SpicyLime

LOL. Hate to break it to you, but it's definately not going to happen until part 2. Unless they shuffle the scenes around or the scriptwriter decided to go rogue. If you want to do yourself the justice of that scene go read all the chapters from when he returns from the time skip up to that scene. Though he is extremely possessive, his love for CSS is really selfless. In the end even if he can't have her, he is still okay with that and will just die alone while forever protecting her. He won't marry anyone else even if that means the death of his bloodline.

When I read this for the first time, my heart ached for him as well. I got teary. I was laughing up until this point when ML bit her again and she was fighting him off. The buildup from the previous chapters. The whole sequence and dialogue and finally CSS admitting defeat and breaking down crying. Chef's kiss.

Bravo to the author.

This is an interesting interpretation. I just went with him working his butt off for the shirtless scene. LOL. Because he didn't look this gauntly in The Long Ballad. I thought he was more handsome there when he had a little more meat to him.

You are probably right though. I think the hairstyle and makeup is designed to make him look worn out.

Random novel spoiler. In the novel there is a scene where CSS is staring at LBY, day dreaming how good looking their son would be. LOL.

I have a more detailed spoiler somewhere regarding what happened after the time skip with out leads if you want to look for it.

This is the story in the novel. He goes on a murdering spree after he figures out the truth of who killed his family. He doesn't want to involve the FL and abandons her. This is his only regret in life. Their engagement is broken off and the ML is exiled for 5 years and fights a war. She is engaged to Yuan Shen right before the ML returns from the 5 year time skip after winning the war. During the time skip YS is relentlessly pursuing the FL. She doesn't love him, but finally caves, since the Empress Dowager's dying wish is to see the FL marry. She decides that YS is good enough and agrees to be the engagement.

ML original wanted to give up on FL, but changes his mind after seeing her. He wants FL to give him a chance, since he knows she still loves him. FL eventually realizes her feelings and asks YS to break off the engagement. He only agrees after realizing the extent of ML's love for FL. The ML helped YS since he was engaged to FL and wanted her to be happy, even if she doesn't give him a chance. YS is fully defeated.

I was impatient and found the spoilers, lol. At least for the novel.

Both of these dramas were adapted from novels from the same author. That's why a lot of people are comparing the two. So far LLTG as of ep 12, has been pretty close to the novel. I feel that might change in the later half. Ming Lan had a lot of changes in the drama adaptation. Nonetheless, it's still one of my favorite drama of all time. Yes there is angst and it is super slow paced. However, the good thing is the payoff you get when the FL finally decides to stand up and fight. It's really satisfying.

One of the most satisfying arc in Ming Lan is how the ML finally gets the FL to be his wife. If you can put up with the first few dozen episodes the story picks up. It's a good in between watch while you are waiting.

Comparison between SOM and LLTG love interests.

Qi Heng - Yuan Shen
Impulsive and rash. Doesn't think about the consequences of their actions. Only understands FL at surface level. Lacks a backbone. Lacks convictions. Obsessive.

He Hong Wen - Lou Yao
Not willing to fight for love. Bound by duty/responsibilities/family. Only understands FL at surface level. Easy to be controlled by others. Prior love interest before meeting FL.

Gu Ting Ye - Ling Bu Yi
Cunning. Plans for the long term. Helps FL from the shadow. Warrior background. Understands FL deeply, more than they understand themselves. Unorthodox. Not bound by tradition. Rough childhood. Bound to the FL by fate. Devoted to FL. Trusts them unconditionally. Fights for love.

Just like in SOM, the ML in LLTG is the only one that can provide FL with the freedom and independence that they desire. It takes a long time for the FL to realize that the ML is the best choice. When they figure it out, they love them wholeheartedly. All of the other leads would eventually lead to some suffering for the FL.

Did you ever watch The Story of Ming Lan? Did you enjoy the ML in that show? LBY is one of those characters that will grow on you over time. There are a lot of parallels between the suitors in SOM and LLTG. I put it in spoilers below.

Yep. All good, the names are kind of hard for me to remember. YS is infatuated with CSS since she doesn't care about him since the beginning.

I don't think you need to delete this. Thanks for the info. Did you finish reading the whole novel? Also do you feel Yuan is kind of slimy? I'm not sure if you got to the end, but he knew that CSS only loves LBY. He kind of takes advantage of the situation to get her to agree to the engagement.

No, I believe she is engaged to Lou Yao in those episodes. Immediately after is LBY. She later gets engaged to Yuan Shen after LBY is exiled.

She gets better. CSS has a pretty good relationship with her family later on the story.

Yin Zhang finds out about our OTP in episode 25 and leaves. She comes back to them by episode 31.

I have not read it myself yet, so take this with a grain of salt. This is second hand. YS was relentless in trying to get CSS to accept. He gave up a prior engagement to get engaged with CSS. I think this kind of moves CSS. It's pretty irresponsible with his status and background. If I recall what someone else said, someone is dying and she wants to try to fulfill their dying wish by marrying.

This part I did read and this is what I interpret. CSS still at this point doesn't really know fully what love is. What she knows is LBY was the first person she let into her heart and he betrayed her trust. YS doesn't really either, he is more obsessed with winning over CSS more than anything else. Since their meeting, she didn't really care about him. CSS finds that they are the same though, personality wise, so she thinks it'll be stable with YS. CSS figures out first why they are not a good match. Like her, he lacks conviction and often let their pride get in the way of going down the right path. She questions him on what he plans to do about LBY and their future. He can't answer. It's like he just doesn't want to give up, since he doesn't want to lose. At this point, CSS realizes she loves LBY and asked YS to break off the engagement. Even though YS said he would not give up, I think CSS knew that he eventually would.

YS had abandoned everything to be with CSS, but never took CSS into consideration. CSS was eventually swayed by LBY. She knew that YS would waver and couldn't provide her with the love that LBY could. She understood the type of person YS is, who is so like her, doesn't know what they want to do in their life and can't really give her the type of love and affection that she is looking for. Ultimately she is right, since YS gives up on her too after seeing the type of love that LBY gave CSS. What LBY says he'll do, he does with conviction. YS can't do the same.

Yes she is attracted to the ML. The problem for her is that everyone kept our OTP's relationship a secret from her. So, she felt lied to. She is too innocent and selfish to realize that GQF was always looking at Pan'er and not interested in her. She doesn't really create issues per say, but she does run away. Part of the problem with her running away is that the girl's don't have her source of income as an investor or as an attraction. It gets cleared up pretty quickly after she runs away and she grows up. She eventually returns and help the girls during their time of need.

It's a drama adaption so things might change, but the gist of the book is part 1 is LBY and CSS first engagement and love story, but ends tragically with LBY getting his revenge and abandoning CSS. Part 2 is LBY trying to get CSS back.

There is a bunch of growth that happens with CSS and she learns why LBY is the one for her.

She comes to terms that what LBY did under the circumstances is reasonable. Getting revenge for him was eating away at him his whole life, so when he got the chance to get it he had to, even if it meant abandoning CSS. Literally his whole clan was annihilated, he had to take revenge. His love for her never stopped. She was just too proud/immature after being abandoned to be willing to consider his burdens and her own feelings about him. She knows there will never be anyone who treats her better than he does and that's why she decides to let go of her grievances and finally deciding to support and marry him. She simply loves him.

If I find out, I'll let you know, there are a lot of chapters. I'm just scanning for the main parts that interest me. I need to finish up the last few chapters.

CSS helps clears his name. The reason for why it took him so long to return was because he was fighting a war. Things kept happening and he kept being delayed.

Thanks for this. I skipped to after the time skip.

Adding on bits of the novel from the time skip to the end:

LBY only loves CSS. At this point he no longer goes by LBY, but goes with his birth name. I think the surname is Huo. For the sake of these spoilers I'll keep calling him LBY.

During the 5 year exile fighting a war, LBY is secretly keeping track and protecting CSS. When he returns gloriously after victory, he shamelessly tells Yuan Shen and CSS to break off their engagement. He flat out tells Yuan Shen that he is not a good match for CSS. CSS is livid.

He gets word that the bite mark scar on CSS is about to disappear. The next time they meet up he bites her again. LOL. CSS is pissed off since she spent a lot of time and medication to get the scar removed. It had just started to even out. CSS is trying to fight off LBY, but he's too strong (she is like clawing and hitting him as hard as she can, there is blood and they both end up very disheveled). After the fight settles down he immediately starts to put ointment on the new bite mark. CSS finds out that he does not plan to marry anyone else. This is really shocking since everyone (including CSS) just assumed that he would eventually marry someone else. LBY is so favored and powerful though that even the Emperor himself doesn't dare to force him to marry. He will be alone for the rest of his life. His entire family is already dead. The Huo family line will end with him. CSS is evidently still in love with LBY but remains stubborn. She begins to waver after he tearfully begs for her to not be so cruel (all his words during the exchange got me teary too. Just imagine this powerful general who is on his knees crying, clinging on her legs, having been alone for most his life, not having anything left and is still willing to let his love go, and protect her even if she is with another, the only ray of light in the total darkness of his life and at the end will die alone if she doesn't accept him). CSS finally admits defeat and begins to break down crying. She has given in to her true feelings. Just then, their tryst is discovered.

CSS knows what type of personality LBY has and warns Yuan Shen if he can handle the upcoming battle against LBY. It's rhetoric. She doesn't tell him, but knows he will not be able to defeat LBY (I speculate she knows, since she has already surrendered to her feelings regarding LBY and won't marry anyone else. She will fight for love, just as LBY has. She also knows Yuan Shen's personality really well as her personality changed to be similar to his. She is back to her true self and will not marry Yuan Shen since she does not love him). She asks him to break off the engagement. Yuan Shen refuses to back down.

LBY is formidable in everything including love. He is using military tactics. Sound familiar? Ming Lan anyone? He slowly drops bomb shells (not literal) on CSS and Yuan Shen and retreats before they can counter. When they try to fight back or retreat he cuts them off (both literal and not literal). There is a wild fire of rumors that starts to spread throughout the Capital of LBY and CSS past and current relationship. Surprisingly, despite the damage to their reputation, Yuan Shen's parents continue to support their son's engagement (at this point, I find it's kind of despicable that Yuan Shen is still trying to cling on to hope that CSS will marry him. He knows she will only ever love LBY. He is just too stubborn to admit defeat.)

During the 5 year time skip LBY figures out Yuan Shen is probably going to be the next likely marriage candidate and protects Yuan Shen and his family for the sake of CSS. As CSS helps to prepare the annullment letter with her family, she finds out that Yuan Shen and his family are arrested. Yuan Shen's family was involved with a rebel faction or something. LBY knew this was going to happen and took care of the problem in advance and got pretty badly injured. He also gave all the credit to Yuan Shen's father. Yuan Shen and his family get released once the investigation is over. LBY did all of this in secret without telling CSS or Yuan Shen, but Yuan Shen was able to deduce it himself.

Yuan Shen confronts LBY and even asks LBY for advice on how to handle his family's current dire situation. Without hesitation LBY willingly gives him sage advice. Yuan Shen asks him why he did all of this when LBY had given up on marrying CSS during his exile. LBY explains during his time away he really hoped that CSS can marry someone else and have a good life. He believes that Yuan Shen will cherish CSS, since he was fighting so hard to win her over. He was even okay with CSS marrying Lou Yao as long as she has a good life. LBY will never marry if it is not with CSS and plans to just secretly protect her for the rest of his life. It's only when he returned and saw CSS again, that he changed his mind and tries to win her back. However, if CSS does not give him another chance, he is willing to back down. Hearing all this, Yuan Shen loses the last of his resolve to continue the engagement with CSS and is totally defeated.

Yuan Shen let's CSS know about what LBY has done and admits defeat. CSS is stunned (later in the novel it's revealed that she wanted to immediately see LBY, but decides against it to confirm her feelings again). Yuan Shen tells CSS he won't repay him for the favor, but she has to. He runs away before CSS can see him in tears. (It's explained that in his whole 20 years of life, he has never lost his composure. Yuan Shen is really proud like CSS and never backs down, so it's a big deal. My interpretation with Yuan Shen's character is he is willing to believe his own lies. He knew from the beginning that CSS never loved him, but just continued to fool himself into believing that she did/will. LBY's onslaught forced him into surrender. He can never hope to match up to the level of LBY who is willing to do anything and everything for the sake of CSS.)

After the engagement is annulled, CSS is intentionally avoiding LBY. She wants to confirm if her feeling is love and not due to fearing him or because of a debt of gratitude. It's love. The next time they meet LBY asks if CSS is still angry with him. CSS confesses that she doesn't dare to be angry with him (she knows what he has done for her and his love never wavered), ironically she is worried that he is angry with her (her pride was in the way of her true feelings). She tells him she loves him and only wants to marry him. She confesses she now understands that LBY loves her for who she is and no one can treat her better than he can. This confession really warms up LBY's heart. He is in disbelief and can only hold CSS tightly. They are together again.

Yuan Shen reveals to LBY that CSS's true personality is like LBY's, not like Yuan Shen's as we (the reader) have been led to believe (Yuan Shen's whole spiel on why he's a good match for CSS is because they are so similar). He found out how CSS is really like during a visit to see CSS, who is ill and in a coma after being grief stricken, due to LBY's exile. Yuan Shen heard CSS calling out for LBY during a nightmare not to leave her and to take her with him. Yuan Shen knew then that the real CSS is willing to sacrifice everything, including her own life for LBY, just as LBY is willing to sacrifice everything for CSS. LBY confesses he knew everything already and asks why Yuan Shen still proposed marraige to CSS. Yuan Shen wanted to marry CSS anyways, since he loved her (I think he was just obsessed with winning her over) and believed that LBY was just an old flame and she'd get over him eventually. He had this fantasy of how things would be with him and CSS. Yuan Shen was dead wrong (-rant begin: Look, I don't think Yuan Shen is a bad guy, but LBY is just better. LBY was willing to let CSS go for her happiness, but Yuan Shen kept pestering her to marry him until she finally caved, since she kind of didn't have a choice. CSS wanted to fulfill the Empress's last dying wish of seeing CSS getting happily married. After CSS breaks off the engagement, the Empress says that it's okay, she just hasn't found the right one yet. I think before she passed away, the Empress was content, knowing CSS was going to marry her one true love LBY. The Empress didn't want to see CSS marry just for the sake of making her happy by fulfilling her last wish. I can't stop feeling Yuan Shen is slimy. CSS and LBY could've married before the Empress passed away, if Yuan Shen wasn't in the way. -rant end).

There is a rather long chapter earlier in the novel right when LBY returns after the time skip. It's about CSS's favorite shrimp. I'm bringing it up now, since it's more revealing after Yuan Shen's reveal on CSS's personality. The shrimp story is diguised to show 1) how well LBY knows CSS 2) how little CSS knows about herself 3) how CSS has changed. CSS denies that the shrimp LBY mentioned is her favorite and says she hates it, but LBY counters and explain how he knows it's her favorite. He then explains, she pretends to hate it, because one of the Royals is allergic to it. When she found out, she never orders it anymore and says she hates it. LBY points out, she is only fooling herself into believing that she hates that particular shrimp, even though she really does love it. LBY aptly explains what she says may not be what she wants. CSS can't counter, since she realizes he's right. CSS did not realize she was fooling herself into believing her own lies. The hidden message is she is saying she doesn't want to be with LBY, but in truth, desires to be with him. She has changed to pretend to hate the things that she loves in order to please others (probably to protect herself). She is no longer her true authentic self. LBY saw through her pretenses since the beginning and knows her best. Yuan Shen knew, but fooled himself into believing that CSS was similar to him. CSS changed and unknowingly became similar to Yuan Shen's personality of trying to please others and having the proper etiquette. CSS only figured she was lying to herself with LBY's coaxing. The real CSS has only ever loved LBY and never hated him.

In a later chapter the change in CSS's personality is further confirmed by another character. He correctly points out that CSS is only willing to be her true self when LBY is around (she made a lot of mistakes and got into trouble. This tells me she felt safe and comfortable with LBY around and took more risks). When LBY was not around, she tries to do everything perfectly and follow the etiquette (She takes less risks. She is more willing to please others).

After they reconcile they are lovey dovey mode. There are a lot of comical and romatic scenes with them together. CSS's friends and family are telling her to stop being so obvious with their affection, it's not proper. LBY doesn't really care what anyone else thinks while CSS is a little bashful. (The vibe I have is they love each other more than before the seperation. They are trying to make up for lost time. Sweet.)

In the last chapter OTP finally get married. (it's debated from other commentary if she got married. I don't think it's explicitly said, but my interpretation of the end is they got married. Regardless, they are in love and inseparable.)

Update:
Okay so someone kindly pointed me to some extra chapters that the author wrote a few years later after the original novel. Confirmed our OTP got married and had kids. WooHoo. Hope this shows up in the drama.

Also. I still hate Yuan Shen. But he did the right thing in the end. Still don't think he had a choice though. LBY and CSS would've forced him.