Dandy (Volume 5)

半瓶Nov 2022

2.6

Word count: 184K words
Chapters: 47

Summary

After the heir's wife, Xie Nanjia, is murdered in the delivery room, she returns to the marquis's estate in the guise of a maid, sworn to find the culprit and avenge herself. To gain a foothold in the estate amid open attacks and hidden plots, she must find herself a patron.

The wastrel second son of the Dingyuan Marquis's household has lately become infatuated with a maid—charming and pretty, yet full of schemes. She wants an alliance with him against their enemies and to put him in the line of succession.

The second son waves his folding fan lightly, unimpressed: This young master has no interest in power, only in beauties.

The beauty flatly refuses: An elder brother's wife is like a mother—please show some respect, second son!

Editor's review

As the fifth volume of the Prodigal series, the story pushes on through the secret strife within the marquis's inner household. Xie Nanjia's setup—hiding as a maid to seek revenge—carries its own tension, and her relationship with the "wastrel second son," shifting from alliance to testing, mixes calculation with flirtation for a brisk read. This volume continues Ban Ping's signature blend of household intrigue and light comedy; the dialogue is lively, and the mismatched "an elder brother's wife is like a mother" dynamic in particular generates plenty of entertaining conflict. Suited to reading in segments on the commute or before bed—you can follow the revenge main line while enjoying the easy pleasure of character interplay. Note that the plot carries over from earlier volumes; without the first few, some relationships and planted threads may be hard to follow.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of historical romance who enjoy household intrigue and revenge
Longtime readers of the Prodigal series who want to follow Xie Nanjia's revenge
Casual readers who prefer light dialogue and mismatched-relationship setups
Readers interested in ensembles and power struggles within a marquis's household

Not a good fit for

Readers who haven't read the earlier books and want to start fresh on their own
Readers who dislike a heroine maneuvering as a maid and prefer blunt, straightforward characters
Readers with little patience for repeated testing and misunderstanding in household intrigue

Reading tips

Review the key relationships from the first four volumes before starting this one, so tangled identity clues don't throw you off.
Treat Xie Nanjia's revenge as the main line and the second son's romance as a change of pace, keeping the rhythms distinct as you read.
When the marquis's household floods you with names, jot down each branch's relationships to keep track of where the attacks are aimed.
After each alliance or testing scene, pause to consider both sides' real aims—it deepens your sense of the author's foreshadowing.

版权信息
第二百一十八章天生大度
第二百一十九章君子
第二百二十章刀子嘴刀子心
第二百二十一章算计
第二百二十二章是你惹不起的人
第二百二十三章另有其人
第二百二十四章舍不得孩子套不着狼
第二百二十五章有两把刷子
第二百二十六章一网打尽
第二百二十七章一出大戏
第二百二十八章蛰伏
第二百二十九章死不见尸
第二百三十章逃
第二百三十一章骗
第二百三十二章难缠
第二百三十三章神速
第二百三十四章凭空消失
第二百三十五章谁死
第二百三十六章他的女人
第二百三十七章我是你的
第二百三十八章归家
第二百三十九章先来后到
第二百四十章男人不能惯
第二百四十一章惧内
第二百四十二章聪明的可怕
第二百四十三章大户人家好可怕
第二百四十四章当断则断
第二百四十五章好东西
第二百四十六章天下独一份
第二百四十七章心怀天下和你
第二百四十八章例外
第二百四十九章合伙欺负人
第二百五十章人间至宝
第二百五十一章凭空消失
第二百五十二章漫长的一夜
第二百五十三章难伺候
第二百五十四章最纯情的男人
第二百五十五章卑鄙
第二百五十六章无礼
第二百五十七章挑火
第二百五十八章爱情使人卑微
第二百五十九章激怒
第二百六十章红衣令
第二百六十一章旧居
第二百六十二章媳妇儿你好臭
第二百六十三章反间计

FAQ

Can I start with volume five without having read the first four?

Not really recommended. This volume's relationships and revenge threads build on the first four; starting here makes it easy to get confused about Xie Nanjia's identity and each branch's stance. If you must peek first, learn the main relationships beforehand, but the experience will suffer.

Does the romance advance much in this volume?

This volume still centers on Xie Nanjia's revenge and her foothold in the household, with the second son's pursuit and alliance-testing woven in. The romance moves forward but isn't the focus. Readers who like slow-burn, calculating interplay will get the most out of it.

Isn't the "an elder brother's wife is like a mother" setup awkward?

It's a mismatch the author deliberately creates for fun. When Xie Nanjia invokes the elder-brother's-wife title to refuse the second son, it fits her psyche as the heir's wife from her past life and produces light comedy through the identity contrast. Once you accept the setup, it's more fun to read.

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About the author

半瓶 Author

Ban Ping is a contemporary Chinese author about whom little public information is available. What can be confirmed is that the author writes mainly modern romance, with forays into time-travel and alternate-world fiction as well as youth literature. Eleven of the author's works are held in the collection, including the modern relationship novels Xianluo (Fall), Jiehun (Breaking Off the Marriage), Liehun (Shattered Marriage), and Shibadu Wanfeng (An Evening Breeze at Eighteen Degrees), along with the multi-volume Wanku (The Prodigal), issued in volumes 1 to 3 and as a complete six-volume set. Judging from the titles and categories, the writing centers on the emotional entanglements, marital relationships, and coming-of-age choices of urban men and women, while alternate settings expand the narrative range; the style tends toward accessible, fluent storytelling suited to popular reading. As no reliable records exist for the author's dates, nationality, education, or awards, personal biography cannot be traced, and only the published works can outline the general shape of the author's writing.