Return of the Swallow

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“If it’s a barbarian you want, then it’s a barbarian you’ll get!”

Reclaimed by her noble family after being swapped at birth, Qin Yining is bestowed a hellish family instead. Just as she turns her situation around and gains acceptance, her country is plunged into danger instead.

Shades of gray color the world. No side is completely good, and no side is completely evil. Refusing to be a trophy won by men, Qin Yining carves her own path instead. In this absolutely riveting and spellbinding tale, what does our MC do when an entire dynasty is at stake?

Associated Names
One entry per line
锦堂归燕
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage (5)
Chongfei Manual (4)
Golden Age Legitimate Fei (3)
Female General And Eldest Princess (2)
Clear and Muddy Loss of Love (2)
The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir (2)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Sibling rivalry
  2. Ancient china
  3. Switched at birth and/or secret young lady/master
  4. Cliches, Classics, Goats
  5. Fantasy Recommendation

Latest Release

Date Group Release
04/05/23 volarenovels c580 part2
01/31/23 volarenovels c580 part1
01/03/23 volarenovels c579 part2
01/01/23 volarenovels c579 part1
01/01/23 volarenovels c578 part2
12/01/22 volarenovels c578 part1
11/29/22 volarenovels c577 part2
10/28/22 volarenovels c577 part1
09/30/22 volarenovels c576 part2
09/27/22 volarenovels c576 part1
08/30/22 volarenovels c575 part2
07/31/22 volarenovels c575 part1
07/24/22 volarenovels c574 part2
06/26/22 volarenovels c574 part1
05/05/22 volarenovels c573 part2
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107 Reviews sorted by


Clandestine
Clandestine rated it
December 21, 2018
Status: c132
Actually I have a really mixed feeling about this novel.

It started so good and slowly revealed so much deep schemes which conflicted many character. Maybe some can relate to rebirth of malicious empress or xian wang dotes on wife. I really like how the main character has a good indepth way of thinking and how the author gave a good reason for all character behave the way they do.

But after soo much a well planed schemes and tragedies in the first 100 chaps, I too have a high anticipation for... more>> other deep scheme to be revealed in the later chapter, just to found a disappointment. I don't know why later, the mature MC and ML start to act so childish and so superficial (especially the ML, really disapoint me, who act like only think with muscle). Various events that I think have an inlaid scheme are found to be another superficial thing, no scheme at all. And many characters whose act always calculated in the begining start to act superficial and so much muddleheaded later, so much that I think they maybe have throw their brain to the tr*sh bin. The character seems to lost all of their cleverness and there is no deep schemes or any braingames but bantering.

I really wanna shout "gimme back my clever chara, gimme back my deep calculated scheme"

So it start 4 stars but later degrade to 3.5 star. I hope there will be a better development though, as it has a promising premise and a good foundation in the begining.

Good job for the translator though! The word count for everychap is so much that I really thank the translator to not divide the chap into several shorter chap like what happened to other novel. <<less
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pinkmagnolia
pinkmagnolia rated it
July 26, 2018
Status: c141
I really liked ROS at the start, but I got annoyed by the MC and the ML in the end. I dislike MC because she insisted on defending her mom at all times even though her mom is clearly in the wrong. As for the ML, I got the impression that his feelings for the MC are... insta-love.

... more>>
Spoiler

he helped MC when MC was a kid, when he saw MC again after she grew up to be gorgeous he suddenly liked her. He already liked her even before they ever had any real conversation. Most of the times he just stalked her. Creepy...

I also dislike that he holds no grudges against MC's dad. After all, MC's dad deliberately caused his own dad's unjust death. I guess I like guys who don't let romance got in the way of loyalty to family

[collapse]
<<less
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Lin Wyvern
Lin Wyvern rated it
June 2, 2018
Status: c92
I'll be honest. The first chapter was very off-putting to me because of the large amount of detail and the similarities in titles. You have to mentally keep track of who is who, and what their standing is in relation with one another. Of course, each novel gets its own 30 chapter benefit of the doubt. Almost as if slapping me in the face, this novel picks up in chapter two and the immense quality of details that I disliked in chapter one, actually served to accentuate the writing style.... more>> The story is not rushed, nor does it focus on quickly resolving conflicts. Rather than usual xanxia where power and growth is prioritized, this series follows Qin Yining as she illustrates incredible kindness and resourcefulness in adapting to any situation. Whether that situation is the survival of the fittest in the wilderness, despicable characters in the family, or the collapse of a country. Despite her constant struggles and hardships, her character that doesn't instantly kill off all who oppose her is a shining beacon in a world where entertainment stems from another individual's suffering. <<less
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Snowwhitefox
Snowwhitefox rated it
March 14, 2018
Status: c25
Enjoying it so far! The building of characters through each chapter is wonderful, esp the MC. Her grace and intelligence is surely innate as her background and hardships hardly allows one to develop the way she does. She is surely a great tactician! Thus far, ML has only made a very brief appearance and I look forward to seeing them meet and how they interact.
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Myaar
Myaar rated it
May 17, 2023
Status: c452
When you read this genre for a while they tend to blur together but this novel reminded me why I fell in love with Chinese novels in the first place.
What I loved about it:

  • The characters were absolutely amazing and well constructed. Even in the case of villains as opposed to the caricature villains we usually see. The author was able to make us sympathize with the characters and even for those you can’t sympathize with, you can at least understand/sympathize to why they made those decisions (no matter how wrong)
  • The romance was absolutely beautiful. I have nothing more to add to this except the author was able to find a right balance between the scheming as well as the romance.
  • Pang Xioa! Nothing more needs to be said.
  • The plot was really great. Although it is nothing we haven’t seen before, it’s execution sets it apart from others in this genre.
What I didn’t like (reason why I gave it a 4 instead 5)

  • Although the story does have it’s purpose after a while you begin to wonder when are we getting there. There were so many situations that we could have gone without and it wouldn’t affect the plot in the slightest (I suspect the author just wanted to prolong the book).
  • The female lead lowkey started feeling like a Mary Sue. Like we get it she is the smartest and prettiest (it is mentioned in almost every chapter). Although that irked me I just ignored it. However, the way every single powerful male character fell in love at first sight with her was very annoying. And as a result almost every female she came across was beefing with her (I don’t even remember any female character that wasn’t jealous of her. Not to mention how many people had to die just for her to survive (it wasn’t her fault btw) just felt of.
  • How little character growth there was for anyone else other than the main leads. Most times they went from good to bad. Although this is common, it struck to me because at the beginning of the novel we see people who hated her warm up to her. But as the story went on, even people who generally have goodwill towards her become villains due to some petty reason.
  • it felt like the author was trying to push certain agendas that at some point it made me feel like the MC was a little bit hypocritical. To elaborate, I mentioned earlier how I loved the way the author took and objective point of view to explain the characters motivation. However, they were certain characters that the author tried so hard to make the readers sympathize with and it wasn’t even done in an inconspicuous way.
All in all It was a really great book (it should have been shorter though)
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Mimiya
Mimiya rated it
March 24, 2021
Status: Completed
I read about half of it from the translator and half of it google translate the original chinese novel. This is one of the better Cinderella type novel out there though it felt a little dragged out around later arcs... which is how we got to 1.2k chapters. It feel like the author was delaying the final confrontations with the emperor.

My biggest complain is how often female antagonist characters are constantly leaping out to make life difficult for the MC for extremely petty reason like being jealous of her, or... more>> because she's too pretty etc. If it's not her foster sisters, then it's some princess, or her grand, or mother in law etc constantly making a fuss. I could understand where they come from because of how little women are expected to have a role in that society so their mindsets are small. The only things they know are to get good husband and vying for power in the backyard. But still, the fact that you see MC going out there and getting involved with political events or in life or death situations avoiding being mu*der or r*pe, it's really annoying to always see these small minded women screaming about how hard life is for them over minor problems. Some of the women who made life difficult for MC have character development and change while the others are completely unreasonable women who just keep hating MC for bs reasons so it get annoying to keep revising the same arguments for the 20x times.

Other than repetitive backyard arguments that you can just skim through, the journey of how MC went from a "savage mountain girl" to her rise in prestige is very interesting, or sad considering the sufferings she have to go through. The political intrigues involve her treking across multiple countries from Great Yan, to Great Zhou, to Tartar, and the desert regions. It's part of why it's such big novel compare to other webnovel where the world building is more self contained in one city.

The MC is very smart, resilient, and sensible person. The bond between her and her parents are heartwarming. Her father genuinely treat her well and her mother actually has some development as story progress

The ML is a good guy and he truly care for her. He loves her but feel guilt because he recognize that alot of her hardships could easily disappear if she just married someone else and live a normal, peaceful life instead of someone like him who's always constantly involved in political dramas. But she doesn't care and chose to go through honor or disgraces together with him. Their relationship is one of equal partnership and they both do everything they can to protect their family.

This novel has alot of bittersweet moments. There are some characters that I wish their life path gone a different way so they didn't have that kind of end, or find happiness because they deserved better. The ending is happy but bittersweet for certain reasons. I kind of wish there's some sequel or extra stories in the future so we can see what happen to certain characters in the future <<less
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Think Ohm
Think Ohm rated it
February 13, 2020
Status: c428.2
Really quite good. Super smart heroine (with no modern day cheats) able to outwit so many people and situations. Love it so far as it's a nice, light-hearted read. Definitely worth a try and well translated too thankfully. Love Volarenovels. Com website too for its ease of bookmarking and advance chapters if you sponsor books. So much more affordable than authors asking for $40 for a new chapter. Always happy to sponsor a translator and their hard work, especially since they give away so much for free, but I'm only... more>> able to give more often when it's a bit less at stake each time. So happy I found that website! Also try Fields of Gold on their website and Transmigrator meets Reincarnator. Surprised how much I like those two as they are very sweet and food-centric. The summaries didn't sound especially appealing to me in the beginning but decided to give them a try as they had high ratings and I was running out of books to read. Beginning to realize to not judge books by their summaries. Always enjoy reading people's recommendation lists so please keep creating those lists on Novel Updates for newbies like me to follow. <<less
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neri21
neri21 rated it
December 23, 2019
Status: c33
This is actually a very boring read for me. Girl went back to her biological family after some political enemy of the dad kidnapped her, etc. She's ruthless towards people that touches her bottomline but it's still a meh read. Not as exciting as Poison Genius Consort... maybe because we're not even in the middle of the story yet?
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Ainole
Ainole rated it
December 1, 2019
Status: c405
Return of the Swallow is a very original Chinese novel for its premise : no time travel or reincarnation but refreshingly a smart female MC who knows that life is hard and tries her best to survive considering her strong and weak points.

And Qin Yining is clearly the MC here never overshadowed by an annoyingly perfect male MC. Yes the novel is historical but she is her own person and competes in more than just "harem intrigue". Adventure and politique schemes are her daily bread even when the story stays... more>> faithful to the historical difficulties of juggling honor, family, womanhood and filial piety in Chinese imperial era.

I liked the feeling as a reader of not being taken for an idiot or just supposed to take for granted every event that happens no matter the logic of the events so far. No event felt random or unexplainable considering the context. Things that happened earlier find a rationale explanation later that bring a feeling of completeness to the story. It is being a fully interactive world instead of just 2 people reacting to events only concerning themselves just to pace their romance.

Most secondary characters are super interesting and you can clearly feel how they have their own goal and difficulties despite not necessarily being noble or fighting for the throne or XX's affection.

Where I feel the scenario is weaker is a recipient problem for me in Chinese romantic novel : Pan Xiao is super rash and obnoxious at the start, he knows everything happening around QY, kind of intruding in her life without asking and generally being described as eye candy... I feel like he makes a good partner for the time but I found him annoying a handful of times.

Therefore I would recommend this for someone who wants to read clever political / household intrigue with a badass female MC rather than someone looking for a sweet or passionate romance. <<less
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Gsichtselfmeter
Gsichtselfmeter rated it
February 2, 2019
Status: c262
A masterpiece. A simple love between the darkest depths of court politcs, strong characters and abysses of suffering, layers of layers of schemes and machinations, the feeling of conquering first the inner court and the the world and the slowly trickling turn from loyal subject to traitor. 5*!
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Nikitaxo
Nikitaxo rated it
October 17, 2018
Status: c200
A thrilling interesting novel with intriguing plots. Compared to many other similar novel, I feel like the plots in these ones are much more elaborate than the others.

You can truly feel the maturity of the MC. I've not much to add, since the comment below says it all !

I highly recommend this novel. ;)
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LiliOfTheValley
LiliOfTheValley rated it
June 9, 2018
Status: c101
Return of the Swallow is an exceptionally good novel. The main character, Qin Yining is smart and kind-hearted girl. Although her foster sister, Qin Huining often causes her pain, she is not petty and does not plot revenge, since she finds it below herself. There are no transmigrations nor unexplained and surprisingly convenient superpowers.

The villains are not cardboard cutouts, they are many-sided and complex. Some mean well but cause harm due to their idiocy, some thirst for power, and others are not completely what they seem.

As the novel progresses, it... more>> reveals many twists and turns that are unexpected yet make so much sense and are woven into the story so well that one can't help but think the author to be genius.

Translations are updated every day, and every chapter is well edited and understandable even though Chinese grammar and terms make it difficult for the translator. I recommend this story to everyone! <<less
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Miumiu
Miumiu rated it
June 7, 2018
Status: c100
Amazing story. Totally hooked. The FL is an exceptionally clever girl who manages to maneouvre her way in the family and later, in the political intrigues of the palace. We haven't seen much of the ML yet, but what little we have seen makes hi one of those rare heroes who is clever but knows when to leave the FL alone to find her way. The translation, like all in volare is very good. I would give six stars if I could
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Dibbadri
Dibbadri rated it
June 4, 2018
Status: c81
Formal Evaluation: Return of the Swallow is a story written for its characters. Follow the cunning Qin Huining in her struggles against growing up, family relationships and foreign politics. This story is set in a a historical setting and it gives the readers an insight into the past - a curious contrast to life in present-day China - a time of kingdoms and dynasties, of generals and great armies.

A must recommend for fans of historical plots (and really, anyone with curiosity towards the imperial dynasties of China)

More Personally: Much of the novel is centered around person to person interactions: witty exchanges and veiled threats. The protagonist faces a variety of issues and engineers solutions to them equipped only with her own wits. The story no superpowers, no... more>> plot armour and certainly no coincidental event that saves the day! Much of the struggles are psychological, subtle and not immediately obvious.

This story is about the shift in mentality from someone struggling to make ends meet, to the life of a powerful government official. Our very likable protagonist comes to challenge conventional thinking towards women (in imperial china) and reinstates her thoughts and ideals from a passive voice to an active one. She realizes that a lot of times, inaction is also an action and staying out of trouble is not enough to be trouble free.

The male lead, on the other hand is someone who also challenges the face of the then typical power official - handsome face, mannered (but delicate), etc. Another important note is that the side characters are full of life - we go from hating them to liking them, and vice versa. Throughout the story, the readers gain insight into the thought process of both of our MCs, as we live through the same struggles and dilemmas and can appreciate better the cunning resolutions. <<less
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12sri
12sri rated it
June 4, 2018
Status: c96
This book is very interesting to read and is much better than others in the same genre.
Pros
- The main character is one the highlights of this series as she is extremely smart and thinks her actions through. She cares about others and is able to understand their emotions.
- Side characters are very interesting and we get a huge range of them. From the dumb and selfish to the smart and kind.
- Main character doesn’t always win her battles, but is able to learn from her mistakes.
- Author is able to play with your emotions and create high tension moments
Cons
- The plot surrounding the emperor. The character itself (the emperor) is believable, but I don’t understand the surrounding characters reactions to him
- The main character’s skill set doesn’t fully match up with her backstory
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Wow! No rebirth, no evil empress, no super medical doctor, no cultivation. This is about a displaced girl returning to her original family, entering a web of conflict, involving deep plots, and creating serious drama. There's no fighting here... well, just a few scuffles. Most of the conflict takes place inside the Qin Household, then elsewhere later in the story.

The first few chapters were so confusing because there were about 10 names being thrown around. Everybody was Qin this, Qin that, I forgot who the MC was. So, just a... more>> reminder when you start the story:

Qin Yining = MC;

Qin Huining = Antagonist;

The story is a bowl in which water drips, slowly. Starting at chapter 1, each drop of water increases the tension, higher and higher, wider and wider, until the bowl is filled to the brim. Realistic. Dramatic. The story is thick, chock-full of details, from the war in the background, to the motivations of characters. The characters themselves aren't cookie cutter bad guy/ good guy, but are rather complex in their creation.

A good example would be madame Dowager, who runs the household. I won't spoil things too much, but she is a good character that - despite her personal relationship with Qin Huining - remained clearheaded when dealing with Qin Yining.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. I don't read drama (tho, I do watch Supernatural), but this has me hooked like a fish on drugs, reeling me in, and slapping me on the counter until I black out, then thrown in the freezer to preserve my freshness, then thawed out, de-scaled, and finally grilled on charcoal with salt and pepper. Yum. 5/5. <<less
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Lonewolf5242
Lonewolf5242 rated it
March 16, 2018
Status: c26
Really good novel without too much cliche. It doesn't only goes on describing how beautiful the MC is but has real story. I hope it won't disappoint us. ?
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Yinyin22
Yinyin22 rated it
December 29, 2023
Status: --
Okay, it started off well but I had to drop it past chapter 500. To be exact when the MC and ML reunite after she’s kidnapped by the tartars. I felt she had more chemistry, more experiences and more everything with Lu Heng 2ML (because a lot of random people fall for her but she had the most connection with him so I’m labelling him 2 ML). I genuinely like the MC but dear god she keeps giving and giving and giving without a rest to all these people. It... more>> genuinely gets exhausting and even annoying when evil grandma for the 300th time does something cruel and the MC just takes it and it gets brushed under filial piety. Even the MIL... like she doesn’t learn even when her own mom tells her off for treating the MC so poorly, why though? Because the ML’s mom supposedly has a very tumultuous past that she persevered through, she is not a bad person but when facing MC she suddenly loses all the traits the author builds up and turns mean for no reason. I peeked at the ending and dear god, she tells the kids they’re bastards... mind you, she was a servant who slept with the ML’s dad and was persecuted by the main wife, ran away, survived to build a restaurant with her family and raised her son despite the stigma of not being married herself until he had to leave.
All the good parts of the MC fade in front of these people, the author should have kept with the political intrigue and left the family drama alone because the novel is way more interesting that way. No need to make villains that the MC can’t do anything but suffer in silence about. Even the ML... she definitely gives more to the relationship and sacrifices more than he does for a lukewarm ending with some plot points not tied up.
The best part of this novel and what kept me reading the first 500 chapters was definitely the MC. If you removed her out of this novel and put her in any other one, she will still shine. Her wit is legendary, reminds me of Ye Li from Golden Age Legitimate Fei. Genuinely one of the best female MC’s I’ve ever read. Her intelligence and cunning is shown rather than told and it’s not one two instances. Her dad is also one of the standouts and her relationships with her maids is heartwarming and sweet.
To end, if you want to read an excellent female MC with no cheats, transmigration and only armed with intelligence, go for this novel. She can stand without the ML but he definitely drags her down IMO. It’s a little too long and felt like the author didn’t plan overarching plot and just wrote it chapter wise which is why it’s a little repetitive when it comes to family drama and the emperor/subject relationships. It’s 4.5/5 in the beginning and 3/5 by the middle and end which is such a shame because it’s one of the better novels I’ve read till date. <<less
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nimeaano
nimeaano rated it
April 28, 2022
Status: c481
MC is not OP but smart enough to unravel schemes and all that. The downside is the repeated reminder how her face and brain is the same as her father. Yet she also a beauty capable of toppling a nation (but her father isn't (?))

ML is also not OP, also having his own difficulties. Judging from the prophecy, we know how he'll end up, though. Romance is fine, but not very interesting.

After marriage, the plot is getting bigger, there are even more suitor. The conscience of MC irks me... more>> a lot. She is bound to have greater responsibility but still feeling guilty for doing bad (but necessary) things to the extent of losing sleep and getting sick. I don't think this trait is necessary to establish her virtuous character. <<less
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empurress
empurress
April 9, 2022
Status: c105
it's quite tiring to read. I personally like fl's father and maternal family, but her grandmother, the foster daughter, and the emperor is too annoying. Fl's mother will have a character development. The foster daughter is too brainless, really, I myself feel so speechless with her antics. what fl's paternal grandmother do after fl's maternal family is executed by that tr*shy emperor is chilling one's heart.
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