The Ugly Empress

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After ten years on the battlefield, Teng Yun sees Xue Junliang protecting his country and conquering new territory, while he himself ends up with an arrow through his heart. When he wakes up, he becomes that man’s Ugly Empress.

This is about a Prince who is captured as prisoner and killed, then he is reborn as his enemy country’s ugly empress. With his black-bellied King of a husband, they love and hate each other. They use every possible method. Chickens fly and dogs jump, from imperial harem to imperial court there is no peace. In the end, they bring peace and stability to the country.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Chǒu Niáng Niáng
Sửu Nương Nương
丑娘娘 [重生]
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
War Prisoner (3)
Reborn as My Love Rival’s Wife (3)
The Demon King Always Thinks I’m Secretly In Love With Him (2)
Ban Lu Qin Jun (1)
Don’t You Like Me (1)
The Life After Marrying My Sworn Enemy (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Chrysanthemun (Translation Completed)
  2. RECOMMENDATIONS I GUESS
  3. BLs that suit my taste
  4. Danmei
  5. ZAKI BL TRANSLATIONS

Latest Release

Date Group Release
12/03/22 Travis Translations v1c2
12/02/22 Travis Translations v1c1
04/12/20 HillOH v2c5
03/25/20 HillOH v2c4
03/01/20 HillOH v2c3
07/26/19 HillOH v2c2
05/06/19 HillOH v2c1
05/02/19 HillOH v1c45
04/25/19 HillOH v1c44
04/22/19 HillOH v1c43
04/03/19 HillOH v1c42
03/29/19 HillOH v1c41
03/20/19 HillOH v1c40
03/13/19 HillOH v1c39
03/09/19 HillOH v1c38
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62 Reviews sorted by


yuukine
yuukine rated it
April 11, 2020
Status: c84
Rating: 3/5

At this point, I have completed the novel.

I might change the rating once finishes translating the second book!

... more>> At the beginning, the book was fantastic, intriguing and satisfying. did fantastic job on giving us the proper understanding of situations, along with the notes.

The story was up to the point of first book ending highly interesting and wonderful.

But after the second book started, the translator changed and it was very hard to follow. Till the end of the book I have no idea what I have read anymore and the story was a mess. Which is a shame since I loved all the couples and all the ideas.

But then again, I started having issues with second book too. Mostly because emperor went on my nerves. He did some things I couldn't get over, and he just continued irritating me and making some decisions that made me just... want to combust.

Teng Yun is a very interesting character. Even in female body, he never stopped thinking as a man. To be honest, I loved the concept, because even if it's danmei, I loved to see

representation of actual character being a man stuck in female body. This is so rare and this author had fantastic chance to pull it off.

Spoilers for early plot of book 2:

Spoiler

I understand emperor loves talented people, but to spare the mu*derer of his wife (that is also now the MC that transmigrated from empress to his own mu*derer) and let him live because he was useful and then forcing himself on him for NO APPARENT reason was somehow... weird. First, he says how much he loved empress and then he wants to

literally r*pe a person because his eyes give the same fire as his empress? what?

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I was like no. You don't do that.

Overall, a solid three so far, but i'll keep following it again since is still not yet done!

Warnings for this book:

Spoiler

r*pe. That should have been tagged from the beginning. Torture.

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OVERALL:

✭ Characters: 3 - the only one I loved is teng yun. the end. Xue Junliang irritated me from beginning to the end.

✭ Side characters: 4 - detailed, especially Teng Shang and Xue Houyang and little prince.

✭ Story: 3 - first book 4, second book 2

✭ emotional impact: 3 - not really invested enough to be hit

✭ Humor: / - almost nonexistent <<less
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ylial
ylial rated it
April 17, 2019
Status: Completed
I initially thought that the story is heavy but it isn't.

I enjoy the story, though there are flaws. Overall I recommend this novel. Took a long time for the MC to develop feelings for the ML, and the ML is very patient with it. The ML really treasure the MC not forcing himself to him (since he's the ruler, he could be the typical overbearing emperor but instead he waits for the MC).

Edit: rereading it made me greatly disappointed of the story 😅

ML is Really an overbearing ruler, calculating, and... more>> doesn't want to let the MC go <<less
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otpsfloat
otpsfloat rated it
February 17, 2020
Status: Completed
If you like stories like "To Be A Virtuous Wife" (BG not BL btw), or "Seven Unfortunate Lifetimes" - historical settings with MC strong and independent and not vying for ML's love or affections at all, you'll like this one.

MC never once thinks of himself as a woman or a person of lower status than the ML. He's also never cowed by ML's position of power.

... more>>
Spoiler

It's BL because... at first MC (a guy) transmigrates into a woman. He never acts like a woman or is referred to as one by the author if I remember correctly.

Anyways, if that leaves you skeptical: after lots of chapters and ML falls for MC, MC dies and transmigrates into a man's body. ML eventually finds out and the story ends (HE) with MC (in the guy body) and ML together so it does end on a male x male note both from the soul and body lol

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MC is also useful!! He isn't whiny or a crybaby. ML is domineering gong through and through. The side characters are, for the most part, well-developed.
Spoiler

There was one side pairing that really irked me because it felt like they didn't add value to the plot other than more romance and made the story unrealistic - but it's very easy to ignore because you can just skip the chapters with them in it (it's the spy x prince/emperor of another country).

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Otherwise, the plot was full of development and action and schemes (as historical novels often are). A satisfying read and one that I also MTLed past the chapters that weren't translated already. MTL is ok after you read the already translated chapters & have a good grasp of who is who. It does take some time for MC and ML to develop feelings for each other but it's pretty entertaining. <<less
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RabiezMonkey
RabiezMonkey rated it
March 4, 2019
Status: Completed
No chickens fly and dogs jump...!

So disapointed... both MC and ML are doing just fine. Even when the ML finally clear about our MC's identity as the former prince and general who had rebirth. MC will be a lot help for ML, I guess.

But overall, I enjoyed this story so much.
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mwright473
mwright473 rated it
December 2, 2022
Status: Completed
First off, reiterating several other comments, this is undoubtedly a Yaoi novel. I personally had dodged the novel at first because gender bender really, really, really is not my thing. While there were some dynamics I thought were a bit sus (I wasn't a strong fan of the dominance shown by the Emperor toward his 'empress'), the bond that they had which grew over time and the repeated plot twists exhibited that begin with the first gender bending reincarnation are each novel and fresh. The extras were cute enough, lowkey... more>> everybody's kinda gay, it's one of those novels.

It's not perfect in its romance or its nature as a history novel admittedly (every big decision is about the military, domestic policy seemingly is managed entirely off screen other than like one PR stunt). Still, it's a refreshing structure for a historical Yaoi novel which a likable MC (loyal/dutiful/hard-working/not s*upid) and a gong ML who isn't fully 100% perfect, and I'm down bad enough to give that a 5. <<less
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runqing1196
runqing1196 rated it
July 1, 2021
Status: v2c5
This humble one is head over heels for this web novel. So far, though it is tagged as gender-bender everything in the book was utterly unexpected. (⌒O⌒)

I hope that HillOH would pick up this novel again.

Their translation was on point compared to other translators. I've tried reading this at a certain translator but my head hurt as I cannot understand what I am reading! I hope HillOH will pick this up soon as I can't bear to part with this web novel. (╥﹏╥) Cheers, I hope you're doing... more>> fine. <<less
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Tamarrion
Tamarrion
February 14, 2020
Status: v2c2
Quite a good story, but there is untagged r*pe in it (ML r*pes unconscious and sick MC). Also MC is called genius war leader, but behaves like an hapless idiot. I don't know if it counts as misogyny (because in male body he seemed all right, but in female body he became that typical foolish shou who can only sigh and do nothing or do something really, really s*upid) or as situation where shou can't be better than gong in anything (only more beautiful... which is also misogynistic if you... more>> think about it).

But I like the plot with political side of it, and the translator does her job really well. Still, it would be much better without r*pe.

Upd. The wonderful translator seems to be busy and not able to continue her work on this novel. Second translator just copy pasted google translated garbage. Sigh... Well, maybe this novel will be adopted by someone else. <<less
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Adagio
January 29, 2020
Status: Completed
Edit: 4.2 stars. I finished the (better) translated version.

I first MTL'd the novel myself due to slow updates and was surprised how much I liked it. Book 1 was nice, but book 2 really got me hooked.

The synopsis basically say it all: Our MC dies at the hand of the enemy and wakes up in the body of the enemy's empress. He hides his true identity and tries to influence the political scene from the background.

The MC is a genius military leader and quite goal-oriented and reasonable. He has opinions... more>> but plays his role (s) very well. I love how maturely he handles his transmigration: He makes no fuss about changing gender (or possibly straight up doesn't care) and focusses on the matter at hand.

The ML is the enemy emperor. He is a skilled but also volatile ruler who plans to expand his empire. To achieve his goal, he manipulates and pressures others as he sees fit. Still, he honors talented and intelligent minds not unlike his own, and he clearly appreciates his loved ones.

The novel feels down-to-earth and mature. The drama, while adding nothing new, isn't too shallow or annoying at all in my opinion. The main romance develops quietly on the sidelines and picks up as the story progesses. The best part is the character development of the ML, but the development of their love is good as well. There's a lot of politics, though. Previously I gave it a 4.5 stars, but after reading the corrected MTL version, I noticed a few more issues. I dislike how the author portrays imperialism:

Spoiler

Imperialism is good because the ruler is supposedly just and fair? No chance, my dear. Never. The emperor is still a war criminal.

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Don't read the extras if you want the characters to stay in character:

Spoiler

Suddenly, everybody is gay. Age gaps don't matter. Platonic relationships between non-related people? Never heard of it.

[collapse]

While I find their love believable enough to be not-Stockholm syndrome - which is are given the emperor status of the ML - he abuses his position a little too often and later often bullies the MC to be with him, and MC's resolve isn't consistent throughout the story, especially towards the end. However, I'm sort of pacified by the fact the ML really becomes a better person thanks to MC challenging him on many levels.

A really bad point: Women are a rare species in his universe. You get the strong impression the author straight up hates them. Also the MC's military prowess is too great and things are always too convenient.

Still, it's worth a shot. <<less
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Poopster
Poopster rated it
February 15, 2022
Status: v1c6
Temporarily dropped– might try again in the future.

Side note: Translation is good, so thank you so much to the translator and editors involved!

I was greatly disappointed by this novel lmao, as the synopsis had greatly intrigued me but I began seeing a lot of signs that pointed towards a downwards trend in plot.

1) Male to Female transmigration

  • Spoiler

    like others have mentioned, there is basically no transitioning thoughts or actions by the MC when he finds himself in a woman's body. I am not personally bothered by this as the MC has already shown himself to be somewhat a Dull or mostly Passive person when we're introduced to him, but it does take away a lot of the excitement of seeing the reaction of a warrior finding himself in a body of a different gender.

    [collapse]
2) Plotholes

  • I believe another book expands on this story which is why I'm assuming some of the plot holes remain unsolved.
  • Even so, I want to address the very strange fact that it seems– life in the Palace for the Empress only began upon the transmigration?
  • Spoiler

    We find out that the Empress is largely passive of others due to her "Ugly" (no, surprise² she is not actually ugly, just injured facially and just the fact noone could tell that– imperial doctor whom?– nagged me aplenty.) looks. Upon transmigration naturally our MC is not this way, and although some characters acknowledge the change is temperament-I find it all very lacking. A maid whose passive invalid suddenly has the guts to smack her is suddenly incredibly docile and helpful to her master. An emperor's wife, the Empress is suddenly going around when she used to always remain in her room. No questions whatsoever. And the rumoured conclusions are kinda silly.

    [collapse]
What I can say I liked about this novel though are only to do with the characters, as there's really not much world building to get me invested into its setting.

The ML, I liked that he did have the standings of an emperor what with a harem, looking after his country yet interestingly enough still having a familiar relation with his younger brother who was granted as Marquis.

I really liked the addition of the Crown Prince, but he seems to only serve as sth for the Empress to interact with, as his background is largely blurry and we don't know who his mother is, just that he is favoured by the emperor.

However I just couldn't get myself to continue reading as it was just- boring? Uncultivated? Idk. But Ik this story has some potential in it, just perhaps I came in with too high expectations.

Even so! I still have hope for this novel as I do want to know how the main couple get together.

Overall, all I can say is to give this novel a try if you aren't the type to nitpick and just want an easy read to pass the time. Oh, and that the Gender Bender aspect really doesn't hold much sway in the story at all, sadly.
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IzanamiZaki
IzanamiZaki rated it
November 29, 2021
Status: Completed
Hilloh's translations was really great and after the second translator basically just used the MTL of the raws, readers felt cheated of the story. The Novel was already picked up by Chrysanthemum Garden and is updating regularly (already completed, only link is not showing on NU, you can easily search for it). I hope those readers would come back and continue to read. As this novel is really a great read.. :) :) :)
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Sonata123
Sonata123 rated it
November 10, 2021
Status: Completed
This is sweet, naive, ridiculous and utterly charming. You can't come reading it as a serious book. It is more like watching little kids playing adult roles in some big drama. It is both cute and touching. There are, like, five CPs - in other words, no one leaves this story unloved. There are sad and dramatic things happening, and you feel moved when reading about them, but at the same time the text is so naive you somehow feel safe when reading it, knowing your heart won't be broken.... more>> You shouldn't think too much about the plot, or psychology, or things that the author started and forgot to finish. Just enjoy sweet muddleheaded kittens (all of them) finding their way to each other. I actually was most invested not in the main pairing but in Zhao Lu/Feng Ming, but I'm sure everyone can find a couple to their taste here. The main couple seemed kinda bland to me in the second half of the story. Feng Ming and Zhao Lu, on the other hand... They easily could have a whole heartwrenching novel dedicated to their relationship. I don't even usually like this kind of dynamics in relationship but ah, I loved them! <<less
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plainbricks
plainbricks rated it
October 30, 2021
Status: Completed
I am struggling to rate this as I love genderbender but feels very cheated that the MC changes back to a male body. Where is the gender bender that I am promised? :' (Reviewer arebg covered many of the problematic points for this novel. So do read that, especially on the part for Teng Yun's very passive personality in the 2nd and 3rd part of the novel. By near the end of novel, Teng Yun is a cardboard, nice and easy for the emperor to walk over on. Despite... more>> that their romance is still pretty okay since the ML does really love him and the smut scenes are hmm~~ Especially if you compared them to the 2nd side couple.

The side couple is problematic.

Spoiler

Feng Ming and Zhao Lu is the perfect example of r*pe victim turned into lovers trope. I loathe Zhao Lu so much! He r*ped Feng Ming while on the pretense of being drunk and he did it over and over again while taking advantage of Feng Ming's guilt for causing his parents's death. He manipulated (gaslight?) Feng Ming into a relationship with him, humiliated Feng Ming, used Feng Ming's trust in him to betray Feng Ming and still have the guts to act like he's so high and mighty? What koolaid is the author drinking?! I usually have very high tolerance for such trope but I really can't with this couple. Feng Ming was a ruthless and competent ruler whose IQ became negative after meeting Zhao Lu. It's as though the author wanted to highlight how great ML is and needed some cannon fodder to suffer by contrast. In the end, Feng Ming still ended up with Zhao Lu after losing everything and I nearly puked blood.

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I like the 3rd side couple though. They are very sweet even if the bottom is little black bellied hehe. I read the raws however, translations are good. So do give it a try if you decide to read on. <<less
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Jajachin
Jajachin rated it
March 26, 2021
Status: v2c5
The rating above is only for the first volume up to the fifth chapter of volume 2 that was translated by HillOH sama. Let's talk about how the translation was so good that I cannot even stop reading because everything was just on point and well translated. I don't speak any chinese but I have read quiet a lot of chinese novels, I can say this is one of the best novel that was translated. Yes, for me, it is. There are plenty of awesome novels out there but this... more>> novel is surely included on my list of the best novel. About the story line. It was kinda unique, just thinking he moves from here to there (just try to understand what I am saying please, lol) it is kinda awesome for me. Why I say unique, coz some novels who is using this kind of concept, the story and the characters keep on changing which is kinda confusing and not so interesting for me. Well this story just stick on one topic which is great and which I love. I am kinda sad to know that it hasn't been updated for a long time, so I tried searching for someone who continue translating this one, I was so happy to find one but I was kinda disappointed upon reading the current translation. It feels like I am auto correcting every sentence that I read every time I find it confusing which is kind of plenty, yes plenty. So unfortunately, I stopped reading it coz I seriously got confused and conflicted on every moment of the novel. Such as shame though. But I still love it. <<less
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Rena877
Rena877 rated it
April 18, 2020
Status: Completed
I LOVED it.

What you need to know:

    • in the first volume it really is only gender bender as MC is in a female body
    • BUT the writer refers to him as his original name, he does nothing that effeminates MC and there is only slow romance between MC and ML that works solely by their character traits [I was doubtful before reading, too, but you will really not be bothered by the gender bender]
    • from chapter 45 onward it turns into usual BL so you can all chill
    • the ML seems like the typical overbearing type at first, but rest assured: he is lovely
    • one translation that only covers a little more than half of the chapters is better: very smooth. The other one feels like MTL and can be slightly confusing, although you get used to the style quickly.
What you need to do now

    • READ IT!
    • and then wish there would be more chapters on Feng Ming and Zhao Lu. They have a weird dynamic, but I like them nonetheless
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ezis
ezis rated it
April 12, 2020
Status: Completed
This was a pleasant ride from beginning to end. Be warned though, there are two translations, one of which is superior but only covers some 55 chapters out of 80 at this point, while the other one is of lesser quality and you just have to accept some strange linguistic constructs, which are obviously typical of the Chinese language but do not exactly work in English - I got used to it reasonably fast and it was no longer a problem.

The story: surely you already read the summary if you... more>> are reading the comments, so I will not repeat. Suffice to say that there were numerous refreshing aspects. For example, how the original MC was a man of war in all regards, but pretty much unclear about how to convey emotions and reading others. I personally thought that this added to his character. The emperor, the ML, was also fleshed out - but you have to read a lot between the lines, e.g. follow the actions of the characters, really read the character... I definitely enjoyed the fact that practically no characters were whiny, everyone was ready to fight for what they believe in, some were rash some were experienced. One of my favourite characters is Rui Xue, a maidservant with a deep insight! Practically the only female character that keeps coming back.

There were some OP aspects, but not to any unreasonable degree that would make it distasteful or boring.

In general, the story tries to balance keeping up the pace in various fronts, the character development, character interactions, military strategies, some sort of court intrigue... In my opinion, the author succeeded. To be frank, I feel like these type of stories often extend into hundreds of chapters and the story just gets lost and dissipates in more and more complications.

The romance is a very slow burn, but in the meanwhile you are gratified with some secondary characters' storylines, unravelling at different stages. Actually, those would also be nice to read about in more detail, as the premise is always promising. Five stars from me! Binge read the whole of second volume, which is some 30 chapters. <<less
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AnonymousWildAster
AnonymousWildAster rated it
February 29, 2020
Status: c29
This is a really bad review since I already forgot most of what I read. I actually stopped reading when hilloh stopped updating this on watty where I first read this, so it's been a year since I stopped. TBH this book has that intriguing vibe in it, which is why I continued on tho I find the ML pissing me off lol. I must say I like the side characters more than the main, coz they have this against all odds kind of love thingy. I gave this a... more>> five since I enjoyed book 1. <<less
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jneowls
jneowls rated it
January 14, 2024
Status: v1c28
as devrai said, I am baffled by all the 5-star reviews. Were we reading the same book?

i was willing to overlook some things because gender bender is probably the closest thing to trans representation that we can get in a danmei novel so I wanted to see where the story would go with it

but I draw the line at ML saying he's not gonna force himself onto MC and then—in the same paragraph!!—forcing MC to give him a 'helping hand'. That was incredibly gross

i forced myself to read one more... more>> chapter but there's no retribution for that, not even a verbal one. If that's gonna be a normal thing for the main couple then I'm out <<less
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I love bl
I love bl rated it
August 10, 2023
Status: --
The whole story is very addictive (to me). Loved all the characters specially the MC and ml.

Everyone may not like ML but his character design was perfect for an emperor. He is a sly king.

loved the MC very much.

Loved the other side couples.

This story is not sugar sweet. It is full of war, politics, hate, revange, dub con etc. But there is also a strong uke, brotherhood, familial love, good strategy, romance, character development, smart MC etc.

Hence,

Definitely recommended!

(Dear translators

thank you for your hard work)
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Persefone88
Persefone88 rated it
July 10, 2023
Status: Completed
Interesting concept but the whole novel turned out rather "Meh🥱" in my opinion. Not terrible and had some high points, but not very good either. Didn't live up to expectations.

The ugly Empress thing didn't have much importance since it was soon over with. MC never really got into the groove of being Empress and actually doing much either ... more>>
Spoiler

before switching over to a new male body

[collapse]

Lukewarm harem intrigue with very limited number of participants and plots.

Felt a lack of deeper interaction between MC and ML. And the build up of romance wasn't so great beacuse of that. Lack of interaction and conversion between characters in general.

To be honest MC spent more time on the battlefield than around ML in the later half.

So, a cup of lukewarm tea. <<less
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LazyPeruser
LazyPeruser rated it
December 9, 2022
Status: Completed
It's a solid 4.8/5 for me.

I love the story and its plot. The character development is superb and every characters was polished well. The only problem for me is that the main couple took sooooo long to be together, I want them to be together at least 20 before the story ends but noo. It was too late and the story almost finished before they got together, so it's a bit sad and unfulfilling for me. Also, there are a lot of couples, which I also love, however their story... more>> as a couple is not that polished well and didn't show their development. <<less
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