In the episode of Pursuit of Jade (逐玉), Li Huai’an (李怀安) appears in the same frame as Fan Changyu (樊长玉) again. The barrage lights up with viewers who find themselves drawn to the pair. Some note she has always favored the gentle, scholarly type, and he fits that image perfectly. Others joke that the two deserve their own separate drama. A common sentiment runs through the comments: if they had met earlier, before Xie Zheng (谢征) entered the picture, they would have been a natural match.
Watching the scene, it is easy to see why people think that way. The atmosphere between them carries a certain warmth, and Li Huai’an himself seems genuinely moved. But even if he had crossed paths with her before Xie Zheng did, the outcome would not have changed. The truth is not hidden in their first meeting but in who he is at his core.
What She Says She Wants
Before Fan Changyu ever met Xie Zheng, she had a fiancé who was a scholar. She has mentioned more than once that she prefers men of learning. Xie Zheng, a military man, has felt the sting of that preference on more than one occasion. Li Huai’an, by contrast, is exactly that: a scholar. Gentle, kind-hearted, and handsome, he belongs to the very category of men she admits she finds attractive. There is also a history of mutual debt between them. He once gave her a ride in his carriage when she walked barefoot through the snow. She later saved his life on the battlefield, even if he was reluctant to accept the favor. On the surface, the ingredients for a romance seem to be there. If Xie Zheng had never appeared, one might assume the natural course of events would pull them together.
But even without Xie Zheng in the picture, Fan Changyu would not end up with Li Huai’an. She might experience a brief moment of attraction, stirred by his kindness and the care he shows her. A flicker of feeling could surface. Yet that moment would pass. She would not choose him, and the reason is not about timing or circumstance. It is about what Li Huai’an represents and what he is bound to. The clues to their incompatibility are woven into his character arc, particularly in how his story eventually unfolds. No matter how well he fits the description of her ideal on paper, the gap between who he is and who she needs runs too deep to bridge.
The Family Name Comes First
Looking at Li Huai’an as an individual, he seems like a fine match. He is talented, cultured, and holds a respectable position in society. His appearance is appealing, his conduct is upright, and he carries himself with genuine kindness. A woman marrying him would likely face little hardship in terms of material comfort or social standing. But conventional wisdom says that when considering a life partner, one must look beyond the person to the family they come from. As the grandson of Grand Tutor Li (李), his background carries weight. Yet it is not because his status is too high or because Fan Changyu, a butcher’s daughter, would be seen as beneath him. The real issue is deeper. In Li Huai’an’s value system, the Li family comes before everything.
This allegiance dictates his choices and limits his freedom. When the conflict between the Li family and their political rival reaches a critical point, his family orchestrates a scheme that allows rebels to advance on a city, resulting in countless deaths. Li Huai’an feels guilt over this, but he convinces himself that sacrifices are necessary for the greater good. Later, when he ends up in prison, he endures torture without revealing anything that would implicate his family. Even after the Li family abandons him, his sole wish is to die rather than betray them. He frames this as repayment for the twenty years they raised him. A person bound by such unwavering loyalty to a family that treats him as expendable cannot offer a partner the kind of future that requires mutual independence and shared decision-making.
Two Different Paths
Even if Li Huai’an did not care about Fan Changyu’s background and wanted to marry her properly, he would not allow her to pursue her own ambitions. He would likely try to reshape her, persuading her to adopt his values and devote herself to serving the Li family’s interests. For Fan Changyu, who refuses to lose herself or become a decorative figure in someone else’s life, such a role would be suffocating. Any affection between them would eventually crumble under the weight of this fundamental mismatch. They are simply not the same kind of person. She lives by her own will, regardless of her social standing. He, whether he wants to or not, submits to his family’s direction. She is independent in her thinking, while he functions as an executor of his family’s ambitions.
There is an old saying about people who follow different paths having no reason to plan together. This captures the dynamic between them perfectly. Without Xie Zheng, Fan Changyu might have spent some time in Li Huai’an’s company. She might have appreciated his kindness and even felt a temporary pull toward him. But in the end, she would walk away. Her life is defined by choices she makes for herself. His is defined by obligations he cannot set aside. No matter when they met, this essential difference would have surfaced. The timing of their meeting never mattered as much as the kind of people they had already become.
