Double Prelude cover

Double Prelude

Rating 3.3
Word count
283K words
Chapters
31
ISBN
9787550028579

Tags

Summary

In the Zhengan era, the Southern Liang dynasty teetered on the brink of collapse. Astride a warhorse, clad in gleaming silver armor, he took her hand and said: I will rise above the multitudes, so that no one under heaven will dare look down on you. Yet when the realm changed hands, the bright moon waxed and waned; supreme power became a cold blade in his hand, carving wound after wound in her heart that would never heal. Arrows loosed in the deep palace, blood spilled in the imperial court; when her entire clan was wiped out in a single morning, the emperor and empress of Shu were left utterly desolate. She leapt from the Guan Yun Pavilion; shattered gold and fleeting splendor, love and hatred entwined, all turned to dust. Right and wrong, grievance and gratitude—all gone in a turn of the head, a single radiant dream. Waking from the great dream, she returns to the eighth year of Zhengan: spring flowers are at their best, her people still live, her family is not yet destroyed. In her last life, wherever she died, in this life she will be reborn.

Editor's review

"Double Prelude" is a historical romance with a rebirth setup. It opens against the backdrop of the Southern Liang's tottering realm during the Zheng'an era, laying out the hero's ambition as he takes her hand in silver armor and vows to stand above all others, and showing how power ultimately turns into a blade that cuts them both. Author Ji Taochu doesn't settle for pure sweetness or angst; instead, she uses the leap from the Guanyun Pavilion as a turning point, letting the heroine return to the eighth year of Zheng'an after her clan's destruction, carrying memories of her past life as she faces a scene where spring flowers are just right, people are still present, and her family is not yet gone. The replay narrative focuses not on the thrill of revenge but on how characters make new choices and learn to trust again when they already know the ending. The depictions of hidden arrows in the deep palace and bloodshed in the court create an oppressive, urgent atmosphere, suited to readers who like historical romance interwoven with power struggles and emotional entanglement. Note that the book involves heavy content such as clan extermination and betrayal; its emotional tone is on the cold side and it is not a light diversion.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers who enjoy rebirth historical romance and want to see a heroine with memories rewrite her fate
  • Fans of historical fiction who prefer intertwined power struggles and romance and can accept heavy plotlines
  • Readers interested in deep-palace, court, and family-rise-and-fall settings
  • Readers with good patience who are willing to follow characters through an oppressive atmosphere at a slow pace

Not a good fit for

  • Readers looking for light sweet reads or easy comfort reading
  • Readers sensitive to heavy content such as clan extermination and betrayal, who are easily saddened
  • Readers who prefer fast-paced power-fantasy and want the heroine to strike back immediately after rebirth

Reading tips

  1. First sort out the key events and relationships of the previous life, then enter the post-rebirth timeline for smoother reading
  2. Pay attention to the heroine's subtle reactions when facing old acquaintances and old affairs—they are important clues to understanding her changing choices
  3. For power-struggle passages, keep simple relationship notes to avoid confusion when deep-palace and court threads intertwine
  4. If heavy plotlines affect your mood, read in segments rather than straight through

About the publisher

Baihuazhou Literature and Art Publishing House is a professional literature and art publisher. Judging from the books in the database, its publishing focus is on foreign literature, world classics, prose and miscellaneous writings, and classic works, while also covering literary appreciation and cultural reading. Representative titles include The Painter of Modern Life, Jane Eyre, Six Chapters of a Floating Life, The Moon and Sixpence, Selected Prose of Ji Xianlin, A Sportsman's Sketches, and Collected Prose of Famous Masters, involving Chinese and foreign authors such as Charles Baudelaire, Charlotte Brontë, Shen Fu, and W. Somerset Maugham, as well as translators including Guo Hong'an, Chen Jinhui, Jing Xing, and Jiao Haili. Overall, the press emphasizes the introduction of classic texts and the compilation of prose works, presenting a publishing profile centered on literary reading and cultural accumulation. As public information is limited, other aspects are not elaborated here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 第一章 曲散人归 绿琼花开
  3. 第二章 前尘云烟 若如初见
  4. 第三章 日宜天德 既寿永昌
  5. 第四章 翩翩佳郎 踩云踏月
  6. 第五章 宫中夜宴 天赐“良缘”
  7. 第六章 十里红妆 洞房花烛
  8. 第七章 黑白之道 铤而走险
  9. 第八章 朔北之行 战神穆擎
  10. 第九章 小别重逢 心心相印
  11. 第十章 军营刺杀 新仇旧恨
  12. 第十一章 瞒天过海 狭路相逢
  13. 第十二章 清风霁月 凤落永明
  14. 第十三章 柳色向南 黄花白酒
  15. 第十四章 绝地逢生 疑云重重
  16. 第十五章 命运轮回 一曲双序
  17. 第十六章 莺穿柳带 芝兰玉树
  18. 第十七章 君子一诺 不负相思
  19. 第十八章 不可一世 大伪似真
  20. 第十九章 一语成谶 因念而生
  21. 第二十章 荼芜花香 风云再起
  22. 第二十一章 万人之上 经世之才
  23. 第二十二章 玲珑棋局 环环相扣
  24. 第二十三章 细雨流光 取而代之
  25. 第二十四章 初立东宫 有匪君子
  26. 第二十五章 游园惊梦 春光缱绻
  27. 第二十六章 暗中较量 将计就计
  28. 第二十七章 秋风纨扇 流光徘徊
  29. 第二十八章 置之死地 拨云见日
  30. 第二十九章 东风已至 树倒弥散
  31. 第三十章 太平盛世 浮生若梦

FAQ

Is this a rebirth story? When does the heroine get reborn?
Yes, it has a rebirth setup. The story opens with the previous life: the realm changes hands, her whole clan is wiped out, and the heroine leaps from the Guanyun Pavilion. Then she wakes from the great dream and returns to the eighth year of Zheng'an. That is, the rebirth happens shortly after the opening, and the main body of the story is her facing old people and old affairs again with her memories.
Is the romance sweet or angsty?
Overall it leans angsty and complex. In the previous life, the hero vows to rise to the highest position, but power becomes a blade that hurts the heroine; their relationship is mixed with ambition, betrayal, and deep feeling. After rebirth the romance changes somewhat, but it is not a light sweet route, so don't expect pure sweetness.
Do I need to know the historical background beforehand?
No. The Southern Liang, the Zheng'an era name, and the emperor and empress of Shu are fictional settings that the book explains as the plot unfolds; readers need no real historical knowledge to enter the story.
Is the ending a happy one?
The materials do not clearly state the final ending, so it cannot be confirmed as happy. What is certain is that the story revolves around how the heroine faces her known fate after rebirth, focusing on the process and choices rather than a simple reunion or tragic conclusion.

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About the author

季桃初 Author

Ji Taochu is an online romance novelist about whom limited public information is available; details such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background have not been clearly recorded. Six of her works can currently be identified, with representative titles including Records of the Empress Dowager's Growth, Double Prelude, Warm Fragrance and Ruan Yu, A Laugh for Chen, Life Is Like a Play, and I Have a Date with a Spirit Medium. She mainly serializes her writing on online platforms such as Jinjiang Literature City. Her subjects are chiefly ancient court life and modern romance, and she also touches on the time-travel alternate-history genre. Her stories tend to center on palace life and urban relationships, unfolding character dynamics and emotional entanglements against alternate historical settings, and have attracted a certain readership among romance fans.

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