将进酒 [Qiāng Jìn Jiǔ]

by Tang Jiu Qing, 唐酒卿

中博六州被拱手让于外敌，沈泽川受押入京，沦为人人痛打的落水狗。萧驰野闻着味来，不叫别人动手，自己将沈泽川一脚踹成了病秧子，谁知这病秧子回头一口，咬得他鲜血淋漓。两个人从此结下了大梁子，见面必撕咬。

“命运要我一生都守在这里，可这并非是我抉择的那一条路。黄沙淹没了我的手足，我不想再臣服于虚无的命。圣旨救不了我的兵，朝廷喂不饱我的马，我不愿再为此赴命。我要翻过那座山，我要为自己一战。”

-

The Six Prefectures of Zhongbo were ceded away in surrender to the external enemies, and Shen Zechuan was taken into custody in the capital, reduced to *a drowning dog loathed and condemned by all. Xiao Chiye followed the scent of the furor and made his way over. But instead of setting others on him, he kicked Shen Zechuan with his very own leg that rendered the latter an invalid. Who would expect this invalid to turn around and bite him in a counterattack until he was all drenched in blood? That was the start of an epic feud between both men who tear at each other every time they come face-to-face with one another.

“Fate wants to bind me here for life, but this is not the path I choose. The yellow dust submerged my brothers deep under. I have no wish to bow in submission to an illusory fate. The imperial edict couldn’t save my troops, and the imperial court couldn’t fill the stomachs of my mounts. I’m no longer willing to lay down my life for this purpose. I want to overturn that mountain. I am going to fight for myself.”

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Historical, China, Historical Fiction, Queer, Fantasy

2750 pages, Web Novel

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Small note: Those who want to read the English version, the amazing translation can be found here.)

Okay. So. Writing this review. Stresses me out as hell. Why? Because my words simply cannot do justice to the beauty of 将进酒. There is simply too much to it that a review cannot possibly cover everything that deserves to be portrayed. This is frustrating. But I will try my best.

1. First thing first, this is the best danmei I have ever read, the, objectively speaking, best-written danmei, one of the favourite literary works I have ever read in any genre, and a danmei that I believe to far exceed the limited, stigmatised boy-love-fangirl-material boundary of Internet pastime, and to be totally, unadulteratedly qualified to enter the realm of “serious” literature. And it is to me, a perfect novel (yes, you read that right, perfect).

2. In the majority of danmeis, the politics is secondary to the romance. But Tang Jiuqing will have none of that. I tell my friends a lot, even without the romance, 将进酒 would still make a fantastic work - in fact, bar the romance and add some appropriate alterations and extensions, 将进酒 would make a fantastic historical politics fiction. Why? Because the political plotline is simply too good. In fact, the politics is precisely what elevates this novel beyond the surface of Internet pastime literature.

The politics in 将进酒 is crafted with utmost seriousness, elaboration, research, and the brain of a brilliant 1997-born young woman (yes, I know, how did she even). It deals with war, grain, and money. These constitute of the factors that influence and orchestrate the entire running of the world of Dazhou, consequently molding the life of its citizens, on which based every conflict to be solved in this novel. The fact that all of these are incredibly mundane yet so very realistic problems faced by every nation makes the novel even more relevant and profound in its own right. Tang Jiuqing introduced entirely reasonable conundrums into this novel, such as embezzlement, grain shortage, aid relief, war strategies. You will find that Tang Jiuqing tolerates no half-assing here, she built 将进酒 on these very premises, not on the love story, so the span of 282 chapters will be put to efficient use to solve them in the most logical, smart, and thorough way possible. Tang Jiuqing accomplished exactly that through the incredibly detailed officialdom system she built (there are plenty of maps around on Weibo, the sheer volume is awe-inspiring), through the linking and building on one another of these very problems. Thus this is not your average danmei, it demands you to engage 100% of your brain, a great deal of contemplating and turning it over in your head to catch up with the logic of the story.

This leads me to the next merit of this novel - the logic. The problem with the political plotlines in literally all other danmeis I have read is that they either have no substance or are overcomplicated - hence making the plotline completely detached from the value of the novel. Though the politics in 将进酒 demands your critical thinking, the coherence with which Tang Jiuqing executed this makes it very easy to follow as long as you don’t skim and skip and make sure to turn things over in your head twice. Thus, it also makes reading this novel an extremely rewarding experience. Read this passage a second time, got it? Still not yet? Read it again, got it now? Was that a chill running over you? Isn’t it a wonderful feeling when things just click so deliciously? Many a time I have got pleasantly chilled after detangling a knot in this novel, just because of the sheer brilliance of it.

Realistic. I have especially noted its relevance to reality several times, because Tang Jiuqing didn’t exert this novel at all. No deux ex machina (how that bugs me), no shocking cheap plot twist jumping out of nowhere, the story simply flows and expands exactly how it would in the real world. It is realistic not just in its plot, but also in its characters.

3. Which leads us to the characters.

How do you picture the hierarchy in a danmei novel? The main couple, then all the rest, yes? Well, to hell with that.

A friend of mine once told me, a randomly selected side character in 将进酒 can have far more depth than the protagonists in any other novels. This is no exaggeration. 将进酒 is the only danmei I have read in which all the characters leave at least a mark in the readers, because all of their presence is indispensable, all of them are built with so much soul and dimensions that you will sympathise in varying degree with every character, be them “good” or “bad”. And what makes it so-much-better? The gray. There is nothing such as absolutely good and absolutely bad in this novel. There is no villain vs. hero, there is simply the difference of viewpoint and the influence of luck. No, the protagonists are not your righteous vigilantes who hurt not a fly and insist on holding up an unwavering moral code of justice. No, the antagonists are definitely not your single-mindedly evil "just ‘cause" villains. In fact, the antagonists do have very just causes and I love our antagonists. Even until the end when they meet their inevitable downfall, I shed tears for them.

What I love even more about this - is that it’s got no golden hands (one of the tropes I absolutely detest, sorry). Reading this feels quite much like reading Game of Thrones. It doesn’t matter if the protagonists are the protagonists, it doesn’t matter if the protagonists are someone brilliant themselves, because all the characters have got the brain. So if the protagonists get fooled into their rivals’ trap? They lose, not only do they lose, but they are sure to pay hefty prices for their very mistake, in some case even death. It’s a game of mind, and you either keep up or be expelled from the big picture sooner or later. It even helps that such balance in the characters provide ample opportunities for our character to grow, to fall and pick themselves up, to learn from their mistakes - it was particularly rewarding for me to witness the growth of Ce’An in the final volume.

4. I have talked a lot about anything other than the romance haven’t I. Well, be fooled not, because this novel has one of, if not the most beautiful love story in my entire fangirl life.

Seriously, the sheer thought of CeZhou makes me wanna curl up into a ball and cry. How do I even explain to you how beautiful their love is? Maybe I should just make another series of reaction memes.

It sucks balls that I don’t have the word command to express my love for them and I cannot say anything without spoiling either so I’mna just. You know that kind of love where two people just unequivocally undoubtedly support and trust one another and be there for one another and never let one another have to fall into quandaries and protect and treasure one another with all their heart and might and strength and just understand one another so well and BETTER THEMSELVES for the other person (oh my god my hands are shaking) and attention and care is expressed in every smallest act of love? CeZhou is all of that and more.

See, basically, this is my reaction to them:



You seriously need to read to understand what I am saying. Just know that I finished this novel on the 2nd of April, and at the time of this review it’s been 6 months, and they are on my mind every-single-day.

5. The writing. Oh my god. Now words truly fail me.

Tang Jiuqing has one of the most beautiful proses I have ever read. You can literally pick a random passage out of the novel and it would make a mean quote. Those that make true quotes though are so heart-breakingly beautiful you will have them ironed in your mind forever. Tang Jiuqing somehow has mastered the art of pacing with this novel, no segment feels drawn out, no segment feels schmaltzy. Her romantic lines will reduce every fan to a squeaking teary mess while her plot lines will, well, do pretty much the same, at least for me. I can’t tell you how many times I have chilled all over reading dialogues she wrote, relishing their extraordinary cinematic feels - a so treasured blend of brilliance for the inducement of such feeling to your work is entirely too rarely possible to achieve. The thing is, like her plot, her prose isn’t try-hard at all. The dialogues feel superbly natural and it enhances the interaction between the characters, especially CeZhou to this level of realistically romantic. Seriously, is this woman even real?

Also, this has the best H I have ever read in my life, literally. I can't even fathom how one manages to write entirely inexplicit porn so infused with sexual tension that can give you fcking asphyxia and make your knees buckle and limbs tremble and veins burst.

This is the first danmei, and possibly might be the only in many years where such perfect balance between the romance and the plot is achieved. I honestly believe only Tang Jiuqing herself can produce the next work to hold a candle to it. I have completely sold my soul to this young lady, as you can see.

6. Small note, this is one of the only two danmeis to ever have made me cried my eyeballs out like a baby.

[ana ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this poor one has resurrected and came to you to rant about chinese men AGAIN. this time without the charms inherent to the world of xianxia, but nevertheless a really worthy read. what else can i say... welcome to the world of political intrigues, military tactics and money frauds. and…I CAN FINALLY SAY THIS TEAM—I READ QIANG JIN JIU!!!

!POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD!

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟

the breakthrough of the Biansha tribes near the Chashi River is a terrible tragedy that resulted in the destruction of more than 10 thousand civilians. Shen Wei's troops were instantly defeated, and 30 thousand soldiers were buried in the Chashi crater. the general himself was accused of collaborating with the enemy side. to avoid punishment, he burned himself alive. it so happened that everyone collectively decided to make a scapegoat his only surviving son—Shen Zechuan.

Shen Zechuan, as a child, was sent by his father to his mother’s homeland—Duanzhou. naturally, he did not know his father’s true motives… or his father at all. but the young man stubbornly continued to deny the betrayal of General Shen, enduring the pain of torture, since accepting this stigma on his own and existing as the son of a traitor is clearly such a prospect.

even after the Emperor's interrogation and subsequent beating almost to death, his torment did not end. in the evening of the same day, fate throws him a punch in the gut (literally) in the form of the second prince of Libei—Xiao Chiye. filled with anger, he almost kills Shen Zechuan with one powerful kick in the chest (freaky first acquaintance, isn't it?). but fate and the Empress Dowager favor him, so instead of death, the main character is imprisoned in the Zhao Zui Temple.

the Emperor offers Xiao Chiye the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army, and given that they were gobbling up government money and doing nothing else, they could sit back and live for their own pleasure.

but not everything is as simple as it might seem at first glance. this promotion was an excuse to keep Xiao Chiye under his side in Qudu, allowing him to control the Xiao clan. it is because of this peculiar imprisonment that Xiao Ce’an hates the last scion of Shen Wei.

after 5 years of imprisonment, Shen Zechuan was released from custody and promoted to the ranks of the Imperial bodyguards. he will make his plans of revenge into reality and move up the career ladder, while Xiao Chiye will dig under him to find out why he did not die from his powerful punch and how he managed to turn the situation in his favor.

some freaky stuff, right. from such a plot we will get a Game of Thrones-esque story where we will follow internal events (shift in the vector of power in the capital) and external ones (the war with Biansha) and, of course, enjoy the love line.

‘I want to live a long life with you. In a place where no one can reach us. Are you tired from running?’

'Not at all. I survive by thinking of you.’

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟

life has shaken Shen Lanzhou up and down considerably. he is a very handsome gentleman and boy you would know how many descriptions the nape of his neck has received. i've never had a neck fetish, but after reading this i seem to have one. Shen Lanzhou is dangerously cunning. want to read about a mastermind scheming on the way to the top with a supporting lover and a talented team? THIS IS FOR YOU!

in addition to his charming appearance, he has excellent manners and the ability to seize the right moment, which has repeatedly given him an advantage in conducting various matters. it is clearly not worth becoming his enemy, since he is quite cruel when it comes to revenge.


like just look at him

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟

a freedom-loving, passionate, stubborn alpha male who always achieves what he wants. if Lanzhou wins by cunning, then Xiao Chiye wins with force. i came to the conclusion that he is the pinnacle of danmei tops.

he has excellent martial arts skills, and his style involves powerful, accurate and direct strikes. he is a master of military craft and can make a valiant army out of mediocrities. he can also be quick-tempered and quite sarcastic, but these are only to his advantage imo. his reliability and thoughtfulness win my heart over and over again.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟

‘Lanzhou, you only have to harden your heart, and you’d be able to leave me behind.’

team you have to LOCK IN and read it RIGHT NOW to see how beautiful the novel is. im ready to talk for hours about how comfortable the relationship is in the main couple. it would seem, how can such a wonderful relationship be obtained from a kick that should have taken a life? erm..not to quote Justin Bieber but never say never.

we observe how the main characters build relationships full of care and mutual understanding from barbs and prejudiced attitudes towards each other. Xiao Chiye is ready to take the stars out of the sky for the sake of Lanzhou LITERALLY. like stop. they are just adorable buns who always take care of each other during difficult times. and it is written so casually too that it makes you experience romantic moments more sensually.

‘Xiao Chiye raised his head and said in a hoarse voice, 'Oh, how I love you so.'

Shen Zechuan was slightly stunned.

Xiao Chiye looked at him and enunciated each word as he repeated, 'I love you so much.’

SICK AND TWISTEDDDDDDDDD
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟

okay now please lock in cause i need to spill it out right now or i’ll be dead inside for the rest of my life. Yao Wenyu. i cried my eyes out when he died. i was kinda prepared, BUT IT HURT SO BAD AND THAT MF EXTRA OF QIAO TIANYA HAD ME SOBBING TANG JIUQING IS SICK IN THE HEAD

team, did that extra hurt. it hurt that he was so alone. now hitting you with one of the saddest lines:

‘He had to head north for his date in the first march of spring—a spring date where no one would come.’

this is sick and twisted and ungodly and sinful.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟

in any way it was intense, it was full of love, it was tragic, funny at times, but at the end of the day—it was part of a big amazing show stopping godless and just simply beautiful story.

[bea ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay woah i spent nearly 3 months reading this story how am i supposed to write down the way this novel made me feel during that time.

This novel was great in every possible way: plot, characters, romance, worldbuilding, narrative, prose, they all amazed me. So let me rant about all these aspects one by one:

1) Its very difficult to explain the plot of this novel. Qiang Jin Jiu is a story about the unfairness of the world and defeating the corrupted system that kept suffocating the characters, about them paving their own path and taking their fate into their hands.
It's very politics centric and yeah, for a small brain like mine, they were kinda difficult to follow at times bc this novel demands 100% of your brain to read it (and i can only offer like a 50% of my brain at best). It's about war, political schemes, economy, and everything is described in such a realistic way that it's very noticeable all the research the author had to do to write this story. However, like i said, it's kinda difficult to keep track of the politics bc they are kinda complex sometimes. This is the only con that i find in this novel and it might be one of the reasons why this novel took me so long. It demands you to think through all the 2800 pages and sometimes my brain needed a break. BUT when you do understand what is going on, everything comes together in a way that blows your mind. AND THE BATTLES????? EPIC AF,, THEY GOT ME BITING MY FIST BC OF THE TENSION
(If you have read any other danmeis, i will say that i found the complexity of the politics here similar to Sha Po Lang's politics, a bit more complex than Thousand Autumns')

2) LET'S TALK ABOUT THE CHARACTERS. OH HOW I LOVED THE CHARACTERS. The author did a brilliant job with the characterization of every single character in this novel. Everyone has their goals, their story, and believe me, THERE ARE A LOT OF CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY (i recommend ALWAYS having a character chart with you when you read this), and the fact that she still put so much effort into building every character as multidimensional fascinates me so much. And omg, one thing that fascinates me EVEN MORE is how the author didn't try to make some characters "good" and other characters "bad", they are ALL gray and i absolutely adore that. Everyone believes in their goals and they think that they are doing the right thing, even if it hurts others, even if they have to kill to reach that goal. MAN, there were even times when i pitied the "villains", that's how well written this is.
All this made me love the characters so much😭
I feel like i really want to write an essay about Yao Wenyu's character. One of the best.

3) AND THE ROMANCE [HEAD IN HANDS] I WISH I COULD BE A NORMAL PERSON ABOUT CEZHOU. THE WAY THEIR RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPS, THE WAY THEY UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER EVEN IN THEIR ENEMIES PHASE, HOW THEY HAVE EACH OTHER'S BACK, CHEST AND HEART AND MAKE SUCH A GOOD TEAM AND POWER COUPLE, HOW THEY FIND FREEDOM IN EACH OTHER, SHEN ZECHUAN BEING XIAO CHIYE'S MOON, XIAO CHIYE BEING SHEN ZECHUAN'S SUN, HOW THEY ARE WILLING TO KILL FOR EACH OTHER AND TEAR APART ANYONE THAT TRIES TO TAKE ONE OF THEM AWAY FROM THE OTHER—
dont know if you have noticed but i might love them a little😔
okay but fr i love the romance in this novel, and extra points to the author bc the smut was very well written AND DONT GET ME STARTED WITH THE TENSION BETWEEN THEM. SPEECHLESS. (and yet, if you are gonna read this novel just for the romance you might have a hard time bc, like i said before: heavy politics)
btw!!! there are two side couples (very SIDE couples) in this novel and one of them destroyed my heart completely. keep that in mind for your own emotional stability.

4) NOW WITH THE WORLDBUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT. The research the author did is very noticeable in this aspect!!!!! apparently, Qiang Jin Jiu has elements inspired in the Qing and Ming Dynasty, which made it very interesting to read. AND THERE ARE OFFICIAL MAPS WITH ALL THE TERRITORIES WHICH LOOK VERY COOL.
The scenes are very enveloping and i loved the environment descriptions as the seasons changed. And i want to talk about one of my favorite things in this novel which are the clothes' descriptions!!!!!!! the translator's notes were so helpful and made the reading so interesting because i didn't know anything about the clothing back in the ming dynasty, so they taking their time to explain really made the reading experience so great and i could understand the implications of some official robes!!!!

5) Finally, about the prose and narrative, this danmei novel has a more serious tone than most novels I've read. There's hardly any comedic moments (i mean, of course you are gonna find domestic and funny moments, but not that often really) and everything is narrated very seriously. The prose is excellent. There are so many quotes that i loved and a lot of witty conversations between the characters. Overall, very satisfied with the way the novel was written.

I don't know what else to say, just that i loved it soososos much. I would love that one day we get to see an official eng translation of this novel, i would LOVE to have it in my hands and read it again, im sure the rereading experience of this novel is even better than reading it for the first time💕

[siu · Rating 5 out of 5]

“To marry me, two million isn’t enough; I want Lanzhou’s priceless smile that even a thousand gold cannot buy.”

their romance is so sweet😭 one of the rare enemies to lovers where the lovers is the best part.

i remember having a little breakdown when i realized they were getting together way before the halfway mark and thinking "it's too soon guys wtf where will the tension go for the other 2000 pages left"💀 BUT I'M TELLING YOU THAT IT GETS EVEN BETTER.

"I am yours, even in death. And you are mine too. I will kill whoever wants to take you away from me."

I WILL READ ALL OF THIS AUTHOR'S WORKS NOW BC WTF. WHAT KIND OF SORCERY IS THIS. THE CHEMISTRY, THE BANTER, THE TENSION — CHEFS KISS

xiao chiye (love interest) falls first, then falls even harder. immaculate. (also gave me a crisis bc he said ily TWICE before shen zechuan uttered anything back haha my boi... pls give verbal affirmation that you love him back ty)

"I'm human too. I still have some feelings."
"But you've reserved none of those feelings for me."

xiao chiye: pls give me a kiss
shen zechuan: no >:(
xiao chiye: HOW ABOUT! i get to kiss you, you get to kick me
shen zechuan: ...
shen zechuan: fine.
shen zechuan: but you won't have this opportunity again.

“Give me a kiss. I did as you said today and did not bully them the slightest.”

when SZC got hurt and hid it from XCY and when he found out, it upset him so much😭

“Go on, keep acting cute with me. It’s futile, Shen Lanzhou. If you give yourself another stab the next time, I’ll die immediately in Libei. I won’t exist anymore, do you hear me?”

when i started, it threw me off that the mc was 15 so i went immediately to google bc i'd much rather read a danmei where the mc is at least 20! and was reassured that pretty early on there is a 5 year time jump, so really the mc is 20 and the love interest is 22. YAYYYY

when they first meet, xiao chiye fr tries to kill him with a kick to the chest, when my poor shen zechuan just got punished so badly for his father's betrayal😭

xiao chiye is so in love with him. when he was lying on the sand, counting the stars, he would think of his shen lanzhou (courtesy name). when father's are offering their daughters for marriage to him, he'll look at them and his mind goes straight to lanzhou. HIS THOUGHTS ARE ALWAYS ABOUT HIM <3

don't even get me started on his NECK. the nape of the SZC's neck get's XCY goin fr. i'm sure if we compile all the descriptive paragraphs, we'd get a whole chapter's worth of just SZC's neck details.

(also side note, i'm sooo confused with courtesy names bc it was so important in mdzs that those close to you could call you by your birth name and everyone else would call you by your courtesy name. but XCY never called SZC by his birth name ??? at any point in their relationship. and then those who were spitting on his name would say shen zechuan ??? i'm thinking it should be the opposite right?)

let's talk about the politics real quick bc i don't think i got the hang of it until 500 ish pages into the book. very grateful for the guides, official & fan made, for helping my brain out !! 😭

character guide & relation chart | official map

this book is very politics heavy so if you're expecting a lot of romance, don't. but don't let that deter you bc it is WORTH IT for those moments between them.

xiao chiye's father: when you have a bride, you may gift this horse to her!
xiao chiye: aha ha
father: oh you already have a woman?
son: 😗
father: who?? are they from bianbo camp?? aren't there only stinky men there?
son: 😗
father: son ???
son: i have a stinky man. he's the prettiest man in all of dazhou. and he's my wife! *runs away*
father: eye– COME BACK HERE

(father, later that night: what's his name? is he from a clan we are familiar with?
son: ...
son: he's the son of this county's traitorous prince.
son: 😄)

when shen zechuan is meeting his father-in-law for the first time and xiao chiye is pushing a plate of food closer to SZC bc he's ill and needs to eat more, his father catches him and stomps on his foot HAHA.

XCH always makes sure SZC has a full meal, takes his medicine on time, is warm enough... 💔 the way half this book is always rainy or cold, SLAPS. i love when they hold umbrellas for one another or when XCH puts his cloak around SZC.

“No one dared to glance at Shen Zechuan, not to mention that they were also afraid of offending Xiao Chiye too. These few days on the road, the Imperial Army had gradually come to discover the subtle and delicate relationship between Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye.”

about the nsfw (not really spoilery but just a warning incase!) it was kinda like enemies w benefits at the beginning bc XCH was really lusting over SZC. and i usually don't like that trope bc one person usually has some leverage over the other, or one actually has unrequited feelings for the other, etc. but they both had like equal standing w each other which was refreshing to read. they'd do their duties in the day, spend the night together, and back to normal stuff the next day (obv that's before they were together for real). none of that unnecessary drama.

also their scenes are written more on the non-graphic side and more poetic that i'm thinking like damn these are SO much better than detailed ones... or maybe it's just this author who has a way with words (and of course the amazing fan translator, lianyin, too) (when the translator's note said they combine the og uncensored version & revised censored version for us, ILYYYY. ALL THE GOODIES IN ONE PLACE THANK YOUUU) i wonder how it will go for the seven seas editions.

i've yet to read a danmei where i'm really satisfied with how the women are portrayed, and qjj is no exception, unfortunately. i wish there was more done with qi zhuyin's character, a whole commander in chief like !! she's so badass.

overall though, this danmei still had my heart. i will definitely reread their moments again in the official english copies. not the politics though, once was enough thank you very much :) i was already sort of rereading their moments when i was pulling quotes to add in this review and my HEART !!

spoilers below!

songyu side paring:

i really thought they would get a happy ending despite seeing a tweet that they were so tragic because WE LITERALLY MADE IT TO THE LAST CHAPTER. THE LAST CHAPTER AND HE HAD TO DIE😭😭😭

"If only we could have met earlier..."

and the way SZC had gotten attached to YWY that he was crying too. i never thought i'm see my boi cry again.

yo the nsfw scenes:

THE SCENE ON THE THRONE ??? EYE–
ON THE HORSE ??? FLABBERGASTED
OKAY SEMI NSFW BUT THE BATHTUB PUNISHMENT LMAO

when everything hit fan in qudu and they broke out:

"'Lanzhou, come home with me!'
'Ce'an, go home.'
Xiao Chiye felt as though his heart had been dunked in icy water."

when i tell you my heart also dropped. SZC IF YOU DON'T GO HOME WITH YOUR MAN RIGHT NOW😭

03/24/2024: DEVOTED TWO MONTHS OF MY LIFE FOR THEMM <333

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read Oct 2023. It is the sad state of cnovels nowadays where I'm reduced to rereading QJJ and priest, sigh. The newer novels just don't compare. This is still one of my absolute favorite cnovels (maybe trim the second half a bit) because of how well-written the two main characters are 🥺 I also find T97's prose sophisticated in CN, there's depth.
---
What a ride. This book has shades of 杀破狼 Sha Po Lang and 泾渭情殇 Clear and Muddy Loss of Love . It is REALLY heavy on the politics. There's three parts - first part is set in the capital, second part is in Zhongbo, third part kind of spans both.

I really loved the first arc, kind of liked the second, and wasn't really a fan of the third. The thing I love most about this novel is the arcs of the two protagonists, Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye. They had really beautiful arcs - Shen Zechuan's PTSD, anguish, and trauma and the beautiful symbolism and meaning behind his name, and Xiao Chiye's restlessness and pain in being trapped as a glorified hostage in the capital, his growth as a person and as a member of the Libei family and army.

This author is really really great at writing angst and the responses and growth of the characters when they face setbacks, suffering and loss. First two parts had a lot of this, and there were some really unforgettable scenes and quotes. The moments of vulnerability and intimacy between the two leads was so perfect 😭 And I still remember that poem and the explanation behind Shen Zechuan's name 😭

The third part was full of heavy politicking, with multiple side plots being dealt with. The novel no longer felt like an intense character study of the two main characters, but now focused on this huuuge ensemble cast. I started skimming POVs and chapters. I even got a bit bored of the main couple by the end because their interactions became fairly predictable? As compared to the growth, tenderness and depth that was being explored, built and developed in the first and second parts.

I really struggled to keep up with the huge cast of characters, their histories, motivations and political leanings by the third part. I didn't really feel invested when the author included a poignant moment about the side characters, because there were just so many of them. The chapters also ended abruptly and scene transitions often seemed to be missing in the Chinese edition I read, so it was kind of abrupt and jerky sometimes.

That said, I loved the female characters to bits!!! It's so rare to see complex, competent and likeable female characters in danmei, especially women who have relationships with each other. It's almost a given that danmei fiction is misogynistic; if the women aren't unlikeable and despicable, then there usually is only one (1) likeable female character. I also feel like the author was implying the Qi Zhuyin/Hua Xiangyi relationship?? I love the female characters so much and wish there was a whole novella about them.

As usual, in ancient China political novels, Chinese imperialism is very much part of the foundation of the novel. I also found it a little disappointing that Shen Zechuan became the Emperor... This didn't seem to be where his arc (his name) was leading. Not to mention it's hard to believe that things would really change and there would be less cruelty and corruption, when the author spent most of the novel showing that the system is the problem.

[yel ᰔ · Rating 5 out of 5]

➺ 5/5 🌟

This novel might be the same length as TGCF, or maybe a bit longer, that's why it took me more than a week to finish reading this. I thought it would be such a stretch to have 282 chapters of historical politics and war but no, I realized that even though this is long, the length is just right because of how intricate the plot is.

If you're planning on picking this novel up because you're looking for a fluffy romance, or you're expecting this to focus on the romance, or you've heard that the main couple here might be one of the best pairs in all of danmei but you're not a plot-driven reader, please, this is your chance to turn around and walk away. The plot might not be the same without the romance, but I can say that this novel can be considered as having the romance as a subplot, not the main plot. This is more about the politics and war, and if you're not into that kind of topic in your story, this might not be for you.

Both the MC (Shen Lanzhou) and the ML (Xiao Ce'an) are deserving to have their own fandom. Their characters shine so much in this. They're very well written, with their own flaws and shortcomings but also realistic. They have so much charisma that no matter how flawed they are, you couldn't help but still love them and root for them.

Shen Lanzhou is a son of a traitor and was implicated in the rebellion. He was condemned and tortured to the point where he almost died a couple of times, and one of them was because of a fatal blow by Xiao Ce'an himself. On the other hand, Xiao Ce'an is the second son of a retired general and the brother of the current general of the Libei Armored Cavalry that guards the northern border against the Baisha tribes. Because of the successive win of the army against the Baisha, Xiao Ce'an was sent to the capital as an 'assurance of loyalty' to the emperor if we're going by euphemism, 'hostage' if we're being blunt, to control the army. Both Lanzhou and Ce'an are prisoners of their own fate and in that moment of their lives, they got to meet each other. But not in a pleasant way.

This might be one of the best enemies to lovers that I've read. A fatal kick as a greeting in their first meeting is such a memorable way to introduce them with each other. Their own circumstances made them loath each other. They not just bicker and pit the other person, they literally tried to kill each other. But after their mutual hate comes the mutual attraction, which makes them hate each other even more. Having the same fate of being in a 'cage', they gradually become reluctant allies that turns into something deeper that even they didn't want to get out of. The way their romance progressed is so smooth that you wouldn't even tell when it starts, but it still feels natural.

Lanzhou and Ce'an are capable characters, both as a couple and as individuals. They even have this period when they have to do their own things and have to be apart, and that shows their development as an individual. And I loved it! They can be the power couple, but they can also prove themselves separately.

This novel also has a lot of great side characters and the antagonists are no brainless cannon fodder. The author made it so easy to get attached to them. There is no black and white, good and bad, in this story. They all have their own principle and no one can define who is right and who is wrong. It all depends on the perspective or where you stand.

The story of overthrowing a century old dynasty is not something easy to convey. There are a lot of things to consider, whether the internal and external conflicts, the politics and war. They are so intricate and written so well, and the author didn't try to skip things to move forward. The characters have their own part to do. It's all there and that's what makes this so good. The only historical Chinese novel that comes to mind with this kind of intricate, detailed plot with full of great characters is Nirvana in Fire. The only thing is that NiF was focused on the internal conflicts and the struggle to change the ruler but QJJ doesn't only change the ruler but the dynasty itself and also touches the issue of war and all the things that comes with it, with also some intense battle scenes.

The author also wasn't afraid to kill off characters. Dying in this sort of setting isn't unusual and it makes more realistic to have death in this story, but because the characters are so easy to get attached to, it was difficult to accept. The overall goal might have been achieved in the end, but not everyone got their own happy ending, even the characters from the protagonists' side and that's worthy of the tears I've spent. No matter who they are (because I won't spoil it), my heart ached for them. That's why even if the ending is satisfactory, it left a tiny hole in my heart.

Overall, this is a new favorite danmei for me, and also a new favorite couple! I would have loved to recommend this to anyone, but I know this is not a cup of tea for everyone because of the heavy plot. But I swear, if we're talking about the plot and the characters, this is definitely a masterpiece!

[richa ⋆.˚★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indescribable experience. The tale of Xiao Chiye and Shen Lanzhou has now become too dear to me.

It starts with Shen Zechuan losing everything he had — his adopted family, his father turned coats and self immolated. Plights never seem to end as he is takenas hostage back to Qudu, the capital. He is berated, castigated, blackened by his father's deed— someone who never even cared for him. Now he is right under the heel of the Second Master of Libei, Xiao Chiye. The chained wolf who hides his claws, yearns to go back to his pack and now with the young white fox of Zhongbo in his range, he wants to even with for the loss. Unbeknownst to them, the green spring blooms. Shifting loyalties, plotting schemes, uncovering conspiracies and outplaying the webs laid down by sinister court officials. Qiang Jin Jiu stands out as the political drama goes hand in hand with their romance. The tension and the pace are balanced with all the events in the plot. I found the chemistry between characters delicious. I was rooting for three pairs including Cezhou and it kept me on my toes.

Apart from the political intrigue, I found the romance such a breath of air from the stifling,restrained and shy characters I had previously read. Xiao Chiye and Shen Lanzhou interacted as if they're the sole people in the room and it killed me to imagine seeing Chiye's subordinates react- Ding Tao, Qiao Tianya, Young Fei; they all have my sympathies. The beautiful prose that T97 whips out when they're together, it was so damn good. I have way too many lines of these two being absolute husbands. The fierce passion, the bickering and the yearning when they're apart despite them earlier being enemies — you guys don't get it, I was losing my mind over them for days 😫 I believe in terms of romance and writing, it is on par with TGCF (which to this date was one of the most romantic couples I had read). The nape fetish( I did NOT know that was a thing), you guys it was the funniest thing to read. Cean was bonkers just to see a sliver of it 🤣🤣 Get this man in the bonk jail. He never was shy about his affection- be it in freezing cave, snow storm or forest. He will put forth his mark on Lanzhou, even with the earring piece. 🛐 I, in fact, understand. Shen Lanzhou was the flying eagle he could never tame.

Among the many characters, I have a lot thoughts about a few of them:

Xiao Fangxou: Absolute boy dad, one of the best parents in danmei. Understanding, steady and has foresight. A+ in parenting. Big wolf/Alpha energy. His end had me shook, I knew it was gonna happen but reading it was so brutal.

Xiao Jiming: He could tell his brother got a partner with the change of his blinking 🤣 I loved his wife and his adorable kid. Has the foresight that Cean overlooked and the big brother blueprint to the T.

Ji Gang: The dad who adopted Shen Lanzhou and made him who he is.

Qi Huilian: Honorary mention since he is the prince maker, the one who rolled the dice before the game began.

Xi Xuezhou: I hate to admit it but he was a good villain. He could not be a sycophant or a rebel in a court, he remained the stubborn thorn. A big fuck you.

Qiang Tanya: He was one of my favourite characters 😭 I am so sad, I have read the extra and I didn't feel a bit better. It made me feel worse. He was inevitably pulled into the web of schemes. I wanted another extra just for him.


“I don’t remember anymore,” Qiao Tianya said. “The only one who can play the zither for you, however, can only be me, Qiao Tianya.”

He had to head north for his date in the first march of spring—a spring date where no one would come.

Yao Wenyu: The one guy who never wanted to be part of the game yet was reluctantly pulled. He is the guy who preaches about being kind in the most cruel time. I am equally devastated for him. His whole purpose was to play the last move. I knew his end was foreshadowed but it hurts so much. Why do I always pick such chapters as my favourite? 😭😭 The unblemished jade of the Yao clan.

“Yuanzhuo has kept his spring date with you this life.” Yao Wenyu retracted his hand. “I have no more regrets.”

I AM NEVER GETTING OVER THEM😭😭😭 THE POSSIBILITY THAT THEY COULD HAVE STAYED TOGETHER!!!! Call the nurse because I am going crazy. T97 we need to talk 👹


Qi Zhuyin: The girl boss of Qudu, the one untouchable general who stayed true to her land. I admired her character. She has the making of girl husband, trust me in my vision.

Hua Xiangyi: The true catalyst at the end, her quick thinking despite her delicate stature was a deciding factor in many events. Another baddie Qudu overlooked.

I am sad for Senior Qi to leave his young wife widowed, but grateful that she in Qi Zhuyin's company. Someone who admires her equally and will treat better than her crusty dad.
The rouge scene 🤭 I knew T97 can write a baihe if she lifts the pen more.

Empress Dowager: Honorable mention to the one who didn't give away her chess pieces till the end. Despite being suppressed all her life, she pulled the wool too many times and got away as well.

Adding a few lines to illustrate my maddening journey. I hope all you romance seekers, danmei readers do not forget to pick.

It did not matter by which name this feeling was called. They mutually staked their claims on one another, increasingly growing closer amidst their struggles. The pit of desire was bottomless, and the abyss of misery, unsurmountable.

“It’s only when one sees it as if through a dream or an illusion that one’s heart will be moved. It won’t be such an enchanting sight anymore if seen clearly.”


The turbidness that was love and hatred went through a cleansing by the heavy downpour to become a crystal clear lake.

“The best-looking man in the whole of Dazhou is my wife!”


Overall I had one of the best week reading QJJ. I had earlier picked it but was forced to pause it. I was never bored for a moment or felt it was dragging, I was into it till the end. I scoured the internet looking for the 11 extra chapters as well. QJJ is one of my peak danmei reads.
5/5 🌟

[Camillee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edit:

I FINISHED IT !! 🍷

OK , Uff, lets be honest this novel was a pain for my brain, every single character here its so well written and so are their motives, is the same reason why you can't say there is a " villain" in the story, because every character is guided by their own interests. The plot , as I pointed out before, is heavily politic and there's plenty of military strategies in it, plus, there's a lot [ a lot really] of characters and everyone is kinda important and crucial. I really ran out of braincells trying to memorize their relationships in the story at the same I was trying to not forget what position or office they were assigned to. Anyway, I love mental challenges and I'm so happy i gave this story a chance, cause I havent feel this emotion reading since I last finished reading 2ha or Tian guan ci fu and that was like 3 -4 years ago. But I'm aware that politic story novels are not for everyone, but if you decide to give a try, I dont think it'll dissapoint you, maybe its a little bit complicated and slow at first, but i was so invested that I kept reading

Ok, THE CHARACTERS ARE A ABSOLUTELY MASTERPIECE but I must confess Im severly biased on Xiao Chiye, Xiao Ce'an my king of wolfs of Libei. there are not enough praise words for this character, his development was incredible, i havent felt this proud about a fictional character deeds, achievements and story in years. And his relationship with his family, his father and the love he felt about his home Libei won me. And of course, the man is a passionate lover with his Lanzhou, i was grinning like an idiot at my screen hahah
Lanzhou character was amazing, I liked the fact he was no hero nor a villain, he's more like an antihero type, there were plenty of ocassions where I couldnt tell what his ulterior motives were, I truly fell for his schemes [ I never felt this dumb before ]

The other characters were majestic, I really liked Qiao Tianya and Yao Wenyu side story [ pain] And so many others...
But lets stop this review here or I will not stop writing about it
This is my new favorite story, I wasn't even planning on reading it at first and now here I am waiting for a miracle to get a physical version to re read again...
🥺🍷💖

Once again... that feeling you have when you finished a good story, that kind of void... I wonder what should I read next

[Long Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll call it the Game of Thrones of Chinese danmei. It shares many similarities with the other series - sweeping epicness, power struggles between warring factions, barbarian invasions from the North, and ambiguous morality seen through different characters' POVs. There aren't any dragons though. Instead, there is a beautiful, shining mm love so powerful it conquers cities and kingdoms.

Reading this book, I'm constantly in awe of the writing talent of the author - Tang Jiuqing. How she could weave such a complex story that spans decades and hundreds of characters, with events and mysteries that are slowly revealed through thousands of pages until the very end of the book. Its scope is astonishing. It took me nearly 20 days to finish this grand novel, but I love every moment of those 20 days.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have so many contradictory thoughts and feelings about this book. I don’t even know where to start. I have two minds about this book: my judgement of it as a danmei and my judgement of it as a political drama.

As a danmei, I liked it….but I didn’t love it. I know that this is technically an enemies to lovers done well, and I’m not anti-enemies to lovers, but I think I dislike when we skip the friendship step. Sue me! I don’t mean to sound like a prude when I say it felt like physicality played an annoyingly large part in their apparently rock solid, life-or-death connection. And I know this is just preference, and I’m a hopeless romantic at heart, in that I love danmeis where the connection between the two leads feels so much deeper than that. It’s not to say that it’s not believable that the two were incredibly devoted to each other and loved each other whole-heartedly. I definitely bought it by the time they left Qudu together, but I felt myself a little put off by almost all of their initial interactions as lovers. Still, I rooted for them. But I think what’s most telling of my feelings about this couple is that I never really looked forward to their scenes together after like the 30% mark. I didn’t dread them, but I feel like their relationship progressed a so fast, and the rest of the novel was just them either talking about the political situation or being physically intimate, often at the same time. I don’t necessarily get bored every time a couple gets together earlier in the story, but in my opinion, so much of the tension between the couple that tends to captivate me usually in these stories just wasn’t there. I was almost always more invested in their individual arcs (more on that later). That being said, I’m not an erotica fan by any means, but I did appreciate how the sex scenes in this were very emotional and tastefully written compared to some other danmei authors (cough mxtx cough). I do think the author really understands the value of leaving things unsaid, but I sometimes felt like she was relying on this device a bit too much, and the things left unsaid left me as a reader feeling detached from the main couple. I felt that we lacked a clear progression of their vulnerability with each other EMOTIONALLY. It just sorta…started happening. I also think ultimately their relationship fell along the lines of something a little too traditional for what I’m looking for, despite Lanzhou being the one with the upper hand at the end.

I’d say this book is like 30% danmei and 70% political drama, and I think this will be my last political drama for a while. I’m very glad that I read Golden Terrace and watched Nirvana in Fire earlier this year so that I wasn’t hopelessly lost with this sort of story. There’s honestly so much that I’m still confused about. The author definitely did her part of foreshadowing, but it’s a long ass book and so hard to remember all the details throughout since there are like 100 characters. Speaking of these side characters, though, I found the more important ones very strong, even if they were just supporting the larger story, and we knew not much of their pasts. To me, they all served their purposes well. I especially loved Kong Ling, Qi Zhuyin, Fei Sheng…but on this journey I think I realized a huge problem I have with this genre as a whole. EVERYONE IS WAY TOO OP WHEN IT COMES TO PREDICTIONS AND DEDUCTIVE REASONING!!! There are so many cases in which Shen Zechuan or whoever staked so much on what to me feels like an educated guess. And this was fascinating to me in Golden Terrace and Nirvana in Fire, but it’s getting a little bit old. I need a break from these dramas clearly.

As for more specifically how I feel about certain characters…
Shen Zechuan: there was so much potential here for me to be super invested in him, but I really don’t like how the author made his thoughts so mysterious to the reader. I understand the intention, because we’re supposed to be just as unsure of him as the general public, but god damn there was just so much there in the little glimpses we get here and there that just isn’t expanded upon and it’s such a missed opportunity (like when he’s day dreaming about Shen Wei and scares the shit out of Ding Tao because he looks like a demon? What???) I also dislike where his arc ended up, but I won’t get into such a major spoiler here.
Xiao Chiye: hated him so much at first. What an obnoxious and possessive asshole. But he did grow on me. Though this sort of plateaued. I’m glad he got humbled a few times but not enough. I’m sick of hearing about his god damn arm strength.
Yao Wenyu & Qiao Tianya: Oh I despised this side couple. Individually I liked these characters very much until….,that one scene that made me lose all my respect for QTY. I don’t get it. No chemistry there at all. No happiness or joy. Just misery when they’re together and we’re supposed to grieve for their circumstances I guess?
Qi Zhuyin & Hua Xiangyi: This was a way more subtle side couple but yaaaay women in danmei and yaaaay yuri. I loved their dynamic, even if the ethics of this match is a little dubious since that is her father’s new lawful wife ummmm NEXT.
Li Jianting: actually it hurts to even think about her. What a tragic character. She deserved so much better. Like it was so hard for me to root for Shen Zechuan toward the end when I knew what it would mean for her.
Fei Sheng: This guy was too funny. #2 in the imperial bodyguards #1 in MY heart. His father/son relationship with Yin Chang….God.
Kong Ling: We freaking love you. Smart, a great friend to Zhao Gui, has his own gay one-that-got-away….(good bc ur too good for him chengfeng!!)
Ok I won’t go one because I have not too much left to say character-wise that’s interesting.

I feel so conflicted about this story, as I mentioned before. By far the best sequence in this book takes place before the half way point, when they leave Qudu. Truly the height of drama. And then it just….tapers. Like yeah there are battle scenes (for the most part boring asf besides the Duanzhou one) and some memorable ones here and there, but it’s mostly just talking and exposition. Which is fine, but the stamina it takes to finish a book like this is considerable. I would probably always recommend Golden Terrace over this for this reason (historical danmei, kind of enemies to lovers). The political drama is not nearly as in-depth, but the story is just so much tighter and enjoyable. I do feel that this novel is such an impressive feat for the author, and I don’t regret reading it. I do feel like I just read the War and Peace of danmei. But for all the time I put into it, I wish I felt more satisfied. (To be fair, there is probably more resolution and breathing room in the extras, but I don’t have those right now so….)

I’m going to round up to a 4, but I’m gonna have to say 3.5. A 3 seems a bit low when I think of the high points of the story…but a 4 seems to generous when I think of the weaknesses😅I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that a lot of readers feel the need to rate this super highly because it’s so complex, but sometimes there’s just as much beauty in simplicity, and complex≠good necessarily. But now I’m just being a hater. I enjoyed it!! I recommend it only to people who are in way too deep in danmei or love political drama cnovels. Otherwise, you’re cooked.

Edit: I wanna note that I’m not really discussing the prose or some writing decisions because I did read the unofficial fan translation, so these things might be a bit better in the official.

Edit: After rereading this review, I’m deciding to round down instead of up here. Sorry!

[Marureviere · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still trying to process my emotions because I'm swimming in them

[kay! ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

what did i just read

oh my god

[NiaKantorka · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Qiāng Jìn Jiǔ was a very good book. I really loved most of it - except for the last 250 pages or so.

But let’s start at the beginning: Our MC Shen Zechuan is a teenager when the book starts. He’s kinda doomed from the start because his father (Shen Wei) has betrayed the emperor of Dazhou and especially its six prefectures of Zhongbo. Following his betrayal around 40.000 soldiers and many more people of this region died under the onslaught of the Biansha cavalry. Even though I’m not sold on kin liability, it's a fact that it was commonplace in imperial China (and Dazhou is some sort of fantasy Ming dynasty equivalent of China). So, our MC is well hated and many people would like to see him die.

Among them is Xiao Chiye, our ML, whose family of military leaders had to give it their all to get the enemy to retreat out of the country with a ruined Zhongbo left behind.

From there the political situation sets off and many intrigues and hidden agendas are waiting to be revealed. There are not only some epic battles but also many verbal or mental duels happening between different fractions of the imperial court or of the many educated people we meet along the way.

Our MC and ML clashed regularly at first and yes, one nearly killed the other, but over time they got to know each other and also learned where the other got their drive from. Their relationship progressed in an absolutely lovely way (and I loved that for them).

Honestly, I also loved the complicated plot and the fact that I had to consult a character sheet a lot in the beginning and a map of Dazhou through the whole book. There were some great side characters and the fate of one of them nearly made me cry. Let’s name a few of those cool people not to spoil anything: Li Jianting, Qiao Tianya, Xiao Fangxu, Yao Wenyu, Qi Zhuyin, Hua Xiangyi and the youngsters, especially Jiran.

Another thing I highly appreciated was that there were no fragile women in this book. The women were as capable and intelligent as the men. They schemed and fought and - though this shouldn’t be something worth mentioning - it is a plus compared to other danmei stories. I also thought I spotted a budding Bai he story but I’m not totally sure if that wasn’t just wishful thinking.

Now to the points that rubbed me the wrong way:
First of all, the overly hectic and forced ending. The showdown in the desert felt as rushed to me as the one in Qudu. The book is at least 2.5k long in Chinese (depending on the editions I saw) and a lot of plot points and arcs are slowly built up which only makes the ending feel more hastened to me.
Secondly, I disliked the cliched revelation about who the scorpion masterminds in Qudu were.
Thirdly, it was disappointing to see what happened (or didn’t happen) with Duo’erlan and Li Jianting. I mean this is a book about many morally dubious characters who - with only a few exceptions - make a lot of questionable decisions. And in the end, the author conveniently offs one person, but offing the other looks too bad although it’s absolutely illogical not to kill them.
Last but not least, I thought it didn’t make much sense who ended up on the throne. Like, I totally get who’s supposed to end up on the throne in the future but if one looks once again at the premise of this book I just am not sold. Feels like one of Lanzhou’s fever dreams that all the people of Dazhou happily embraced their new emperor when corruption and nepotism had been running rampant for decades.

The longer I’ve been writing this review the bigger the itch to curb my rating became. I did have a great time with over 90% of this story so I’ll just leave it be

[Nothing · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75🌟
I actually did finish this last night but I needed time to gather my thoughts and I still do bc I don't know if I loved it or not..... like it's so frustrating how we spent so much time on grain and new people when we could've explored the characters that were already there like Qiao Tianya, Yao Wenyu and Fei Sheng. there was so much to see and learn about them and they were so very interesting but unfortunately it feels like the side characters were paid dust (like do I know anything about Chen Yang or Ding Tao or Li Xiong? or even Ji Gang??? no) and then the ending was so rushed that it was just very lackluster. we spent the whole story waiting for that big finish but it's gained so easily and then a character dies and another becomes a wanderer just because.

anyway I do like this Author's story telling but I have yet to read a full 4 or 5 stars from them.

[K.C. ·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:· · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review won’t be long:
♪───Ｏ（≧∇≦）Ｏ────♪

I’ll just start by saying, my overall experience was overwhelmingly positive with this novel. Granted, it’s one of the longest (still not nearly as long as ERHA or YUWU(・∀・)), but despite that I do genuinely feel that the good far outweigh the bad. With that said, I still can’t give this book a full 5 stars. The politics were extremely well written, some of the best written political intrigue I’ve read by far and that’s no exaggeration.

However, it got to a point where there was too MUCH politics. And I can’t say that it was an unbalanced mix of plot versus politics, because the politics WERE the plot. Past the 70% mark, the politics just became too heavy and it was just pages and pages and PAAAGGGEESSS of talking about military budgets and GRAINS and deploying the TROOPS…

I began to skim past 85% just to get somewhere because I felt like it was kinda meandering.

Despite that though, I really did like the plot/story. The build up to certain climatic points was done very well and though felt a little slow at times, didn’t feel super rushed and overly fantastical.

I LOVED the relationship between Cezhou. Xiao Chiye is hella fine!!! Shen Zechuan is also hella fine!! We stan sexy couples in this household. They had a very real and convincing development from ‘enemies’ to lovers and that’s very hard to come by in stories now. This author really understands what this switch means instead of it just being ‘these two characters mildly dislike each other but in reality they’re totally in love and have been since the beginning’. No, these two wanted to kill each other and trample over one another before the sparks started to mildly sizzle.

I also really loved how this story developed its side characters. The side characters could fully stand on their own instead of wholly depending on the two mcs if that makes sense. Yes, the side characters still revolve around the MCs, that’s a given, but they could also have stories and development on their own without the MCs needing to be there.

I was able to feel a wide range of emotions from this book and I can appreciate that. I was happy, angry, downright pissed, and rooting for heads to fly. And by god, I was absolutely devastated at certain points because I had managed to grow attached to certain characters and their relationships. It didn’t feel like whiplash at any point because even though I could see certain things coming, that didn’t cushion it at ALL when it actually happened.

Damn, I said this wouldn’t be long so I’m gonna stop here. But once again, overall I had an overwhelmingly positive experience here, despite whatever slight negatives there were here and there. So my experience and pleasure with this novel is a solid 4.5/5!!!! ✌︎('ω'✌︎ )

[Helen ⊹₊⟡⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh i was absolutely artbaited into reading this, shen zechuan and his pretty earring and fan, xiao chiye and his braid sturdy broad fine man, and i had an amazing time no regrets

“He seemed to be the polar opposite of Shen Zechuan, yet he also seemed to be completely similar. The only one in this world who could understand the entirety of Xiao Chiye’s pain and suffering without any use of words was Shen Zechuan.”

Qiang Jin Jiu, 将进酒, ballad of sword and wine, an absolute MASTERPIECE. i dont even know how i’m supposed to articulate my thoughts down. First and foremost this historical politic heavy book and tang jiuqi does an absolute amazing job writing it that the motives of all the characters and their relationships to one and another are very realistic. As someone who’s bad with politics in books this was a struggle but i was still able to follow along (don’t ask me any questions or test me because that i cannot do). The writing of the battle scenes are some of my favorites from the book.

now our main characters:

“I am Shen Zechuan. Whether your word is the truth or a lie is of no significance to me at all. I am my own nightmare.”

Shen Zechuan, our fine prettiest boy ever, but do not let that trick you because he is dangerously cunning, calculative, too smart for everyone (including me). he will kill a man and wait for his husband to pick him up afterwards. he will push himself pass his limit to execute what needs to be done.

Xiao Chiye, our wolf of libei, with his horse and falcon against the world, he a natural leader, charismatic, doesn’t give a fuck about rules. He is mindful of the different political relationships, with his moves very thought out. oh and he’s absolutely so soo down bad for Shen Zechuan

“Everyone in this world wants to be Xiao Chiye.
But there can be no other Shen Lanzhou!”

now the duo:
THE TENSION BETWEEN THEM!!! they’re enemies because the reason XCY is stuck in qudu and unable to return home is cuz of SZC father’s betrayal. So yeah he basically almost killed SZC first encounter with the harsh kick, but oh he will regret it for the rest of time.



BUT DAMN MY BOY WAS SO DOWN BAD. XCY falls first and the continues falling harder. He makes earring and fans for SZC! The way SZC always waiting for him to return from battles and he just comes back on lang tao xue jin (his horse name), meng (his falcon) soaring ahead letting SZC to know. the way he just scoops up his wife and off the go (i literally can not figure out the logic of this but im not questioning xiao chiye abilities). The way XCy is sooo protective over SZC with injuries and getting sick *screams into pillow* they are so sickeningly disgustingly in love but i’m so here for it. their trust and support for one and another. POWER COUPLE｡°(°.◜ᯅ◝°)°｡

“You can do as your heart desires.” Xiao Chiye whispered into his ear. “With me here, you will never fall.”

other characters:
I really like how tang jiuqi writes from the different characters pov. It makes all of them so much richer, deeper, more clear of their motives and connections with one and another. there were times where the enemies and i was starting to feel bad for them.

I really wish we got Qian Zhuyin, the female general, more early on. I really enjoyed her character and she did play a huge part when we did get to her, along with Hua Xiangyi


Spoiler section:
I was spoiled of yao wenyu fate so i knew it gonna happen. HOWEVER I DID NOT EXPECT WAS THE FACT THAT QIAO TIANYA DOESNT MAKE BACK IN TIME THAT HE DOESNT GET A FINAL GOODBYE. when he shattered his zither, i was shattered i was crying so hard. i was so attached to them i really thought they get a final moment together after all the chaos ends.

nsfw section:
why is their foreplay politic talk?!? im like 🥵 over what they physically doing but 😵‍💫 of their convo
also THE HORSE SCENE (what the fuck xcy you horny bastard)
AND THE ENDING ON THE THRONE?!? (you know what you deserve do whatever yall want where ever yall want to)
also the writing isn’t graphic…? like its almost poetic the way it’s written.


now i gotta wait patiently for seven seas to publish it all so i can look at all the beautiful art and THEN READ THE EXTRAS WITH CEZHOU WEDDDINGGGGG!!

i’ll probably listen to some of the audio drama and read the manhua as it updates

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever read a book that you put off finishing because you don’t want to leave the world behind yet? That was the last twenty percent or so of Qiang Jin Jiu for me. I tackled this behemoth very slowly over the course of four months, so while I felt motivated to finally get through it, by the end I was sad to think about no longer reading it.

Stating the obvious: this book is an endeavor. An undertaking. A test of mettle. I knew after completing the first volume that this is a “requires second reading” book—there’s absolutely no way to get a full grasp on everything this story has to offer in one go. Which is a positive. I love reading books that make me want to revisit them, to see beloved characters again and to more thoroughly understand events happening in the background, secret motives, and hidden easter eggs. The amount of foreshadowing that went over my head will only make a second read that much more fun, to pick up on these little hints. And it will be much more fulfilling to see characters’ grudges and schemes develop in real time alongside major plot events, especially as seemingly minor or forgotten characters from early on in the story come back to haunt our protagonists much later.

As a negative, there’s honestly no way to get a full grasp on the story in its full glory without a diligent second read, and trudging through the first read was often confusing and— toward the end of the story with frequent POV/scene shifts within the same chapter—a bit disorienting. Part of me thinks that I’m just not smart enough to keep up with everything happening in the story, that my memory is too lacking to keep track of all the names, all the political moves, and all the money/grain trails Shen Zechuan seems elegantly adept at micromanaging. Hence, the motivation to reread the whole story again, albeit with a notebook and pen at the ready for vigorous notekeeping. I wouldn’t want any of this extensive worldbuilding watered down—I love complex and in-depth worlds that feel all-consuming, even if they’re overwhelming. But the amount of characters and geographical locations to keep track of required more “signposting” from the author the deeper we go into the story. Those minor characters you thought you could forget about wayyy back in volume one? They’ll return two or three books later, and you better remember their name and what grudges they hold against other characters, because you most likely won’t get any reminders. Particularly Fengquan and his relationship to Qiao Tianya—I couldn’t remember the details of the Shao clan’s downfall by the time this is all coming to fruition in the last ten percent or so of the book, so even just a quick blurb somewhere about how these two characters were related and what drove Fengquan’s actions would have made the impact of their final confrontation so much bigger. This lack of signposting wasn’t always the case, and the few times the author does intentionally give us a bit of a reminder of where someone came from or what arc they first appeared in is SUPER helpful, but the last chunk of the book requires some heavy lifting memory work.

The complexity of the book was my biggest critique, and again, that was both a positive and a negative for me. I could probably write a novella’s length review of specific plot points, characters things, etc., but for simplicity’s sake, here are some of my smaller overall impressions (some light spoilers):

PACING/OVERALL PLOT: At times, slow and tedious, at other times, impossible to put down. But even in the slow times, it’s all building toward something bigger, some looming threat in the future or some hurdle that the main characters are struggling to grow through. The biggest dip in pacing happens after Shen Zechuan’s and Xiao Chiye’s flight from Qudu—following this are some lengthy chapters detailing Shen Zechuan’s gradual building up of the empire’s outlying cities, reclaiming lost territories and establishing a foothold in the grains market. This middle section isn’t boring by any means, as there are some faster-paced action scenes interspersed throughout. But while we’ve just acclimated to Shen Zechuan’s and Xiao Chiye’s new life outside of the capital, we’re swung back into the capital with the dramatic rise of a new emperor. This felt a bit jarring as familiar characters from the first part of the story (when Shen Zechuan & Xiao Chiye were still in the capital) are mostly gone and new characters or lesser-known side characters are now prominent figures. You have to adapt quickly with the plot shifts, as you no longer solely follow Shen Zechuan/Xiao Chiye, but swing back and forth from the capital and the outlying territories.

MORALLY GRAY CHARACTERS: There’s no clear-cut villain, no obvious right and wrong, no black and white in this book. It’s PHENOMENALLY gray, one of the best examples of complex morally gray characters and choices that I’ve seen in a long time. Of course, we’re rooting for Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye to win in the end, but every political figure or tribe leader they fight along the way is a fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional human with their own understandable motivations, beliefs, and desires. The conflict between Yao Wenyu and Xue Xiuzhuo is a prime example of two figures fighting for a similar cause, to bring down the power of the corrupt noble clans and reshape the empire, but whose philosophical approaches differed and ultimately drove them to become enemies. Amu’er’s and Xiao Chiye’s eye-for-an-eye conflict was heartrending as you get equal emphasis on both characters’ losses at the hands of the other. At every turn, the author seemed to say: there’s no right answer, just the path you choose to take and the consequences that follow.

ROMANCE: Swoonworthy. Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye are one of my top favorite danmei couples, easily. Their “enemies” phase didn’t last long, and the love seemed to develop hastily as soon as they realized they were both fighting against the same corrupt forces, but their small interactions, the subtle intimacy that grows steadily stronger with each parting and reuniting, these soft moments between them made the laborious political grain-tracking and battle scene chapters all worth the wait. Personally, I wanted a bit more development of this unshakable trust they had in each other or at least a better balance between non-sexual intimacy and sexual intimacy—there’s plenty, and I mean PLENTY of emphasis on the lust between these two. The amount of times Xiao Chiye’s thoughts meandered from important war briefings to Shen Zechuan’s nape…it’s a miracle the man got anything done. But the moments I’ll remember the most and that really displayed the strength of their relationship were times of struggle and grief, the times when the entire world fell apart around them, but they knew they could always find stability in the others’ arms. Swoonworthy. The side relationships were interesting and developed in good pace with the story. Qiao Tianya and Yao Wenyu’s beginning was…rocky, to say the least, but I unexpectedly teared up in the final chapter—Qiao Tianya smashed not only his beloved zither, but also my poor little heart. Qi Zhuyin and Hua Xiangyi were understated. I was promised (by other readers) canon lesbians, and alas, canon they were not. At most, this is a fan-ship level side relationship, not fully explored and I don’t know if that’s the author dropping a thread or if the author intended for them to not be definitively romantically involved. But either way. I wanted Qi Zhuyin’s cute little blushes and flustered compliments toward Hua Xiangyi to at least earn her a lil kiss on the cheek. Even if Hua Xiangyi is technically her stepmom.

SIDE CHARACTERS: No character was underdeveloped, which worked beautifully for creating a gray world where everyone’s decisions seemed valid and believable. So many lovable side characters, especially Shen Zechuan’s and Xiao Chiye’s personal bodyguards. Their banter with each other, their loyalty to their masters, even their blunders—those choices they made that displeased either or both masters—only helped to endear each of these characters to me, particularly since each mistake they made only strengthened their resolve to do better, to be better, more honorable men for the people around them. (But honestly, why shouldn’t Ding Tao get to keep turtles in the backyard? Let the boy live.) My only critique on these smaller characters is that some disappeared toward the end—Ji Gang is briefly shown with Xiao Chiye’s family, but didn’t have any significant interaction with Shen Zechuan after discovering his son’s relationship with Xiao Chiye. Chen Yang and Gu Jin were heavily present in the first half of the book, but slowly faded out over time, to the point I actually forgot their names and relevance to Xiao Chiye.

WOMEN: WOMEN. WOOOOOOMEN. Women’s rights and wrongs, I support every single female character in this book. Like all the side characters, every female character was fully three-dimsenional—they were strong, they were cunning and sometimes manipulative, they wanted better futures for women, they wanted to shatter the glass ceiling holding them back from earning titles and respect they were due. The empress dowager, Qi Zhuyin, Hua Xiangyi, Li Jianting, Duo’er’lan were all strong female characters IN DIFFERENT WAYS. We’ve seen the “strong female character” trope time and time again now, and it’s often the same archetype. But each of these women were strong in their own unique ways, using their unique circumstances and skills to achieve their goals. Qi Zhuyin is the literal strong female character, a respected, yet under-acknowledged commanding general fighting for her rightful title while navigating a difficult choice between loyalty to a sovereign whose “gratitude” for her service is only a political ploy, and abandoning the Qi clan’s unwavering decades of loyalty to the empire for Qi Zhuyin’s own moral beliefs of right and wrong, of the impact her sole decision of where to send her troops could have on the future of the empire. Li Jianting was like a loaded pistol, a woman with a traumatic history, tossed onto the emperor’s throne, given immense power, and bombarded with countless advisor’s opinions on how she should behave, what moves to make, what people to promote and who to listen to. Very quickly she learns how to manipulate the men around her to carve her own path forward. She was a wild ride of a character to follow, and I’m honestly not entirely sure what to make of her, but she’s one of those characters I’m keeping my eye on for my second read.

As a character-driven reader, most of my review revolves around just that. This book was so massive I really could sit down, drink a couple cups of coffee, and devolve into madness ranting about plot conspiracies, battle strategies, and grain quality for a solid four hours. And quite frankly, this story deserves that kind of energy. Yes, it was an undertaking and a lot to keep track of, but every minute was fully worth it, and I can’t wait to pick it up again someday in the future.

[The Smol Moth]

If this book isn't good I am going to murder a man, because this looks right up my alley. Enemies to lovers, emphasis on plot over romance, and tons of (according to fans) well-written court intrigue? PLEASE that's everything I love in a story

[Kim Dokja · Rating 5 out of 5]

5* ah, QJJ literalmente se convirtió en mi danmei favorito. La historia ha sido tan buena que terminarla me ha dejado con un vacío en el corazón, las batallas han sido tan emocionantes y conmovedoras que no sé cuando volveré a leer algo tan UUGGHH EMOCIONANTE. Además me encantó que en cada volumen haya un clímax en el que literalmente quedas LOCO por todas las emociones que te hace sentir.

POR OTRO LADO, la relación de Shen Zechuan y Xiao Chiye es tan única y preciosa dios mio AHH SE AMAN TAN BONITO que mi corazón no puede soportarlo. Siento que me volveré loca.

YO SIMPLEMENTE estoy sin palabras por la obra maestra que escribió T97. QJJ definitivamente tiene una de las mejores tramas que he leído. Muchas personas se asustan por la política, pero es que Dios, la política + Cezhou es lo que la hace tan buena. Además, tiene unos personajes secundarios tan memorables que te encariñas un montón con ellos... Cof cof YIN CHANG AAHHH

Una recomendación es que si quieres leer QJJ, debes tomarte tu tiempo, no desesperarte porque quieres acabar rápidamente la novela... Y pues AJÁ esa no es la gracia. Disfrutar de QJJ es lo primordial, y para eso hay que tomarse su tiempo leyendo y comprendiendo todo.

Esto lo digo porque yo (que soy impaciente) le puse todas mis ganas y EFECTIVAMENTE me tome mi tiempo JSKSKDKKA, porque quería leer de todo corazón QJJ, quería comprender todos los entresijos. Y créanme cuando digo que es muy emocionante ir leyendo como se va desenvolviendo toda una trama de política, conspiraciones, romance, batallas que fueron una locura y me dejaron con la boca completamente abierta además de estar en el piso o saltar por la emoción...

Dios, me estoy poniendo bastante sentimental porque uughh como puede ser tan buena una novela?!? AAAAAAAHHHHHH
Cabe recalcar que la política juega un papel fundamental en QJJ, y por esa razón es que tienes que leer con atención. Ahh, es emocionante recordar tal cosa y como tiene conexión con tal cosa cuando pensabas que simplemente había sido mencionado por relleno...

Personalmente, siento que la trama de QJJ es tan buena que mantiene al lector atrapado... Definitivamente es necesario darle una oportunidad a QJJ, un enemies to lovers muy emocionante.

Es un enemies to lovers interesante(? porque AAHG CÓMO DESCRIBIRLO??? estos dos simplemente necesitan amarse y no pelear JAKSKSKKA JODER uno se siente muy feliz cuando comienzan a demostrar sus emociones... Es que Dios, el Cezhou es de las parejas más hermosas y únicas que he leído... su relación es tan tierna, apasionada, tan devota que... AAAAAAAHHHHHH Hace que mi corazón quiera explotar.

La química entre ellos es TAN PALPABLE TAN??? TANGIBLE (??? ES QUE TRASPASA LA PANTALLA y DIOS su amor es tan intenso que hace que uno literalmente se sienta hasta enamorado. Por ejemplo, lo que más me quedó marcado en el corazón fue Xiao Chiye consolando a Lanzhou cuando estaba enfermo... Pero si hablamos de unas de las frases más lindas que se han dicho y que representan el amor que se tienen, es cuando Shen Zechuan le dice a Xiao Chiye: "Un día galoparemos bajo los cielos de Libei, y eso será cuando sea lo suficientemente fuerte y poderoso. Dos millones no son suficientes para casarse con el cachorro de lobo del Príncipe de Libei. Tal regalo de compromiso no es digno de mi Xiao Ce'an. Sin embargo, si estoy en Zhongbo, algún día pasaré a ser tu escudo indestructible."

DIOS MIO, ES QUE CUANDO YO LEI ESO QUEDÉ LITERALMENTE EN EL PISO!!! YO NO PODIA DE LA EMOCIÓN EN MI CORAZÓN, ME DEJARON MAL, MAL, MAL.
Y NO CONFORME CON ESO XIAO CHIYE VA Y LE DICE: "Te dejaré mi espalda y tú me dejarás tu pecho. No podemos prescindir del otro. Elegiré el mejor caballo para ti en Libei. Construiremos una casa en la línea de demarcación Zhongbo-Libei y nos reuniremos allí todos los meses; es imprescindible. Para casarte conmigo, dos millones no son suficientes; quiero la sonrisa de valor incalculable de Lanzhou que ni siquiera mil de oro pueden comprar."
...
Volví a quedar en el piso*

Ahh que más decir?? Hay tantas cosas por decir dios la relación entre Shen Zechuan y Xiao Chiye es simplemente hermosa, hermosa, HERMOSA. Su amor es tan grande, y la manera en que lo demuestran es preciosa. El cómo se apoyan en el otro es muy conmovedor. Y JODER EL DESARROLLO de personaje es increíble AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH. El desarrollo de personaje que tuvieron fue muy emocionante. Me encantó cómo la presencia del otro los hacía más fuertes y los hacía madurar...

ES QUE Xiao Chiye sería capaz de bajar las estrellas con sus manos si pudiera solo para Lanzhou... Y MIERDA Lanzhou diciendo que él es de Xiao Chiye y que Xiao Chiye es de él, y que MATARÁ a cualquiera que intente alejar a Xiao Chiye de él, y que quiere vivir una larga vida solo con Xiao Chiye. Y Xiao Chiye diciendo que él simplemente vive sus días pensando en Lanzhou...
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH MI CORAZÓN NUEVAMENTE ESTA SUFRIENDO UN ATAQUE!!!!

Ahh, ando poniendo muchas partes de la novela pero es que no puedo parar... POR EJEMPLO en el capítulo 209, en el sumidero de Chasi, me dejaron en el piso no por la felicidad sino porque estaba llorando tanto dios... fue una locura, mi corazón casi que no aguantaba...

ES QUE!!!!! ESTO DIOS ESTO!!!!!

Xiao Chiye se inclinó más cerca para persuadirlo: "Lanzhou, vuelve. Regresa a mí". Con el corazón aún palpitante, Shen Zechuan asintió. Golpeó su frente contra la de Xiao Chiye y lo miró con ojos de pánico. Xiao Chiye le limpió el rabillo del ojo con los pulgares y le acarició las mejillas. "Todo está bien ahora". Xiao Chiye le daba un beso cada vez que hablaba: "Dame un abrazo"

Shen Zechuan ya había le había quitado el casco antiguo a Xiao Chiye.

En ese remolino de nieve, pudo ver claramente el rostro de Xiao Chiye, y sin importarle las manchas de sangre, abrazó con fuerza la cabeza de Xiao Chiye en su abrazo. Xiao Chiye acarició con el revés la espalda de Shen Zechuan. Quería decir algo, pero con el susurro del viento, escuchó a Shen Zechuan decir una y otra vez en voz baja: "Xiao Chiye…". El corazón de Xiao Chiye dolía con tal ferocidad que se rompió en pedazos.
...

UGHHHH MI CORAZÓN
PRESIONAMOS JUNTITOS DESDE EL MINUTO UNO DOS PALMADAS EN EL PECHO Y A POR ELLO VAMOS OSTIA BASTA YA DE LLORAR DOS PALMADAS EN EL PECHO Y A POR ELLO UN DOS TRES QUE SOMOS LA OSTIA UN DOS TRES NO ESCUCHO NADA QUE SOMOS LA PUTA OSTIA

O CUANDO SE MANDABAN CARTAS DIOS "Esposa mía, trata esta carta como lo harías con mi persona" "Al cachorro de lobo de mi familia, trata esta carta como lo harías con mi persona" y Lanzhou haciendo lobitos en papel uughh no puedo...

EN CONCLUSIÓN, QJJ LITERALMENTE ME TOCÓ EL CORAZÓN Y AHORA ESTA OCUPANDO UN LUGAR MUY IMPORTANTE (1er lugar en danmeis favoritos)

Me encantó que la historia de Shen Zechuan y Xiao Chiye haya estado a la altura para hacerme sentir toda una montaña rusa de emociones...

Ya lo dije pero LO REPITO T97 ha creado una obra MAESTRA. EL HECHO DE QUE TENGA POLÍTICA SIMPLEMENTE HACE MIL VECES MEJOR ESTA HISTORIA, ES ARTE, ES ARTE, ES ARTE!!

[Shan · Rating 5 out of 5]

how I struggled with this book—let me tell you. It was heavy. It took me two weeks to finish all 283 chapters, and by the end, my brain felt like it needed a vacation. The sheer amount of detail packed into this is overwhelming but absolutely necessary to fully appreciate its brilliance. Every character matters, even the eunuchs. honestly, it was hard to follow at times.I would finish a chapter, be clueless as to wtf was going on, and have to go back to re-read it just to make sense of things. The constant switch between birth and courtesy names gave me a headache. Add to that the clans, official ranks, noble families, cities they control, prefectures and their leaders, and the 12 tribes—it was a lot.

But I’m so glad I persevered because it was all worth it. By the final chapters, I was a sobbing mess. This book man, it wrecked me. There so much emotions in my chest right now. I thought the first three volumes were great, but the second half is where this story truly shines. The way the author masterfully crafted this narrative is unreal. like, how does someone even come up with this. and the depth and complexity of the characters are incredible. I expected to love the main characters but even the supposed villains was strongly written, Hasen and Amur. These two Biansha Commanders that I'm supposed to hate but grew to admire as the story progressed. I am genuinely afraid of them and their twisted philosophy but they were so strongly written and the author made them so complex that I felt conflicted at the end. Every character, even the antagonists, is given the respect they deserve. It’s impressive, really. And the battle scenes were intense. 200th chapter in and I could not stop reading, I was so immersed.

It’s rare for a book to move me like this. I feel sad knowing it will be hard to find another story that can compare because nothing I’ve read so far comes close. If the English translation is this good, I can only imagine how amazing it must be in its original Chinese.

Pls pls pls don’t miss out on this masterpiece. It might feel heavy at times, with all the complicated political scheming and war strategies, but trust me—the author executes it all so beautifully in the end. It’s challenging, yes, but deeply rewarding. If you’re willing to put in the effort, this book will leave you speechless, just as it did me.

[Fany Herondale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bueno aquí acaba mi larga travesía leyendo esto, y claramente marca un antes y después para mí, desde 2HA ninguna novela me pegaba de la misma forma, pero QJJ fue la excepción y se convirtió en una de mis novelas favoritas de toda la vida.
Así que por favor todo el mundo hágase un favor y lea esta tremenda obra de arte. Encontramos de todo, un ámbito histórico en tiempos de guerra, una buena construcción de mundo, personajes muy interesantes y con grandes desarrollos de personajes, mucha política y UN GRAN ROMANCE. Aun cuando cuenta con 282 donde predominan la política y la guerra, en ningún momento lo sentí tedioso y perdida por el contario no podía saltar el libro, en todo momento pensaba en él y nunca pensé que fuera aburrido. Como tengo mucho que decir nombrare los puntos favoritos para mí:

-La historia/ Trama: Este es sin duda alguna el punto fuerte de la historia, lo que conlleva a que gire en torno a la política. En QJJ se nos muestra el declive de un imperio todo por la corrupción que encuentras en los clanes nobles por el imperio, al mismo tiempo que se encuentran al asedio de las tribus enemigas. Por lo tanto, la mayoría del tiempo encontraremos esquemas e intrigas políticas, estrategias militares, la economía. A lo largo del libro tuve que estar al pendiente con el mapa o la lista de personajes para no perderme de ningún detalle, cada uno de lo arcos narrativos son maravillosas y a lo largo de la historia todo va quedando en su lugar y se van atando cada pregunta que surge y es espectacular. Otro punto por aplaudir son las batallas y todo lo que conlleva, es narrado de una manera que hace que estes a la expectativa por los brutales que llegan a hacer.

- Los personajes: Son una obra maestra, cada uno de ellos desde Shen Cezhou y Xiao Chiye, hasta cado uno de los personajes secundarios, cada uno de ellos tiene un papel importante que cumplir y son importantes para la trama y su crecimiento de personajes es brutal, están muy bien escritos con sus propias deficiencias y siendo realistas, todos tienen un propósito por el que luchar. MI CORAZÓN ES ABSOLUTAMNETE PARA XIAO CHIYE, XIAO CE'AN ninguna palabra que diga podrá expresar el amor y orgullo que tengo para ti, tu desarrollo de personaje fua precioso. Lanzhou es mi otro protegido, yo te apoyaba en todo no importaba si era bueno o malo rus acciones, yo era soy tu fan numero uno. Y mi personaje secundario favorito es Fei Sheng, cada vez que te leía en mi mente sonaba la canción CON LOS OJOS CERRADOS, pero tienes tremenda evolución, no solo el si no que cada uno de ellos lo tenía. Otros de mis personajes favoritismo fue Qi Zhuyin.

-EL ROMANCE: Me tenían en la palma de sus manos por que literalmente eran enemigos a amantes, después fueron sus coqueteos hasta llegar a amarse con toda la locura que tenía. Se apoyaban y se preocupaban el uno por el otro, matarían por el otro y son una tremenda pareja con poder tanto juntos como individualmente, amo lo que cada uno llega a significar el uno para el otro. Su romance se siente fluido y es absolutamente precioso, y ni hablar de las otras dos parejas secundarias, la cual una me dejo el corazón destruido.
Por esto y mas es ahora una de mis novelas favoritas.

[Rüveyda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the BEST book I've ever read. Im full. This book fed me with the best of everything...

[XieYu_lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hay historias que son un antes y un después en nuestras vidas y Qiang Jin Jiu fue eso para mí. La sensación de felicidad extrema, de vacío inigualable y obsesión sin igual que me dejó, es algo que cargo conmigo desde ese 23 de octubre de 2022. Una novela tan perfectamente hilada que me deja boquiabierta con lo joven que era la autora al escribirla. Con una trama cargada de conflictos político-militares, con todos los chismes de la corte y la nobleza, de la mano con un romance electrizante y devastador, era imposible que no fuera mi novela favorita. Leerla por segunda vez me permitió tener más calma para absorver ciertos temas que se me escaparon la primera vez y reafirmo mi amor por esta historia.
La autora demuestra una gran sagacidad para conectar todos los hechos, crear un equilibrio perfecto de la trama política-militar con el romance, a mi ver, ninguno queda opacado. Sin embargo, puedo entender completamente a aquellas personas que la encuentren complicada o difícil de entender, porque suceden tantas cosas al mismo tiempo que realmente es difícil acompañar el hilo de la trama. Odié, amé, lloré, reí. Fueron tantos sentimientos que me faltan palabras para describirlo. Está novela trata sobre humanos, humanos con ideologías distintas, humanos con ideales irrompibles, humanos con codicia y ambición ciega. Es la historia de un imperio, de una dinastía, que lucho, cayó y renació en otra.
Si no tienes miedo de tramas así, te invito a beber el vino y conocer la historia de Shen Lanzhou y Xiao Chiye.


Espacio especial para mis quejas:
SPOILER (QUIEN AVISA NO TRAICIONA)


Por supuesto, tengo mis quejas pero va más a las parejas secundarias que a la trama en sí. T97 se caracteriza por ser un poco cruel con sus parejas secundarias y en QJJ ella sale a matar. NUNCA JAMÁS, voy a perdonarla por darme la esperanza de que mi Songyu iba a tener un final juntos (porque sí, yo tenía esperanzas) y en el último capítulo me tirara esa bomba a la cara. Nunca sufrí tanto por una pareja secundaria, se llevaron todas mis lágrimas.
Mi segunda queja va para: ¡A MI ME PROMETIERON UNA PAREJA YURI Y NI UN BESO ME DIERON DE ELLAS! Sí, queda implícito que están juntas, pero a ver Tang Jiu Qing, no te costaba nada darnos un mísero piquito entre las dos.
Y sí, esas son las únicas quejas que tengo. Buenas noches.

[Pingmg · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stars!
Finally finished QJJ and what an engrossing and totally captivating story of court intrigue, human suffering, and the sweetest and most steamy romance between my two baes, Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye!

A compelling beginning with unexpected twists, a war arc that made my eyes water with how much information there was (but worth every moment), and of course that ending perfectly wrapped up and left me craving for more.
I love the extras too!

Tang Jiuqing is one amazing writer and I’m craving for more of her stories (I’ll be reading Nan Chan next). Count on me to be one of those that will religiously collect the official english translation from Seven Seas once they come out next year.
June 2024 is so far away…
CeZhou’s journey is one I won’t forget easily.




————
Me last March:
**Putting this back on my tbr shelf for now, too many mm books are taking up my time reading. Coming back to this again once the translation is done.**

[Plumpka]

Nie wiem, czy to kwestia samego utworu, czy fanowskiego tłumaczenia na angielski, do jakiego miałam dostęp, ale musiałam odpuścić po 70 stronach. Kiedy ukaże się oficjalne wydanie, wrócę do tego raz jeszcze.

[wen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Unruffled is the orchid that grows on stone steps. Boundless is the horizon of the boat that crosses the sea of misery. Wide is the heart that accommodates a hundred rivers, and broad is the vision that encompasses a thousand lakes."

Sharp, intricate and elegant to the point of perfection. If you've ever seen Nirvana In Fire (琅琊榜), Qiang Jin Jiu is just that type of story.
The author sets a massive stage for a story worth of being called an historical epic, weaving all sorts of topics and presenting an exquisite ensemble cast. At the center of all, stand Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye: cunning, strong, and bold in their youth, they're initially pit against each other by a system they both fall prey to, only to slowly join hands first driven by lust and common interests, and later through an unyielding, fiery devotion which sets to topple and burn the old system – it's not simply love, it's revolution.
Even if you're not particularly enticed by the plot (which can be heavy and difficult to follow to some), Tang Jiuqing's prose alone is nothing short of literary excellence. Sometimes, watching her writing unfold feels like admiring a shanshui painting: it's shrouded in haziness and mist, and though you may not fully understand it at first, you know it's beautiful. Words simply aren't enough to describe the masterpiece that Qiang Jin Jiu is.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Qiang Jin Jiu stands head and shoulders above any danmei novel I have read thus far. The politics are so incredibly intriguing and detailed, but always explained and built up in a way that makes the reader gasp in understanding right before the reveal. Each character carries with them a world of their own; they are endlessly compelling and intriguing and I often found myself putting the book down to wonder at their emotions and inner motivations. The writing style is beautiful and poetic, which I am not typically used to when reading the English translation to a Chinese webnovel. The main couple have kept me awake at night, their relationship and personalities have truly fascinated me. They are two suns of their own solar system, yet gravity keeps their orbiting each other.

If I could give every QJJ-lover one other Chinese webnovel recommendation: Jing Wei Qing Shang (Clear and Muddy Loss of Love) by PDL

[lily ⊹ ₊ ⁺ · Rating 5 out of 5]

₊˚⊹♡ ˚ ➺ ∞/5 ✧

this review contains spoilers!

qiang jin jiu starts off with our main protagonist, shen zechuan, berated and beaten for a crime he had no part in. struggling with PTSD for being the sole suvivor of a natural disaster, he is imprisoned as the scapegoat for the actions of his estranged father, and he meets xiao chiye. the two start off as mortal enemies after a near fatal kick yet, as time progresses, they come to realise that they are in two very similar situations. both trapped in the imperial capital, one as a prisoner, one as assurance but, really, a glorified hostage.

from the beginning, i could tell that qjj would become a favourite novel of mine. the characters are all very 3 dimensional, the story is long, complicated, and slow at times but never drags, and the execution of the enemies to lovers plot was done perfectly. there are also many incredible female characters, which is uncommon for a historical novel for realistic reasons, so it’s always nice to find a novel with strong women. they are all ‘strong’ in their own ways; qi zhuyin is a skilled soldier, hua xiangyi is intelligent and calculating but still kind and li jianting is resilient despite the trouble she has lived through.

CEZHOU
enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes ever so i’ve read quite a few but nothing even comes close to cezhou. they are both in a unique situation and, at the start, fight whenever they see each other, but slowly they realise that they are the only other person sharing the same fate and begin to rely on each other. their gradual shift from enemies to lovers is slow and methodical and once you get to the lovers stage, they are probably the most soft and tender cp in danmei. <3 the way they teased each other still remains but the anger and vitriol vanishes completely.

This was mutual loathing.
Tainting the other party with the filthy stain that was their own.
Letting hatred turn into a bond that could not be torn apart. It was too much of an agony to live like this, being the only ones who could hear their own howls in the night. So why not come together and tear each other bloody? Let this visceral intimacy metamorphose into a form of solace they could rely on.

SONGYU
SONGYU (╥﹏╥)
yao wenyu and qiao tianya were such a sweet couple near the end. i loved that they almost paralleled cezhou in a way! how they were both two people fallen from grace but found solace in each other. it also makes me sad and happy that they had their own red thread motif because, despite yao wenyu’s death, it still gives me hope that they will find each other once again.

Yao Wenyu said, "I still have the forms of all things in my heart."
Looking at Yao Wenyu, Jiran raised a finger to point at Qiao Tanya. "You also have the form of him in your heart."
The wind blew against Yao Wenyu's sleeves, and the red thread on his wrist slid gently.
He said, "That is why I'm still an ordinary mortal."

QIHUA
qihua, of course didn’t take the spotlight as a side couple but i feel like the crumbs we got were enough! I love when danmei authors add baihe side couples and especially in qjj, i felt they added to the story a lot and i loved every scene they were in. despite being women in ancient china, they were able to rise about their opression. xiangyi was able to do arithmetic work and zhuyin was a seasoned general. i appreciated that tang jiuqing was able to weave some feminist issues into her story, it definitely adds to the themes of the story.

Hua Xiangyi could always quite manage to make Qi Zhuyin think of the pleasure of
rouge.
"I saw that your entire army is ready to depart, so I thought of having another cup of tea with you."
"Tea to send me off?" Qi Zhuyin asked.
"Tea to make you stay," Hua Xiangyi said.

CHARACTERS
another thing that qjj nails perfectly is having a wide cast of morally grey characters. sure there were many who were deplorable but the majority who acted awfully had their reasons behind it. shen lanzhou had no issues about beheading or skinning people alive yet he helped thousand of destitute people. xiao ce’an also has no problem with fighting people to the death yet, it is all to ensure the safety of his army, family and beloved.
even for people like xi hongxuan, who did terrible things, it was hard to hate him. his tragic background made it difficult to not feel some sort of sympathy when he died. or for those of biansha, who were trying to take care of their own people just as out main characters were trying to do as well.

the characters also felt very real to me and it’s largely due to the fact that they were all written like protagonists of their own story instead of backgrounds characters in cezhou’s because, for the most part, qjj is about people in general rather than just two specifically.

something else i also adored was how characters foil and parallel each other. how cezhou fight constantly at the start despite being in the same position of a captive. or like how shen zechuan and yao wenyu both come from happy backgrounds (szc from living with the ji’s before chashi, ywy living his life as a scholar under his teacher) and end up suffering horrifically but have the same drive to claw their way up from rock button and the same insatiable desire to live.

His eyes gradually focused amidst the whir of the wind and took on a hint of malevolence.
"I won't die." He said in a hoarse voice, "Shifu, I won't die."

In the wilderness, Yao Wenyu broke down and cried inconsolably.
For his teacher, and for himself. He was broken through and through. He still wanted to live.

tang jiuqing also tackled the issue of women in ancient china pretty well. i loved that she had many women take on bigger roles (such as zhuyin as a military general, jianting as the emperor and duo’erlan stepping up in the last stretch of the novel) and showed their consistent struggles to find power and hold onto it. it’s very refreshing to have characters such as these in c-novels actually put effort into the story instead of being fodder for the men of the story. li jianting was one of my favourite characters of the entire novel and, while sad, i think her ending in the story was perfect.

"You are a woman too," the Empress Dowager said. "Why do you not understand me?"
"I am neither a woman nor a man." Li Jianting looked at the Empress Dowager again, her eyes clear and bright. "I'm merely Li Jianting.”

STORY / PLOT
the story is long and can be very complicated at time but tang jiuqing never lets you down with the plot. there were no stages within the novel where it felt like it was falling flat. the foreshadowing was done perfectly and t97 definitely has a way of writing specific scenes very poetically. her prose is beautiful.

QUOTES
♡♡♡

Shen Zechuan stood on the stairs and said unperturbedly, "Are you that rich? You'll have to compensate for this, you know?"
Xiao Chiye replied coldly, "I have lots of money."
With that, he felt around his waist. But it was empty.
Shen Zechuan waited for a while, then turned to the shopkeeper and said, "Put it on this master's tab. He has lots of money.

"Have you found what you lost five years ago?"
Xiao Chiye abruptly looked back and instantly reined in his horse. He demanded in a frosty voice, "Return me the thumb ring."
Shen Zechuan looked at him, but Xiao Chiye found the expression in his eyes wicked.
Shen Zechuan said, "Want the thumb ring? Easy. Bark twice like a dog, and I'll give it back to you."

Xiao Chiye strode down the stairs and stepped into the curtain of rain. "I gave you a kick five years ago. Do you hate me for it?"
Shen Zechuan said, "If I say yes, wouldn't that mean I have been tossing and turning having sleepless nights thinking of you? So nope. I don't hate you at all."

"Living is much more painful than dying." Shen Zechuan suddenly laughed. He exhaled and said to Xiao Chye, "That's not right. I'm not in pain. Hatred itself is death by dismemberment; it's like a knife gouging out your flesh. Day after day. Anyone would eventually become numb. There's nothing else in this world that can make me feel 'pain' again. I feel comfortable living like this. You've repeatedly advised me to drop the matter, but you yourself understand it best that 'stopping' has never been something you and I have the luxury of choosing.

Shen Zechuan was not invulnerable. Other than that unexplainable probing and dreading of each other, what they had was an even more inexplicable empathy between fellow sufferers.

Shen Zechuan raised his head and kissed him on the lips. Icy derision followed right on the heels of this encounter of soft lips.
"Want to go wild with abandon?" The expression in Shen Zechuan's eyes was deranged as he murmured, "Do you dare? Try tearing me apart, Xiao'Er. I don't care."

He thought of Xiao Chiye's scent. At this very moment, he finally understood why he was so infatuated with that scent. That was the brilliance of the scorching sun the light that could allow him to escape from the Chashi sinkhole

Xiao Chiye said, "I'll investigate the top. You investigate the bottom."
"Top and bottom are all linked; they are inseparable." It was only when Shen Zechuan spoke to this point that he realized that Xiao Chiye was making a pass at him. He flipped through the book and feigned obliviousness.

Finally, he pointed to his own ear and said in a wicked tone, "Lanzhou, you're blushing."
Blush.
Shen Zechuan's heart was originally as still as deep waters, but at this moment, even he was shaken by that word. Xiao Chiye's handkerchief, which lay in his sleeve pocket, was like a fire that had been stuffed within. It inexplicably obeyed Xiao Chiye's commands and sent the flames burning all the way up to his ears. He knew that the slight redness flushed on the snowy paleness of his skin was particularly striking. Even if he denied it, it would convince no one.

Xiao Chiye found it amusing. It was as if he had seen Shen Zechuan's soft spots.
Shen Zechuan's waist. Shen Zechuan's back. Shen Zechuan's shoulder blades. He could recognize all these, even with his eyes closed.

The only one in this world who could understand the entirety of Xiao Chiye's pain and suffering without any use of words was Shen Zechuan. And this was something they were perfectly well aware of since their very first kiss.

Xiao Chiye kissed Shen Zechuan again, and Shen Zechuan, in his slumber, tightened his grip on Xiao Chiye's little braids.
Ripples washed over the white moon in the water puddle under the abundance of cool breeze, while the Heartbreaker and the Loverboy slept the entire night away nestled under the blanket of the moonlight.

On this noisy, rainy night, he could not help but sniff at that handkerchief again.
It was all Xiao Chiye's scent.
Shen Zechuan lowered his eyes for a moment and nuzzled the handkerchief with the tip of his nose as the gloom at the corners of his eyes and tips of his eyebrows dissipated.

Xiao Chiye guided his hand to land on his waist. "Second Young Master is a fine specimen of a man. So, what do you think?"
"I, Shen Lanzhou, am also a dashing man." Shen Zechuan said leisurely, "I can just admire myself in the mirror; there's no need for another person."

Xiao Chiye also lowered his eyes and said to him, "As long as we are out of Qudu, we will be able to go together, even to the ends of the earth."

He was like a wolf pup collecting and hoarding up the stars, wanting to stuff it all to Shen Zechuan like that entire jewelry box of pearls and jade earrings.

The thought of going home roared like mad in his heart. But all he could do was to gaze like this at Shen Zechuan. Other than Shen Zechuan, no one else would understand.

He seemed to be harboring Shen Zechuan in his arms, no longer permitting anyone to get close. He clumsily licked Shen Zechuan's wound. This was his way of healing. He did not want this person to be in pain ever again.

One day, we will gallop under the skies of Libei, and that will be when I am strong and powerful enough. Two million isn't enough to marry the wolf pup of the Prince of Libei. Such a betrothal gift is not worthy of my Xiao Ce'an. If I'm in Zhongbo, however, I will one day go on to be your indestructible shield "

Under the soft veil of moonlight, Xiao Chiye suddenly grasped hold of Shen Zechuan's hand and hugged him.
After a long time, Xiao Chiye's hoarse voice rang out beside Shen Zechuan's ear, clinging close to it, "I'll leave my back to you, and you'll leave your chest to me. We cannot do without the other. I'll choose the best horse for you in Libei. We'll build a house on the Zhongbo-Libei demarcation line and meet there every month it's a must. To marry me, two million isn't enough; I want Lanzhou's priceless smile that even a thousand gold cannot buy."

Shen Wei and Bai Cha did not matter.
Xiao Chiye lowered his head and pressed up against Shen Zechuan's cheek as he stared, with deep hostility, at the sunlight which was attempting to cloak Shen Zechuan.
Shen Lanzhou was his - Xiao Ce'an's.

Lanzhou did not need the moonlight. That naked, lithe softness of his only needed one person's gaze on him -Xiao Chiye's.

But, he, Shen Zechuan ... is the student of Qi Huilian, the Grand Mentor of the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace; the last disciple of Ji Gang of Duanzhou; the former Northern Judge-cum-Vice Commander of the Imperial Bodyguards; and the head of household of my - Xiao Ce'an's - future residence. He has nothing to do with any other names."

Xiao Chiye raised his head and said in a hoarse voice, "Oh, how I love you so."
Shen Zechuan was slightly stunned.
Xiao Chiye looked at him and enunciated each word as he repeated, "I love you so much."

It was as if he wanted to leave it all to Shen Zechuan His horse, his eagle, his heart.

That kick that had never once turned a hair during all the years in Qudu had, along with the passage of time, cunningly turned into pangs of pain after Xiao Chiye fell into the clutches of love.

Xiao Chiye buried his face in the side of Shen Zechuan's neck; he was intoxicated, taunted all day by this evil man who called his name as he pleased, his every word an invitation. He dawdled, as if he had woken up from a nap, and naturally responded, "Hm?"
"Ce'an," Shen Zechuan turned his head to face Xiao Chiye, their breaths intertwining. In a show of near innocence, he called out, like a toddler learning to speak, "oh, how I, love, you, so.”

But Xiao Chiye was like a steady rock shielding him from the back as he gradually moved to grasp his hands in return.
"You can do as vour heart desires." Xiao Chiye whispered into his ear. "With me here, you will never fall."

Xiao Chiye once wanted the sky, the grasslands, and also the Hongyan Mountains. He domesticated eagles and tamed horses, and he galloped among the vast lands in the dreams.
But in the end, he no longer wanted them all.
He wanted Shen Zechuan.

"You are a fine woman." Qi Zhuyin paused for a moment. "And I shall repay you with military accomplishments on the battlefield."

Amidst the weaving flames, Qiao Tanya moved aside a few steps and pressed in towards
Yao Wenyu.
Yao Wenyu said, "His Lordship-"
The wheelchair bumped lightly against the wall. Yuanzhuo suddenly grabbed the armrest with a hand to brace himself as Qiao Tanya cupped his cheeks and walled him in this dark, gloomy corner for a kiss. This kiss was not at all gentle. It blazed with astounding desire under the taste of blood.

The wolf was here.

It was in this way he hugged Shen Zechuan and greedily stroked Shen Zechuan's cheek.
"I want to hide you away," Xiao Chiye said aloud in the wind, "or perhaps put you into the pocket in my bosom.”

Xiao Chiye lay on the barren, deserted sand and listened to the lapping sound of the Chashi River. Silently, he counted the stars before his
eyes.
He finished counting them once- it was Shen Lanzhou.
He counted them again-still Shen Lanzhou.

This bitterness sprang from between their lips and tongues and dissolved in his chest, becoming a piercing pain. Qiao Tanya found it painful, and he thought the same for Yao Wenyu. As they kissed, he caressed Yao Wenyu's cheeks, as if he had never touched Yao Wenyu in such a way before and wanted to make up for it now.

Yao Wenyu said firmly. "You can hand over the empire in the future to come, but at this time, only you, Shen Lanzhou, can sit on the throne! Overturn the old cases and redress the injustices suffered... Pass a new judgment on Shen Wei.." As he gasped for breath, his voice broke, and that clear, jade-like tinkling voice of his turned raspy. Even as he spoke, he was still hastily coughing up blood.
"Lanzhou... you're open and aboveboard..."

He came to this world naked, and it did not matter if he was broken.
Other than Qiao Tanya, he owed no other.
"If only we could have met earlier..."
Yao Wenyu gazed at the window, where the colored silk ball that he had still yet to throw away was hanging. He smiled wearily and moved his hand with the red thread.

With the breakage of the seven-stringed zither, his heart died, too.
"Since there is no Yao Yuanzhuo in this world," Qiao Tanya slowly closed his eyes, as if mocking this absurd arrangement, "then the Qiao Songyue of it is dead."

Qiao Tanya looked as though he did not hear him. Jiran followed him, and those pairs of big and small sleeves fluttered in the wind. Together, they disappeared amongst the heavy snow.
Boundless is the sky in the pure land, untainted by worldly concerns.

Shen Zechuan erected a new Cangyun Pavilion at the former site of Yulong Terrace. On the left, he set up a civil minister registry, with the names of Qi Huilian, Hai Liangyi, and Yao Wenyu leading the various officials. On the right was the military general register, where the names of Xiao Fangxu, Xiao Jiming, Qi Zhuyin, Lu Guangbai, and Yin Chang were recorded for all posterity. At the end of those neatly arranged portraits were the images of two men of equal standing in the hierarchy.

[Luchia · Rating 3 out of 5]

now that I’ve hit the 50% mark (which means I’ve read around 1400 pages) I’ve come to the decision that it’s not worth continuing reading the rest of the 1400+ pages left.

this novel d r a i n e d me, both mentally and physically.
I had to gaslight myself into believing I would like this novel if I kept on reading, but during the process I could never find myself truly enjoying it.

don’t take me wrong, this is a well written novel: the writing style, the characters and the complexity of the story are so deeply pondered. my issue is that I didn’t love anything in particular from it: the writing was decent, yes, but the amount of characters was insane, and my bad memory didn’t help. I even had my own guide, but every couple of chapters a new character was introduced (not to mention many at a time in the beginning, it was chaos) and I had to spend so much time updating the list, and it being a constant task tired me.
the story felt overwhelming to me because of the many plots (right after a problem is solved a new one arises), the politics and economics and terminology I’m not
proficient in. I can’t deny that everything is well connected, but it was a bit too much at times, it felt dragged.

I did know beforehand that it was a complex political story, and I did understand the plot most of the time, but I had to pay so much attention and it required such concentration that it sometimes took me a while to get everything. and this is what put me off the most, since for me reading this novel stopped being a breather to become more like an assignment.
I know I could have dnf’d at any time and it’s on me that I continued putting it off, but at this point I was pretty much halfway done and I just couldn’t bring myself to give up (because then I’d think of the amount of time invested on it). me forcing myself to keep reading should have made me realize sooner that this novel just wasn’t for me.

now onto the romance part. honestly, this is what got me to carry on. I feel like the main characters complement each other so well and they’re just perfect together, although at first, when CX was starting to have feelings for SZ, I wasn’t really enthusiastic, since it was made to be a purely physical attraction, but it did grow on me as both their feelings towards each other grew as well.

on the other hand, I had no interest in the rest of the characters, to be honest; I couldn’t connect with them. it may be due to the fact that there were like 50 side characters and that gave the impression of being dedicated just enough background information for the reader to know the bare minimum about them.
curiously, I had a premonition I was going to like yao wenyu, and I was excited about his future relationship with a certain someone, until I got spoiled. so now I don’t even want to know about that.

frankly, it’s not a bad novel at all, but the length and difficulty of the plot made it to be not worth reading for me. just a matter of preference.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a doozy of a book! It took me weeks of reading, including some days where I was reading for hours nonstop, to finish this story.

The story was split into three books: the first was set in Qudu, the capitol. The second was set in Zhongbo, and the last was a mix of the two as the political stage expands.

The prose is beautifully written, and Lianyin does a great job with the translation as well. I read a note at the end that it took her 29 months to fully translate the story, so serious kudos to not just the author but the translator as well. The papapa scenes were also (surprisingly?) the most intense ones I've read to date in a historical / wuxia setting. Usually you can barely tell what happened, and while the author doesn't go into any explicit details here, it's more than you usually see.

This story is definitely not for those looking for a quick read. There's plenty of romance, but that takes a backseat most of the time to the plot. And boy there's a LOT of plot. It's a lot to follow along with and wrap your head around at times. I got lost more than once, but luckily the author does some recaps every once in a while to keep the readers on track (for the most part). Plus there are plenty of character names to remember as well. Thank goodness Lianyin included a character list, as it was quite helpful.

The story follows Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye. SZC is the son of an infamous general who was believed to have betrayed the Dazhou nation and allied with their enemies to the northeast, the Biansha. Because of his betrayal, XCY's older brother had to step in to defend the nation with his Libei Army, the consequence of which was that the capitol identified his growing military might as a potential danger and forced him to send XCY to Qudu as a hostage. This is an enemies to lovers story, as initially XCY can't stand SZC for being the son of the traitor who caused him to lose his freedom in the plains of Libei. However, as they gradually acknowledge their similar positions as two birds in a cage, they start working together to achieve their goals.

**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**

The romance was good after it got started, but I'm still not quite sure I understand how/why they slept together for the first time. It happened quite unexpectedly and suddenly, it's only later that they started developing feelings for each other. Of the three books, my favorite is probably the first one, and that's largely because I enjoyed watching their relationship develop. They're both smart people and work well together to navigate the political intricacies of Chinese government. I also got a kick out of everyone assuming they were enemies for the longest time while they were secretly working (and sleeping) together XD

The second and third books become more plot heavy, and the romance takes a little more of a back seat, as XCY and SZC have to spend most of their time apart to focus on developing their name and reputation in their respective areas of Libei and Zhongbo. XCY's an unproven general who needs to get some real experience on the battlefield and frontlines, and SZC has his hands full consolidating the 6 prefectures of Zhongbo into a single entity again, after it's been left alone by Qudu and plagued by bandits and infiltrated by Biansha Scorpions for so many years. It's here I lost some of my interest in the story, as there's a lot of talk about grains and military provisions and opening up new training grounds and paths to connect strategic military locations. Our two main characters can only meet up periodically when they both have time, which isn't nearly as often as I would've liked.

In the end, there was no final bad guy or anyone remotely fitting that role. I initially thought Xue Xiuzhuo might fit that role, as he proved ruthless in using Han Cheng to assassinate the previous emperor and framing XCY for the crime and also when he tried to kill Yao Wenyu, but later on I realized that interestingly enough, he wasn't that bad. He did a lot to remove the corruption from the noble clans and return land and grains back to the commoners where they belong, so in the end he was just an official trying to steer Da Zhou in the direction he believe to be best for the country. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of stupidly corrupt officials who were doing terrible things, but their crimes came to light one by one and they all receive the appropriate punishment as the story progresses.

I didn't realize for the longest time, but SZC's ultimate goal was to become the emperor, as that was the role that his mentor, Qi Huailin, groomed him for. It wasn't until that he started consolidating his power in Zhongbo and there were hints that he should be considered the de facto leader of the area that I started to understand his goal. The ending, which culminated in him removing the current emperor and starting a new dynasty, came relatively quick, all within a couple chapters. The speed at which it happened felt a bit anticlimactic, and honestly I was pretty disappointed XCY wasn't there with his Libei Army soldiers to support SZC. Instead, he was fighting his own battle against the Biansha in their own territory and going up directly against their commander.

Here's a line from the last chapter that I thought was beautifully written:

"Do you know why that year," Shen Zechuan hugged his overcoat and said slowly, "I agreed to Ce'an's request to put on the earring?"

Shen Zechuan raised his hand to break off the plum blossom blocking his way. "...Because I know someone would leave, and those who disappear amidst the heavy snow would never ever come back again... except for Ce'an."

Xiao Chiye's putting on of the earring for Lanzhou was an explicit expression of his dominance which concealed his affection and love. Every time he cupped Lanzhou's face, his gaze was always so scorching hot and blazingly passionate. This was love that could never waver, desire that could never be concealed.

Shen Zechuan's wearing of the earring tha ce'an gave was similarly a declaration of possession, that he still had tenderness amidst his pain and ruthlessness. This was his gentleness, one that he only gave to Xiao Ce'an.