A review by veronikav
黄金台 (Golden Stage) by 苍梧宾白 (Cang Wu Bin Bai)

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

 “I pray that you’ll have a swift victory and return in triumph.” Yan Xiaohan’s hands never shook and he smiled as always, his voice soft and even. “I hope that you will hate me all your life.” 
Golden Stage is an incredibly well written fake historical romance novel. Despite the focus being mainly on the couple, the plot of the book doesn't lag behind in the slightest and offers an intriguing story of court politics, manipulation and even murder mystery. The author comes up with a really good premise - a lot of arranged marriage novels are mostly nonsensical and have big plot holes but here the main character is forced into this arranged same-sex marriage to strip him of political power after a failed assassination attempt. By not having heirs his title is bound to be returned to the throne after his death and he is therefore less of a threat. Meanwhile the male lead has his own reasons to accept the marriage - his own status is being raised and he can now exert his influence over the Northern army.
Not to mention he's been secretly pining for our main character for the last seven years.
They navigate their married life together but mostly try to survive in the ever-changing dangerous climate of the court. 
The text is thankfully not overflowing with literary references (meaning: they are kept to an acceptable minimum). Despite this the whole book has a genuinely dignified tone, the scenes are tasteful and the romance while sweet doesn't inhibit the plot. I wouldn't be ashamed to recommend this novel to people who are completely disinterested in danmei or romance novels in general.
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