It’s Better to be the Empress Dowager

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Tang Shishi was the number one beauty in the court. She was arrogant, domineering and aggressive. She accidentally picked up a book and learned that she was just a vicious female second lead in a palace struggle. Later, she would fight for favor with the female lead, and eventually she was ruined and died miserably.

Now, they have just entered the fief of Jing Wang, and the first meeting of the male and female leads has not happened yet. There are two paths before Tang Shishi. The first is to hold the heroine’s thighs tightly and join the female lead camp early; the second is to please the male lead and steal the favor of the female lead.

Tang Shishi chooses the third way.

Tang Shishi knew that the male lead’s adoptive father Jing Wang seemed to be low profile, but in fact he was overly ambitious. In the near future, he will invade the capital and proclaim the emperor before the imperial court, but it is a pity that he passed away before passing the throne to the male lead.

This year, Jing Wang is twenty-four years old, still young, and has yet to marry a wife.
Anyway, she already in the Forbidden City. Instead of being the concubine of the male lead, it is better to be his adopted mother, the empress dowager in one step.

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Zhao Chengjun had no intention to get married, so he adopted his subordinate son as his heir. He thought he would be with his army in his whole life.

Later, the imperial family sent a team of beauties to Prince Jing, and the leader was named Tang Shishi.

His young, adopted son and his subordinates also persuaded: Your Highness, this is a beauty trap.
Jing Wang: I know.

The so-called beauty trap was merely a bait for those who wish.

Associated Names
One entry per line
宫斗不如当太后
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
I Became The Stepmother of My Ex-husband (5)
Greetings, Ninth Uncle (4)
Second Marriage (3)
The Crown Prince in the Jade Pendant (2)
I’ll Be the Male Lead’s Sister-in-Law (1)
Married To The Male Lead’s Father (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Memorable Reads
  2. Most Popular Historical BG
  3. BEST CN NOVELS
  4. Historical Romances
  5. Novels I've read in 2024

Latest Release

Date Group Release
12/31/21 Just for Fun Trans c143
12/29/21 Just for Fun Trans c142
12/28/21 Just for Fun Trans c141
12/26/21 Just for Fun Trans c140
12/25/21 Just for Fun Trans c139
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shadow_walker
shadow_walker rated it
January 11, 2022
Status: Completed
This is by far one of the best novels I have ever read😍😍😍

It actually feels really sad to see such an excellent novel being so underrated 😭😭😭

I am a fan of Chinese historical novels and I can honestly say that I have read a lot of them and most of them feature a somehow "perfect FL" who has it all and even if there were some flaws it can be easily overlooked or corrected as time goes by.

... more>> Well, guess what our FL here is nothing like that.

I have always believed that we should never judge someone without trying to look at things from their perspective, it is just not right.

We have an MC who grew up with a father who favored the concubine and destroyed the wife and a mother who is so weak to the point of being useless, she has always been unfavored and had to give ways to the concubine's children.

MC didn't believe in love or men, from a young age she understood that she was not smart at all and only had her beauty to rely on, and with a society in which women had to rely completely on men's favor she believed that the only way to live a good life was to use every mean possible to climb up which was mainly to find a powerful man who she could entrap using her beauty.

She admitted that she was a selfish and petty woman who wanted to lead a very comfortable life in which she should never wrong herself at all and her beauty was her only weapon to achieve that, it didn't matter which man she chose as long as she could climb up.

If anyone put him/herself in her shoes and wanted to lead a good life I believe that they would have made the same choice, after all who wanted to be supressed and trampled on for life.

every choice that she has ever made was for her own benefit including trying to take the rig. FL's place because in her mind she and the org. FL had the same starting point in the competition, and with a cheat sheet in her hands, why wouldn't she use it?! as she understood that she had no power or a family to rely on unlike the org. FL.

After all, she was a commoner with an education and life experience that could not rival the orig. FL and we could see that clearly throughout the novel as she performed low level schemes and was always reluctant to kill people.

She didn't want the org. FL dead or hurt, she didn't want the orig. ML's love and she only wanted her higher status.

She indeed was selfish but she was never malicious, at most she tried to put people against each other without getting directly involved and she and was always seen through by the ML.

She always convinced herself that she must be heartless and never fall in love but when it came to the ML from the beginning, and even if she didn't understand it herself, she acted unlike her usual self, and it can be seen clearly as the novel progressed.

I mean when the orig. ML was in danger she chose to run away but when it came to the ML she stayed even if her motives were not pure.

And from early on the novel she showed her true character to the ML, challenged him, disobeyed his orders and dared to give him ideas when nobody else could.

Somehow from the very start she trusted him and relied on him.

As for the ML, he is just perfect for her.

No, scratch that.... He is just perfect.

In my opinion one of the best MLs ever ❤️❤️❤️.

He didn't force his love on her, he just loved her with all her flaws, and accepted her wholeheartedly, a few people could do that in modern society let alone the ancient one.

Their first time was when she was drugged and she was the one who intiated it first and from and that happens a lot in Chinese novels be it ancient or modern but in ancient china the FL was only a property that has no will but apart from that incident, he always put her first and even when he made mistakes due to his ignorance of relationships he always tried to do better and see things from the FL's perspective and life experience.

And I think why some people felt that the FL was not getting any character development was due the ML's constant protection and the fact that her education and life experience were very limited as a commoner so her development was subtle but don't be fooled she did have a development especially in her thoughts and emotional levels.

ML's development was much more visible especially on the emotional levels as he was someone who is very smart with a vast life experience due to his circumstances and status.

Here we have a ML who actually made mistakes, acknowledged them, and then corrected them.

He tried to see things from other people's even if they were his enemies and understood clearly that sometimes there was no black or white in this world but only perspectives.

And finally this novel is a hidden treasure that should never be bypassed. <<less
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Payel
Payel rated it
January 6, 2022
Status: c143
Despite the fact MC has a book with the main plot as a guideline, she keeps taking wrong steps once and again.

It was funny to read.
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Elizabrush
Elizabrush rated it
January 4, 2022
Status: c143
5 stars for the translator, 3 stars for the story. So I'll give this 4 stars.

The MC in this story is the definition of "failing upwards". The beginning of the story has her bumbling around, failing miserably to attract the attentions of the og!ML, with every attempt conversely endearing herself to the ML, og!ML's adopted father who just happens to also be young, handsome and powerful. It's pretty humorous and I enjoyed this part of the story.

Once ML falls for MC though, things get more dull. MC's schemes are more... more>> humorous and cute when limited to the setting of backyard harem catfights. Once things take a more serious political turn with larger consequences, MC is out of her depth and sort of steps back to become a cheerful idiot who's main roles are to be a lovable henpecking wife for the ML and inflame the conflict between the more powerful figures in this story. I didn't enjoy this later part as much, asides from the occasional flashes of emotion and introspection MC has.

I would actually love to read a reversal story where MC gets faceslapped, with some other character that's way better at scheming and political maneuvering roasting how amazing MC's plot armor/halo is. Because I myself found it kind of ridiculous sometimes...

Spoiler

In particular the Empress would be an interesting candidate for faceslapper. It's really sad how big of a cannon fodder she is in this story. Basically gets propelled into tragedy by the plot. After a miserable existence where she's forced to marry a child emperor and cater to his whims, then viewed as a failed babymaking machine by her closest relatives and allies, her family loses power and she falls from grace along with the rest of them. Ultimately she dies of "depression" at 20 something to basically just make way for MC's happy imperial life.

The way the other female characters of this novel are treated is pretty sad in general. Pretty much no other major or minor female figure I can think of has a happy ending, besides MC, her maids, and her mom. And maybe that foreign princess, but she vanishes once her role in the story is over so its hard to say what kind of ending she got.

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bluesonnet
bluesonnet rated it
January 4, 2022
Status: Completed
Pretty good novel. The plot was overall well-written, and the romance developed properly. I even shed some tears at the most heartbreaking scene because you could really feel the FL's desperation. There was a lot of doting from ML (which I love), but probably my only minor complaint is that there wasn't much s*xual tension. Haha. As the translator said, it's a pretty clean novel.

Excellent writing from the author and superb translations from the translator. Thank you both! Recommended!
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dramamonster
dramamonster rated it
January 4, 2022
Status: Completed
In the first half, the FL is a klutzy, Bridget Jones Diary type of heroine/undercover spy. FL is a first-rate imperial beauty sent to military/border Prince Jing's estate. She knows that his adopted son (age 18?) is going to be the eventual Emperor of the novel she is living in, so she tries to become the adopted son's wife. (Remember, she's not reborn or transmigrated, she's a historical girl who thinks being Empress Dowager is the highest goal for a woman.)

Except she doesn't know the details in the book,... more>> so she's often led astray. It's a comedy of errors. She's so transparent, beautiful and brash that no one thinks she has the brains for all the harem scheming going around.

The FL tries to succeed with/impress the adopted son according to the novel's plot (and overturn her own early death in the novel), but she shows her real side to the cold ML Prince Jing (age 24), who slowly falls in love with her very quirky personality. Their adventure in the wild where she shows her heroism and
Spoiler

saves Prince Jing, and he learns he can trust her with his life, was well done. Things happen, and eventually they marry, have children, and FL falls in love with Prince Jing, to the point of being willing to die for him when his enemy the Empress Dowager forces her. Don't worry, Prince Jing is there for her in everything. P

Prince Jing can scheme circles around the FL and see through all her lies (he loves the real her, stripped of her beautiful disguise (chapter 74)), but she has him firmly wrapped around her finger. I find their interactions really vivid, like a tv drama. He loves her, so she knows she can act willfully, which drives him crazy, but he can't bear to scold her, so they have this very teasing and provocative dynamic as a couple. There's tons of harem scheming (the adopted son has a large harem, but Prince Jing only has the FL), but FL gets through it all and has a nice lovely ending with Prince Jing. This novel could easily be called, "The Military Prince's Spoiled Beauty", or "Memoirs of a Pampered Wangfei"

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In the second half, when the FL's family life is established, she reminds me of the wilful, captivating, freely enjoy-my-life-beauty-and-wealth type heroines written by author Butterfly's Shadow Beneath the Moon (like Eight Treasure Trousseau, To Be A Virtuous Wife, I Am This Type of Woman, etc.). The extra epilogue chapters are very cute too.
Spoiler

(She has 4 children, her previous novel self (who died tragically) has a reborn story, and it's happily ever after.)

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If you like historical romance novels in Ancient China, you'll like this. It's not as dark as others (the FL never directly harms anyone, she just likes to get petty revenge against people who scheme against her), nor is it fluffy (there's still a lot of harem scheming around the adopted son's harem, the Empress Dowager, and the FL).

The translation is good, and it's a rare historical josei novel that is fully translated. <<less
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Smtha
Smtha rated it
December 28, 2021
Status: Completed
It’s a fun story to read. The FL is actually quite cute and funny, she had a silly luck at her side, (even she had a prediction book, it does not help much as the event changes from the original) ML is stoic in the beginning, but he is too, getting cute later on. (He just doted FL)

overall the story is not very heavy, mostly are the backyard drama and FL trying to change her fate. Got a bit dog blood but not too heavy emphasised.... more>> The courtroom, political drama also just summarise. The heavy focus on the backyard dramas and FL And ML interaction. Of course there’s fluffed and sweet moments. I enjoyed it very much. There’s still some extras not finished, so waiting for it. Thank you <<less
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Rinkyx
Rinkyx rated it
November 5, 2021
Status: Completed
Very good novel. FL is very funny IMO and ML has good character. The characters were not OP which was nice. Definitely recommend. Only downside is that the ending was abrupt. I wished the ML and his Adopted son had more words about everything. 4 solid ⭐️
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whitespade
whitespade rated it
September 29, 2021
Status: Completed
I really love the MC. She's brainless but brave, she is a go getter that will do anything to fulfill her ambition but because she's so silly her way is all over the place. Her antics are hilarious and I laughed so much. ML is of course perfect.
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Onelazygirl
Onelazygirl rated it
January 13, 2024
Status: Completed
It's an okay novel. Not bad but nothing quite memorable either.

I read some reviews and in that they have said that FL is like those vicious supporting female leads in novels. But I have never seen her plotting against others. She has never hurt anyone or sacrificed anyone for her plans. Yes she fights with her mouth and has said a lot of mean things but so what??? Those women also said mean things so I think both sides are equal.

Yes she is selfish. But I like that she never... more>> trust a man's affection and only trust on herself to move forward. She never gives up no matter what it takes.

Her relationship with ML is extremely unequal. ML Pampers her to the sky and she repeatedly touches his bottom line but he still never punishes her. She made him angry and it was her fault but she started pretending stomach ache (she wad pregnant at that time) and ML who hates others pretending infront of him still chose to let FL go......... she makes trouble then starts pretending that her stomach hurts and she remains unscathed.

Honestly she doesn't deserve such boundless pampering but ML is willing to serve her then what can I say??? We can all say that she is extremely fortunate to have a husband like him. He will do everything for her.

To say that FL has suffered a lot and thus has such a vain personality would be false. Her mother has pampered her since she was young. As the eldest legitimate daughter she had all food and clothing the only thing she has suffered is that her father doesn't care about her and favours his concubine. Due to which the concubine makes trouble for her......... she has food and clothing and her mother loves her many people with worse circumstances have much better personality than her so it can be said that she in inhertedly a selfish and vain person. Who doesn't care about love or filial children all she cares about is power. Her words not mine

She somehow represents the character scheming ancient women in imperial harem quite well <<less
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midori_13
midori_13 rated it
October 26, 2023
Status: Completed
I read various romantic Chinese Novels with villains main characters. But I think this is the first time I read a novel with such a lowly villainess main character that didn't even have such good reasons to become a villain. I think seeing by the bright side, the main character was really original for being such despicable and this was supposed to add a humorous tone to the novel?

But maybe it was a little funny in the beginning when reading about the female lead trying to be schemy but backfiring... more>> all the time, but soon started to become very annoying, especially because all villains main characters normally have a redemption arc, that make them repent, regret and change for better. But reading until the end, I felt that the female lead didn't repent at all or turned into a good person, on the contrary, she continued to behave very badly and annoyingly until the end.

Warning ⛔️ Spoilers! Sorry it's too long...

Spoiler

Plot

Spoiler

The plot is like in the description of the novel. The female lead, Tang Shishi, was one of the ten maids sent as a tribute from the Empress to the prince male lead Jing Wang.

During their journey to the Prince's fiefdom, female lead of the novel had a magical book given by her mother. During their trip, that magical book awakened and ended up showing the future and the unfolded situation that the female lead was in.

Through the book, female lead discovered that actually in that Ancient World, she was just a secondary character, a cannon fodder that would become a concubine of the male lead of the story and would ended up dying by his hands in the end.

The real female lead Zhou Shunhua was one of the girls that was traveling with the female lead Tang Shishi, while the real male lead was Zhao Zixun, the adopted son of the male lead, Prince Jing Wang.

That original male lead, Zhao Zixun, in the future would become the Emperor and the original female lead, Zhou Shunhua would become his Empress. So the female and villainess main character Tang Shishi with the help of the magic book, decided to trample on the original female lead, Zhou Shunhua and steal her position as Empress.

But female lead was so s*upid that all of her schemes backfired. I think that was supposed to be the comedy in the novel, but in reality was only annoying in my opinion.

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But the biggest problem for me was...

Spoiler

... how the main character Tang Shishi was shallow, selfish, despicable and worst of all, really dumb.

Argh, it was so uncomfortable and embarrassing seeing her trying over and over to bootlick the original male lead while trying to trample on the original female lead, and creating such s*upid schemes and failing all the time.

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The female lead was such a horrible person that through the whole novel didn't improve at all 😅.

For example...

Spoiler

As described in the novel, her life motto was: "Bully the weak and fear the strong, dislike the poor and love the rich."

"For Tang Shishi didn't matter if she was uncomfortable as long others were also uncomfortable then she considered herself had won."

"Tang Shishi knew what she wanted... She preferred gorgeous clothes and gourmet food, and an honorable husband and wife compared with deep affection and a happy family. Tang Shishi did not care whether she had true love or even filial piety children. She only needed to live a dignified luxurious life."

The worst of all is that she didn't even have such a big tragic past that could absolve her of the horrible personality.

She came from a merchant family that was super rich, but despite being the daughter of the main wife, she and her mother didn't have the favor of her father. Instead her father would dote on his concubine and that daughter of that concubine, so she always received the leftovers of that concubine's daughter, which was humiliating to her pride. But her mother always spoiled her, besides she never starved or suffered physical abuses, so how she could turned out to be such a disgusting person?

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Another example of her despicableness...

Spoiler

... the female lead Tang Shishi, contrary to her plans of being together with the original male lead Zhao Zixun, ended up getting together with the male lead Jing Wang, the Prince and adoptive father of Zhao Zixun. Since the situation ended up like that, she thought that she should try to make the best of it. Through the book, she knew that the Prince and male lead Jing Wang would die after seizing the power and become Emperor. But at that time, it never crossed her mind to try to change the future death of Jing Wang (aka her husband), instead she kept calculating and was thinking how to keep curry favor with Zhao Zixun, since as an adoptive son of Jing Wang, he would become the next Emperor.

And Tang Shishi never revealed the magic book to Jing Wang or that he would die in the battlefield and it didn't see for me that she did everything in her power to prevent his death. In the end, it was the Prince Jing Wang that discovered about the magic book and his death. But he didn't blame Tang Shishi, instead he got worried about her future after he die.

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I think the male lead...

Spoiler

... was the one that had the biggest transformation and redemption arc in the end. He was cold, ruthless and schemy to everyone even to female lead. Also, he always stated that he would never marry and that he hated children. But after he got together with female lead, he wanted to marry her and treated her super well, pampering and spoiling her. He also fell in love with the son he had together with female lead, changing his mind about hating children. For example, after he discovered that fetuses could move and kick their mother's tummy, he started constantly asking female lead if their unborn son moved, but female lead started getting irritated with him asking her all the time about that. In the end he started taking notes of all the movements of the unborn baby so he could predict the next time. That way he could visit her at the time the unborn baby would move. What women wouldn't love to see their partner so interested in their pregnancy? But instead of being grateful, female lead became irritated 😒.

Also, she was so petty that during her pregnancy she started to be unable to sleep well and would constantly move in the bed. Male lead had problems to sleep for a long time and would always wake up with the slightest movement or sound. Female lead even though: "I should tell him to sleep in another room so he can rest properly. But forget about it, if I'm not happy, no one else could be happy around her, so since she was pregnant and uncomfortable, he had to suffer together with her."

The only romantic part was when, male lead admitted that he truly love female lead despite knowing all her ugliness and selfishness. Argh, she didn't deserve the guy at all! 😠

But of course, nothing is perfect...

Spoiler

... since the male lead kinda r*ped female lead in the first time they slept together (she was drugged with an aphrodisiac and was not in her right mind) 😑

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Aster Anemone
Aster Anemone
June 12, 2023
Status: Completed
The best that I have read these days.

A proper gripping start, befitting climax and proper ending with a glimpse into other possibilities as well.

Well done to the writer and translators.

... more>>
Spoiler

Interestingly, in main story line MC and ML marry and ascended the throne and have kids, in the book that MC had, she died in cold palace after being cast aside by Ml's adopted son. And ML died after becoming king when he went to war with rebels, the arrow was shot by Ml's adopted son's spy.

then when MC died in cold palace in the book, in extra chapters it is shown that her ghost time traveled into the past or alternate reality, where ML is still 13 and she is living at the age of 6.

The as a ghost she meet ml, and later when ML grew up he finds MC and goes to get her right before her almost wedding 😂😂.

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Some Tags

Spoiler

first life, 2nd life, time travel, 2nd chance, revenge, couple growth, powerful ML from the start, tragic background. No harem for MC and ml, devoted Ml, Military, Wangye to Emperor, prophetic book.

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sweet_nothing
sweet_nothing rated it
June 4, 2023
Status: c143
The summary is misleading, if the novel was actually like the summary then it would have been a lot more enjoyable. Instead we get an MC who is incredibly arrogant whilst being completely s*upid, she wilfully keeps on making decisions that don’t make sense and even with foreknowledge goes after the wrong man🤦‍♀️

ML saved some of the novel for me, his actions beyond one when he leaves without a note, actually make sense and he’s practical, fair and compassionate without losing focus on the end goal.

His adopted son was actually... more>> the absolute worst, extremely ungrateful and never acknowledged the privilege he had of being ML’s son and how he was raised by ML to be an emperor but instead this dude thinks with his 🍆 and inherent greed.

Absolutely loathe the eldest daughter of the lead couple, I don’t know why author chose to write a character that nasty, when that’s the kind we root against in her novels.

I liked the extra about their previous life, the books origin and how they are destined to be together after one mishap because ML will make it happen.

If you’re here for a FL like the one in Greetings, Ninth Uncle or I Became The Stepmother of My Ex-husband, then you’re out of luck. And if you thought the FL in I’ll Be the Male Lead’s Sister-in-Law, was unsatisfactory in comparison to the above two, then you will definitely not like the MC in this novel. <<less
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Staringatastar
Staringatastar rated it
May 27, 2023
Status: Completed
I love this author - coming from "greetings, ninth uncle", you can see some common threads. The bonds of adoption vs birth, smart and deep husband who falls mindlessly in love, imperial conniving, legitimate vs illegitimate child, reversing the story.

However, the female lead in this story is much dumber, which in some ways feels more realistic. Many times, people are treated unreasonably well just because they're prettier, not because they're really intelligent.

Perhaps it's because I just finished a great story by this same author, but the mindless FL who needs... more>> to be indulged in every way didn't bother me at much as it should have. Honestly, this would be the ideal story for one of those plot-fixing-transmigrators. Neither the MC nor the FL really deserve their happy ending. The FL only has her beauty, but immediately steps on everyone when she is favored. She needs someone to rescue her in every situation, and is the standard helpless female dependant on her lover. The MC has awful double standards and no empathy. He keeps reprimanding and being disappointed in his adopted son because he can't control who he loves, but at the same time, whole-heartedly self-indulges in a woman he knows is vain and greedy and petty. It's not even that he is in a more stable situation than his adopted son - he manages more and is working on a rebellion that could mean life or death for all his followers. They're honestly very unsympathetic people.

However, they are written quite well, and I found myself enjoying the story even if I didn't really like the protagonists. The plot was interesting and the pampering / face slapping was satisfying.

I liked the extras - I feel like it revised and fleshed out the original story for the FL. <<less
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733ash
733ash rated it
May 16, 2023
Status: c1
First hetero romance I have read. It is sort of like the antithesis to what is assumed is the typical archetype that is favored in harem/palace intrigue stories. The main character actively strives for favor, and is aware that she is not what Confucian standards would deem a "virtuous woman". She's petty, gets jealous, covets power, and acts spoiled. She is interesting to read, I usually do not like a character like this. I read the "cute children" tag, and it was enjoyable. Meets the doting love interest tag.
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tpw16
tpw16 rated it
May 16, 2023
Status: Completed
I enjoyed the novel very much.

I was initially discourage in reading this due to some reviews that thinks the MC is s*upid. In my humble opinion, I don’t think she’s s*upid at all.

I love her character, she was high-spirited, unwilling to be resigned, and would always strive to advance bravely enthusiastically. No matter how many setbacks she encountered, She refuses to accept a fate where she is not the female lead, so she put so much effort. Because MC knew what she wanted, and she also knew that she was... more>> not a contented person.

Her continuous failures in winning the ML’s son is not s*upidity, rather the choices she made. Those were not wrong, they truly reflected her true self and personality.

My 2nd time reading, so would wholeheartedly recommend this novel. <<less
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Eru101
Eru101 rated it
April 24, 2023
Status: c143
It is funny, tho I skimmed some parts when FL is really getting careless around Zhou Shuahua.

... more>>
Spoiler

I really like the side stories about the two lifetimes. I mean, ML actually love FL before? And it also turned out, Zhao Zixun like her too but his feelings are fickle and too jealous that he killed her. And Zhou Shuahua hates her because of this. But really, the twist behind the pearl bracelet got me. Like ML is one step away from asking FL for marriage. Then ML talked to monk about the book of life something. Probably the reason why the monk gifted it to FL. Heartbreaking. Orz

Im still curious tho how ML turned out that he love FL in the previous life. Basically, they went through three lifetimes.

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JaNiluv
JaNiluv rated it
March 24, 2023
Status: c16
Honestly, this is not a bad read so far. The plot has potential, the ML is interesting/likeable, the translations are also well done...

The reason why I dropped it is because of the FL. Tang Shishi is your average young miss from a wealthy family - raised well, smart, pretty, observant and always knows when and where to say the right thing. She has ambitions too so she doesn't settle for anything less, especially after finding out about her fate. That's completely fine and the fact she's not OP like other... more>> FLs tend to be, makes her even seem relatable. The problem with her is that sometimes her character isn't very consistent. Logically when you pick up a book that foretells your bad ending, you're supposed to tread carefully and plan your moves ahead but Shishi continues to be way too impulsive and quick to achieve success which still somehow ends up in her favor.

And that leads me to another issue with her. Since she just does what she wants without thinking it through and just hopes for the best, it just makes her seem so undeserving of her situation and the book she's acquired. Like I don't see any effort put into changing her fate, she just does whatever and by the protagonist's law she gets away with it and her (bad) choices always put her in an advantageous position. She might as well not need the book anymore. It's like she doesn't even know how to utilize this cheat which is so OOC of her since in the beginning she seemed like a very clever individual. The way she gets away with everything makes her resemble a Mary Sue so so much - does whatever but somehow still gets what she wants.

Well I'm not into these Mary Sue characters, I just hoped to find another strong independant female protagonist but I guess not in this novel. <<less
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custodiom
custodiom rated it
February 2, 2023
Status: Completed
I've realized I'm quite over Harem and Palace-related novels at the moment after finishing this. I'm actually a little disappointed after finishing this, which is rare for me (I drop it if it really gets bad but push through if there are redeeming aspects of the story). The summary is indeed misleading and may have been better if it was like what the summary was.

This novel teeters between good and frustrating, the same goes for the characters. Tang Shishi (TS) has got to be one of the more passive-aggressive, mercurial,... more>> s*upid-but-lucky main characters I've encountered and finished reading so far. Other characters have overestimated her countless time in the novel. Jing Wang (JW) is relatively better, but their relationship has been such a weird, complicated one ever since they got entangled with each other. It's like one misunderstanding after another, with no proper communication, and a whole lot of bantering. It's a miracle they were able to pull through against all the odds.

The "book" is actually a weird plot twist, and made me realize that TS is indeed s*upid. Why would you base your actions and decisions on a book called
Spoiler

Memoirs of Shunhua (another character), expecting you'll come out on top and not be a mere supporting character?

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. I'm almost thankful there's the ever-reliable JW to the rescue every time.

I don't know why there's such a lot of characters that I found annoying on this one, I don''t know if it's because of how they were written, or because of how they continued to persist despite committing such despicable acts. It challenges logic, and I am even frustrated at TS and JW for a fair amount of time.

Translation is understandable, but there are some parts that are harder to understand than others. The story starts quite slow, I know they're trying to set things up and do some world-building but the first 30 chapters felt quite boring to me. Eventually I skipped a few parts that I felt were just fillers and didn't add a whole lot to the plot.

This has very faint similarities to Jin Wang Dotes on his concubine IMO, but I preferred that one more. The are 2 diff stories on the extra chapters, which I surprisingly didn't enjoy very much. I like reading about the characters'
Spoiler

children when they grow up, but maybe because I didn't like TS and JW as much, I also didn't like that extra story?

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And the 2nd story really confused me. I thought it was a backstory, but it seemed to be an alternate universe kind of story. <<less
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Pennsterr21
Pennsterr21 rated it
January 21, 2023
Status: c143
Usually don’t like historical novels but this is an unexpected gem. FL goes from being a selected maid in the place to becoming the empress. She is a little clueless but not mary-sue and is just trying to make the best of her situation with the things she knows. Really like the ML. He understands the real meaning of her unpredictable behavior and hidden words. Although she was supposed to be a spy for the empress dowager, when FL sees someone planning to harm the ML she reacts quickly to... more>> stop it even though she didn’t realize she liked the ML at the time. Give this novel a try it’s oddly funny and satisfying too. <<less
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Hahayaya
Hahayaya rated it
December 26, 2022
Status: Completed
I really wish they would change the summary because it's SUPER misleading and makes you think MC is making the wise decision of avoiding the plot. But nope, she acts like a dumbass and only manages to not be in the plot because of her dumbass decision based on her knowledge from the book she acquires. That being said I am really enjoying the story and yes, MC is selfish and dumb but she has her lovable qualities; for example, she's extremely hardworking for her goals and believes in taking... more>> her fate into her own hands rather than letting it control her. It's very admirable even if she sucks at it. I just wish the summary was different because it made me go into the story with the wrong mindset and it made MC's actions more frustrating and annoying at times. But kudos to the book for giving us an unlikeable heroine but still makes me root for her and find her endearing at times

*edit*
Finished and I still loved the story. Yes the MC is s*upid and annoying the entire story but I can see why the ML dotes on her. And she only acts out because he spoils her and she feels safe enough to act out around him. I guess it makes me happy that she was able to be loved and feel safe despite not "deserving it." Everyone is deserving of love and we don't have to be perfect to be loved. Though, perhaps I sympathize with her because I feel guilty for acting spoiled and willful with my partner. <<less
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