The Powerful Eunuch

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When mountains and seas separate me from my beloved, I shall flatten those mountains and fill in those seas.

Eating, drinking and whoring — since his banishment to the Nanjing Ministry of War, these had become Xie Yilu’s entire life. In this lawless age, scholars and Eunuch Faction sycophants clawed at each other’s throats and each grand chamberlain wielded more power and influence than the last. As someone who could not master the arts of flattery and bootlicking, Xie Yilu’s only wish was to be a conscientious minor official.

Yet who knew that in such chaotic times, one could still encounter written confessions that sung out in a voice as fresh as the light of dawn?

Plum blossoms are but fleeting visitors; only pines will be one’s constant companions.

Xie Yilu had fantasised about such a person, but he could never have imagined that this confidant like an immortal ascended from the dust of worldly affairs was actually him?!

An old stone lantern stand, a page of powerful calligraphy and a set of heartstrings plucked out of the blue. Looking up at that frosty visage, Xie Yilu could not help but wonder — what is he hiding behind that haughty mask?

Associated Names
One entry per line
Da Dang
Grand Chamberlain
大珰
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
N/A
Recommendation Lists
  1. Political Danmei
  2. BLs that are like a warm hug
  3. To read list (2024 translations still ongoing)
  4. To be read list - Danmei/Baihe
  5. BoysLove completed (HE) part 2

Latest Release

Date Group Release
03/28/24 A Rainy Bookshelf c45
03/14/24 A Rainy Bookshelf c44
02/29/24 A Rainy Bookshelf c43
02/15/24 A Rainy Bookshelf c42
02/01/24 A Rainy Bookshelf c41
01/18/24 A Rainy Bookshelf c40
01/03/24 A Rainy Bookshelf c39
12/16/23 A Rainy Bookshelf c38
12/04/23 A Rainy Bookshelf c37
11/19/23 A Rainy Bookshelf c36
10/31/23 A Rainy Bookshelf c35
10/20/23 A Rainy Bookshelf c34
10/04/23 A Rainy Bookshelf c33
09/23/23 A Rainy Bookshelf c32
09/13/23 A Rainy Bookshelf c31
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5 Reviews sorted by


A_Rainy_Bookshelf
A_Rainy_Bookshelf rated it
February 4, 2023
Status: c41
[Update on 01/02/2024: A brief recap+discussion of the plot from Chapter 32 to Chapter 41 is available at the end of Chapter 41!]

[Update on 13/09/2023: A brief recap+discussion of the plot from Chapter 21 to Chapter 31 is available at the end of Chapter 31!]

[Update on 05/06/2023: A brief recap+discussion of the plot from Chapter 13 to Chapter 20 can be found at the end of Chapter 20!!]

[Update on 20/05/2023: I just uploaded a character sheet for Da Dang, listing all the important characters so far. I will update the... more>> list as the story proceeds. Do take a look if you find the characters of the story confusing. The link is available in my translation group page (click on A Rainy Bookshelf next to any chapter link), and the link is under Group News.]

[Update on 10/04/2023: I have added a brief discussion of the plot by chapter, from Prologue to Chapter 12. You can find it at the end of Chapter 12. I will update about the plot discussion every ten chapters or so. Enjoy!!]

As requested, here are some pros and cons of the novel based on my personal understanding.

Even after reading hundreds of danmei, Da Dang remains one of my favourites as it intrigues me in so many ways. To me, one thing that particularly stands out in Da Dang is its unique writing style. The author put in tremendous effort into her writing. The clothes, the antiques and the poems she mentioned or quoted can all be traced back in history, making the story incredibly convincing and realistic. The readers could be almost certain that this story had truly taken place in the Ming Dynasty.

I also genuinely admire the descriptions in Da Dang. The author did a fantastic job of capturing different characters' personalities and emotions. Her characters are all complicated and vivid to the readers. Not only that, the characters' fates are all intertwined, adding more depth and complexity to the story.

I was simply in awe when I read about the buildup of s*xual tension in this novel. Nothing felt forced in this story. The two main characters are so lovely, and their love for each other came naturally to fruition. I admire the descriptions of the explicit scenes too, as they were so poetic and picturesque. It will be a challenge to convey the beauty of her writing, but it is a challenge that I am willing to take on.

However, some banes may dissuade some readers too.

One thing to take note of is that the story is between a man and a eunuch, which means the explicit scene may not be what some readers have expected. As much as some eunuchs may be cruel or abusive, eunuchs are in fact sensitive and timid creatures that need to be taken care of.

Besides, as the story unfolds with the two main characters being pen pals, you can expect the story to be relatively slow-paced. For the readers who wish to see more of their loving interactions, you may have to wait a bit longer.

Lastly, the story is not an exactly hardcore novel about political strategies. While there are some plots regarding politics that require the readers to dig into it and read between the lines, they may not be as grand as some well-known novels in this category. Our protagonist, who is merely a sixth-rank official, is also just a small man in the face of the powerful establishment of the ancient Chinese royal court. We can only expect him to do what's within his power for his loved one.

P.S. I'm not sure how to leave a comment without giving a rating, so I left a 5 star simply because this book is my favourite. <<less
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Kieukieu
Kieukieu rated it
June 6, 2023
Status: --
First off I would like to thank rainy bookshelf for the wonderful translation and the crazy amount of footnotes (the amount of work omg.)

As for how much I liked the story I have to say as a romance book I was pretty disappointed, but as a plot driven novel it was very well thought out. I didn't quite buy the romance aspect of the story. It was akin to love at first sight but the love here is derived from beautiful calligraphy, I've always been critical of love... more>> at first sight, if done well I can appreciate it but it seemed unrealistic to me. I still think the novel is worth the read though. <<less
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IAmGenesis
IAmGenesis rated it
February 2, 2023
Status: c2
I have read the prologue and the first 2 chapters of the "A Rainy Bookshelf" translation so far and I am already deeply in love with this novel. All the characters feel fascinating and multi-facetted and you can't stop yourself from wanting to learn more about them.

The whole concept of the main couple being pen pals is beautiful. They yearn for each others letters, admire each other's calligraphy and write very lyrical poems for each other. The descriptions of the surroundings and the way people dress also left a strong... more>> impression on me.

I will definitely follow this novel closely. Can't wait for more chapters to come out.

PS: On the "A Rainy Boofshelf" Blog the translator posted a detailed article about eunuchs in ancient China, including how and why they became eunuchs. It is a little gruesome thinking about it, but also provides a valuable insight into the lives of those people and let's you appreciate the story even more. <<less
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antnata
antnata
May 10, 2021
Status: prologue
Perfect! It's so sad it was abandoned by translation. I read mtl and it was so sensitive, I hope one day it will be translated
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Xiaodhin
Xiaodhin
July 25, 2023
Status: --
I just finished this until chapter 26 was translated by Rainy BookSelf. I must say thanks to rainy bookself for the excellent translation, there is a lot of patience and seriousness in the translation. the translation is really done with all the heart by giving lots of explanations. I hope that Rainy Bookself will continue to be enthusiastic in continuing to translate this novel because I don't want to finish it in MTL...

and for this novel, as far as I've read I like it, MC and ML's story is sweet... more>> so far, starting from pen friends to meeting and starting to date often... and their feelings grow slowly the more they meet, for the moment MC and ML are very sweet so far... but I don't know what will happen next... I hope there isn't much anxiety, and I hope there isn't a third person in their relationship... because I doubt at this point, whether ML has had past stories with other people before... I hope not. And for MC he had a wife before, even though this bothered me a bit because I like stories where MC and ML are virg*ns in starting, but because I've read it so I decided to continue reading... what I don't like about this novel so far is because there are too many cp... it tells a lot of cp that I don't really like stories like that..., in my opinion one or two pairs are enough in a story, but this novel is still good... written in beautiful and smooth words... this is my only assessment as far as I'm reading it so far, maybe I'll change it if I've finished it...

I think it's necessary to add a tag of seme protagonist here <<less
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