Firstly, I want to write this because I felt like some people who might watch this drama would walk away feeling confused or wondering why things end the way they are.

Secondly, I really enjoy the novel. As someone who didn't know about PA, I thought I watched Rebirth because it was just what was airing at the time. I then started reading the novel because I couldn't connect with the characters in the drama, and the flashbacks don't do them justice.

I ended up really enjoying the novel, and I would still highly recommend it. Watching the drama is like reading the novel through a kaleidoscope. You see fragments of what the story is in the novel. Again, I do not truly blame the drama for turning out the way it did. It might have been a mistake to try to create a standalone drama with a story like this, one that really needs continuity.

Before going into the details, I think the major theme of the final part of the Princess Agents novel is also what Rebirth kinda covers, but it's on a different path. The theme is:

“Know what you truly want, and live life once for yourself.”

For much of the story, nearly every major character is trapped by duty, revenge, ambition, or the weight of their past. They are constantly reacting to wounds, debts, kingdoms, and expectations. Very few of them ever stop to ask what they truly want as people.

Chu Qiao spends most of her life surviving. She fights slavery, injustice, war, betrayal, and political schemes. Even when she chooses her own path, it is often still in service of others, protecting someone, repaying loyalty, or carrying ideals larger than herself. She keeps moving forward, but rarely for herself.

Yan Xun’s character arc reflects the tragedy of never truly understanding what he wanted. After losing his family, his desire to reclaim what was rightfully his became consumed by hatred and vengeance. He mistook revenge and power for purpose, chasing victory and the throne that should have been his, only to lose peace and the people he loved most along the way. He achieved what he thought he wanted, but not happiness. The radiant youth he once was is gone. He became a ruler of the land, but lost the only reason he fought so hard in life to achieve those goals.

Zhuge Yue, especially in the final part, becomes the character who most clearly understands this lesson. Born into privilege and raised at the pinnacle of noble society, he was someone expected to value power, status, and political victory above all else. There comes a point, however, where none of those things matter if the person he loves is lost. He realizes that rebuilding armies and reclaiming land mean nothing if he sacrifices what truly matters to him. For someone shaped by rank, duty, and ambition, this realization is his greatest transformation. He is no longer the cold ice block at the end of the novel, showing how far he has changed from the man he was at the beginning.

I will mainly focus on the events after the ice lake, and also refer back to the drama for certain scenes and events. Things in bold will be from the novel and points I think are especially important.

“Zhuge Yue snatched her dagger and pulled her hand over. With his fingertip, he wrote on her palm again and again: Live on....Live on....Live on....”Together!” She opened her mouth and tried to scream, but could only blow out a mouthful of bubbles.”

This scene stood out to me because the drama refers back to it when Chu Qiao was blind, and Zhuge Yue came to help her and wrote in her hand.

After this, Chu Qiao was saved by Yan Xun from the ice lake, but she distanced herself from him. Even though he knew she could not be around him anymore, she truly doesn't hate him, as she doesn't want to take revenge.

There was a 2-year time skip after this. Yan Xun consolidated power in Yan Bei, got rid of Lady Yu and Mister Wu during this time, and even killed Huanhuan.

After this, Chu Qiao decided to leave Yan Bei, which was not easy, as Yan Xun tried many things to prevent her from leaving, even using Zhao Yang to help.

She eventually was able to leave with the help of Li Ce and Qinghai King (Xi Meng).

She then traveled to Tang and stayed with Li Ce for a bit.

This dialog is very important, as it is the first time we are asked this question, which is core to the Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue characters until the end.

“For the Jing Family, you became the enemy of the Zhuge Family. For repaying your gratitude to Yan Xun, you followed him for eight years in Sheng Jin Palace living as a slave. For the Yan Bei civilians, you went through life and death countless times. For the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison, you got angry with Yan Xun. For Zhuge Yue, you hid from worldly matters for two years. For the Da Tong Guild, you completely fell out with Yan Xun. Now, for not dragging me into the fray, you are going to head beyond the borders into the barren lands?” The man’s voice turned deep with a tinge of fatigue that he could not seem to hide anymore.

Quietly, he asked, “Qiao Qiao, in your life, will you ever start to do things for yourself?”

Also, I love this moment between Li Ce and Chu Qiao before she leaves Tang to travel around. She wants to travel around because at this point she is disillusioned with what happened in Yan Bei, and most of her life has been a struggle and bloodshed. She thought Yan Bei would be a place that shared her ideals, but it wasn't.

“Qiao Qiao, I want you to think about this very carefully. In this world, who would treat you so well? For you, he had given up so much. For you, he went through life and death. For you, he gave up all his material wealth and abandoned his status. Not only that, but he saved you and did not even tell you. Such people are rare to begin with. You have to think about it carefully. After you have made up your mind, you have to tell me, and I will make arrangements to send you off gloriously for your marriage.”

She then traveled to Xiangyang City. They reunited there, 2 years after she thought he was dead, and all this time, we get this really wholesome dialogue between the two.

“When are you leaving?”

Chu Qiao had no choice but to continue the conversation, “In one or two days.”

“In one or two days? Is it tomorrow or the day after?”

Chu Qiao felt slightly angered and replied in a cross voice, “Tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Zhuge Yue nodded as he sat by the table, pouring a cup of tea for himself. He did not drink it, as he shook the cup lightly in his hand.

Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows and questioned him, “What about you?”

“Me? What about me?”

“What are you doing here in Xianyang? When are you leaving?”

Zhuge Yue smiled plainly. In the two years that they had not met, he felt that she had become more eloquent and cunning. He remained emotionless and nodded as he said, “I’m here for a vacation. I’m staying here for a while more.”

As he finished his words, he stood up to leave. As he walked out, he added, “Since you’re leaving tomorrow, I won’t disturb you anymore. Have a good rest.”

“Hey!” Chu Qiao stood up and shouted after him, subconsciously uttering, “Stop there.”

Zhuge Yue turned around and replied calmly, “Anything else the matter?”

He must be doing this on purpose! Chu Qiao stared at him as she thought. After a long while, she lowered her head and whispered, “Actually, I’m not in a rush to leave too.”

Seemingly afraid that Zhuge Yue would get the wrong idea, she added hurriedly, “I have nothing to do when I get back anyway.”

She also learned that Zhuge Yue was the Qinghai King (Xi Meng) and Grand Marshal of Xia (Yong) here. In those 2 years, he amassed a huge army and walked back to Xia, effectively forcing his way to become the Grand Marshal. The reason he did this was because Xia still considered Chu Qiao very important and wanted to capture her. He did this to prevent Xia from capturing her by becoming the most important military person in Xia.

We also learn that Zhuge Yue escaped the ice lake with Yue Qi's help and reunited with Zhao Che. Then, within those 2 years, Zhuge Yue became the Qinghai King (Xi Meng) and Grand Marshal of Xia.

After the new year, Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue parted ways again.

She went back to visit Li Ce, then decided to travel the world, and another 2 years passed.

She, however, didn't end up traveling far and ended up opening an inn. The drama also references this when Zhuge Yue asks Chu Qiao to run away with him in Xi Meng.

She reunited with Zhuge Yue in the remote town she was in, and Zhuge Yue also told her that in the past two years he had been there for her 3 times. She just never noticed, and the other two inns in town were actually opened by Zhuge Yue, with the other one by Li Ce, to keep an eye out for her.

Zhuge Yue then went back to Xia. As for Chu Qiao, she went back to Li Ce, as King Luo (Li Yan) rebelled, which ultimately ended with Li Ce winning the battle and King Luo being executed.

Shortly after this, Li Ce was assassinated by Lady Zi Ming with the help of Zhan Ziyu. He survived, but his mother, the empress, killed him to seek revenge for his killing of King Luo.

Besides that, the events here played out similarly to how they did in the drama: Chu Qiao became a concubine by marrying Li Ce after he died because he left an edict. She also killed Zhan Ziyu and Zhang Ziming. She took Zhang Ziming and Li Ce's child and raised him; Li Ce had multiple sons.

After stabilizing the situation and helping the oldest son of Li Ce become emperor, she headed off to Xia. Zhuge Yue arrived in Tang, and they traveled back to Zhen Huang (Yong Capital).

We get an amazing moment between the two as Zhuge Yue proposes to Chu Qiao. There was other spicy moments that happened! that I won't mention so you can read it and find out.

“Chu Qiao.” Looking at her, he suddenly called her name. In his eyes, there seemed to be an inferno. Without blinking, he firmly declared, “Marry me.”

Chu Qiao was stunned. As the flames shone on his face from one side, one could only see half of his face, with the other half hidden in the shadows, looking almost like a dream. She felt like she was hallucinating, and was rather lost as to what to do. Opening her mouth, no sound came out as she did not know how to reply.

“Xing’er,” Looking at her quietly, he continued.

She was already rather dazed, as she replied, “Yes?”

“I love you.”

As he dropped the bombshell, Chu Qiao felt as though her entire face was burning up, with her body temperature rising rapidly, along with her mind which was quickly freezing up. Looking at him in a daze, there was a sense of happiness rising in her heart, along with confusion. Chu Qiao cupped her chest with her hands, as though if she did not hold her heart down, it would jump out and escape.

“I have loved you for a very long time. Did you know?” he asked her casually as though they were discussing something else that was irrelevant to them, without a single tinge of hurriedness.

Chu Qiao nodded, “I know.”

“What about you?” His eyes seemed so clear that focused that Chu Qiao felt as though she was about to suffocate.”

After gathering her courage, Chu Qiao replied softly, “It is the same for me.”

Yet he refused to accept such a vague answer, and pestered her while smiling, “What is the same?”

Suddenly, Chu Qiao felt that the boat was too small. Why was the room so small, so hot that she could barely breathe now?

“Speak.” He leaned over and lifted her chin deftly. “What is the same for you?”

“I also...” Chu Qiao gripped her fist in resolve, as countless scenes flashed past her mind. “I also love you.”

I also love you...

As they arrive in Zhen Huang (Yong Capital), we are reminded of the passing time: “Six years ago, she had left this place for a man. Six years later, she returned to this place for another man.”

She settled in with Zhuge Yue for a bit, and here we meet Xiaobao again. Unlike in the drama, Xiaobao was actually rescued by Zhuge Yue, and he had been keeping her safe all this time, but also kind of kept her locked up. It wasn't until the ice lake incident that she was able to escape.

She was pretty cold to Chu Qiao. Even though they were sisters, so much time had passed. She was still a commoner, and Chu Qiao had done so many things.

At this point, Zhen Huang City is still in chaos. The Emperor is on his last leg, and the royal family has formed different factions, with Zhao Chang being one of the largest players, and Zhao Che also competing for the throne. Zhuge Yue is backing Zhao Che. Kind of similar to what was shown in the drama, but the Emperor doesn't play a role at all.

During this time, they celebrate another new year, and we get this cute moment as Chu Qiao was drunk from celebrating.

She pushed her head into Zhuge Yue’s chest, with his smell filling her nostrils. Her eyes were slightly moist as she lifted her head and looked at his handsome face, and with her crystal clear eyes, she said, “Zhuge Yue, I love you.”

Zhuge Yue was taken aback as he looked down at her. They were surrounded by servants, and her voice was so loud and was audible even over the sound of the firecrackers. The surrounding people all looked at her in shock, yet she did not mind their gazes and merely said it loudly again, “Zhuge Yue, I have fallen in love with you!”

Shortly after this, they had their wedding day. However, it was interrupted by the passing of the Emperor. We also get another wholesome moment as Li Ce, before he died, had spent two years preparing a huge convoy of gifts for Chu Qiao as a wedding gift.

Note… Li Ce is so wholesome!!! Even though he doesn't get the girl, he still supports her even after his death. I love his character. It's so sad that he died 🙁 The drama was pretty spot on with the portrayal of him.

After this, they go to Qinghai (Xi Meng) for the first time, and this will be the final part of the story. A lot of what we see in the drama in Xi Meng has to do with their daily life as King and Queen, and that short scene where Zhuge Yue, his 2 kids, and Chu Qiao are together is probably close to the last 9 chapters of the novel. It is not 100% accurate, but it is probably similar.

Some moments in Xi Meng show a lot of Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue’s happy life together.

“A group of servants rudely pushed a certain man out. The kid’s eyes swept past the crowd before finally stopping on his mother’s face. Looking extremely upset, he stretched out his chubby hands and sobbed. Chu Qiao hugged the baby in her arms and looked around. It was only then she noticed her husband that she had been separated from for a long time. Yet she frowned and snapped, “You bullied our son!”

“I did not,” Zhuge Yue immediately denied it and wanted to walk over. Yet, as though trying to counter Zhuge Yue’s words, the baby started wailing with an even higher intensity as Zhuge Yue approached.

“You still say you didn’t?” Chu Qiao stared at Zhuge Yue. “You are so old, yet you still bully kids!”

Zhuge Yue was enraged. Was this kid really his? Seeing how the baby rubbed even his snot on Chu Qiao’s clothes, his flames of rage burned. What is this? After he had gone through life and death to bring back the doctor, this was the attitude that he received?”

“His son retorted bullishly, “Father and I have five days each. Today is the fifth day!”

Zhuge Yue had indeed agreed to such terms. Though both he and Chu Qiao were elites and were well endowed, when it came to their child, they were entirely different from their normal selves. Therefore, until the child turned two, the family had all lived together. Yet, this arrangement brought certain inconveniences. One example was when they wanted to engage in physical intimacy at night, the child would stare at them.

In the end, Zhuge Yue could no longer tolerate it. Instead, he struck a deal with his son, where they would each live in separate quarters and have Chu Qiao’s attention for five days each, so that the couple would have time to enjoy each other’s company during the night.”

The last few chapters cover the Quanrong invasion, which was shown in the drama. Zhao Chun’er plays a role in it, like she did in the drama. But in the novel, with the might of Zhuge Yue in Qinghai (Xi Meng), Yan Bei under Yan Xun, Tang under Li Ce’s son, and Zhao Che and Zhao Yang, who had actually made up and become close brothers again, they had no trouble fighting the Quanrong invasion. This happens in the novel much later after the events of Zhen Huang (Yong Capital).

In the final battle, we get a short competition between Zhuge Yue and Yan Xun, as they both decide to fight on the front line to kill the Quanrong King. The scene below happened in the drama, where Yan Xun offers Zhuge Yue the soup, but the roles were reversed! Now it is Yan Xun who is afraid of being poisoned.

“Zhuge Yue was no better off. However, he was extremely stubborn and refused to seek treatment, choosing to remain on his horse as he panted heavily.

After a short while, Yan Xun’s face appeared in front of him.

Zhuge Yue looked at him from the side of his eye. Then, he unfastened the jar of wine hanging by his waist and handed it over to him.

Yan Xun frowned slightly without receiving the jar of wine. He looked at Zhuge Yue, not saying a single word.

Zhuge Yue laughed coldly and asked, “What’s the matter? Afraid that I’ll poison you?”

Yan Xun nodded honestly and replied, “Yes.”

At the end of the battle, Chu Qiao races to the battlefield because she is afraid that Zhuge Yue is fighting in the front line. This is the first time that Chu Qiao meets and talks with Yan Xun since the ice lake incident, almost 100 chapters ago. It has been years, timeline wise. The exchange below kind of captures the ending of Yan Xun in the drama. Throughout his life, he suffered, lost his entire family, and did so much. In the end, he will live a bitter life filled with regret.

“Yan Xun!” She called out again, “Cheng Yuan was behind me, and I estimate that he will arrive soon.”

Yan Xun did not nod and did not speak, but merely held the reins of his horse, unmoving like a statue.

“You are injured, let’s treat your wounds, alright?” She slowly walked over to his side until she was before him, stretching out her hand and pulling on the reins to his horse. She stubbornly asked, “Alright?”

Yan Xun suddenly felt a little bitter. It seemed as though since young, she was always the one who had more courage. A few doctors carrying their medicine kits ran up, standing behind her with their heads bowed down.

He did not speak, and freely let those doctors treat his wounds. When the arrow was pulled out, he did not even flinch. After roughly an hour, the doctors finally left, covered in sweat. Yet she walked over, and passed him the bloody arrow.

At this moment, Yan Xun’s heart seemed to be in pain as he frowned. Ultimately, he did not stretch out his hand to take it. He casually said, “The enemy is dead. There was no need to keep this.”

“Yan Xun! Take care!” Someone was calling behind him. Who was talking? Who was she calling out to?

Yan Xun, Yan Xun, Yan Xun...

At that moment, it felt as though he was reliving that night when his pinky finger was cut off by Wei Jing, and she cried his name out again and again in sorrow in the darkness of the night.

Yan Xun, Yan Xun, Yan Xun...

No one called him like that any longer. He became ‘Your Majesty’, the ‘Emperor’, the ‘Imperial Highness’, the ‘Lord of these lands’, yet he had lost his own name.

Yan Xun, Yan Xun, are you still around? You gained everything, but what have you lost? Are you really happy now?

I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. Being happy is not everything there is to life. There are some things that even if you do, you may not be happy, yet there are some things that if you do not do, you will definitely not be happy. At the very least, I got what I wanted, did I not?”

In this moment, Chu Qiao also learns an important lesson.

“Ultimately, they were too young and did not understand what love was, and did not know how to express their emotions. They did not know how to protect that love. They stubbornly and naively believed that they knew what was best for each other and quietly went ahead to do it. Yet, they did not understand that no matter what challenges they faced, what truly destroyed their love was the fact that they forgot to communicate.”

Chu Qiao also finally answers the question that Li Ce asked her.

“A long time had passed. Chu Qiao, who was now a wife and a mother, suddenly understood what Yan Xun did back then, as she stood there. In her previous life, she had no kith nor kin. She had not witnessed the people that she loved die in front of her eyes. Hence, she was unable to comprehend what kind of hatred he felt at that point. However, if anyone harmed Zhuge Yue, Yunzhou, or Zhenzhu now, her thirst for revenge would not lose out to Yan Xun.

She was unable to empathize with him back then as his family was not the people that she loved.”

She never really had family, and all those years ago, she viewed Yan Xun as her family and thought she understood him. But she never truly did. Now that she has her own family, she finally understands. Then, as Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue are leaving the battlefield:

““If something happens to you, what will Yunzhou, Zhenzhu and I do? Without you, how will I live on?”

Words like this were scarce from a thick-skinned person like Chu Qiao. The manner in which she behaved caused Zhuge Yue to forget everything else and live in this moment.

“Okay, I understand.”

“You are more important to me, compared to 10,000 Yan Beis, 10,000 Qinghais or 10,000 West Mengs. No matter what you do in the future, you must think of me first. If something happens to you, I won’t be able to live alone.” Chu Qiao continued to chip at his line of defense with her mushy words.

Finally, her words touched him as he apologized for the first time in his life. “Xing’er, I know I was wrong to cause you to worry.”

“Glad that you know it.”

“I’ll remember this.”

Chu Qiao’s journey takes her from Qing Shan Manor to imprisonment with Yan Xun, to rebellion and escape to Yan Bei, and through all the events leading up to the ice lake. All this time, she never truly lived for herself. She had been fighting to stay alive, to fight for others, and to fight for her beliefs. It wasn’t until this moment that she finally stopped fighting and started living her life.

“Know what you truly want, and live life once for yourself.”

And this answers Li Ce’s question: “Qiao Qiao, in your life, will you ever start to do things for yourself?”

In the end, the answer is the family she finally comes to have.

Chu Qiao once had no roots, no home, and no one she could truly call her own. Because of that, her life was always on the run, surviving danger, repaying debts, protecting others, and chasing her ideals. She understood loyalty, sacrifice, and responsibility, but she never truly understood what it meant to simply live for herself.

That is where Zhuge Yue and Yan Xun stand in contrast.

Yan Xun loved Chu Qiao, but his love was tied to pain, revenge, ambition, and the wounds of everything he had lost. He wanted her beside him because of his past. He wanted to protect her at all costs. His actions were done out of love, but they were what ultimately tore them apart. Yan Xun ultimately knew this, as he let her go. But he will never get over her

Zhuge Yue, on the other hand, loved her by protecting who she was. He did not ask her to become less, nor did he seek to cage her at his side. He understood that the woman he loved would always run toward what she believed was right. Instead of breaking that spirit, he made space for it. And when the time finally came, he gave her something she had never truly possessed before, a home to return to.

Yan Xun represented the life Chu Qiao had always known: struggle, turmoil, and endless fighting.

Zhuge Yue represented the life she had never been allowed to have: peace, family, and the freedom to finally live for herself.

@DistantDream thank you for your post.

As a novel lover, i liked your post very much

Thank you for reading! How things end in the drama is still a possibility, even given the context of the events in the novel.

What saddens me is that Zhuge Yue’s characterization, up to a certain point in the drama, was pretty much like his novel counterpart.

Because even Zhuge Yue in the drama would have known this:

"Even without me, Xia still has other generals. Even without me, Father, you still have other sons. However, if Xing’er were to lose me, she would lose all hope in life.”

“All he sought was for her to be alive, living her life well in a place that he could watch over her.

The only reason one would tell themselves to rebuild their might was to have something or someone to protect and defend. Yet, if that very thing was lost, so did the meaning behind becoming all mighty and powerful.

He would never do things that he would eventually regret."

Because the actions of Zhuge Yue at the end ultimately reflect what Chu Qiao realizes at the end of the novel about what went wrong between Yan Xun and her.

"They stubbornly and naively believed that they knew what was best for each other and quietly went ahead to do it."

So instead of having a contrast between Yan Xun and Zhuge Yue at the end of the novel, we just end up with two Yan Xuns, both men living lives filled with regret.

As they both fail to achieve: “Know what you truly want, and live life once for yourself.”

I think some people view it as an open ending because of the scene in Xi Meng with ZY CQ and their kids. But it was a flash forward to old YX waking up.

Cause did that scene really happen, or was it all in YX's head? So maybe the ambiguity made it seem like an open ending. This is just my two cents on why others perceive how it ends. Not my personal viewpoint on it

As to your other point

NanaHachi8:

For me, she's clearly dead and they're consumed by remorse and that's why they keep dreaming of a different ending: What if, it would be nice if

Yeah, I agree with you on this. This is my take on the ending as well. Zhuge Yue took a different path in the novel compared to the drama.

And to this point, this is my biggest gripe with Rebirth, because they destroy Zhuge Yue's Character Arc.

Thank you so much for your wonderful comparison between the drama and the novel.

You were so eloquent that I almost cried at some parts that you described between Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue.

Even though Chu Qiao was the main character, and a fine one, my favorite was always Zhuge Yue.