Mulberry Branch cover

Mulberry Branch

Rating 3.1
Word count
107K words
Chapters
27
ISBN
9787221119339

Tags

Summary

About *Sangzhi*: From birth to death, he can only struggle in the mud, because he is a bought child... until he meets Sang Jizhi, who shares the same fate. Synopsis: A rooftop suicide case intertwines two similar double lives. One is a negotiator with a golden aura; the other is a problem-solving heroine who clearly distinguishes good from evil. In public, he is the most promising negotiator in Yingnan City; in private, he is a bought child the Teng family can discard at any time. In public, she is a fiery, justice-driven female journalist; in private, she is a reed striving to grow so her family won't worry. From the age of seventeen, when Sang Jizhi first met Teng Zhixu, she avoided him at all costs. When they meet again, he presses her step by step and asks: "Are you willing to share a life with me?" Kidnapping, bribery, and murder cases follow one after another. With his biological mother's return to the country, the truth of an embezzlement case from eighteen years ago gradually surfaces.

Editor's review

Sang Zhi builds its romantic-suspense frame on two mirror-image double lives: Teng Zhixu, a star negotiator in public, a bought child who can be cast off by the Teng family in private; Sang Jizhi, a fiery journalist in public, a reed growing quietly so her family need not worry in private. A rooftop suicide case acts as the fuse, drawing out kidnappings, a bribery case, a murder and, gradually, the truth of an embezzlement case from eighteen years ago. The author handles her characters' predicaments with restraint, refusing to turn suffering into a label and letting each recognize the same struggle in the other. The romance and the investigation are interwoven at a brisk pace, suited to readers who like strong plotting, dual-strong leads and buried-identity mysteries. Those expecting light sweet romance or pure puzzle-box detection may find the emotional weight heavy; but for readers willing to walk a stretch through the mud with these characters, the book offers ample tension and immersion.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers who enjoy romance interwoven with suspense and strong plot momentum
  • Readers who prefer dual-strong leads, mysteries of origin, and following characters' emotional ups and downs
  • Genre-fiction readers interested in professional backgrounds such as journalists and negotiators

Not a good fit for

  • Readers who only want light, sweet romance and prefer to avoid heavy origin secrets and case content
  • Readers expecting strict honkaku mystery with case logic fully independent of the romance line

Reading tips

  1. Read in chapter order and watch for correspondences between case clues and characters' memories; avoid skimming and missing foreshadowing.
  2. At the point where the origin is revealed, pause and look back at earlier details to appreciate the author's buried threads.
  3. If sensitive to heavy plotlines, read in segments rather than finishing in one sitting.

About the publisher

Guizhou People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Guizhou People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher based in Guizhou, with publishing directions covering architecture, foreign literature, Eastern philosophy and history. Its library currently holds 232 titles, including representative works such as Liang Sicheng's A History of Chinese Architecture, Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country, The Old Capital, The Izu Dancer and Thousand Cranes, Mou Zongsan's Nineteen Lectures on Chinese Philosophy, Jiang Tingfu's Modern Chinese History and Rashomon. Its author resources span architecture, foreign literature and philosophical studies. These titles show that the press both introduces foreign literary classics, including Japanese literature, and continues to publish academic and general-interest works on Chinese architectural history, Chinese philosophy and modern history, reflecting a publishing profile that balances Chinese and foreign works and combines classics with accessible reading. Public information on its fuller publishing history and key series is limited, so no speculation is offered here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 野榈 | 小花阅读签约作者
  3. 作者前言
  4. 与《桑枝》有关的那些事
  5. 第一章
  6. 第二章
  7. 第三章
  8. 第四章
  9. 第五章
  10. 第六章
  11. 第七章
  12. 第八章
  13. 第九章
  14. 第十章
  15. 第十一章
  16. 第十二章
  17. 第十三章
  18. 第十四章
  19. 第十五章
  20. 第十六章
  21. 第十七章
  22. 第十八章
  23. 第十九章
  24. 第二十章
  25. 第二十一章
  26. 番外·桑春来
  27. 番外·滕辅深

FAQ

Is this book romance or suspense?
It is both, and the two are intertwined. Case investigation drives changes in the characters' relationships, and the romance in turn affects where the case leads. It is hard to classify as a single genre; it is closer to a hybrid of romance and suspense.
I haven't read the author's other works. Can I start with this one?
Yes. This is a standalone story and requires no prior reading. Character relationships and case背景 are gradually explained in the book, so new readers can jump right in.
Are the cases in the book too bloody?
The material indicates cases involving jumping from a building, kidnapping, bribery, and murder, but the focus is on the characters' fates and the process of uncovering the truth rather than graphic violence. Readers sensitive to heavy subject matter may want to try the first few chapters before deciding.

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About the author

野榈 Author · Chinese

Ye Lü is a Chinese author of youth literature and romance. Public information about her is limited: her birth and death years and real name are unknown. She goes by the nickname Li Luo, comes from Nanchong, Sichuan, and is a signed author with Xiaohua Reading. Her published works include The Light of Flower Arrangement, Black Locust, Mulberry Branch, Has the Snow on Your Heart Melted?, and Picking Stars for You, as well as the five-volume Love Is Never Too Late series, Love in the Human World, Plums Have Fallen All Over the Southern Hills, Spring Sunshine with Him, and Spring Breeze Bends the Little Crescent Moon, nine titles in total. Her writing is usually classified as youth literature, modern romance, and otherworld fantasy, yet it focuses less on grand settings than on ordinary people's growth, emotional ups and downs, and self-healing, in a gentle, restrained style with a sense of everyday life and regional flavor.

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