The Romance Quest! The Lotus Palace by Jeannie Lin

I have been slack with keeping the book and romance quests updated. But I recently finished The Lotus Palace and thoroughly enjoyed it!

In the heart of Tang Dynasty Chang'an lies the Pingkang li, the glittering pleasure district with courtesans and songs and very drunk scholars engaging in contests of wit. But of course, this delights of the Pingkang li are at least half-illusions. Yue-ying is the servant of one of the most popular courtesans in the district. She's relentlessly practical and well aware that while her life is not great, its as good as it likely ever will be. Bai Huang is an aristocratic playboy who plays the fool in Pingkang li. He is smarter than he looks -- though he still hasn't passed the Imperial Exams -- but he is also Quite Sheltered Because of Money.

And together they fight crime! ...and also fall in love, of course. (Though the thing that brings them together is trying to solve a murder together.)

I am a big sucker for "we can't be together, because of eg social class!" stories, and this is a primo example of it. And Bai Huang and Yue-ying have a really good dynamic. Yue-ying gets to be actually wanted and come to realise that happiness is something she can have and value. Bai Huang gets someone who can see through his bullshit-- both things like "actually he is smarter than he pretends to be" as well as "he is smart enough that he justify really dumb plans in a way that sounds smart." Also they both cause each other to grow and develop-- mostly in the direction of Bai Huang improving himself.

I highly recommend it.

(Though as a note for some warnings:

• There is sexual slavery. It's mostly a backstory thing, but it's Very Present
• Bai Huang has a gambling addiction
• Bai Huang is initially not brilliant about the intersections of power dynamics and consent, and while he very very quickly improves, in his initial scene he does not cover himself in glory
• Bai Huang's dad is abusive, and I'm not sure the narrative entirely realises this.)