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逐王 [The Blood Crown]
An ambitious man walking on a path of tactics that are filled with sharp knives,
A nobody cutting his way through thistles and thorns on a path of salvation,
A scholar-official who is always vigilant during his journey of managing disorders.
An idealist who is ready to risk any danger to reach his goals during his journey of salvation.
A nobody cutting his way through thistles and thorns on a path of salvation,
A scholar-official who is always vigilant during his journey of managing disorders.
An idealist who is ready to risk any danger to reach his goals during his journey of salvation.
ebook
First published January 1, 2017
4 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Shui Qian Cheng
65 books91 followersAssociated Names:
* Shui Qian Cheng (English)
* 水千丞 (Chinese)
* Shui Qian Cheng (English)
* 水千丞 (Chinese)
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October 28, 2021I was originally going to DNF this book but I was really in the mood for political intrigue drama so I ended up reading this really mammoth book. This is similar to 泾渭情殇 Clear and Muddy Loss of Love and 将进酒 Qiang Jin Jiu - really really politically complex plots, lots of tragedy, angst, and betrayals.
I really liked twists and turns that happened in the story - there were some really shocking and depressing turns that took place because of political machinations. I really enjoyed reading about the crazy things that happened and it was really fun to go on this twenty-year long story. So much happened! The main couple is extremely unhealthily codependent but damn fiction is the only time where I'm really living for this unhealthy codependency lol.
Lots of unrealistic decisions and plot developments for the sake of angst, and main characters are whumpified and woobiefied as well. But this author is so skilled at describing the two characters' emotions, feelings and their psyches that I'm totally lapping up this melodrama.
Overall, a somewhat melodramatic book, but quite fun to read if you enjoy complex political intrigue, emotional rollercoasters and angst lol.
I really liked twists and turns that happened in the story - there were some really shocking and depressing turns that took place because of political machinations. I really enjoyed reading about the crazy things that happened and it was really fun to go on this twenty-year long story. So much happened! The main couple is extremely unhealthily codependent but damn fiction is the only time where I'm really living for this unhealthy codependency lol.
Lots of unrealistic decisions and plot developments for the sake of angst, and main characters are whumpified and woobiefied as well. But this author is so skilled at describing the two characters' emotions, feelings and their psyches that I'm totally lapping up this melodrama.
Overall, a somewhat melodramatic book, but quite fun to read if you enjoy complex political intrigue, emotional rollercoasters and angst lol.
May 29, 2025
I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I was started this book. I saw that it's ~350 chapters long, so I figured it would be plot heavy, but little did I expect to feel so much pain and heartbreak on behalf of the MC. The romance is set against a backdrop of political schemes and military action. Eventually the story becomes a wife chasing crematorium, with the ML trying hard to convince the MC to get back together again, and thank goodness it ends on a happy note. I had to check the tags on Novel Updates a couple times just to make sure there was no tragedy tag, since the MC has it really rough.
To be fair, I probably should have known better. This author has a reputation for writing scum gongs, and the one other book I've read from her featured a very unhealthy relationship where both the MC and ML were overly dependent on the other. But I thought it might be different here since this story is set in the historical period and is much longer than her usual novel. Like I said, I should've known better... Still, it was an engrossing read and one that I think will stay with me for a while, hence my 5 star rating.
**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**
The story follows our MC, Yuan Sikong, a genius who unfortunately suffers tragedy after tragedy as a child. First his birth parents died when foreign tribes invade his hometown, and later his adopted father is accused of overstepping his military power and beheaded as punishment, when in fact he's a hero who saved the whole city. Outraged, Yuan Sikong vows to enact revenge on the individuals responsible for his adopted father being framed.
Even though this novel is at its heart a revenge story that spans the course of 20 or so years, the romance forms an integral part of the story and can't be separated from the revenge plotline. The ML is Feng Ye, the son of a prestigious commander who guards the country's northern border against foreign tribes. They first meet as kids, when Yuan Sikong is 13 and Feng Ye is a naive and precocious 8 year old. They spend a couple of weeks playing together, but that's enough for them to have a deep impression of the other.
Their next meeting is in the capital after 10 years, when the MC finally starts on his revenge journey. He's managed to impress an official who leads the aristocracy faction in court and is taken under his wings as a student, while Feng Ye comes to the capital as a hostage of good faith against his father's powerful military powers. This is the happiest part of the story and what I found the most enjoyable, as the romance kicks off smoothly and things are generally going well. However, this arc ends in tragedy for both of them; Yuan Sikong's mentor dies and he's forced to "betray" his faction and join the eunuch faction, while Feng Ye's father is accused of treason and commits suicide in prison. And the worst part is that Yuan Sikong is framed so that Feng Ye harbors suspicion that MC is involved in the Feng case. It's at this point that all the pain starts...
The last arc, which is by far the longest and takes up over half the story, starts after a 3 year time jump. At this point, the MC is already 30 and the ML is in his mid-20s. Yuan Sikong has gained an unsavory reputation for himself as allying with whoever can provide him with the most benefits, after he defected to the eunuch faction to take them down from the inside. Soon, he reunites with Feng Ye, who's built a rebel army and is now known as the Wolf King, and is sad to realize that Feng Ye has changed greatly. He's no longer the carefree youth from the past but a mature and fierce general.
Unfortunately all of Feng Ye's doubts about Yuan Sikong remains and has even deepened. Even though they're working together towards a common goal of putting the Crown Prince on the throne, but Feng Ye's possessiveness towards Yuan Sikong means that he's constantly questioning the latter's relationship with the Crown Prince. From Yuan Sikong's perspective, he and the Crown Prince are strictly in a teacher and student relationship, but Feng Ye never really believes him.
Yuan Sikong goes through so much in this arc, to the point where I got really emotional and felt so much pain on his behalf for all of his suffering. Not only does the man he love time and time again doubt his intentions and feelings, but he gets betrayed by family because of petty jealousy and even starts questioning his own identity in the process. It was seriously so hard to read as his love for Feng Ye slowly fades after he's disappointed by Feng Ye over and over again, to the point where he eventually feels nothing but indifference towards him. And I don't blame him. He's given his all to help Feng Ye only to be slapped in the face by the latter's distrust and suspicion. It's not a pleasant feeling. It's been a long time since I read such a painful book, and honestly it was hard to keep reading at times, especially when Yuan Sikong was willing to burn himself to death to end his miserable life. I had to tell myself that it must be a happy ending since there is no tragedy tag, and that's how I was able to keep soldiering on.
Of course, Feng Ye eventually learns the truth about Yuan Sikong's true identity and realizes that everything YSK has done to help him was out of genuine love and affection, and it's that point where the wife chasing part of the story begins. He feels so much anguish and regret after learning the truth, but for me it wasn't enough. At least Feng Ye gives up being emperor for Yuan Sikong; that says something about how important YSK is to him. But I wanted him to suffer more after everything he's put YSK through. My poor baby T_T
The romance is a total roller coaster. It'll have you feeling highs and lows both. I have a lot of thoughts about their relationship. Feng Ye came back into Yuan Sikong's life right as he needed more support, so he intentionally used Feng Ye in his schemes. However, what he didn't anticipate was falling in love with him. It doesn't take long for Feng Ye to figure out that YSK is using him, so while he's hurt, he's willing to accept this imperfect YSK and work together towards revenge. However, their relationship breaks down and eventually becomes full of suspicion and eventually hate on the ML's part and indifference on the MC's part. At multiple points of the story, Yuan Sikong is perfectly willing to walk away from Feng Ye's side, where it feels like he's constantly walking on thin ice and he doesn't know what will trigger Feng Ye, and it's other circumstances that force him back to Feng Ye's side.
Probably one of the most heartbreaking parts of the romance was both the MC and ML's acknowledgement that they're the last in their family, and that they need to marry and have kids in order to carry on the family name. They have some realistic conversations about this. Yuan Sikong doesn't particularly care about his family legacy, but he does rely on his wife's identity as an imperial princess as political leverage and agrees to get married for the support she can bring him. As for kids, while Yuan Sikong gets his wife to pretend she's pregnant and subs in a random infant as her baby, Feng Ye doesn't believe him and thinks he actually slept with his wife. So partially in revenge (and partially for the benefits), he marries a wife and sleeps with her. When he finds out the truth later that Yuan Sikong really wasn't intimate with his wife, he feels super tortured about his own actions.
The story is quite heavy on both political scheming and military tactics. In the middle arc where Yuan Sikong is just starting to make a name for himself in the capital, there is a lot of intrigue. He's a smart guy and can always think multiple steps ahead. For example, he spreads rumors and forces Prince Liang, who's just peacefully living his life far away from the capital, into rebellion. As part of the rebellion, YSK forges letters between Prince Liang and one of the men he wants to take revenge on, so through this move he can achieve 1/3 of his revenge. Also, when Prince Liang inevitably loses, there's the added benefit that the Emperor can use the rebellion as an excuse to reduce regional powers, which is another goal that YSK is secretly working towards. Like I said, there are schemes on schemes.
More so than the political intrigue, there's a lot of warfare and military tactics in the story. The MC and ML are both constantly facing external threats in the form of various foreign tribes as well as other militaries, such as the Crown Prince's or the Imperial Army. The first big event of the story describes how Yuan Sikong helps his father hold their city against 70,000 Jin troops with a mere 3,000 soldiers, and that really sets the tone for the rest of the story. As someone who generally finds military battles boring, I was surprisingly interested in reading about the tactics discussed by the MC and ML. It wasn't just the tactics but also their strategies of sowing strife and doubt among enemy allies that were fascinating.
The author's writing is amazing, but the translation left much to be desired. It was clearly translated with AI, as the translator forgot to take out some of the AI's responses. Also, there were typos everywhere with character names getting mispelled or the wrong character name getting used, which you have to tell via context clues. Despite the terrible translation, I was really impressed with how the author explains all the intrigue so you get invested in it. For example, I was surprised to find myself feeling so emotional after hearing that the Feng Ye's father will return to the court, at the risk of losing his life, instead of rebelling.
Despite the faulty transation, there were so many poignant scenes, so I'm including some of them here:
The angstttttt
Yan Sikong looked up, his voice trembling. "What do you want me to do?"
Feng Ye's face twitched, clearly holding back something. The deep emotions in his eyes were hard to describe. He clenched and unclenched his fists, finally picking up the wine cup and drinking it in one gulp, without saying another word.
A heavy silence fell between them. Yan Sikong ate bite by bite, the food tasteless. Suddenly, he understood what it meant to be worlds apart even when so close.
----------------
They're both so torn over Yuan Sikong marrying Feng Ye's cousin, an imperial princess. This was such a painful conversation
"When you get married..." Feng Ye looked over Yan Sikong's face, his voice hoarse. "Will you make vows to her, whisper sweet nothings? You will, right? You always know what to say to make people happy. She will fall for you, just like I did..."
Yan Sikong bit his lip, feeling waves of sorrow.
Feng Ye's eyes were bloodshot. "Yan Sikong, do you know? She's... my only sister, but I'm so jealous I could kill her."
Yan Sikong felt a suffocating pain spreading through his chest. He gently touched Feng Ye's face. "Feng Ye, I don't want to argue, but in this life, my heart belongs to you alone."
----------------
This story hurts my heart :'(
Yan Sikong's prophecy had come true; the day in the Eastern Palace was indeed their farewell.
He watched as everyone he cared about met their end-whether through death, imprisonment, disgrace, or exile - while he had to fawn and flatter his enemies. Every day, every moment, was more painful than death. He wondered how much more the heavens would torment him. If wrongdoing should be punished, why were the most heinous villains always rewarded?
Where was their retribution?
----------------
They have a a true love/hate relationship
Yan Sikong suddenly laughed, the laugh full of desolation. "Feng Ye, what is your true intention toward me? Is it deep affection, or do you just want to tie me to your side and torment me?"
Feng Ye froze, then said in a deep voice, "You and I have been entangled in love and hate for so many years. How can it be so easily explained?"
Yan Sikong's eyes grew wet, his heart aching as he recalled the pure and beautiful times of his youth. It truly was like the moon in the water, the flower in the mirror-illusory and fleeting. The real them were now broken and irreparable.
Feng Ye extended his hand again, gently caressing Yan Sikong's cheek, saying softly, "I will treat you well. I swear, as long as you belong only to me, that's all I want."
Yan Sikong pushed Feng Ye's hand away. He lowered his head, stumbling toward the door, feeling lost, as if he might collapse at any moment.
Why was it that no matter how often he seemed to win, in the end, he was the one who lost? Why, when he gave everything, did he lose more with every gain?
At this point, he wasn't even sure what he truly wanted. He had exhausted himself, put all his effort into everything, but for what?
Why did it turn out this way? Had he been wrong from the very beginning, or was it because of Feng Ye?
----------------
My heart hurts from all the angst
"Feng Ye, we've come this far. Why deceive ourselves? What you want is supreme power, and what I want is to use your power to achieve my own goals. We are simply using each other." Yan Sikong felt his heart bleed, yet he continued relentlessly. "Talking about feelings now is laughable!"
Feng Ye grabbed Yan Sikong's collar, his handsome face contorted with rage, his eyes full of resentment. He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse. "You've finally said it. What you want from me is power. I mean nothing to you!"
----------------
Ugh Feng Ye just can't trust Yuan Sikong, and at the other people's instigation and framing, is willing to believe MC chose the Crown Prince over him 😭
In truth, no matter where he was, he was destined not to sleep. Whether his eyes were open or closed, all he could see was Feng Ye's hostile gaze. He often wondered why the person he had given the most to, the one he had compromised and cared for the most, had turned into his enemy.
He was so tired. He was so tired that he didn't even want to move a finger. He couldn't feel sadness, humiliation, anger, hatred-he couldn't feel anything. He only felt exhausted, not wanting to think anymore, not wanting to scheme anymore, not wanting to carry the hopeless expectation for Feng Ye, but only able to watch as the two of them grew farther apart.
----------------
My poor baby T_T
The person he had loved most had imprisoned him on charges of treason. His student, whom he had raised, conspired with his enemies to frame him. To the court, he was a traitor who deserved a thousand deaths, and to the world, he was a notorious villain. When he thought about it carefully, there was no place for him in this world anymore.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly. Yan Sikong, oh Yan Sikong, you always prided yourself on being clever, scheming your whole life, only to end up with nothing. How ironic, to fall into this situation.
----------------
They had their "wedding" in prison on the eve of ML's real wedding
They gazed at each other, silent.
The immense sorrow hit them like a tidal wave, completely drowning the two of them. In this narrow prison cell, there was almost no space to breathe, and the most tragic part was that neither of them could feel the other's pain.
Feng Ye quietly wiped the tears from his cheek and said in a low voice, "Husband and wife... bow to each other."
Yan Sikong clenched his fists and slowly, slowly lowered his head.
Something inside them shattered, blood spilled everywhere, and their forms could no longer be pieced together.
----------------
When the truth is finally out about MC not sleeping with his wife...
"Of course they're important!" Feng Ye growled. "I always thought it was you who married and had a child first, that you... that you betrayed me first..." The more he spoke, the more suffocated he felt. In his heart, it was Yan Sikong who had wronged him first, so he married and had a child to balance things out, even with a sense of revenge. But now Wanyang had directly told him that they had never been a real couple, and the child was adopted, just as Yan Sikong had said. But he hadn't believed it. Three years, and he hadn't believed a word of it!
----------------
When the MC plans to kill himself in the fire holding onto their "marriage" handkerchief... who's cutting onions here??
He pressed the kerchief to his face, gently caressing it. His expression was calm, but tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.
Feng Ye, I do not hate you. I hope one day, you will no longer hate me. That when you think of me, you remember the boy who once brought you joy.
Feng Ye, I wish for you to become a legendary general, remembered throughout history.
But I can no longer fulfill your wish.
----------------
Too late Feng Ye
All his resentment and hatred toward Yan Sikong over the years had stemmed from what he perceived as Yan Sikong's coldness and betrayal. But was Yan Sikong truly heartless?
He had risked breaking into the prison to save Feng Ye, named their child Jin Yu, helped him achieve military victories, and even in the end, lit that fire to clear all obstacles for him. Was that heartlessness?
Or had his own resentment blinded him?
He dared not think about it. If Yan Sikong had truly cared for him, how much pain must he have endured for the things he had said and done?
Time and again, Feng Ye had hurt Yan Sikong, seeking to see the same pain in his face, the same care in his eyes. But all he did was push him further away.
Helpless against that cold indifference, he had only escalated his cruelty.
What had he done?
Regret, like a corrosive poison, gnawed at his body with reckless abandon.
He had to see Yan Sikong. Heaven or earth, he would find him. He refused to believe Yan Sikong was truly gone. If it were true, he would storm the gates of the underworld itself to bring him back.
----------------
This felt so good
"You said you don't regret it." Yan Sikong's voice was as calm as his expression. "But I do. I regret meeting you, regretted pledging myself to you. Without you, I would have made far fewer foolish mistakes. That's why I can't-"
"I forbid you to regret!" Feng Ye trembled. "I forbid it. I won't allow you to erase our past like this."
"It wasn't me who erased our past-it was you," Yan Sikong said softly. "And it wasn't just our past you wanted to erase; you wanted to erase me as well."
Feng Ye felt a suffocating pain.
To be fair, I probably should have known better. This author has a reputation for writing scum gongs, and the one other book I've read from her featured a very unhealthy relationship where both the MC and ML were overly dependent on the other. But I thought it might be different here since this story is set in the historical period and is much longer than her usual novel. Like I said, I should've known better... Still, it was an engrossing read and one that I think will stay with me for a while, hence my 5 star rating.
**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**
The story follows our MC, Yuan Sikong, a genius who unfortunately suffers tragedy after tragedy as a child. First his birth parents died when foreign tribes invade his hometown, and later his adopted father is accused of overstepping his military power and beheaded as punishment, when in fact he's a hero who saved the whole city. Outraged, Yuan Sikong vows to enact revenge on the individuals responsible for his adopted father being framed.
Even though this novel is at its heart a revenge story that spans the course of 20 or so years, the romance forms an integral part of the story and can't be separated from the revenge plotline. The ML is Feng Ye, the son of a prestigious commander who guards the country's northern border against foreign tribes. They first meet as kids, when Yuan Sikong is 13 and Feng Ye is a naive and precocious 8 year old. They spend a couple of weeks playing together, but that's enough for them to have a deep impression of the other.
Their next meeting is in the capital after 10 years, when the MC finally starts on his revenge journey. He's managed to impress an official who leads the aristocracy faction in court and is taken under his wings as a student, while Feng Ye comes to the capital as a hostage of good faith against his father's powerful military powers. This is the happiest part of the story and what I found the most enjoyable, as the romance kicks off smoothly and things are generally going well. However, this arc ends in tragedy for both of them; Yuan Sikong's mentor dies and he's forced to "betray" his faction and join the eunuch faction, while Feng Ye's father is accused of treason and commits suicide in prison. And the worst part is that Yuan Sikong is framed so that Feng Ye harbors suspicion that MC is involved in the Feng case. It's at this point that all the pain starts...
The last arc, which is by far the longest and takes up over half the story, starts after a 3 year time jump. At this point, the MC is already 30 and the ML is in his mid-20s. Yuan Sikong has gained an unsavory reputation for himself as allying with whoever can provide him with the most benefits, after he defected to the eunuch faction to take them down from the inside. Soon, he reunites with Feng Ye, who's built a rebel army and is now known as the Wolf King, and is sad to realize that Feng Ye has changed greatly. He's no longer the carefree youth from the past but a mature and fierce general.
Unfortunately all of Feng Ye's doubts about Yuan Sikong remains and has even deepened. Even though they're working together towards a common goal of putting the Crown Prince on the throne, but Feng Ye's possessiveness towards Yuan Sikong means that he's constantly questioning the latter's relationship with the Crown Prince. From Yuan Sikong's perspective, he and the Crown Prince are strictly in a teacher and student relationship, but Feng Ye never really believes him.
Yuan Sikong goes through so much in this arc, to the point where I got really emotional and felt so much pain on his behalf for all of his suffering. Not only does the man he love time and time again doubt his intentions and feelings, but he gets betrayed by family because of petty jealousy and even starts questioning his own identity in the process. It was seriously so hard to read as his love for Feng Ye slowly fades after he's disappointed by Feng Ye over and over again, to the point where he eventually feels nothing but indifference towards him. And I don't blame him. He's given his all to help Feng Ye only to be slapped in the face by the latter's distrust and suspicion. It's not a pleasant feeling. It's been a long time since I read such a painful book, and honestly it was hard to keep reading at times, especially when Yuan Sikong was willing to burn himself to death to end his miserable life. I had to tell myself that it must be a happy ending since there is no tragedy tag, and that's how I was able to keep soldiering on.
Of course, Feng Ye eventually learns the truth about Yuan Sikong's true identity and realizes that everything YSK has done to help him was out of genuine love and affection, and it's that point where the wife chasing part of the story begins. He feels so much anguish and regret after learning the truth, but for me it wasn't enough. At least Feng Ye gives up being emperor for Yuan Sikong; that says something about how important YSK is to him. But I wanted him to suffer more after everything he's put YSK through. My poor baby T_T
The romance is a total roller coaster. It'll have you feeling highs and lows both. I have a lot of thoughts about their relationship. Feng Ye came back into Yuan Sikong's life right as he needed more support, so he intentionally used Feng Ye in his schemes. However, what he didn't anticipate was falling in love with him. It doesn't take long for Feng Ye to figure out that YSK is using him, so while he's hurt, he's willing to accept this imperfect YSK and work together towards revenge. However, their relationship breaks down and eventually becomes full of suspicion and eventually hate on the ML's part and indifference on the MC's part. At multiple points of the story, Yuan Sikong is perfectly willing to walk away from Feng Ye's side, where it feels like he's constantly walking on thin ice and he doesn't know what will trigger Feng Ye, and it's other circumstances that force him back to Feng Ye's side.
Probably one of the most heartbreaking parts of the romance was both the MC and ML's acknowledgement that they're the last in their family, and that they need to marry and have kids in order to carry on the family name. They have some realistic conversations about this. Yuan Sikong doesn't particularly care about his family legacy, but he does rely on his wife's identity as an imperial princess as political leverage and agrees to get married for the support she can bring him. As for kids, while Yuan Sikong gets his wife to pretend she's pregnant and subs in a random infant as her baby, Feng Ye doesn't believe him and thinks he actually slept with his wife. So partially in revenge (and partially for the benefits), he marries a wife and sleeps with her. When he finds out the truth later that Yuan Sikong really wasn't intimate with his wife, he feels super tortured about his own actions.
The story is quite heavy on both political scheming and military tactics. In the middle arc where Yuan Sikong is just starting to make a name for himself in the capital, there is a lot of intrigue. He's a smart guy and can always think multiple steps ahead. For example, he spreads rumors and forces Prince Liang, who's just peacefully living his life far away from the capital, into rebellion. As part of the rebellion, YSK forges letters between Prince Liang and one of the men he wants to take revenge on, so through this move he can achieve 1/3 of his revenge. Also, when Prince Liang inevitably loses, there's the added benefit that the Emperor can use the rebellion as an excuse to reduce regional powers, which is another goal that YSK is secretly working towards. Like I said, there are schemes on schemes.
More so than the political intrigue, there's a lot of warfare and military tactics in the story. The MC and ML are both constantly facing external threats in the form of various foreign tribes as well as other militaries, such as the Crown Prince's or the Imperial Army. The first big event of the story describes how Yuan Sikong helps his father hold their city against 70,000 Jin troops with a mere 3,000 soldiers, and that really sets the tone for the rest of the story. As someone who generally finds military battles boring, I was surprisingly interested in reading about the tactics discussed by the MC and ML. It wasn't just the tactics but also their strategies of sowing strife and doubt among enemy allies that were fascinating.
The author's writing is amazing, but the translation left much to be desired. It was clearly translated with AI, as the translator forgot to take out some of the AI's responses. Also, there were typos everywhere with character names getting mispelled or the wrong character name getting used, which you have to tell via context clues. Despite the terrible translation, I was really impressed with how the author explains all the intrigue so you get invested in it. For example, I was surprised to find myself feeling so emotional after hearing that the Feng Ye's father will return to the court, at the risk of losing his life, instead of rebelling.
Despite the faulty transation, there were so many poignant scenes, so I'm including some of them here:
The angstttttt
Yan Sikong looked up, his voice trembling. "What do you want me to do?"
Feng Ye's face twitched, clearly holding back something. The deep emotions in his eyes were hard to describe. He clenched and unclenched his fists, finally picking up the wine cup and drinking it in one gulp, without saying another word.
A heavy silence fell between them. Yan Sikong ate bite by bite, the food tasteless. Suddenly, he understood what it meant to be worlds apart even when so close.
----------------
They're both so torn over Yuan Sikong marrying Feng Ye's cousin, an imperial princess. This was such a painful conversation
"When you get married..." Feng Ye looked over Yan Sikong's face, his voice hoarse. "Will you make vows to her, whisper sweet nothings? You will, right? You always know what to say to make people happy. She will fall for you, just like I did..."
Yan Sikong bit his lip, feeling waves of sorrow.
Feng Ye's eyes were bloodshot. "Yan Sikong, do you know? She's... my only sister, but I'm so jealous I could kill her."
Yan Sikong felt a suffocating pain spreading through his chest. He gently touched Feng Ye's face. "Feng Ye, I don't want to argue, but in this life, my heart belongs to you alone."
----------------
This story hurts my heart :'(
Yan Sikong's prophecy had come true; the day in the Eastern Palace was indeed their farewell.
He watched as everyone he cared about met their end-whether through death, imprisonment, disgrace, or exile - while he had to fawn and flatter his enemies. Every day, every moment, was more painful than death. He wondered how much more the heavens would torment him. If wrongdoing should be punished, why were the most heinous villains always rewarded?
Where was their retribution?
----------------
They have a a true love/hate relationship
Yan Sikong suddenly laughed, the laugh full of desolation. "Feng Ye, what is your true intention toward me? Is it deep affection, or do you just want to tie me to your side and torment me?"
Feng Ye froze, then said in a deep voice, "You and I have been entangled in love and hate for so many years. How can it be so easily explained?"
Yan Sikong's eyes grew wet, his heart aching as he recalled the pure and beautiful times of his youth. It truly was like the moon in the water, the flower in the mirror-illusory and fleeting. The real them were now broken and irreparable.
Feng Ye extended his hand again, gently caressing Yan Sikong's cheek, saying softly, "I will treat you well. I swear, as long as you belong only to me, that's all I want."
Yan Sikong pushed Feng Ye's hand away. He lowered his head, stumbling toward the door, feeling lost, as if he might collapse at any moment.
Why was it that no matter how often he seemed to win, in the end, he was the one who lost? Why, when he gave everything, did he lose more with every gain?
At this point, he wasn't even sure what he truly wanted. He had exhausted himself, put all his effort into everything, but for what?
Why did it turn out this way? Had he been wrong from the very beginning, or was it because of Feng Ye?
----------------
My heart hurts from all the angst
"Feng Ye, we've come this far. Why deceive ourselves? What you want is supreme power, and what I want is to use your power to achieve my own goals. We are simply using each other." Yan Sikong felt his heart bleed, yet he continued relentlessly. "Talking about feelings now is laughable!"
Feng Ye grabbed Yan Sikong's collar, his handsome face contorted with rage, his eyes full of resentment. He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse. "You've finally said it. What you want from me is power. I mean nothing to you!"
----------------
Ugh Feng Ye just can't trust Yuan Sikong, and at the other people's instigation and framing, is willing to believe MC chose the Crown Prince over him 😭
In truth, no matter where he was, he was destined not to sleep. Whether his eyes were open or closed, all he could see was Feng Ye's hostile gaze. He often wondered why the person he had given the most to, the one he had compromised and cared for the most, had turned into his enemy.
He was so tired. He was so tired that he didn't even want to move a finger. He couldn't feel sadness, humiliation, anger, hatred-he couldn't feel anything. He only felt exhausted, not wanting to think anymore, not wanting to scheme anymore, not wanting to carry the hopeless expectation for Feng Ye, but only able to watch as the two of them grew farther apart.
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My poor baby T_T
The person he had loved most had imprisoned him on charges of treason. His student, whom he had raised, conspired with his enemies to frame him. To the court, he was a traitor who deserved a thousand deaths, and to the world, he was a notorious villain. When he thought about it carefully, there was no place for him in this world anymore.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly. Yan Sikong, oh Yan Sikong, you always prided yourself on being clever, scheming your whole life, only to end up with nothing. How ironic, to fall into this situation.
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They had their "wedding" in prison on the eve of ML's real wedding
They gazed at each other, silent.
The immense sorrow hit them like a tidal wave, completely drowning the two of them. In this narrow prison cell, there was almost no space to breathe, and the most tragic part was that neither of them could feel the other's pain.
Feng Ye quietly wiped the tears from his cheek and said in a low voice, "Husband and wife... bow to each other."
Yan Sikong clenched his fists and slowly, slowly lowered his head.
Something inside them shattered, blood spilled everywhere, and their forms could no longer be pieced together.
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When the truth is finally out about MC not sleeping with his wife...
"Of course they're important!" Feng Ye growled. "I always thought it was you who married and had a child first, that you... that you betrayed me first..." The more he spoke, the more suffocated he felt. In his heart, it was Yan Sikong who had wronged him first, so he married and had a child to balance things out, even with a sense of revenge. But now Wanyang had directly told him that they had never been a real couple, and the child was adopted, just as Yan Sikong had said. But he hadn't believed it. Three years, and he hadn't believed a word of it!
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When the MC plans to kill himself in the fire holding onto their "marriage" handkerchief... who's cutting onions here??
He pressed the kerchief to his face, gently caressing it. His expression was calm, but tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.
Feng Ye, I do not hate you. I hope one day, you will no longer hate me. That when you think of me, you remember the boy who once brought you joy.
Feng Ye, I wish for you to become a legendary general, remembered throughout history.
But I can no longer fulfill your wish.
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Too late Feng Ye
All his resentment and hatred toward Yan Sikong over the years had stemmed from what he perceived as Yan Sikong's coldness and betrayal. But was Yan Sikong truly heartless?
He had risked breaking into the prison to save Feng Ye, named their child Jin Yu, helped him achieve military victories, and even in the end, lit that fire to clear all obstacles for him. Was that heartlessness?
Or had his own resentment blinded him?
He dared not think about it. If Yan Sikong had truly cared for him, how much pain must he have endured for the things he had said and done?
Time and again, Feng Ye had hurt Yan Sikong, seeking to see the same pain in his face, the same care in his eyes. But all he did was push him further away.
Helpless against that cold indifference, he had only escalated his cruelty.
What had he done?
Regret, like a corrosive poison, gnawed at his body with reckless abandon.
He had to see Yan Sikong. Heaven or earth, he would find him. He refused to believe Yan Sikong was truly gone. If it were true, he would storm the gates of the underworld itself to bring him back.
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This felt so good
"You said you don't regret it." Yan Sikong's voice was as calm as his expression. "But I do. I regret meeting you, regretted pledging myself to you. Without you, I would have made far fewer foolish mistakes. That's why I can't-"
"I forbid you to regret!" Feng Ye trembled. "I forbid it. I won't allow you to erase our past like this."
"It wasn't me who erased our past-it was you," Yan Sikong said softly. "And it wasn't just our past you wanted to erase; you wanted to erase me as well."
Feng Ye felt a suffocating pain.
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August 11, 2024I DNFed this sadly.
I think I would have really really enjoyed it if some of my expectations weren't there. I hated the ML, he was weird and the love between them is just so sudden, it felt fake. Also, MC is constantly "wow, I am oh-so-powerful but I haven't seen him do ANYTHING??” idk, I usually LOVE and will eat any political intrigue novels, but this one was just not it. Maybe I'll come back later on? Who knows
With that part out of the way, I would like to talk about the translation. I know translators have it really hard and they usually don't get anything back for their translations but MAN was this translation chunky. I don't care if you use AI to translate (I know because the person forgot to delete the "Here is the translation for the section you inputted in") but how about actually proofreading it and making sure the names were the same? I swear to god, there was like 3 different ways the translation had for the main character; Yan Sikong, yan si kong, yansikong (but with the tone tags on top)
it was difficult to feel the flow because of that, but maybe i'm just too sensitive.
I think I would have really really enjoyed it if some of my expectations weren't there. I hated the ML, he was weird and the love between them is just so sudden, it felt fake. Also, MC is constantly "wow, I am oh-so-powerful but I haven't seen him do ANYTHING??” idk, I usually LOVE and will eat any political intrigue novels, but this one was just not it. Maybe I'll come back later on? Who knows
With that part out of the way, I would like to talk about the translation. I know translators have it really hard and they usually don't get anything back for their translations but MAN was this translation chunky. I don't care if you use AI to translate (I know because the person forgot to delete the "Here is the translation for the section you inputted in") but how about actually proofreading it and making sure the names were the same? I swear to god, there was like 3 different ways the translation had for the main character; Yan Sikong, yan si kong, yansikong (but with the tone tags on top)
it was difficult to feel the flow because of that, but maybe i'm just too sensitive.
August 7, 2025
*favorito*
É... minha mãe SQC sempre sabe como me deixar insana...
História muito bem escrita, ainda melhor que WCJ. Bem desenvolvida e com personagens ótimos.
O Yan Sikong poderia se enquadrar como um "scum shou", mas não acho que ele seja um (o Shan Ming com certeza é um, mas o Sikong? Não). O Feng Ye foi um personagem muito bem desenvolvido, no começo ele lembra MUITO o Xiao Chiye, mas depois... *risos de desespero*. Mesmo com as reviravoltas de personalidade, traumas e traição, eu não consigo entender o porque tanta gente diz que o Feng Ye é pior que o Shao Qun. O Shao Qun era um bostinha desde criança, mas o Feng Ye não - muito pelo contrário, ele sempre foi 100% devoto ao Sikong e todos os problemas no relacionamento deles se deram por terceiros que afetaram o julgamento do Feng Ye.
Os personagens secundários são excelentes e o Yuan Nanyu é meu pitoco, quero guardar ele no meu coração. O Chen Mu... esse sim é um oponente pro Shao Qun, virou no diabo depois de adulto (para aprender que pra trair o Sikong tem que ter muita pica e cu pra levar as marretadas dele).
De toda forma, eu simplesmente adorei. É uma construção de intriga política e guerras muito similar a QJJ e SPL, mas com o toque de dogblood e wife chasing crematorium da SQC.
Valeu a pena esperar tantos anos para conseguir ler essa história completa, eu sou a mulher mais feliz do mundo, queria muito que a MB saísse do bueiro onde ela está se escondendo pra lançar uma história nova nesse nível tbm.
É... minha mãe SQC sempre sabe como me deixar insana...
História muito bem escrita, ainda melhor que WCJ. Bem desenvolvida e com personagens ótimos.
O Yan Sikong poderia se enquadrar como um "scum shou", mas não acho que ele seja um (o Shan Ming com certeza é um, mas o Sikong? Não). O Feng Ye foi um personagem muito bem desenvolvido, no começo ele lembra MUITO o Xiao Chiye, mas depois... *risos de desespero*. Mesmo com as reviravoltas de personalidade, traumas e traição, eu não consigo entender o porque tanta gente diz que o Feng Ye é pior que o Shao Qun. O Shao Qun era um bostinha desde criança, mas o Feng Ye não - muito pelo contrário, ele sempre foi 100% devoto ao Sikong e todos os problemas no relacionamento deles se deram por terceiros que afetaram o julgamento do Feng Ye.
Os personagens secundários são excelentes e o Yuan Nanyu é meu pitoco, quero guardar ele no meu coração. O Chen Mu... esse sim é um oponente pro Shao Qun, virou no diabo depois de adulto (para aprender que pra trair o Sikong tem que ter muita pica e cu pra levar as marretadas dele).
De toda forma, eu simplesmente adorei. É uma construção de intriga política e guerras muito similar a QJJ e SPL, mas com o toque de dogblood e wife chasing crematorium da SQC.
Valeu a pena esperar tantos anos para conseguir ler essa história completa, eu sou a mulher mais feliz do mundo, queria muito que a MB saísse do bueiro onde ela está se escondendo pra lançar uma história nova nesse nível tbm.
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