Was Siu Chiu a plant?

[Ken Cheng]

No, I'm not asking if Siu Chiu was a flower or a tree. Rather, I'm asking if her being found by Yeung Siu and taken into the heart of the Chinese Ming Cult at Gwong Ming Peak was just by chance, or by design.

We all know that Siu Chiu was the daughter of Dor Yee See (also known as Granny Golden Flower and the Purple-Robed Dragon King of the Ming Cult). Dor Yee See had left the Ming Cult many years earlier, but still wanted to keep tabs on the cult so that she could steal the Keen Kwun Dai Loi Yee from the Chinese Mng Cult and give it to the Persian Ming Cult. Siu Chiu's actions during her time with the Chinese Ming Cult did seem rather suspicious, but on the other hand, she never did anything to sabotage or harm them (nor did it seem like she was sending any intelligence back to Dor Yee See). So was Siu Chiu a plant in the Chinese Ming Cult acting under her mother's orders, or did she really accidentally come into contact with the Ming Cult via a random encounter with Yeung Siu?

[HuangYushi]

A plant, and a hybrid at that.

[Candide]

Yang Xiao found her on the roadside crying over two bodies, who according to her were her parents and tortured to death by Mongolian soldiers. That should answer your question.

[Ken Cheng]

A plant, and a hybrid at that.

She didn't do a good job at being a plant (I'll leave the hybrid part alone), because it didn't seem like she was sending any useful info back to Dor Yee See. She was gathering information, but never did manage to send any of it back. She also developed Stockholm Syndrome with the Chinese Ming Cult (although that's probably just a side effect of her becoming smitten with Cheung Mo Gei).

[Ken Cheng]

Yang Xiao found her on the roadside crying over two bodies, who according to her were her parents and tortured to death by Mongolian soldiers. That should answer your question.

It was a good setup. Not only did she meet Yeung Siu at exactly the point she needed to, but she was able to completely bamboozle him with that cover story (at least at first).

[Candide]

She memorised the entire QKDNY and brought it back with her (and her mother) to Persia. Isn't that good enough?

[Ken Cheng]

She memorised the entire QKDNY and brought it back with her (and her mother) to Persia. Isn't that good enough?

That was almost by chance, though. She didn't know she'd come into contact with the Keen Kwun Dai Loi Yee, and her reunion with her mother also seemed more by chance than design as well. Siu Chiu didn't even seem to know that Granny Golden Flower was actually Dor Yee See at first (although she did realize it before anybody else did). If not for the fact that Siu Chiu tagged along with Cheung Mo Gei as he followed Granny Golden Flower in hopes of finding Tse Tsun, who knows how or when Siu Chiu would ever have accomplished her mission and found her mother again?

[Candide]

Hmm, I think that's the adaptation fooling you. Her sole purpose of being on Brightness Peak, as instructed by her mother, was to steal QKDNY, as that was the only thing that would make the Persians lift her mother's death sentence. The Purple Dragon King knew where QKDNY was, and so did Xiao Zhao, but they didn't know that the door to it was a huge rock that required superhuman strength to open. Xiao Zhao also knew exactly who the Granny was from the start and why her mother had to have such disguise.

[kidd]

Don't blame the adaptation this time. Blame Ken Cheng's memory. I watched HSDS 86 (the Tony Leung version) too and it was clearly explained in the series that Siu Chiu was sent by Purple Dragon to retrieve KQDNY so that Purple Dragon can asked for forgiveness from the Persian Ming Cult with this gift.

[shadow8899]

The 86 version did not explain that Siu Chiu was sent there by her mother. As a matter of fact, it seemed to me that Siu Chiu didn't even realize her mother was Purple Dragon until they were on the boat. I wondered about that for years until the Lawrence Ng version came out. That version showed that Siu Chiu knew who her mother was.

[kidd]

The 86 version did not explain that Siu Chiu was sent there by her mother. As a matter of fact, it seemed to me that Siu Chiu didn't even realize her mother was Purple Dragon until they were on the boat. I wondered about that for years until the Lawrence Ng version came out. That version showed that Siu Chiu knew who her mother was.

Yes, it was explained by Purple Dragon. I have only seen the 86 version as a whole (others like 2003 and 1993, I just see a few episodes) and I get the info from that version.

[Ken Cheng]

In HSDS '86, it was a bit confusing because things were not explained until after the fact. There were no real hints leading up to it: Siu Chiu was revealed as Dor Yee See's daughter, and if a viewer was unfamiliar with the HSDS story from the novel, it was a big, "WTF?!"

[Suet Seung]

In HSDS '86, it was a bit confusing because things were not explained until after the fact. There were no real hints leading up to it: Siu Chiu was revealed as Dor Yee See's daughter, and if a viewer was unfamiliar with the HSDS story from the novel, it was a big, "WTF?!"

I thought for sure, in that adaptation, Siu Chiu showed some concern/worries for Golden Flower Granny on the island when the Persians held Granny hostage. Or maybe that was my imagination. I'd have to rewatch to be sure. Kidd?

[Ken Cheng]

I thought for sure, in that adaptation, Siu Chiu showed some concern/worries for Golden Flower Granny on the island when the Persians held Granny hostage. Or maybe that was my imagination.

She did indeed do that, but the audience was left to wonder why because there had been no previous connection established between Siu Chiu and Granny Golden Flower. Without the appropriate context, Siu Chiu's highly emotional concern over Granny Golden Flower seemed really weird. It was only after Siu Chiu was explicitly revealed as Granny Golden Flower's daughter that an explanation followed. Anyone following the story for the first time (without prior knowledge of the novel) would be left going, "What? Huh? Hey!"

[Suet Seung]

So Siu Chiu's suspicious actions in knowing that there's a secret passage through No Regret's bed, knowing that blood is needed in order to read QKDNY on the animal skin, and showing concern for Golden Flower Granny is not enough foreshadowing to hint that she's not your average servant girl? If so, couldn't you accept the fact that it's a surprise twist in the story?

[Ken Cheng]

So Siu Chiu's suspicious actions in knowing that there's a secret passage through No Regret's bed, knowing that blood is needed in order to read QKDNY on the animal skin, and showing concern for Golden Flower Granny is not enough foreshadowing to hint that she's not your average servant girl?

That much was clear enough, but her specific actions and motivations were seemingly very random and inexplicable until the final reveal.

If so, couldn't you accept the fact that it's a surprise twist in the story?

Yeah, but it was sloppily done.

[Candide]

Don't think it was sloppy, but then, TVB is always good at that.

[kidd]

You said it yourself. An explaination was given after Siu Chiu was revealed to be Pruple Dragon's daughter. So, how can u not get that she's a plant? Purple Dragon explained it herself.

It's like complaining about Agatha Christie not giving readers very-obvious-even-an-idiot-can-see-them-hints before the big reveal at the end.

[Ken Cheng]

You said it yourself. An explaination was given after Siu Chiu was revealed to be Pruple Dragon's daughter. So, how can u not get that she's a plant?

Because they're two different things. Being Dor Yee See's daughter doesn't necessarily mean that Siu Chiu was also her roving spy (although that did turn out to be the case). Up until the moment of revelation, it wasn't clear at all what Siu Chiu's motivations or associations were. Her reaction (in HSDS '86) upon learning whom Granny Golden Flower *really* was was one of genuine surprise.

[kidd]

Because they're two different things. Being Dor Yee See's daughter doesn't necessarily mean that Siu Chiu was also her roving spy (although that did turn out to be the case). Up until the moment of revelation, it wasn't clear at all what Siu Chiu's motivations or associations were. Her reaction (in HSDS '86) upon learning whom Granny Golden Flower *really* was was one of genuine surprise.

The big reveal didn't just include "I'm Siu Chiu's mother. Period". Purple Dragon also said she sent her daughter to Ming Cult to get info about the KQDNY manual.

Maybe Siu Chiu look surprised becuase the last time she saw her mother, she's not in Granny Golden Flower disguise (my guesses).