To continue from the above thoughts, I think its possible for HE for both couple by taking the title “Butterflied Lover” and combined with epi. 22 titled “Earthy Happiness”. It was  “lover  “ not lovers .   “Butterflied” which is  cut into half  but not all the through and when opened up looked like a butterfly. In a metaphorical sense, the toxin was removed.  “Earthy”  to the ground therefore, they  cannot fly away. Both ML had been “butterflied”  and they cannot fly away, they both  stayed on earth. Turned that  into HE for both couples.

 The director can make a bewitching and  bewildering drama to his heart content but what counts is the words power from the screen writer's heart.

You know what was interesting about the get together in ep. 22? Madam Yuan wasn't there and there was no talk about YLBLs or the two men being away for three years.

Mdm Yuan cannot be there, the father was against YLBLs (he even killed his own daughter), he cannot know that they were  infected.

Perhaps, but the Father bulled his way into the party. So he would not be part of the intended guests. Both husbands owe a great debt to Madam Yuan for not only saving their wives, but their own as well.  So if she existed in this world, she would be invited. I think that this is an alternate world where YLBLs and Kirin Blood do not exist. And the Father has no idea that she is a Yelin Witch Doctor.  Anyway, they should have shown them giving thanks to her. So I think her exclusion was deliberate.

If I'm not mistaken, Mdm. Yuan has some slight  butterfly marks on her face or neck.  Additionally, since she was a witch doctor, persons like her tend to be recluses. Her identity as witch makes her a threat to both the YLBL group and the anti-YLBL group. I think it goes without saying or shown that they will forever be grateful to her..

    Additionally, they had to keep their infection a secret, and only those present at the party were aware of it, similar to the stigma associated with mental illness. Less people who knew about it the better and safer for all.


The only ones at the party that may not know about the infections of the two men and Madam Yuan's role are the Father and his assistant. But then there is the pesky 3 year missing that needed to be addressed. Even Kun knows about the Mother-in-law (Madam Yuan) and her help. Had Madam Yuan been invited, then the Father wouldn't have been allowed in. Or she can come as an old lady, like when Qinyue first met her.  

Yes, the witch doctor was purposefully excluded. But I differed from yours.The actress portrayed the character as a cool, calm, collected, mysterious, mystic,  with a semi-goddess-like aura and the ability to do miracles. I want her to be revered and not be making jokes and laughing with other people. She should only appear in real-life conflicting scenes because of her omnipresent presence.
A parallel universe without YLBL and Kirin blood?  The marquis would not marry  the princess. Yes .they were the butterfly lovers, I always try to examine  the story's themes since they represent the author's perspective on their own drama.The purpose of their story. In this drama , it was about sacrifice. This drama  is a contrast and a way to prevent the tragedy of the original. The original was FL going against convection to go to a male school,a modern girl stand.But she went back to being an old fashioned girl by being forced into marriage.She should  continued modern girl stand and sacrifice with elopement  with ML It  was abandonment and betrayal , and ML died  of despair and depression.  The princess also has fears of abandonment if she didn't give her blood to save his coma sister. The Marquis had told her he only marry her for her blood. Also there was no love confession from the marquis, so the princess will do anything to get his love.  Misunderstanding and miscommunication were the caused of the original tragedy. When the marquis sacrificed his sister and his life for the princess that was the turning point into a HE.

I take epi 22 titled”earthy happiness” as HE for both couples.I don't know how the marquis can be alive but I like your suggestion that she dreamed and knew then  how to make it right. Just told the princess that the marquis loved her very much and will sacrifice  his life to save her.

The Princess was smitten with the Marquis. He was aware of it.  Without the sister being sacrificed, perhaps the Princess would chase him rather than he chase her. I believe that the Princess would gladly give her blood to help someone. But there was a brief time that she was upset as she thought the Marquis only wanted her blood. She had heard Changfeng tell the Marquis that he was using her for her blood. That was when she moved to a separate room. But actions spoke louder than words.  He extorted the coal from the Queen and got her hand warmer, too. And that was his tear that fell on the Princess’ YLBL mark. Madam Yuan was too important to be left out, to say,  preserve her dignity. I’m not saying that were she to attend the party, she would act like one of the boys, but something suitable could be done. I’m just trying to understand what ep. 22 meant. 

The director is also tricky!

Provoke us to fill in the blanks
Of disappearance  and appearance of MLs

In the last 2 mystifying episodes,

Alas,! the multiple choices provided

Fails to add up to a correct sum.!

Just hope he will give us  a familiar

Butterflied lover couples guests roles!

That's a satisfying way to  end this discussion!

1) There was no dream at all. In the 1st episode she used some super powers and rewound the time while keeping her memories intact. She even could do it unintentionally. In the last, her kid and ML teleported into the room... last minutes ML sheathed the sword was indication, that everything is alright as it used to be in ep1, but the time didn't rewind. The kid wasn't there, because it was just playing somewhere else... (happy ending)

2) As was already said, it was mostly all a prophetic dream. In the end she found, that everything will be OK or she just got a chance to change it. (open ending)

3) It was sad ending. ML and probably also SML are dead and what happened to her kid is unknown. But FL survived and that is all I need... :) So, it is sad, but not bad ending for me.

It was amazing drama and I liked it. I would prefer happy ending, but it was at least not a bad ending, so I am satisfied with it.

I believe it is a HE for main couple as can be seen from ep 21. Following which ep22 is just FL's dream of the new year eve which she wanted all along with everyone - even the name suggests Earthly happiness as in not possible in reality but something everyone dreams of. 

SML died as it was clearly indicated that mokkun flowers blossomed one month later, although a clear answer would've been better. 

HE for main couple, BE for SML.  But to consider all of it was a dream makes you question how is she is seeing the future, and that too years of future, groundhog day was okay for me but years of dreaming is kinda whacky and doesn't do good imho.

What is bogus is how is that poison being transferred or why it takes 3 years to heal? Even the part where one can survive and others can't? and how was the sister kept alive for so long without qilin blood? Like when did the marriage happen? wasn't it 5 years..then how did she survive until now, and suddenly requires qilin blood?

Three years is how long the Black Peony cure takes. Why probably because it adds to the irony of Qinyue's bad fortune. Qinyue underwent that cure but it was dashed at the last minute. The ML presumably did the same. I guess the sister was in a coma like state. The blood from the Princess was needed to awaken her. Perhaps the blood poison that the Princess had caught also killed the sister with the last blood taken when she was sick. To tell the truth, these questions were probably smoothed over to keep the drama on track.

After viewing Rain Lu's "Dear Mr. Heavenly Fox," another xianxia, I concluded that, like to this drama, the final/bonus episodes were HE for both couples.


The scriptwriter IS ALSO  good at poker bluff!!

(Make the director thought he has his SE !!)

PROVOKE confusion with joker episode 21!!  

Those FAMILIAR with blackjack or 21,

Will know that the joker card is not in play,

Bet a LOVER of HE like me, will then have a winner!!


Players in blackjack receive two cards, which, if they are at or close to 21, can result in a winning hand. Two episodes, numbered 20 and 22, were summarized as "true" cards or episodes. Episode 20 chapter was not translated. Episode 21 chapter was”Return to the West?” went west meant to be lost, disappear/ set aside episode 22 was “ Earthy happiness" . Episode 20: FL gave birth to a daughter, who was normal. With a letter asking his wife to wait for him, ML was leaving for his three-year treatment.SML was giving his wife her medication when FL arrived with her infant. As the episode came to a close, they were sipping tea, gazing up at the lanterns, and making plans to celebrate when cousin /ML returned.
Epi.22: FL woke up, and her husband and daughter materialized (not overly analytically, as rationality and logic can go out the window in xianxia!). Back at the residence of the second couple,  Counselor Kun was observed outside the bedroom door of the second couple's residence, but he was forced away by Eunuch after being discovered eavesdropping.SML was attempting to rouse the princess in the bedroom. When he informed her that it was time to see the primary leads, she awoke.When the father, the duke, arrived at the door( they were all at the main leads house)he was hesitant to enter because he had not been invited to their reunion New Year's meal.Suddenly, the door opened, and his two daughters-in-laws enticed him inside the home.A humorous moment where the Duke is the odd man out from the 2 couples ,2 cooks in the kitchen,,Counselor Kun and eunuch drinking bout and his bodyguard with his granddaughter playing sword fighting. Ended with everybody having  a great time eating at the reunion dinner.

I appreciated  the hard job the scriptwriter worked ingeniously to make it a win-win situation for the director/investors preference for SE and his bent for HE from his angle.!