Review: A Delightful Tale of a Complex Historical Love
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 9, 2013
In an apparent attempt to win favor with Emperor Jun, Lord Wu Min, governor of Changchun Province, sends gifts to Warlord Qiang Hüi Wei. Among those gifts are pearls, silk, gold, and 18-year-old Princess Zhen Lan'xiu, accompanied by her eunuch Ning. The Warlord doesn't wish another wife, he already has several, but something about Lan'xiu intrigues him so he accepts Wu Min's gift. What he doesn't know is that Lan'xiu is the governor's half-brother, disguised as a girl by his mother to protect him from being killed if Wu Min learns he had a male rival for his father's estate. Wu MIn learns and sends his half-brother to Hüi Wei  for only one purpose...to be killed by the warlord upon learning how he's been duped, and provoking a war.Things don't go as planned. Hüi Wei falls in love with the Princess, then learns Lan'xiu's true sex and falls in love again.Installed in his own house, Lan'xiu is now the favorite, and the Warlord's idyll with his concubine might have gone on forever if Wu Min, furious that his plan fails, hadn't declared war. Now Hüi Wei rides to protect his province and his honor, and Lan'xiu insists on riding with him...It's rare to find a romance not set in either America or a European country and this tale from ancient China is a delight and an entertainment.  The lovers' story is woven into a tapestry of custom and ceremony with rich and complex characters, from the wily eunuch Ning to the devious Ci'an to Lan'xiu himself. Beginning with a fairy tale-like prologue, the story moves like an elaborate fable of two men, a lifetime disguise, and a passion holding both them and an empire together.This novel was supplied by the publisher and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review. This is an excerpt from the original post at the TwoLips Reviews website.