I Am the Prey

There are three things that attract me most about this book. First, it is the not pure emotional relationship between Zhen Wenjun and Wei Tingxu. Zhen Wenjun's original identity was actually a detailed assassination attempt on Wei Tingxu. She knew very well that Wei Tingxu's city was extremely deep, suspicious and dangerous. Even if she fell in love with him later, she never really let down her guard - she was close to her emotionally, but always kept a distance in reality, investigating behind the scenes, and supporting her openly. Her feelings for Wei Tingxu are real. This love has existed since the two first met, but it was mixed with sobriety and defensiveness from the beginning. And Wei Tingxu is almost the ultimate embodiment of "emperor's mind". She doesn't trust anyone, only interests matter. If Wei Tingxu also has friends, many readers will think of A Liao. But the reason A Liao was able to die a happy death was largely due to her decades of restraint, never showing any greed for power, determined to be a romantic person, and helped Wei Tingxu to end the story many times. In the end, he even tried to die for his own life. Wei Tingxu had no murderous intention towards her, and even for his lover, as long as there was a possibility of threatening him, he would monitor and control her for a long time. Every choice and every step of growth that Zhen Wenjun experienced had a political purpose for Wei Tingxu. Even at the height of their relationship, she never intended to stop the huge scam. In Wei Tingxu's world, nothing can shake her determination to work hard because too many people have already sacrificed their lives for it. She longs to control everything, but she only loses control of her feelings for Zhen Wenjun. Wei Tingxu hates everything that stems from her own weaknesses, but after more than ten years of mutual testing with Zhen Wenjun, she watched a chess piece that originally belonged to her own game being cultivated into a hero in troubled times, and gradually escaped from control, which made her even more fascinated. This is why Wei Tingxu was finally willing to make concessions. As for Zhen Wenjun, after learning that he was always just a pawn on Wei Tingxu's road to the throne, he did feel hatred towards Wei Tingxu. However, the cruelty of troubled times and many years of military career also made her gradually understand that in such an era, there is no absolute good and evil, love and hate. She also jumped out of the love between children and looked at the whole world. In the end, she chose to put aside the past temporarily, and with this complicated emotion, she joined forces with Wei Tingxu to promote the arrival of a new era. Until the end, when Zhen Wenjun established herself as king, she understood that only by truly breaking away from Wei Tingxu's control could the relationship between the two be on an equal footing, and only then could she let go of her obsession and spend her life with Wei Tingxu. The second point that attracts me is the line between deputy CP Li Yanyi and Xie Shi Axin. It expresses one thing very clearly: in the field of power, there are no absolute good or bad people. Ah Xin was born in the famous Xie family of Dayu and was a warrior. For her, loyalty to the emperor and patriotism is not a choice, but a duty. No matter how corrupt the country is, being loyal to the monarch and maintaining order are the qualities a military commander should have. This is reflected in her to the extreme. As the eldest princess of Dayu, Li Yanyi chose to stand up and try to turn the tide when the mountains and rivers were broken. She believed that the throne should be occupied by a capable person, and she also knew that her brother Li Ju was not a qualified monarch. This is the most fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between her and A Xin. Ah Xin's feelings for Li Yanyi have always been mixed with love and hate. She loved Li Yanyi, but she could not forgive her for her treason and rebellion, nor could she accept the fact that the nine Xie clans were exterminated. She understands her true feelings, but because of these shackles, she has never been able to accept that she and Li Yanyi will officially become a couple. But compared to Zhen Wenjun, Ah Xin saw through the nature of troubled times earlier, and finally chose to stop his hatred for this generation and live in seclusion. Li Yanyi became the first female monarch in the history of the book. She was diligent and did her best to save this shaky dynasty. But the decline of Dayu cannot be changed by one person. What Wei Tingxu wants is a completely reshaped world rather than repairing the old system. This is also destined that Li Yanyi will eventually be pulled down by Wei Tingxu. From the reader's perspective, Li Yanyi is a monarch who "keeps the bird in sight" and is Wei Tingxu's enemy; but from her own standpoint, she is very clear about Wei Tingxu's ambition. As a woman, she was not trusted by the major forces. If she wanted to ascend the throne, she would have to rely on Wei Tingxu's power. Trying to eradicate Wei Tingxu, the powerful leader, seemed reasonable in the logic of power. I don't think Li Yanyi is much worse than Wei Tingxu in governing the country. The main reason for her failure is that there was no real chaos when she came to the throne. All the major clans had hundreds of thousands of troops. It was almost impossible for Li Yanyi to eradicate them. Wei Tingxu defeated the enemies one by one through the separatist rule of the princes. Li Yanyi's goal is to make progress while maintaining stability, while Wei Tingxu wants to muddy the waters. It can be said that Li Yanyi's problem is far more unsolvable than Wei Tingxu's. Therefore, Li Yanyi's ending is more like a winner and a loser. Readers will not simply regard her as a villain just because she wants to kill Wei Tingxu. Including other characters, such as Yao Zhaoyi, they all fought for their respective families. They were not evil people, but they ended up losing to the direction of the times. It is precisely because of this that the endings of these "villains" in the book often make people sigh - if they were not born in troubled times, if they were in peaceful times, they might have become very good people, even friends. The third thing that attracted me was that the author created a very strong sense of fate through the two supporting characters. Wei Tingxu was surrounded by two guards, Lingbi and Xiaohua. Their existence is not just a foil to the main plot, but also silently affects the kind of person Zhen Wenjun will eventually become. Lingbi is a cheerful person on the outside but sensitive and delicate on the inside. Her attitude towards Zhen Wenjun, from initial suspicion and guarding to unreserved trust and even trusting her with her life, formed a friendship that is extremely rare in troubled times. To a certain extent, Lingbi is almost the only person Zhen Wenjun can call a "friend". On the contrary, I think that Lingbi's departure is not a pure tragedy. Her death seemed to preserve the last bit of innocence and kindness deep in Zhen Wenjun's heart - that was Zhen Wenjun when they first met. Precisely because of the existence and disappearance of the Lingbi, Zhen Wenjun did not completely turn into a murderous hero in the end. It can even be said that the influence of Lingbi played a very important part in the fact that she did not choose to kill Wei Tingxu later. Xiaohua is exactly the opposite of Lingbi. She is very sober, almost unswayed by emotions, and has extremely weak self-awareness. She is the most loyal to Wei Tingxu and the most "tool" in the whole book. She spends her life following orders and rarely thinks for herself. But it is this contrast that makes the ending of the two people particularly cruel. Lingbi, who was more self-aware, still cared about Zhen Wenjun at the end of his life, hoping that Zhen Wenjun would not kill Wei Tingxu; while Xiaohua, who had been loyal all her life, thought of herself for the first time before she died, the old friend who had briefly freed her from the "shackles of loyalty". At that moment, she seemed to realize that she had never truly lived as a "little flower". It is this comparison that makes me feel a strong sense of fate. Many times, these small characters even have the luxury of "becoming themselves" in troubled times. This kind of staying power, in my opinion, is even stronger than the emotional drama between Zhen Wenjun and Wei Tingxu. If there was one thing about this book that I found unsatisfactory, it would probably be the ending. Of course, I don't think this ending is bad, it's more of a personal preference disagreement. From a genre perspective, I always believe that Machiavellian writing should adhere to a core principle, which is the supremacy of power. In the ending, Wei Tingxu finally agreed with Zhen Wenjun to use the river as the boundary and establish himself as king. In my opinion, this choice somewhat went beyond the logic of machination itself. It is actually very reasonable for Zhen Wenjun to want to be independent. She knew very well that Wei Tingxu, as a wise and powerful monarch, could not always doubt her. What she worries about is not the present, but whether one day in the future, she and her staff will die due to this suspicion. It is precisely because she has made such a judgment that Wei Tingxu should not let her leave from a Machiavellian perspective. Imagine that a general with great support from the people and extraordinary ability established a powerful new country next to his own country - even if they love each other, can Wei Tingxu really sleep peacefully? What's more, the relationship between the two countries has never only depended on the monarch's personal emotions, but also on each other's entire interest groups, and is more subject to the times and circumstances. Once problems such as famine and resource constraints arise again, how can Wei Tingxu be sure that Zhen Wenjun will not meet her chariot for the sake of his country? The book also mentions that Wei Tingxu's successor, Emperor Wen, may be her biological daughter with Zhen Wenjun, or she may be Zhen Wenjun's adopted daughter and the crown prince of Changge Kingdom, Xiao Xiao. From the perspective of the power structure, this itself creates huge hidden dangers. Xiao Xiao is much older than Wei Tingxu's daughter, and Wei Tingxu has clearly warned her not to usurp the throne in the future, so it is not impossible for her to usurp the throne. This just shows that Wei Tingxu's decision is not completely stable politically. But even so, I don't dislike the ending given by the author. At least, it's not a tragic ending. At least, Wei Tingxu and Zhen Wenjun have really overcome the troubled times hand in hand, put aside their burdens and suspicions, and are together forever. But from the perspective of a Machiavellian novel, I personally would look forward to another direction - they still love each other, but spend their lives testing and doubting each other, checking and balancing each other on the chessboard of power, and becoming kings and powerful ministers in the true sense. Overall, the world view of this book is very large and the plot line is quite solid. As an online novel, it is definitely a masterpiece. It is also one of the most powerful and completed GL works I have ever seen. It is highly recommended. The moment Miss Tang San closed the book, it reminded me of the opening words of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The rolling Yangtze River flows eastward, and the waves wash away the heroes. Right or wrong, success or failure is gone, the green mountains are still there, and the sunset is red several times. The white-haired fisherman and woodcutter on the Nagisa River is used to watching the autumn moon and spring breeze. Happy reunion over a pot of wine. Many things in ancient and modern times are all talked about with laughter.

The sadness came up again [melted] [melted]

It's so beautiful, I really like Wei and Zhen! Wei Tai is so charming that I am impressed every time. Zhen is like a child who is watching him grow up step by step, which makes me feel very affectionate. Other people also like this book very much. No matter who they are in this book, they all have their own opinions. It is the longest time I have read in Baihe, but it is not boring at all. The characters are flesh and blood. It can be said to be my favorite ancient Lily Machiavellian novel. I like this book very much.

Can you write an article about Zhen Wei's children? I would like to read [shy][shy][shy]

Awesome 🥹 Totally a masterpiece

2025.3.14 Brush

Absolutely beautiful! [Cat head]

It's really good to watch after watching it. Each character is very three-dimensional and the plot is very interesting.

Second brush, still shocking and beautiful

[A Dog's Head Holds a Rose] I finished watching it in one go in 24 years, and now I've almost forgotten about it, so I can watch it again [Star Eyes] Hehe