Where Do the Flying Willow Catkins Go?

This is the fifth book in the Last Princess series. The heroine is Princess Huainan Yang Xu, the last princess of the Sui Dynasty. She is often overlooked. Many people think Yang Guang had only two daughters, Princess Nanyang and the mother of Li Ke, and miss the Princess Huainan who married Tuli Khan, mentioned in both the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang. Since Tuli was born in 603 AD and the Sui Dynasty fell when he was fifteen, after one or two years of turmoil had already interrupted contact between the Sui palace and the Turks, it is clear that Princess Huainan was not a Sui princess sent to marry for a political alliance. Rather, she was a true princess who fled north after the Jiangdu coup, took refuge with the Turks, and then married Tuli, as the Old Book of Tang states: "When the Sui Princess Huainan came north, he took her as his wife."

Tuli died in 631 AD. There are no historical records of what happened to Princess Huainan afterward, but this book tells of her entering Li Shimin's harem, based on what seems to have been Li Shimin's preference for widows. The book offers a detailed portrayal of the system by which consorts in the Tang imperial harem took turns, as well as Li Shimin's unconventional ways, which readers are sure to find interesting. The setting and period are broadly similar to those of the first book in the author's Tang Palace series, Love and Feuds in the Zhenguan Era, and the characters overlap as well. Readers can compare the two books as they read.

The most distinctive feature of the book is its main storyline, which explores the different relationships between Yang Xu and the three men in her life: Li Shimin, Tuli, and Xianfu, a Turkic royal prince. It offers a nuanced portrayal of romantic psychology and a deeper exploration of the nature of loving and being loved. I hope this book offers female readers useful insights into their love lives!

Theme: A deeper exploration of which brings greater happiness, loving or being loved