#baihe novels

[sillysistersusi]

So, I have a question to everyone out there who likes baihe novels. I've been thinking about starting to read one (I only read danmei so far) and I wanted to ask you all about your opinion.

I wanted to start with 'the beauty's blade' since it isn't a really long book and this way I could find out if I like baihe or not (I think I will, since I'm a not really straight girl yk), but I'm afraid to start it and then end up not liking it.

I also thought about reading 'female general and eldest princess' but I heard from a lot of people that it drags on a lot and that the princess is very manipulative and toxic ... I, however, have no idea how much of this is true and what I should do now.

So I would like to beg the baihe fandom for their help😅🥰🥰

[aworldforastage]

Clear and Muddy Loss of Love/泾渭情殇 by 请君莫笑

(Art from the audiodrama on Mao'er, with the named changed to 泾渭无间)

Synopsis

Qiyan Agula is the orphaned survivor of the Jing royal family, an ethnic nomadic tribe wiped out a decade ago in a war with the Wei kingdom. Vowing revenge, she takes the identity of a man named Qi Yan, and tries to enter the Wei government through its Imperial Exams and destroy it from the inside. However, her plans go awry when the Emperor asks Qi Yan to marry his favorite daughter Nangong Jingnu.

Qi Yan's powerful teacher and benefactor, a princess of the previous dynasty, is also determined to destroy the Nangong court. She has a network of spies helping Qi Yan maintain her secret identity to continue with the revenge plan. After earning the trust of the young and naive princess, Qi Yan begins to work with the princes, using their political influence to her advantage while prodding on them to turn on each other in the competition to become Crown Prince.

The Wei Kingdom is plagued by poor policy, a corrupt and entrenched gentry, and ambitious neighbors at its borders. In the maelstrom of politicking and backstabbing, Nangong Jingnu is the only person in the world who really cares for her "husband" Qi Yan like family, and Qi Yan is tortured by the reminder that the person she has grown to care for is the daughter of her arch nemesis. As Emperor Nangong Rang's health deteriorates, Jingnu is forced to grow up and learn about the history and politics behind her life of privilege, and choose her path in this world ...

Thoughts that live rent-free in my head [unmarked spoiler ahead]

Political Intrigue

Political Intrigue is what initially hooked me on this novel. It's not super intricate or rigorous, but it's definitely above-average for a historical web novel. The scope of the political intrigue covers palace intrigue and imperial succession, politicking among the elite classes, the impact of policy and inequality on grass root citizens, local/regional governance, and of course, the opportunities and complications brought by neighboring nations with a different culture and ethnicity.

I'm kind of picky with political intrigue stories. It's hard to write "the protagonist is smart and strategic" while also avoiding "everyone else is stupid and incapable of independent thought." Qi Yan has the physical constitution of a dry leaf that will disintegrate with one wrong move, but she is given an over-powered political brain to make up for it. She is knowledgeable about everything that is relevant, her complex plans usually pan out perfectly, and she is rarely outclassed or cornered in these power games. But the plot and action are tightly-paced, which keeps me engaged instead of dwelling on potential plot holes.

Unlike most c-novels I have read, this story highlights the perspective of the nomadic tribes, and (at least in the main story line) does not end with the Han-coded emperor "unifying" the land. The tribes still do not have the most flattering portrayal, as we see with the Nagus Clan's numerous deceptions and scandalous affairs, and Bayin's obstination and simpleness. However, Qi Yan has memories and ideals for a freer and kinder tribal life, and we empathize her grief for the loss of that way of life.

Qi Yan

Qi Yan is a very interesting character. She is smart, ruthless, drowning in rage and grief, but only rarely loses herself in it. While her mentor has trained her to lean into hatred and resentment, Qi Yan is not ignorant to the kindness, sincerity, and innocence of the most Wei citizens who had nothing to do with her family's death. She eventually narrows the scope of her revenge to the core of the Nangong court, and is earnestly helping the Wei citizens when working as an official.

I love the portrayal and transformation of the rage and resentment Qi Yan feels over the loss of her family and tribe. We see her grow from being consumed by vengeance, to sympathizing with innocent people, to trying to make the best out of the good things she has, and finally, to realizing there are things she just cannot forgive.

A lot of stories get very preachy about things like vengeance and forgiveness, and c-novels especially tend to have marginalized people absolve the Han-coded emperors or officials to "prioritize the big picture" But this story really leans into the humanity of the love and grief that drives Qi Yan's rage. The decision she makes about it in the end is so wonderfully flawed and completely in character -- because there is just no way for all this to end perfectly after all that's happened.

Jingnu

As for Nangong Jingnu, I really do think she is a poor precious sweet angel who did not deserve *gestures vaguely at the whole plot* this but this is such a classical case of sins of the father. And her father really is a terrible person to everyone, including his other eleven children, except for her.

She has an amazing character arc, starting as an naive princess and eventually ending up as a competent and wise Empress Regent. I think her growth as a politician is a bit too quick and smooth. For a long time she is consistently outclassed by other politicians like Qi Yan, but very quickly she becomes an independent ruler. Still, it's very satisfying to see her finally becoming a force for change in their broken world.

One thing I find very interesting about Jingnu is her devotion to the imperfect people that she loves. Her father and Qi Yan never show her the full extent of their darker sides, but she loves that best version of them so fiercely. As her father's favorite princess, she is respected and pampered, but no one truly dares to get too close to her because she is ranked higher than everyone. I think that loneliness really did a number on her. She finds home in Qi Yan so she is determined to keep it, and I'm just happy she can have the thing she really wants (even though I do not think this relationship has been fair to her).

Other thoughts

An interesting side effect I noticed while reading the novel, which centers on Qi Yan's POV, is I ended up internalizing some of her cynical and revenge-focused world view. I felt fairly disaffected by most of the character deaths in the story because Qi Yan did not want to care about them; even if she objectively knows they are not all terrible, she is not prone to being sympathetic to most Wei officials. When I finally sympathize with a supporting character, I keep on praying that he won't be revealed to be total trash a few story arcs down the line, because it happens a lot. It's nearly 90% into the novel when I finally come across a character death that genuinely saddened me.

There are many great female characters in this story. Jingnu's wise-and-caring oldest sister helps her out of many pinches, and the gentle-but-resilient second sister gets a fantastic story line and side CP. Tribal princess Jiya is ambitious, brave, and made my jaw drop some many times (in joy and in shock). The mysterious princess of the previous dynasty is also amazing (even as a villain) and makes you wonder how history might have changed if she became the ruler instead of her brother.

I was a bit disappointed that many side characters' story lines are are still left wide open at the end of such a long novel, but the author's note convinced me this is for the best. The author has given this universe and these characters so much life that their own stories can and should go on for millions of words more, and it's both impossible and unfair to think they will all wrap up neatly just as Qi Yan and Jingnu's story ends.

And last but not least, the theme song from the AD is just so goooooooood

[seijousai]

touch starved ♥️

[latuarts]

[junesfool]

jwqs fandom if you're real tell me scenes to draw from memory

[piojooojo]

[yeyayeya]

Does anyone have any recommendations for any Baihe (GL) novels? I’ve read a decent amount of Danmei, and I’ve been really wanting to read some Baihe too.

Aside from Female General & Eldest Princess and Clear and Muddy Loss of Love, which I will get to eventually, is there any other novels that are good?

On a separate note, how good is Ballad of Sword and Wine (QJJ)? Is it worth reading?

I want to read more Danmei and Baihe since I am now in a rabbit hole.

[lantianlong]

Cr: Velinxi (see lower left corner)

[sendmeartgifs]

Qi yan body pillow is real im losing my mind

[soymilkwithyuri]

Wwyr doodles because I love this novel so much (I mean. I love wei tingxu)

There’s going to be an English publication for this novel coming out around next year, titled “At the world’s mercy” (although one can argue that it should be named “at her mercy” instead) please go check it out if you can this novel has so many strong smart women I’m gonna make this my bible

[stxrryblossoms]

A sketch of an upcoming dtiys for twt and insta🫶🏻❤️ we love doomed toxic yuri🤭 (tgcf au if qijing was in the universe, qi yan civil god and jingnu calamity ghost queen)

[aworldforastage]

currently reading: Clear and Muddy Loss of Love/泾渭情殇 by 请君莫笑

This is a loooooong novel, but surprisingly I'm almost halfway through without taking a break from it.

Premise: Qiyan Agula wants to take revenge on the Wei Kingdom for destroying her tribe and family. She pretends to be a man named Qi Yan, hoping to enter the Wei Court through the Imperial Exams to dismantle the government from the inside. However, the Wei Emperor grants her a marriage with his beloved daughter, Princess Jingnu. This new position complicates Qiyan's revenge plan, and also forces her to build a complicated relationship with the naive but sweet princess.

The Wei kingdom is newly founded by the current Emperor, and the chaotic state of its court and gentry reflects the messy power brokering that stabilized the new dynasty. The Emperor does not have a good succession plan, nor an effective approach to governing. There are ruthless games of power and backstabbing in elite politics, and dire threats against survival of the common people.

The political intrigue is pretty interesting and keeping me hooked on the novel. The style reminds me of Joyful Reunion. Most of the plots are not super intricate or complex, but there are a lot of plotting, deception, and long games. It's a fairly serious attempt to explore the motivations and implications of war, political reform, social inequality, and (autocratic) leadership.

Qi Yan is pretty brutal. When I say she is not a good person, I mean she is actively ruining the lives of people who haven't done anything to her. She gradually realizes her revenge plan is causing immense pain and harm to people who never hurt her, but so far she is trying to internalize and justify it instead of changing her priorities.

I feel sort of conflicted about Jingnu. She is kind, sweet, talented, but only this way because she is a sheltered and favored royal, oblivious to the legacy of bloodshed and oppression that has built and sustained her life of privilege. The narrative has mostly exempt her from the dire experiences and circumstances that has forced other characters to break their morals and principles, but we get to look forward to how she'll handle the big betrayal/reveal waiting for her in the future.

The GL romance developed very organically but also ... not very GL. They started in an arranged royal marriage so they are constantly performing these rituals of marriage without any emotions attached. It's two people trying to live together peacefully falling for the other person's strength and kindness. One of them doesn't know her "husband" is a woman and is not thinking of this like a GL or w/w relationship. The other person, to be fair, has much bigger problems with this relationship than her partner's gender.

and some other random iinitial thoughts:

old Emperor Nangong is really a *string of expletive*

.... I did not expect [spoilers] to be our first lesbian relationship in this nove... ╭( ๐_๐)╮

... I really did not expect [more spoilers] to become a long term lesbian relationship ... (⚆ᗝ⚆)

... that awkward moment when all the points in the love dodecahedron is on the same family tree, but it's an extended traditional Chinese clan so I guess they are not that related (●__● )

Princess Jingnu you have many very good reasons to hate and be disappointed in Qi Yan but so far the one you found out and fixated on is the one thing she actually didn't do...

but seriously how are you married for SEVEN years, half of which is actually more-than-amicable, but still not know your "husband" is a woman?

[neerbear]

them, yet again!

currently working on the LAST illustration for this project

after that, I have a cute little fandom dump I plan on doing (which fandom? surprise!)

anyways, can these two stop being awkward and just kiss already?

[seijousai]

i will never be happy again

[junesfool]

"A handsome dead with lively eyes" (or someone's been studying too many national romanticism poems nowadays)

[web-novel-polls]

Have You Read This Web Novel?

A natural moat called the Luo river split the great land into two. Jing of the north, and Wei of the south. One was the Prince of the grass plains who had no worries nor sorrow. One was a lawful Princess who received exclusive favour of the Emperor. A war turned the Prince of the grass plains into an orphan, she who had laid dormant for ten years had originally planned to become a sycophantic official, to manipulate the enemy kingdom into chaos, but was appointed as Fuma at the Chionglin banquet. Wait and see, how this debt of grudge from a fallen kingdom and devastated home will be settled. - Novel Updates

If you’re in the process of reading this web novel, please choose whichever option best fits your situation. You do not have to be completely finished with it to answer “yes.”