Eight Treasures Trousseau

Description

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Everyone in the City of Jing thinks that bestowment of marriage between Xian Junwang and the daughter of the Yi’an Marquis House is to insert a fresh flower into manure.

Xian Junwang was that fresh flower and the di daughter of Yi’an Marquis House was that manure that was not liked.

It is said that what is heard is false, seeing is believing. Who knows what the truth really is?

Associated Names
One entry per line
Bát bảo trang
Bā bǎo zhuāng
ETT
The Eight Treasure Dowry
ซ่อนรักวิวาห์ลวง
八宝妆
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
To Be A Virtuous Wife (34)
Chongfei Manual (9)
Chu Wang Fei (8)
Heavenly Divine Doctor: Abandoned Concubine (7)
Legend of Concubine’s Daughter Minglan (7)
The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage (7)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Best Female Protagonists
  2. UNDER 4 RATED HISTORICAL NOVEL
  3. a history
  4. Favorite B/G Historical Novels
  5. The BEST Historical Novels (BG only)

Latest Release

Date Group Release
12/19/17 Dreams of Jianghu c108 (end)
12/12/17 Dreams of Jianghu c107
12/12/17 Dreams of Jianghu c106
12/12/17 Dreams of Jianghu c105
12/05/17 Dreams of Jianghu c104
12/05/17 Dreams of Jianghu c103
12/05/17 Dreams of Jianghu c102
11/28/17 Dreams of Jianghu c101
11/28/17 Dreams of Jianghu c100
11/28/17 Dreams of Jianghu c99
11/21/17 Dreams of Jianghu c98
11/21/17 Dreams of Jianghu c97
11/21/17 Dreams of Jianghu c96
11/14/17 Dreams of Jianghu c95
11/14/17 Dreams of Jianghu c94
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242 Reviews sorted by


Karumin
Karumin
June 24, 2023
Status: c108
The transmigration part is useless. She being an actress reborn in ancient times has not weight at all other than highlight the high quality performance of the interactions of the Imperial family. By how lazy the MC is, the author could have just said she was a cat born human and it would be more fitting (there are many scene with her just laying on the bed or other places, literally yawning while interacting with others), or better yet just cut-off the mention of her being a modern times actress,... more>> since it doesn't affect in anything the novel. Like, at all.

She was just aloof, sleeping and eating leisurely and displaying her beauty, the scheming one was the ML.

A bit heavy on scheming and foreshadowing but still manages to engage the lector, but didn't enter on my favorites. <<less
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Pixy
Pixy rated it
December 22, 2020
Status: Completed
I’m not sure what I expected when I started on this, but I still feel somewhat dissatisfied after reading through the whole thing. It’s got a lot of elements that I find entertaining, but the story didn’t come together for me. I was on chapter 93 when I realized that I was still waiting for something to happen. Sure there were plot events, but the nature of both leads is opaque, and a lot of background actions are only shown after a triggering event occurred. All that being said, the... more>> main character’s transmigration is a minor detail - and I would argue in some ways is completely unnecessary - so there’s no reliance on gimmicks to pull the story along.

Like many stories in the ancient imperial settings, the layers and layers of hierarchy and etiquette are a prime focus, though with the aforementioned opacity of the leads (and pretty much everyone, barring a few of the seething female characters) it isn’t entirely clear who did what to whom and when. This is a huge component in getting along in cultures with deep investment in propriety and class, but as an outsider it can be difficult to follow along without careful attention to all of the information that is unspoken. Even as a woman born and raised in an East Asian culture (but not ancient China, though I feel old enough that that might be a possibility...), working through the threads of meaning is tiring.

In fact, part of the main character’s “laziness” is her disinterest in engaging in all of the required etiquette. She does do so, of course, though it’s pretty clear she’d rather be lounging on a chaise being fed grapes by her husband. While I found this aspect of her character understandable, her apathy does lead to a storyline that is (probably) realistic, but incredibly slow. The author seems to like a whole heap of foreshadowing with all of the payouts occurring late in the story, so even action by the main character comes across as non action.

Still, the hidden threads of intrigue are tantalizing. The political machinations that go on and
Spoiler
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are complex and intelligent, though the “mastermind” is alluded to, it’s never revealed entirely so for a lazy reader like me, it is not as satisfying.

Like many stories in this genre, the level of emotional honesty a character has seems to be positively correlated to the number of teacups shattered, but compared to other tales the amount of porcelain smashed is pretty low. The complexity of characters is much more intellectually satisfying to read, but the lack of outright villainy removes a lot of the fun part of the fiction. Even the jealous family/court people have enough layers to them so that there’s never that rush of excitement when someone goes down. At the same time, the characters who should show complexity seem monotone, since it’s never entirely clear what (if anything) their real thoughts and feelings are. For example, I have no idea when/how/why the male lead began to feel affection toward the female lead, since it’s not clear how much of his words and actions are genuine, and how much an act.

If this review seems unfocused, it’s because I found the story itself to be nebulous in its intent. There was no notable character growth, not the feeling of tension as the story moves to a climax. In the end, I found out wishing the author had considered writing about the female lead’s absolutely kick ass main servants. They’re smart, steadfast, and strong, and they’d make a great team for some sort of imperial household auction story where the fu is besieged and they have to unleash their powers. Yeah, I’d read that in a heartbeat.

TL;DR: Not enough teacups died in the making of this one. <<less
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lamppost
lamppost rated it
March 4, 2018
Status: c108
This story is just to flaunt how ridiculously lucky the MC is!

... more>>
Spoiler

She came from a prestigious family background and married a prince of powerful imperial family. She had a very easy marriage life and she can afford to be lazy as her lifestyle. How easy her marriage life? Well, she doesn't have parents-in-law, her sister-in-law is long estranged from her husband, her husband do not have single concubine, her husband spoiled her a lot and the rich house full of servants. Surely, she became the object of jealousy due to her rare beautiful look and good fate.

While most people surrounding her scheming against on another for the power, it's inevitable that they stake their whole life, family and reputation should their pawns/strategies unsuccessful. Her prince husband scheming too, mostly with underhanded means, but without caring what the stakes were, it successful everytime effortlessly.

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Generally, this novel is engineered only to accustomed the MC and her husband to have a happily-ever-after-life. Because of their too perfect life, I, as the reader, barely felt for their romance, action, political conspiracies, or even family relationship when it related to the MC.

However, I empathize the life of several other side female characters that although they struggle for a better life, but they were not ended up with happy ending
Spoiler

e.g., Sheng junwang fei, crown princess and even her eldest cousin sister

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Since this is TBAVW 2.0; I kept thinking that while wrote TBAVW, the author might imagining that what if Qu Qing Ju (QQJ - from TBAVW) had a better paternal family, what if QQJ married her husband first before her husband had concubines or what if QQJ had her management skill not only in the household but outside as well? So, that's how this 8TT novel created?

While both MC transmigrated to ancient dynasty, QQJ have purpose for revenge, but HXW? Is it just afterlife from her previous modern life? <<less
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MondSemmel
MondSemmel rated it
November 6, 2017
Status: Completed
This is a great, slow-paced palace intrigue. The cast is comparatively small but very inter-connected, and no day goes by without plenty of scheming.

Hua Xi Wan, the protagonist, "actively tries to be passive", i.e. she's smart but lazy and wants nothing to do with the scheming, but of course things aren't that simple. In fact, it could be said that for most of the story, and with some notable exceptions, the protagonist is just an observer of all the scheming, and her strength lies in not being pulled in... until... more>> it invariably happens, from time to time. With that said, the story isn't told exclusively from her perspective, but devotes plenty of time to the other schemers (characters), as well.

The protagonist has an almost completely superfluous reincarnation background, but at least her modern values contrast nicely with her reality of being reborn as a noble lady in an ancient China with typical ancient hyper-patriarchical values (of the "men rule, women bear children" variety). Her background as an actress, at least, results in plenty of comedy when she repeatedly internally praises all the members of the nobility for acting outraged or distressed whenever something bad happens.

Overall, this is a slow-paced but intriguing story, with a heavy touch of romance. It's certainly action-light but scheming-heavy, so I recommend only reading this story if this genre focus sounds appealing to you.

EDIT: My initial review was up to chapter 89, whereas I've now finished the story. I enjoyed it overall, and it's brilliant in many ways, but the author had a *serious* case of tell-don't-show in the final arc - almost all of the final scheming and action happens entirely off-screen, and we as the readers just see the results. If the ending had been slightly less rushed (3-5 additional chapters would've been plenty!), this would've been an easy 5/5. Instead, I can still say that I enjoyed the ride, but the conclusion left me vaguely unsatisfied. <<less
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ljin75651
ljin75651 rated it
June 20, 2017
Status: c40
I really liked reading this so far, but probably not for the reasons I expected to. Usually when I read novels with transmigration and these types of court intrigue, I expect a really outgoing and determined lead. Definitely not what I got so far. Actually, the author seems to enjoy pointing out how lazy the MC is.

This story is so full of little details that you need to pay attention to, to understand the overarching events. In many cases, many of the starting appearances of affection that the ML has... more>> for the MC are pretty unclear. They can actually be identified as carefully calculated moves on the ML's part if the reader so chooses, rather than real affection. He is definitely a very good actor, ambitious and hiding a darker personality. So as someone who enjoys questioning and taking note of these little details, I had fun puzzling out the meanings for actions between the characters.

But as for those who gave lower ratings, I do also understand some of their POV. The MC is so easy-going and lazy that the story seems to drag on for those who came looking for the more generic ancient transmigration stories with bloody fights between princes and vicious women fighting over men. But in this case, the MC is well-protected and doesn't seem to be faced with any troubles that cannot be quickly overcome...

So my recommendation is to read this with an open mind, because it goes on more of an unexpected route than most other transmigration stories. <<less
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jkmessah
jkmessah rated it
October 19, 2016
Status: c3
When the wonderful translators at Dreams of Jianghu said TBAVW 2.0, it really got me excited. The vibes that just the three chapters bring is quite impressive. It is definitely on par with TBAVW for now and the scenes are easily imagined. Once you're familiar with the terms, it's not that hard to get into. As another reviewer has mentioned, there has yet to be typical tropes common in historical, royalty romance such as scheming relatives, and horrible parents. Quite refreshing for now. I can't say too much within these... more>> 3 chapters but it's looking to be a fantastic read.

Translation is most definitely top notch and won't be a hindrance to reading and understanding the nuances. <<less
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spicyeggroll
spicyeggroll rated it
September 8, 2021
Status: Completed
3.5 "it was aight" stars

Rounded down because I honestly struggled to finish.

I read this author's work Descending, Do Not Disturb and ADORED it, so I wanted to read her other translated works as well. I picked 8TT over To Be A Virtuous Wife because I heard it was darker and I was curious. However, the tone was exceptionally different from DDND and the characters were less emotional. Because of that, I struggled to connect to them, the romance, the scheming, and the novel in general. It wasn't a bad novel... more>> by all means and had a sweet HEA, but it wasn't spectacular/outstanding either. And the translations were great. Thus, 3.5 stars.

TRANSLATION

Same translator as DDND. Wonderfully translated with very minor spelling/grammar mistakes, if any at all. Translator ramblings at the very end were as fresh as usual.

ROMANCE/SCHEMING/CHARACTERS

Like another reviewer said, the romance is definitely on the dry side. It takes 5ever for the reader to really understand the MC's thoughts and if she even likes the ML or not. To be honest if I was looking for a romance I wouldn't have picked this novel up. The MC and ML get married at the beginning and tolerate each other throughout the book while staying loyal. The ML starts developing feelings but the MC's narrative barely had romantic intentions. It felt one-sided for the majority of the book, so I would definitely say the romance is put in the background.

The scheming was fine... I expected more but the schemes/political intrigue were quite tame and straightforward. The characters' actions were not. There was pointed dialogue and body language that I honestly wouldn't have understood if not for the comments beneath the translated chapters, lol. Overall the political intrigue was decent but not overly-complex or anything. The antagonists were rather one dimensional and the only plot that looms over this series is the ML striving to become emperor with backstabbing happening in each faction. These instances were very loosely/lazily put together and lacked in depth, in my opinion. So while an interesting read, nothing too deep.

While I loved all the characters in DDND, the MC and ML were comparably lackluster in this one. The MC has a lazy personality but is pretty ferocious when things need to be done (she just doesn't prefer to do work), and the ML is cunning with his secrets. I liked their mutual understanding and appreciation of the other (which is as close to romance as we get for the majority of the story). There are some good interactions with other women in the battle for the throne as the MC (who transmigrated from being an overworked actress in her previous life) laments about the horrible fate of women in the historical world. I think that bit of depth was well-written and had potential.

OVERALL

8TT is by no means a weak book, but it wasn't an outstanding one for me. At the end of the day it was still a decent read that I enjoyed in the long run with a HEA for the main couple. I just expected more because of the high reviews and praise, but I guess it would be good to lower those expectations for future potential readers.

Trigger Warnings: torture (mostly bodily and mental abuse), potential mention of r*pe, miscarriage, self-harm

TL;DR Read this if you're into:

  • A main couple that appreciates the other in subtle ways and work really well together (A++ acting for both of them)
  • Mindless antagonists on the dumb side that are easy to swindle
  • Loving family of the female lead that love and support her
  • Kind of a meandering plot with loose schemes
  • Happily ever after!
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janie
janie rated it
April 16, 2021
Status: --
I've never written a review before but this one.. I really can't stand not writing one. Giving it a 2.0 only for the translation team and for that the FL was pretty different from the usual transmigration/rebirth novels.

I saw this novel a while back and was thinking of reading it but decided against it. However, recently I gave it a go and pretty much regretted it. As I read towards the end, I was questioning why this novel was given so many 5 stars. I never read TBAVW before (so... more>> I'm only writing this based on how the novel really is for me), but this novel was really below expectations! There were little actions and some plots never went into details so it was actually 'boring'.

The chemistry between the leads was really nonexistent. I didn't really understand how the ML fell in love. For the FL, from the beginning to end, I only ever felt that she only went along with the ML because he promised her a good life so was it really love for her? <<less
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tedy2004
tedy2004 rated it
January 25, 2021
Status: c105
This novel, I would rate it for 3 stars for the first 40 chapters. However, everything goes right for ML and FL, by everything I mean that all of the things are served on a platter.

Ending spoiler

... more>>
Spoiler

The fact that at the end it tells that the ML time traveled too, I was like, what?... not surprised but annoyed that knowing the FL was transmigrated too. It feels too absurd, the plot shield shows how transmigrators are so with a big brain in their heads and other people are just with a half brain in this novel.

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PrettyBoGummy
PrettyBoGummy rated it
June 28, 2020
Status: c26
I stopped reading this book aorund 226 chapters in. It wasn't a problem with the plot. The problem was tht I had to go back and forth between sites to access the next chapter. THERE WAS NO NEXT BUTTON. I am quite similar to the protagonist, so I am lazy. Going back and forth was annoying and exerted too much energy. Sorry but I couldn't continue reading this book. Sometimes I am willing to go back and forth if it is a really good book. But this book is just... more>> average. <<less
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athene
athene rated it
March 15, 2020
Status: Completed
I'm honestly not sure what the point of this novel is. It's classified as a romance, but the characters don't have any believable love between them or any interesting interactions. They have s*x a lot, and that's about it. FL seems to have zero interest in the ML, who apparently only loves her because she's pretty.

I thought the story was good at building up a sense of unease and tension, but that buildup ultimately doesn't lead to anything. That uneasy tension is supposed to be representative of all the political... more>> machinations in the background, but unfortunately there was no satisfying payoff. The political power play is resolved too quickly and neatly at the end.

Without a good payoff, the series feels like a disappointing drag. FL is another lazy protagonist, which I personally find dull. ML could have been interesting in a different story. Together they have no chemistry or believability as a romantic couple. This story had the potential to be good, but, like the FL, it lacked motivation to get there. <<less
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blazikens
blazikens rated it
February 8, 2020
Status: Completed
Pretty much TBAVW 2.0 as others have said, but imo this one isn't as good.

The main problem I have w/ the novel is how perfect the MC is. While TBAVW's MC didn't have any glaring flaws either, at least she didn't have a perfect family and while certainly more beautiful than most, she wasn't THE beauty. She was also rather arrogant, and not everyone liked her right away.

This novel's MC is basically perfect, however. Even her laziness is written off as cute and elegant, and something she's allowed to be... more>> since she's so beautiful. She has the perfect family, high status, is the most beautiful, and is intelligent and elegant and well-learned in the four arts unlike TBAVW's MC. Thus.... idk, she doesn't have ANY struggles or even any desires other than eating and sleeping like a pig - at least in TBAVW's, she had to at least deal w/ the concubines and her husband and even her mother-in-law before she could relax and live life arrogantly.

As for the ML... he's also a pretty flat character. Imo, while TBAVW's ML wasn't my favorite, I felt he had more personality lol. This ML is pretty much just there to scheme, get the throne, and pamper the lazy MC.

So anyway, even tho this story is a "bloodier" version of TBAVW and I feel women were better portayed here, I liked both the MC and even the romance better in TBAVW. Here the romance felt way too flat and had barely anything to it imo, with no realistic development - especially since both of them were acting a lot of the time.

And as I said w/ TBAVW, this is pretty much still a shallow, slice-of-life novel about transmigration into Ancient China. It's great for a light read, if you have nothing to do, and the translation is amazing and seamless. As well, the transmigration plays even less of a part than in TBAVW other than for the MC to monologue about how unfair women's situation is in this era. <<less
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misanthropethatenjoysreading
misanthropethatenjoysreading rated it
August 3, 2018
Status: --
I prefer this story compared to all the other 'time travel' or 'transmigration' novels- one of the biggest positives of this story is the fact that there is real character growth, making them seem less two-dimensional and therefore more realistic. One of the main examples is the portrayal of how the love blossoms between the main couple; unlike other novels, their love is realistic as the MC is loyal to her husband yet isn't blindly in love. In fact, she wasnt in love at all and often challenged the ML... more>> in several ways on his loyalty towards her. Although she was devastatingly beautiful and intelligent, the story developed with several challenges for her to face. Rather than being ruthless or extremely overpowered like other female protagonists, her attitude is unique and realistic while remaining amicable (other FL are cold and indifferent to everything which is unrealistic).

Another advantage to this story is the fact that the story is applicable to real life standards- there is no fantasy aspect. Although it is set in a historical aspect and the female lead is 'from the future', she doesn't have a weird skill or anything; rather, she has a great mental fortitude and also makes good decisions. The ML is not too different in this aspect too. He may have a cold and ruthless attitude at some points, but it fits in with the plot as he is part of the Imperial Palace and has learned to survive in his own way. Nevertheless, this attitude of his isnt too overbearing and remains controlled while he puts of a facade for everyone else but his wife who he actually treats with care and respect right from the start, unlike other MLs.

The relationship between the FL and ML is quite outstanding- they don't go out of their ways to form a bond but naturally fall in love with one another. At the beginning, both sides were respectful and caring, but were somewhat like strangers. As the story progressed, they accepted each others differences and relied on each other; their interdependence and understanding of one another was great! They were a perfect couple in all aspects :) <<less
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Nah3sa
Nah3sa rated it
August 22, 2017
Status: c59
Here I go for my first review.

I am really fond of this novel : no foolish harem plot, the MC still has her mother and a loving and strong family. So, we escape from the stereotype of "poor heroine, who is all alone, but who is so smart and talented (and cruel) that she can seize the power in her household and attract the typically arrogant and powerful male lead".

In this case, the MC is smart but doesn't try to fight to gain power or prestige or whatever. Just to... more>> gain the upperhand when needed, and act according her status. The story has such a good flow, that almost everything seems really natural and the plot doesn't seem forced.

It's nice to read and interesting, mixing bits of romance and political intrigues. I really recommand it. <<less
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meiberry
meiberry rated it
May 28, 2017
Status: c34
Ahhh I LOVE Dream of Jianghu's translations. They are such high quality, and they pick such good stuff, too.

I absolutely adored TBAVW, and Eight Treasures Trousseau is similar in that one, they're quiet transmigrations where the dynamic between the female lead and the male lead feel similar. The female leads are REALLY similar, which I enjoy since I rarely get to see such cool as a cucumber female leads who are so dang smart and yet stay in their lane in literally every aspect. If you liked TBAVW, I think... more>> you would like ETT even more. Number one reason is that there isn't already a fully formed houyuan to screw with the female lead. Number two reason is that the female lead comes from a nice family... uwwuuhhuuuhuhu never knew how much I longed for the female lead in these stories to have a bearable family that actually likes her, after coming from Chu Wang Fei and Rebirth of a Malicious Empress of Military Lineage (both highly recommended by the way)...

The male lead in this one, however, I think is what makes Eight Treasures Trousseau different from TBAVW. Unlike TBAVW, where He Heng is sort of mysterious and yet basically not really, I think the author actually made a bigger effort to shroud Xian Junwang in more mystery. Still not sure what all is happening, but you can kind of get the idea.

Can't wait till everything is translated, this looks like a great story. <<less
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Chan2
Chan2 rated it
November 2, 2019
Status: Completed
Not interesting storyline. The most boring thing about this story is it keeps jamming your head on how drastically beautiful is the MC. The MC is basically a lazy bum.
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Pink Lotus
Pink Lotus rated it
December 13, 2017
Status: c107
One of best ancient era Chinese novel. I adored this novel more than other ancient era novel. MC is kind, fiercer, clever and caring who love or care for her family and cousins. Unlike other MC, she isn't jealousy women nor do she care or love much for ml. She care her family more than ml. She is selfless kind women who protected her family and her people. I enjoying MC protected ml.
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Khushi Blue
Khushi Blue rated it
December 10, 2017
Status: c104
I love this novel very much. Good story, but some Chinese world confuse MC, I don't understand some Chinese word. I like this story especially MC she is gentle kind strong and overprotected toward her family. I like how she protected ML from his elder sister. I enjoying MC and ML company and interact between them. I Am so sad this novel going to end.
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MissTerry
MissTerry rated it
January 17, 2024
Status: --
I really liked this novel at first. The FL - lazy character, atypical for this genre. She does't want to take revenge on her ex, has no ambitions or goals to save someone and so on.
There is a lot of intrigue and interesting side characters around. There is no love at first sight with ML, but there is respect, family support and loyal people.
It seems that FL will still have to put in some effort and ingenuity for her “happy ending, ” right? Well... no.

You can read this... more>> for fun and enjoy it as long as you don't expect anything new or special.
I expected, and somewhere in the middle was completely disappointed in this story. Towards the end I began to laugh sadly at the absurdity of what was happening.

My main (but very long) complaints:

Spoiler

1) Why is there rebirth at all?! The way most authors use this trope to create characters makes no sense. The same thing here.
The FL's acting abilities are't a unique talent, since ALL the characters (from the dumbest to the damn geniuses) in this story have already received a couple of Oscar awards. So for what was this acting background?
Yes, as a modern woman in ancient China, she often thinks about the injustice and pitiful situation of women in a patriarchal society. But that's all. Just a little sympathy for certain side characters and thoughts without depth. Nothing special.

Okay, the novel mentioned that FL had long ago accepted the rules of life in the new world. But then again, what's the point of making the character someone from the modern world? She doesn’t give a new perspective on the problems of those around her, doesn’t show her personality in a unique way for that time (besides laziness, she dealt with it, good “job”) and doesn’t even experience serious internal conflicts.
I'm really starting to get a headache from this kind of s*upidity.

2) Instead of an unusual and extravagant mistress, FL is rather a boring and annoying cardboard.
I was hoping to see something like the “Legend of Concubine’s Daughter Minglan”, where a girl, finding herself in ancient China, wants to live peacefully and calmly, but is forced (due to her environment and status) to periodically solve problems and survive using her mind and connections. But no. Absolutely not.
In fact, FL most of the time is out of intrigue and events (even when her husband starts them, lol). She always looks at everything from the outside.

If FL intervenes, it is minimal and acts more like a background character in the drama.
Even her words of support for ladies in dire situations are SO ban*l and meaningless. Like, you read and expect some kind of conclusion, good advice, smart idea from a woman of our time and you just get empty zilch.
That being said, the FL's interactions with the ML are still well-developed, it's just that the level of writing gets worse outside of their conversations. Seriously, author should have written her interactions with other characters better.
She is not just lazy, she is inert, shallow and extremely stingy with any emotions (apart from anger, hah).

3) Author created a rather dark world where almost every female character met a cruel but logical end. Everyone except the FL, of course.
The remaining women in this story may be deeply unhappy, but still very much alive. They are full of emotions (sometimes quite contradictory), they hope for something in the future and lose hope, they try to fight and they fail, they get jealous, they suffer.
Some of them disgusted me, some of them I hated, but I felt sorry for almost all of them. It was much more interesting to watch and empathize with them than with the MC.
But of course these girls are s*upid and evil, while our goddess-FL is gorgeous and protected by the powerful plot armor straight from the factory "Most shameless fantasies about the love and power of a spouse".

Without any crises, effort or tension, simply because FL was the most beautiful and ideal (while her husband did almost all the real work behind the scenes), she gets EVERYTHING in the end.
And this is such a vulgar and mediocrely composed fairy tale, against the background of truly realistic and tragic stories of other young girls, who really fought for their happiness only to get death or a terrible life.

In the end I was left with very mixed feelings. What a crazy contrast, what a joke.

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darkelf01
darkelf01 rated it
August 13, 2022
Status: --
Warning: long review rant ahead.

This novel is good but it's suffocating.

The couple even more so. I feel like I can't catch a breather when they appeared together because reading about how they lived and circled around each other in their daily life tired me out. I was constantly thinking 'how the heck can they stand each other?'

Another thing of note is that the genre tags didn't tell you that this novel is part-timing in mystery and psychological genres. Personally I didn't like the mix-up because I don't want to... more>> waste my time on pointless blabber used to lengthen the word count. The 'mystery' doesn't seem to be important to the story either because the MC doesn't care about it.

Even early chapters aren't spared from neck-deep hidden subplots and every characters (even the villains or insignificant ones) has to be wary of everything.

I remember that I've tried to read this novel before but I dropped it once because the younger me didn't understand much about the subtleties and the next thing I knew, another one died. Whew, lives were cheap in CN.

I liked the couple at first, MC's so similar to a lazy cat with beautiful fur. The ML has a good skin but deep scheming, definitely the usual palette that ancient CN ML had.

But as a shippable OTP... They're not a perfect match, I think. I understand that an ancient couple are not usually lovey dovey or just stay married at a polite distance. What's puzzling about this couple is that they clearly didn't trust or love each other (because arranged marriage, of course), but they acted like a loving couple on the surface.

I ended up dropping this book again because I get tired of the distrust they frequently showed, the constant little tests, the hidden mocking words.

What's the point of the author establishing them as a loving couple at the start if they can't even give the minimal trust in each other?

I'd rather the author wrote them as a distant couple that steadily grew closer as time went on than being a loving couple on the surface but treated each other like a scheming liar at the back.

ML figuratively told MC once that she's just a pretty flower supported by her family, while the MC often retaliated with her little conjugal fidelity tests. It got even worse and more frequent the farther you read.

To be honest, I think what both of them needed was a simple, gentle and selfless partner who loved them to bits to heal all those usual ancient life's trauma. They're both selfish and manipulative people who doesn't believe in true love. They must've been tired of each other after all those years of distrust... As a reader, I certainly did. <<less
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