Hello again! Long time no post! I've emerged to tell about my new obsession....
The Drama
For those who are Princess Agents fans out there, we were all captivated by the kung fu choreography that was like dancing, the high stakes battle scenes where it looks like the stunt horses were working overtime (hopefully no creatures were injured in the process) and the handsome and beautiful cast.
The story revolves around a young woman who lost her memory and finds herself in the employ of the dynastic Yuwen Clan. She is actually the heir to a renown martial arts secret society, and her hidden powers are triggered by the cold. The Fourth son of the Yuwen Clan, Yuwen Yue, trains her to be a spy within his grandfather's intelligence network. She ends up rebelling against the Yuwen Clan and throws her lot in with the fallen Yan Bei prince, Yan Xun, who is Yuewn Yue's best friend. Yan Xun's family was betrayed by the emperor and he is out for revenge.
The first season ends on a complete cliffhanger where we aren't sure if our OTP will survive and Chu Qiao's powers are activated. [Fade to black] AAARRRRGGGHH!
I watched the drama on Viki last winter holiday in 2017. The series ended in August 2017 and there is no mention of the second season being in production and the actors have all gone off to do more amazing dramas. In early 2018 I found out the drama series was based on a series of novels [11处特工皇妃: 楚喬傳] by "Xiao Xiang Dong Er." Princess Agent super fans have been obsessed ever since the first season ended August 2017 with episode 58 on a complete cliffhanger. Those dissatisfied with the wait time for a probable Season 2 have turned to the original source material to take their fandom to new heights.
The story revolves around a young woman who lost her memory and finds herself in the employ of the dynastic Yuwen Clan. She is actually the heir to a renown martial arts secret society, and her hidden powers are triggered by the cold. The Fourth son of the Yuwen Clan, Yuwen Yue, trains her to be a spy within his grandfather's intelligence network. She ends up rebelling against the Yuwen Clan and throws her lot in with the fallen Yan Bei prince, Yan Xun, who is Yuewn Yue's best friend. Yan Xun's family was betrayed by the emperor and he is out for revenge.
The first season ends on a complete cliffhanger where we aren't sure if our OTP will survive and Chu Qiao's powers are activated. [Fade to black] AAARRRRGGGHH!
I watched the drama on Viki last winter holiday in 2017. The series ended in August 2017 and there is no mention of the second season being in production and the actors have all gone off to do more amazing dramas. In early 2018 I found out the drama series was based on a series of novels [11处特工皇妃: 楚喬傳] by "Xiao Xiang Dong Er." Princess Agent super fans have been obsessed ever since the first season ended August 2017 with episode 58 on a complete cliffhanger. Those dissatisfied with the wait time for a probable Season 2 have turned to the original source material to take their fandom to new heights.
The Novels
I've never translated a novel before, and most of my translation skills are limited to translating comics ("Chihayafuru" and TV shows on You Tube ("Hakuoki SSL") and Viki ("Nirvana in Fire") so bear with me. There's going to be things lost in translation because of the cultural differences and use of Chinese idioms that English just can't fully describe. But thanks to Sue Lee [link] I found parts of the novel online and realized source material existed! So I found a complete copy of the original chapter-by-chapter release [here] that is divided in chapters 1 - 191, to translate fully the really funny parts between the two drama leads, Zhuge/Yuwen Yue and Xing'er/Chu Qiao/Jing Yue. The witty banter, the fighting and the interaction between them is both hilarious and fascinating. After reading Sue Lee's summaries, I wanted to know how the author made such a cold man like Zhuge/Yuwen Yue fall so completely in love for an upstart, willful woman like Chu Qiao.
We also see more varied personalities with side characters such as Li Ce (the crown prince of the neighboring kingdom known as Xiao Ce in the drama), He Xiao (leader of the XiuLi Army), Ping An (the little soldier boy she meets while defending a Yan Bei city, Liang Shaoqing (the nerd scholar she runs into while fleeing DaXia).
The chapters eventually became four novels in total. The first, "DaXia," deals with the main characters growing up as adolescents in the imperial capital. The second, "Bian Tang," tells of how Chu Qiao is on her own for a while after escaping the capital, but she keeps running into Zhuge Yue, who goes out of his way to save her every time. The third novel, "Yan Bei," deals with Chu Qiao making herself a legend in the north, and Yan Xun eventually betraying her. The final novel, "QingHai," deals with how she and Zhuge Yue reconcile their feelings for one another and find a place for themselves in their chaotic world.
We also see more varied personalities with side characters such as Li Ce (the crown prince of the neighboring kingdom known as Xiao Ce in the drama), He Xiao (leader of the XiuLi Army), Ping An (the little soldier boy she meets while defending a Yan Bei city, Liang Shaoqing (the nerd scholar she runs into while fleeing DaXia).
The chapters eventually became four novels in total. The first, "DaXia," deals with the main characters growing up as adolescents in the imperial capital. The second, "Bian Tang," tells of how Chu Qiao is on her own for a while after escaping the capital, but she keeps running into Zhuge Yue, who goes out of his way to save her every time. The third novel, "Yan Bei," deals with Chu Qiao making herself a legend in the north, and Yan Xun eventually betraying her. The final novel, "QingHai," deals with how she and Zhuge Yue reconcile their feelings for one another and find a place for themselves in their chaotic world.
Differences between the Drama and the Novels
It would be too much to translate the whole thing, but I want people to know how lovely and well written the source material is. The TV drama drops the modern life storyline for Chu Qiao and makes her the daughter of a Jianghu kung fu expert, Luo He, instead. Chu Qiao becomes a member of the Yuwen family spy network, hence the "agent" in the title.
In the novels, she was literally a secret agent from the 21st century future. Chu Qiao's soul belongs to a modern (2009) Chinese military special agent ( I finally understood what the drama title "Special Agent Queen: Legend of Chu Qiao" [特工皇妃楚喬傳 ] means) who dies and ends up sharing a body with a dying 8 year old girl on the Hunting Fields of DaXia in ancient China. It's not clear if they become two souls sharing the same body but there are references in the novel of her conflicting personality traits; light and dark, peaceful and violent, aggressive and passive, caring and cold. Her journey, I suppose, is to reconcile the two and find balance.
Chu Qiao becomes an avenger for the girl (Jing Yue'er) and the Jing family. They were once of noble descent but have since been enslaved, abused and/or killed by their masters in Northern Wei (aka DaXia - Great Summer Dynasty) during hostile take-overs of territory by the current emperor. Jing Yue was only 6 when they were enslaved, and Chu Qiao (age 27) becomes Jing Yue at age 8. She retains the memories of her modern past life in 2009 (including military and special agent training which makes her a superior fighter) but retains no memories of this little girl's short, tragic life.
Yuwen Yue is Zhuge Yue in the novels. He is not at the hunting grounds in the first scene. His older brother is Yuwen Huai/Zhuge Huai. This one is a boor but he's not prominent in the story and he's not that bad. The Yuwen/Zhuge patriarch, Yue's paternal grandfather, is the pervert who kills little girls in JingLe Pavilion. Yue's father is a general, mostly out of the picture but he approves all the political maneuvers of the family, with Huai and Yue holding government positions at young ages. The Zhuge family even manages to get a concubine into the palace by the time Yan Xun leaves the capital.
Yue and Yan Xun are acquaintances, but not besties. Yue at age 13 was a cold little twerp who is indifferent towards slaves before meeting Jing Yue'er/Chu Qiao. He is either directly or indirectly involved in most of the demise of the rest of the Jing family siblings, who all die horrible deaths in that household. As Zhuge/Yuwen Yue continues to protect her, she plans the demise of all the evil servants in the Zhuge/Yuwen household and ultimately beheads the old pervert patriarch (like in the drama), all at the tender age of 7/8. Really, she did his family a favor….
In the novel, Yan Xun is more dark, more crafty and more heartless than in the drama. Though he does care for Chu Qiao, he is a true political player and uses everyone, even her, to his advantage.
Also, in the novel, there is no real bad guy, or Big Bad. There is no Afterlife Camp. Meng Feng is just a character in passing in these novels. While Liang Shaoqing was downplayed in the drama, as was Li Ce, they play fairly sizable roles in the novels. Chu Qiao is a lot more naive in the novel than she is in the drama and she is fully devoted to Yan Xun until the 3rd novel when he shows his true colors. Also Chu Qiao has a whole group of living blood relatives in the Jing family, and, she picks up a lot of stray people as part of her extended 'family' throughout the novel. In this life, and her past life, she was an orphan.
In the novels, she was literally a secret agent from the 21st century future. Chu Qiao's soul belongs to a modern (2009) Chinese military special agent ( I finally understood what the drama title "Special Agent Queen: Legend of Chu Qiao" [特工皇妃楚喬傳 ] means) who dies and ends up sharing a body with a dying 8 year old girl on the Hunting Fields of DaXia in ancient China. It's not clear if they become two souls sharing the same body but there are references in the novel of her conflicting personality traits; light and dark, peaceful and violent, aggressive and passive, caring and cold. Her journey, I suppose, is to reconcile the two and find balance.
Chu Qiao becomes an avenger for the girl (Jing Yue'er) and the Jing family. They were once of noble descent but have since been enslaved, abused and/or killed by their masters in Northern Wei (aka DaXia - Great Summer Dynasty) during hostile take-overs of territory by the current emperor. Jing Yue was only 6 when they were enslaved, and Chu Qiao (age 27) becomes Jing Yue at age 8. She retains the memories of her modern past life in 2009 (including military and special agent training which makes her a superior fighter) but retains no memories of this little girl's short, tragic life.
Yuwen Yue is Zhuge Yue in the novels. He is not at the hunting grounds in the first scene. His older brother is Yuwen Huai/Zhuge Huai. This one is a boor but he's not prominent in the story and he's not that bad. The Yuwen/Zhuge patriarch, Yue's paternal grandfather, is the pervert who kills little girls in JingLe Pavilion. Yue's father is a general, mostly out of the picture but he approves all the political maneuvers of the family, with Huai and Yue holding government positions at young ages. The Zhuge family even manages to get a concubine into the palace by the time Yan Xun leaves the capital.
Yue and Yan Xun are acquaintances, but not besties. Yue at age 13 was a cold little twerp who is indifferent towards slaves before meeting Jing Yue'er/Chu Qiao. He is either directly or indirectly involved in most of the demise of the rest of the Jing family siblings, who all die horrible deaths in that household. As Zhuge/Yuwen Yue continues to protect her, she plans the demise of all the evil servants in the Zhuge/Yuwen household and ultimately beheads the old pervert patriarch (like in the drama), all at the tender age of 7/8. Really, she did his family a favor….
In the novel, Yan Xun is more dark, more crafty and more heartless than in the drama. Though he does care for Chu Qiao, he is a true political player and uses everyone, even her, to his advantage.
Also, in the novel, there is no real bad guy, or Big Bad. There is no Afterlife Camp. Meng Feng is just a character in passing in these novels. While Liang Shaoqing was downplayed in the drama, as was Li Ce, they play fairly sizable roles in the novels. Chu Qiao is a lot more naive in the novel than she is in the drama and she is fully devoted to Yan Xun until the 3rd novel when he shows his true colors. Also Chu Qiao has a whole group of living blood relatives in the Jing family, and, she picks up a lot of stray people as part of her extended 'family' throughout the novel. In this life, and her past life, she was an orphan.
History in Context
"DaXia" actually does refer to a Hellenistic kingdom named Bactria 550 - 330 BC, but that's not the period we're talking about here. There are references to Buddhism which came to China in early 150 BC, so the story definitely takes place after that.
The story should take place after the first Qin Dynasty (the guy who built the Wall). Originally I thought this story happened between the Three Kingdoms period (Romance of the Three Kingdoms with Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao) and sometime around the Sixteen Kingdoms period (aka total chaos). However the geopolitical turmoil looks a lot more like the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, 420 - 589 CE/AD. But there are references to gunpowder and fireworks, an invention of the Tang Dynasty in 700CE/AD, and parts of the story cite years in the 700's which would fit squarely into the Tang Dynasty. But with all the wars going on in the story the year 700 seems too far ahead, since the country isn't unified under a single dynasty yet, but the country of Bian Tang is often referred to in the novels as the Tang Dynasty.
We also have magical artifacts, souls traveling the space-time continuum, heroes and heroines who have super-human strength and magic swords in the novels so I guess we don't have to take things too literally. Insert giant shrug emoji here: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The story should take place after the first Qin Dynasty (the guy who built the Wall). Originally I thought this story happened between the Three Kingdoms period (Romance of the Three Kingdoms with Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao) and sometime around the Sixteen Kingdoms period (aka total chaos). However the geopolitical turmoil looks a lot more like the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, 420 - 589 CE/AD. But there are references to gunpowder and fireworks, an invention of the Tang Dynasty in 700CE/AD, and parts of the story cite years in the 700's which would fit squarely into the Tang Dynasty. But with all the wars going on in the story the year 700 seems too far ahead, since the country isn't unified under a single dynasty yet, but the country of Bian Tang is often referred to in the novels as the Tang Dynasty.
We also have magical artifacts, souls traveling the space-time continuum, heroes and heroines who have super-human strength and magic swords in the novels so I guess we don't have to take things too literally. Insert giant shrug emoji here: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Persons, Places and Things
In the book, the names, the relationships and the places are all different and it's super confusing. I wish that a glossary of people/places existed! I have to thank a lot of the super fans for reference though. (There exists a [novel summary] from Yunsheng's Blog that was useful for context.)
I started reading the first book summary translated by Angela Chua here. But I'm starting with Chapter 95 in the second book, after Chu Qiao escapes DaXia, which is the first real interaction the heroine Chu Qiao has with the main male romantic lead, Zhuge/Yuwen Yue since leaving his household that was more than just shooting arrows at each other in the dark. My focus is on the two leads, but I also translate some miscellaneous chapters as well, for context. I hope you all get the chance to watch the drama, and I can't wait for season 2.
-KERO
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Chapter 96 - Bath Spring Tide: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue have a very heated fight in the bath....
Chapter 97 - A Life Owed: Though still enemies, Chu Qiao vows she owes a life to Zhuge Yue
Chapter 101 - Fighting Side By Side: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue are hunting his former servant through a marsh to make him pay for his crimes
Chapter 102 - Paired Touch: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue finally learn how to work together, but she is poisoned trying to save him
Chapter 103 - Watching You: Zhuge Yue takes care of Chu Qiao and they join a merchant caravan headed towards Bian Tang to find a cure
Chapter 104 - Lifelong Faith: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue get to know one another better on the road, and they meet a girl named Star
Chapter 105 - Becoming Parents: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue are caught in the middle of a plot that decimates the merchant caravan
Chapter 106 - The Coming Storm: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue decide to look after Mo'er, the sole survivor of the merchant massacre by Liu Xi
Chapter 107 - Stormy Night Ops: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue confront the instigator of the massacre and protect Mo'er from Liu Xi's guards
Chapter 108 - To See Yan Xun: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue meet Liu Xi
Chapter 109 - I Can't Do It: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue part ways
Chapter 121 - Men Dispute, Women Battle: Chu Qiao escapes the clutches of the DaXia princess and unexpectedly runs into Zhuge Yue in Tang Jing
Chapter 122 - Tang Jing Massacre: Bath scene redux ///O_O/// between Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue, but despite his efforts to dissuade her, she decides to return to Yan Xun
Chapter 124 - Knight in Shining Armor Arrives: Chu Qiao finds herself in a Bian Tang jail with the scholar Liang Shaoqing. Unexpectedly, her knight in shining armor comes to save her
Chapters 125, 126, 127 - The conclusion to the 2nd novel. Chu Qiao rescues her sisters, is nearly killed, then saved (again) by Zhuge Yue. She finally leaves Bian Tang with Yan Xun
Chapter 146 - Good People are Saved: Cheng Yuan plans to get rid of the Southwest Garrison forces and Chu Qiao rushes in to save them, receiving unexpected help from Zhuge Yue
Chapter 148 - Heart Like a Mulberry Path: One year later, Chu Qiao unexpectedly runs into Zhuge Yue and they catch up and have dinner together
Chapter 151 - If the Heart Was Dead Ash: Zhuge Yue loses to Yan Xun after he tricks Zhuge Yue into believing Chu Qiao was in trouble. Chu Qiao breaks up with Yan Xun and is determined to save Zhuge Yue
Chapter 152 - The Yellow Springs Are Near: The frozen lake scene at the end of Season One
Chapter 161 - Where the Light Ends: After four months of recovery, Chu Qiao leaves Bian Tang to sojourn and ends up in XiangYang, in time for the Lantern Festival where she finally meets the man she has been searching for in her dreams
Chapter 162 - It's Good to Live: Zhuge Yue and Chu Qiao go on their first date ^__^
Chapter 166 - From Dawn to Dusk: Chu Qiao stays with him in his private manor and spends the rest of the New Year celebrations with Zhuge Yue, but the world is calling again
Chapter 167 - North and South: Chu Qiao sees Zhuge Yue off in XiangYang as he must return to his kingdom of QingHai, while she continues her sojourn
Chapter 171 - We Meet Again: One and half years later, Fate brings her in the path of Zhuge Yue, now the most powerful man on the continent, and he asks her to elope with him....sort of....
Chapter 172 - Waiting for Your Return: Chu Qiao sees the light and decides to let go of the past. She and Zhuge Yue share a tender moment where she promises she will wait for him to finish what he needs to do before coming back for her
Chapter 176 - Tang Dynasty Melting Point: Tragedy befalls Bian Tang and Chu Qiao rises to awesomeness once more (Contains a synopsis of chapters 173 - 175)
Chapter 178 - Country's High Stakes Gamble: Keeping her promise to her best friend, Chu Qiao ensures his legacy and his dynasty will live on, then she finally reunites with Zhuge Yue for good
Chapter 179 - Be Honest and Open: On the boat to DaXia, Chu Qiao reminisces about her time in this world, honestly tells Zhuge Yue who she really is, and makes demands of their relationship
Chapter 180 - Wedding Night: Zhuge Yue answers all her demands (rated 'S' for spicy)
Chapter 181 - Autumn Wind and Dewdrops: Zhuge Yue and Chu Qiao return to DaXia
Chapter 182 - Reunion With An Old Friend: Chu Qiao runs into her younger sister in the capital
Chapter 183 - Life's Fallen Expectations: Chu Qiao says goodbye to her sister and her old friend
Chapter 184 - With You There Is Nothing to Fear: As New Year approaches, DaXia is on the brink of collapse, and Zhuge Yue and Chu Qiao are embarrassing when drunk (rated 'SS' for surprisingly spicy)
Chapter 185 - The Yan Family Memorial: Chu Qiao gets waylaid by a snowstorm during the Lantern Festival, and an old man with familiar piercing eyes interrupt her thoughts of Yan Xun
Chapter 186 - The Winds of Yan Are Coming: While drinking a few cups of wine with the old man, Chu Qiao dozes off and has ominous dreams of the future
Chapter 187 (1) - Rivals In Love Meet Face to Face (translation in progress)
Chapter 187 (2) - The Death of DaXia
Chapter 188 - Yan Army Frenzy
Chapter 189 - Inevitable Turbulent Times
Chapter 190 - Reunion Once Again
Chapter 191 - The World's Choice (Finale)
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Links to chapter translations and summaries: (this list will be continuously updated as I add more translations)
Source Material: Chinese raw source material online
2nd Novel: Bian Tang
Chapter 95 - Very Unlucky: Chu Qiao has escaped the capital and is on a mission to save a sister, but encounters Zhuge Yue in a port town near the Bian Tang borderChapter 96 - Bath Spring Tide: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue have a very heated fight in the bath....
Chapter 97 - A Life Owed: Though still enemies, Chu Qiao vows she owes a life to Zhuge Yue
Chapter 101 - Fighting Side By Side: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue are hunting his former servant through a marsh to make him pay for his crimes
Chapter 102 - Paired Touch: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue finally learn how to work together, but she is poisoned trying to save him
Chapter 103 - Watching You: Zhuge Yue takes care of Chu Qiao and they join a merchant caravan headed towards Bian Tang to find a cure
Chapter 104 - Lifelong Faith: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue get to know one another better on the road, and they meet a girl named Star
Chapter 105 - Becoming Parents: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue are caught in the middle of a plot that decimates the merchant caravan
Chapter 106 - The Coming Storm: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue decide to look after Mo'er, the sole survivor of the merchant massacre by Liu Xi
Chapter 107 - Stormy Night Ops: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue confront the instigator of the massacre and protect Mo'er from Liu Xi's guards
Chapter 108 - To See Yan Xun: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue meet Liu Xi
Chapter 109 - I Can't Do It: Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue part ways
Chapter 121 - Men Dispute, Women Battle: Chu Qiao escapes the clutches of the DaXia princess and unexpectedly runs into Zhuge Yue in Tang Jing
Chapter 122 - Tang Jing Massacre: Bath scene redux ///O_O/// between Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue, but despite his efforts to dissuade her, she decides to return to Yan Xun
Chapter 124 - Knight in Shining Armor Arrives: Chu Qiao finds herself in a Bian Tang jail with the scholar Liang Shaoqing. Unexpectedly, her knight in shining armor comes to save her
Chapters 125, 126, 127 - The conclusion to the 2nd novel. Chu Qiao rescues her sisters, is nearly killed, then saved (again) by Zhuge Yue. She finally leaves Bian Tang with Yan Xun
3rd Novel: Yan Bei
Chapters 128 - 138 - A synopsis of the Northern Expedition story arc or how Chu Qiao becomes a legend in the northChapter 146 - Good People are Saved: Cheng Yuan plans to get rid of the Southwest Garrison forces and Chu Qiao rushes in to save them, receiving unexpected help from Zhuge Yue
Chapter 148 - Heart Like a Mulberry Path: One year later, Chu Qiao unexpectedly runs into Zhuge Yue and they catch up and have dinner together
Chapter 151 - If the Heart Was Dead Ash: Zhuge Yue loses to Yan Xun after he tricks Zhuge Yue into believing Chu Qiao was in trouble. Chu Qiao breaks up with Yan Xun and is determined to save Zhuge Yue
Chapter 152 - The Yellow Springs Are Near: The frozen lake scene at the end of Season One
4th Novel: QingHai (final)
Chapter 159 - A Tide of People: Two years later, Yan Xun would rather kill Chu Qiao than let her go; but a last minute tag team rescue coordinated by the Emperor of Bian Tang and the King of QingHai saves her and the XiuLi Army. Contains a synopsis of Chapters 153 - 158 and the end of the 3rd novel
Chapter 162 - It's Good to Live: Zhuge Yue and Chu Qiao go on their first date ^__^
Chapter 166 - From Dawn to Dusk: Chu Qiao stays with him in his private manor and spends the rest of the New Year celebrations with Zhuge Yue, but the world is calling again
Chapter 167 - North and South: Chu Qiao sees Zhuge Yue off in XiangYang as he must return to his kingdom of QingHai, while she continues her sojourn
Chapter 171 - We Meet Again: One and half years later, Fate brings her in the path of Zhuge Yue, now the most powerful man on the continent, and he asks her to elope with him....sort of....
Chapter 172 - Waiting for Your Return: Chu Qiao sees the light and decides to let go of the past. She and Zhuge Yue share a tender moment where she promises she will wait for him to finish what he needs to do before coming back for her
Chapter 176 - Tang Dynasty Melting Point: Tragedy befalls Bian Tang and Chu Qiao rises to awesomeness once more (Contains a synopsis of chapters 173 - 175)
Chapter 178 - Country's High Stakes Gamble: Keeping her promise to her best friend, Chu Qiao ensures his legacy and his dynasty will live on, then she finally reunites with Zhuge Yue for good
Chapter 179 - Be Honest and Open: On the boat to DaXia, Chu Qiao reminisces about her time in this world, honestly tells Zhuge Yue who she really is, and makes demands of their relationship
Chapter 180 - Wedding Night: Zhuge Yue answers all her demands (rated 'S' for spicy)
Chapter 181 - Autumn Wind and Dewdrops: Zhuge Yue and Chu Qiao return to DaXia
Chapter 182 - Reunion With An Old Friend: Chu Qiao runs into her younger sister in the capital
Chapter 183 - Life's Fallen Expectations: Chu Qiao says goodbye to her sister and her old friend
Chapter 184 - With You There Is Nothing to Fear: As New Year approaches, DaXia is on the brink of collapse, and Zhuge Yue and Chu Qiao are embarrassing when drunk (rated 'SS' for surprisingly spicy)
Chapter 185 - The Yan Family Memorial: Chu Qiao gets waylaid by a snowstorm during the Lantern Festival, and an old man with familiar piercing eyes interrupt her thoughts of Yan Xun
Chapter 186 - The Winds of Yan Are Coming: While drinking a few cups of wine with the old man, Chu Qiao dozes off and has ominous dreams of the future
Chapter 187 (1) - Rivals In Love Meet Face to Face (translation in progress)
Chapter 187 (2) - The Death of DaXia
Chapter 188 - Yan Army Frenzy
Chapter 189 - Inevitable Turbulent Times
Chapter 190 - Reunion Once Again
Chapter 191 - The World's Choice (Finale)
Thank u kero for updating among all d link for PA only ur blog is most updated with max chapter translation thanks
ReplyDeleteAgreed, this translation is really fun :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
ReplyDeletegreat,my longing is at rest now.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I could help :-)
Deletethank you so much :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for translating this <3!
ReplyDelete^__^
DeleteHave another chapter?
ReplyDeleteEs muy buena pero me hubiera gustado ver el verdadero final completo y la salida de Yue. del lado del hielo
ReplyDeleteTodos nos quedamos en shock, pero ni trazas hay de una segunda temporada, mejor leerla para no quedarnos con la duda del final.
DeleteI watched PA for the first time over a year ago and fell completely in love. This week, I re-introduced a friend to it and managed to get myself obsessed with it all over again. After the last episode, I was consumed with the lack of closure and other outlet for me to exercise my obsession. Thankfully I found your site and read through all of the translations for the last two books in hours. I've seen re-read some chapters over again.
ReplyDeleteI have briefly looked through some other translations and just want to say that yours is my favorite by far. I know it's not easy to translate the poetry of archaic Chinese language to English but you've done an amazing job! I can practically see Yuwen Yue and Xing'Er saying all of these things. I also really enjoy your well-timed TN - I find them elucidating at times and other times, it felt like having another friend fansquealing at the same moments as me.
Sorry this comment has run a little long but I just want to express how much I appreciate the work you've done here. I eagerly await your next translation.
You're welcome! Sorry the translations have been slow lately. I've been trying to find inspiration to sit down and do this, but I'm always distracted by something else. All the while, this couple has been in the back of my mind, nagging me to finish translating the story....
DeleteThank you for all the praise! Makes my efforts worth it. Chinese is really flowery at times, filled with idioms and usually quite vague with double/triple meanings. I go as closely as I can with the text and choose words in English that would match the best. Even my dictionary and Google translate don't choose the best words, so I'm often jumping into a thesaurus fishing for other words.
Where the translation is too literal and makes no sense, I use a little artistic license, or use English phrases that would make sense to an English reading audience.
Thanks for following along. I hope you enjoy the next chapter.
Thank you for the translation. I wanted to say more, but I think January had eloquently conveyed my feelings as well =^,^=
DeleteIn a perfect world, Season 2 will be ready for me when I finish translating this.... ^__^
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your translation please keep on translating the last few chapters thanks
ReplyDeleteHi, Do you think you can finish the last few chapters? I would love to know what happens.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all this information, l watched Princess Agents because my sister recommended me to do it, and after more recommendatios of her l did it, now l´m in love with it. l have read the season 1 and 2 and l love them too. Thanks to the translator, for l know Chinese is difficult to understand.
ReplyDeleteTodos nos quedamos en shock, pero ni trazas hay de una segunda temporada, mejor leerla para no quedarnos con la duda del final.
ReplyDeleteThank you for translating the book. I know this was very time consuming and challenging to translate. I hope you translate the final chapters. Can you at least say if Yuwen Yue and Xing’Er get their “happily ever after” at the end? I love a happy ending despite what the characters may have been through.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your translation...hope younc finih till the end
ReplyDeleteWhere can we find a guy with ZY traits..loving and protecting the one He lov without expected anyrhiing in return....i realized one of his dream is Her.looking at him under a tree with gentle eye.....so simple expectation
ReplyDeleteThey changed quite a few stuff in the tv drama compared to the book. I'm half way through reading the book. Hopefully, when I finish, season 2 will be out :)
ReplyDeleteHOW MANY CHAPTERS ARE IN THIS BOOK. I HEARED THE LAST CHAPTER IS CH.NO 292 IS THIS CORRECT
ReplyDeleteI discovered this novel only recently and wanted to express an appreciation for your translations, even if you are not currently working on the remaining chapters anymore! Your translation really is superior. I know it is difficult and time consuming; thank you for the enjoyable read and all the translator's notes- they really give valuable cultural context and deeper connotations behind the words. Greatly enjoyed your occasional commentary and analysis of the novel as well.
ReplyDeleteHope you continue translating!