Deng Hua Xiao Chapter 130 Discussion

This is another revenge novel from Qian Shan Cha Ke, but there is no reincarnation or transmigration. Lu Tong, our beautiful, cold, emotionless FL, is from a normal, poor family, so she doesn't have the status and wealth (or prior life knowledge) that the author's previous FLs had to seek revenge. All she has are her incomparable medical and poison skills, and her devoted maid Yinzheng, who she once saved.

Lu Tong is also more extreme from the author's previous FLs in that she is very hands-on with her killing - partly by necessity, mostly due to her personality. She prefers to do the mu*ders herself and make the villains suffer while dying, which may turn some readers off. She is definitely the most bloodthirsty of the author's FLs by far. Personally I love her.

Other characters call Lu Tong crazy/mad, and she doesn't disagree with them. We see flashbacks of her life here and there, and her "training"/"upbringing" for 8 years was incredibly effed up, so she actually turned out pretty normal, all things considered. Her desire for revenge is also understandable, as her entire family was plotted against, mu*dered, and defamed by one of the wealthiest, most powerful, noble families in the capital, and, again, she doesn't have the social status or wealth to gain justice. So forget justice, Lu Tong just wants revenge.

Class division and how the corrupt rich and powerful are able to do whatever they want, while the poor and ordinary are trampled upon, is a main theme. Using her medical skills, Lu Tong can earn money, but she still doesn't have social status, so she must attain that herself step by step, use all her resources available to learn about her enemies, and plot to get closer to the upper echelons.

So far the story is very engaging. Like most of the author's previous books, the plot is tight and doesn't needlessly meander. I'm actually annoyed with myself because I try not to read web novels until they're finished, and now I have to wait like half a year for it to finish. At least the author always wraps her books up in the 250-chapter range. MTL is very doable.

I personally adore Lu Tong, but I like cold, smart female characters. Although she's ruthless, doesn't show much emotion, and is skilled at manipulation, she isn't unkind or indiscriminately cruel, just incredibly pragmatic and blunt about the realities of living in the world as one of the poor commonfolk. She also isn't as unfeeling as she appears, she just doesn't believe she can trust anyone but herself (and Yinzheng), and she won't allow anything to get in the way of her revenge. Plus, I read revenge novels to see terrible people get their deserved comeuppance, so them dying painfully is entertaining to me.

Lu Tong's relationship with Yinzheng is nice. Yinzheng serves as a maid and Lu Tong's only confidant, but due to her past training as a prostitute, she is able to actively assist Lu Tong with her many talents and skills. She believes wholeheartedly in Lu Tong's abilities and is willing to assist in her young lady's revenge. Another notable character is Du Chang Qing of Ren Xin Medical Clinic, a dandy with a tsundere side who has grown on me.

As for the male lead... Xie Jing Xing had his peach blossom eyes, Ji Heng his red mole, and our current beautiful ML, Pei Yun Ying, has his dimple. Get used to hearing about it. That aside, ML and FL are two peas in a pod and well matched in personality. FL is merciless, cold, and smart, and ML is exactly the same, he just has the status and power that FL lacks to get away with it. They say the same lines at different times, throw each other's words back in each other's faces, and are described in similar terms. They have a lot of delicious tension as enemies and occasional reluctant allies. It's sort of cat and mouse between them, only the mouse is rabid and just as vicious and smart as the cat. Lu Tong very calmly seriously considers mu*dering Pei Yun Ying multiple times.

As of right now, the second ML has shown up briefly twice in 130 chapters, but he should be entering the main story soon.

Overall I'm very invested in this novel and so far it's not a disappointment.