It took me a month but I did it!! Finished Golden Stage!!! What a great novel,, love Yanfu sm,,, their story didnt have too many knives but I non the less cried in agony,,, a bit of the world building went over my head but it could be bc this is the first time I've read smth +

political? Either way the story was v understandable n greatly translated.
Smth I rly liked abt it was tht even tho I was mostly there for the main couple the story still intrigued me n I was so interested in the happenings of the world n the twists n turns of the dynasties +

I also loved yxh's immaculate thought out plans n just the ending blow was absolutely amazing. His love for fs n the way he'd do anything for him had me sobbing in multiple ways,, loved in general their whole relationship n development of their relationship, it seemed like from +

the beginning they both silently mutually agree tht there were feelings involved, it was like a breath of fresh air to be over the "does he like me, does he not like me" thing,,, they both worked for their relationship n their communication is the best I've seen so far +

Something tht I also rly loved was how they took care of each other,,,, yxh's soft cajoling in the beginning to get fs to take his medicine was so sweet I got a cavity,, n it was so nice to see fs doing the same for yxh in the later chapters, n how fs followed yxh +

saying it was "just to mess with him" like he isnt head over heels for yxh,,,,, fs later giving him the osmanthus candy to help out with the drug even tho it still isnt as good as yxh having fs by his side n even later the letter which basically keeps yxh sane during the +

separation,, n in regards to fs, I think he's definitely the type to silently show affection (while yxh is quite vocal abt it) but fs still voicing out tht he wants them to be public rly shows how strongly he feels abt yxh n their relationship n idk their communication makes me +

incredibly happy,,,,, overall, I came for the arranged marriage n stayed for the incredibly well written n adult way of yanfu's relationship, the knives in usual danmei is good but seeing a relationship work from beginning to end is also so so good +

So all tht being said, pls go ahead n read Golden Stage, it's a great piece of work n tbh I didnt even cover half of my feelings towards it in this thread but theres just so much more to it n I enjoyed it sm, would recommend to anyone seeing as there isnt anything explicit +

However there is mention of torture so keep tht in mind if ure sensitive to tht(!) Otherwise pls go read, yanfu n their story deserve all the love n appreciation