is better that she thinks of me as dead right from the start.”
- Tian Ru Jing comes to visit Zhu Que one last time. Tricks Zhu Que into letting him transfer the ownership of the bracelet to her then dies right in front of our heroine from the poison he had taken beforehand. Tian Ru Jing is really a tragic character. He loves Zhu Que but that love is not enough for him to let go of his duty. His personality is almost childlike in some ways so he can’t ignore the charge his master left him, but he also can’t live with himself for putting the woman he loves in harm’s way again and again. It is really difficult to hate this particular character because meeting the heroine is truly the most horrible thing that could’ve happened to him.
- Zhu Que had hoped that the bracelet would allow her to go back to the modern time but the bracelet didn’t have enough power left to do that. Surprised when she accidentally discovers that Roung Zhi’s family heirloom is actually hiding the bracelet’s power bank, Zhu Que decides to revisit the princess’ manor before she goes back to the modern time. (Our heroine wants to escape her grief and she also wants to see her family again.)
- Walking into a seemingly empty manor, Zhu Que’s eye widen in shock when she hears a familiar melody. Racing into the room, Zhu Que sees that familiar figure. With shaking hands, Zhu Que reaches out to touch Roung Zhi’s face and confirms for herself that he is not her imagination. Carefully, Zhu Que runs her fingertips over the myriad of slash scares covering his whole body, Zhu Que cries silently as she pulls his robe open and tenderly trances each scare. Her silent cries breaking into a sob when Zhu Que whispers “Don’t look. It is too ugly. It will scare you.” Zhu Que leans down and gently kisses the scares on Roung Zhi’s neck. Nothing is too scary. No matter how he changes he is still her Roung Zhi. Besides, his every scar imprints her own name on them. By the time Zhu Que finally takes a break from crying, our heroine is completely stunned and speechless as she stares at Roung Zhi’s bare torsal…torsal that has somehow become covered with kissing marks made by herself. Ahh!!!! What should she do now?! Should she say “I will take responsibility for you.” or should she runs off after saying “Let’s pretend this never happened!” Thoroughly embarrassed when her eyes meet Roung Zhi’s seemingly unaffected yet amused eyes, Zhu Que buries her face in Roung Zhi’s arm to avoid looking at him. Her ability to rationalize finally coming back to her now that she can’t see Roung Zhi’s face, Zhu Que complains “You lied to me.” Sitting up slightly, Roung Zhi doesn’t bother to explain but only replies gently “Yes. I did. I am sorry.” Huffy and determined to not forgive him so easily this time, Zhu Que declares “You lied to me and made me extremely sad. I am very angry so the consequence is going to be big!” With a half smile, Roung Zhi stares back at Zhu Que with interest and replies “Yes, yes. It’s all my fault. I beg you to forgive me.” The words themselves are fine but paired with that lazy drawl just make them seem completely insincere. Battling the desire to bite Roung Zhi out of frustration and the desire to hug him with joy, Qhu Que finally sighed silently. Giving in to the overwhelming joy to just simply have him alive, Zhu Que wraps her arms tightly around Roung Zhi and thought “So what she was fooled? Didn’t she already said before that as long as he is alive none of it matters?”
- Our poor heroine forgives our hero for tricking her….then promptly gets tricked into being the one to initiate their wedding night. Every time Zhu Que starts to get shy and contemplates stopping, Roung Zhi would look at her tauntingly while saying “Let’s okay. If you are too scared then go ahead and run away.” In the end, Roung Zhi got the night he wanted while our heroine wakes up in the morning convinced that she is the one that “jumped” Roung Zhi. By the way, much to Zhu Que’s surprise, it was actually her body’s first time. (I will explain why that’s the case.)
- In a conversation between Roung Zhi and Guan Canhai we learned that Roung Zhi did plan everything out down to the part of Zhu Que guessing something is wrong, running back then witnessing his “death.” Roung Zhi himself actually had no clue at that point if he would survive but he was very determined that Zhu Que would remember him forever if he did end up dying. It’s not that Roung Zhi believes Zhu Que would stop loving him if she had to take care of him through those hellish time in the casket but the impact of what he created would obviously be lessened over time. If he did end up dying, Zhu Que wouldn’t have been as devested nor would she have been so overjoyed to the point of losing control if he survived. In short, everything was in Roung Zhi’s control and prediction…except the part where Tian Ru Jing gave the bracelet to Zhu Que. Knowing full well Zhu Que’s leaving meant she will depart from this time period to a place he can never reach, Roung Zhi had to scramble to put everything in motion. Roung Zhi knew that Zhu Que would revisit the princess manor and from there he carefully planned it so she would lose control to the point of “jumping” him thus giving him additional ammo to keep her from leaving. After all, SHE was the one that initiated the whole thing so she can’t really blame him could she?
- With a sigh, Guan Canhai wonders out loud “I really don’t know if it is a blessing or a curse to be loved by someone like you?” Giving Guan Canhai a small smile “You can never know unless you are in that person’s shoes. Brother, don’t worry too much.” The wound he caused, he will personally heal them bit by bit, even if it takes the rest of his life.
- In contrast to our hero’s confident assurance, Zhu Que is quite torn between her family in the modern time and…Roung Zhi, the person she finally found again, the person she really doesn’t want to let go of. Walking in the market with Roung Zhi one day, Zhu Que sees a young man laughing wildly and speeding through the street on his horse, enjoying the panic of the crowd as they scramble to get out of his way. Leaning close to Zhu Que’s ear, Roung Zhi whispers “That’s Liu Song’s current king.” (In the novel, the uncle was actually a decent king but he just didn’t live very long at all. From the looks of it, the new king is not going to be much better than the heroine’s younger brother.) Giving Roung Zhi a side glance, Zhu Que asks “Are you regretting it now?” All this could’ve been his for the taking if he didn’t give up everything to save her. With a tender smile, Roung Zhi kisses Zhu Que’s earlobe and replies “As long as you are here then I don’t regret it.” Her breath caught, Zhu Que knew exactly what Roung Zhi is saying. If she left without a care then he will find a way to make her regret it. Her heart softening as she turns to see the emotions swirling in Roung Zhi’s eyes, Zhu Que grabs his hands and declares in a huffy voice “Let’s go. I won’t leave, so you can’t either.” The End.
- Author’s note: There you have it, an ending that fit the title. (Straight translation of the Chinese title is Phonix Imprisons Phonix). The ending was something I planned out right from the beginning. All of Roung Zhi’s plotting, that’s the core of his personality. Someone like Roung Zhi can never be the noble idiot who gives silently and asks for nothing in return. He is used to having everything under his control. After sacrificing so much, it is impossible for him to expect nothing in return. Plus in a way, Roung Zhi himself is imprisoned as well. But hey, as long as their hearts are free then that’s okay right?
- Ninja’s take: I really liked the ending. Is the hero kinda scary? Certainly. Can I see why our heroine fell in love with him? Yap, like a moth to the flame. There is just no way to avoid it. I didn’t have time to focus on the heroine’s character too much but the heroine is actually a very strong character. On the surface, it looks like our hero is in complete control and our heroine is just that poor girl who is perpetually falling into the traps he sets for her but as the story progresses we find out that our heroine sees more than she lets on. Roung Zhi had honestly thought Zhu Que was a pawn to him that he can forget when he achieves his goal…like everyone else in his life. So imagine his surprise when he realizes the pawn has not only stolen his heart (a heart he didn’t even know existed) but is now determined to move on living a carefree life without him. The title is truly a perfect one for the story. Roung Zhi is like a glorious Phonix that is born to soar high above while being worshiped by all. Our heroine, on the other hand, might not be as dazzling of a phoenix at first sight but the more you get to know her the more you want to help her soar freely in the sky. If they have never met, the two phoenixes would’ve each fulfilled their dazzling destinies but they did meet so now they are “imprisoned” happily together.
- A short excerpt after “THE END” lets us know that our heroine did eventually figure out that Roung Zhi had set her up. Roung Zhi never meant to keep that fact from her for the rest of their lives so he gave Zhu Que enough hints for her to discover the truth on her own. After a few sleepless night where she lays fuming (Roung Zhi had his eyes closed but didn’t sleep either) our heroine finally comes to the conclusion that the past has happened and the future is the one that is important. Plus…there is one thing Zhu Que discovered later that she never told Roung Zhi. The bracelet actually could not take her to the future. It could only take her to the past within 200 years. So that meant she could not have gone back to her own time period anyway. Zhu Que has no plan to share that little discovery with Roung Zhi for now since the little threat of her going home is quite useful if they ever get into a fight.
- On the mystery about the Princess. The real Princess was insanely in love with Roung Zhi but he of course rejects her coolly. Obsessed with Roung Zhi, the Princess struck a deal with Tian Ru Jing’s master so that after Roung Zhi was severely injured by him our hero would be delivered to her manor. The Princess tried everything with Roung Zhi. From bribing him to torture but nothing worked. Becoming desperate when Roung Zhi just gives her his perpetual indifferent smile, the Princess marries another man in hopes of making Roung Zhi jealous. (She spent her wedding night sneaking over to Roung Zhi’s room.) That obviously didn’t work and the Princess finally realized nothing in this world could make Roung Zhi love her. The Princess started collecting male concubines but every single one of them had something that resembles Roung Zhi. Every night after waking up from another night of drinking, the Princess knew that she is just fooling herself. She loved, hated and struggled all by herself. He has always been a bystander, just standing there with his small smile…never caring.
- (In the Princess’ words) One night while I was sleeping I felt something foreign invading my body. In an instant, I understood that it was another person’s soul trying to take over. I feel my spirit slowly dissipating. I could feel the other soul and its intense desire to live. Ah, that was it. I don’t want to live anymore. I have wasted all my love and life energy on someone else. The person that is living right now was just a shell. This…is not bad. Hey, woman that is taking over my body…shall I warn you? When you open your eyes…don’t…you must not…turn to look at the sleeping man beside you. Don’t look into his eyes. Don’t look at his smile. Don’t talk to him at all. That is a devil that will consume you. Don’t fall in love with him or you will become like me. Unable to love nor hate. Living like a shell.
All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com
Wow.. Ninja! Thank you for this incredible post. This was what I tried to dig for but coupdn’t find. All I could find were translated bits and some hints of the story on Shushengbar. Still had lots of questions. Thank you for this treasure trove of information! Hehe. I really like the story’s title and that was what drew me to the drama at first. Pheonix imprisoning pheonix was supposed to be about the meeting of equals. And while it was true that Rong Zhi imprisoned Zhu Que with his schemes, it was the princess who originally imprisoned Rong Zhi (at least that was what I am getting from the drama). And Zhu Que is smart! But like she said, Rong Zhi sees 10 steps while she walked 3 steps. But it was her astuteness and foresight that allowed her to recognise his smarts. I am kinda sad that the drama kinda went the other way with the whole moving to Wei country and changed everyone’s core personalities and wiped away the supporting characters. Felt kinda tricked because I was hooked from episode 1-16 and I was attracted to the dynamics between the 2 leads. TIAN RU JING MADE A REAPPEARANCE! Why am I so happy? Hahaha. Can we have Huan Yuan or Liu Sang or even the uncle King?
Ikr. I wonder if they’ll reappear. I so badly, wanted to see if Huan Yuan and Wang Yi Zhi will be able to reunite with her. After all, they are one of the few who are extremely loyal to her.
Thank you so much for explaining the source material of the show to us!
Eng subs are still unavailable so I’m unable to watch it. So I’ll be relying on your goodwill to continue doing a quick recap of the episodes to understand what’s happening there.
Ninja r u going to translate the journey of flower?
I am planning on it (NOT the whole thing. Just my favorite bits that tells what happens after our heroine “died”) but I have to finish Princess Agents first. We are only a few weeks away from wrapping up Princess Agents.
Love it. U filled in a lot of my questions with some of the aftermath of the ending.
Here is a link by a blogger who gave detail summaries of her favorite parts of the novel.
http://xia0yuer.tumblr.com/post/26126029919/feng-qiu-huang-scene-translation-see-you-again#axzz59E1xYyiJ
Also, you didn’t explain why her body was still a virgin? She had so many guys and she nevered slept with anybody? Kind of confused. Please explain.?
Also, thank you again for the long ending.
Oops, I guess my explanation was only clear in my own head. The Princess (the original one) was in love- to the point of being obsessed with our hero. She had married her husband out of the desperate hope that it would make Rong Zhi jealous, which is why she spent her wedding night hiding outside of Rong Zhi’s place trying to see his reaction = the Princess never had a “wedding night” with her husband. As for all the other male concubines, the writer had explained that every single one of them had a piece of something that reminded the Princess of Rong Zhi and that was why she collected them. The writer didn’t explain the Princess’ reason for her collection but my personal guess is that she was hurting so badly from her one sided obsession that it was another desperate attempt to soothe her pain. (Judging by how our heroine woke up with Rong Zhi by her side along with a few other half-naked concubines, I am guessing that the Princess kept trying to use the concubines to get some sort of reaction from our hero but of course she just ended up hurting herself even more when Rong Zhi just gives her his maddening smile. By the way, Rong Zhi’s smile is a pretty big deal in the novel. The tv show does its best to include bits about Rong Zhi’s smile but of course the novel can do a much better job since it can describe everyone’s reaction to it. Rong Zhi was abused as a child by his father and the only way his father would beat him less was if he could smile to make himself look more like his deceased mother. (In the TV show, the hero had revealed this to our heroine in episode 10 after they jumped off the cliff together.) Thanks to his traumatic childhood, our hero grew up with a habit of smiling the more he hurt, which drove his friends and foes crazy since everytime our hero smiles it could either mean he is angry, hurt, happy, or the most likely possibility…you’ve just walked right into a trap he had set for you.) Sorry, I got distracted there. Anyhow, back to the Princess. The Princess is obviously not a nice person by any means but it is difficult to not feel sorry for her. When all is said and done, the Princess was really just a young girl that was desperately in love with a man who would never love her back. What the world thought were ridiculous actions of a Princess wanting to fill her carnal desires was simply a Princess throwing a huge tantrum hoping our hero would notice her. The Princess could not fool herself that Rong Zhi would ever love her which also meant she could not fool herself that any of her “Rong Zhi” copycats could ever replace the real thing. Why was the Princess still a virgin? The poor girl loved Rong Zhi and no one else would do.
I see. She saved herself for him. Silly girl. Thank you so much for all these details.
Can you give us details when Rong Zhi kidnap Zhu Que to prevent her from leaving with that Wang guy? I(we) want to know the whole kissing action..lol
Also, details of three years she spent with Rong Zhi. If you don’t mind. Did RongZhi loved her more during this time?
I wished the drama followed the novel bez it was more interesting and Rong Zhi is way smarter than anybody else. In the novel said he outsmart everyone.
Anyways, thanks again for the explanation. 🙂
So Rong Zhi didn’t actually plan on kidnapping Zhu Que. He had gone to the riverside wanting to see our heroine off since he knew once she left with Wang Yi Zhi then he will probably never see her again. Suppressing her panic when she was kidnapped Zhu Que had asked the unknown assailant “What do you want?” Unbeknownst to our heroine, Rong Zhi himself was also in shock and had no clue how to answer her question since for once in his life, his body acted before his mind could calculate out all the costs. This is also the part where we get a glimpse into our hero’s reason for his “disguise” to spend a year with Zhu Que. After Zhu Que had left him so resolutely declaring that she will end her feelings for him, Rong Zhi finds himself unable to stop thinking of our heroine. As one whose every step is calculated, Rong Zhi could not understand Zhu Que’s willingness to sacrifice all (include her one chance of going back to her own time) for him and what’s even more puzzling to Rong Zhi is that after giving up so much Zhu Que could then just leave without a backward glance when her feelings are not returned. Wanting to understand the enigma that is Zhu Que, Rong Zhi disguises himself as Cang Hai and spent a year as her neighbor hoping the ordinary time together with her would make him eventually lose interest…which obviously didn’t work because he finally realized “there is only one Zhu Que.”
Her arms and legs trapped by the unknown attacker, Zhu Que promptly tries to open her mouth to call for help but before she could do so, her lips are sealed by another set of lips. Shocked, Zhu Que bites down hard on her attacker’s lips but our hero just ignores her and deepens the kiss until he finally lets her go for a moment so she can remember to breathe. Zhu Que’s face bright red, her lips wet and swollen, her mind in a jumbled mess,unable to see with her eyes covered, Zhu Que could only hear a deep voice piercing into her heart “Again.” Not waiting for her reply, Rong Zhi bends down and takes her lips with his again. Ever patient as he traces the inside of her mouth with his tongue, Rong Zhi doesn’t try to go deeper but just bids his time and darts his tongue away whenever Zhu Que attempts to bit him again. “I need to stop.” Rong Zhi thought calmly “The searchers are gone so there is no reason do this anymore…if he keeps going, he won’t be able to control himself anymore.”
Feeling something soft and cool sliding across her lips, Zhu Que unconsciously bites down on it, only to realize it was a tender tree leaf. With a soft laugh, Rong Zhi bites down on the leaf as well and deepens the kiss. Feeling the leaf dissolving on her tongue…like a numbing agent, Zhu Que could hardly form a coherent thought from the lack of oxygen. Her lips feel numb but instinctively want more and more, unable to bring herself to push away. Again, and again. Like a game, their lips part for a moment then would come together immediately again, no longer discernable who is the initiator.
Our heroine of course had already figured out the identity of her kidnapper. Furious once her mind finally had time to process how Rong Zhi had fooled her for a whole year, Zue Que’s anger is more towards herself than our hero. Why the anger? Before she discovered the truth, she had already started to develop some blurry feelings for “Cang Hai” who seemingly had a strange pull for her. How could she hang herself on the same tree twice?! The tree name Rong Zhi had just changed its name, put on some disguise and appear in front of her again…then she just foolishly hang her self on it again?! What?! (One of my favorite passage in the novel.)
OMG! You are the best…Thank you so much for this detail. So juice… I can’t believe they didn’t add this part to the drama. I am getting so frustrated with the drama because the lack of screen time of the main couple. I don’t see the epic Love between them yet. We might get it later but 4 eps is so long to wait and they get so little screen time. Booo…
Also, I am hoping you be so kind to answer my second question from my previous posting…Their lives during the three years. How did she got into this situation? Did He loved her more?Did he become more protected or possessive of her. Was he hurt when she left him again? Oh, now I think I have gone to far by asking to many counter questions. Sorry, sorry and sorry but tell….Please, pretty please..🙏 lol
Off the top, I can’t remember the three years you are referring to. They spent a year together when our hero was in disguise. Are you referring to the time they spent together after that when Zhu Que was teaching Rong Zhi about the bracelet so our hero would have a chance to defeat Tian Rujing?
Yes, somebody said they lived together for a few years and those years were Zhe Que happiness time. I also think that’s the time Rong Zhi learned abt the bracklet power.
That was a peaceful time for our two leads. At this point, pretty much all the secrets are out between Zhe Que and Rong Zhi. Rong Zhi moved into Zhe Que’s house using the excuse “I don’t have a house here. You wouldn’t have the heart to see me living on the street, would you?” Zhe Que agrees to teach Rong Zhi about the bracelet’s power with four conditions: 1. She can leave afterwards. 2. Rong Zhi would never show himself in front of her again. 3. She doesn’t want to be involved in all the power struggles. 4. Rong Zhi will let Huan Yuan (heroine’s right hand man, the one who is secretly in love with her) go. (If you remember, Rong Zhi had used the emperor’s name to summon Huan Yuan to be one of the palace officials.
Rong Zhi agrees readily to Zhe Que’s conditions but of course had no intentions of following through since by this time he had already figured out his own feelings and is determined to have Zhe Que accept him no matter what she says.
This time period was especially important to our hero in that he learned everything he could from our heroine about the modern time period and that had a significant influence on his desire for the throne since it is obviously difficult to view life the same way when you are given a chance to view a thousand year of history- which also tells you that empires are destined to crumble. While Rong Zhi is busy soaking in all the knowledge and setting things in motion for the unavoidable power conflict that will come, our heroine is also busy being his teacher AND taking care of Rong Zhi’s baby nephew. The baby added a few fun scenes for our leads since our heroine wants to teach him all about morals and mercy while Rong Zhi tries to teach the toddler all about conspiracy and killing your enemy first before you are killed.
When the baby was about four years old he was taken back to the palace which also signaled the end of the “peaceful” time. Knowing the stage is set Zhe Que leaves without any hesitation because she knows that she and Rong Zhi can never walk the same path. (As our heroine explained to the real Guan Canghai, Rong Zhi can use people like tools but she can’t. Rong Zhi wants power, she doesn’t. Yes, she does love Ron Zhi but so what? If he becomes the emperor then is she just going to be one of his concubines? No. Her mindset from the modern world does not allow her to treat people like things nor would she trap herself in a palace. So there, she loves him and will miss him forever but she has no intention of ever seeing him again once she leaves.)
Rong Zhi doesn’t stop Zhe Que from leaving because he knows her too well to even try. Reading over the detail reports his man had written about Zhe Que, Rong Zhi smiles with amusement as he imagines how angry and resigned Zhe Que would be once she figured out that she was never out of his protection. The novel didn’t explain how Rong Zhi had planned to convince Zhe Que to accept him later since Rong Zhi figured out pretty soon after that his sister had teamed up with Tian Rujing to use Zhe Que to get rid of him. Scrapping all of his careful plans at the thought that Zhe Que is in danger, our hero then uses the bracelet to rush to Zhe Que’s side to save her. The rest is where our hero fakes his own death.
Thank you ninja for these little details. If there was a part to click like/happy face/ thumbs up I would for your last posting.
Thank you for these recaps. I will look forward in your wonderful summaries. I hope in the future u might translate some cute/funny scenes from the book. 😁
In the drama jump from the hero talking about why he faked his death to the Hero courting another girl for Marriage. Is that covered in the book?
The second half of the drama is not part of the novel at all. So, no, our hero never courted another woman for marriage in the novel.
Do you have the link to a online series of the novel?
If you read Chinese then copy and paste 凤囚凰小说 in google. If not, try A Tale of Two Phoenixes when you search for the English translation.
So I’m so confused… I am deeply in love with the drama (episode 1-16) but it just gets all weird…
Because like- Rong Zhi just forgot her and courted this other girl? /heart breaks/
And the princess isn’t heart broken at seeing him…/sobs/
And MY BAE HUAN YUAN IS NOT HERE /THROWS TANTRUM/
but my serious question is; why did the story/plot suddenly change and why does my bae disappear!?!
But thanks so much fir you time to type allllll of that!
So the right to Untouchable Lovers was bought by the well known but very controversial producer/screenwriter Yu Zheng. Yu Zheng particularly loves to produce beloved Chinese classics and novels…then make some shocking changes to them (ie. Swordsman. Where the big villain ended being more like the heroine.) There is no doubt that Yu Zheng has a talent in creating memorable characters and some of his changes are pretty addicting….BUT in my experience, he also makes huge blunders that pretty much destroy his dramas…like Untouchable Lovers. I really have no clue why Yu Zheng felt the need to tell a completely different story in the second half of the show when the novel itself still had plenty of great materials. What’s more, he couldn’t stay true to our two leads’ character in the second story. I tried to watch it but I really couldn’t stand to watch my scary smart hero turned so ordinary and my wise but spunky heroine turned into another lackluster character.
Hi, i just don’t understand. I finished watch the drama, but after read your explanation, i become confused.
So, in the novel, all the story just happen in Liu Song Dynasty, rite? And Rong Zhi never be Wei’s Prince Regent? I’m so addicted with this series, and i bumped to read all wikipedia about every non fiction characters. LoL
Your explanation give me new sight about who’s Guan Canghai. Thanks for your explanation. I hope i can read Chinese and read the novel by myself.
Remember the little scene where a bunch of people were listening to a storyteller and were mightly displeased by the “1st” ending so he decided to tell a different story with our two leads? Up to that point, the drama more or less (obviously a lot less than more) followed the novel, but the second part where we are in the hero’s country, that part is NOT in the book at all. So just to be clear, in the novel, our hero was NEVER the Prince Regent. In fact, we really don’t know a whole lot about the hero’s country. We met some of the hero’s trusted men and his evil sister towards the end but that’s about it.
Oh my, i liked the story, but i’m so jetlag with Zhu Que’s character. Her character was so different. Huhuhu. I feel weird with that. She escape from every cunning plot with her smart but (unfortunately) with a ton of lucky and Rong Zhi’s help. She becomes ordinary girl. And too bad, i always love her character as Liu Chuyu.
Thanks for your reply. I appreciated it.
LOL This is the time when I feel sad that Idk how to read Chinese because this novel is awesome…I am reading the English translation but it only have till ch 43 which is pretty much still part of the 1-16 tv drama episode. I wanted to know more in details like you do Ninja. I love all your translation and side notes 🙂 thank you for it.