Novels like Idle Notes Beneath the Willow
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Idle Notes Beneath the Willow, best match first.
- 51 The Journey Through Fuchuan 府川行 (A historical mystery with no special abilities and no transmigration. Every case is solved through logical deduction, and the schemes and power struggles are grounded in real insight.) Lin Wuwei looked at the corpse before him and said, “If this were the only corpse, it would be far too simple!” 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 52 The Dali Temple Deputy Minister’s Female Coroner: Case Files 大理寺少卿家的女仵作【探案】 [The rating is low because it just opened!] [Lazy, lie-flat coroner x aloof workaholic Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review] Modern forensic pathologist Du Yexin was in a car accident and unexpectedly transmigrated into the body of a farmer’s daughter in Sui’an County, where she became entangled in a murder case. To clear her name, Du Yexin had no choice but to use her modern forensic knowledge to find the real culprit. - Xu Mian, son of the Minister of Justice, solved the theft from t 1.2kReads6.6Score175Shelves
- 53 The Encryption Mystery 加密疑案 A master detective from the Republic of China era; a detective’s notebook whose records begin in 1931; a special cipher tailored for detectives of the future; and an intellectual duel that forcibly draws in the Queen of Crime… A conspiracy passed down through generations, inherited schemes, an endless cycle of revenge, and a detective who cannot rest in peace. Only by cracking the double cipher hidden in the notebook can one reach the truth buried in the distant past. The detectives’ wordplay be 51Reads8.7Score—Shelves
- 54 Behind the Murder 命案背后 Mystery, investigation, and case after case unraveled thread by thread. It takes multiple twists before the truth finally comes to light, letting readers share in the thrill of solving each crime. The cases grow more complex as the story goes on, making it even more compelling. 15Reads—Score—Shelves
- 55 Reborn as the Killer, I Clear My Name Through Forensic Autopsies 穿成凶手后我靠验尸洗白 [Hilarious + satisfying revenge + sweet romance + transmigrate + mystery] Modern forensic pathologist Jiang Ci transmigrates into the body of a murder suspect. The moment she wakes up, there’s a corpse under her bed, and it’s naked. Jiang Ci is speechless, especially since the man in charge of the investigation is her fiancé, His Highness Prince Yu of the Great Liang Dynasty. Unwilling to spend even a day in the Ministry of Justice’s prison, Jiang Ci decides to land herself a job directly with t 622Reads8.2Score100Shelves
- 56 Strange Cases of the Court of Judicial Review 大理寺诡奇案 Mystery and crime-solving. (The male and female leads have feelings for each other, but they will not end up together. They see the world differently and have their own ideas about their futures. The female lead gets far more page time than the male lead. He barely appears in some cases, and there is very little romance. I’m putting this upfront so you can decide whether to read it. Updates are often irregular, and I write wherever the story takes me.) To clear her family’s name, Qiao Lanzhi ent 12Reads—Score—Shelves
- 57 Loving and Fighting My Nemesis 与冤家相爱相杀 A clever, sunny female lead + an insecure, loveless male lead with a black heart + training, solving cases, and catching demons + everyday bickering Li Yunjin is a sword cultivator who knows how to solve cases. She goes down the mountain to train with her rival of a senior martial brother. After cracking several strange cases, she accidentally loses her memory. While she is amnesiac, the senior martial brother who has always looked down on her suddenly becomes completely devoted to her and takes 5Reads—Score—Shelves
- 58 The Tale of Three Ruyi Cities 如意三城记 [A Young Female Coroner vs. a Cold Prince] [Historical Fantasy + Mystery Solving + Suspense + Romance + Political Intrigue] Ye Ruman is the daughter of a constable, and she is determined to become a coroner. Free-spirited and lively, she is suddenly drawn into a shocking case. Her parents disappear, her past is a mystery, and she is forced to grow up. With nowhere else to turn, she meets Prince You, Zhao Yi, who has come to provide disaster relief. They even possess identical tokens! Their fates 282Reads8.9Score—Shelves
- 59 My Princess Consort Is a Great Detective 我的王妃是神探 Su Qingmo, the legitimate daughter of a prestigious family who has only just come of age, is married into a prince's manor by imperial decree. She had planned to spend her life with her princely husband in mutual respect, but never expected the pair to become entangled in a string of bizarre cases in the capital. Dismemberment! Vengeful spirits! Cannibalism! Gu poison! Who is the mastermind behind it all? Each case is enough to make one's blood run cold, yet they are also filled with warmth and 182Reads9.0Score—Shelves
- 60 The Dali Temple Couple’s Daily Case Files 大理寺夫妇探案日常 Completed [Detective husband-and-wife duo + episodic cases + deduction + fair-play mysteries + everyone's favorite] A transmigrated policewoman obsessed with solving cases VS a Minister of the Court of Judicial Review just as obsessed with solving cases. Bound together by their sense of justice, these two workaholics gradually fall for each other as they investigate. Together, they solve one baffling mystery after another and find a love forged through the bonds of comradeship. 426Reads8.4Score—Shelves
- 61 Once the Dark Moonlight 曾经黑月光 A serial murder case spanning several provinces brings He Zhiqiu, now a PhD in criminal psychology, face to face again with Qi Yu, a former university classmate and current police squad leader. He Zhiqiu says, “Long time no see,” while Qi Yu turns and walks away without a trace of expression. An excited friend asks, “You two seem to have a history. Could you be the white moonlight of Qi Yu, the shining star of the police force?” He Zhiqiu exhales a puff of smoke, thinks for a moment, then repli 349Reads8.7Score—Shelves
- 62 The Chanzhou Mystery 澶州迷案 [Looks-obsessed, talented bandit heroine × smiling, brilliant male coroner] Zhu Hongyun grew up in a bandit stronghold and had planned to make her fortune in the bustling capital. By a twist of fate, however, she ended up in a small county in Chanzhou and became a constable at the local yamen. Chanzhou was remote, and its yamen offices were understaffed and overwhelmed with frequent cases. She had no choice but to team up with the coroner Liu Weinian, pack her bags, and travel around Chanzhou so 168Reads8.1Score—Shelves
- 63 The Young Detective’s Strange Casebook 少年奇冤录 (This book is entirely fictionalized.) A future warrior known as the God of Crime Solving transmigrates to the Song Dynasty and takes over the body of a young man. Watch as he defies the powerful, fearlessly seeks the truth, and solves the mysteries that have long gone unexplained. 6Reads—Score—Shelves
- 64 Snow at the Third Watch 三更雪 [Traitor’s Daughter vs. Forbearing Prince, Political Intrigue + Investigations + Not Reborn + Two Powerful Leads + Plot-Driven] Rumor had it that the second daughter of Marquis Chu was a rough-and-tumble martial artist, overbearing and ill-mannered. One day, she was captured by a man whose dignified exterior concealed a mind full of schemes. He disarmed her, bound her hands, and stole her clues to lure her into a thousand-li chase. She pretended to approach him, testing him at every turn… For ye 1.8kReads8.9Score226Shelves
- 65 Dark Sunflower 暗黑向日葵 [A powerful team + cherished by everyone and sweet romance + justice and sunshine] Love begins without reason, and all his devotion is for her alone. Every tough nut has its match; no one is born a straight man, they just haven't met the one who turns their head. After a huge misunderstanding, Yan, the eldest son of the wealthy Yan family in Yiming City, is sent by his mother to the military for reform. Who would have thought he would prove so capable that he would join the International Crimina 13Reads—Score—Shelves
- 66 She Gazes from the Abyss 她自深渊凝视 [Historical fantasy] + [mystery solving] + [formidable partners] + [suspense] + [geniuses] + [deduction] In the autumn of the fourteenth year of Yongzhao, Song Chen, Vice Minister of Justice, takes on a case involving a set of human remains. In the examination room, he finds a young woman in plain robes cutting into the bones with a knife. Her fingertips are stained with blood, but she precisely extracts half a piece of jade from the victim’s throat. “When poison has reached the vital organs, th —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 67 Ming Dynasty Mystery: The Beloved Female Judge 大明奇案：团宠女判官 [Ancient mystery and detective fiction + alternate-history Ming Dynasty + everyone's favorite (devoted childhood sweethearts, one-on-one) + ensemble cast with multiple couples, focused on solving cases] With a phoenix sash, an embroidered spring sword, a flying-fish robe, and a wolf-hair brush tucked into her belt, Nan Ge climbs out of a coffin once again. Everyone knows her as the Jin Yiwei's “female judge”: cold and merciless, her face hidden behind a half-mask of iron. She loves climbing into 178Reads8.9Score—Shelves
- 68 Twin Cities Detective: The Genius Inspector Steals the Show 双城推理：天才探长飒爆了 [Alternate modern setting] A cool, mature female detective and her puppyish young male partner: sweet and spicy, solving cases while falling in love Detective Tang's conviction is that she will find the person who killed her mother. Detective Du's dream is to become as capable as Sister Tang. As time goes by, amid dangerous cases, the two gradually come to share a goal: solve crimes, and find time for romance too. “Cuckoo, Cuckoo, report in! Get to the crime scene immediately!” Detective Tang ca 26Reads8.9Score—Shelves
- 69 Congratulations, Your Ladyship, You’re Expecting 恭喜大人，您有喜了 [Traditional historical romance + woman disguises herself as a man + running away while pregnant + solving cases + no transmigration into a book + no golden finger] Crime-solving + romance, with each case told as a standalone story. Born posthumously, Ye Nanfeng is raised as a boy by her mother from childhood so she can protect the family business. At sixteen, she passes the imperial examination and becomes an assistant magistrate in Qingyang County. Li Taichu, a young man from an aristocratic f 692Reads8.7Score115Shelves
- 70 Tales of Strange Happenings on the Southern Journey 南行诡事录 [Historical Mystery + Two Formidable Leads Crack the Case Together + Bizarre Crimes] A man’s corpse rises from the river in Siquan County, bearing a strange tattoo. From a dilapidated hut on a stormy night to the coffin prepared for a ghost marriage at the Liu residence. A child’s corpse lies beneath a dry well, its eyes gouged out and tongue severed. The wheel ruts of a rice cart conceal corruption far worse than famine. “Why are you heading south this time, young master?” “To find someone, and 295Reads—Score—Shelves
- 71 The Missing Detective 消失的刑警 [Criminal investigation + solving cases + strong partners + mind-bending + suspense] The “dead” return, all for one deadly truth. While everyone is attending Zhong Yue’s memorial, he opens his eyes in a small hospital room. The criminal investigation squad captain Zhong Yue has “died.” He is now Zhao Yanqin, Zhong Yue’s cousin. Zhao Yanqin is a police officer too, so the supposedly “dead” Zhong Yue naturally returns to the force. With danger all around and lies everywhere, can he escape the trap 6Reads7.0Score—Shelves
- 72 The Two Heroes of the Jing Dynasty Crack a Strange Case 景朝双杰破奇案 (Two male leads + mystery-solving + transmigration + suspense) When a modern young man transmigrates to ancient times, a journey of solving mysteries begins, filled with political schemes, twisted human nature, and betrayal. As the two work alongside a prince to crack one case after another, they face challenge after challenge and uncover shocking truths. In this world of shifting intrigues, can they uphold justice and find a place to call their own? 97Reads6.3Score105Shelves
- 73 Walker in the Dark 黑夜行者 [Night Walker + No System + No Romance] is a continuation of the first book, "Murder in the Mist", but this is an entirely new storyline! Protagonist: Wang Youyong The story follows Wang Youyong, current deputy chief of the criminal investigation squad, as he pursues a small group of vigilantes led by Ma Wenchao. Five years ago, the vehicle transporting Ma Wenchao, then deputy chief of the criminal investigation squad, to prison was involved in a horrific crash. Against all odds, he survived. Ma 465Reads8.0Score121Shelves
- 74 A Forensics Prodigy: Jiangcheng Police Stories 刑侦天才之江城警事 My name is Chen Ning. I graduated from the Criminal Investigation College of the Huaguo Police University, then joined a police station in the city. I encountered many difficult cases in the course of my daily work, but my policewoman senior and I cracked them one by one. Later, I joined the city police squad. This is a suspenseful, mind-bending novel with a tense plot and professional forensic knowledge, along with a love story woven throughout. All in all, I personally think it's well worth re 312Reads—Score—Shelves
- 75 Those Years: Her Story with Her 那些年，她和她的故事 Dedicated to every soul who has ever been troubled by bullying at school. All the insecurity, loneliness, pain, and uncertainty will ultimately help you become a stronger person. Lastly, I hope the rain in your heart has finally stopped. 92Reads—Score—Shelves
- 76 When a Transmigrated Little Ghost Detective Meets a Two-Faced Prince 当穿书小诡探遇上双面王爷之后 [I dug a hole and never filled it. Serves me right for having to fill it myself.] [Two male leads + transmigrate into a book + solving cases + two-faced prince + political intrigue] A wisp of green smoke rises, and every injustice in the world is brought to an end. A mere novelist dares to leave plot holes unfilled, slacks off whenever the story reaches an important part, and even ignores readers begging for updates. Well, look what happened: for some reason, he transmigrated into his own unfini 62Reads8.6Score—Shelves
- 77 The Strange Cases of the Great Tang 大唐诡案录 [The Strange Artifacts of the Bureau of Mysterious Incident Investigations: A Prelude] During the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, a stone fell from the sky. The evil energy it carried tainted many things, causing strange cases to break out one after another. Emperor Taizong ordered the Tiance Bureau to form a special team to investigate them. Thus, Tang Guan, Ye Taozhi, and Lin Yueqi, three brothers in arms, set out to solve all manner of bizarre cases, including beheadings, cannibalism, flayi 49Reads—Score—Shelves
- 78 The Cold Case Club 悬案俱乐部 A pure mystery and crime-solving novel On the Edge of Truth: Huangfu Cheng's Mystery Cases... Huangfu Cheng is both a detective consultant and the moderator, under the name “Withered Leaf,” of the popular video account “Unsolved Case Club.” He has attracted a large following by sharing analyses of unsolved cases and criminal psychology, while also using the power of the internet to gather case leads. But his life is thrown into turmoil when his older brother disappears. He suspects his brothe 11Reads—Score—Shelves
- 79 The Hidden Killer 隐匿的凶手 Fifteen years ago, a devastating explosion destroyed five once-happy families. Fifteen years later, a graceful, confident young woman walks into the police station, and a long-sealed string of numbers is brought back into use. A deadly struggle of love and hate, gratitude and grievance, life and death, good and evil is about to begin... 469Reads7.1Score—Shelves
- 80 The Clash of Black and White 黑与白的冲击 Jiang He, a criminal investigation squad captain, has solved all kinds of major cases in his ten years on the force, maintaining a perfect record. Then one day, a body appears: it belongs to someone who died twelve years ago. The strange clues lead to a mysterious organization, behind which lies a shocking conspiracy. Just how many people are involved? 10Reads—Score—Shelves
- 81 Forensic Pathologist Jiang Yan 法医姜颜 She is an unlucky forensic examiner whose greatest wish in life is to solve a case. After an accidental car crash, she gains the strange ability to travel through time. From then on, her life takes off: the Sada cult case, a double locked-room murder, a bizarre case of evisceration, a university beauty poisoned... She cracks one mysterious case after another and finally becomes a legendary figure in forensic science! 158Reads8.6Score—Shelves
- 82 The Invisible Landlord 隐形房东 On the day Zhao Ming gets dumped, his company lays him off too. He thinks he has hit rock bottom, but then a lawyer calls: “Mr. Zhao, there are six property deeds left by your father that require your signature.” Ding Sheng Tower, 186 apartments at Riverside Gardens, storefronts at Jin Mao Plaza, lakeside villas... Only then does he learn that his father, a man who kept silent all his life, was actually Jinhuashi’s true hidden landlord. But the keys unlock more than wealth. They also open up a t —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 83 Household Schemes: Not a Decent Soul in the Prince's Manor 宅斗，王府里没有一个好东西 Domestic power struggles: there isn’t a single decent person in the prince’s manor. —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 84 The Marquis’s Daughter, Forensic Investigator 侯门女法医 Xia Zhuqing, a 22nd-century forensic examiner, transmigrates a thousand years into the past and becomes the least favored legitimate daughter of a marquis’s household. She exhumes the dead and investigates cases, admires optimistic people, and longs for a life in the sun. But after weathering countless trials, she finally realizes that the man who has always stayed by her side is the one who seems cold but has a warm heart. 349Reads8.8Score—Shelves
- 85 Detective Di Renjie: The Mystery of the Orchid Pavilion 狄仁杰之兰亭疑案 The Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion is known as the finest running-script calligraphy in the world. Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was so obsessed with Wang Xizhi's masterpiece that some say it was buried with him in his tomb, while others claim it was interred in Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi's Qianling Mausoleum. To fulfill Gaozong's final wish, Wu Zetian set out to find the lost Orchid Pavilion Preface and bury it with her husband. Her investigation revealed that the pavili 598Reads9.1Score106Shelves
- 86 The Great Zhen Female Forensic Examiner 大祯女法医 Yan Ziran transmigrates into the body of a wanted criminal who has been on the run from the authorities for over a decade! A palace upheaval years ago not only took her loved ones from her overnight, it also left her burdened with a blood feud against everyone responsible for her family’s slaughter. To evade the authorities, she fled with her wet nurse to Qingjiang County. There, the coroner at the public mortuary adopted her, and from then on she devoted herself to studying forensic examination 2kReads8.6Score262Shelves
- 87 The Corpse-Reading Detective 读尸女探 Funeral director Luo Jing has a special ability: she can receive the sensory impressions a person experienced in the last few seconds before death. When the body of a woman whom the police believe jumped to her death is brought to the funeral home, Luo Jing touches it and hears the woman calling for help just before she fell. She was murdered! To catch the killer, Luo Jing launches an investigation and happens to meet Xia Shi, deputy captain of the criminal investigation squad. At the time, she 72Reads8.2Score—Shelves
- 88 Perfume Atelier No. 7 七号调香馆 Legend has it that there is a perfumery in this world that makes a living selling fragrances to help people weave their dreams. Nan Zhu, the owner of the shop, is investigated by criminal police captain Yan Yi after becoming entangled in a bizarre string of murders. A novel that keeps offering clues, a mysterious and unknown force, and grudges dating back a thousand years are all brought to light through a series of strange cases... Open the perfumery’s case files, and among the contracts of eve 78Reads8.1Score—Shelves
- 89 A Robot Arrives at Dali Temple: The Case of the Headless Buddha Statue 大理寺来了个机器人，无头佛像案 A Robot Arrives at the Dali Temple: The Headless Buddha Statue Case 25Reads—Score—Shelves
- 90 A Record of Strange Tales from the Mountains and Seas 山海志怪录 [Mystery, strange encounters and urban legends, romance, supernatural folklore, crime] A Taoist priestess descends the mountain in a mystery-style monster-slaying adventure. Some cases involve people, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they were caused by people. Are they human misdeeds or the work of ghosts? The world is full of ghosts and monsters. Once they’ve cultivated to a certain level, they’re indistinguishable from ordinary people, yet their emotions can be extraordinarily intense. Good 179Reads8.7Score—Shelves
- 91 Step Aside, Prince! Coroner Su Just Wants to Perform Autopsies 王爷靠边站，苏仵作只想剖尸 Only when her coroner father is on his deathbed does Su Yu learn that she isn’t his biological daughter. With the soul of a modern forensic pathologist, Su Yu has no interest in finding her birth parents. But she’s softhearted, so she agrees to fulfill her adoptive father’s dying wish. After burying him, she takes a jade pendant with a green sheen and all her worldly possessions and heads to the capital to find her parents. As soon as she enters the city gates, she collides with Prince Jin, who 6.6kReads8.8Score802Shelves
- 92 The Long, Long Night 长夜长夜 Long Night, Long Night is an engrossing criminal investigation novel. It opens with the suicide of a veteran detective, drawing readers into a world of suspense and danger. The story then leads to the suicide of a female student more than a decade earlier, which in turn brings to light the accidental death of a police officer and a series of related cases. The plot is tightly paced, packed with suspense and twist after twist, making it impossible to stop reading. Every chapter leaves behind clu 217Reads8.2Score104Shelves
- 93 Su Yi'an, Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review 大理寺少卿苏以安 Su Yi'an, the son of a Tang dynasty official, was raised in the countryside, where he and his grandmother depended on each other. By a twist of fate, Empress Wu Zetian appointed him Deputy Minister of Justice. From then on, he and two friends solved one baffling case after another. As they investigated, the truth behind his father's disappearance slowly came to light. 10Reads—Score—Shelves
- 94 Lone Cop 孤警 He is meticulous when solving cases, but has terribly poor social skills in everyday life. He was once called a “pervert” for following a single woman. A procedural crime series in which every protagonist and supporting character is intelligent and capable. The pacing is brisk, with roughly one case every ten chapters. The twists are unexpected, and behind each case are the joys and sorrows of human life and the darkness of human nature. The male lead was born with a disability. He became a poli 795Reads8.4Score102Shelves
- 95 The Long Night Dawns: Silent Testimony 长夜将明：无声的证词 [Mind-bending mystery | Case-by-case investigations | Hard-core criminal investigations | High-stakes twists | A tender-hearted police team] The long night looms like a mountain, and mist engulfs the city. When every clue points to the person who seems least likely to be guilty, Leng Hanzhou is forced to make the hardest choice, on the fine line between justice and the law. Because some silent testimony has always been hidden in the darkest depths of human nature. Ningzhou, a prosperous economic 817Reads—Score105Shelves
- 96 Accomplices 同谋 Dear Task Force, I am the mastermind behind the crimes. You uphold the law, while I protect morality. This meticulous division of labor has made our cooperation on this case go very smoothly, and I would be delighted to discuss things with you in greater depth. I’ve already sent the details of the next case to your phones. I look forward to us making progress together. P.S. Dear Captain Xia, I’m Jiang Cheng. I’m waiting for you at the crime scene. Dare to come? 530Reads8.9Score109Shelves
- 97 As Night Gives Way to Dawn: The Perfect Case 长夜将明：刑侦之完美破案 [Mind-Bending Mystery · Case-by-Case Crimes · Hard-Hitting Criminal Investigation · Shocking Twists · Warmth Within the Police Force] The setting in this novel is entirely fictional and does not depict any real people or organizations! The night is long, and crime is shrouded in mystery. In Ningzhou, an economic powerhouse, beneath the dazzling splendor woven by neon lights, unknown cruelty and malice lie in wait in the darkness before dawn, growing wildly at the end of the long night. One bizar 146Reads—Score—Shelves
- 98 Scenting the Killer 闻见凶手的味道 After an accident, Shen Xi’s sense of smell becomes extraordinary. The air smells like nothing to us, unless someone has deliberately released “poison gas,” of course. But to her, it smells of blood. If the smell of blood in the air grows so strong that she can hardly breathe, there must be a murderer nearby. This ability has helped criminal investigation captain Qiu Han quickly identify suspects time and again. For some reason, she can’t smell the blood in the air whenever she’s beside Qiu Han. 46Reads—Score—Shelves
- 99 After I Was Fired, I Became a Police Consultant 被开除后，我成了警局顾问 This book is also known as [The Criminal Investigation Prodigy: Murder Case Consultant for the Nancheng Criminal Police] My name is Chen Ning. I used to be a major-crimes investigator with the Jiangcheng Criminal Police, but I was forced to leave the force because of certain circumstances. One rainy night, a murder took place next to my rented apartment, and traces of me were left at the scene. While I was still asleep, a team of police officers broke down my door. “Are you Chen Ning?” I was 62Reads—Score—Shelves
- 100 The Cold Palace Empress Goes on a Case-Solving Rampage 冷宫皇后靠破案杀疯了 Shen Yihan, a police captain, falls off a cliff while pursuing a killer. When she opens her eyes again, she has become the most miserable empress in history: the widow of Emperor Jianwen, Zhu Yunwen. The tyrant Zhu Di has usurped the throne, three thousand palace maids have been brutally executed, and danger lurks everywhere in the Cold Palace. She slams a palm onto the imperial desk. “Solving cases is my specialty. Killing people isn’t yours!” Zhu Di flies into a rage. “Seize her!” Who could ha 18Reads—Score—Shelves
