I have so many things to say about this book. It is both historical fiction and  basically biographical, which are two things that made me have very high expectations for it. And God did it deliver.
 First of all, I think the plot of the book is very interesting and entertaining, I loved the fact that even though it’s very plot heavy there’s also somehow quite a lot of character depiction. The main characters are all very human and flawed and very realistic which is something actually pretty rare in fantasy books or just plot focusing books in general.
I’ve seen a lot of reviews complaining about the Ouyang side of the story but in my opinion, the dual point of view actually made the story far more dynamic. I probably wouldn’t have rated this five star if we only followed Zhu’s pov. Although that might also be because I really really loved Ouyang’s character.
I was also very impressed by how in depth and how nuanced the relationships between the characters were. It’s not like the book is 1000 pages but there was so many characters, so many stuff happening and it still somehow all made sense. It’s clear, it’s well written and it’s just nice to read. The writing style, while I’m talking about it, is quite spectacular in the way that the book follows  such a long time period in such a short book. It always felt natural and realistic. It’s just really great and reads really easily.
 I also liked that the fantasy elements were not overlly present, they weren’t forced into the story, they just felt like a part of the universe which is a really good thing. 
 I really like the fact there is a map at the beginning because for a book that follows conquests and cities being taken by armies and all, it is really very useful to have a map to turn to when you’re confused. 
Lastly I want to point out how good that book is in including LGBTQ+ characters and especially a gender queer main character in a medieval China setting. I don’t think most authors could’ve done so smoothly and realistically. As a genderqueer person myself, I really really enjoyed the reflections on gender that are depicted in this work through Zhu.
The only thing I didn’t really like is the ending, but that’s only because

it isn’t supposed to be a typical  « happy ending » and it hurts me to see Zhu’s ambition eating up everything else in her life.

Overall, really great book. A masterwork. I would 100% recommend.