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The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua [成化十四年]
It is the fourteenth year of Chenghua.
As the harem has Imperial Consort Wan, the Western Depot has a Commander named Wang Zhi. Crown Prince Zhu Youcheng is merely eight years old—and no one knows if he will be able to reach adulthood without issue.
The Emperor has nothing to his name, despite putting on an act that suggests otherwise, the eunuchs deceive their superiors while taking advantage of those beneath them, and the subjects of the Imperial Court are patching up the leaks. As there are those who are arrogantly savage for the sake of evil, there are those who sigh helplessly for the sake of good.
With the ways of the world like this, how could the ways of the heavens possibly be just?
As the harem has Imperial Consort Wan, the Western Depot has a Commander named Wang Zhi. Crown Prince Zhu Youcheng is merely eight years old—and no one knows if he will be able to reach adulthood without issue.
The Emperor has nothing to his name, despite putting on an act that suggests otherwise, the eunuchs deceive their superiors while taking advantage of those beneath them, and the subjects of the Imperial Court are patching up the leaks. As there are those who are arrogantly savage for the sake of evil, there are those who sigh helplessly for the sake of good.
With the ways of the world like this, how could the ways of the heavens possibly be just?
368 pages, ebook
49 people are currently reading
395 people want to read
About the author
Meng Xi Shi
83 books444 followersAssociated Names:
* Meng Xi Shi (English)
* 梦溪石 (Chinese)
* เมิ่งซีสือ (Thai)
* Meng Xi Shi (English)
* 梦溪石 (Chinese)
* เมิ่งซีสือ (Thai)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
December 8, 2024
By the author of Thousand Autumns and Peerless but not wuxia or xianxia. This is a historical fiction novel set during the Ming Dynasty with A LOT of political/palace intrigue, mystery, and crime-solving (but not as complicated as QJJ). Kind of like having a slice of life romance on the side while there is stuff going on in the world. The romance is very slow burn and fade to black so if you need heavy romance, this book is probably not for you. However, their relationship is super sweet and provides a lot of humor. It’s definitely my favorite part of this novel.
Characters:
Tang Fan: young and VERY smart, kind, sweet demeanor, baby girl, foodie and lover of romance novels. Reminds me of Song Qinghsi from MISVIL and Xie Lian.
Sui Zhou: Smart and powerful, from an important family, good at martial arts, icy cold (to most) but loyal, loving, provider, protector, and caretaker when it comes to TF (and the people TF care about)
Things I loved:
🔵Their relationship
🔵Cute little formed family with lovable side characters
🔵Detailed ancient China history and politics but not overwhelming or confusing
🔵Possibly my favorite eunuch character in danmei, Wang Zhi
Things I didn’t love:
🔴A little too long for a slow burn that doesn’t have any wuxia or xianxia aspects IMO. It’s about the length of Tianbao Fuyao and Kaleidoscope of Death but slightly shorter than TGCF.
🔴The times they were apart. 10+ arcs and I think maybe 4 with them not together 😩
There is also a live action called The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty which I think is on Viki and iQIYI.
Characters:
Tang Fan: young and VERY smart, kind, sweet demeanor, baby girl, foodie and lover of romance novels. Reminds me of Song Qinghsi from MISVIL and Xie Lian.
Sui Zhou: Smart and powerful, from an important family, good at martial arts, icy cold (to most) but loyal, loving, provider, protector, and caretaker when it comes to TF (and the people TF care about)
Things I loved:
🔵Their relationship
🔵Cute little formed family with lovable side characters
🔵Detailed ancient China history and politics but not overwhelming or confusing
🔵Possibly my favorite eunuch character in danmei, Wang Zhi
Things I didn’t love:
🔴A little too long for a slow burn that doesn’t have any wuxia or xianxia aspects IMO. It’s about the length of Tianbao Fuyao and Kaleidoscope of Death but slightly shorter than TGCF.
🔴The times they were apart. 10+ arcs and I think maybe 4 with them not together 😩
There is also a live action called The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty which I think is on Viki and iQIYI.
June 8, 2023
4.5/5
I really loved the main pairing and many of the secondary characters (Wang Zhi most of all), and most of the investigations were super interesting. The amount of historical background however was staggering and at times hard to go through. Still, it's a lovely novel, highly recommended!
I really loved the main pairing and many of the secondary characters (Wang Zhi most of all), and most of the investigations were super interesting. The amount of historical background however was staggering and at times hard to go through. Still, it's a lovely novel, highly recommended!
January 30, 2022
★★★★★ [4.5/5 stars]
I'm an absolute fan of mystery, crime-solving cases, historical and politics. And if all of that rolled into one? Yes, please. This is what this novel is about! Every arc is just as intriguing as the last, if not more! I've always said this, but I'm always into clever characters, and this novel gave me exactly that! Both the MC (Tang Fan) and the ML (Sui Zhou) are smart and competent characters with calm and compose demeanor. Though there were times when I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how they're able to solve the cases when they're already cornered, I was also anticipating what kind of step they're going to take to outsmart their enemies. I loved how both of them were made into deep characters with great substance. I prefer that kind of characters.
This novel has a tiny bit romance, but if you're only looking for a full on fluff, I don't think this one is for you. This has a very slow romance and their romantic relationship is not really the focus of the story. They have this tacit, mutual understanding of their feelings, a feeling that doesn't need to be said aloud to understand, and it reflected on why their romance was not narrated directly and explicitly. I also love the familial love that was portrayed here. I would have loved to be a part of Tang Fan's family. And also his bizarre 'friendship' with the arrogant and proud Wang Zhi is just so entertaining, despite of them having an opposite personality. They have this not so ordinary connection from the very first case and their verbal sparring is always so interesting to read.
I've watched the drama adaptation a few months ago but decided to drop it after a few episodes in, but I think I'm going to pick the drama up again because I really enjoyed this novel so much. This is absolutely, highly recommended. Just trigger warning for deaths in every arc.
I'm an absolute fan of mystery, crime-solving cases, historical and politics. And if all of that rolled into one? Yes, please. This is what this novel is about! Every arc is just as intriguing as the last, if not more! I've always said this, but I'm always into clever characters, and this novel gave me exactly that! Both the MC (Tang Fan) and the ML (Sui Zhou) are smart and competent characters with calm and compose demeanor. Though there were times when I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how they're able to solve the cases when they're already cornered, I was also anticipating what kind of step they're going to take to outsmart their enemies. I loved how both of them were made into deep characters with great substance. I prefer that kind of characters.
This novel has a tiny bit romance, but if you're only looking for a full on fluff, I don't think this one is for you. This has a very slow romance and their romantic relationship is not really the focus of the story. They have this tacit, mutual understanding of their feelings, a feeling that doesn't need to be said aloud to understand, and it reflected on why their romance was not narrated directly and explicitly. I also love the familial love that was portrayed here. I would have loved to be a part of Tang Fan's family. And also his bizarre 'friendship' with the arrogant and proud Wang Zhi is just so entertaining, despite of them having an opposite personality. They have this not so ordinary connection from the very first case and their verbal sparring is always so interesting to read.
I've watched the drama adaptation a few months ago but decided to drop it after a few episodes in, but I think I'm going to pick the drama up again because I really enjoyed this novel so much. This is absolutely, highly recommended. Just trigger warning for deaths in every arc.
May 8, 2021
3.5 stars. this is much better than 北斗 Bei Dou and more like what i expect from Meng Xi Shi.
PLOT:
this is a detective novel with a lot of political intrigue. set in ancient china, the main character, Tang Fan, is a lowly court official who solves a lot of cases and maneuvers around political plots. he 'levels up' by the end of the novel and becomes the prime minister iirc. i really liked his personality. he actually reminded me a bit of Xie Lian from Heaven Official's Blessing.
there are about five arcs/cases that Tang Fan resolves, and the secondary cast is really fun. i really loved Wang Zhi... wish there had been more of him.
the author is a history buff. she talks a lot about the history of the time in the author's notes, the biographies of these characters (she based them off real world people), her interpretations of their actions etc...
ROMANCE:
i have to mention the romance coz i thought this book was primarily romance-centric but i was totally wrong. his love interest is Sui Zhou, but don't go into the novel expecting it to be about the two of them (like i did) because it was REALLY light on the romantic development. i was kinda disappointed actually, coz some of the key scenes in their relationship weren't shown and Sui Zhou disappears for chapters at a time.
TLDR:
read it for the cool sleuthing/mystery solving and political intrigue. romance is a major backseat in this one.
PLOT:
this is a detective novel with a lot of political intrigue. set in ancient china, the main character, Tang Fan, is a lowly court official who solves a lot of cases and maneuvers around political plots. he 'levels up' by the end of the novel and becomes the prime minister iirc. i really liked his personality. he actually reminded me a bit of Xie Lian from Heaven Official's Blessing.
there are about five arcs/cases that Tang Fan resolves, and the secondary cast is really fun. i really loved Wang Zhi... wish there had been more of him.
the author is a history buff. she talks a lot about the history of the time in the author's notes, the biographies of these characters (she based them off real world people), her interpretations of their actions etc...
ROMANCE:
i have to mention the romance coz i thought this book was primarily romance-centric but i was totally wrong. his love interest is Sui Zhou, but don't go into the novel expecting it to be about the two of them (like i did) because it was REALLY light on the romantic development. i was kinda disappointed actually, coz some of the key scenes in their relationship weren't shown and Sui Zhou disappears for chapters at a time.
TLDR:
read it for the cool sleuthing/mystery solving and political intrigue. romance is a major backseat in this one.
November 25, 2020
Me demoré en leerla. La traducción no era tan buena, pero lo suficiente como para entenderla.
Me emocioné con los casos que debía investigar Tang Fan, y como poco a poco su fama fue aumentando, atrayendo la admiración de muchos y convirtiéndose en el blanco de corruptos poderosos en la dinastía Ming.
La química entre la pareja principal es fenomenal. Por un lado el funcionario erudito con un cerebro a lo Sherlock, y al otro el experto espadachín que puede frustrar cualquier atentado por más bien orquestado que esté.
Sufrí y sentí por ellos a lo largo de la trama, y pasando las páginas ansiando que todo saliera bien.
Aprendí mucho de la historia de la dinastía Ming, al menos de 4 emperadores, y de personajes famosos de la época. Siempre me han gustado las novelas históricas, y comparar los hechos reales con la ficción.
El drama me gustó, me enganchó desde el primer episodio y allí amé a Tang Fan, pero la novela es mucho más. Más detallada, algunas partes son totalmente diferentes del drama, arcos y personajes que no aparecen en uno u otro, y sin embargo más rica y emocionante. Y más años!
Los extras de la novela son bellísimos. Me estrujó el corazón los bellos momentos, escasamente narrados, de la vida doméstica de la pareja principal. En especial la completa devoción de Sui Zhou, y su compromiso desde el inicio sabiendo todo lo que le iba a costar elegir a la persona amada.
Y el emperador HongZhi (sucesor de Chenhua), me enterneció tanto! Todo un fan!
La recomiendo!
Me emocioné con los casos que debía investigar Tang Fan, y como poco a poco su fama fue aumentando, atrayendo la admiración de muchos y convirtiéndose en el blanco de corruptos poderosos en la dinastía Ming.
La química entre la pareja principal es fenomenal. Por un lado el funcionario erudito con un cerebro a lo Sherlock, y al otro el experto espadachín que puede frustrar cualquier atentado por más bien orquestado que esté.
Sufrí y sentí por ellos a lo largo de la trama, y pasando las páginas ansiando que todo saliera bien.
Aprendí mucho de la historia de la dinastía Ming, al menos de 4 emperadores, y de personajes famosos de la época. Siempre me han gustado las novelas históricas, y comparar los hechos reales con la ficción.
El drama me gustó, me enganchó desde el primer episodio y allí amé a Tang Fan, pero la novela es mucho más. Más detallada, algunas partes son totalmente diferentes del drama, arcos y personajes que no aparecen en uno u otro, y sin embargo más rica y emocionante. Y más años!
Los extras de la novela son bellísimos. Me estrujó el corazón los bellos momentos, escasamente narrados, de la vida doméstica de la pareja principal. En especial la completa devoción de Sui Zhou, y su compromiso desde el inicio sabiendo todo lo que le iba a costar elegir a la persona amada.
Y el emperador HongZhi (sucesor de Chenhua), me enterneció tanto! Todo un fan!
La recomiendo!
December 16, 2024
"The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua" is an interesting historical novel with elements of mystery and political intrigue. It’s very long (12 volumes), but it reads smoothly, and the story doesn’t feel too drawn out.
There’s not much romance, but that’s fine since the focus is on investigations and the relationships between the characters. The main characters, Tang Fan and Sui Zhou, are well-developed, and their interactions make the story more engaging.
The novel left a good impression, though there were moments where I wished for a bit more action.
There’s not much romance, but that’s fine since the focus is on investigations and the relationships between the characters. The main characters, Tang Fan and Sui Zhou, are well-developed, and their interactions make the story more engaging.
The novel left a good impression, though there were moments where I wished for a bit more action.
March 9, 2025
Как можно было умудриться так сухо и скучно написать детектив?
Read
July 27, 202503/31/22 : This book is lengthy but jam-packed full of action and sleuth work. It’s also rather funny, which I didn’t expect. Tang Fan solves multiple increasingly high stakes cases while trying to unsuccessfully avoid becoming entangled in court politics. Sui Zhou is there to back him up. Everything’s wonderful and absolutely nothing hurts. Long and plot-heavy but very much worth the read, if you can find the time.
-
07/26/25 : this book is actually a comedy
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07/26/25 : this book is actually a comedy
January 26, 2022
2.5 stars
My first non-wuxia read from mxs and while i love her signature humour and am deeply invested in her MC and the CP (the way i vibed with the MC's love of food and romance novels! And sui zhou is downright swoon worthy) i was not vibing with the politics and mystery aspect At All. Which makes me think I'll just stick to her wuxia stuff next time i read her works...
My first non-wuxia read from mxs and while i love her signature humour and am deeply invested in her MC and the CP (the way i vibed with the MC's love of food and romance novels! And sui zhou is downright swoon worthy) i was not vibing with the politics and mystery aspect At All. Which makes me think I'll just stick to her wuxia stuff next time i read her works...
June 8, 2022
Case fiction AND domestic fluff? Plus well- developed mysteries and political plotting that are both well explained, by a genius detective who's not a jerk? Yesssssssssssss. I love it.
March 1, 2025
I can not finish, DNF 86%..... this translation is killing me. I can not power through the last chapters. I really think this author's writing is only properly digested with a superb translation. The liberties this one takes are actually making my reading experience so bad I decided I would only finish once it gets licensed. I felt the same with Peerless. When romance is put in the background and politics get so heavy, I really can not connect if the terms keep throwing me off. The cultural specific vocabulary is absolutely crucial because it is extremely relevant to the context !!!!!!!!!!
I appreciate the translator's efforts and how she completes the projects she takes on. I acknowledge her hard work, but I guess I am not compatible with her style in this type of story, and I think that's okay. I can disagree with her choices while still valuing and admiring her hard work.
I really enjoyed the story, and the cases are okay. My critisism to the author is that, I don't love the way they approach the relationship or romance, but it is not the main point of the story, so that's ok. Some characters are disposed of without proper connections, and there are some minor things that made me go ?? But I still think the story makes up for all of that, it truly is a great piece of work.
I appreciate the translator's efforts and how she completes the projects she takes on. I acknowledge her hard work, but I guess I am not compatible with her style in this type of story, and I think that's okay. I can disagree with her choices while still valuing and admiring her hard work.
I really enjoyed the story, and the cases are okay. My critisism to the author is that, I don't love the way they approach the relationship or romance, but it is not the main point of the story, so that's ok. Some characters are disposed of without proper connections, and there are some minor things that made me go ?? But I still think the story makes up for all of that, it truly is a great piece of work.
December 14, 2025
tylko meng xi shi mogla wymyslic kurwa to z arbuzem
January 20, 2025
I just finished tome one of Chichi's fan translation! Yay me! Yay Chichi!! Who are you, you genius research monster bird??? These foot notes are a whole PhD!!!
While I am only a fraction of the way through, I have to pause and review so I can mark this Grand occasion!
What a beautiful rambling, historical novel. Did I arrive here from the gorgeous television show and the delicious found family queer subtext therein? Absolutely. And did I stay for one and a half million words of Ming dynasty historical legal commentary and mouth-watering descriptions of food, plus understated affection between brilliant, complex, and remarkable people? Yes I did.
So far, in tome one, we have met Tang Fan who is a brilliant scholar, detective, judge, and novelist. Incidentally a personable foodie, with no sense of self preservation, and as beautiful as an immortal. So a hot genius twink. Love it for him. And we've met Sui Zhou, who is a stalwart cop in the strange political position of being the grand nephew of the empress, but without much clout because she was elevated to that position from a commoner's concubineage.
Sui Zhou basically takes one look at Tang Fan, and says I'm taking that home with me. Also they adopt the 8-year-old Dong-er, and lean into the found family trope within minutes.
And then, 400,000 words of case solving! And political machination! Featuring the sociopathic but honestly adorable eunuch Wang Zhi, who somehow at the age of 20 is one of the most terrifying figures in the Ming dynasty.
I love reading books that are as difficult and culturally alien to me as this one is, because there are none of the tired tropes and twists and plot beats that I would count on in any published American novel. It reminds me of reading Les Mis. Ooh plot! Wait, a treatise on sewers and/or Ming dynasty legal codices.
So far plot wise (and I write this down so that I can remember it later): Tang Fan got all wrapped up in an imperial case with the scary (but adorable!) eunuch Wang Zhi. Tang Fan is trying to stay out of the terrifying war between the imperial consort and the up and coming crown Prince's factions, with some success. Dong-er has been kidnapped by child traffickers and then rescued by Tang Fan and Sui Zhou. We've seen hints of the evil underground White Lotus Society that appears to be behind the murders in the first several cases (a good for nothing older brother, a noble but barren first wife, and the crown Prince's companion) and the human trafficking ring that messed with Dong-er and subsequently got smashed by her dads, with help from her scary uncle Wang Zhi, who was responsible for her kidnapping in the first place, but jeeeez, let it go, won't you? She was fiiiine!! Anyways, back to the war front for merits, you never saw meee!!-Wang Zhi
Sui Zhou has been promoted and is kicking the Brocade guard into shape, while occasionally being sweaty and sexy about it, and Tang Fan has been promoted into the office of Justice where he immediately went in and offended everyone and then won them all over again.
Also, I don't know what crystal meat is but I want some. And that's tome one!
***
Update: just finished tome two!
Featuring grave-robbers and stolen identities and some familiar villains from earlier cases, plus giant immortal crocodile grave guardians. In spite of being a soft little official, Tang Fan rides horses through the night, fights monsters, and charges headlong into danger, and the case is solved. As a result, Sui Zhou is promoted, Tan Fan is demoted. But don't worry, he should be sad about getting fired, but instead he's thrilled to have a little break, and he goes to visit his sister.
Turns out Tang Yu Jiejie (queen) has a deadbeat husband who nearly beats their son to death when he's falsely accused of killing his little cousin. Good thing uncle Fluffy, aka, Tang Fan, is there! Also, Wang Zhi shows up in Beard Disguise to make Tang Fan draw him a sentimental little piece of art for the emperor, and Sui Zhou shows up to bring the news that actually the emperor has now PROMOTED Tang Fan.
The in-laws have whiplash-- wait is this guy a disgraced criminal or a favorite of the heavens???
Sui Zhou has cranked his flirting game up to one zillion, which Tang Fan is definitely picking up on, and they are proceeding to tease each other relentlessly, and I love them.
Sui Zhou full on proposes. Straight face, his says hey this wife is waiting for you, I've got my dowry and everything ready, plus I'll protect you. It's.... Too cute to tolerate.
The second Tome wraps up with the complicated case with Tang Yu's in-laws' relatives, who lost two children in one night, in what ended up being a complicated three-crime pile up, spanking provinces and generations and classes. The case gets turned into ballads and suddenly Tang Fan and Sui Zhou are a famous crime solving duo, which gives the emperor face.
Sui Zhou buys Tang Yu and her son He Cheng a house next door to his, and they all live together with ah-dong and another stray Tang Fan picked up out of a grave robbers den.
Phew! On to the next!
*** Edit
Alright tome three:
Oohoooo so much good slow burn drama over here
So Tang Yu and He Cheng continue to thrive in their new arrangement in the city, and Tang Yu becomes a successful cosmetics saleswoman, He Cheng begins recovering from his abusive childhood in the He household, and Waste-of-Space ex-husband He Lin continues to flail around bring an oversensitive failure until he finally accepts Tang Fan's essay writing pointers, passes an exam, accepts a low level county post as a tutor, and lets He Cheng officially change his name to Tang, thereby officially separating the Tang and He families. Phew.
Dong-er is getting spoiled by her big bro and big sis the Tang siblings, doing martial arts and eating and teaching He Cheng how to be a child and we love her.
Wang Zhi (foulmouth icon beardless queeeeeen) is battling Mongols at the border while getting undermined by crummy court appointee bitching about him constantly to the emperor, and by someone in his inner circle spilling secrets via the White Lotus Society to the enemy. He, along with Sui Zhou and Tang Fan, face a (fake) ghost army and a bunch of (real) White Lotus fighters, but still manage to clear the path for the Ming army and defend the city. Wang Zhi returns to the capital to serve the emperor, with his military position gone and his Western Depot dissolved, he's rebuilding his influence from the inside.
Tang Fan roots out more nasty White Lotus creepes, including the slimy Li priest himself, cleverly disguised as a fake slimy priest (so meta, love it). He works in the palace as the (adorable precious protect at all costs) Crown Prince's tutor until that turns out to all be a set up from Consort Wan, the emperor's mommy-issues-incarnate I mean Head Consort. Hang in there little Prince!!
So then! We have Sui Zhou!!! He finally spelled things out for Tang Fan and said: hey I like you, do you like me?? And then they SMOOCHED!!! but then a ghost army attacked and Tang Fan pretended it never happened. *Sighhhhhh*
So Sui Zhou changes tactics, and plays a loooong game, pretending to retract his feelings and saying actually he's going to marry a nice girl, and Tang Fan won't mind because she'll probably cook for him too, when she's not too busy. Oh and also Tang Fan should prepare himself to move out. (And then he watches Tang Fan squirm. He is a professional torturer, after all. Love him.) (Oh also he gets Yu-jiejie in on it.)
Tang Fan is so smart about other people and so dumb about himself, he bluescreens whenever the topic comes up. But at last, he realizes he--- no, augh, he can't say it!!!! So he chances after Sui Zhou as he heads out of the city, and hands him Dong-er's jade pendant with some crummy beads on it, because.... Poem*
Also, Sui Zhou is not a scholar.
So Tang Fan has admitted his feelings in a code that Sui Zhou will definitely not decipher. Bless him!!! Luckily, Sui Zhou does. We get a second of Sui Zhou's thoughts which are basically: I've got you now, my pretty, mwahahaha.
Go Sui Zhou, go!!!
*Said poem:
I wander outside the eastern gate, where i meet a noble air of great. I follow to a secluded space, servicing him with garments displaced. No vows made beneath the mulberry, near the roadside, we both make merry. His lovely looks engage me, they do, pleased is he by my countenance, too. How to convey our sincerity? Slip on the arms two golden bracelets. How to convey our courteousness? Fix the fingers a pair of silver. How to convey delicate feelings? Appoint two pearls upon the earlobes. How to convey our joint devotion? Tie a sachet behind the elbow. How to convey our pining, yearning? Wind around the wrists two long ribbons. How to bind affections eternal? Fine jade strung by beaded silken thread..."
******
FINALLY finished tome 4!!!
Ah, it's been bliss to be swept along in this world for the last several weeks. I'm going to miss it! I may need to go rewatch The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty to get my Tang Fan and Sui Zhou fix, even though the two versions are quite different. The casting of the main characters is *mwah* without compare.
So in the last tome! Sui Zhou and Tang Fan have established their shared lives, their careers progress through harrowing near misses and disasters both personal and national. The last of the White Lotus society falls, as does the morally corrupt Wan party at the emperor's side. The Crown Prince survives the assassination and removal attempts, and finally the emperor puts on his big boy britches, as governs. For a solid few months, before he dies and leaves it all to the excellent Crown Prince. Yay!!
Wang Zhi follows the advice Tang Fan gave him so many years ago and fights pirates and re-establishes the Ming merchant Navy, to live up to his idol's (the Eunuch Cheng He, I think?) fame.
Time churns on, Dong-er marries a good young man, Tang Yu marries Xie-ge from the Brocade guard, and Tang Fan and Sui Zhou live out the decades together.
The story doesn't end, the book just stops. So I have the pleasant feeling of their lives continuing off stage, with their brilliance and struggle and fame and ordinariness all carrying on behind the dropped curtain of their lives.
BEAUTIFUL. GORGEOUS. PERFECT.
While I am only a fraction of the way through, I have to pause and review so I can mark this Grand occasion!
What a beautiful rambling, historical novel. Did I arrive here from the gorgeous television show and the delicious found family queer subtext therein? Absolutely. And did I stay for one and a half million words of Ming dynasty historical legal commentary and mouth-watering descriptions of food, plus understated affection between brilliant, complex, and remarkable people? Yes I did.
So far, in tome one, we have met Tang Fan who is a brilliant scholar, detective, judge, and novelist. Incidentally a personable foodie, with no sense of self preservation, and as beautiful as an immortal. So a hot genius twink. Love it for him. And we've met Sui Zhou, who is a stalwart cop in the strange political position of being the grand nephew of the empress, but without much clout because she was elevated to that position from a commoner's concubineage.
Sui Zhou basically takes one look at Tang Fan, and says I'm taking that home with me. Also they adopt the 8-year-old Dong-er, and lean into the found family trope within minutes.
And then, 400,000 words of case solving! And political machination! Featuring the sociopathic but honestly adorable eunuch Wang Zhi, who somehow at the age of 20 is one of the most terrifying figures in the Ming dynasty.
I love reading books that are as difficult and culturally alien to me as this one is, because there are none of the tired tropes and twists and plot beats that I would count on in any published American novel. It reminds me of reading Les Mis. Ooh plot! Wait, a treatise on sewers and/or Ming dynasty legal codices.
So far plot wise (and I write this down so that I can remember it later): Tang Fan got all wrapped up in an imperial case with the scary (but adorable!) eunuch Wang Zhi. Tang Fan is trying to stay out of the terrifying war between the imperial consort and the up and coming crown Prince's factions, with some success. Dong-er has been kidnapped by child traffickers and then rescued by Tang Fan and Sui Zhou. We've seen hints of the evil underground White Lotus Society that appears to be behind the murders in the first several cases (a good for nothing older brother, a noble but barren first wife, and the crown Prince's companion) and the human trafficking ring that messed with Dong-er and subsequently got smashed by her dads, with help from her scary uncle Wang Zhi, who was responsible for her kidnapping in the first place, but jeeeez, let it go, won't you? She was fiiiine!! Anyways, back to the war front for merits, you never saw meee!!-Wang Zhi
Sui Zhou has been promoted and is kicking the Brocade guard into shape, while occasionally being sweaty and sexy about it, and Tang Fan has been promoted into the office of Justice where he immediately went in and offended everyone and then won them all over again.
Also, I don't know what crystal meat is but I want some. And that's tome one!
***
Update: just finished tome two!
Featuring grave-robbers and stolen identities and some familiar villains from earlier cases, plus giant immortal crocodile grave guardians. In spite of being a soft little official, Tang Fan rides horses through the night, fights monsters, and charges headlong into danger, and the case is solved. As a result, Sui Zhou is promoted, Tan Fan is demoted. But don't worry, he should be sad about getting fired, but instead he's thrilled to have a little break, and he goes to visit his sister.
Turns out Tang Yu Jiejie (queen) has a deadbeat husband who nearly beats their son to death when he's falsely accused of killing his little cousin. Good thing uncle Fluffy, aka, Tang Fan, is there! Also, Wang Zhi shows up in Beard Disguise to make Tang Fan draw him a sentimental little piece of art for the emperor, and Sui Zhou shows up to bring the news that actually the emperor has now PROMOTED Tang Fan.
The in-laws have whiplash-- wait is this guy a disgraced criminal or a favorite of the heavens???
Sui Zhou has cranked his flirting game up to one zillion, which Tang Fan is definitely picking up on, and they are proceeding to tease each other relentlessly, and I love them.
Sui Zhou full on proposes. Straight face, his says hey this wife is waiting for you, I've got my dowry and everything ready, plus I'll protect you. It's.... Too cute to tolerate.
The second Tome wraps up with the complicated case with Tang Yu's in-laws' relatives, who lost two children in one night, in what ended up being a complicated three-crime pile up, spanking provinces and generations and classes. The case gets turned into ballads and suddenly Tang Fan and Sui Zhou are a famous crime solving duo, which gives the emperor face.
Sui Zhou buys Tang Yu and her son He Cheng a house next door to his, and they all live together with ah-dong and another stray Tang Fan picked up out of a grave robbers den.
Phew! On to the next!
*** Edit
Alright tome three:
Oohoooo so much good slow burn drama over here
So Tang Yu and He Cheng continue to thrive in their new arrangement in the city, and Tang Yu becomes a successful cosmetics saleswoman, He Cheng begins recovering from his abusive childhood in the He household, and Waste-of-Space ex-husband He Lin continues to flail around bring an oversensitive failure until he finally accepts Tang Fan's essay writing pointers, passes an exam, accepts a low level county post as a tutor, and lets He Cheng officially change his name to Tang, thereby officially separating the Tang and He families. Phew.
Dong-er is getting spoiled by her big bro and big sis the Tang siblings, doing martial arts and eating and teaching He Cheng how to be a child and we love her.
Wang Zhi (foulmouth icon beardless queeeeeen) is battling Mongols at the border while getting undermined by crummy court appointee bitching about him constantly to the emperor, and by someone in his inner circle spilling secrets via the White Lotus Society to the enemy. He, along with Sui Zhou and Tang Fan, face a (fake) ghost army and a bunch of (real) White Lotus fighters, but still manage to clear the path for the Ming army and defend the city. Wang Zhi returns to the capital to serve the emperor, with his military position gone and his Western Depot dissolved, he's rebuilding his influence from the inside.
Tang Fan roots out more nasty White Lotus creepes, including the slimy Li priest himself, cleverly disguised as a fake slimy priest (so meta, love it). He works in the palace as the (adorable precious protect at all costs) Crown Prince's tutor until that turns out to all be a set up from Consort Wan, the emperor's mommy-issues-incarnate I mean Head Consort. Hang in there little Prince!!
So then! We have Sui Zhou!!! He finally spelled things out for Tang Fan and said: hey I like you, do you like me?? And then they SMOOCHED!!! but then a ghost army attacked and Tang Fan pretended it never happened. *Sighhhhhh*
So Sui Zhou changes tactics, and plays a loooong game, pretending to retract his feelings and saying actually he's going to marry a nice girl, and Tang Fan won't mind because she'll probably cook for him too, when she's not too busy. Oh and also Tang Fan should prepare himself to move out. (And then he watches Tang Fan squirm. He is a professional torturer, after all. Love him.) (Oh also he gets Yu-jiejie in on it.)
Tang Fan is so smart about other people and so dumb about himself, he bluescreens whenever the topic comes up. But at last, he realizes he--- no, augh, he can't say it!!!! So he chances after Sui Zhou as he heads out of the city, and hands him Dong-er's jade pendant with some crummy beads on it, because.... Poem*
Also, Sui Zhou is not a scholar.
So Tang Fan has admitted his feelings in a code that Sui Zhou will definitely not decipher. Bless him!!! Luckily, Sui Zhou does. We get a second of Sui Zhou's thoughts which are basically: I've got you now, my pretty, mwahahaha.
Go Sui Zhou, go!!!
*Said poem:
I wander outside the eastern gate, where i meet a noble air of great. I follow to a secluded space, servicing him with garments displaced. No vows made beneath the mulberry, near the roadside, we both make merry. His lovely looks engage me, they do, pleased is he by my countenance, too. How to convey our sincerity? Slip on the arms two golden bracelets. How to convey our courteousness? Fix the fingers a pair of silver. How to convey delicate feelings? Appoint two pearls upon the earlobes. How to convey our joint devotion? Tie a sachet behind the elbow. How to convey our pining, yearning? Wind around the wrists two long ribbons. How to bind affections eternal? Fine jade strung by beaded silken thread..."
******
FINALLY finished tome 4!!!
Ah, it's been bliss to be swept along in this world for the last several weeks. I'm going to miss it! I may need to go rewatch The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty to get my Tang Fan and Sui Zhou fix, even though the two versions are quite different. The casting of the main characters is *mwah* without compare.
So in the last tome! Sui Zhou and Tang Fan have established their shared lives, their careers progress through harrowing near misses and disasters both personal and national. The last of the White Lotus society falls, as does the morally corrupt Wan party at the emperor's side. The Crown Prince survives the assassination and removal attempts, and finally the emperor puts on his big boy britches, as governs. For a solid few months, before he dies and leaves it all to the excellent Crown Prince. Yay!!
Wang Zhi follows the advice Tang Fan gave him so many years ago and fights pirates and re-establishes the Ming merchant Navy, to live up to his idol's (the Eunuch Cheng He, I think?) fame.
Time churns on, Dong-er marries a good young man, Tang Yu marries Xie-ge from the Brocade guard, and Tang Fan and Sui Zhou live out the decades together.
The story doesn't end, the book just stops. So I have the pleasant feeling of their lives continuing off stage, with their brilliance and struggle and fame and ordinariness all carrying on behind the dropped curtain of their lives.
BEAUTIFUL. GORGEOUS. PERFECT.
June 7, 2022
4.5 stars! i guess i didn't expect myself to like it as much as i did!
the cases were quite interesting, and although the romance was severely lacking, in the end, it did not affect my overall rating.
i enjoyed the way it was written and just the overall content. definitely not for you if you really must have a majority of it be romance. there's a tremendous amount of case solving as well as court politics. definitely a book full of plot the whole way through.
the cases were quite interesting, and although the romance was severely lacking, in the end, it did not affect my overall rating.
i enjoyed the way it was written and just the overall content. definitely not for you if you really must have a majority of it be romance. there's a tremendous amount of case solving as well as court politics. definitely a book full of plot the whole way through.
November 8, 2025
It took me some while to get through this because a) this is a long-ass book and b) I had to repeatedly set this aside because I had so many library books to read. Poor dear, sorry about that.
Also, I’m amused by the book’s title: the main story spans over nine years and the extra part takes another decade or so, so the title applies to the first part only, lol.
Anyhoo.
I knew going in that the romance side would be the slowest of burns and very much in the background but I didn’t really mind. The cases were interesting and I enjoyed the detailed court intrigue and politics. It’s a sign of Meng Xi Shi’s writing prowess that despite being a Gary Stu, Tang Fan comes off as endearing instead of fucking annoying, considering he’s always calm and collected and solves the trickiest cases just-like-that with a smile on his face (sure, he’s hopeless at household chores and thicker than a concrete wall to realize what’s right in front of his face but still). I enjoyed Sui Zhou’s exasperated wooing and the half-feral, potty-mouthed Wang Zhi. Granny Zhou was a delight and I appreciated Tang Fan’s sister taking her life back and having a second chance at happiness.
There’s a lot of infodumping due to the nature of the story, and it frankly got a bit exhausting in the last few cases. Don’t get me wrong: in general I like infodumps when they are about history (and boy oh boy is there History) and it’s obvious the author is a history nerd. But there was A Lot of infodumping, just pages after pages, sometimes repeating stuff that had been said only a couple of chapters earlier. I’m not sure if Meng Xi Shi was getting tired or if the story was just too sprawling but, eh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What bugged me a lot more was that the translation quality (or proofreading stamina?) dropped toward the end, and the last case and extras were chock full of embarrassing typos. 😬
All in all, it was a good read and I enjoyed it. I don’t think it’ll end up very high on my danmei ranking list but as a historical sleuth novel it’s pretty damn good.
Also, I’m amused by the book’s title: the main story spans over nine years and the extra part takes another decade or so, so the title applies to the first part only, lol.
Anyhoo.
I knew going in that the romance side would be the slowest of burns and very much in the background but I didn’t really mind. The cases were interesting and I enjoyed the detailed court intrigue and politics. It’s a sign of Meng Xi Shi’s writing prowess that despite being a Gary Stu, Tang Fan comes off as endearing instead of fucking annoying, considering he’s always calm and collected and solves the trickiest cases just-like-that with a smile on his face (sure, he’s hopeless at household chores and thicker than a concrete wall to realize what’s right in front of his face but still). I enjoyed Sui Zhou’s exasperated wooing and the half-feral, potty-mouthed Wang Zhi. Granny Zhou was a delight and I appreciated Tang Fan’s sister taking her life back and having a second chance at happiness.
There’s a lot of infodumping due to the nature of the story, and it frankly got a bit exhausting in the last few cases. Don’t get me wrong: in general I like infodumps when they are about history (and boy oh boy is there History) and it’s obvious the author is a history nerd. But there was A Lot of infodumping, just pages after pages, sometimes repeating stuff that had been said only a couple of chapters earlier. I’m not sure if Meng Xi Shi was getting tired or if the story was just too sprawling but, eh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What bugged me a lot more was that the translation quality (or proofreading stamina?) dropped toward the end, and the last case and extras were chock full of embarrassing typos. 😬
All in all, it was a good read and I enjoyed it. I don’t think it’ll end up very high on my danmei ranking list but as a historical sleuth novel it’s pretty damn good.
May 6, 2024
4.5 stars
super well thought out and the political intrigue is also written about very in depth which i like. others have said this before but anyone coming into this for the romance will not have a good time because the romance plot is very secondary and a lot of the time is barely even there at all, so i would not mention it that much when recommending this one like i would with others where the focus is, primarily, on the main couple. however, when we do get those romantic crumbs i was giggling and kicking my feet while reading because they are just such a delightfully good couple like really some top-notch danmei couple there.
taking off that 0.5 star because i did feel some plots dragged on a bit, and though it all came together at the end, i kinda had to trudge through them. Tang Fan as an MC is super fun, and even though sometimes he falls into that mary-sue-ish territory, he is also shown to have his flaws and he also makes mistakes that have a lasting impact on the story.
and of course i have to talk about my poor little meow meow Wang Zhi !!!!!!!!!!!!! i started out really not liking him and thinking he was soooo annoying but his character development was so good and once i got to know him he was just such a fun character. like he was such a huge bitch i love him. best character in the book imo
overall, this is a novel that centers on plot, characters second, and romance third. so unless you're willing to read a lengthy historical fiction novel and only want romance or juicy drama, i would not recommend.
super well thought out and the political intrigue is also written about very in depth which i like. others have said this before but anyone coming into this for the romance will not have a good time because the romance plot is very secondary and a lot of the time is barely even there at all, so i would not mention it that much when recommending this one like i would with others where the focus is, primarily, on the main couple. however, when we do get those romantic crumbs i was giggling and kicking my feet while reading because they are just such a delightfully good couple like really some top-notch danmei couple there.
taking off that 0.5 star because i did feel some plots dragged on a bit, and though it all came together at the end, i kinda had to trudge through them. Tang Fan as an MC is super fun, and even though sometimes he falls into that mary-sue-ish territory, he is also shown to have his flaws and he also makes mistakes that have a lasting impact on the story.
and of course i have to talk about my poor little meow meow Wang Zhi !!!!!!!!!!!!! i started out really not liking him and thinking he was soooo annoying but his character development was so good and once i got to know him he was just such a fun character. like he was such a huge bitch i love him. best character in the book imo
overall, this is a novel that centers on plot, characters second, and romance third. so unless you're willing to read a lengthy historical fiction novel and only want romance or juicy drama, i would not recommend.
April 20, 2024
wow naprwde meng xi shi nie zawodzi. nowleka mnie przez cały czas trzymała w napięciu i praktyczne cały czas czegoś wyczekiwałam. sam fakt, że autentycznie ją skończyłam dużo o niej mówi (zostały mi jedynie dodatki). w sumie wszytsko skupiało się na intrygach cesarskim dworze i nawet nie było za dużo akcji. jeżeli miałabym na cos narzekać to było naprwde mało romansu (ale dodatki prawodpodobnie nadgonią), co nie zmienia faktu, że był and i loved it. tang fan i sui zhou podbili moje serduszko i oczywiście eunuch wang, po którym na początku całkowicie nie spodziewałam się, że będzie tak ciekawą postacią.
November 29, 2025
This is not just a historical mystery, but has a LOT of political wrangling, but it was well-explained and clear enough to follow despite not knowing a lot about the history ahead of time.
The main couple was nice, even though the romance proportion is smaller in this than Thousand Autumns or Peerless.
I thought it was so neat to find out that the genre where a government official investigates cases is actually a thing in Chinese literature (gong'an fiction, dating back to the Song dynasty, although the earliest examples are actually from the Yuan dynasty), popular right when this is set. So neat!
Why doesn't this have an official translation?????
The main couple was nice, even though the romance proportion is smaller in this than Thousand Autumns or Peerless.
I thought it was so neat to find out that the genre where a government official investigates cases is actually a thing in Chinese literature (gong'an fiction, dating back to the Song dynasty, although the earliest examples are actually from the Yuan dynasty), popular right when this is set. So neat!
Why doesn't this have an official translation?????
November 1, 2025
I love sui zou and tang fan, don't expect romance in this book, that's very very few. this book is different from the series. this book has very few to be called romantic. but that is worth it. this whole book is around tang fan and his life struggle and one by one people starts to become his part of his life. it took me more than 2 months to complete the this. but it's worth it. I was avoiding it because of the series. There are so many characters to be remembered who play significant roles too.
September 23, 2022
Its mystery novel with many sub plots which the main protagonist resolves with his wit , observation and intellectual skills!! I loved all the mini arc and political intrigue in ancient china monarchy!! I just wish there was more romance!! The romance lead is compatible with the protagonist and complement him too well!!! They don't need words to communicate!!! At least in this book, the slow burn wasn't that slow compared to author others works! They got together before the book ended!! Hooray!
March 5, 2023
Wow what a ride. Truly a slow burn, but amazing plot and detective novel. I love the historical setting. The humor is so on-point. Tang Fan does gets a little too protagonist halo, but I love how both clever and empathetic he is. Also the descriptions of food in this book made me so hungry sometimes. The ending is a little abrupt, but I'm use to that with this author. Still a satisfying ending with all the extras, but It is a little strange. One of my favorite webnovels so far.
May 31, 2024
I love this book so much, it's one of my favorites of this genre
I really like the investigation side of it and the romance pacing is really well done
The only thing that I wish was a bit more worked on is the main couple's relationship
I know I just said the pacing is good and I mean it, I like how Tang Fan gradually realized his own feelings
I just wished that we could see a bit more of how they got together and not just "2 years later and they're boning"
I really like the investigation side of it and the romance pacing is really well done
The only thing that I wish was a bit more worked on is the main couple's relationship
I know I just said the pacing is good and I mean it, I like how Tang Fan gradually realized his own feelings
I just wished that we could see a bit more of how they got together and not just "2 years later and they're boning"
July 31, 2025
This is one of the only times I feel the book is better than the drama. Wang Zhi kills me he’s so funny😂. I kind of wish the author had included Tang Fan and Sui Zhou actually beginning their relationship but they kind of skipped over it. Oh well.
June 27, 2023
I can read a 1k chapter typical xianxia bg novel but I can't sit my ass to read this 150 chapter detective danmei😭
July 3, 2024
Great characters, gripping plot. Not a single arc that I didn’t like.
May 13, 2025
satisfied by craving for political intrigue!! the couple is also rlly cute, I love their interactions
May 17, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's much more story driven more than romance driven, so I'd recommend this book for folks who like detective stories set in ancient China that are separated into multiple arcs. And when I say it's light on the romance, I mean it. It's there but pretty subtle, which is typical for books from this author. The MC never even confesses properly to the ML; he just gives him a jade token which is an obscure literary reference to having feelings for someone XP
There are 11 arcs total, some with both Sui Zhou and Tang Fan present, and some with only TF there to solve the case. I was taking some quick notes per arc for my review so I'll include them here under a spoiler tag.
One last note - I love that TF is a foodie. All of his food descriptions, especially of the amazing wontons at his go-to wonton stall, had me drooling and craving wontons! And the dishes served at Immortal Cloud or the ones cooked with love by SZ all sounded amazing as well...
There are 11 arcs total, some with both Sui Zhou and Tang Fan present, and some with only TF there to solve the case. I was taking some quick notes per arc for my review so I'll include them here under a spoiler tag.
One last note - I love that TF is a foodie. All of his food descriptions, especially of the amazing wontons at his go-to wonton stall, had me drooling and craving wontons! And the dishes served at Immortal Cloud or the ones cooked with love by SZ all sounded amazing as well...
March 21, 2023
definitely longer than 368 pgs in the translation I read. Probably closer to 1150
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