Song of the Returning Wild Goose
Tags
Summary
[Ancient romance with a power couple + marriage first, love later + revenge and political intrigue] A quick-witted, capable female spy × a scheming, long-suffering intelligence chief. A formidable pair joins forces to root out traitors and restore the nation! An ancient-era version of *Lurk*, a romance version of *The Disguiser*! Also known as *Between the Gui and Hua*.\nWhen the Great Zhao is defeated, Tan Xi's parents and elder brother die defending the city. She infiltrates the enemy capital alone, driven only by revenge.\nBut when a mission fails, she has no choice but to take a false name and join a spy network, lying low until the moment is right.\nThen comes the reunion: Zhou Shiyong, her childhood betrothed, has become director of the enemy's Five Bureaus Office, the agency in charge of espionage.\nWith misunderstandings unresolved and a prince coveting her, the two are forced to pose as husband and wife.\nThe spy hunter is himself a spy, and a false marriage is layered over a real betrothal!\nThey mean to owe each other nothing, yet only sink deeper.\nAgain and again, "A-Xi"—Tan Xi knows he has never forgotten.\nBut how can those who walk on knife edges afford to think only of love?\nWhen spring returns to the northern lands, Bianjing will be recovered, and the realm will know peace!
Editor's review
With its blend of romance and espionage intrigue, The Return of the Goose reads like a dance on a knife's edge. Childhood sweethearts Tan Xi and Zhou Shiyong find themselves on opposite sides—one a spy planted in an enemy state, the other at the helm of that enemy's intelligence agency—and the clash between their loyalties and lingering feelings creates constant tension. The setup in which "the spy hunter is the real spy" generates twist after twist, while the fake-marriage-turned-real structure keeps the emotional and mission threads locked in a mutual stranglehold. Author Jin Zai paces the story briskly, alternating the campaign to purge traitors and restore the nation with the couple's deepening entanglement, delivering both the weight of patriotic duty and the tenderness of romance. It is well suited to binge-reading on a weekend or during a commute, following the protagonists as they maneuver step by step inside the enemy camp. For readers who enjoy power couples, dual identities, and marriage-before-love, this book offers a fairly complete genre experience.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who like ancient-set romances with a power-couple dynamic and expect the leads to match each other in wit and strength
- Romance readers drawn to marriage-before-love and feelings that grow from a fake relationship
- Readers interested in espionage, infiltration, and revenge-driven intrigue
- Readers comfortable with a romance thread running alongside a national-mission thread
Not a good fit for
- Readers who prefer pure, sweet romance with little intrigue or pressure
- Readers with little patience for spy-identity reveals and complex character relationships
- Readers who want a single romance thread with fewer subplots
Reading tips
- Sort out the dual identities of Tan Xi and Zhou Shiyong before diving into the main plot to reduce early confusion over who is who.
- Track the action thread and the romance thread separately to better follow the twist points and the pacing of the emotional progression.
- At key chapters involving identity reveals or changes to the marriage pact, pause and revisit earlier foreshadowing.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 人物关系表
- 第一章 贵女入京
- 第二章 五间司主
- 第三章 问询云娘
- 第四章 很中意你
- 第五章 赫连音音
- 第六章 墨玉楼
- 第七章 书房藏画
- 第八章 生间名单
- 第九章 惊险万分
- 第十章 婚约之人
- 第十一章 扶云住
- 第十二章 醉酒
- 第十三章 首丘孤雁
- 第十四章 试探乐昌
- 第十五章 锄奸盟
- 第十六章 突生变故
- 第十七章 周家旧事
- 第十八章 宇文忠死
- 第十九章 新仇旧恨
- 第二十章 黄粱一梦
- 第二十一章 无言关心
- 第二十二章 汴京来信
- 第二十三章 缘分深重
- 第二十四章 意外之人
- 第二十五章 又生变故
- 第二十六章 漫漫长冬
- 第二十七章 险遇埋伏
- 第二十八章 刀子嘴
- 第二十九章 脱身之计
- 第三十章 拈酸吃醋
- 第三十一章 弄巧成拙
- 第三十二章 击掌为誓
- 第三十三章 合卺之欢
- 第三十四章 下药失控
- 第三十五章 防不胜防
- 第三十六章 两虎相争
- 第三十七章 互相利用
- 第三十八章 曹甲
- 第三十九章 再度遇袭
- 第四十章 摊牌
- 第四十一章 送物传情
- 第四十二章 伪装身份
- 第四十三章 四海镖行
- 第四十四章 山雨欲来
- 第四十五章 新婚燕尔
- 第四十六章 离奇失踪
- 第四十七章 桃花妆
- 第四十八章 逆风翻盘
- 第四十九章 珠联璧合
- 第五十章 瓢分瓷碎
- 第五十一章 宫中对峙
- 第五十二章 算无遗策
- 第五十三章 长清宫
- 第五十四章 一家团聚
- 第五十五章 陈忠
- 第五十六章 借机反杀
- 第五十七章 酒后真言
- 第五十八章 母女相见
- 第五十九章 伺机逃离
- 第六十章 于家为国
- 第六十一章 恨之入骨
- 第六十二章 乐昌妙计
- 第六十三章 生擒陈忠
- 第六十四章 借刀杀人
- 第六十五章 伺机而动
- 第六十六章 舍身自杀
- 第六十七章 万事俱备
- 第六十八章 大仇得报
- 第六十九章 回鹿山
- 第七十章 尘埃落定
FAQ
Is the romance more sweet than angsty?
Overall it leans toward sweetness amid tension. The two probe each other because of their opposing sides and mission requirements, and misunderstandings interweave with old feelings; the romance advances alongside risk, but angst is not the dominant tone—it is more the tension of guarding each other on a knife's edge.
Can I get into this if I've never read espionage romance?
Yes. The story enters through the character relationships, and the spy operations serve the romance and revenge mainlines; even if you are unfamiliar with the espionage genre, you can follow Tan Xi's perspective and gradually understand the organizational relationships and mission logic.
Are the male and female leads on opposing sides?
On the surface, yes: Tan Xi is planted in the enemy state, while Zhou Shiyong runs the enemy's spy agency, so their positions are opposed. But each has hidden circumstances, and their true stances and mission goals are gradually revealed as the plot unfolds; the opposing relationship is itself part of the story's suspense.
Comments
Find this book
This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
是今
Author
Shi Jin is a web-fiction author about whom little public information is available; details such as real name, nationality, and dates of birth and death remain unknown. Judging from the 24 works held in the collection, Shi Jin has long been active in genres including time-travel and alternate-history fiction, modern romance, and youth literature. Representative works include Huai Bi Ye Xing, Ding Shi Zhi Lian, Xing De Xiang Feng Wei Jia Shi, Zhe Jin Chun Feng, Jiu Suan Bu Neng Yu Ni Dao Zui Hou, Jia Qi You Yue, Zui Mei Nian Hua Xie Hou Ni, and Yi Qian Ling Yi Lian. Her writing centers on romance while also spanning time-travel alternate worlds and coming-of-age themes, and her titles often carry lyrical and narrative overtones, reflecting a sustained interest in emotional relationships and the fates of her characters. Because author statements, interviews, and publishing background materials are lacking, the development of her style and her specific influence cannot be confirmed, but readers may gain a sense of her thematic orientation and narrative profile through the works listed above.
