I loved this! I love this as much as I loved 'The Job of An Imperial Concubine', and I actually enjoyed this much more than 'To Be a Virtuous Wife'.

The romance is very slow-burn, but I honestly did feel there was chemistry between the MC and ml. I also see how the ML gradually fell for the MC (and its due to her character, not love at first sight due to her beauty). They are such a power couple! Initially, after reading some reviews, I was afraid I wouldnt like... more>> the MC being too lazy and disinterested but she's such a badass, I absolutely love her. She's intelligent and knows how to stand her ground.

I like the ML here too. He has questionable morals and he's pretty damn scary when he wants to be but he's loyal and sincere to our MC :D

The overall plot was interesting and kept me hooked despite the palace politics things happening. Pacing was great too and overall, I would say this is one of my favourites :D <<less

The similarity between this novel and "To be a virtuous wife" is stunning. Anyone who enjoys TBAVW would absolutely enjoy this one. Contrary to the translator, despite reading TBAVW first, I actually like this novel a bit more hehe. As a side note, I don't think the English title for the novel is quite correct. 八宝妆 Isn't referring to a trousseau. This really supposed to be something like "The eight treasure dowry".

For those who are not familiar with TBAVW. This novel is a Chinese historical political drama with royalties contending for the crown. The plots and schemes within this story tenders to be more realistic than some of it's novel counterparts. Readers are expected to enjoy the characters and their roles in a particular troubled and contentious time within the universe, rather than be in awe at the greatness and brilliance of the protagonists and their abilities.

The story is very very well written, with great pacing, foreshadowing, descriptive language, and a great cast of characters with interesting personality. This is one of the very few novels that I would expect almost all readers to enjoy. Absolutely give this a shot if you have the time.

Normally, I'm pretty lenient when giving out ratings and reviews.

However, I just find this novel to be pretty Boring. Yes, Boring.

It seems that majority of the reviewers here gave out reviews and ratings because this is a 'TBAVW 2.0' as they like to say, but really, with the current pace, I had a hard time liking this novel.

I read plenty of novels, whether it be Chinese, Korean, Japanese and others. I also don't categorize the word 'Boring' because of this novel's lack of action. I find it Boring because hell,... more>> there is mostly nothing happening in the 'Dialogue' department. The Author just like to explain things and write 'This Happened', 'That Happened', and then the Dialogues were even cut short. Another thing was, there is almost No Hype at all.

I guess I would've liked this novel if I didn't read novels like Chu Wang Fei, or maybe even Demon Wang's Golden Favorite Fei. But ultimately, even though I love Lazy Main Characters (aka The Lazy King), I am quite disappointed that the story became dragging in the end.

There is Almost No Chemistry with the Female MC and the Male Lead. It's like, ok, they kissed, and yeah, they had s*x. But there is often a dead air when those two get together.

I don't know if it's the Translator's fault that the 'original' feeling that the Author wanted to portray to readers was Dampened severely... or this was just the way the Author intentionally wrote it. <<less

A bit on the dry side. Not so much for the plot, but because of the romance. There's plenty of political conspiracies, and social backstabbing play, but the romance was a bit lacking.

Female lead is a transmigrated soul who used to be an actor of all things in modern times. After transmigration, basically all she does is sleep and eat. Of course, she is so beautiful that it doesn't really matter that she has a sloth like personality. Throughout it all, the female lead is not only super smart, but... more>> she has uber martial skills. Most of which is barely used at all, as she prefers to just sleep and eat all day. It's a different change in pace from the usual OP female leads in other novels. However, her lazy personality makes the story drag because she has absolutely no interest in any of the events around or what her husband is doing. Not only that, she basically doesn't even show much emotion towards her own husband.

Perhaps, the story would have benefited with another narrator, but the lack of interest in the machinations of politics causes me as reader to also feel ambivalent about the story plot or any other character as well.

It isn't until maybe around the last chapters that the female starts to believe in love, but really it was just practically in a summary at the end.

If you like "To be a Virtuous Wife" you may like this, but TBAVW is far much better because there is more emotional input and more in-depth conspiracy play. <<less

As far as I know Dream of Jianghu always pick good quality novel n for this novel...

She pick a good one again ToT *all hail wyhcwe I luuubbhh uuu

The story written well and the pace just right--It's not draggy nor it's too fast.

The male lead is similar to "To Be a Virtuous Wife" male lead who respect his wang fei but... it's not revealed that much yet n the cliff atm (c3) really killing me ???

As most people have said, this story has some similarities to To Be A Virtuous Wife:

- The premise is similar: a woman from the modern entertainment industry is reincarnated in the body of a new wife in a country similar to Ancient China.

- The tone and pacing are similar since it is the same author and translators.

... more>> However, there are some noticeable differences so far:

- The main character's personality is far more casual and laid-back than in TBAVW. She's lazy, less firey, and also is an extremely rare "calamitous beauty."

- This story is already beginning to be darker and bloodier than the previous one. Nothing too extreme yet, but I can predict it coming...

I'll post a more full review later, but for now here's what you really need to know:

- You can enjoy this series without reading TBAVW first. However, I would recommend starting with that, since it's already complete and this one has just started.

- The translation quality of Dreams of Jianghu is great as usual. However, as usual, there's a lot of Chinese vocabulary used in the beginning that can make it a challenging read for readers new to this sort of Chinese light novel.

- Overall, this series looks promising and isn't a clone of TBAVW (yet). Give it a try if you like stories focused on female main characters in the fu and imperial court.

Update:

Much like the characters themselves, this story slowly grows on you. The intelligent main couple are a breath of fresh air, and it's great watching their unspoken understanding and growing trust in each other. This novel's ending does not disappoint. Highly recommended for anyone who wants a realistic, subtly endearing, sometimes mellow, sometimes exciting, historical drama. <<less

A very underwhelming read. I had high expectations as ratings were high and the plot seemed really good unfortunately, it failed me. I felt like I read a really long summary of a novel. This is NOT the translators fault, it really was how the story was told by the author. The story lacks clarity, everything was semi-vague. Our couple is harmonious but that was it. Both "understands" each other but they didn't really talk abt certain matters that needs to be addressed. If you're bored then read this. If... more>> not, go check other novels. <<less

I like this story, and I'm surprised by how calm the elements play out. I expected intrigue and backstabbing and plots, which seems typical of tales in this genre, but there's something very relaxing about this story and its MC so far. You get a sense that she and her husband are capable, calm people with common sense who are equipped to face any troubles befalling them in the future. It's almost... comforting, and a refreshing change from the constant Drama - Tension - Shock - Tension - DRAMA you... more>> see everywhere else. To be honest, I've yet to finish TBAVW so I can't speak on their similarities, but I like the refreshing twist on atmosphere in this one. Looking forward to future chapters! <<less

This novel demonstrates that truth may be hidden in plain sight. No one is what they portray themselves to be. Look for the alternatives in all situations. The story is centered around two people who are polar opposites. Who are forced into a marriage that neither wanted, but, accepted it. And agreed to work to live peaceably. They are attractive and physically indulgent of one another. He is a scholar with an outwardly docile appearance. In reality he is truely brilliant and masterfully vicious. She is a beauty with out... more>> rival concerned with her own leisure and dining. Under all this she too is skillful in reading personalities and actions of others. She has excellent martial art skills which she keeps hidden. Hah! Until she really needs them. This couple will support the other in all things. So there is no separating this couple. No matter what happens they are "one". Cast in ancient China this couple manuevers their way through the battle field of the royals of the Imperial Palace and it's relative Wangfus.. They are envied and feared by most because they move as a forged unit which is inpenetrable. This novel gives a snapshot of life with the royals. You see how a misplaced word may lead to death or a surprise alliance. You see how love is always sought after, but, rarely obtained because position is more relevant to your needs. Read this novel for the adventure of a life time in one short book. Follow the grandeur of life in and near the palace. It is not at all what it seems to be. <<less

There is a lot of subtext to this story. The reader is expected to read between the lines a lot of the time. This story isn't amazing through it's plot, or characters (those don't defer much from the average historical asian story) but by the way it is written. And it is masterfully done.

The narration is in third person, but it's (mostly) not omniscient. A lot of the time it's a bit like watching the story from a camera above the FL's head (occasionally we get other people's pov but... more>> the MCs are always seen from the side, never from inside their heads). We are never told the thoughts in the characters heads unless they speak them out loud, we are never told the reasoning behind their actions, unless they explain them or until their actions bear consequences. It's a little hard to explain, some people might not like it because it makes the reader slightly removed from the action.

I've seen other reviews describe it as calm, boring, or lacking emotion, dampened, semi-vague... I get why they would feel that, but I disagree. This novel is an amazing demonstration of what "show don't tell" means. Every emotion is shown, the attachment between the two leads is there in the gestures they share, the small smiles they exchange. Their intentions and tension is hidden in the double meaning of their words, and in all the things they don't talk about. It's not dull, it's an HD photo. One so simple and well taken that it's hard to understand why it stands out without putting some thought into it. We can choose to figure it out or just accept that it does stand out.

We are spectators to the lives of these people, and we have to exercise our own insight to see through the words and actions of everyone. It's a little like the first three quarters of a detective story (Sherlock Holmes and the like), where we are given the events and hints that sometimes seem contradictory and we try to figure it out. Normally there's then a big reveal where the detective explains everything. We don't get that here.

The end result?

We KNOW that the FL is smart and cunning and vicious if she needs to be, but we never see her be anything but what most people in the story think she is: a beautiful, naive, lazy princess.

We KNOW that the ML is just as smart and cunning and vicious, and probably the greatest villain of the whole story, but he maintains the image of a righteous man who obtained his position and power through being in the right place and justly punishing the truly evil ones and finally reluctantly stepping up to do his duty to the people and the country.

We aren't fooled, and yet it's all hearsay, happenstance, and suspicion. We have no concrete proof of their true nature, just so much second hand evidence that we know what the hidden truth is. There is no detailed explanation, we will know everything that happened and yet we will not get a confirmation that we are right. The author simply trusts that the readers will understand. And I think that's beautiful. <<less

BEFORE YOU READ:

You better open the glossary first and start to learn all the chinese terms in this novel. Otherwise it could be really confusing on what is going on.

I'm also not talking about simple terms like "meimei" and "daren" etc.

I read a lot of chinese novels, therefore I know a lot of terms, but this here is on a whole new level. There are new terms everywhere and you need to know them all to be not utterly lost and confused about the relationships and what is going on... more>> here.

I also had to reread some sentences and think about who is related to whom and about some meanings. So, this novel isn't something you just start and enjoy reading it.

YOU HAVE TO INVEST TIME. I dropped this sometime, because it is really hard to get into it. <<less

I only made it to ch42 before skipping to the end, the reason being that it was very dry and each chapter had at most 2 interesting lines. I lost nothing and nothing unexpected occured.

the narrator is as lazy and aloof as the protagonist. instead of giving you any deep meaningful character interactions, this novel gives you a few lines of double talk and expects you to turn it into something deep yourself. Yes, you say the characters are deep, cautious, and not what they appear... can you show me... more>> any examples? bc you, the narrator, seem to be keeping all those scenes to yourself.

by ch 42 we have minimal indication that the male lead MAY have devoloped some feelings for his wife (the main character), but we know with certainty that the MC still either fully belives he is acting or just gives no shots (or both). It even seems at this point the male lead is getting a bit frustrated by her complete distain for living.

On the other hand, the MCs complete stone cold indifference to this abitious man is pretty unique in a genre full of empresses who went mad for love and were betrayed, only to need a second try to learn not to easily give their hearts away to ppl who will use it as a stepping stone. The fact that she gives him literaly NOTHING probably attributes to him not scrowing her over since her affection in any form probably becomes more vauluable the harder he has to work for it. Its just male lead neglect.

Spoiler

MC, your husband is mu*dering ppl and doing court intrigue, please care a little, the audience is bored.

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This is my favorite novel after To be a Virtuous wife. Dreams of Jianghu really knows how to pick treasures among those numerous novels. I read novels with almost/ the same genre and I still find the two novels (ETT, TBAVW) highly favorable with its stable flow of story and high quality of characters, plot and theme.

Written by the same author as TBAVW, it's easy to get your hopes up for ETT. And if you liked TBAVW, you'll like this - only not as much. Generally speaking, ETT is a dumbed down, in your face version of TBAVW, with maybe half the charm. The female lead is beautiful and whimsical, while the male lead is cunning but devoted to his wife, and the two navigate through the political landscape with ease. In terms of background, the female lead has it a lot easier (so it was... more>> a little forced to give her the exact same views and doubts as Qu Qing Ju), but her husband's position is less stable, allowing for more cloak and daggers. Overall, the author has decided to play it safe and stick with what she knows, so ETT doesn't really bring anything new to the table - to the point that barely anyone can review this without mentioning TBAVW. Hopefully it will develop into a story in it's own right, but right now it's exactly what it's described as - TBAVW 2.0. In terms of translations, it's easier to follow since I've already read TBAVW, but for someone just starting out, it'll be very confusing and take a lot of patience. 3.5/5 <<less

Fl’s wilful narcolepsy and zoning out behaviour as though she’s constantly high is very off putting. You literally have her wake up super late, eat, then yawn whilst conversing then go back to sleep and her inner monologue always informs us she’s too lazy to think about xyz. Truly annoying and a waste of a potentially good character, also her transmigration has no benefit or bearing, minus apparently making her extremely lazy.

ML is not cold and aloof, it’s nice to read one who doesn’t hold back his words and can... more>> keep his promises. I stayed reading to see him reach his goals as he truly deserved the seat he wanted.

As a couple things are more readable after the early 50’s, when they have an open conversation and the overall story also picks up more from there.

Side characters were not bad and with some I wish they had their own story, such as ML’s main rival Yan Bo Yi, this dude needs his own rebirth wife chasing novel asap. <<less

I like the subtle meanings. But there were so many subtle meanings! Nothing is explicitly stated.

And I couldn't grow attach to the FL and ML. There wasn't much on personality/character development but just re-emphasis on how lazy but strong and beautiful the FL is. The ML had a dark side which was never really explored as he is cruel to the spies in his household and the reincarnated FL knew but accepted it as the norm in that timeline.

I like how the FL's family is very supporting. Her mom is... more>> a tigress who will defend her babies.

But overall, it was a bland read. <<less

Even though at times I didn't understand the implications each move a character made, this novel is very well thought-out in terms of characterization and in plot. If I had to describe one word for this novel, "complex" would be it. Nothing is simple, everyone has a hidden dagger hiding up their sleeves.

Overall a great read. Thank you translators for all your hard work and your blunt comments. They helped sometimes when I didn't understand what happened in chapters.

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

I don’t really get why most people would give 5 stars, at most this novel would be 4.

• With all the building up chapters for the ML’s seize of throne, the ending seems a bit rushed.
• The ‘schemings’ seems a joke for me. Full of plot holes and plot armor and pretty predictable.
• Another love sick ML
• Can’t help but compare it to TBVW and the latter’s more beautifully written and the character’s more alive.
• One thing I like most in this novel is compared to other ancient times novel, this one has more sense and not so much face slapping

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

I don't understand this novel. Too much holes unexplained.

The only scheme which I knew is the killing of young master Zhang. But how his body can thrown outside the city?

Too many unexplainable ?

I cannot feel any love from female lead as well. She is too lazy to show a bit affection?