Greetings, Ninth Uncle

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Cheng Yujin was the elder twin sister, who was supposed to be engaged to an excellent man. However she later learned that her fiance, Marquis Jingyong, had proposed to her because he mistakenly recognized her as her younger twin sister. Marquis Jingyong and her younger sister had a deep relationship, and after many twists and turns, finally broke through all hardships and became eternal lovers. While Cheng Yujin was the villain who replaced her sister’s good marriage, kept framing her sister, and hindered the main couple to be together. A really wicked older sister and poisonous late wife.

After the younger twin sister was reborn, she revealed Cheng Yujin’s ‘conspiracy’ early on. Everyone scorned her, and her so-called fiance was indifferent. Cheng Yujin sneered and tore off their engagement letter in front of her fiance.

Everyone was gloating and happily waiting to see her regret her actions. However, before Marquis Jingyong had a chance to see Cheng Yujin’s regret, he saw his former fiancee marrying her uncle.

The ninth uncle of Cheng family was truly a hidden dragon, his real power frightening everyone.

***

Cheng Yujin, this coquettish little wife, lightly lifted her eyebrows and casually said, “A mere Marquis Jingyong, is he worthy? Do you think that robbing him away will affect me?”

Almost forgot to say, ninth uncle wasn’t surnamed Cheng. His real name was Li Chengjing, the crown prince.

Associated Names
One entry per line
GNU
ยอดสามีของกุลสตรีอันดับหนึ่ง
九叔万福
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
I Became The Stepmother of My Ex-husband (11)
Eight Treasures Trousseau (7)
The Yandere Came During the Night (5)
To Be A Virtuous Wife (5)
The Crown Prince in the Jade Pendant (4)
The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir (4)
Recommendation Lists
  1. 5 RATED HISTORICAL NOVEL
  2. Let's use our heads
  3. We are family - or are we?
  4. Romantic novels I read
  5. The BEST Historical Novels (BG only)

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05/04/23 aerialrain extra 2 part4
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04/27/23 aerialrain extra 2 part1
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04/04/23 aerialrain c144 part2
03/30/23 aerialrain c144 part1
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Ziar367
Ziar367
September 1, 2022
Status: c134 part2
Highly recommended.

This novel is well written and amazingly translated.. Thank you to our author and translator for job well done.

I love the MC. She’s ahead of her time type of woman. Can stand on her own and able to handle her own ambitions. It may sound great but her character and outlook in life was a result of the lack of love she received very early on. She had no choice but to mature early. Had no one to rely on but herself. Her background is very sad if you... more>> think about it.

Very grateful for the ML. Respectful, not too overbearing, understanding and so sweet. I love their tandem to bits.

definitely a re-read. <<less
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Nonameschemer
Nonameschemer rated it
December 23, 2021
Status: Completed
Honestly a great female lead who isn't without flaws. She's a selfish, hypocritical, and extremely two faced person. The likes of which would in real life be greatly disliked by others. At the same time she's very logical, cunning and hard working person who's able to survive her less than fun life. She 100% DESERVES the respect and obsession people have for her. No one falls in love with her for some random reason that would take mental gymnastics to justify in real life. A peerless beauty, perfect in every... more>> way, but still is just a person at the end of the day. Although men are in love with her, everyone BUT the ML sees her as a bartering piece. Including herself.

Spoiler

Yujin WORKS for her flower reputation to the point its clearly an obsession. For example, even on her sister's return home she believes she cannot and will not be subdued by anyone. She has the desire to be the best daughter in law and legal wife. However she struggles the way ACTUAL ancient women do, instead of her sisters original tale. I also loved the way she found a way to adapt from pleasing mother in laws due to her destroyed engagement to pleasing men. All her life she's told she's boring and a stickler to rules. Now, she was twisting and turning to attract her perfect husband, all while still staying within a model role model girl in ancient china. Unlike Yumo, who although saved a life still got undressed and laid with a man the entire night. Which could have gotten her killed if the circumstances were slightly different. Yujin is using her people reading abilities and attention to details to lure and trap husbands. All while her future husband is boiling in rage, and fighting off his love rivals

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Their love is the MOST realistic love story i've seen from a CN novel in a long time. Most of these unbalanced status romances, require at least one or realistically both braindead main characters in order to function usually. I'm sorry but in ancient china. Promoting a maid in to empress WHILE having an empress from a strong family is impossible. Also having a person reject you a million times in any time period, despite growing up wealthy and having anything you want WON'T have the person try harder in a way that you'd like. Yujin is naive to the ML's affection for a long time, but not because she's dumb. It's because she's selfish. A selfish person, can never judge someone else with pure intentions because they know what they'd do in that circumstance. She would never marry someone poor and powerless for love, so she doesn't expect someone to do the same for her. Her character growth isn't that much in all honesty. Expecting her to change from being the all perfect eldest miss to a traditional heroine is not going to happen. Most other MCs in historical china would most likely die in ancient china. Those MC's would probably die in modern times too, defying authority in ANY time period will get you killed unless you're really really lucky.

This MC would survive in any time period because she knows her strengths and weaknesses and doesn't need anyone to save her since for the first time "shocking" she isn't helpless. She doesn't rely on the ML, but because he shows her what love is like for the first time in her life they have a happy and good marriage. Instead of most common troupes of opposites attracts, with fiery passionate (and toxic forceful obsessive) love we get to see calm and healthy relationships. The ML doesn't sexually harass MC, (which is a big deal since CN novels have a tendency to require that for plot development) (at one point he even thinks " hey even though I find her attractive, she values properness and it would be disrespectful to go any further) the two ACTUALLY talk about their problems, and both parties put in mutual effort into their relationship. A cold ML who doesn't have face paralysis and undeserved powers that everyone listens to them despite being disgustingly cold, peerlessly rude, and exhibiting signs of a personality disorder. By all means MC is a typical villainous character who's well fleshed out and ISN'T obsessed with a man. She's selfish, self centered, and overall cares about herself more than anyone else. Which is why, in order to make someone like her fall from grace you would need an incredible amount of bizarre circumstances to subdue her into seeming like a mean, brainless, and excessively cruel person.

ML is a ACTUAL capable person who is naturally aloof, better-than-thou person who's suited for power since he is equally manipulative, calloused, and perfected like MC. He would never fall in love someone who's helpless and useless like MC's sister unless he was beaten to an inch of his life, reincarnated without his personality, and injected with a strong dose of s*upidity. He still an ancient man and has typical thoughts of territorial, lust, and the desire to cripple his enemies. Unlike his fictional counterparts with similar qualities, he has the ability to back up his claims and people still barely tolerate his "lapse of judgement" due to following in love.

Will say I wouldn't have minded some explicit scenes in this novel, would have added to the depth. I also believe that the plot could have went on for longer. The second half felt wayyy to smooth vs the beginning half. It would have been able to expand ML and really show off his capabilities. It would be a bit exhaustive so I see why the author made it read like that. It would have felt good to see MC and ML struggle over an actual smart person, instead of a bit brainless people. It would feel more realistic to see their more cruel villain side <<less
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Arina-chan
Arina-chan rated it
November 18, 2021
Status: c95 part2
This is such a great novel. MC is not someone you could say as a good person in a traditional meaning but she never went out of line with her scheming. In an Era and the position that she is in, I feel like she is very realistic and smart in all of her decisions which made me love this novel even more.

You can also see how many characters think, some you may personally think they're dumb and short sighted but if seen from their perspective, it makes sense in... more>> a way.

I recommend this for everyone, it's not always about face slapping or revenge like the other ancient Era novel and you would sympathize with both the ML and MC <<less
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hevaLaLuna
hevaLaLuna rated it
August 17, 2021
Status: c61 part1
Read until ch. 61 and I couldn't stand it anymore. What was originally written as an interesting pair / "power couple goals" turned into "girl boss" and "cuck turd". The main characters are dull because the author is dull. FL is written to be very calculating but is extremely s*upid and can read none of the emotions of the male character but just keeps on asking "Hmm, I'm talking with other men and this uncle turd gets madder and madder. I wonder what the problem could be? Hmmm? ". And... more>> the dude is like "I'm like a lion whose territory is encroached upon. Roar!! ". This girl could never compete with Han Yuxi, from The rebirth of Han Yuxi. Double sided embroidery my ass. Han Yuxi would wipe the floor with her and KO her in 0.1 seconds. Read that if you want to read about a Slytherin Female Character. <<less
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CaliforniaMaki
CaliforniaMaki rated it
April 6, 2021
Status: Completed
MTL'd to finish this!

*sigh* What I like about this CN is that altho FL was rebirthed she didn't somehow make use of future events to be OP. She uses her brain and her gift of rhetorics to pulverize her enemies to shocked silence. 🤭 ML ofc is 🥰. Very supportive of FL and a super ML!! No stalking and violent tendecies 😊

This author is really good at creating atmosphere and painting the historical scenes with her words. It was quite wordy but you'll get through (MTL's 80% readable).

In my unpopular opinion, I tear'd up at in MTL 😅:

Spoiler

When Huo Changyuan finally realized that he should have loved Cheng Yujin in their past life, so it wouldn't have ended in her death and they would have lived together. I'm just a s*cker for tragic romance. But ofc, CY said she would have lived a good life with HC, but not a happy one 🥺. I just want to make it clear that she belongs with Ninth uncle 🥰.

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Shinygold13
Shinygold13 rated it
January 17, 2021
Status: Completed
I finished reading this months ago but never got around to giving a review.

I consider this novel one of my favorites because 1) she is not the typical cold blooded MC nor a real white lotus—ya know, the ignorant, almost dumb one—and 2) the story and its main couple appeals to my rational side.

The charm of this novel is that there is logic to things, to how characters act, how they struggle, how their motives shape their personality and life. It deeply resonates to the human psyche—how everything in life... more>> is mostly gray and not black or white and that most if not all of us just had to waddle through the muck and make the most of it.

The romance is slowburn but reasonable because it is based on the inner characters of the main pair. They are both introverts, shrewd, and secretive. I am happy that their love developed in such a matter-of-fact tone, a development which did not break their characterization.

There’s no passionate showcase, the kind where an outsider would awed and call it romantic. No, here, the love is quiet, boring, and true.

This kind of love is steady and one that can happen in reality. This is the kind of love that one can truly say, yep, they’re gonna get old together. No doubt.

And the icing on the cake is the side story—a funny albeit melancholic end. <<less
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lazykitty_99
lazykitty_99 rated it
September 22, 2020
Status: Completed
What I love about this novel is MC. She comes as strong, calm, rational and calculative person. I myself want to be like her.

She understands her circumstances and now how to use every resource to the best for her. Many novels show Fls to be op but I always felt how in a patriarchal world are those Fls allowed to do as they want. Even presently when equality is preached in many countries women doesn't have those equal rights..

This novel shows from MC prespective how women of that era makes... more>> calculations for the best outcome they could get.

MC in emotions is a very passive person as she herself felt neglect since she was a child so she never puts anyone in her heart and I love her firm determination for that. ML too has his bad past which could be considered as a reason for his initial liking for MC.

If MC existed in a free society I bet she would have been a successful person as she is very clear about her goals even ML love couldn't shake it at first.. Usually in most novels MCs with regular interactions fell in love with MLS but here Cheng yujin never got those feelings for Ml, she is a goal oriented person for her husband is a tool (well it's okay considering in that era there weren't much of feelings between couples) not part of her life (later though ML did win that place). I loved how ML despite his high position never forced MC for anything even loving him. He knows who he married and what type of person MC is. ML shows love isn't pushy, domineering rather respecting the person you love. He slowly does makes a place for him in MC heart. Even did that "talk" with MC on how he knows she considers a husband as a tool but as he fell in love so MC just needs to be by his side that's it, he doesn't wanna change her. There isn't passionate love but a gentle one which I love. Their love looks bland and plain but it's the most stable one. Both MC & ML never let their emotions guide them.

They understand each other circumstances and efforts and support each other. One of the funny things is how MC on knowing her marriage with ML first weighs pros and cons of marriage. Another funny incident how MC grandma believes MC could just send her husband to a concubine without any feelings.

MC can live a good life with any guy but only with ML she can live a happy life as only he understands her and can make a place for him in her small space. I guess it goes for ML too.

Another good thing. ML gives a proper 'ancestor law' to outsiders for not accepting concubines not just shallow reason of "love". Well he did told MC before marriage he wouldn't take concubines (for his love for MC and want of a peaceful loving family) which MC didnt believed much.

Just for MC I went through mtl but I admire ML too.

I enjoyed seeing MC calculate and scheme for best outcomes for her.

I have read author other novel (I'll be sister in law of ML) there I loved ML more and his healing process, ML of that novel looks more alive. In this novel I loved FL more , overall I liked this novel more maybe because here Lcj and Cyj love is more to my tastes (gentle and serene). <<less
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joonsgalaxy
joonsgalaxy rated it
December 23, 2023
Status: Completed
Buckle up bc it is messy gorl, MEH-to the-SSY.

Okay so boom, you've got our MC Cheng Yujin who was born as a twin sister. Her younger sister is Cheng Yumo. A few days after birth, CYJ is adopted by the first branch of the Cheng family bc they didn't have any kids. Cool, right? Naur. Bc her birth mother, favors CYM bc she actually got to raise her. She feels like CYJ is unfilial to the woman that actually birthed her bc the madam of the first branch is a... more>> Junzhi (a imperial relative in some way, can't remember how exactly.)

Her adopted mother, though, don't f*cks with her either bc she never really liked her, but then after adopting her she gave birth to a son. Besides, she also doesn't like her bc she thinks that CYJ will eventually betray her for her birth mother. Then you've got the matriarch of the Cheng family who favors her, but only on the surface. She treats our girl like an item. A tool to wield. Barter and trade. She's an item—and when an item loses its value it gets thrown away. (the menfolk of the family are entirely useless, so don't worry about them bestie)

So you've got a resentful, jealous birth mother. A hostile, distant adopted mother. And a morally/ethically compromised grandmother. She's neglected and ignored. Only acknowledged when it best suits the moment. But like, surely it can't get any worse for our girl can it? Oh, it can. Bc this is only the Cheng family and I've only described the Cheng family elders.

Her sister, CYM, is a useless walking carcass. A waste of natural resources. She holds her sister in contempt for, seemingly, leading a better life than her since she is the di daughter of the first branch and her mother is a Junzhi. Everyone praises her etiquette and manners. Her looks and temperament. CYM constantly laments about always getting compared to her sister.

Spoiler

but lets be so fr for a second. you cannot compete where you do not compare. and CYM does not compare at all. And she never really tries to. She doesn't study etiquette like CYJ. She doesn't practice calligraphy and embroidery like CYJ. She doesn't train herself to be more graceful and cool-headed like CYJ. She hasn't done anything to truly compete with CYJ but thinks that, because they're twins, they should be leading the exact same life with the exact same benefits... no. Actually, she believes that she deserves more than CYJ. The idiotic slugs for brains doesn't realize that she has the one thing that CYJ doesn't: a loving family. CYM is spoiled. Spoiled rotten. She was allowed to play and get dirty and cry and whine like all other children. Her parents adored her. CYJ had to always maintain a facade of perfectness, lest she get reprimanded and outcasted by her adopted parents. No one in the Cheng manor shows her even the tiniest bit of genuine kindness or affection. But is CYM happy with how her life is? OFC not! CYM's only genuine claim to fame is that everyone treats CYJ like some cold beauty that's unapproachable while she, on the other hand, is fun, naive, and lively. Characteristics afforded to her because of her loving upbringing, ofc.

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Anywho, the Cheng family take some kind of winter vacation on a mountain or something and CYM decides, during a snowstorm, to go around walking bc it's "poetic" (truly, a bird-brained idiot but whatever). She happens across an injured man Huo Chengyuan, drags him to a cave, and keeps him warm all night via skin to skin contact. In the morning, she gets up to get help and that's where our MC comes in. Bc she was worried about her missing sister, who has been sickly since birth, and went to look for her. She happened to find him and called for help, thus saving him. But ofc, no good deed goes unpunished and the idiot decides that he just has to marry his savior. So him and CYJ get engaged. Ofc CYM can't take this so she lets him know that CYJ was lying about being the one to save him and it was her that actually saved him.

Spoiler

this part of the plot made my ass itch. the logic is nowhere to be found. okay, so you held him at night. but skin to skin contact only does so much. mans was still injured. She left him to get help, sure, but like CYJ had enough time to go around looking for CYM, stumble across the cave he was in, assess that he was injured, call for help, and wait for the help to arrive. In fact, I think it wasn't until CYJ had him carried back to their lodgings that CYM found out what happened. So like... where was you girlie pop? We don't know how bad his injury was. And with how long CYM took, who knows if he would have surived. So yeah CYJ is his actual savior. Technically, they both saved him but without CYJ who knows if he would have even lived to see that help CYM was supposedly getting for him.

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They treat her like a scheming, evil snake woman whose only mission was to betray her sister for the sake of marrying a "good" man. Ugh. Whatever. Bc then in comes our ML, Ninth Uncle, aka Cheng Yuanjing aka Crown Prince Li Chengjing. Walking green flag. Same temperament as or MC just in man form. The story from here gets even MESSIER but I won't harp on that. Instead, I'll say that our ML and MC are a joy to read about. They're a dynamic duo and their scenes together are so enriching they made my crops grow and my harvest bountiful. I thoroughly enjoyed the development of their relationship. I'd rate this story a 8.5 or 9/10 but a 5/5 by novelupdates' standards. It's good. It's entertaining. It's like hearing gossip about a friend of a friend's cousin. Messy but the good kind.

My only gripe with the story is that the author goes out of their way to describe CYJ as selfish, greedy, and cold-hearted. She describes herself this way. Other characters say this about her, too. Both behind her back and to her face. But she's not any of these things.

She's self-preserving. Persevering. Resilient. Pragmatic. Straightforward. But it's like the author took all of these good qualities and searched up synonyms with bad connotations and just threw that into the story. She is all of these things bc she has to be. The Cheng family treat her terribly. Nearly every waking moment is a play where she is forced to be the actress. She's selfish for being concerned about herself?

Spoiler

one of the main reasons why I call the ML a green flag is because he sees her for who she is. He recongizes that life dealt her a bad hand and does not blame her for who she had to become to survive. She's jaded, for sure, and it takes him while (long while) to prove to her that he's in it for the long haul, but the fact is that he is. And he doesn't ask her to change. Doesn't demand more of her. He meets her where she's at and does his best to prove, both in words and in actions, that he's sincere and genuine.

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And it's not like she uses and abuses people. The only time she schemes is when she's trying to hook a man. But she's not a gold digger either. She's realistic. Men are allowed to marry down (to a certain extent) but for women it is important to marry up. She looks at marriage as a transaction. You do for me, I do for you. All she wants is a life where she can breathe without the Cheng family over her shoulder. She has a reputation to uphold so she's got to have a good marriage, but will do her absolute best to make the most out of that marriage. Even if it includes chauvinistic husbands and overbearing, cruel mother in laws.

Spoiler

the whole thing about this being a different life is played pretty well imo too. CYM is the rebirthed one while CYJ saw her past through the lens of a dream. CYM is desperate to right the supposed wrongs but CYJ is afforded the grace of distance. Bc this was more of a dream to her, she's not so invested in it. She uses it as reference from time to time, but in this way the plot does not heavily depend on this reincarnation/rebirth/second life angle. She's not OP and certainly isn't all knowing. She's resourceful and confident, sure, but not omnipotent. She becomes a little scheming near the middle/end of the story but that is when she is already married to the CP/NU and they scheme together. I think the author was smart to use this angle bc too often we read transmigration/reincarnation type stories where that element is so quickly made irrelevant.

I also want to add that the emperor is a spineless biatch. His progression into irrelevance (aka death) makes total sense when you think about it for even less than a second. He was under the thumb of the Yang family for basically all of his reign. Most of his life. Once they fall, he's free. It's like graduating high school and moving away from college. Without your parents right behind you, you're bound to go a little crazy with freedom. But he went beyond a little crazy. Besides, he was useless as a prince, how could he ever manage to be a competent ruler? Nevermind the fact that the Yang family controlled him. Even if they didn't, he never had the qualifications to be an emperor anyway. And that is proven when the Yang family falls. But what really gets me is that he had a chance to redeem himself with CP/NU. His spinelessness and incompetence got his first wife, CP/NU's mother killed. It also brought assassination attempts against the CP/NU. CP/NU was run out of his home and had to go into hiding to survive.

The least the emperor could do was be a better father to him when CP/NU comes back. But no. He doesn't. He proves to his supposedly beloved first born son that despite all the hell that he'd been put through, he, the emperor, only cares about himself. For all that the author does, telling us over and over again that CYJ is the selfish one, it truly is more that all the other characters around her are the selfish ones.

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chasingcars2
chasingcars2 rated it
June 15, 2023
Status: extra 2 part4
She was of one the most rational FL that I’ve ever read. Love for her was not even an option, but I’m glad that she found it anyway. It’s good, romance is not really the focus, or that blatant but you can feel their growth as a couple, and their companionship.
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Staringatastar
Staringatastar rated it
May 21, 2023
Status: Completed
I'm breathless after reading this book. How is it possible for the author to create such smart, perfectly flawed characters? The FL is so beautifully crafted. Rational and sharp. Independent and able to fight for herself. Constrained only by the restrictions of her time period to fail without the support of others, so desperately conniving to steal that support in any way possible. She is so calculating and cold because she had to be from birth. But I get the sense that she is naturally very soft hearted given the... more>> chance.

The ML is just as good. Equally rationale because he has had to be to get where he was. But raised with the power to grab what he wants if something catches his fancy. Secretly reveres love and those who can give it to him. However, smart enough to decipher others' motivations and understand that he will likely never get sincere love. I thought the extra really helped answer any lingering questions the reader might have had about what happened in the first life.

I enjoyed reading about these characters - they're just the type of people I like. Fiercely intelligent ones that find themselves unable to suppress the slow creep of affection due to admiration and repeated shows of dependability. There is no fiery passion, in fact, this story argue that fiery passion is the least reliable.

I love how perfectly the ML and FL complement each other - you get the sense that they're in an equal relationship with mutual respect. And I don't mean equal in that they are doing the same things (they do have the restrictions of the time period after all), but equal in that both are contributing similarly to their wellbeing. The FL doesn't just dither and wait for a hero. She fights. She calculate. She evaluates situations with clear eyes. I usually hate BG romances because of how weak the female inevitably will be. They'll be overwhelmed into s*upidity by love. Or they'll stop doing anything the instant they have love. Or they'll just be resigned to being unable to do anything other than acting cute and relying on their lover. In a bl, at least the two start from a position of possible equity. But in this book, both characters start from such different positions and are actually so similar. They're more equal in the severely restricted environment of ancient China than many romances I read set in the "liberated" modern world (Chinese or English).

The story also shows how there is often a discrepancy between what others see and what a person is experiencing. This is especially important as much of real life is so focused on comparing yourself with others, or creating that perfect Instagram-perfect image. Someone might look to be having the perfect life - with wealth, love, and status - but others don't know the struggle they have to go through to maintain such a life. I love that. Don't ferment jealousy for others' lives, just focus on making yours the best it can be. <<less
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Anner
Anner rated it
May 3, 2023
Status: c98 part2
I think this author's greatest flaw is focussing a lot more on telling than actual showing. Often, we get one dialogue line and then the next half of the chapter is some character's musings - about things that we have already read about a half dozen times. The first third of the novel was really great and had me hooked, but now I can't stand the endless paragraphs of character's introspections that are really not written in a witty or interesting way filled with new information. Even the paragraphs that... more>> do introduce new information are written without clever exposition or with an interesting perspective. It's mostly boring information dumping.

The longer this novel gets, the easier it gets to spot its weaknesses.

Spoiler

The FL for example. I love that she is calculating, but that doesn't mean she can't have emotions, hidden wishes and desires. She's not the sentimental type, granted, but still, there were so many scenes especially with the ML where she showed emotion only for us readers to be told this was all fake, and then after the lake incident in the ML' secret residence the sudden outburst of emotion was supposed to be real? That scene felt so fake to me as a reader, I was honestly stunned. It felt like the author was unable to get a grip on her/his own character and often wrote her in a way that best suited the current plot but without different emotions and thoughts.

What is the purpose of the Huo guy remembering the past? Or for the FL, for that matter? Except for Yumo, I'm scratching my head why there's a need for the other two to remember. It doesn't seem to add anything worthwhile to the plot.

The FL's path to acquiring a husband plus the ML's journey to understanding his own feelings were way too draggy. That's when I first started losing interest. The author fails at developing characters properly or creating an engaging plot. All in all, there is unfortunately also too little intersting interaction between the FL and the ML - even though they live in the same residence! It feels like more than half the time it's the ML becoming unreasonably angry and jealous and the FL lying through her teeth to butter him up.

Another big con is that basically all side characters (except maybe the FL's servant girls) are unlikeable to some degree. There are no true sincere and good relationships without benefits anywhere to be found in this story. Even the Cheng aunt rushes over with her female juniors to capitalize on the fact that the FL has become the crown princess in order to curry favour with her own in laws. Disgusting.

Now I'm at the wedding night scene and the ML seems like the typical selfish and inconsiderate Chinese novel lover as well.

I've come so far and I wish I could pinpoint one plot arch that was truly interesting but I can't. And I think I will drop this soon.

Kudos to the translator's hard and dedicated work, though.

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stony27
stony27 rated it
February 28, 2023
Status: Completed
Pretty good, but the writing for MC's character was kinda inconsistent.

The good

... more>>
Spoiler

MC's personality was pretty nice. No one in her family truly loves her so she does all the loving for herself. She's smart and will always act rationally because she doesn't believe that others will treat her sincerely, so she hardly ever takes their hurtful actions to heart. Eventually, she does understand that ML loves and would never betray her for anything, not even to secure the throne by marrying a nominal concubine.

ML was calm and assertive. Very standard of this author's ML's in that he's tall, handsome, competent, a dead-mother-avenger, etc. He treats MC very well and doesn't act tsundere when he realizes the way he likes her. He doesn't mind her career-minded approach to marriage and life in general and just asks that she honors their relationship as husband and wife by being the one person he can love and trust unconditionally.

In the previous life epilogue, ML dreams up the events of our novel and realizes that the person that he could've married and loved was his former niece, the Cheng Clan's eldest daughter Cheng Yujin (nice name btw this killed her prudishness a bit). He inquires about her and learns that she's already married. He doesn't give up though, and continues to refer to her as Eldest Young Lady (very rude to do this I think. it ignores her status as a married woman and disregards her husband) when he asks about her, only to learn that she's dead. Just wanted to include this in the parts I liked cos wow love me a good male homewrecker. I can only assume that he meant to hint to his underlings to find a way to change her identity and have her enter the palace as his woman when he called her by her unmarried title.

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The bad

Spoiler

MC's character was supposed to be selfish, egotistical, and interest-motivated, so imagine my shock and repulsion when at the turning point of the story (when ML restores his identity as the Eldest Imperial Son and Crown Prince), she rescues a random ass child who falls into the freezing river thanks to his parent's neglect and his own s*upidity. MC spent the whole story as this no-nonsense person who has no qualms teaching a tough lesson to annoying kids and all of a sudden she wants to save a random child??? Who might turn out to be a little b*tch??? I almost vomited blood. Thankfully it was all a misunderstanding and she actually jumped into the lake to force the man she wanted to marry to jump in and save her (blah blah... saving her from drowning = skin 2 skin contact = the gentleman must not be a villain and take responsibility for the lady's loss of innocence by marrying her) but surprise surprise ML got news immediately and was the one who jumped in instead to save her.

MC also apparently had some charm as a cold beauty prior to being married (hence the attention from some men like Cai Zhanlin) but her married life with ML was so... bland. Other than the strip chess, I can't remember anything that was particularly passionate. I really liked her openly close (inappropriately so) /coquettish interactions with ML when they were still uncle and niece but after they got married, it's like she doesn't understand that her lovey dovey actions arouse desire and would often act like the biggest f*cking prude when it comes to fornication. I personally really hate this whole reserved lady insincerely saying no when in reality she means 'i don't mind' thing. How are people supposed to know which no means no and which no means yes?!!? Ik MLs in these stories have magical powers that can distinguish between shy (???) consent and non consent but ew it leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. bye.

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The Ugly

Spoiler

I honestly don't really hate any of the 'villains' except Empress Dowager Yang and Old Madam Huo Xue-shi because wow those b*tches are stinkyyy. Even Cheng Yumo was just a little s*upid, not purely malicious and ill-intentioned. Ok let me rant about Huo Changyuan that s*upid whore.

What an absolutely piece of glorified cow dung. No matter how great (cough decent) he is, his relationship with his mother is an absolute red flag. Dude can't say no to his mom and will always defend her whiny ass. He even pushed his wife into a miscarriage for his mother and had the nerve to resent her when she became spiteful because of it. At this point in the story, HCY already had memories of his previous life where he was married to his beloved wife Cheng Yujin and lost her to dystocia because of his mentally handicapped mother. You'd think that with this example put out before him, he'd be a little more cautious with leaving her alone with his new wife Cheng Yumo but nah. Dude is forever stuck on the mentality of woe is me woohoohoo like damn my mom can never seem to get along with anyone I'm close to 🤔 surely there's a common denominator here somewhere damn I dont understand 😔

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trash_generalist
trash_generalist rated it
August 1, 2022
Status: Completed
"Rebirth" novel where the FL wakes up one day with memories of her previous life and beyond that, knowledge that it was a life where—according to outsider POV—she played as the villainous side character to her younger twin sister and her Marquis husband's story. In her pst life, she married the Marquis and ended up being ruined after he discovered that she wasn't his white moonlight. In this life, with her and her twin gaining memories of their other life, the engagement is broken and the FL has to suffer... more>> through life being the 'abandoned' woman. Fortunately, thanks to her broken engagement, she ends up meeting her mysterious 9th uncle (the ML), Cheng Yuanjing.

The FL is different from most generic female leads these days because she embodies both traditional and modern values. Stuck in ancient times, she only has one career path to work towards—becoming a wife—and as a genuine perfectionist, she's more than willing to put in the work to get what she wants. Overall, the characters in novel are very praiseworthy! The author kept their personalities and motivations consistent, which allowed the novel to feel a little more real. In this way, I think the novel is best suited for a mature audience. Especially since the romance is less 'endless passion' and more about steadiness.

As for the setting and the plot, the author takes their time introducing this Historical period, focusing mainly on family traditions at the time and how it affects the people in said family. There's also the Royal intrigue, of course, but that comes later.

CW: Much like most Chinese historical novels, the reborn FL—while mentally older—starts of physically 14 and gets married when she's 16.

RATING: 4.3/5

My opinion of this novel is very very high! It might not be the most exciting, but the author's writing made even the most mundane aspects of the story worth reading. I like the unique perspective the most, I think. It's rare to see this kind of FL, and with the author's skilled handling of their characters, it made everything even more interesting — the characters were practically jumping off the page! Definitely highly recommended~ <<less
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Mamabug
Mamabug rated it
July 29, 2022
Status: c101 part3
This novel is an absolute delight and a refreshingly different breath of air from the normal imperial drama CNs.

What would a woman who is ambitious, capable, and brilliant do in a setting where almost all the major factors impacting her life are decided by men, senior female family members, or her in-laws? How could she still chart her own future and secure her position within that reality? This is our protagonist (who is, thankfully, NOT a transmigrator) and her thinking and way of navigating the situations she finds herself in... more>> is wonderful to read.

The romance is sweet too. <<less
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Katielicious
Katielicious rated it
July 15, 2022
Status: c144
I greatly enjoyed the first half. There were a few dull moments in the 2nd half, problematic pacing & wasted potential which lowered my rating.

Revenge

  • MC didn't really make Cheng family pay for their neglect. At least she didn't let them walk all over her either.
  • The Yang family got their just deserts, either killed or demoted.
  • The most shocking thing was that the emperor was tr*sh like all other CN emperors. His ending was deserved.
The antagonists

... more>>
  • It was difficult for me to comprehend the might of the Yang family because ml's career progressed too smoothly. Then they were unable to directly confront him after he returned. The dowager had been scheming all her life but could be so easily dealt with by the mc? It was disappointing that the second Prince was such mediocre competition.

  • I almost felt sorry for the twin sister. I sympathized that Cheng Yumo & Mr Huo's rebirth played no role except to make them both miserable. Then I realized that they truly deserved it. Cheng Yumo should have approached the MC first before assuming that MC "stole" her credit. &Amp; Mr Huo was a weak willed man who was the root cause of the misfortune MC & her son faced in past life.
Anyway I loved the MC and ml. I didn't get any grooming undertones because even if MC didn't marry the ML at that age, she would have married another man.

Update: 4 stars <<less
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MinhNguyen
MinhNguyen rated it
May 7, 2022
Status: --
This novel mentioned Jujin Chen's first life (in her dream before the engagement was broken) her mother in-law did not let her to sleep with her husband but complained she did not have produce children. Eventually she did manage to get pregnant. It is hard to believe somebody can be unreasonable and crazy like her mother in-law but in real life, it happens more than we know. I am Vietnamese in 1960 and I have a friend who was born 1945. Her mother in-law made her husband sleep on small... more>> bed next to her every night and did not allow her son to sleep with her. Her husband had to sneak around when his mother was not looking to produce 2 children. In 1992 I met another Vietnamese girl friend and learned that her father had to sleep on a separate bed than her grandma but they sleep in the same room every night while her mother, the main wife had to sleep in separate room. I wish the summary of the novel be more accurate since Jujin Cheng did not try to steal her twin sister's credit for saving the young Maquis, she did not know what her twin sister did and she did her part in saving him. Both sisters did save the maquis and Jujin is not her vicious bad person. She had to be calculative to protect herself since up to when she met the Maquis, nobody really loves and care for her. <<less
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Senethari
Senethari rated it
March 6, 2022
Status: c110 part3
I like this one. The FL is pragmatic and logical, rather than scheming and vicious. The ML is magnificent (because aren't they all?) and a little dense in the beginning.

I binge read 110 chapters in a couple days. On the one hand, it's a pretty formulaic story. You can guess most of the complications as they arise, and there's almost no worry that our leads will suffer a setback. On the other hand, it's a good story that doesn't rely on people being absolutely crazy and vicious to proceed. (No... more>> one attempts to poison anyone, there's no aphrodisiac plots, and even if they're pretty petty, the family isn't a den of sociopaths and clawing concubines.)

The tragedy is low key, so if you want your guts ripped out by grief or to cackle like a madwoman over clever revenge, this is not for you. If you want a realistic (even though she's perfect, there's reasons) FL who embodies "rise above" you will adore this. <<less
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fallinlight
fallinlight rated it
January 21, 2022
Status: 105 part1
This is probably one of my favourite historical chinese novel.

The MC is very smart, calculating and scheming. She was also very clear about her advantages and disadvantages and would calculate every action that she takes. She is not "kind" but I can't help but cheer for her because that is after all, the only means of survival for her as she couldn't depend on anyone.

For the ML, I dislike him. (But to be fair, for some reason, it's really hard for me to like most of the "cold" ML (except... more>> for the ones that are REALLYY well-written) in novels since they would almost always annoys me) Just as I expected, I dislike him. Even before he realized his feelings, he meddled into the FL's affairs even though he knew how important it was for her and I dislike him for that. Overall, I would rate this as 4.5.

It has its flaws of course, no novels is perfect but it's very well-written (except for the ML lol).

[ Edit : Actually, now that I have finished this novel, I honestly felt that the ML is not that bad. He's definitely not on my favourite MLs list but he's pretty decent. ] <<less
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ChaoticWisdom
ChaoticWisdom rated it
August 24, 2021
Status: c85 part1
The description of the novel is a little confusing so don't let that stop you.

Its a really good novel. I can't wait for more! Translation is a little choppy at the beginning but I think it flows well and makes sense fairly quickly.
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Roxasfleur
Roxasfleur rated it
July 1, 2021
Status: c106
I really like the MC. In short, she's the definition of perfect outside, flawed inside. I love how she's adamant on being perfect in everyone's eye. It does make everybody jealous of her, but she just doesn't want to show weakness. In fact, her motto in life seems to be everything for her own benefit. She treats life like one big job that she can't get out of. Therefore, she is always seeking benefit. I think she's a very realistic character. She is comparing people to see who brings better... more>> benefit to them, bu she doesn't like if other people did the same to her. Very hypocritical, for sure. But, then again this kind of character is very refreshing in a historical setting.

I Love how MC and ML is like to peas in a pod. ML is not as hard-hearted as MC in terms of feeling and trust. I mean, he does trust MC and desire her to reciprocate that. However, he does know and acknowledge that he can't change MC. MC is cold-hearted and he does accept that. That's what I love about their dynamic. The feeling they brought when facing people together can make everyone speechless with how perfect they are lol.

I certainly didn't expect to found this rare gem, but I'm really glad I did. <<less
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