How does Zhao subvert the love triangle trope of YA while also keeping it recognizable, and how does the throuple complicate the gender dynamics of Huaxia? Provide key examples from the text to support your view.

Critics often note the lack of relationships that Wu Zetian has with other women. Do you think this complicates the main themes of the novel in a productive way, or does it distract from the main themes?

How does the revelation that Huaxia is a colony terrorizing the Indigenous Hunduns complicate Huaxia’s gender politics? (Think back to Gao Qiu’s statement on the roles of women.) What purpose does the subjugation of women have in this colonizing society?