I had hesitated for a while about where to start the tenth episode.
Since the tenth episode was called "The Long Night of Spring", the meaning behind it was actually from Lu Xun's poem, "the great king's flag changes at the top of the city wall." Therefore, I could extend the plot and write about the various forces in the world after the initial collapse of the Wu dynasty. But in the end, I decided to focus on The Clown.
The Clown was a very complicated character. Although I had written about relatively complicated characters in the past, such as Wang Shitong, Si Zhongxian who betrayed the Sword Gate, and Dai Mengwei, these complicated characters could be easily categorized and categorized. For the time being, we would treat them as low-level complicated characters. The Clown was already at the intermediate level.
Writing a book was about doing things step by step. At the beginning, the reader should not be too conflicted. However, starting from the clown, there would be some relatively complicated situations in the later stages. This was because the story had reached its final stage. Many clues, and even the entire world of "Son-In-Law", were about to be revealed. Everyone's fate was about to sublimate and reach the critical point of solving the mystery. Therefore, the clown plot could be considered as a greeting.
Of course, the clues would not be too complicated. I am not writing a serious novel. Even if there were any thoughts, they would be hidden in the interesting plot and wrapped in sugar. You don't have to be too afraid.
As for the merits and demerits of The Clown, I do not intend to comment. But at this stage of the story, there is such a person who has done such a thing. You are free to view it however you want.
In terms of plot settings, I would like to mention that Tang Minjie is a very likable character. His appearance has always been the highlight. Even though he betrayed Chen Wenjun, he has always been the unique main character on his own stage. But in the fourth chapter of The Clown, I switched him with Chen Wenjun. He was at a loss while Chen Wenjun laughed. Compared to him, who was The Clown? He was more like the Chen Wenjun who stayed in the North.
All along, Chen Wenjun's description had been relatively weak. She had more contradictions than The Clown. When she was young, she was kidnapped and brought to the Northern Land. Halfway through, she was incited by the Office of Secret Investigation and became a spy. As a result, the spy originally prepared for the Liao people fell into the political circle of the Jin Kingdom. She handed over a lot of information, but after the Central Plains fell, the Office of Secret Investigation of the Wu dynasty was destroyed, and she regained her freedom.
In the last two episodes, she was basically swaying between a dilemma. Should she be a Jurchen madam or a Han madam? Both of them could do the same thing, but the meaning was completely different. So in the end, she got rid of the clown's influence, and Tang Minjie lost his clown identity, bringing back the kindness of Madam Han to the south.
Such a replacement made Madam Han the brighter protagonist.
I've revealed on Weibo that these two won't die here. They're burdened with a plot that's several times more complicated than the current plot. This was something that would be written in episode 11.
Let's talk about episode 10.
I've always said that "The son-in-law" is an experimental piece. It will try something at every stage according to the purpose of practicing writing. At the beginning of "The son-in-law", I wanted to do my best to explore the cool points and some of the unfinished meanings that could be written. In other words, I used twice the amount of writing and increased the expression by 10%. So at the beginning, the writing style is a bit long-winded. Once it reaches the climax, I often try to express the cool points from different angles.
In the first few episodes of "The son-in-law", I wanted to make the seventh episode the most compact, so I restrained some of my writing style. For example, when Zhou Dong stabbed Guhan, I said that the point of view here was away from the main character, and I would try to avoid it in the future.
Of course, after writing the seventh episode, the satisfaction of the individual has reached the peak. Later, I thought about whether I should expand the portrayal of the supporting characters and group characters. In the second half of "The son-in-law", I thought about focusing the plot on Ning Yi, writing more emotional scenes, family scenes, and using this as the main axis to drive the supporting characters and reveal the cruelty of the war. But later, I thought that there was no need to be so conservative.
Since the point of view is away from the main character, it's a natural loss. So when I create the supporting characters, I have to dig out more bonus points, so that people won't look away. I also thought that if my plot can still attract a large number of readers without the main character, then in my next book, there will be no shortcomings to speak of. This is the reason for the large number of group characters after the seventh episode.
And according to subscriptions, even with such a high number of updates and the frequent absence of the main character, the number of subscriptions still exceeds ten thousand in twenty-four hours. The overall appeal of the plot has not gone astray. Of course, it can also be said that if I am more likable, the results of the novel will also increase — this is what I look forward to for the next book.
The tenth episode also has a large number of group characters. From Jun Wu and Zhou Pei at the beginning to the southwest campaign of the Chinese army, there is Qu Zhengyan at the top, Mao Yishan's group of five in the middle, various Battalion Commander Jia and other people who steal Mao Yishan's coat at the bottom, there is Si Zhongxian, Yu Mingzhou, Dai Mengwei, Wu Qimei, He Wen, Zou Xu … Although the impression will be deep and shallow, as long as I point them out, the readers should be able to remember them. Overall, it should be a success. Moreover, from the eighth to the ninth episode until now, there has not been a single failure in this aspect.
Finally, it is Tang Minjie and Chen Wenjun who end this episode.
"The son-in-law" should have eleven episodes in total. In other words, the next episode would be the last episode of the live-in son-in-law. Of course, the volume of this last episode would be relatively large. The entire timeline would span more than ten years. Countless characters and clues would gradually come to an end in the huge plot. All of these lines were clearly laid out in front of me. Many people say that the reason why the son-in-law is so slow to write is because it is much more difficult to draw the lines in an orderly manner. At the end of the son-in-law, I don't just want to draw the lines. I also hope that all the characters and ideas will eventually rise to a higher level. Now that I have laid the groundwork, I will start the final performance while trembling with fear.
As an experimental novel, the next step is its biggest challenge: a perfect ending of more than five million words and solving the main theme. This is probably a challenge that an author will not have a second time in his life.
The eleventh episode carries a lot of meaning, and I have considered a few titles for the general direction. In the end, I chose the title "The water flows east in the human world". It fits the concept of the eleventh episode, and it is a relatively neutral way of saying it. Of course, there are relatively negative and positive descriptions. The more negative one comes from a poem, which many people should have seen before.
Back then, loyalty was rewarded for the country, when did I ever fear decapitation? Now that the world is red, who will guard the country? The work is not done, the body is tired, the hair is already autumn. You and I, the people of my generation, endure to let the long-cherished wish flow east?
This poem is said to have been written by Mao Zedong to the Prime Minister in his later years, but it is hard to be sure. I originally wanted to say "You and I, the people of my generation, endure to let the long-cherished wish flow east?" This sentence was used as a quotation for the eleventh episode, but considering that it is difficult to distinguish the truth from the falsehood and that it is relatively negative, I chose a more positive one. Naturally, it also came from that great person.
Next, let me welcome everyone to the eleventh episode of the son-in-law:
"The water flows east in the human world"
The bleak autumn wind is here again, the human world has changed! — — * * * "Lang Tao Sha Beidaihe"
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