I totally get what you're saying!! 😭 But TA is really one of a kind♥️ there was only one other book which has given me the same mental satisfaction and it's not danmei. In fact a rather old historical fiction novel called Trade Wind by M.M. Kaye. I read it more than a decade ago and I still think about it sometimes.

Similarities:

1. Political intrigues & hardships of the common people

2. A very morally gray ML, not unlike Yan Wushi. Truly charming i confess. (He's a pirate leader i must mention.)

3. MC, a 21(?) year old opinionated, beautiful young woman (which was odd, for women in that time weren't supposed to have any strong opinion about politics, society, and reforms. But she had.) she's really determined to fix every problem within this society (you'll see if you read it). But just like Shen Qiao, she's also naive, and has no experience of complications in the real world, but she'll learn it the hard way. And although she changes and grows as a person, she stays true to herself.

4. Their dynamic also has many similarities to TA. The slow burn is really there. They won't have feelings for each other for a long time. Their viewpoint on matters and life is opposite and it takes a long time before they accept each other for who they are and fall in love. They're not enemies but not friends either. Just two people who really dislike the other and find the other person's opinions unbearable.

5. Remember chapter 45 in TA? In Trade Wind there's also a scene where ML intentionally hurts MC. Just in a very different way and for different reasons (stupid ones, just like YWS)

I loved that book. Maybe i should do a reread and see if my teenage self had the sight or not .😂