I’ll Be the Male Lead’s Sister-in-Law

Description

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Today, I am a substitute for your fiancee. Tomorrow, I’ll become your sister-in-law!

Mu Mingtang is the substitute of the male lead’s first love. After she lost her family, she was adopted by the Jiang family and eventually became engaged to the male lead, the Prince of Jin.

Understanding very well that she was only a substitute, she removed her claws and fangs and turned herself into an imitation of the Prince of Jin’s first love. She couldn’t speak or laugh as she wished, she was prepared to live in the shadow of another woman for her entire life… until one day, the real Miss Jiang returned.

The real Miss Jiang was reborn. When she learned that she was the male lead’s first love, she immediately returned to fight for her engagement and identity.

In order to please his first love, the Prince of Jin gave the substitute to the Prince of Qiyang, who had become a dying madman. She was just a low-quality fake, anyway. If she dared to anger his first love, he would turn her into a childless and powerless widow for the rest of her life.

Mu Mingtang, the target of their mockery, finally snapped: Okay, since you gave me to another man, I’ll make you bow and call me sister-in-law!

However, none of them expected the Prince of Qiyang, the God of War, to actually wake up!

Xie Xuanchen is the son of the late emperor. The whole world once trembled beneath his feet, but one day, for a reason unknown to even Xie Xuanchen himself, his nature suddenly changed. He became cruel and bloodthirsty, leaving his father with no choice but to pass the throne to his uncle.

Eventually, Xie Xuanchen was unable to resist the illness and fell into a coma.

When he woke up again, there was a beauty standing before his bed, looking at him in surprise. Then, for the sake of his domineering little princess, he revived his name as the God of War, reclaimed the throne, and united the world.

I once captured the world to satisfy my own ambition. Now, you are the reason for my ambition.

Associated Names
One entry per line
我给男主当嫂嫂
朝天阙
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Greetings, Ninth Uncle (5)
I Became The Stepmother of My Ex-husband (4)
Married To The Male Lead’s Father (3)
The Tragedy of The Villainess (3)
I Am This Type of Woman (2)
What’s Your Gender, Princess? (2)
Recommendation Lists
  1. dark obsession
  2. BEST CN NOVELS
  3. BG favourite novels i read
  4. Good Transmigration & Reincarnation CN
  5. Feel-Good Pages

Latest Release

Date Group Release
03/25/24 Fans Translations c468
03/21/24 Fans Translations c467
03/18/24 Fans Translations c466
03/15/24 Fans Translations c465
03/11/24 Fans Translations c464
03/07/24 Fans Translations c463
03/04/24 Fans Translations c462
02/29/24 Fans Translations c461
02/26/24 Fans Translations c460
02/19/24 Fans Translations c458
02/15/24 Fans Translations c457
02/12/24 Fans Translations c456
02/08/24 Fans Translations c455
02/05/24 Fans Translations c454
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Review
57 Reviews


Skite
Skite
Apr 14, 2021
Status: c156
Spoiler

Follows the newer trend of "plain ol' good ancient Chinese women are better than scheming rebirthers/ transmigrators" stories.

Perhaps it is my brash, capitalist, American heart, but our MC, Mu Mingtang, with her merchant background and straight-forwardness, greatly appeals to me. She ditches the subtle and intricate word play insults most noble women characters so greatly prize, (but which I tend to find exasperating and dumb), with a refreshing degree of shamelessness. You want to send her a box of gold in some elaborate, understated insult? Well, she's going to happily accept and think you're a moron--you just sent her a friggin box of gold. And she's going to keep it, too, who cares if you were trying to imply some nuanced insult, if you're too weak to say it to her face? She's also believable as a young teenager, not having any super powered skills, like extreme intelligence or omniscience, and being absurdly delighted with things like bright clothes, high-school level pettiness, and fun food.

Our male lead is superpowered (being only 19 and having Alexander the Great level achievements by age 17) but this is tempered by a fairly realistic (for a book) recovery time lasting the better part of a year, quite a lot of his achievements being acknowledged as overly exaggerated to the point of legend, and him having believable PTSD. He likewise acts his age, finding s*upid things funny, having zero idea about girl stuff, and wanting attention.

Together, they are a very sweet, and well-matched *teenaged* couple, with minimal drama between them and a pretty healthy relationship. They make each other laugh.

I enjoy the antagonists a lot as well. Not as people, they're terrible people, but as characters. Jiang Mingue, our antagonist, is our rebirth character, not the MC. She comes across like a burnt out, bitter, middle-aged divorcee in a 13 year old body--which she is. In her first life, she ran off with a foreign prince at age 12 and became his concubine in a whirlwind of romantic flurry... only to suffer for it for the rest of her life.

To explain our antagonist:

Spoiler

Picture someone who was the prettiest cheerleader in her tiny town, with the richest dad everyone else's dad works for. She is absolutely addicted to the attention and fawning that comes from this middle-school level power trip. There's this cringey "m'lady" nerd guy who is obsessed and low key simps her, but whom she's just really not into, though the attention is nice. Suddenly, her family moves to the big city and now she's a little fish in a big pond and can't handle it, plus her parents aren't listening to her and keep telling her she has to marry the simp, because his parents now have way more money than them and are on a power trip.

Running off with the hot, twenty-something "cool" guy from the dangerous neighborhood suddenly sounds far more appealing. Only, he never makes the pretty princess fantasy promises he spun her into reality. Everyone in his neighborhood hates her for not fitting in, rather than thinking she's awesome for coming from the rich borough, like she assumed they would. He's got so many high-drama baby mamas he's stringing along, it's ridiculous, and all of them are cruel. She winds up as a middle-aged, abused, neglected, waste.

Then, she hears her old simp wound up as Bill Gates, and he's nice and sweet and doting to his wife, whom everyone says looks just like her, and she loses her g*d*mn mind choking on the infuriated resentment.

When she's reborn into her past, one year into her disastrous affair, she decides to nope out of her loser boyfriend and head back to marry the simp who will soon hit the jackpot. Only... she's still not that attracted to him, and worse, he's now a neckbeard. He's figured out hygiene and has money: now he thinks he's all that and a bag of chips, and that he's owed hot babes. Scores of hot babes. Sure, marrying the head cheerleader was a trophy achievement, but he's not going to say no to all these other gold diggers throwing themselves at him. Plus, she's still burnt out and bitter over her old boyfriend, and not ready for a new relationship, so she's not pulling the weight of living up to his fantasy, and he's too distracted by all the overly-obliging pretty young things climbing into his bed to bother with her moods or establishing a good relationship. She's so mad she picked another turd she doesn't want to try, either.

She's also ridiculously attracted to her in-law/ neighbor, who was the hot boy band member she was completely obsessed with as a tween, and really bad at hiding both the attraction and the resentment that the girl she hates the most got to marry him. She is, at her core, a molten ball of rage that's getting hotter and hotter, about to reach nuclear scorched earth because she just can't seem to get back to the small-town ease she enjoyed in her youth, which she is desperate to have again, to the point of demanding it as something she deserves.

Now, shift all of that to ancient times, and you'll have our antagonist couple.

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I actually feel pretty bad for Jiang Miangue. Everyone has felt that angry and wronged before, and it's difficult and unappealing to humble yourself to get out of that hole. If only she had channeled all of that resentful, bitter rage at those who deserved it-- like her scumbag ex and his evil wives who treated her like crap. But no, she focuses on our main character, Mu Mingtang, (who "stole her rightful place and took all her things" as Jiang Miangue sees it) as the cause of all of her life woes. She obsesses that, if only Mu Mingtang has a sh*tty, tortured fate, then Jiang Minague can be happy at last. This, of course, backfires spectacularly. If she'd just been a nice person, or even just a neutral one who minded her own business, she would have had a wonderful second life. Mu Mingtang, in turn, barely thinks about her unless it's to poke her with a stick, and thinks she's an idiot, which I find awesome.

Update: I might reduce this to 4/5 because it goes on for forever. After about 150 chapters, I got bored and wandered off. Consume is small bites to prevent burn out.

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hjquinzel
hjquinzel
Jul 18, 2021
Status: c99
I'm enjoying the story, but this is more a note to myself than a review. The translator has numbered the chapters incorrectly, Ch.99 is actually only Ch.25 in the novel. Made me a bit miffed as I thought the novel was almost completely translated, (99 out of 117 chapters) but it's only less than a quarter translated.
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honeybunny55
honeybunny55
Jan 25, 2021
Status: Completed
A novel that surprised me by how good it was. I randomly found this one while searching around online, and I didn't have very high expectations for it. But it was surprisingly very good! I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.

The love between the MC and the ML progressed naturally for me despite the novel not being very long. I understand why the MC loved the ML, and I also understand why the ML eventually fell in love with the MC. Although the ML seems cold and... more>> cruel on the outside, he is in fact a very warm person who only thought he was a dead end and didn't want MC to suffer so he wanted to give her a divorce so she could be free.

I personally really enjoyed the progression of their relationship, and I loved watching how everyone's reactions went from "hah ML will die soon and then MC will be garbage" to "sh*t he isn't dying any time soon, we'd better fix up our attitudes". It was just fun watching all of the different people interact from the previous life to the new life, and how MC is extremely oblivious to the different plots going on around her.

Anyways here's the plot of the story for those of you who want spoilers. I can't remember everyone's names because it's been a hot minute since I read this novel (but I loved it so much I had to come back to write a review) so I'll just refer to them generally as much as I can:

Spoiler

MC in the previous life married Prince Jin and became queen. She basically had no feelings whatsoever, she just faked loving Prince Jin but she actually gave two shits about him. Prince Jin because he's an arrogant son of a bum, he always assumed that everybody loved him and that he was perfect and it's impossible for no woman to not love him. So he had lots of concubines in the previous life in hopes of attracting MC's attention, but MC didn't care. She didn't have any likes, hobbies or anything of her own. Her entire life was based off of the original Miss Jiang's likes, hobbies, dislikes, etc. so she just copied her in order to fulfill her role.

But in reality, she didn't care, and just lived her life like this.

The original Miss Jiang ran away with someone from an enemy country, and he promised her that once he got rid of his fiancee's family (who had a lot of power in the country) that he would make her Queen. But nothing happened and she was eventually killed in enemy country before being reborn.

After being reborn, she ran back to her family and got engaged and married to Prince Jin. They married our MC to our ML, who was in a coma and shackled down I believe.

Our ML is the only son of the former Emperor, and the current Emperor was his Uncle. ML's original family was originally a general's family, and our ML was also a war hero. He saved our MC previously when her hometown was invaded after her parents were killed. Then, she was adopted by the Jiang family. Our ML's mother was previously killed by the old Emperor of the former dynasty, which is why the ML's father rebelled and became the Emperor. The current Empress Dowager is the ML's father's concubine who like didn't live in the home in the capital which is the only reason why she survived. The reason why the ML survived not being killed alongside his mother was because he snuck out to follow his father to war.

The original Miss Jiang had also seen the ML previously and also liked him, but since he was a waste and there was no future with him, she obviously preferred her childhood friend Prince Jin.

The MC and the ML slowly discover through a series of incidents why the ML went insane and what was affecting him. The ML was actually poisoned by the current Emperor (his Uncle) which was what made him go insane and kill all of his colleagues. They wanted to eliminate the ML because technically he should be the one on the throne as the only son of the former Emperor, and not the current Emperor.

Eventually the ML and MC leave the capital after the Emperor forces him to go to war with minimal troops to defend the border from the enemy country, but he goes and instead gathers troops from the different areas all around, forcing the military families to submit to him. The Emperor tries to call him back, and tries to tell everyone in the capital that he's rebelling, but eventually they become scared because the enemy country is closing in on them, there are betrayers, and then there's the fact that the ML has a powerful military force.

Eventually the old Emperor dies, and Prince Jin ascends as the Emperor. They flee the capital because Prince Jin is a coward and wanted to run away if I recall correctly.

Eventually, the whole dynasty is split into two halves with Prince Jin ruling one side then ML ruling the other side. The ML then goes, kills the enemy country and his Queen (who actually became friends with our MC) commits su*cide. He then destroys the enemy country and proceeds to subjugate all the countries around him. Once he finishes that, he sets his sight on Prince Jin's half of the kingdom.

He eventually reaches the capital, where the original Miss Jiang, who is Queen, puts on her Queen's robe and jumps into the lake and drowns herself, which is the exact same way she died in her previous life.

As for Prince Jin, he ran away with his favorite concubine (a concubine from the enemy country) leaving Miss Jiang behind.

Hilariously enough though, before he could run very far, his favorite concubine killed him.

The story ends with the ML returning home to his wife and child having united the entire dynasty under his rule.

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There are two extras associated with this story but I personally found both of them shitty LOL. The first one was boring, I think it was about the son. The second was a "rewrite" of sorts where the MC is reborn after her death in the original timeline, Prince Jin is also reborn, and so is the ML's father.

I was honestly hoping that at the end Prince Jin would get screwed over, but it just ends with the ML and the MC getting married after growing up together, and nothing happens to him or the original Miss Jiang. Kinda boring to be honest, and it ended super abruptly. The author stated she wrote it because our MC and ML suffered too much which is why she wanted to write an alt ending but I kinda just felt like it was half-assed.

There's honestly a lot that goes on between the MC and ML that's super cute. They're constantly being compared to Prince Jin and Miss Jiang, and it's hilarious because at first everyone flatters Miss Jiang like wow you have such a good relationship but in reality she's constantly being pressed down by concubines, and Prince Jin cares very little about her and spends a lot of his time doting on concubines.

For example, when the enemy country came for a conference, they brought a princess who confessed to our ML in public. Our ML was like lol no. They kept trying to get him to take the princess, with even her adoptive father and other ministers blaming our MC for being a jealous woman. ML was like um I don't want this loser princess, what does it have to do with my wife?? I just want my wife, I don't need other women. He basically humiliates the other ministers, the princess and enemy country, but they're all too afraid of him to say anything. Eventually she goes to Prince Jin's household and becomes his favorite concubine who, in the future:

Spoiler

yeah she's the one who kills Prince Jin at the end. LOL

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Our ML then goes on to say to MC's adoptive father about how virtuous his daughter is for helping Prince Jin welcome concubines, which was just... CHEF'S KISS SO SATISFYING.

Seriously. The best part of this novel was the love between the MC and ML. The ML is pretty straightforward, whereas the MC is the one who never thought the two would fall in love, and thought that she just admired him, and the ML chases after her until she realizes his intentions. He really just gives absolutely ZERO f*cks about what anybody thinks about him, and every time our MC gets bullied, even if she can handle it herself, he immediately just uses his ultra poisonous tongue to destroy their faces in front of everyone.

So. Satisfying. I only wish the ending was a bit more satisfying, but honestly, the journey was really the best part.

Anyways I really enjoyed this story! Definitely better than expected and would definitely recommend. <<less
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Elizabrush
Elizabrush
Jan 12, 2021
Status: Completed
The story is interesting but FL's personality is kinda annoying at times and I'm not sure if I like this style of couple. I prefer the couples in Yue Xia Die Ying's work where they're both mature, dignified and kinda mysterious. The couple here is cute together but they have a much less adult feeling since they're constantly bickering over kinda silly things or getting into little misunderstandings since both of them are dense when it comes to love.

The FL's personality is written pretty realistically. She's young (only 15) and... more>> from a commoner background so she's very reliant on the ML for the backstabbing and politics stuff. She does have more serious moments, esp during crisis plot points and very encouraging to the ML but I can't help but miss my cool girl crush heroines... sigh. The ML is more of a straightforward "I'll just kill you and be done with it" arrogant and stubborn type. He's not really a schemer. Everyone practically pisses themselves when they see him because of his reputation for being a bloodthirsty madman. The two of them come to depend on each other since they both have pretty much no one else.

I think if you enjoy the cute squabbles style of couple you'll like this, and if you don't, you'll still find the plot intriguing as things are paced pretty well. The background court politics and such is decent, though less serious and less "deep" than Yue Xia Die Ying's work to make a comparison.
Spoiler

In the middle portion of the novel it becomes more obvious that the background plot just serves to keep the romance running as many things don't make sense if you think about it more deeply. Like after New Years the emperor continues to sit on his ass and not do anything to the ML for months. The medicine guy shows up in the capital again even though he's supposedly very nervous and has been running away since his master was killed. The ML and FL are under constant watch at home but somehow are able to find time to hide the ML away for hours to fix his illness. The FL orders servants to get rid of all the incense used around the house and to perfume their clothes and the emperor still doesn't feel like anything's wrong even though previously they made a huge fuss about just a perfume ball being discovered... etc. It's like the villains all lost their IQ even though previously they were skillful enough to poison ML under the emperor's nose and then kill off the emperor...

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Thankfully, the plot picks up again
Spoiler

around ch 100 as the war begins.

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Readers who want to MTL, be aware the translator splits 1 chapter into 4-5 parts. <<less
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Pixy
Pixy
Aug 31, 2021
Status: --
I really can't recommend this at all; it's an absolute mess.

The characters are laughably bad, the setting never rings true, and the author's tendency to fill space with endless descriptions of mundane tasks not only ruins the pacing but it provides so much specificity that it's nearly impossible to suspend disbelief when necessary. It's unfortunate, because I really wanted to enjoy this.

It's pretty clear that this author had limited understanding of writing period pieces. Ostensibly, the story takes place in ancient China but the poorly drawn characters and cliches are... more>> right out of shōjo-aimed stories from the bottom of the barrel. The characters in general speak and act like bratty teens from the modern era with attitudes and beliefs to match. The female lead in particular has an "I'll do it my way" attitude that comes across as childish rather than sassy or independent. The male lead is a God of War whose behavior teeters between naive teenaged girl, sage protector/warrior, and bully. Neither lead interacts with the other - or anyone else - in a manner which resembles anyone from an ancient Chinese milieu.

If the poorly fleshed leads aren't bad enough, overall consistency is ridiculous. At one point, male lead is so terrifying that guards and maids won't enter the building where he's lying unconscious and chained. Later, when the male lead awakens and goes on a bit of a rampage, he is followed by a team of maids. Apparently, an unconscious and motionless monster is less fearsome than one who is conscious, angry, and incredibly violent. The only consistency seems to be that of the plot requires it, then that's how it is - for that scene, anyway.

The author had some ideas that could be explored more when s/he has some more experience and skill as a writer, but there's a long way to go. <<less
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bookwurm247
bookwurm247
Jan 29, 2021
Status: Completed
Honestly, I loved everything about this novel. The characters, story, writing, etc. Even if the story isn’t particularly deep nor is it very different from the other Chinese novels in this genre. The story kind of reads like a rebirth novel but instead of the FL being reborn, it’s the ... more>>
Spoiler

second FL, Jiang Ming Wei

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it’s not a well written review, I know, but to end this I’d like to point out some of my favorite moments:
Spoiler

1. A little after their marriage, he actually wakes up for the “first time” during Jiang Ming Wei’s wedding to ex fiancé. I say first because technically, no one knows he woke up already like a week ago except for the FL. Btw, they live right next door to the 2nd couple pair. Anyway, everyone runs to see because he’s gone “crazy” again. To keep this brief, soldiers are there surrounding him to “control” him (ie read “accidentally” kill him). FL runs through them and tried to protect him and says “he’s not crazy, he’s just sick”. 🥰 She then lectures and essentially says that they were bastards for treating him like a criminal when he was a war hero that saved them from being over taken. Which is true because one of the countries is only holding back on invading because they were scared of him. In the other story line, they invaded AFTER they heard news of his death.
2. A little after he actually wakes up and is able to walk around, she complains to him about being bored. He suggests she go watch a play but she doesn’t want to leave him alone. Then she remembers that they live next to Xi Xuanji and Jiang among Wei. She had heard recently that XXJ was favoring a concubine instead and was giving her control of the house finances. Our FL essentially says, there’s a play next door already. Let’s just go there. So they literally go over to just stir the pot. Seriously, they ask questions they shouldn’t ask under the guise of “elders” (they were older based on ML’s age/lineage). At one point, XXJ, JMW, and concubine are arguing and our ML is on the side peeling nuts for FL to eat. The actors realize that and looks over. Our FL says, “oh don’t mind us, keep going in your conversation” 🤣 this happens a few other times where FL will literally stir the pot between XXJ and JMW, she knows they don’t have a good relationship even tho they were childhood sweethearts, because she’s bored and wants to see some entertainment. ML will just accompany her to watch but he’s almost always out of the loop since, you know, he’s been in a coma.

3. In fact, another favorite moment is when FL would tease ML for being “old” and out of touch with the current trends. This was a small part that happened where they spent an afternoon or something to compare notes on what was popular right now. She just kept the gag going but this kind of comes back later to bite her. 🤣


4. I need to stop because this list will keep going if I don’t. Much later in the story, once our ML realized that he can act “sick” to gain pity points and to get FL to spoil him, he takes full advantage of it. In one of the later chapters, he comes back from a mission with a slightly deep but surface wound. She doesn’t know that it’s not serious because she hasn’t seen a lot of injuries. He takes full advantage and acts like his arm was almost cut off and get FL to baby him. She dresses his wound and feeds him because he “can’t use his arm”. Everyone else who knows that the injury was not that serious is like 😦. However this back fires on him because he wants to snu snu but she said no since he was injured. I believe she did cave a little but for the rest of his “recuperation” there was no snu snu. 🤣 Plus, she does find out and gets real mad at him. Like they’re first argument in a while.
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there are other cute moments but these are my favorites and the ones I can remember. Anyway, point is, if you’re down to read a story with an interesting plot line and characters, please read this. It was relatively easy to MTL, but there were parts where I did get a little lost. The only complaint I have really is that the ending seemed kind of rushed. Like the last 10 chapters or so were telling more than showing. There was also quite a few time-skips. Idk it just felt the author had a limited amount of chapters left or something and had to finish up really quick. <<less
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jvsxgf4
jvsxgf4
Sep 11, 2022
Status: c213
Wow, I am so glad that I came across this novel because of how enjoyable and refreshing it was. I binged 200+ chapters in one day and I don’t regret it at all.

1st: Plot. I like the pacing of the story for various reasons. First, it develops the relationship between MC and ML into a strong bond. Then later on they start to figure out the reason behind ML’s illness. I’m currently at the half way point of the story and it’s pretty good so far. The plot doesn’t feel... more>> messy and dramatic/unrealistic compared to other stories in the same genre. There aren’t any unnecessary arcs that occur and everything progresses steadily.

2nd: Main Characters/Relationships. MC is down to earth and is a logical character. She’s mature, loyal, and sensible. ML is also the similar in that aspect. One is sick and knows he will die soon, while the other is already happily planning their future together. Their relationship is beautifully written. I can’t stand couples that don’t work out things together, so I really appreciate this story’s romance. Their communication and words of affection really speak out to me, and even though they have their little misunderstandings here and there, they always have each other’s back. They make sacrifices for each other and also appreciates the other for doing so. It’s such a sweet feeling reading this book because you feel like this couple (15 & 19 years old) is actually an old couple who’s been married for decades. Oh, and when during the youthful shy moments, the “cover your eyes” type of scenes, UGH it just feels like spring in my heart. Their relationship has the perfect amount of sweetness where once you get a taste of it, you’re addicted forever. There are so many moments where I was squirming around in my bed bc of how cute they were.

3rd: Side characters: In the last couple of years that I have been reading straight romance Chinese novels or watching Cdramas, I have noticed a trend of really annoying side characters who are full of bs. It’s disappointing and the plot goes nowhere. But, thank goodness this story does not focus too much on the side chapters. Mingwei is alright, not too annoying because she doesn’t do things that are illogical, she’s still a shitty person but it’s not to the point where you’re screaming at your screen. I do pity her though. Xuanji is ok too, as he doesn’t get much screen time. Overall, I am excited to see how the story will progress with these two side characters. I do hope they fix their relationship and Mingwei gets her happy ending.

Please do read this novel and support the translator. The English translation is wonderful, easy to understand, and they upload new chapters frequently. This novel gave me a new sense of purpose in my life and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. <<less
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remyrem
remyrem
Oct 13, 2021
Status: c74
I really like how this author's intros are so quick. Regardless of the reviews, I definitely recommend reading at least the first handful of chapters since just that will give you an idea of whether you want to keep reading or not. You immediately get thrown into the story and drama, so within a few chapters you already understand the story and your first opinion of the characters is already firmly set.

Like I always say, I really like this author's world building and way of writing characters. I came here... more>> after reading GNU and IBTSOME, so it was a shock to see MC, who is completely different. She grew up loved but lost everything in a series of bad events. She wasn't trained from birth to be a proper lady, so she's feisty and somewhat shameless. She also doesn't have any time travel/reincarnation knowledge this time, so she's genuinely completely clueless and can't even scheme her way out. Where IBTSOME's MC is a white lotus and GNU's MC is a blackbelly green tea bit*h (saying this affectionately), this MC is a transparent commoner.

(And while I'm talking about the MCs, I also want to mention that the CP this time is also funny to watch interact.)

I will admit that, as some other people have mentioned, the world building seems somewhat off. On the surface it's very intriguing, but when you look closer at some details it doesn't seem to make sense. Anyway, although there are a lot of chapters, the contents of the plot only spans a short amount of time with a few events (at least compared to other novels), so the iffy details can be overlooked. <<less
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xuexin
xuexin
Sep 18, 2021
Status: c126
I'm a bit disappointed with this story. The author fails to build up the story, especially with numerous missed opportunities. Mingwei is a reincarnator with nothing to offer. It's supposed to be her second life, but she just seems to be lacking in so many aspects. She's still so willful and acts with 0 IQ despite it being her second life. You'd think she learned from experiences and fighting in the harem from her previous life. I think the author even forgets that she reincarnated, e.g.

... more>>
Spoiler

In her previous life it was stated that she became a woman, but when expressing how she just did it with her husband for the first time she said it was not how she expected (having s*x would be like?). When she saw the meals MingTang prepared for her husband, she felt inferior because as a lady who grew up in the city she was supposed to have more knowledge with different dishes... Author forgets that she also eloped to another country so she should also know dishes from there, etc.

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It also made no sense why the Emperor just doesn't kill off the male lead. He managed to already drag his reputation through the mud. Why does he use slow and cheap tactics to kill him? Because it wouldn't look good to the people? The ML has been locked up for over a year and nobody had seen him. They could have just killed him when he was in a coma and pass it off as some illness.

The interactions between the ML and FL are boring. FL's words are so contradictory. She said she would live her life well because her parents died for her to live, but would sacrifice her life to save the ML because he saved her when she was escaping the barbarians. The author only gives that reason for the FL to suddenly be loyal to him. It could pass as a plot, but the way it was written in made it looked too rushed in order to build up a reason for the FL to not be afraid of him and nurse him.

There's a lot of things left to criticize the story with, and I would rank this as a very mediocre novel. It lacks any good feels of romance, the plot and development are cliché, and the villains lack intelligence. They even give the FL random OP talents that are just too specific without any background story or use until such moment, which you never see again after one use.

Would I recommend this novel? Not unless you have nothing else to read. <<less
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Alwaysresting
Alwaysrestin
Aug 26, 2021
Status: Completed
So basically it is one of the best book I've ever read. Its the story of Mu Mingtang (MC) and Xie Xianchen (ML) both of who were once lost and powerless. MC hometown was raided during a war and apparently ML saved her and that was the only interaction for a while. MC was acting as a stand in for Jiang family daughter who eloped. But Jiang daughter reincarnated and she saw how in her previous life MC was the queen while she was just a concubine and died fighting... more>> in harem. Now she's back to taker her fiance from MC and stuffed her to marry a sick man who's about to die. MC was reluctant but accepted her fate but when she saw the sick man was none other than ML who's tied with chains and unconscious.

Spoiler

she started taking care of ML and even though he was reluctant in the beginning and urging MC to leave him and remarry after a while he started to get better. No one in the imperial palace wanted the ML to get better as he was the rightful heir to the throne so MC had to secretly take care of him

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Its just a sweet story of how two people who once were struggling at the bottom after living a quite life together paved the path to the top. I warn you ML was very op and he was good at everything. And as a ML also he was too good. Cruel to everyone but her type. He pampered and pampered her alone. You won't find a fault in him throughout the novel.

Overall a good read. I've read MTL and it was pretty damn good. It didn't felt like I was reading MTL at all. So go ahead for it. You'll surely enjoy it. <<less
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Suyo
Suyo
Aug 10, 2021
Status: Completed
It was a good story. I feel bitter even though the ending is happy for the leads.
This novel has a new plot. In this story, the female lead isn't the one how is reborn but another character. To be honest I feel bad for her. No matter what she chose the ending is the same for her. It's something like fate. She's fated to have a bad life no matter what she does which is heartbroken. Even though I didn't like her but I still felt bad. I felt... more>> so bad for the princess who came to the peace talks too.

To be honest I hated how the woman treated in the past. In this novel, you can see clearly how women are treated. It's pained me to see how women have been treated in the past. The reborn real daughter, the princess who came in the peace talks, and the princess who was gifted to the ML before he rejected her. All of them deserved a better life.
I don't know why women are forced to fight for a man's favor like this. Men can openly sleep with other women but if the opposite happened the sky will collapse even her life will be lost.

Spoiler

when the ML told the youngest son of the xu family that he has a princess and won't sleep with other women he was so shocked. When he tried to understand why the ML told him if his wife had another man because he was away he would have felt so bad and want to kill the man so his wife will feel the same.

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I don't know what's wrong with people's brains in the past so they can't understand this logic. I was so proud of the ML when he said this. However

Spoiler

I know he just said this and thinks in this way because of his special circumstances. If he married the FL in the normal circumstances he would not think in this way. Also, I loved the women in the xu family so much that's why when the younger brother thought about how his brothers sleep with women when they're outside the town I felt so uncomfortable.

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I feel so fortunate because I was born in this century. Otherwise just imagining living this kind of life is hell. People in the past find it so normal for a man to have another woman. If the woman becomes angry then she is unreasonable and jealous but if the woman did the same thing "cheat" then shame on her. In the case the woman has another man then her husband will kill her. Of course, no one will say he is being unreasonable. I really hate dirty cheaters.

back to the novel

Spoiler

I wanted them to return to the capital city. Their home was there. The tree he planted for her was there. The wine they buried was there. Not to forget the people in the village told them that they are waiting for them. Also, I wanted to see him take her to her hometown. When he thought he was dying he was thinking that he hadn't taken her to her hometown yet. I find it wired that they didn't go there.

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about their first time

Spoiler

he loved her so much and was waiting for her. However in the end HE DID IT WHEN HE WAS DRUNK IN THE TRAINING HALL.
I hate it. After all the waiting why it happened like this!

it's the first time for her but in the end, it happened like this what made it worst. HE DID NOT KNOW WHO WAS SHE.

I don't understand why making it like this!

When I read this I thought "will he sleep with any woman if he was drunk?!"
He is a general who can be away from home for a long time. Drinking around women happens often.

To be honest I was shocked because the FL didn't question him like this. That was out of character for her.

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The ML did a very bad thing but no one mentioned it in the novel or find it bad even the FL.

Spoiler

the emperor who was their neighbor. The ML said himself that he loved him so much and treated him like a son. He was good to him more than his father. At the end what the ML did after this man die? HE KILLED HIS SON. Yes, he killed his son and take the throne because he couldn't accept him as emperor.

I hate ungrateful people

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I only said the things I didn't like. This novel is good and deserves to give it a try.

the relationship between the ML and the FL is so good. I liked it very much. Their development and communication were so good. The things they say to each other were so touching. I like how we found out about what's wrong with the ML little by little.

Spoiler

till the end I was waiting for the emperor POV to know how he did all that to the ML and why, Where did he find out about this drug, from when did he start drugging him, did the ML father knew about it? But unfortunately, we didn't read anything about it

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Humbledaisy
Humbledaisy
Feb 07, 2021
Status: c23
I’ve actually read to the end using MTL but this story is worth waiting for chapters to be translated. The translator does a good job expressing the author’s intent - a very clear and readable job.

The leads meet when they are both at their lowest points and learn to grow together. I like that the plot involves court intrigue AND warfare but not too much of either. The ML is pretty extra when he recovers (that’s really quite a ways into the novel) and adult times are discussed but in... more>> a very discreet way.

The uncovering of the second FL life story is an intriguing counterpoint to the main couple’s storyline. <<less
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Moonson
Moonson
Dec 29, 2020
Status: c38
Its so sweet and its so good! Our Mingtang is very sensible and honest in her deeds, despite the tragic background. While our sickly prince, Xuancheng, is well behaved patient and silly husband.

The stories revolved in throne and political background, but our couple actually being prisoned, or watched, in their secluded courtyard, counting feelings and budding hearts. Sweet and sweet.

Continuing the support for the translator by giving 5 stars! Thanks for picking up this novel! Happy new year everyone!
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trash_generalist
trash_genera
Jan 08, 2023
Status: Completed
Quite good! Kept my interest pretty well too. It might not be for everyone, and there are some messy areas, but for the most part, I thought that the read was pretty satisfying.

Summary: The FL, Mu Mingtang, was someone that had been picked up on the street by the Jiang Family in order to act as the substitute for their runaway daughter. Everything was going pretty well for a while, she had fully immersed herself in the act. However, through some twist of fate, the runaway daughter of the Jiang's... more>> came back out of nowhere (in fact, she was reborn and wanted to correct her past). Distasteful of the fact that the FL had taken her place, the runaway daughter decided to push the FL down a pit. The pit being the comatosed ML, King Qiyang, Xie Xuanchen --- who is widely acknowledged as a monster by everyone in the capital. Of course, things are not as simple as they appear. And soon enough, despite the many limitations placed upon them, the FL and ML create a happy road for themselves.

Recommended! My favorite aspect of this story is definitely the development of the romance between the FL and ML. It's the main focus so perhaps that should be expected lolol. It's a bit cheesy at times, but I thought that their journey was pretty interesting. At least, its a little better than the shallower BG novels out there where the ML and FL falls in love inexplicably. Here, there's an obvious progression in their feelings, which is extremely satisfying! Of course, there are other things you might be looking forward to. Like the royal court intrigue or the face-slapping drama between the FL and the reborn!real-daughter of the Jiangs. But, those really are secondary in this novel.

ALL IN ALL, my impression of this novel is pretty positive. I don't have anything to complain about. The TL was not the cleanest but it was readable, and the MTL was okay too (around 75% readable). So yeah! Definitely worth checking out. As for the rating, I think this deserves at least a 4.25/5. Not quite ready to round it up to five stars, but its a lot better than most of the other BG novels I've read. <<less
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solivagantsoul
solivagantso
Apr 20, 2021
Status: Completed
for me it's between a 3-3.5
... more>>
Spoiler

it's good, the relationship between the protagonists is truly amazing and heartwarming. the reborn lady who was given a second chance has to watch how life takes a different turn only not as amazing as she had imagined. I pity her. the romance cant be said to be fast nor slow...i really don't know how to describe it. They had always treated each other as their partner however it wasn't until chapter 90 that they been made their feelings truly known despite how they acted pretty close full of trust, care, respect even doting however they did this annoyed me as well as how they had their first night. he was drunk.

a more critical review on the plot would be that it needs more refining, the concept was good (nothing too new) but the shallowness of how it was written made this a more passer-by story. A novel that could have been full of classical taste was reduced to something to read to pass the time. A lot of plot holes and vagueness in places more importance could be given. For me, even the romance after so long turned draggy and in the end I wasn't completely satisfied with how the author described their bed matters and things related.

don't be discouraged by my review I guess I'm only dissatisfied because of how much better this could have turned out with better execution however for a simple read this will definitely satisfy you. It's really uncomplicated no in-law-drama, no s*upid cannon-fodder villains (actually the emperor and ml's cousin but they are solved too swiftly at the end so they don't count) no struggle for wealth and the only rough patch the MC and ML seemed to go thru was at the very beginning of the book when the ML had just woken up and had a weaker joint (not body because he was unbelievably strong still compared to normal man but he was weakened due to drugs and lying in a coma for long)

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Serena12195
Serena12195
Nov 15, 2021
Status: c150
Ch 150 is the most current today.

I normally don't write reviews until a novel is finished.... but I almost did not read this because of poor or negative reviews.

This is a good novel so far. Relationships are developing slowly but steadily. I can see it has a lot of great potential.

Read it.
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whitespade
whitespade
Jan 26, 2021
Status: c44
I like the FL and ML because they are so cute together. However I'm up until ch44 and things still so slow because author tend to insert filler paragraphs about beauty or valour or the past that's repeated hundreds of time before so it could be quite tiring.
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silent hobby
silent hobby
Jan 11, 2021
Status: Completed
I liked the story and couldn't put it down but the second half of this novel was boring because the author wrote repetitive explanations, maybe to lengthen the chapter or just to make sure the readers wouldn't misunderstood the plot, but it was unnecessary.

I could said that this is light novel with fluff and sweet romance. No deep schemes or strong love rivals. It is pass time reading.
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OKDR
OKDR
Sep 13, 2021
Status: Completed
It is not better than Greetings, Ninth Uncle. It is, indeed a little shallow for what the author proposes in the beginning. However, it is an easy read and quite entertaining, because both main characters establish a really loving but fun relationship, regardless of their surrounding dangers.

I do have a few objections or things I am dissapointed with:

When will authors stop writing r*pe-ish scenes?
... more>>
Spoiler

The whole first time of this couple is really wrong. He is drunk, but she's not the one to abuse the situation but the drunkard instead. However, she is clearly not willing at the moment and is quite forceful. So is the second time and the rest that come after, never describe it as something the Female Lead trully likes.

I know it is a trope to write "no" when wanting to say "yes", but it is not cute, it isn't healthy, and it keeps romanticizing abusive behavior. What makes it worse this time is the fact Xie Xuancheng isn't this type of man, at least not with his beloved woman. It'd felt more natural if he'd worked his way into her desire to make it.

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ML has an unsoleved issue/plothole or simply is some lack of morals act that never gets adressed?

Spoiler

Another user already commented on it but:

Xie Xuancheng allegedly rebelled against a Child Emperor and killed him. On top of that, he was the successor of the man that treated him better than his scumbag of a father (who dared to rise outer rooms and even made her an Empress).

When is explained is done in the same paragraph/s they explain how Xie Xuancheng became a mad-man, so one always assumed this was one side of the story, as the part of how Xie Rui ascended to the throne due to it is also explained from one sided point of view then. However, even though the other events get re-told later with the truthful events (how Xie Rui schemed to drug him, make his own father imprison him, killed his brother Xie Yi and usurped his throne), we never get told why would a man like Xie Xuancheng kill a Child just for the fact of being one and steal his throne.

There's a subtle hint that even the reason why this would happen, so Xie Yi would become the Emperor, could had been instigated by Xie Rui (his uncle, brother of Xie Yi), but is never confirmed nor developed to explain.

One can only think the man (Xie Rui) had not military power, but was a scholar-based person, so he might had schemed his whole life to take advantage of his nephew's work to become Emperor. The only problem was that when they first rebelled, someone else became the Emperor and he wasn't related to the Xie family, so there's a possibility Xie Rui used his newly gained power under the new regime to get rid of that Emperor, to put his brother in his place. Of course, there was the problem of the Child Heir to solve so he might had used the ML to get rid of him. The reason why he wouldn't occupy the throne himself, is because at that moment the military men were still too powerful and he wasn't one but Xie Yi still was it.

However, even with this conjectures, when Xie Xuanchen remembers these events (several times in the novel) he never seems sorrowful for having killed a Child Emperor. There's not even an explanation (whether the regime was in chaos, or his supporters were corrupt) on why they would need to kill him. Only that he had always loved power.

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The novel doesn't go too deep in the fact it present a time when scholars had slowly succeded to cut the power and prestige of the Army and the men with noble titles that came from it. Despite it is the reason why

Spoiler

ML can succeed into rebelling against his Uncle and Cousin in the end, because all those military officials that had been discarded or looked down upon, are willing to join him.

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I appreciate that it isn't a long novel, but the last parts are wrapped too fast. <<less
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HecateKeres
HecateKeres
Aug 09, 2021
Status: c1
I quite liked the novel, but unfortunately it was hastily finished or closed. I read it in its original language.

Prince An's recovery period was good and realistic, although I don't know if because he was a warrior from childhood he had little empathy or remorse, the process of falling in love with each other was also regular, as well as the way they would gossip in the neighboring house.

It was also interesting to see how the reborn character, despite his knowledge advantage, still spoiled all his own plans and ended... more>> with a death very similar to his first life, while the protagonists continued with their lives and had a good future.

The only thing is that I feel that the author finished the novel quickly skipping all the interesting facts such as the war, the power fight in the capital, the flight of the crown prince and his subsequent death, as well as the restoration of power by the protagonists, so yeah, I feel like it was very incomplete.

But I'm going to give it 4 stars because I finished reading it, which is more than I can say for many other novels with more or less the same premise. <<less
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