Joyous Year
Tags
Summary
[Ancient romance + Sweet and angsty extremes + Mutual devotion + Secret love and redemption + Plot twists + Palace intrigue]
In the palace, there is no lack of anything except sincerity.
Huan Sui, the legitimate daughter of the Song family, whose wealth rivals a nation's, has been showered with affection since childhood. Selected to enter the palace as a study companion, she is free-spirited and unconstrained—skipping lessons, bickering, and often stirring up small troubles. She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except somewhat the unsmiling Crown Prince Li Yexing.
Her days pass carefree and at ease. Huan Sui never expected that before her coming-of-age ceremony, she would be caught in the vortex of a struggle for royal power: her family is confiscated, her parents persecuted to death.
After the storm passes, Huan Sui schemes to stay in Luo City, conceals her identity, and becomes a palace maid by the side of Crown Prince Li Yexing. Just as her heart stirs, she vaguely discovers that the crown prince may be the mastermind behind the Song family case...
Yet during her time studying in the palace, she witnessed the crown prince's severity as an overseer, received pastries from him, once accidentally let a kite fly and tumbled into the crown prince's residence where she was trapped, and was saved by him when she strayed into danger... These things are all real and true, and cannot be faked.
A storm is coming, and thick fog fills the air.
The court is in flux, and Li Yexing is no saint either—but so what.
He is an emperor, and inherently cannot be judged simply as good or bad.
Moreover, the path of an emperor is destined to differ from others', and she is willing to walk it with him.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who enjoy mutual secret love and redemption in ancient romance
- Those who prefer palace stories with intertwined sweetness and angst and plot twists
- Ancient romance readers interested in the status gap between a wealthy merchant's daughter and a crown prince
- Readers who want to experience power struggles and emotional tension in light reading
Not a good fit for
- Readers who prefer pure sweetness with no angst and light everyday plots throughout
- Readers sensitive to palace intrigue and family downfall plotlines
- Readers seeking rigorous historical accuracy or a serious drama style
Reading tips
- Read in chapter order, noting clues to the heroine's psychological shifts before and after her identity change
- When reading crown prince–related scenes, look back at earlier foreshadowing to appreciate the setup for twists
- At points where sweetness and angst alternate, don't rush to take sides—follow the heroine's perspective through doubt and attraction
- If time is fragmented, read in three stages: 'entering the palace—family upheaval—palace maid'
About the publisher
Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House focuses on literary publishing while also covering the humanities, social sciences, and books on art and daily life. Its approximately 1,535 titles in the database span social novels, world history, design, science fiction, classic works, and film and television: they include modern Chinese literary classics by Lu Xun such as A Madman's Diary: The Complete Short Stories of Lu Xun, Call to Arms, Four Generations Under One Roof, and Teahouse, as well as foreign literary memoirs like Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday. In science fiction it offers Asimov's Galactic Empire series, while in architecture and art it publishes Liu Dunzhen's Classical Gardens of Suzhou and design titles from Phoenix Space. Its authors are concentrated among classic writers such as Lu Xun, Zweig, and Asimov, with translators including Liang Xijiang, Zhong Haonan, and Ye Lihua. Its overall character is built on classic works while embracing genre fiction and visual culture. Public information is limited, and this introduction is based on the titles in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序
- 第一章 宋家有女名欢岁
- 第二章 赏灯宫宴
- 第三章 女学
- 第四章 公主驾到
- 第五章 被罚抄书
- 第六章 爬了东宫的墙头
- 第七章 带着公主逛花楼
- 第八章 被绑架了
- 第九章 共度一夜
- 第十章 审问
- 第十一章 心字难书
- 第十二章 时疫
- 第十三章 他救了她
- 第十四章 阴谋
- 第十五章 解虢城之危
- 第十六章 暗室审讯
- 第十七章 骄阳公主
- 第十八章 她的心事
- 第十九章 他的背叛
- 第二十章 入东宫
- 第二十一章 她已及笄了
- 第二十二章 竟是他杀的
- 第二十三章 刺杀东宫
- 第二十四章 她死他伤
- 第二十五章 女细作
- 第二十六章 重逢
- 第二十七章 轻薄
- 第二十八章 报仇
- 第二十九章 鸿门宴
- 第三十章 东宫太子
- 第三十一章 坦诚相待
- 第三十二章 陷阱
- 第三十三章 身中剧毒
- 第三十四章 杀了司徒云起
- 番外一：与君初相识，犹如故人归
- 番外二：满盘皆输
- 番外三：别离
- 番外四：鲜衣怒马少年郎
FAQ
Is this book sweet or angsty?
What kind of person is the heroine Huan Sui?
Is the crown prince Li Yexing a villain?
Can I read this directly without having read the author's other works?
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
Kong Shiwu is a Chinese author about whom little public information is available; neither the dates of birth and death nor the real name has been clearly recorded. As far as the library's holdings show, only one work appears under this name, namely Huan Sui. The book is classified as time-travel alternate history, which suggests that the author works mainly in this genre. Huan Sui begins from a time-travel premise, placing its characters in a fictional historical setting and driving the plot through the conflicts of identity and shifts in circumstance brought about by temporal displacement—a common approach in alternate-history web literature. Because the author has very few works and there is no accessible material such as statements on writing or interviews, it is difficult at present to form a complete judgment of the overall style or to trace the author's creative development and shifts in subject matter. Judging from this single work alone, Kong Shiwu tends to use an alternate setting to carry characters' fates and everyday emotions, and the title Huan Sui itself suggests a gentle tone. Readers who wish to learn more about this author can rely mainly on Huan Sui; further information about later writing and a fuller author profile will depend on more public material becoming available.
