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In all honesty 2021 has been a dry spell for me when it comes to books. Nothing managed to put me back on track for a successful reading and only a very few (that could be literally counted by the fingers on one hand) managed to get me fully sucked into their stories. This is not my first Priest book, I picked it up randomly because I finished Faraway Wanders and someone told me the translations on this one was good. Yes. I picked up a book because of the quality of translation. Now just imagine what sort of a slump I¡¯m in. Putting that aside, I still started it. Without much anticipation. Priest¡¯s books are generally good and can take you on a whirlwind. Everything is paced so well in her books. And the characters generally have depth not found in Web-novels generally. It¡¯s quite obvious that she doesn¡¯t just start writing and add as she goes. She really knows the end and beginning of her characters.

Truly. She proved herself with this.

Yes I was one of those very few who weren¡¯t blown away by Faraway Wanders. It was good but not as amazing as I thought it would be. And my sorry ass didn¡¯t even finish the TV adaptation. Yes please spike my head and lay it the public to throw rotten tomatoes at. Me. The self-acclaimed fujoshi, didn¡¯t finish Word of Honor. The biggest historical danmei of 2021.

Dramatics aside I would like to point out the best parts of the story which sets it apart from the rest. The character development. Unlike other books of her that I¡¯ve read we start the journey when all the characters are somewhat younger. We are taken in the journey as they grow together, plot together, as sasi are together and ultimately win together. There are many times the slight tip toe of sorrow enters your heart as there are many places where things that should not have happened, happens in the end. Death is a constant side character in the plot. Rearing its head constantly. Sometimes you think it¡¯s deserved but most of the time you wish it did not happen so. I won¡¯t spoil the story but death is inevitable in this mad yet bloody journey for throne.
The plot is so well paced you do not feel even the slightest dip in it. It flows like the clear waters of the River of Forgetfulness, in the end you only want to drink a sip from MengPo so you could read the novel afresh all over again.
Another factor that might have been critical for me to love this book the most was the romance. It was never the core of it, never the driving force and that really made the story beautiful. Of course I loved seeing Wu Xi appear with his direct confessions and blunt thoughts. Whenever the little toxin was saddened I wanted to crawl in the book and slap the other silly, yet their love story which spans over a decade made everything seem realistic. Not even Jing Qi didn¡¯t know when he fell in love with the other and just like us, in the end we couldn¡¯t want to but give our whole lives for him. The ending was cute. LuTa you have a lot to learn from your teacher.


One of the main questions that kept trodding in my mind while reading this was, does this need a tv adaptation? I would love to see this brought to life but also I know there will be many restrictions which will ultimately won¡¯t allow the book to wonderfully transcend to the screen. Maybe Taiwan can pick it up and give this story a good shake.

In conclusion the primary thought that wheedled its way in was that I could finally understand why Zhou Zhishou chose to leave Helian Yi. All of his friends left, there was nothing but misery while staying nest to him. There never was anything for him there after all. It just took him longer to understand. Not even all of the tea of MengPo can wash away their sins.