Alright, I'm writing this so that people wanting to read this gets a better insight on what this novel is really about.

Overall Summary: A Seductive Gentleman is a story about our main character Ming ChangYan whom, you guessed it, lost all of his cultivation due to a fight with the six major sects of Jianghu. He was deemed evil due to the fact that he had killed an important figure (and also because people were extremely jealous of his skill and cultivation level). So in order to regain is cultivation... more>> and return to his sect, he has to go find the immortal grass that is said to be located in the Imperial Palace. So, he dresses up a concubine and sneaks into the palace to try to steal the immortal grass.

Characters: Ming ChangYan is a shameless protagonist who's intelligent while hilarious at the same time. He barely gets embarrassed (unless it's in front of ML) and is headstrong at times. He's easy-going and overall a very kind guy that's been mistreated by greedy people. I honestly loved his character, he's so relatable to readers, which makes him very lovable.

Our precious male lead... Oh my goodness is he adorable. Yun Qing, birth name Huai Yu, is such a freaking cute kid. Spoilers over their relationship:

Spoiler

He's such a tsundere at times. But he's not the type to reject his love and deny it, it's more like he's just really awkward and always gets the wrong idea when talking to MC. He pampers MC so much after they get together. He just super cute, like no joke. Like a comment I saw before, when he gets angry he just keeps it in him for as long as possible until either our MC calms him down or it explodes (the latter will happen once and it's pretty d (ﾟｰﾟ@) that's all I have to say about that. Huai Yu is a bit cold sometimes, but he's only like that when MC treats him like a child. This guy is eating so much vinegar that I'm surprised that he doesn't have high blood pressure by now.

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The story overall isn't some cliche BL romance about forbidden love in the palace (yuck) it's a mystery/action and adventure over the two figuring out who's been mass murdering and annihilating different sects under Ming ChangYan's name. Be warned though, the story gets extremely dark at times and there are angsty parts that really just punch you in the gut. The plot line is wonderful, you think one thing is going to happen, but then is flips around and tricks you by making another occur.

Humor wise, amazing. I laughed so much at the two main character's interactions. One is always making jokes and trying to coax the other, while the other party shuts him up with hilarious one-liners.

I'm extremely sorry if my translation is poor in the beginning few chapters. This is my first project and I didn't really know much about translating! I'm improving and if anyone would like to point out any translation error of mine, please do tell me. <<less

Real question here: if you introduce a character only to kill them off not even a chapter later, how is the reader supposed to empathize with their death?

I'm asking that because it happened twice in this novel during the span that I read it. I'm normally a crybaby, but man oh man, I did not feel a thing for those deaths or those scenes.

Others have noted the similarities between this and MDZS. I normally hate comparisons like that, but man oh man, this one was super obvious. Does MDZS have... more>> the monopoly on long-secret loves, or falling off cliffs and only purportedly dying, or having the MC have partial amnesia and avoid his love interest out of misunderstanding, or having the MC be framed and hated by everyone? Of course not. Throw 'em all together, though, and it's a teeny tiny bit hard to overlook, eh?

Do I legitimately think this novel was trying to emulate MDZS? No, actually. I just think it's using a bunch of common wuxia/xianxia tropes in an unfortunately coincidental matter. For that matter, I don't even really care about the similarities; it's just that they're made all the more glaring by the novel itself not being very good. Apart from several nonsensical elements in the beginning (that's not how concubine selection works, first of all), the pacing was all sorts of odd, and scenes that were supposed to be emotion-packed ultimately fell flat. You were given maybe two chapters to get attached to a character before they were killed, and that simply wasn't enough. In light of that, the rest of it was simply not interesting enough to continue reading. A bit of a shame, since the Chinese fandom is all over this one. I guess the reason for that is simply not one for me to understand. <<less

Read this in Chinese. I loved it! It's a more 'lighthearted' bl - not as much angst and knives - and its short too. The main character (shou) is shameless and smart and he needles and teases the love interest endlessly. The love interest is stoic, intelligent and rational. Their dynamic is a little like Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji from Mdzs. Anyway, I really enjoyed the dynamic of the two of them - they're really cute together and really funny too. Plot-wise it's about the main character figuring out who set... more>> him up for the fall that happens before the novel starts. There's a few side characters whom I love, but these side characters sometimes get really sad fates... Overall, I really loved this! A nice break from other mammoth and angst-laden bl. <<less

This novel is super... annoying. Not about the characteristic/personality of each characters though. The thing is how the author used the palace setting as the background for the story in most part, and added with MC disguising himself as a woman of emperor.

I'm pretty sure, readers are familiar with how ancient china era rules regarding woman and man, also woman in palace, right? All women in the palace especially the harem are property of the emperor iirc. So, how come they could ignore such rude out spoken concubine woman (MC),... more>> and how come they let this concubine woman freely talk with man in the harem, touching their shoulder, mingling with the prince's cousin and such?? And how did a high class young master willing to speak and trust a low future concubine/mc? A whole lot of holes in its setting are making me perplexed in reading a good mistery.

I feel like the author was just tailing one of the famous characteristic of main character for her/his work from a famous novel. And they the author, put so much focus to that character. But doing that, they failed to live up the strength and work some more detail in their's novel.

I dont know if I can continue to read it. <<less

TL;DR: It's a really interesting mystery-solving story, similar to Founder of Diabolism. The main characters and their interactions are great, but the writing (note, not the translation) is a little messy. The premise of the story, that of a framed cultivator's plummet from grace then subsequent rise to glory, is one I really like. And I agree with dona's point about the story being similar to MDZS/FoD, but I've read a lot of stories with similar characters and plots. The possibility of thinking up a completely unique storyline and characters is nearly impossible. Besides, both the main characters and story are different enough from FoD that I don't internally compare them while reading.

Storyline: The story itself is pretty intriguing, especially because the MC isn't even sure what happened to him so we have an unreliable-narrator-type situation. Information is slowly revealed to us, mainly through other characters, which leaves more mystery for us. Even when the main focus isn't solving the mystery, the more filler-esque chapters are still fluffy and/or funny. However, a lot of the more crucial information is included in poorly-separated flashbacks, so it becomes extremely difficult to navigate what's current and what's not. Character introductions in a lot of these flashbacks are nonexistent as well. Sometimes, I'd end up reading a chapter with entirely new names and wonder if I'm reading the wrong story, only to finally realize it's a flashback when I see the MC's name mentioned halfway through the chapter.

Characters: Continuing along the aforementioned problem, there are a lot of faceless, undeveloped characters that so far have meant very little to the plot. And I hope the insignificant characters stay that way - if any of those faceless characters return for their go at a story arc after more than three chapters, I'll have forgotten them already. I occasionally just skim the flashbacks because they're chock-full of characters I can't remember.

However, of the characters that actually are fleshed out and relevant, I love their personalities and interactions with other characters.

MC: He's extremely confident, shameless, and clever. However, despite his easy-going attitude and how narcissists are never as good as they claim, he's legitimately very strong. He's lucky he's strong, because his sheer shamlessness (impudence, really) could probably start wars. Because of his generally proud and upbeat character, it really made my heart hurt to see him suffering.

ML: Thank God he's a rich young master, since anyone with any smaller a wallet would probably go bankrupt with the amount of vinegar he chugs. The MC always wonders what scent the ML wears - it's the smell of vinegar, young one. He's not very good at expressing his jealousy, but fortunately the MC is so accustomed to coaxing him that he can tell at a glance when he's upset. Even before they're together, he dotes on the MC a ton, but he also makes me think he's secretly black bellied.

It´s an alright read but I´m not continuing. I guess what´s stopping me from fully enjoying it is that it feels like the author took The founder of Diabolism as a template for this novel, which is really off putting. MC´s character is really similar to Wei Wuxian, which I don´t particularly mind. I really love shameless brave characters either way but the overall happenings is just too familiar and similar. I wish the author had gone with a different plot.

Secondly there are far too many characters but they hold... more>> no meaning (unlike in FOD), they just take up dialogue space. At chapter 23 and MC still haven´t come very far. It makes me feel really impatient.

Another thing is that it never was explained how MC managed to enter the palace as a concubine. It made no sense. <<less

with the way this story jumps from the present to the past and back without structure or warning, its probably better to patiently wait for the translation. I tried to MTL a little and got completely lost. I can already tell this is one of those stories where flashbacks will play an important role in unraveling the story so if you hate flashbacks you might not like this one. So far its funny and interesting. I hope it keeps the humor all the way through.

I'll be honest, this kinda feels like something a 16 yo would write after reading mdzs once or twice. The main characters do seem heavily based on it and it has the- you know, us v. everyone trope that's very common in danmei.

But here's the thing: just because it's characters are similar to another (famous) book's characters, doesn't necessarily mean that this story is bad, or that it doesn't deserve consideration. (also, some 16 yo authors are incredibly creative and have better grasp over what moves people's emotions than most... more>> adult authors, so...)
I think this story is a light read. It won't make you feel any excessive emotional attachment to the MC from the get go, unlike other books. mostly because, (till where I've read, atleast) the MC doesn't seem to take himself seriously.
The story's plot is serious (-ish) but the way it's executed takes away the angst, and makes you scoff and giggle instead. This feels like a story that was written, and should be read, casually. the writing is not shakespearean, but that's not a crime.

The translator has done their best and done an excellent job. <<less

Really like so far!

Story is of MC who tries to regain his cultivation (and memory) after being overthrown by the other jianghu sects. I'm super curious about MC's background and how it got to his present state. MC is a free spirited shameless narcissist who claims himself as the number one handsome gentleman of the jianghu. Through some flashbacks, we get to see that MC is also very charismatic, kind/warm, and oblivious. There's alot of comedic scenes (of MC pretending to be a concubine) as well as gory dark scenes.... more>> (MC's signature fighting style is with needles, and theres quite a bit of a description of how "his" enemies are killed/dealt with.)

ML is cute, hes the stubborn/cold/tsundere/guardian type. He is a bit socially challenged, and resembles a little kid; whenever he gets angry/annoyed, he kind of stews it inside, going quiet (which entices MC to draw him out, coaxing him and such). MC is the jokester/social/shameless type that's always offending people just by existing XD <<less

I'd seriously give this a 5* if not for something about the plot which bugs me. Everything else is 5* except for the plot.

The MC is amazing. He's so shameless and crazy he steals the show off every scene I love him. ML is a tsun. I love how the MC has to coax him all the time in funny, audacious ways. Every time he pushes and pushes till the ML breaks is a scene I look forward to.

Ok, so back to thenegatives. Incoming huge spoiler alert.

... more>>

Spoiler

I don't understand how the Wan QQ bastard was so adamant that MC was the one who poisoned his whole sect. If the MC had done so, clearly he wouldn't need to run all over town trying to find the antidote when his beloved sister's life is at stake. What, does Wan QQ think he's lying about the antidote. What kind of killer possesses poison without an antidote. He's a total insane dumbass. I'm just chalking it up that he's grieving and dumb so he doesn't even question that MC may not be the one who poisoned them. Even the Daoist woman who kills off Wan QQ saying it's for the MC is dumb. How the hell is killing the Wan bastard gonna help remove MC's enemies, when it's clearly doing the opposite and making the MC look more guilty. She must have been trying to set MC up but the lines she said in that chapter didn't make sense whatsoever.

There was also something else which didn't make sense either about the plot but I can't remember now due to reading too many novels at once orz... but yeah, overall the villains are dumber than rocks. I get how it's supposed to all be a set up, but the way it happened made the small antagonists really brainless.

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Other than that, the MC's antics and the cute tsun relationship with the ML are what carries the story. <<less

Rather than MDZS, this novel is kinda reminded me of a manhua, "Prime Minister in Disguise". From the Palace setting, where MC infiltrated to a Palace, disguising himself as a woman and become a concubine, Second, to how the MC is shameless, carefree, but also smart and strong, Third, to how the MC was someone amazing who had his life ruined and finally begin to take back his glory once again, Fourth, and how the plot is unraveled through flashbacks one after another.

This novel is not bad, it's quite interesting.... more>> While the writing overall is decent, it's also not that outstanding, just like how the other reviewers had said, it used flashbacks to deliver the plots, yet the flashback is written poorly and made the readers feel lost and disoriented.

In conclusion, Just blame me, since I read this novel after I read that Manhua I mentioned above, and also MDZS, that the plot of this novel ended up not as surprising or amazing for it to deserve a 5 stars. <<less

It's both hilarious and heartbreaking-

MC is the personification of shameless but sometimes his smile is simply a facade. He always makes the funniest mistakes and makes you roll on the floor laughing, his interactions with ML are so much fun!

The story gets more serious later on but the funny aspect never goes away even if it's illogical sometimes it's exactly my taste.

The writing style and translation is wonderful, a very pleasant read.

A good story with nice characters and a good plot. Sometimes I find that the plot is too similar with MDZS, but overall it’s well written.

Looks like a fun and careless novel, but this is damned Modaozushi number 2. I don't want compare, because it's bad thing. Novel is good, isn't boring. Amusing and sad.

• • Sorrowful flashbacks

• • MC aka shameless strong woman (men) His personal needle technique is something special.

• • ML aka male tsundere. I was amused by his behavior, acts like a cold mature man, but he is still childish and cute.

• • Some detective and thriller, they investigate assassinations connected with MC and his past.

• • Their communication and development of relationship are slow but sweet.