Dead End

写手阿星Apr 2026

3.0

Word count: 354K words
Chapters: 91

Summary

Twelve years after the Chongning Rebellion, fortunes were reversed—high and low turned upside down. Twelve years later, after Zhao Yu ascended the throne, he saw his clansman sister Zhao Chiying again. She had fallen from the most honored imperial princess to a imprisoned Taoist nun in the suburbs of the capital; he had risen from a humiliated collateral clansman to the current Son of Heaven. Zhao Yu had once thought of taking back every humiliation he had suffered at her hands, but in the end compassion moved him, and he thought to let her spend her remaining years in the palace. Yet gradually, he discovered hidden secrets buried deep behind the palace walls... and in all of it, she was the answer.

Editor's review

"Dead End" begins with a palace upheaval twelve years earlier, using the swapped identities of an imperial princess and a collateral clansman as the story's hook. Zhao Chiying falls from the most honored princess to an imprisoned Taoist nun outside the capital, while Zhao Yu rises from a humiliated clansman to the Son of Heaven—the reversal itself carries tension. The author doesn't turn revenge into a simple wish-fulfillment arc; instead, Zhao Yu wavers between compassion and old grievances, and the secrets behind the palace are gradually laid out, with Zhao Chiying becoming the answer to every mystery. The appeal lies not in quick vengeance but in the psychological shifts after power is overturned and the layered suspense. It suits readers who enjoy ancient court intrigue, palace mystery, and tangled character relationships. Read it in concentrated sessions before bed or on weekends, piecing the truth together along the clues for a fuller experience.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy ancient court intrigue interwoven with palace mystery
Readers interested in identity reversal and old-grudge-new-gratitude relationships
Readers who prefer slow-burn plotting with clues paid off layer by layer
Readers looking for a suspense-driven long story in their leisure time

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting fast-paced wish-fulfillment with immediate revenge
Readers impatient with palace settings and forms of address
Readers who want pure romance and don't want to follow suspense clues

Reading tips

First note the character identity changes before and after the Chongning Rebellion to reduce confusion
Read Zhao Yu's compassion and old grievances as a psychological thread and watch for turning points in his attitude
Jot down hints about palace secrets as you go—they're easier to match when the clues are paid off later
Best read several chapters at a time; the suspense is dense and fragmented reading may miss details

版权信息
第1章红鸾帐中
第2章九安山上
第3章落魄帝姬
第4章持盈回宫
第5章孩童心思
第6章少年质子
第7章倾心之人
第8章情窦初开
第9章表姐失踪
第10章弥天大祸
第11章屈辱生子
第12章赵英身世
第13章深宫权谋
第14章救子心切
第15章多年怨恨
第16章立嗣之意
第17章关系亲昵
第18章选婿庆典
第19章进退两难
第20章和亲生变
第21章私心庇护
第22章皇后难产
第23章英儿失踪
第24章赵誉动怒
第25章流言蜚语
第26章侵略之吻
第27章皇后薨逝
第28章知晓秘密
第29章万千柔情
第30章常人之乐
第31章大发雷霆
第32章再见故人
第33章忠良之世
第34章深情大义
第35章萌生醋意
第36章长兄之子
第37章真实想法
第38章太后生辰
第39章侄儿安危
第40章互通心意
第41章等你归来
第42章阮家提亲
第43章太后生病
第44章英儿受伤
第45章情动不已
第46章小心翼翼
第47章口角之争
第48章女儿心思
第49章大殿走水
第50章心急如焚
第51章当年旧事
第52章相思之意
第53章是非曲直
第54章旧案重查
第55章嫌疑之人
第56章两难抉择
第57章父子相谈
第58章太后晕倒
第59章做出选择
第60章凤凰山上
第61章旧情难忘
第62章有意隐瞒
第63章难舍难分
第64章太后崩逝
第65章薛益离开
第66章前往西陵
第67章依依不舍
第68章兵临城下
第69章御驾亲征
第70章查处逆党
第71章父子齐心
第72章同仇之心
第73章严刑拷问
第74章生不如死
第75章救兵支援
第76章上皇接见
第77章持盈求情
第78章煎熬等待
第79章局势已定
第80章归心似箭
第81章故人已去
第82章梦中之人
第83章恍然如梦
第84章浓情蜜意
第85章重获新生
第86章江山美人（大结局）
番外一薛益（上）
番外二薛益（下）
番外三成欢
番外四完

FAQ

Can I read this directly without having read the author's previous works?

Yes. The story forms a complete narrative unit, starting from the Chongning Rebellion twelve years earlier, and the main characters' backstories are explained in the text. As long as you follow the identity reversal in the opening, understanding won't be affected.

Is the romance line or the suspense line heavier in this book?

From the materials, the hidden secrets behind the palace drive the core of the story, with Zhao Chiying as the answer; Zhao Yu's compassion and old grievances create the tension in the relationship. The two lines advance together—it's neither pure romance nor pure suspense.

Is Zhao Chiying an easy character to get into?

Her situation drops from the most honored princess to an imprisoned Taoist nun—a huge contrast—and readers need to piece the truth together through her perspective. Early information is rather implicit; patience will make it clearer.

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About the author

写手阿星 Author

Xieshou Axing is a web-fiction author about whom very little public information is available. The only verifiable details currently on record are the pen name, a single work, and a general category for the subject matter. The representative work is Qiongtu (Desperate Journey), classified under time-travel and alternate-history fiction, which suggests a clear inclination toward fantasy and imagined historical settings. Because basic information such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and an English name remains unconfirmed, it is difficult to describe the author's personal background or creative trajectory in detail, and the available material is not enough to assess the full range of the writing style or the impact of the work. What can be confirmed is that only one work by Xieshou Axing is currently included, making this an author with a small body of work who has yet to be discovered by more readers and documented in more sources. For readers who wish to understand this author's writing, Qiongtu is for now the only available entry point and the main window through which to observe the choice of subject matter and narrative orientation.