Ballad of Sword & Wine (Major hints some of us missed in Volume 1)
I recently finished Volume 3 of The Ballad of Sword and Wine, and before starting Volume 4, I decided to reread Volumes 1 and 2 because this novel is INSANELY dense, so why not clear some doubts before moving further!! And honestly? Some chapters made me scream because the major reveals from Volume 3 were literally hinted at back in Volume 1.
- Chapter 9
The first one was during the Spring Festival in Qudu, when everyone gathers; Xiao Chiye, Qi Zhuyin, Lu Guangbai, etc. There’s this conversation where Lu Guangbai explains how Jiang Qingshan forcibly opened the noble clans’ granaries in Juexi to feed the starving commoners after the plague destroyed the harvests. At first it just sounds like background politics. But after Volume 3, it suddenly clicks: THAT was the entire reason someone from the noble clans colluded with the Biansha horsemen and let Zhongbo fall with Shen Wei being a scapegoat. They didn’t want to keep sending grain to Zhongbo because they needed those reserves for themselves. The motive behind Zhongbo’s destruction was literally laid out in Volume 1 and I somehow completely missed it.
- Chapter 14
The second moment shocked me even more. Xiaofuzi’s death. We know Li Jianheng beat him badly over the courtesan issue, so naturally everyone assumes Li Jianheng killed him. But during Shen Zechuan and Ji Gang’s conversation afterward, it’s quietly implied that neither Shen Zechuan nor Li Jianheng actually killed Xiaofuzi. Which means Pan Rugui and Ji Lei were involved. Then comes the real insane part: Shen Zechuan realizes that if Pan Rugui was willing to frame Li Jianheng for murder, then they clearly didn’t care whether Li Jianheng lived or died. Also, the current Emperor is sick and has no heir.
If Pan Rugui, Hua Clan, Ji Lei they all didn’t care about the only heir (Li Jianheng) dying… then that means they already had another heir prepared; a surviving son of the Guangcheng Emperor.
And then Volume 3 reveals Xue Xiuzhuo secretly raising those children, including the hidden heir.
LIKE HELLO??? THE NOVEL TOLD US EVERYTHING IN VOLUME 1.
What’s killing me is not even “how did we miss this?” but “how did Shen Zechuan miss this 2nd part?” 😭