I also hated that HQB held back the information about Meng Jiu looking for her. Poor Jiu Ye even kneeled in front of Housekeeper Chen, just for any information about Yu'er. T.T
Though, I think Yu'er would have still chosen HQB in the end. I think, even in the beginning, she had feelings for HQB because when she came to Chang An, it was him that she looked for, it was him that she wanted to see at the end of the hallway. I always felt that her romance with Jiu Ye stemmed from her love for her father. Every time Jiu Ye took care of her, wiping her newly pierced earlobes or sending her prescriptions to cure her fake stomach or headaches, she would think of her father. But HQB was different. She always acted like herself in front of him, playful and carefree. While she may have agreed to marry him in a confused state after their first time, she realized that she loved him beyond what she had previously believed after that archery contest with Yi Zhi Xie.
Here's the except (koala's translation):
When he was done talking, he ignored everyone and took big steps towards me. In front of everyone he pulled me into his embrace, half lifted my veil, and lowered his head and kissed me. The buzzing around us ceased and turned to silence.
In the silent plains, even the wind appears to have stopped. All I can hear is his heartbeat and my heartbeat. Everything faded from my heart, so that in this entire world there was only him and me, me and him.
In a brief moment, it felt like an entire lifetime. From the first time I saw him and ours eyes met until this very moment, all these memories flashed through my mind. In this moment I finally knew, that in the little by little, in the unaware and the subconscious, he had already permanently carved himself on my heart.
At the cusp of losing him, I finally understood how much I fear losing him. My heart hurts, hurts so much that my body shakes in his embrace. But…..the heavens are cruel sometimes. So all I can do is use every ounce of my passion to kiss him back. Let him know my heart.
And if Yu'er did not love HQB, I don't think she would have stayed with him when she returned to Chang An. She's not the type to care about her reputation (otherwise why would she run an entertainment house and have HQB's child without marrying him first?) and Jiu Ye already told her that he didn't care if she was intimate with HQB. She could have easily escaped the danger of Chang An by leaving with Jiu Ye for Xi Yu, but she chose to stay out of her love for Huo Qu Bing. I think it just took her longer to realize the depth of her love for HQB because she was moved by Jiu Ye's gentleness, who reminded her of what having a family felt like.