AtsukoM

The drama skim through how Xiao Jue reclaimed the glory for the Xiao army.

Remember how Xiao Jue was given no soilder to fight the war? It was briefly mentioned that Xiao Jue flood a whole city to wipe out the entire enemy army and won that war. His prestige was recovered after that and now Xu Jingfu is very wary of Xiao Jue, trying to sabotage the Xiao army again.

Without those achievements and a good standing with the Emperor, how would he regain the capability to conscript and raise an army.

Yes, Yan He is their classmates and also a General at current point of the story.

If I recall correctly, Yan He loves his wife a lot, basically henpecked. At the final arc of the story, wars broke out at the border at multiple locations. All the available generals had to set out to different places, and Yan He was leading one of those armies. He got poisoned during one of the clashes but led his army despite it, which worsen his condition and ultimately succumbed.

At the same time at the capital, Yan He's wife was diagnosed as pregnant. But, once the war settled, what awaited her was the news of her husband death. Afterwards, she didn't remarry and raise their son alone. Until her death bed in her old age, she's still reminiscing of her husband.

The extra chapter of their story is just so poignant and broke the readers heart.

I bawled at Yan He and his wife's story...

But, I don't think we'll see much of that portion of the story in the drama.

I totally forgot about author's note. haha

It makes sense. I guess Jiyang battle took reference from the Battle of Red Cliffs?

To climb her career ladder. For a soilder from commoner background like her to move up, she needs to accumulate merits in real battles. To participate in real battles, she needs to be in an army. She chose Xiao Jue's army because the prospect there is good. And she happend to get close to the commander himself, so there's no reason not to stuck to him. A recommendation from a renowned general like Xiao Jue could go miles for her.

I started reading c-novels only after watching cdramas for quite a while. At least to me, a drama otherwise would have been judged as 'perfect' before, now feels 'it's good but could be better here and there'. And of course, when the drama script is not up to par, the feeling is even worse. But, I like both reading and watching, so it's not that big of an issue to me.

Though, there are some novels I intentionally haven't touched because I watched their drama counterparts first and found them perfect as it is. So, I won't go lift a rock only to drop it on one's own feet. 😂

Nowadays, whenever a new drama was listed, the first thing I check is the episode count especially if it's adapted from novels.

Now I unconsciously equate 'less than 40 episodes' as 'potential bad' lol. Not the universal case of course, but the stigma is just so strong haha

The misunderstanding is drama only plot. So, novel readers don't know either when exactly it'll be cleared up. But, after Rundu arc (ep 25 is Rundu battle), we are already entering the preparation stage for the last arc, so I suspect misunderstanding will be cleared up within Rundu arc.

It's not a flashback.

I really wish the script can portrary the essence of the character He Yan well in the remaining episodes. What's happening right now was the script is trying to portray He Yan mainly through her speeches only, while the source material does majorily through her actions.. about who she is and what she is capable of.

I also think budget is the culprit here as well. Dramas just have too many restraints compared to other medium. So, I tend to watch the adaptations as standalone as much as I can, because it'll never be a 1:1 of the source materials. It is what it is haha, I'll watch whatever we get.

They needed to impersonate, because as a military general, Xiao Jue cannot freely move between places as he please without the court's order and they are going for a covert mission as well. Also, Jiyang city wouldn't necessarily warmly welcome them either if they go in with their true identity just like that.

As for the reason, they are looking for Xiao Jue's father's subordinate, and the last clue indicated he is at Jiyang.

Ep 25 trailer: After being disappointed a bit by the defense of Jiyang battle, Rundu arc looks like they are sticking to the events of Rundu battle and I'm looking forward to it.

Honestly, the drama by itself did somewhat fine with Jiyang battle. Just that it felt like a missed opportunity compared to the source material. Also, in this battle, none of the qualities of what make He Yan were carried over to the script, like how adapt she is at warfare strategy, her martial prowess, quick thinking, leadership, etc.

And also the uniquness of the battlefield of Jiyang battle itself. Transforming it into standard city seige battle is... just ugh

One of the reasons I'm anticipating Zhu Yu. I love the novel, and to top it off, the drama is helmed by Blossom director.

It goes even deeper in the novel.

By 'Moon', He Yan was also referring to the moment they shared at the temple while she was blind. It was the lowest moment of her life and she was contemplating to suicide at that moment. (Drama only depicted it as Xiao Jue misunderstanding her about the suicide part)

Xiao Jue's encouragement gave her the strength to continue living which carried over to her 2nd life, and it meant a lot to her. She didn't ask his name, and couldn't see his face either. So, she associated and remembered that person as 'Moon' because they talked about moon that night.

One of the reasons why I like to read the source materials, be it before or after watching the drama. These kinds of details often got lost during the adaptation process. Drama just has more restraints compared to other medium.

Today's episodes, we are on Jiyang city arc. Then, there will be Rundu city arc. Their marriage comes after that.

His father is just some rich wastrel, not significant to the story, just a minor character.

My take is, He Yan was actually referring to the moment they shared at the temple while she was blind. It was the lowest moment of her life, and Xiao Jue's encouragement meant a lot to her. She didn't ask his name, and couldn't see his face either. So, she associated and remembered that person as 'Moon' because they talked about moon that night.

Since you are going to read the novel, I won't spoil further. It went more details into why that moment is so significant in He Yan's life.

And this arc got everything with significant story developments in all areas. My favorite arc in the novel as well.