The Phoenix's Captive (Volume III)

The Phoenix's Captive (Volume III) is the final installment of the three-volume time-travel romance with an ancient setting, The Phoenix's Captive, by web novelist Tianyi Youfeng (a pen name). Published by Henan Literature and Art Publishing House in May 2009, it follows directly upon the narrative of the first two volumes and contains Volume Three, 'Sunrise in the East, Rain in the West; Said to Be Clearsome, Yet Clearsome Still,' running from Chapter 101 to the novel's final chapter. The story remains set against the backdrop of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties. After a modern woman, Chu Yu, transmigrates into the body of Liu Chuyu, the notorious Shanyin Princess of Liu Song, she uses the identity and predicament of her host to survive and maneuver within a princess's mansion teeming with male attendants and undercurrents of intrigue. In this final volume, the chess game nears its end: her intentions and the calculations of the white-robed retainer Rong Zhi continually interweave, and the choice between 'the empire' and 'Chu Yu' gradually unfolds. Images and turns such as black hair in the snow, red beans and longing, a night upheaval in the bamboo grove, and deadly peril on the river set the coldness of political scheming against the heat of affection, until the tale reaches its close in the question 'Why does the phoenix cage the phoenix?' and the answer 'The phoenix in the end cages the phoenix.' This volume is where the whole work gathers and reaches its climax: the characters' stances, grievances, and loyalties must all settle here, the author has Chu Yu make her own choice among love, dignity, and survival, and writes the attitude of 'glad in victory, composed in defeat' into the very foundation of the work. The style is airy as fluttering sleeves, interspersed with poems and allusions, carrying an afterglow of Wei-Jin pure conversation and the elegance of famous scholars.