Big 3 characters' analysis

So, I’ve finished Goodbye My Princess. It was such a good series—I cried with it, laughed with it, and fell in love with it. But honestly, while everyone says the ending was the only way to conclude the series, I don’t think so. Believe me, I usually prefer things to be open-ended over happy endings, and if a sad ending is necessary, I can accept it. But this one had way too many “what if” moments.

• What if Li Cheng Yin never killed Xiao Feng’s Grandpa?
• What if Li Cheng Yin remembers first?
• What if Li Cheng Yin is always honest with Xiao Feng?

In more of the case, all I could think about was, What if Gu Jian never acted recklessly in every episode?

THE GU JIAN -.-

He always had a plan to betray Xiao Feng, yet he was always by her side in the earlier episodes. To me, this just felt like grooming. At that point, Xiao Feng didn’t even understand what love really was, and since he was always around, it was natural for her to fall for him. But once he got his life back and focused on revenge, he was the one who introduced LCY to Xiao Feng.

Then, as LCY got close to her and actually fell in love, what did the great Gu Jian do? He got jealous of their relationship. Like, bro, if you had any conscience, you’d know you already betrayed her—you also have no right to hate on your cousin, LCY, if you were doing your job right. (I know he always wants to be seen as a hero, but seriously, what a hypocrite.)

Moving on, Xiao Feng’s grandpa was killed by LCY and his army. And what did Gu Jian do? Even though he was part of the plan, he suddenly decided to take Xiao Feng home. Bro, WTF. You’re not a hero; you’re just a hypocrite. Xiao Feng’s fate was already set—she had to marry no matter what, even after witnessing such a traumatic event (I’ll write about Xiao Feng later). So, taking her home only led to more problems. The Li army came after them because Xiao Feng was missing, and as a result, her parents were killed. And who’s responsible for that? I can confidently say that it was entirely Gu Jian’s fault. Poor Li Cheng Yin didn’t even know, yet he had to pretend and bear Xiao Feng’s hatred.

And then, the ultimate heroic act—he killed himself. Yes, you dumbass. You were the third party in their relationship, yet you still didn’t get it.

But guess what? The great Gu Jian comes back to life, being miserable, lovesick, and sentimental af every day. And then he starts nagging Xiao Feng to go back to Xi with him. Bro, she doesn’t even remember how her parents died—what’s the point? This was a political marriage, but all he cared about was his own selfish desires over everyone’s duty.

He keeps nagging and acting like a loyal dog beside Xiao Feng. And now, what does he do? He doesn’t follow the plan with Li Cheng Yin, kidnaps Xiao Feng, and makes her believe he’s her true love, Gu Xiao Wu. Bro, this is so wrong on so many levels. His jealousy, incompetence, and dumb actions annoyed me the most in the entire series. While he was busy being a sicko and manipulating Xiao Feng, Li Cheng Yin was already planning revenge for everyone who deserved it, including for the Gu family – HIS OWN FAMILY. Even Min Yue made a better sacrifice than him—Gu Jian only died after being a pathetic sicko.

And at the end of the day, they still made it look like he died heroically—even though bro already knew he was going to die anyway because of his body condition. But guess who gets all the blame again? Obviously, LI CHENG YINNN.

And yet, despite being so fake, Gu Jian still had so many good friends who cared for him. Good for him.

My final opinion on him: Incompetent, manipulative, hypocritical, and an absolute sicko. He will never be a good person in my eyes.

Li Cheng Yin

I’m not siding with him. He has the title of being cruel, a red flag, and cunning, but most of it happened because of the people around him.

Before everything, he was just a loving brother with no interest in the throne. But then, people made him believe that his beloved brother was killed by Xiao Feng’s grandpa and his troops. Suddenly, he learns that his birth mother was murdered by his godmother. Yet, instead of acting impulsively, he kept his hatred inside and carefully planned his revenge.

In his own way, he was right. He fell in love with his enemy’s granddaughter and eventually tried to make things right with her. He apologized, even though it couldn’t undo the past. He even built a resting place for her grandfather and brought back his war hat and cape to his country—something that should never have happened, but he still did it out of respect. And when he couldn’t live without her, he drowned with her in the River of Oblivion.

Eventually, he fell in love with her again, even after everything that happened, but he had to control his feelings because he didn’t want her to suffer in the suffocating palace. He tried to outsmart everyone and set things right for his love, but she barely treated him well in return. He always dreamed of a happily ever after, believing that once his enemies were gone, they could be together. It’s just so sad. (The couple suffered so much because of miscommunication and the people around them.)

The only truly wrong thing he did was forcing General Pei to marry his sister purely out of jealousy toward his own wife. At that point, he shouldn’t have done that because General Pei was the only person he could truly trust.

By the time he realized the true meaning of his existence with Xiao Feng, it was already too late.

For me, he is cunning yet competent and one of the smartest characters. He successfully avenged those who wronged him, his family, and his love—that is remarkable. He truly loved his wife, but when it came to relationships, he made dumb decisions—believing only what he heard instead of using his intelligence. Where did his "smarty-pants" brain go in those moments? (I think in those episodes, he was too stressed about losing her. And after she came back and neglected him, it only made him more desperate and possessive. I feel so bad. Gu Jian deserved death, not the honor Xiao Feng cried for. He betrayed her and manipulated her to some extent. If Xiao Feng had thought clearly or communicated better, things might have turned out differently. Too bad.)

I really wish they could have become a loving couple in the end. I hoped that Xiao Feng could have forgiven everything after seeing all he had done for her.

Qu Xiao Feng

Honestly, I don’t have much to say about her. She is a typical girly character who just wants to have fun, marry a loving husband, and live happily with her parents forever. To me, she is a spoiled kid whose life revolves around 50% love, 40% family, and 10% fun—without much thought beyond that. She wants LCY to love only her, which is understandable, but if she weren’t a princess or later a queen, it wouldn’t have been such a big issue. However, given her role, she seems somewhat irresponsible in fulfilling her duty. I also believe she isn’t mature enough.

That said, I can’t deny that she endured the most traumatic experiences at such a young age. It’s natural that she would feel exhausted by everything. But if she had the heart of Princess Ming Yuan and the mind of Mu Wang Qin (Chen Xing Xu’s love interest in Fall in Love), she could have handled misunderstandings and the burden of family better, and we can expect a happy ending.

Unfortunately, she never really listens to people. She acts recklessly—not in the way Gu Jian craves for honor, but purely out of curiosity. At the very least, if she had listened to LCY, 50% of her problems could have been avoided.

I would say she is a cheerful and loving character who has brought honor to her own country by choosing to end her own life.