《Tigers Sniff the Rose》 theories 1️⃣2️⃣/?

More outdoor filming today but in Tai Zhou, San Men (台州三门), which is a new outdoor location.

[Click image to enlarge]

So they filmed these following scenes in what they called the suburban area of Nan Yang:

'"Everyone prays for rain" at a rain altar - this is the scene before the other prayer for rain scene that has been filmed these last two days (ep 31). I think the ceremony began here and then it continued back to the streets of Nan Yang.

A really cool photo of Yan Shang by 玄朱丨昀牵孟绕 at the rain altar:

Then this was a interesting one; "Running towards Yan Shang". Yao Yao was doing the running. This is for ep 30 so before the angst and them reconciling in ep 32. I saw some videos and photos of the filming and this is what I think happened: Yao Yao and Yang Si was in a horse carriage, they are going somewhere but I'm not sure if it's Jin Ling. It sems like this was an intentional choice by Yang Si (?) because Yang Si was the one forcing Yao Yao to look at Yan Shang when they were out of the carriage. Apparently she was angry (?) at first, and that's normal if Yang Si was the one that brought her here. But when she recognised Yan Shang and saw that he was blind, she just took off and ran towards him without a care in the world. This is their reunion after three years but Yan Shang couldn't see her. I don't think Yan Shang recognised her yet though until after he woke up after the prayer for rain ceremony. I need to say Ziyi were so stunning in white and that veil hat she was wearing made up a gorgeous shot! Look at this:

And I just needed to share this as well since we have a gorgeous Yao Yao running to her man and then we have Xiaolin being super sweet with a young extra on set, even giving her some sausage snacks and jelly 😍

I also chose to share this video for today since we could see both Ziyi and Xiaolin in the same shot. Yao Yao ran very near them and then the director said cut. Yan Shang couldn't see Yao Yao but Xiaolin could see Ziyi. Cute moment with Dong Lang as well 😊 If the director does it right with the editing this could be amazing!

Today's quote:

Meaning flowers bloom and fall according to the laws of nature, with their own specific seasons. Similarly, the meetings and gatherings between people are often unexpected and filled with chance and uncertainty. Fitting for today's scene. Yao Yao never expected to see Yan Shang again after their break-up. It's been three years already, but here she is, seeing him once again.

Tidbit of the day: Just a little rumor I heard, but they are apparently going to be in Guang Dong (not sure where yet, it's been going back and fourth) for 3-4 weeks. So they will cover all the Ling Nan scenes and maybe some for the married life after?

《尚公主》

吴汉坤 饰 杨嗣

Alternative names/titles: 杨三郎，表哥

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全伊伦 饰 刘文吉

Alternative names/titles: 刘郎，刘兄，公公

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李孝谦 饰 韦树

OMG! WHAT A DAY WE HAD ON SET! So much Yao Yao and Yan Shang in a few outdoor scenes! We have been fed! Don't think I can squeeze all the photos and videos in this post but I'll share some and then gif/post some in separate posts~~

On set today:

Yao Yao, Yan Shang, Yang Si and Jiang Heng.

A-group:

So apparently these scenes are for ep 27 and 28 so this has to do with the corrupt officials in Ling Nan.

"Jiang Heng ordered a search of the mountain" - so they are searching for Yan Shang and Yao Yao? Yao Yao is a princess so what are they going to do? ~Just kill them?

"The horse carriage proceeded" - a scene with Yang Si and he looked like this:

"Yang Si caught up" - he found Yao Yao and Yan Shang probably before Jiang Heng.

Before he arrived, Yao Yao and Yan Shang were in hiding, but Yan Shang was injured so they couldn't continue moving. At this point we were not sure what kind of injury Yan Shang had since he only looked roughed up with scratches and looked pale. This is where we got the first photos of the day of them by the way:

Yao Yao's gaze is always so different when it comes to Yan Shang:

Then we have this adorable on set and off set difference:

Adding this cute video of Ziyi accidentally pecking Xiaolin's nose as well. It's easy to do that when they are in that position 😊

"Told Yan Shang to hang in there" - they then put a injured Yan Shang in the horse carriage.

"Carry Yan Shang away" - this is a night scene so this was before the two scenes before. If we thought the sneak peak we saw during the day was already a feast, the night brought some more spice. So Yan Shang was actually shot by an arrow (!) Yao Yao half carried half dragged him through the forest, then put him down on a rock. Checked his injury, used her small sword and cut the front of the arrow. Then she took off his upper clothes (there were many layers), half hugged him to support him so she can pull out the rest of the arrow from his back. Yao Yao gave her arm to Yan Shang to bite on while she pulled out the arrow. I know this is supposed to be a life and death scene, but Ziyi and Xiaolin made it so sexy somehow based on the videos and photos from proxy shooters and fansites. Like how? I've seen so much that with a few combo of some selective photos and videos of certain angles I can make a set that resemble a vampire story 😆😆 Like actually!! Yao Yao is the vampire that turned her human lover to a vampire hahaha I'll get on to it tomorrow 😁

But for now a few photos:

We didn't have this scene in the novel so it's something the screenwriter had added. I don't mind at all xD I wonder who shot Yan Shang though. It must be Jiang Heng right?

Then we have the B-group, with some really sad and horrible scenes filmed:

This is probably a flashback since it's scenes when Yan Shang, Yan Da Lang and Xiao Zhou were little.

"Father take son to search for food" - which son did he take? Should be the eldest, but he may leave the eldest to take care of the younger siblings with their mother and brought Yan Shang instead.

"Zhang Ren Jing surrounds the dilapidated temple" - so he was probably hunting after them. Why was he adamant to chase after them?

"They (Yan Family) encounter danger in the dilapidated temple"

"Massacre the Yan family" - apparently it was very brutal. Yan Shang's mother had her throat sliced and ears cut and his little brother (三弟) was also killed. So no wonder Yan Shang wants revenge. This matches with Yan Shang's character description.

Oh I saw something right after I posted yesterday's post xD

So it turns out that Yao Yao already filmed her killing her husband the day before yesterday (1.5). They filmed her killing him for the whole night, since Ziyi got off work around 2 AM that day. So she wearing that red outfit and holding that lantern was actually pretty ominious if you look back at it now. She was even smiling at her soon to be dead husband xD Great acting Yao Yao! Meanwhile Yan Shang filmed his killing scene for the whole day yesterday (1.6). So much bloody scenes these last two days. REVENGE! So what did we have on the schedule for today then?^^

ABSOLUTELY SWEET MOMENTS BETWEEN YAO YAO AND YAN SHANG! We won today since we also get some outdoor scenes 😁😁😁 Awesome weather today as well~☀☀

Since we had some Yao Yao and Yan Shang scenes I saw the shooting schedule, only for A group though. Long time since we saw one.

So all these scenes is shot at a place called "Si Gui Yuan". It doesn't look like a temple but who knows. It may be a place for social meetings since there were lots of extras on set. Maybe to listen to music, since I saw the same extra (from yesterday's post) posting today saying she played the guqin and danced. So the two first scenes are towards the end of ep 7, and it says:

"Guards search for the murderer" - the murderer in the description, I'm not sure it's Yan Shang they are talking about. Is this the plan, Yan Shang has set up? Setting Zhang Ren Jing up as the murderer, he is actually a murderar so that's not odd, then Yan Shang pleaded self defense and said Zhang Ren Jing was trying to kill him so he killed him? Hmmmm....just a wild guess. Ep 7 is when Yan Shang kills Zhang Ren Jing.

"Searching for the real murderer" - emphasize on the word "real" in comparison to the above scene. So they mistoook someone as the murderer first and then tried to find the real one probably.

In scene 7-20 (the last scene on this shooting schedule), Zhang Ren Jing was still alive since the description said: "Princes Luling angrily injures Zhang Ren Jing" - So these two are in cahoots? Don't tell me that Princess Luling knew about the murderar of Yan Shang's mother and litle brother? We do know from the novel that Princess Luling may know Yan Shang's father but it was never elaborated further. Now that we have this newly added revenge plot, maybe it's a lot more worse than we thought oh my. OR why was Princess Luling even here and having a meeting with Zhang Ren Jing? Really suspicious either way.

Now onto the sweet Yao Yao and Yan Shang scenes 😍 I think both A group and B group were in a nearby set since I saw Yao Yao filming a scene with someone that I believe is Prince Jin's wife (晋王妃, Yao Yao's 嫂嫂 in chinese) first. But that scene is not on this shooting schedule. The actor looks like Zhang Yue (part of the casting list), who I best know as Wan Qiqi from "Love Like the Galaxy"). I really liked her in that drama, so she should be good in here. Especially the scenes with her, Chun Hua and Prince Jin.

This could be the scene where Yao Yao accompanied 晋王妃 to the temple to pray for a child. Then she didn't want to stay with her any longer since it was boring, so she left. Or 晋王妃 maybe held a banquet at this place that is not a temple. Made a short gif of this video. Even in this shot with so many girls, Yao Yao still stands out 😍

Yao Yao looked absolutely like a goddess today! She was wearing the outfit on the casting photos that were released. The white one where she also wore a pink peony flower as hair accessory. On this shooting day though the size of the flower has been adjusted so it fits Yao Yao's overall styling better and the make up have also been changed a bit. If you thought those photos were really beautiful, she looked even more ethereal on today's filming. I'll bring back my edits of those photos after this post. But this is how she looked liked 😍😍😍

And here is Chun Hua with Yao Yao during the 晋王妃 scene:

That lead to this scene from the shooting schedule:

"The Princess meets Yan Shang" - I think she met him right after when she walked out of the garden(?) after she left 晋王妃.

Yan Shang is also wearing the exact outfit from their couple photoshoot, and it's also the same outfit he killed Zhang Ren Jing in. No idea where Yan Shang was heading at the first place, and he has not killed ZRJ yet at this point since it's only early scenes of ep 7.

Yao Yao and Yan Shang have not established any kind of relationship yet. We are at the stage where Yao Yao is still teasing Yan Shang and Yan Shang is a shy 郎君 that doesn't say no to Yao Yao's advances. Even here you could see that Yao Yao didn't liked his answer to what kind of question she asked, so she just grabbed his arm forcefully. Made a really cute face that he can't resist:

and brought him to:

"Browse the various stalls" at Si Gui Yuan. Just like a couple 😆

Yao Yao went to different stalls like a normal girl (we saw glimpses of the Yao Yao before she was married off (at least how the novel described her)), pointed at things she wanted (a lotus lantern, snacks) and made Yan Shang pay for it 😆 It was very cute though but poor Yan Shang. I don't think he had that much money yet. In the last stall that we could see of the outdoor scene, Yao Yao saw a bracelet that she wanted. She made Yan Shang put it on for her and she looked so happy. Of course he paid for it. Here's the moment in photos:

Doing all these things with her first love that she didn't get to experience with her first husband 😭

Then we just had a flashback of something. It just says "Flashback to the second to last line".

After the strolling Yao Yao and Yan Shang went and "Drew a fortune slip + interpretation". It has changed into an indoor scene so no sneak peak. This is a scene from the novel!! Yao Yao asked for a marriage predestined by fate (姻缘) and Yan Shang thought about his career (前程). In the novel, hers said to "cherish the person before you" while his said "purple robe and gold belt, I am the head of all officials." That's a prime minister "tablet", the position that Yan Shang's mentor has. That was what made Yao Yao do his recommendation 😉 She gambled and she won at the end^^

After these scenes. Ziyi got off work to film a commercial. Meanwhile Xiaolin changed styling and switched to B group to continue filming. They drove to Taizhou to film in the woods. He wore the blue official outfit again and it was a horse riding in the night scene. So Yan Shang doesn't have spectacular horse riding skills yet, so during this scene Xiaolin needed to pretend that he was bad at riding a horse and it was so funny. I think it's harder to pretend that you don't know something than pretend to know something. I saw a video and he was having a great time swaying back and forth like a beginner 😆

Crown prince also filmed some night scenes today and he was bloody once again. It's like a normal state for him by now.

Turns out Yan Shang probably found a horse and then found Crown prince to alert him about the threat against him. He grabbed them (Crown prince and Yang Si) and was urging them to leave.

Heard this line by Yan Shang: "快，先离开这儿！" = "Quick, get out of here first!" The B group director had a really loud voice so I could hear him so clearly in this video hehe~~

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION FOR YANG SI (杨嗣) & YAN XIAO ZHOU (言晓舟) [Click on the image to enlarge]

→ Yang Si is Mu Wan Yao's (FL) childhood sweetheart and the crown prince's best friend (he was also his study companion since they were little - mentioned in the novel). FL never exhibited any romantic feelings for him though, just treating him like a close family member.

→ These wording peaked my interest when describing him, I think it nailed his personality:

"[...] 爱马如命，秉性潇洒不羁，是个至情至性，热爱自由的赤子，在用兵打仗上有极高天赋。可惜出身世家，生来就要为家族服务，只能一直压抑自己的天性。"

[Translation] "[...] he really loved horses, had a carefree and uninhibited nature, was a passionate and free-spirited person, and possessed a remarkable talent for military command and warfare. Unfortunately, born into an aristocratic family, he was bound to serve his clan, forcing him to constantly suppress his natural instincts."

BUT it was never mentioned or focused on the fact that Yang Si loved horses a lot in the novel. I believe it was added because of Yan Shang's sister (see below). The way they met each other for the first time has been changed.

→ Yang Si died in the novel and looks like they are keeping it:

"杨嗣生于长安，死于长安，但一生最快乐的日子，都是在边境军中度过的。他的死不是一个悲剧，因为雄鹰本就不应因于黄金笼中，他只是飞向了更辽远的天空。"

[Translation] "Yang Si was born in Chang'an and died in Chang'an, but he spent the happiest years of his life serving in the frontier army. His death was not a tragedy, for an eagle should never be confined to a golden cage; he simply soared to the vaster skies."

He didn't die in Chang'an but rather died protecting Chang'an in the novel. Let's see how they deal with the final battle.; how the lead up to it will look like.

→ Yan Xiao Zhou is Yan Shang's little sister, the youngest in the family.

→ Her description sounds about right:

"一看上去就很聪慧的女子，性格大气洒脱，不会自怜自伤。"

[Translation] "A woman who looks intelligent at first glance, having a generous and carefree personality, never prone to self-pity or self-reproach."

In the novel, she grew up to be a very independent-minded girl and Yan Shang support and respect her decisions.

→ This though is a bit different than in the novel:

"有一手好医术，不仅医人，也医动物，生灵万物在她眼中都是平等的 [...]"

[Translation] "A skilled healer, she doesn't only heal humans but also animals, treating all living things equally, […]"

I guess they fleshed out Yan Xiao Zhou by giving her the skilled healer title. She actually started to learn healing when she went to find Yang Si who was stationed at the Jian Nian border. There was also no mention of treating animals in the novel, so that was added.

→ That little detail was probably added due to the first meeting with Yang Si was changed. In the novel, Yang Si was drunk and Xiao Zhou found him beside the road, when she arrived in Chang'an for the first time with her 3rd brother (who is killed in the cdrama according to the character description for Yan Shang). I actually like this change.

"因一匹伤马与杨嗣结缘，但流离乱世中，终是有缘无分。"

[Translation] "She became acquainted with Yang Si because of a wounded horse, but amidst the turbulent times, they were not destined to be together."

I really enjoyed their story too but unfortunately they didn't get to have a good ending 😭 We got a bit of a redemption on the bonus story though.