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Drama Source Material ( novel ) Discussion

FSpirit
 Kasia Krakowianka:
But that aside my comment is here because I distinctively read in a few places before chapter 40 (and maybe translation was wrong, but) the FL died as the empress the first time, but the reborn 12-year-old body of the former empress is now a person from 21st century who remembers the 20 years of the empress life.

Yes, for me that part was also confusing to understand at first, because in chapter 22 when she was dealing with the matter of the sutra scriptures for Grandma Xu's birthday, she talks about her other life as the daughter of scholars and her parents as university professors. So, influenced by her environment, she practiced calligraphy for over a decade and was able to imitate Zhao Mengfu's writing with great mastery. She also mentions that she was born with a weak constitution which caused her to suffer frequent illnesses and she died at 20. Then she somehow wakes up as Xiao Qiao at age 12 inheriting Xiao Qiao's later memories but also through vivid dreams remembers Xiao Qiao's other past life. Then in one chapter she mentions that since she married with Wei Shao, she no longer has these kinds of dreams. In the final chapters this also happens to Wei Shao in a particular way.



So......

From what I said before, finding all this together seemed exaggerated to me in a certain way. She not only transmigrates but also awakens as another person and can inherit her past and in a way foresee the future with vivid dreams if she follows the same path she knows what will happen. lol This is not too much???.... For things like this It made me think and it seemed to me that the narrative mode also in many parts had the intention of sounding exaggerated and making it exaggerated as if there was no tact in a rude form even with some satirical humor, and use exaggeration just to make it sound more interesting/meaningful/intense/descriptive/realistic but after all it seems that is the author's intention, to highlight points and add emphasis to a feeling, an idea, an action, or a feature... After all, they are nothing more than narrative resources. Obviously i also think the result can be subjective.

For me both have their virtues and defects, they are like a roller coaster. And also hated them both sometimes but then i remembered their ages and my anger passed. Considering that taked them 3-4 years to make the peace and reconcile their own past, it wasn't to bad... I mean, the reality says there are people who takes whole life, or more in take this step...😅 

The last 70 chapters there are funniest and craziest. Where behavior and personality are seen in a more exaggerated way, but also feel more real or transparent because they stop hiding behind resentment/fear/prejudice. At first I won't deny I was shocked and I had my prejudices, but as things progressed this changed.

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Kasia Krakowianka

Thank you for confirming, I found myself scratching head asking WHY? such deliberate idea over idea over another idea. It's hard enough to be reborn, but reborn with a transmigration and all the explicit sex stuff = that is too much. For a person from 21st century this gal was really not a modern material.

Yea, the word Exaggeration is really the key here and imho too much of a good thing is actually bad. Particularly the repeated sexual assaults/violence in marriage was not to my liking, but I must say this time the author tried explaining why ML was doing what he was doing better than in other dramas. I still think that this novel will not translate well into a drama, precisely because of all the sex scenes that have to be omitted or substituted, but I will try to watch it just to see how they butchered it (hoping that I won't drop it like Back from the Brink!)

I am finishing Deng Hua Xiao and I am looking forward to this drama much, much more than PoB exaggeration  😁

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サモンタ_サン

I don’t think they are going to follow the novel especially the sex scenes and transmigration and waking up in a different era trope. All that has to be overlooked  or forget about. It seems they’re going to make it like an actual serious ancient era. As for her knowing calligraphy and transcribing scripture, they’re probably going to make it like she’s very intelligent like that and her family are scholars. She has to be up par with him since he’s powerful, calculating and clever ruling many cities at a young age.  She’s there to soften him up to be a understanding emperor. I do concur it is exaggerated.

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FSpirit
In my case, exactly because the sex parts were narrated in such an exaggerated way that instead of being impressed by the literal expression tone, I wondered about the author's intention/purpose and what was trying to portray beyond the act/situation, and I concentrated more on imagining what kind of person adapt the personality and character of both based on their interactions, feelings, thoughts, and place (I usually do this automatically when I don't find any logic from my perspective, even more when the advantaged one sets a trap for herself at the first step). For me, the one who was most difficult to read and understand was Xiao Qiao and that was because she has in part  a cold, pessimistic, apathetic, indulgent and introverted personality (then as we progressed in the novel we found these clues expressed literally). Although she had "advantages" and was intelligent, these traits are not what predominates in the first 100/110 chapters, but rather her calculating personality. Honestly, I couldn't connect with her at first, but I also had to understand her first life experience was probably between four walls for her illnesses, and that can't really be called living after all, precisely because there seems are many thing that she never experimented. it´s for this a part of her personality development. I also wasn't clear if her family in current life, the bond was truly emotional or some kind of survival instinct a cause of her vivids dreams. After all, that's how the story was presented, and that's why it seemed so difficult for me to understand a Xiao Qiao. That is why we often ask why? She really is complex like character. 
Wei Shao wasn´t so difficult for me to understand, his personality and character were more exposed, he was more extroverted without a doubt. He had an internal conflict between new/unknown feelings/desire and the anger like cause the hatred emerged on his past lost and war, also his aspirations. For him, he really had literally married with the enemy, but he believed in his grandmother deeply. That's why he always gave the benefit of the doubt. It was funny to read how he reacted to his inner conflicts. 

For me the most significative message of the novel is about the emotional void and Grandma Xu's intention in accepting this marriage, for me this point is most important. it´s part of the idea of the plot, behind the conflicts of the parts. 

Also, I don't know if you knew, as a curious info, that there was a meaning behind the name Manman... When Wei Shao asks a Xiao Qiao, "Why didn't you tell me you were called Maman?" I thought there was some hidden meaning behind the question. After advancing in the novel and not seeing any answer, I googled it and found that it is a bird that is part of Chinese folklore and this bird has one eye and one wing and needs to join with her/his other half in order to fly as a pair.

So I hope the drama respects each plot point. I think, the sex parts could easily be replaced with something like a cat-and-dog fight or some kind of psychological warfare with a humorous tone. The other parts don't seem like a major problem. Although the biggest problem I see in dramas is the word "adaptation" and the ambiguous use this usually have... I almost forgot, I think that transmigration and vivid dreams are not necessary, things like these can be replaced by marked representations of personality, and some intuition to read the overall picture . 

I'm reading Inverted Fate now...😄 

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サモンタ_サン

I’m actually translating this novel but from a Thai translated version, and it mentions the meaning of her name.  Here’s a little  dialogue from the novel in Thai.

"I've been living with you for quite a while now. I always thought you had a gentle disposition. This is the first time I've seen you express your anger like this..."
"Husband, have you forgotten what my nickname is? The name given by my parents always has a reason,"* Xiao Qiao replied before turning away her face
(Note: *Manman is the nickname of Xiao Qiao. It is the name of a legendary bird, also known as the Bi Yi bird, which means "winged companion." This bird has only one eye and one wing, so the male and female always stay close together. It is often used as a metaphor for a married couple who are deeply in love and harmoniously united, like each other's shadow. However, if the character man is used alone, it means "looking fierce" or "unreasonable.")

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