Chapter 176 Epilogue (No need to buy, if you want to see it, please read it on Weibo)
On April 7th of last year, I opened Word and began writing the outline for "Bronze King." By July 18th, I had completed the outlines for "Bronze King" and "Unwavering Ambition." July 19th was the first day of writing for "Bronze King," and on March 10th of this year, I typed the last word of the main text.
Even when I finished the outline for Bronze, I already had a complete and thrilling picture in my mind. I had a feeling it would be the best story I'd ever written. By the time I finished writing the main story, I was certain that if I ever had a masterpiece, it would be "Bronze King."
The original outline for "Bronze King" was a screenplay. When I finished it, I excitedly showed it to a close friend, fully expecting her approval. However, she wasn't impressed, finding it inferior to the two outlines I'd written previously. This made me realize that this magnificent story, this heartwarming love story, existed only in my mind. The 45,000-word introduction I'd written couldn't capture it. To prove myself, and driven by the irrepressible urge to write, I immediately began writing the novel. Prior to this, I hadn't written a novel in over a decade.
Just as I'd reached tens of thousands of words, I received my second piece of feedback. This one came from a teacher who had been editing and reviewing film and television dramas for over 30 years. His first comment was that I should turn it into a novel. I told him I was already working on it. He agreed, and told me to ask my spouse to take care of the family during this time. Creativity is like that; someone always has to make sacrifices. He and I discussed the outline for Bronze for over an hour, even taking copious notes and pointing out areas for improvement during the writing process.
During the ten months since I began writing this novel, I've abstained from all entertainment, refraining from watching videos, reading articles, or even checking or posting on WeChat Moments. I've isolated myself from the world, entering another world. While my physical body continues to eat, sleep, and attend the obligatory work, my spiritual world, my soul, has entered a world of my own creation, experiencing another life. The author is blessed, because in a sense, the dimensions of life have been broadened, allowing me to deeply experience things impossible in ordinary life. I suddenly understand actors, and the same applies.
Friends and family all think my self-isolation is hard and difficult. But I know that, rather than being tiring, entering the world of fiction is a blissful and empowering experience. And I'm not alone on this journey.
During the entire creation process of Bronze, I must thank my good friend, who was also my earliest reader when I first started writing in Jinjiang 12 years ago. She accompanied me throughout the entire process for ten months.
I send her every 20,000 to 30,000 words I write. From the perspective of a seasoned reader with countless reading experiences and writing experience, she offers corrections and feedback. At least one-third of the scenes you all like about Tang Zhixu were added at her request. In the outline, Xiao Tang's love story is more subtle, with more waiting time involved. My friend played a significant role in increasing Xiao Tang's role to its current size. We often dream that if "Bronze" were ever made into a TV series, the actor playing the second male lead would be incredibly grateful to her.
Later on, she discovered that I had a high tolerance for criticism, so she stopped saying nice things and just kept pointing out where my output was lacking, without adding any emotional value. When the whole article was finished, she said calmly that it was better now. Hahahahaha, as my only reader, she even made me doubt whether Bronze King was good at all. But there is no doubt that it was because of her that we have the "Bronze King" you see now. I suggest that every writer should buy the same one to keep up with the times. And I am very sure that no matter whether Bronze King is good or not, it must be a very good novel. After the editor knew that I had finished the manuscript, he said that even if no company took a fancy to Bronze King, it does not mean that your writing is bad. It's just like an actor. Being famous depends on luck, and the work also requires luck.
At that point, I'd been working diligently for 10 months, now holding a 470,000-word manuscript, but I hadn't given any thought to where to publish it. I'd been away from the stage for far too long. A former editor friend told me about the DouYue Rally in April. It was the first time I'd heard of this platform and this competition. But after seeing the link she sent me, a sense of destiny washed over me. Perhaps this year's preparation had been leading up to this moment.
On the first night of the competition, I went to see the musical Sunset Boulevard. I'd bought my tickets two months earlier as early bird tickets, choosing the Thursday show to save money. Little did I know then that on April 23, 2025, after a decade of childbirth, anxiety, name loss, and a lack of inspiration, I would choose to embark on my first competition.
Norma walked down the spiral staircase slowly and sang "With One Look"
I'll return to my glory days
This time I'm staying Where I was born to be
With one look, I'll be me
She sang about past glory on the stage, and I shed tears in the audience.
The ending of the story was already determined, and her wish was ultimately just an illusion.
Just as I expected, a washed-up author with little fame would be ignored on a brand new platform. The only people who read it and left comments were my friends and family.
There were a few accounts I couldn't guess which relatives or friends belonged to, and I even discussed it privately with my husband. Perhaps it was someone else? Later, I realized that even in the darkest of times, on that narrow path lit only by friends and family, there were still readers out there who saw me. Their comments and votes, like a faint light from the front, guided me forward, guided me forward with determination.
During that time, I frequently refreshed the page at work, clearly seeing a new read every few minutes. At least that afternoon, there was a reader reading my writing, chapter by chapter. At home, every time a new bookmark was added, my husband and children would let out monkey-like cheers, patting their chests and howling, and then we'd all burst into laughter.
But I am very happy, really happy, because during this long competition, I have the best friends and the kindest readers in the world.
To be fair, voting for a friend for one day is easy, but voting every day for weeks is incredibly difficult. I wouldn't have been able to do it, but my friends did. I don't know how they persevered. They actually read, reviewed, and voted. Some of my friends were even male and some had dyslexia, haha.
I am not very good at expressing gratitude. I can write tens of thousands of words of emotions in an article, but when it comes to true gratitude, I can only say a dry "thank you".
Dear friends, after the game, let's go out for dinner and travel together. Over the past decade, we've gone from singles to families. We've gotten together less often, and we've seen each other less often, but you remain the most important people in my life. I'm so fortunate to have met you on the road of youth, in my youth, and now in my middle age. Thank you for being with me through spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Dear readers, thanking you is even harder. I can't imagine what you look like, I can't imagine your voice. It's like shouting into a valley. I only hope that my gratitude will resonate like sound waves across the earth, crossing thousands of mountains and rivers, carried tens of thousands of miles by the wind, reaching every corner, and finally reaching your ears and hearts.
Thank you for seeing me.
The following are some plot clues and analysis in "Bronze King"
1. Qin Yizhang, Yizhang, her name contains the plot. The seal she gave to Tong Zhongyuan, Yi, exchanged for her true feelings.
2. I present a gift of jade to Chunjun, hoping that we will not forget each other. This line appears at the beginning of the story and is mentioned repeatedly, hinting at the relationship between Qin Tian's family and Chunjun, and implying that her relationship with Tong Zhongyuan is symmetrical with that of Feng and Chunjun.
3. Rose. The flower she had planted on the windowsill, which had never bloomed, finally blossomed on the last day. It was her mother's favorite rose, an English rose, a symbol of spring and happiness.
4. A nursery rhyme. Qin Yunjie first sang it when he was suffering from dementia, and it later resurfaced in memories of the Niya Desert. Han Wenying had already given the code to her husband and daughter.
5. Commemorative Coins. Tong Zhongyuan used He Xiangu's Grand Town Coins to repay the commemorative coins he owed. He wanted to return more than just a commemorative coin to Qin Tian; he wanted to return the happy childhood he had before the He Xiangu coin hoarding incident.
6. Seal carving. At the beginning of the story, bamboo slips carved by his mother hang on the wall. Qin Tian's seal carving skills serve the final plot.
7. Nüshu. From the beginning, Qin Tian said she wanted to learn Nüshu, and later when she went to Jiangyong, there was a brief mention of her sharing Nüshu information with Tang Zhixu, which also served the plot. (I'm proud to say that I rarely write casually.)
8. Ba Ling and Chun Jun Tomb. Qin Tian, inspired by her father's discovery of Ba Ling, became competitive. Her initial goal wasn't to find the gilded plate, but to locate a new tomb. Ultimately, in her quest for the truth, she found her own tomb, fulfilling the ambitions of two generations.
9. Love and being loved. Qin Tian is a girl who doesn't understand love, and Tong Zhongyuan is a man who doesn't want to love. They both feel their lives are wonderful, lacking nothing. Love isn't about making up for a flaw; it's the irresistible presence that remains even after possessing everything. Tong Zhongyuan's definition of love as a rupture in the river of life echoes philosopher Badiou's definition of love. Love has forever changed both of them, transforming them into new, more multifaceted versions of themselves.
Bronze King was my first time writing a manuscript in standalone mode, and I found this traditional writing method to be the optimal one. I was free from external distractions and immersed in the storyline. I could make adjustments and revisions after each chapter, which gave it a complete and thorough writing experience, with details and logic that stood up to scrutiny.
I will start writing a new story next, which will still adopt this single-player mode. I look forward to seeing the new story in due time.
Curtsy to express gratitude~~
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