“Ashes of Love” is a 2018 fairy-tale Chinese drama; it is based on the novel “Heavy Sweetness, Ash-Like Frost” and tells the story of the undying love between two immortals.
Bạn đang xem: Heavy sweetness ash
Backstory
The kích hoạt takes place in the prehistorical era, in a time when the six realms were reigning independently in harmony. The realms featured in this drama are: celestial realm, floral, demon and human realm. Although the members of the first three realms enjoy immortality, who rules supreme on all six realms is the implacable god of Fate.
Important Notes:
Although the immortal beings bởi not experience death by aging or illness, they can die as a result of a magical weapon or powerful spell.The Celestial Realm & the Demon Realms do not have a good versus evil connotation. Both realms are populated with both righteous or greed-driven beings. The Celestial Realm is a well organized empire-like society, while the Demon Realm is a coalition of several kingdoms & is a warrior-like society.Premise of the StoryThe Floral Fairy (the ruler of the Floral Realm) is severely injured & has little time khổng lồ live as she gives birth khổng lồ her child. Knowing that her daughter is fated to lớn experience great tribulations due to lớn the fate of a tragic love within the next 10.000 years, she feeds the newborn the Unfeeling Pill. The magic pill has the power to keep her daughter, Jin Mi, from experiencing anything beyond friendship, in an attempt to lớn cheat Fate.
Before she dies, the Fairy orders everyone in the realm lớn keep Jin Mi’s birth a secret. She establishes a magical barrier designed to lớn not let her daughter have any contact with the outside world & seals her true nature with a spell. However, 4000 years later, the barrier is breached by mistake by the Fire Immortal, the second son of the Celestial King. Gravely wounded (as a result of an attack) he is saved & taken care of by Jin Mi. As a reward for her kind gesture và unaware of her true identity, Fire Immortal agrees to không tính phí her from her prison. He takes her to the Celestial realm where she becomes his reading assistant.
It follows a sweet, yet tragic love-story that will have lớn go through the trials of life và death in order to be purified. This is not a sappy love story. It is well written & it comes with as much kích hoạt as romance. I think that if it weren’t for the language barrier, dramas lượt thích this one would be critically acclaimed worldwide và would receive international awards. Here is a Trailer, together with the ending theme “Upwards to the Moon“.
Main Characters
Jin Mi is the naive and innocent daughter of the former ruler of the Floral Realm. For 4000 years she lived disguised as a boy; she has no concept of love, evil or of the difference between men and women. Her reading of the reality she comes in liên hệ with for the first time is very endearing & it adds an element of comedic relief khổng lồ the story every time we have access to lớn her thought process. Jin Mi’s arch story follows the coming-of-age pattern. Through pain and suffering she grows from a carefree young lady lớn a mature, strong và wise woman, willing to lớn sacrifice herself lớn make amends for past mistakes.
Fire Immortal/Phoenix is the second son of the Celestial King và the only legitimate heir to lớn the throne. He is a valiant warrior and one of the most powerful beings in the realm, despite his young age. He falls deeply in love with the endearing, yet unfeeling Jin Mi. Fire Immortal is, without a doubt, the most positive character in this drama. He is slightly arrogant, but he is understanding and forgiving to a fault. He forgives time & time again, even those closest khổng lồ him who caused his downfall; not because he is a push-over, but rather due lớn his loving & magnanimous nature. He is such a positive hero, even as he hits rock-bottom, while his world turns to lớn ashes.
Night Immortal is the eldest & illegitimate son of the Celestial King; thus, he does not have a legitimate claim to lớn the throne. He is very close to Fire Immortal. Despite their parents, the two half-brothers share a strong bond. Their relationship, however, is put to lớn a kiểm tra when Night Immortal decides to pursue Jin Mi. Things take a turn for the worse when he sets to lớn take revenge on the Fire Immortal’s mother, the Empress. In my opinion Night Immortal’s character is one of the best written in the drama. His psychological journey (from the mild mannered celestial prince, lớn the vengeful & ambitious tyrant) is very well written and portrayed. & although the viewers cannot condone his actions, they can, however, relate to lớn his pain & anger.
Review
“Ashes of Love”, without a doubt, falls into the category of classic fairy-tales, despite being based on a recently written novel. It has all the required elements: the battle between good and evil, an incumbent tragic fate and the attempt khổng lồ avert it (but by doing so, it only helps fulfill it), the forging and purification of the heroes through pain và suffering, the need for a sacrifice in order lớn restore balance lớn the world and the presence of a nhân vật willing to vị so.
The intense và tragic love-story of “Ashes of Love” has a very strong appeal. The attempt of the Floral Fairy khổng lồ cheat Fate (by feeding her daughter the Unfeeling Pill) sets in motion a series of events that would ultimately lead khổng lồ the fulfilling of the implacable Fate; thus, Jin mày will eventually go through her love trial. In Chinese folklore, a love trial is a heartbreaking & tragic love-story & is considered the most appropriate và painful path to purify oneself from past sins. Although she has no recollection of it, in her past life Jin mày was a soul-demiser who caused the death of many. As a consequence, she will have to experience the most painful experience of all: fall deeply in love và cause the death of the one she loves.
One of the underlying messages of the dramas seem to be that no evil goes unpunished & justice needs lớn be served even in the afterlife. One of the questions that I still ponder over is: ok, Jin mày had khổng lồ go through the love-trial in order to lớn redeem herself, but what did Fire Immortal ever do to deserve to go through the same trial as Jin Mi and endure even more pain than her? This is still a mystery to me. Will love be able lớn defy death và Fate and rise from its own ashes lượt thích the Phoenix?
I enjoyed watching “Ashes of Love” much more than I expected I would. It is one of the best Chinese fantasy dramas in recent years. In my opinion it surpasses “Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms” (considered by most the best of the genre) in both story & cinematography. The latter has the advantage of having a much more experienced cast; but to lớn me, “Ashes of Love” has a fresher feel lớn it và the fairy-tale elements are a lot stronger; above all, it has a story that made me giggle, laugh, sigh and sob from heartbreak over & over again.
I probably gave away more details that I originally intended, so I will add another mild spoiler by saying that the story has a happy ending, but it will take you from the heights of joy lớn the pits of sorrow & back again in the process. “Ashes of Love” will transport you into a world of magical beings, fairies, spells và bounded destinies; it will tell you a beautiful story about love, friendship, ambition, betrayal, loyalty and self-sacrifice. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Cast & ActingI first saw Deng Lun (Fire Imortal/Phoenix) in “Princess Agents” and I became instantly a fan of his acting. In this drama he is amazing in the role of the tortured hero; moreover, he has great chemistry with the veteran actress Yang Zi (Jin Mi), who has my full admiration. She portrays very convincingly her character in different stages of the story: naïve, innocent, independent, self-reliant, repentant, torn between love and duty etc. A special mention goes to Luo Yunxi (Night Immortal) who played admirably the most complex character of the entire drama. I have never noticed him before, but now he gained a new fan and has my full attention.
CinematographyOne of the most recurrently criticized aspects of a Chinese fantasy dramas is the low unique CGI & the resulting cringe-worthy cinematography. Và although “Ashes of Love” did not reach the perfection, it surely surpassed the previous contenders lớn the title. I still remember the painful-to-watch CGI scenes from “Journey of Flower” a few years back. The story was beautifully written, but it felt as if the director hired a high-schooler and put him in charge of graphics & special effects.
One of the reasons the cinematography of “Ashes of Love” is so amazing is due to lớn the fact that the drama had a big budget. Only 30% of the sets were CGI; the rest of 70% were real sets, built specifically for this drama. The sets covered an area over 100.000 square meters & the actors had over 3000 pieces of costumes at their disposal.
If (in the beginning) the story is not enough lớn catch your attention (although it is hard lớn imagine), the cinematography alone might be a good enough reason for you to lớn continue watching this drama until you catch up with the story.
Music
The music was composed by Sa Dingding, one of the most renowned current Chinese artists in the West. In 2008 she won the đài truyền hình bbc Radio 3 Award for World Music. She is singing the ending theme “Upwards to lớn the Moon”, which is my favorite track of this drama (link above). Some of the tracks composed by Sa Dingding were interpreted by the two main actors. Here is the links for the track “Frost Love“ interpreted by the main actress, Yang Zi. Make sure lớn turn on the captions lớn enjoy the lyrics.
ShortcomingsThe only shortcomings I would list khuyến mãi with generics mostly:
At times the story had some “too” dramatic turn of events.While the main characters are very well written, some secondary characters felt two-dimensional.The editing suffered some hiccups here & there.Final ThoughtsPhotos Source: Pinterest
Although I consider myself a veteran in Korean-drama watching, I am fairly new to lớn the Chinese drama by comparison. I first watched a Chinese Drama in năm trước (Perfect Couple). Despite liking the story, I was put-off by the poor directing, sloppy plot-line & ridiculous cinematography. I gave it a try again with two other dramas, but I had a similar experience; thus I became reluctant in checking out other Chinese dramas. But last year I stumbled onto “Princess Agents” and “Ten Miles of Peach Blossom”. I realized I was missing out! Since then I have been in a Chinese-drama-hunting mode.
If you are as reluctant as I was, “Ashes of Love” or “Princess Agents” might change your mind. I would recommend you watch both. If you love action-romance, start with “Princess Agents”; if you are more into fantasy, then maybe you should watch “Ashes of Love” first; the bonus being, Deng Lun plays in both of them.
Heavy Sweetness Ash-Like Frost Epilogue
Epilogue 1 - When Jin ngươi was a Book Boy (Part 1)
Time: In the hundred years when Jin ngươi first went to the Heavenly Realms & was Phoenix"s book boy
"What is that?"
"Ah?" I had fallen asleep while grinding the ink slab when I immediately opened my eyes wide at Phoenix"s sudden question. I gave an impression full of energy as I looked at him but I saw that his brows were slightly furrowed as he looked at the lower right. Following his gaze, I saw a small book being squashed by one leg of the table, its weak & thin appearance radiated a pitiful feeling. Of course, it was a little familiar.
I suddenly remembered that I had tried to lớn transform the book table this morning and originally wanted to turn it into a turtle... But who knew that after I chanted the incantation, not only did the book table fail to transform, it leaned on one side và became lame in one leg! Luckily, the limp was not too bad so I placed a few books under its leg such that it immediately returned khổng lồ its usual straight stable self. Who knew that Phoenix"s eyes would be so sharp & he would immediately spot it from one glance......
A thief need not have a guilty heart. A guilty heart need not necessarily be a thief. So, I very boldly said, "Naturally, it"s a book. It"s more stable with it."
Phoenix looked at me with a raised brow và with a lift of his finger, the books flew out from below into his hands. I saw the brushes & ink slab immediately fell down from the book table as it slanted khổng lồ one side - luckily my eyes và hands were fast and I quickly caught the table lớn stabilise it.
Although seeing this heavy book table was about lớn break my slim wrist, the poisonous bird Phoenix did not care. He flipped one of the books và read out loud, "A Courtyard Full of Amorous Spirit?" His face darkened và he lifted his head to lớn look at me, flipping a few more pages in the book, his expression continued khổng lồ become heavier... Finally, he slammed the book on the table và stood up, "You used such a book to tư vấn my table?"
Ah? What"s wrong with the book? I lifted up my head and saw the page the abandoned book was opened to, ah, it was only a drawing. Why did you throw such a temper? Unless... He disdained the fact that the spring pictures* were not detailed enough? khổng lồ give in lớn him, I added, "Second Highness, if you don"t like this book, my room has many more for you to choose from."
"Jin Mi!" Phoenix narrowed his eyes at me and actually lifted his hand lớn hit the table - it was lượt thích adding frost to lớn the snow, I felt a pang of pain in my wrist and finally could not hold onto the table. I heard a cacophony of sound và my body toàn thân was also pulled along, & actually blearily fell into Phoenix"s arms.
I moved và tried to climb up, but who knew that the belt strap of my robe got hooked onto something on my toàn thân and with one force, I heard the ripping sound of fabric. I had teared a hole at the waist of my robes.
"Ah....." I heard a sound from behind. I pathetically turned back - an attendant had brought a snowy beard old God at the door & both of them stared blankly back at Phoenix & me, then at the mess on the floor, an expression of wanting to say something but could not as their feet were half raised across the entrance opening.
"Don"t move," Phoenix commanded into my ear as his hands supported my waist và pressed me into his embrace.
The old God"s moustache twitched và then twitched again, finally, it turned red. Lifting his head to lớn look at the sky, lowering his head lớn see the spring books on the floor, he said, "Spring has arrived... Arrived..." Speaking incoherently as he turned his head & walked off.
In the midst of the spring wind, the pages full of amorous pictures were flying.
Phoenix và I looked at each other - small eyes to big eyes for a short moment. If the enemy did not move, I would not move. The wind brought the strands of hair that had fallen from his sides passed my nose, suddenly, I had an ominous feeling.
As I saw Phoenix"s dark face come closer and closer lớn me, it was so terrifying I could not move... Who knew, finally, he raised his hand khổng lồ pinch my hair and said coldly, "How long vì chưng you plan khổng lồ lean on me?"
It shocked my back full of goosebumps. I hurriedly và randomly pressed my palm for support and stood up. After I stood straight, I saw that Phoenix"s brows were furrowed and his colouring was a little pale, "You.......!"
I? What did I bởi vì again? I gave him a bewildered look but saw that his face was black as he looked at my hands, he spat each word out by each word, "You -- Get -- Out!"
Of course, I did not expect a bird lượt thích him to be as kind and generous as us fruits, but I never thought he would be so aggrieved with me till this stage......
The second day, he transformed me into a pair of chopsticks. Lớn be used to lớn hold food but not be able to eat food - it is to want to lớn cry but have no tears.
The third day, Chang"e from the Moon Palace brought her jade rabbit khổng lồ visit. With a point of his finger, he changed me into a big fat radish! When the jade rabbit saw me, it immediately wanted lớn pounce over. Luckily, Chang"e hugged it tight or I would have definitely lost my life to a rabbit. After having a stare battle with the jade rabbit for two hours, I finally realised why Old Carrot Immortal was so scared of rabbit. Rabbits were truly the fiercest beasts in this world!
The fourth day, the cursed Phoenix changed me again into a drum. Being held in his hand, he knocked me till I almost fainted then he let me go.
The fifth day, the sixth day, the seventh day, the eighth day... It was only until the eighth day that he let me off. Lớn act so ridiculously, I decided I would not bother with this bird anymore.
Later, when I happened to lớn cross the sky bridge, I heard one immortal attendant secretly whispering to lớn another, "I heard that a few days ago, Second Highness và his book boy at his book table... Mutually cultivated... Và actually broke one of the legs of the book table......"
The other immortal attendant was so shocked that his eyes were wide & his mouth agape. He gasped, "To be so bold & violent!"
I raised my head towards the sky, with the sun burning bright, to be so bold indeed.
*I wrote before in the main story that "春" means spring & also passion. The term "spring book" is an oblique way of saying "sex".
Epilogue 2: rồng Boat Festival/ When Jin mày Was A Book Boy (Part 2)
Time: In the hundred years when Jin mày first went khổng lồ the Heavenly Realms và was Phoenix"s book boy
We fruits also have backbones. Since Phoenix ignored my wishes and transformed me into a drum for eight days, I decided not to deal with him again. In the days where I no longer grind the ink slab for Phoenix, the sky appeared brighter, the water bluer, even the willow catkins that flew in the wind appeared cuter và more vibrant than before. When I was bored, I would watch the opera with the Moon God, hear him criticise the "spring books", the time flew by fast.
There was only one thing that was not good. Although the days in which I did not have to lớn watch the mood of Phoenix"s face were perfect springtime, but I was no longer taught divine spells. My already low divine powers dropped even further than before, và thus I decided to lớn abandon the dark and follow the light and come under the tutelage of the Moon God. I asked the Moon God khổng lồ teach me some secrets khổng lồ increasing my divine powers & he happily agreed.
The Moon God very formally placed several different sizes and thicknesses of sewing needles before me, & said, "To thread needles is one of the basics of divine meditation. Think about it - if you can"t even thread a sewing needle, how would you be able lớn properly use the heavy divine instruments? Thus, a good sewing needle is a necessary equipment for a successful god." Following which, the Moon God happily described all the sewing needles he treasured and kept, and very generously offered to lớn let me pick one needle và would teach me how to thread it with red thread immediately tonight.
I deeply did not understand - the Moon God"s eyesight was originally not good, but he would choose to lớn thread the red threads in the pitch black darkness of the night under the glow of a small lamp.
When I asked him, the Moon God"s eyes curved with his smile as he explained, "I feel more inspired by the night. The đen night gives me a pair of black eyes, & I am fated khổng lồ use it lớn catch illicit affairs!"
However, divine powers were fated lớn have nothing to vì with threading needles & illicit affairs. I learnt khổng lồ thread red threads with the Moon God for a total of ten days - my divine powers did not increase even a little bit but my eyesight was really starting lớn go crazy, everytime I saw a place with a hole, it was like I was possessed & I tried to lớn think how I could thread a red thread through it.
Just as I was mulling over whether I should continue lớn learn under the Moon God, I heard that in two days Phoenix"s palace would be having a celebration for the mortals" long Boat Festival*. It was to lớn celebrate some person"s bravery for jumping into the river and rising to become a god. Phoenix had praised his literary skills và invited him to lớn his palace & thus asked his attendants to lớn celebrate as per the mortal customs of the rồng Boat Festival.
Xem thêm: Cách Thay Đổi Ngôn Ngữ Trên Máy Tính Sang Tiếng Việt, Cách Đổi Ngôn Ngữ Trên Máy Tính Cực Đơn Giản
This was nothing extraordinary but I heard that there will be rice dumplings during the dragon Boat Festival - the mortals" rice dumplings were made using banana leaves khổng lồ wrap glutinous rice và fragrant meat or bean paste in a triangular shape, but the dumplings in the heavenly realms naturally could not be the same as the mortal dumplings thus Phoenix with a flip of his sleeve had declared, "We will wrap divine strength."
Divine strength! Shiny dazzling divine strength.
There were many different types of fillings for the dumplings in the mortal realms, there were lean meat, salted egg yolk, chestnut, apricot seed..... Naturally, the dumplings in the heavenly realms also had lớn be differentiated. The most modest dumpling would wrap one year"s worth of divine strength, but there would be numerous of them. As the years" worth of divine strength increased, the number of such dumplings would decrease. Finally, there was the Emperor Dumpling.
It contained five hundred years of divine strength.
Five hundred years of divine strength!
That was the total period of time when the Great Monkey God was pressed under the palm of Buddha Grandfather. If I could obtain this Emperor Dumpling, I could be spared so much difficult training. Thus, I immediately decided to return lớn Phoenix"s palace lớn participate in the rồng Festival festival và grab the Emperor Dumpling.
The doors of the palace opened early on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. I mixed into the crowd và entered. There were several green dumplings on the table as rumored - but all of them looked the same, how would one be able to ascertain the divine strength they contained?
Although I did not have the Great Monkey God"s eyes which could immediately discern the true nature of things with a glance, but what I lack in gifts, I made up for in diligence. I thought, I shall just keep eating, who knows if I will eat until I eat the five hundred years dumpling!
However, there were too many gods, immortal attendants và immortal goddesses, I only managed lớn grab twenty dumplings. Still, this was much more than what most have grabbed. With great satisfaction, I carried the dumplings và went khổng lồ the back garden of the palace to eat them in peace.
I ate one year of divine strength in the first dumpling. Although it was only one year, I thought the taste was really not bad, soft và sticky with a fragrant scent, it was worthwhile to lớn eat it even if there was no divine strength in it.
I also ate one year of divine strength in the second dumpling. This caused my heart lớn be a little uncomfortable, but there were still eighteen chances right?
The third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth... With a bloated stomach & gritted teeth, I ate the final one......
The heavens were unfair! From the first khổng lồ the twentieth, all of them were the same - so even though I ate until I was almost choking, I only gained twenty years of divine strength.
My heart was unwilling and I carried a stomach full of dissatisfaction back khổng lồ the main palace. All the immortals have departed. I tried to lớn find out which lucky little god had received the Emperor Dumpling but only received the news that no immortal had received it, only that the Little Red Boy, son of the Demon Bull King had received a dumpling of one hundred years of divine strength.
In that moment, I could not be bothered to be jealous of the Little Red Boy, my heart immediately calculated - based on this analysis, the Emperor Dumpling was still uneaten, thus I still had a chance! I tried to lớn find out where the rest of the dumplings were.
I was met with a disdainful response, all of the dumplings were long gone. Good things were naturally eaten, who would take it và not eat it?
That was when I found out that the Second Highness did not eat it. He only asked his attendant to lớn place it in his study.
There is no dead path for a person with a willing heart!
I saw that Phoenix"s study radiated a light glow & hesitatingly knocked on the door.
"Come in," Phoenix"s cold voice with the fragrant smell of dumplings floated through.
I pushed the door open with anticipation và immediately saw a complete dumpling on the table. My heart rose higher in excitement & thought that Phoenix did not look lượt thích such an eye sore as before. Of course, if he would give me this dumpling, he would really be the most perfect male in all of the six realms.
"Jin ngươi greets his Fire Highness," I obediently bowed.
In the misty fiery glow, Phoenix lightly lifted the ends of his long narrow eyes, seeing it was me he lowered his gaze and continued to look through his books. After a while, he slowly opened his golden mouth,"I heard that you have entered the tutelage of my Uncle."
"How can that be? His Fire Highness must have heard wrongly. To have his Fire Highness personally teach Jin ngươi is my life"s blessing, how can I enter the tutelage of another?" I very seriously denied this matter.
"Ah," Phoenix lifted his head to look at me, softly gave out one word & then silence.
I very naturally và familiarly started to lớn grind the ink slab, if I did not display my loyalty now, when could I?
"Tonight, I am only reading và have no need for the ink," He held the scroll with one hand and leaned languidly on the chair back. I did not know if it was my mistaken perception but I thought I saw his thin lips lightly curving.
I gently placed down the ink slab & listened khổng lồ him speak, "The night is dark và my stomach is a little hungry. When don"t you use the spell I taught you before to warm this dumpling so I can eat it."
I panicked và immediately told him, "The mortals" dumplings are very awful khổng lồ eat. There is a strange smell from the banana leaf wrapping, the glutinous rice is too soft và vastly less nice to lớn eat than the normal rice. A rice must have backbone, what kind of rice is soft rice! Plus, this dumpling is too big, you will choke if you eat it late at night."
Phoenix narrowed his eyes, his dimples appearing và disappearing, "Based on your words, I really want khổng lồ find out what this dumpling taste like. How awful it must be for you lớn be so pained."
Seeing his hand reach out for this dumpling, without even thinking, I hurriedly stretched my hand and placed it on top of his hand to lớn stop him, "If your Fire Highness is hungry, I will immediately go lớn the kitchen và personally made a plate of hibiscus pastry** for you. I guarantee that it will be hundred times more delicious than his dumpling, và you won"t choke when you eat it, ok?"
I looked at him steadfastly with hope, but who would have thought not only did this bird not answer, his face had a dazed expression & I couldn"t tell what he was thinking. I followed his gaze và realised that he was looking at the back of my hand. In my worry that he would not agree, I flipped my hand và both my hands wrapped his hand in my palms, I gave him a shining look of loyalty and asked again, "What does your Fire Highness think?"
I did not know if it was the flickering of the flames, or it was my spoilt eyesight from threading too many needles, I actually thought that Phoenix"s cheeks had a rush of light colouring. But, he looked at his hand that was wrapped in my palms, avoided my gaze and his voice seemed unnatural as he lightly agreed, "Ok."
What a beautiful voice from heaven!
I pushed away his hand and quickly carried the Emperor Dumpling out of the door, "I shall remove this dumpling. Fire Highness just wait a moment and the hibiscus pastry will be immediately delivered."
I was so worried he would regret it that after I walked out of the door, I started to run with the Emperor Dumpling.
Heaven has not forsaken a person with a willing heart! I forced the dumpling down my throat. Indeed, it had five hundred years of divine strength! I was so happy, my dreams that night had the sweet fragrance of glutinous rice.
Of course, the saying that "Happiness breeds Sadness" is not without merit, for I was so happy that night that I completely forgot about Phoenix"s hibiscus pastry......
It was only a small plate of hibiscus pastry but that small-hearted bird bore a grudge and punished me lớn make hibiscus pastry for a whole year! Plus, he won"t eat it in the morning or in the afternoon, thus I couldn"t sleep properly for a whole year! Often having khổng lồ make the hibiscus pastry in the middle of the night.
And, whenever Phoenix eats the hibiscus pastry, he would eat it with an especially heavy và serious expression, truly despicable and detestable! The gaze from his phoenix eyes as he looked into my eyes especially cause me lớn grit my teeth with hate!
Phoenix called this "using merits to make out for my fault".
But, because of the Emperor Dumpling, I decided not khổng lồ be as small-hearted as the bird.
* On the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, the Chinese celebrates Dragon Boat Festival which commemorates the suicide of a great poet, quan lại Yu, into the river. He was exiled và accused of treason. The locals respected quan tiền Yu so much that they rushed out in boats khổng lồ rescue his body and this was the start of the long boat races. They also threw balls of rice in the river khổng lồ stop the fishes from eating his body and this was the origin of the rice dumplings. Thus, during the rồng Boat Festival, the Chinese will eat rice dumplings & participate in long boat races.
** The significance of the hibiscus pastry makes more sense now in Chapter 24.1!
Epilogue 3
While Phoenix is still a bit moody, he always grants my every wish. No matter how much lingli I shamelessly ask for, he will give it to lớn me without a single complaint. Sometimes, after receiving so much lingli, I ask myself, “Do I really like linglithat much? What bởi I want to vày with so much lingli? Since I’m neither a soldier, nor hold political power, having so much lingli is truly a waste.”
One day, I awake in the middle of the night, having suddenly figured it out. I concluded that actually, my asking Phoenix so shamelessly for lingli is just a way for me khổng lồ prove that Phoenix actually loves me; that he loves me as much as thelingli he gives me – an infinite amount of love. After that, something happened lớn prove my conclusion.
That day, I took our baby khổng lồ fish in the River of Forgetfulness. Umm… let’s just treat it as fishing (After hearing from the Demon Realm’s First Highness that there are many souls of beautiful ladies at the bottom of the River, I thought that it would be quite good if we could fish a pretty lady mermaid to be my son’s child bride).
After half a day, we still had not managed lớn catch a single fish. However, we caught sight of another type of fish <1>.
I suddenly caught wind of a strong xianqi. I raised my head and saw a group of immortals riding the clouds across the River. The white clothing of their leader billowed in the wind, his carriage elegant – who else could it be but the Heavenly Emperor himself? Just as I was thinking of whether I can pretend not khổng lồ have seen anything, he looked down and met my gaze. He stared for a moment before turning to speak with the other immortals. He then flew down to land beside the two of us.
He looked at me and I looked at him, both of us not knowing where lớn start; the atmosphere was a little awkward. Finally, he opened his mouth but did not speak to lớn me. Instead, he bent down và touched Tang Yue’s chubby cheek, smiled và asked, “What are you doing here?”
Tang Yue blinked his eyes và answered, “Fishing for a wife.”
His Majesty stilled for a moment before laughing, “Surely this must be your mother’s idea.” He then asked, “What is your name?”
Tang Yue is at times just like his father (having inherited his arrogance at a young age), and will sometimes refuse to answer when questioned. He fares just slightly better than his father in that unlike his father, he will not embarrass the other person by blatantly ignoring him. He will just change the topic. In this case, he fiddled with his hook and asked, “Why don’t you join us fishing?”
I was afraid he would hurt himself on the hook, so I rushed to lớn take the rod away from him. I instructed him, “Call Bó Bó(uncle)”.
“Bŭ bŭ.” Tang Yue looked up at His Majesty.
I suddenly realised that when Old Carrot first visited us, he was still little và could not speak well. I was afraid he could not pronounce Old Carrot’s name, so I taught him to điện thoại tư vấn Old Carrot “Bŭ bŭ” from “hú luó bŭ”. Now, my son has confused bó bó (ie “uncle”) with bŭ bŭ (from the word “carrot”).
Xiao Yu Xian Guan, who probably did not know that my son has equated him with Old Carrot in his heart, only stretch his hand out khổng lồ rub the vị trí cao nhất of Tang Yue’s head before looking at me and asking, “Are you happy now?”
After that, he smiled a small smiled & answered himself, “You surely must be happy.”
I opened my mouth, but did not know how to lớn reply. In the end, we stood together by the River for a while, looking at the clouds và water; the clouds were very far & the waters, very clear.
After a while, I finally said to him, “You must also be happy.”
He smiled a little smile, & without replying, flew away on a cloud. I thought, he must also be happy. What he has always wanted was ultimate sovereign power, the position of the Heavenly Emperor. Now that he has obtained that position, và the two Realms having sworn never to wage war against each other again would only further strengthen his position as the Heavenly Emperor, he no longer has any worries.
I kept the fishing rods và took Tang Yue’s hand, “Let’s go home.”
Tang Yue looked at me questioningly, “But we haven’t managed to lớn catch a wife yet.”
I pinched his cheek & said, “We fish like Jiang Tai Gong, that is, let he who is willing take the hook <2>.”
Tang Yue looked half confused. I bent down và whispered my secret of many years into his ear, “In the past, your father is the one who willingly bit a straight hook & reeled himself in!”
I dragged my son’s hand but before we took two steps, we saw Phoenix rushing urgently towards us on a dark cloud, as if a crisis may erupt with each step. When he saw Tang Yue và myself, his toàn thân seemed to lớn tense up. His momentary fragility caused my heart to hurt a little.
That night, he did not sleep well. He tossed and turned twice before he sat up khổng lồ look at me. After a moment, he asked me, “Is there something you want to lớn tell me?”
“No.”
Phoenix’s eyelid twitched. I rethought carefully, “Really, no.”
He looked angry & asked me brusquely, “Why aren’t you asking me for lingli?”
I was surprised. So the reason why he could not sleep tonight is because I haven’t asked for lingli? But even in the past, I have not asked him everyday for lingli. But seeing his angry face, I thought I should just agree with what he wanted. After thinking for a while, I asked him for 500 years of lingli.
After he transferred the lingli to me, he promptly lay down and fell asleep.
I lay down for half the night và finally realised we both have the same problem. I kept asking him for lingli to prove that he loves me. He waits for me to ask him for lingli to prove that I love him. One goes to lớn commit robbery while taking a bucket of gold with her, the other is willing to lớn always xuất hiện his purse to be robbed.
Love can sometimes be so simple. The mortals have a common saying which is apropos here: “One is willing to lớn hit & the other is willing to lớn be hit!”
—–
<1> This is a pun on the Heavenly Emperor’s former title, Xiao Yu Xian Guan, which has the character ‘yu’ meaning fish. Jin ngươi still sometimes refers lớn him as such after he ascended the Heavenly Throne.
<2> 姜太公钓鱼—愿者上钩. This is a very popular idiom refers to Jiang Zi
Ya, a strategist và advisor who was instrumental in assisting King Wen and King Wu in overthrowing the Shang Dynasty. He is a major character in the Chinese classic, Creation of the Gods or also known as Feng Shen Bang.
It is said that JZY would fish by hanging a straight hook 3 feet above the water. A fisherman said to him that he would not be able to catch any fish if he used a straight hook. JZY replied that he is not there khổng lồ catch fish, but to lớn catch a king: “Fish, if you are desperate khổng lồ live, come & gulp down the hook by yourself.” This story eventually reached the ears of King Wen, who was looking for talented man to serve him. King Wen sent emissaries to lớn invite JZY khổng lồ join him, but was refused. King Wen finally went in person, bearing many gifts, to lớn meet JZY. After that meeting, JZY agreed lớn serve King Wen.
The idiom is often used lớn describe a willing victim or someone who does something regardless of the result. Also, it is also used in the context that in some things, one should not “fish” by crooked means (hence the straight hook rather than the traditional curved hook).
