陌上花開
Author: 黑白剑妖
Publisher: —-
Status in original country: Complete
Reviewed by: DragonaireAbsolvare
“When the Mo-flowers blossom, you shall return to my side…” The laid-back, leisurely, love story of an Emperor and the Assistant Minister of Rites. The kind of marvellous story that you don’t find, even in fairytales. It has no villain, no action, no plotline jumps, and no heroine. The Junior Minister of Rites loves to sleep, and he’ll do it just about anywhere. In the office, the courtroom, and even the Emperor’s study.
That’s right, he’s the Emperor’s lover. How this came to be, you ask?
Well, by an accident with the Emperor and a ‘not-so-bright’ assassin, Li Cong Qing was allowed to choose a department. He chose the most sluggish Ministry of Rites. He slept in morning court. And when his (adorable and amusing) nature attracted the Emperor, this lazy minister understood it would be easier for him to leave his body to the Emperor, than to trouble himself to death by protecting his chastity at all costs. Such a man! How does the poor Emperor expect this slothful man to bother returning his affections?
Meanwhile, the world sings of their love, stories like the flower-fairy that descended to bless the Emperor with ‘her’ presence, and others slightly more explicit. (Ahem, ahem!) Will the flower-fairy return along with the Mo flowers? This story is all laughs and smiles, just the sort of heartwarming read for BL lovers of all ages
MSHK definitely made it into my top rankings of Chinese BL. When I was sad and cold from reading Yesterday by Feng Nong, an emotionally gripping novel, MSHK popped out to offer it’s side of laughs and most certainly made my heart melt. This sort of adorable, puppy-like romance, all sweet and fluffy, I couldn’t devour it like the other books. This has to be savoured slowly, like a cup of hot chocolate, after a stormy, torrent-of-emotions- kind of book.
I’d tell you all to go read this book right now, but back then, I’d added it into my Wattpad library and forgot all about it. The synopsis was incomplete, and I was bored halfway into the prologue. But when I rediscovered it again, it was like a ray of sunshine. I was in dire need of lighthearted fun, and the completed synopsis got me hooked. Perhaps circumstances might have influenced me, but it did brighten me up. The epilogue and last chapter had me crying, for no reason and I couldn’t take my eyes off it till the last word.
I’d rate this book at 9.5, out of 10, I guess. (I usually read action comics and Xianxia, so the lack of action made me a bit sad.) But since the leisurely pace of the story and the narrator’s humour is what marks the story exceptional, the lack of action can be completely disregarded, and I can say for sure, Mo Shang Hua Kai definitely stands at the top of its genre.
Read it when you’re sad, it’ll cheer you up. Read it when you’re lonely, and utterly wrecked from the last book you read, and it’ll take you to a world of butterflies and peonies, where you can almost see the lazy, sleeping Assistant Minister being petted by his Imperial lover. Take your time, read it when you feel like it. But, you should definitely read it someday.