请君莫笑

泾渭情殇 [Clear and Muddy Loss of Love]

🎠

Nangong Jingnu pressed a hand on Qi Yan's chest to help herself sit up straight, then she made a long sigh of relief: "I'll just wish for you to live to a ripe old age, then."

There was just one moment where Qi Yan felt something prick her heart. Naturally, she was not afraid of pain. But what terrified her was that: a few drops of fresh red blood had actually dripped out from a wound the size of a needle's eye on her rotten black heart.

There were only the two characters for Yuanjun left on the paper. Nangong Jingnu recited quietly: "No water's wide enough when you have crossed the sea, no cloud is beautiful but that which crowns the peak. I pass by flowers that fail to attract me, half for your sake and half for Taoism I seek."

Qi Yan looked attentively at Nangong Jingnu with a gaze as soft as water.

When she made the resolute decision to take the brunt of the fall for Nangong Jingnu, she realized suddenly that an empty hole in the depths of her heart was filled up.

Facing a young woman as pure as Nangong Jingnu, no ‘evil person' could commit evil entirely unmoved.

Nangong Jingnu raised a finger to point at the river lanterns: "Can you see those clearly?"

Nangong Jingnu pointed up at the sky: "What about the stars?"

Nangong Jingnu raised her head to look at the sky full of stars. A cloud of white drifted out from her mouth:

Hearing no response from the person next to her, Nangong Jingnu retrieved her gaze to turn her head around, seeing that Qi Yan was looking at her tenderly:

"The stars are only inches away, what's so bad about that?"

Nova

4.75

this was phenomenal, from the setting to the characterization to the plot itself. this is not for the patient ones who want instant happiness. i never read enemies to (and) lovers story this convincing. the conflicts, internal and external, that the main characters experience make so much sense according to their temperaments and history. the storytelling was grappling, it's obvious how much PDL improved since writing FGEP, and in her author notes she also expressed how much work went into JWQS and it really shows! to people with no prior knowledge of ancient chinese dynasties or settings in general, there might be a lot of info dump that drag the narration on, but it gave a clearer understanding of what's happening in the novel. 

the intricacies and the political struggles in JWQS are much more pronounced than FGEP that sometimes i had to take a break and praise PDL for her grit in thinking up and applying such maneuvers into the plot. she did not slack up in crafting the characters, even side characters like shangguan wu, bayin, jiya (PDL mentioned jiya in a recent interview and a new piece information from that strengthens jiya's character), everyone has their own use and their purpose and JWQS was excellent in conveying how well-rounded others are outside qiyan and jingnu. 

what i love the most about the narration is how PDL is able to describe things so vividly despite me never having anything to base my imagination on as i was reading, melts (the translator) deserve to be lauded for this as well.

how this was wrapped up, i think, was the best possible ending for JWQS, so i don't get people who are not satisfied. it leaves room for questions, sure, but also for possibilities. there is already closure for jingnu and qiyan that they can be together again, and PDL has said that several open-ended cases are not for jingnu to handle anymore. through this i'd like to think she's saying that not everything has to be fixed by jingnu (throughout the story qiyan has explicitly reminded jingnu about this, and jingnu often ruminates about this so it's not surprising). 

for some reason i experience disconnect from jingnu while i was completely invested in qiyan T_T or maybe it was intended that way. i feel for jingnu and understand her pains, but not to the point where i'd justify her actions like i do with qiyan! qiyan's brand of cruelty is biting, like a maw coming at you suddenly in the dark. her obsessiveness and mystery make her as a character very appealing. maybe with jingnu it's because we witnessed her grow from a blank piece of paper while already digesting the great pains qiyan experienced, but watching her step into her full potential was satisfying nonetheless.

removed a star bcs of the measly 3-page "happy ending" (and it's from the extras pa). i emotionally suffered for 300+ chapters and this is all i get ???? i need another 100 chapters of qijing living their domestic and peaceful life

kyra

** spoiler alert **
           Enjoyed the read. 
The first half of the book is definitely more captivating than the second.
- QYA certainly got the short end of the stick. She deserved better.
- NGJ had it easy (easier rather) and was frankly unlikeable towards the end.

Literally my favourite book ever 🙁 qijing will haunt me for the rest of my life 

andromeda 

dija

"But I insist. I insist on not letting you ‘rest in peace’!"
  

Changing my rating because i am stupid enough to give it 4 stars then it has been more than year since i read it and qijing still live in my head rent free

泾渭情殇 [Clear and Muddy Loss of Love]

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