and Chong fei manual are the best ancient Chinese novels that I have read. This one is pretty realistic a ML who sees women just like dolls who can not think by themselves, and think that every woman in his harem are his. He does not need to explain his action because he is the leader of his family. So I understand some comments of why he is such an a**hole. [Reason why I love how he starts to accept ji man help and to respect her, plus to gain her back he really has to coax her]

May not be in order but I'll list off some things he did: 1) He "schemes" too much or in my opinion he's too concerned with his power and selfish so he fence sits a lot which results in him hurting the MC 2) He often uses MC as a magic problem solver disregarding her feelings (Ex. Knowing there's enmity between MC and wanwan, he constantly throws wanwan for the MC to take care of and the MC has to treat her like some master too) 3) In the very beginning he treats MC like dogsh*t and is very biased towards the novel FL (Ex. He has absolutely no understanding towards his own harem at all. Quickly judged MC in two cases, one of them leading MC to being hit as punishment to where she couldn't move for 2-3 days.) 4) After MC's baby is stolen and replaced with a cat, instead of consoling her (which he can't cause he a can't pick a side between crown prince and 3rd prince) or even secretly consoling her by visiting her in secret more. He does a lot of things without explanation like visiting other women instead and avoiding MC. 5) He hides MC's son from her, after he finds MC's son, he lets a random woman disguise as the mother and takes her as a concubine. (I mean I get it may be dangerous for the son but at least tell MC it's her son, she's smart enough to act. Idk if he even told the son that MC's his real mother while being raised by another woman. It's honestly really sad because MC missed the most precious time with her son and he doesn't even recognize her as his own real mother. MC was also pained over not knowing whether her son was alive or dead for 2 years) 6) Non of the people that harm MC ever got a satisfying death. Idk if ML has attachment problems but he always lets off the people who harm MC so easily. 7) After all this, MC finally escapes his damn harem and ML BUT GUESS WHAT he uses her son to threaten her into coming back to him

ML does supposedly have character development later on but like I stated before, it's not satisfying. I feel like in this book he's the only one who get's to be happy throughout the book. He constantly piles problems onto MC but whenever MC has a problem or has been framed, he doesn't help, heck she'd be luckily if he didn't punish her when she's framed or give her more problems. He doesn't really truly suffer and burn in regret for his prior actions to MC either, she just kinda forgives him and falls in love. This is what makes me hate the fact that he's ML the most. I'd be able to deal with it if after he did all that shit, he lost MC and suffers, realize how scummy he was, almost die in regret or at the very least properly dealt with MC's enemies. But he doesn't, at the end it felt like the MC herself kinda gave up, content as long as he loved her the most (much like the original novel FL). No requests of him not having other women or anything.

And there will be a consequence to using this knowledge

To be clear, ML is attracted to MC relatively early on once they spend more time together, but I don't think he's truly in love with her until later in the story. And MC will not wholeheartedly love ML until he places her as his highest priority

There's one major devastating event and two minor events that's all linked to one motive. I really like how MC's emotions goes through the five stages of grief before moving on and figuring out the next step she will take. But, the last story arc of the novel is super fluffy, especially the cotton candy sweet ending.

- She will eventually leave the residence and travel on her own.

- After the second male lead marries someone, his wife is jealous about the attention he pays MC. Instead of acting like a typical c-novel villainess, she and MC have a calm discussion of how they'll stop his behavior.

- MC crossdresses later in the story for a short period of time and people start gossiping that ML is bisexual. It's very funny and I like that ML doesn't care about the gossip. It really shows how much he has changed since the beginning of the novel.

ML is a d*ck whose life embodies 'spoiling the concubine and destroying the wife', hence his inner courtyard being on fire 80% of the time. This seems to be a political calculation, but I honestly can't see how it gets him ahead in terms of the imperial court.

Pre-transmigrated FL was a b*tch, but the story basically goes into how the ML slowly drove her insane/destroyed her life because he never valued her to begin with. No wonder she went nuts and took things out on the concubines. Pre-transmigrated FL was apparently an easily-manipulated moron who was head over heels for him, so if the ML had spent the slightest effort he probably could have controlled her and prevented the utter disaster that was his inner courtyard.

Pretty much the entire story, I've been going, 'MC... you may as well forget going back to the modern era and just take your money and run away with the supporting ML.' But honestly, that isn't a solution for her situation either. She's backed up against a corner and has no outs because her own family is tied up in the struggle for the throne.

The point I quit reading was after she went through a huge struggle just to carry a baby on behalf of the original owner of the body, just for the story to go into a hugely depressing spiral. It was a tragedy conga and I finally gave up because I couldn't see how the situation could be turned around in the MC's favor.

The final goal of 'get the ML to fall in love with the MC' is just... I just find it depressing. The ML set his own backyard on fire, but the only possible happy ending for the MC is for the ML to also get a happy ending.

Nesting a spoiler because this was what made me quit reading:

After the MC goes through some insane struggles just to actually have the baby, the ML ignores the birth of the baby (he has good reasons for doing so) and the actual birth turns into a trap that destroys the MC's reputation and also results in said baby being handed to an enemy who wants her and her family dead. The ML is the one who personally hands the baby over. Again, he has his reasons for doing so, but honestly...

You can see this trap coming from miles away. The pregnancy itself is depressing enough, but it's very obvious during the pregnancy that things aren't going to get better when the baby is out of the womb.

(That said, I admit I thought it would take slightly longer in-universe for something to actually happen to the baby. I thought the MC would at least get one happy moment with her kid before it all went to shit.)

You'd think super awesome ML would have picked up on clues like 'the enemy who wants the MC dead showed up to stab her with a knife while she was pregnant because it looked like her husband was favoring her too much' and took some extra care with the birth process, right? Nope!

This dude can't decide on what he wants and he can't protect his own family. He also can't steel himself enough to clean out his backyard and instead runs around getting everyone he can pregnant. This is probably politically calculated, and MC's pregnancy was an accident he purposely tried to prevent, and like... I get it. I get why the ML acts the way he does, but I really do not like the guy.

I would honestly like the ML better if he had just killed off the original MC. At least that would mean he could make some hard decisions. Instead he's this guy who has one foot in one camp and the other foot in another camp, and the people who suffer for it are not him but rather his mother, wife and concubines.

ML probably has good reasons for ending up in this situation. It's the nature of the fight for the throne. But he has so few redeeming qualities made obvious up front, it's really really difficult to like him or root for him to get together with the MC in the end. So, I'm stopping at the point I'm at. Maybe I will pick this story back up later, after I work up my mental fortitude.

First off her story is so tragic. She went through so much pain from ML starving her almost to death and her whole family dies because of the ML. She gets framed time and time again and her kid is kidnapped as soon as he was born then poisoned, but the ML basically never sides with her. She needed to solve all these problems herself. Basically she does not have a single good day. But in the end she decided to stay with him. IDK why! At first she laid down her guidelines with him that she will only stay with him if he is loyal to her (stop sleeping around/taking more concubines). Yet two chapters later, she things about how truthfully she doesn't really expect much from him as long as she is still treated as the "best" or be the one he "loves". She went from a strong woman to a dumb woman that knows the ML is a jerk but still stays with him.

The author keeps mentioning how intelligent and powerful he is, but he belittles the women in his harem to the point that he is clueless as to who kidnapped his son and poisons his son later on. How is this the same guy who can apparently plant spies in the palace and overthrow two emperors? You cannot be all knowing and powerful and yet be clueless about the true nature of the women you sleep with or WTF is happening in your own home. What a failure! And then he gets betrayed by his concubines, yet he doesn't kill her and continues to let her stay by his side which later causes more harm to Sangyu. WanWan betrays him and rats about Ji Man to the emperor and tried to kill Ji Man many times but apparently the best he can do is just let her live in a corner peacefully so she can continue to disturb our female lead. Yes this definitely shows that he loves Sangyu very much.... Oh and don't forget the Liu Huayuan concubine who he keeps praising as gentle who ends up kidnapping Ji Man and lying through her teeth then poision HaoHao (Ji Man's son) and lie about it even to her death refusing to give the antidote (which to the end he still believed her and even gave her a grand funeral). He seems so kind and gentle doesn't he, letting his enemies live well? But apparently he is the same minister that has killed his own unborn child multiple times in order to preserve balance in his harem. Okay he is heartless enough to kill an innocent unborn child but not one of his mistresses even when they've plot his beloved near her death?!?!?!

Zhu Yunrun a chubby girl who got together with a man Qiang Yunchen something unbeknownst to him because he was to drunk to remember that he initiated and gets pregnant. He hates her to the point he pushes her down the stairs and she loses the baby but all is fine. She does not even get mad at him and still loves him despite him treating her quite like tr*sh. WTF. Then the story shows how they get love dovey and I just want to vomit.

Don't forget about Pengxin and Mingjie though. I thought Mingjie would be an example of a good man in the story but nope epilogue ruined it. He marries Pengxin and she loves him very much and they sleep together too. She gets pregnant and he doesn't even know and he takes in like 2-3 more concubines who poisons her and mistreats her apparently without him knowing depsite her being a neighboring country powerful princess and the legally wedded first wife. All the hardships she suffered because he couldn't care less about her is all forgiven later when he later spends more time and starts to develop feelings for her.

Things are definitely tenuous at the beginning of the novel. There is no doubt that Ning Yixuan loathes the girl Ji Man transmigrated as, and even though there are actual reasons for his dislike (Nie Sangyu had originally forced their marriage upon him) this does not justify his cruel treatment toward her. However, as Ji Man slowly differentiates herself from the past Nie Sangyu and proves that she is smart and useful, Ning Yixuan begins to more or less respect her decisions/capabilities. He occasionally asks for her advice and actually tries to help her out in some sticky situations (for example he even saves her life from an attempted assassination). He doesn't actually 'love' her at this point, but it's a big step from the absolute hate he once harbored for her, and to go from loathing someone to loving them is a process that realistically requires many steps anyway. As the novel progresses, Ji Man continues to express her 'love' for Ning Yuxuan many times, demonstrating through her actions that she is willing to die for him (like when she took care of him while he had smallpox even though she was at risk of catching the illness herself) and that she cares (checking up on him and sending him food and what not). Of course, Ji Man is only acting like she loves him because she thinks she needs to gain his affections in order to return home, and Ning Yuxuan is well aware of this because Ji Man can't quite mask the indifference she actually feels toward him all the time (again this is realistic. Ji Man wasn't a professional actress when she transmigrated so it would be hard for her to perfectly act in love with someone), but he slowly begins to love her anyway. I personally think this development is sensible. Though this doesn't excuse his immorality, Ning Yuxuan is well aware that no one harbors any pure love for him, making it so that it is difficult for him to trust others. Even Wen Wan, who was supposedly his true love and destined wife, is easily reduced to scheming for favor at the risk of Ning Yuxuan's wants and needs. He is also in a position where he needs sensible people by his side, especially as a Marquis walking the fine line in between opposing royal factions. So when Ji Man shows how clever she is and demonstrates that she is willing to throw away for life for him, it's not unreasonable for Ning Yuxuan to fall in love, even if he knows it's likely not reciprocated. He may not show it well... but that's a whole other issue.

As for Ji Man, it is very realistic for her to remain apathetic throughout the majority of the novel. She doesn't get jealous when Ning Yuxuan sleeps with other women, doesn't really care that he doesn't love her, and most of the time she is just making fun of him in her head. In fact, she soon gains a lot of good reasons to actually hate Ning Yuxuan because, as mentioned earlier, he a questionable character who in turn does questionable and sometimes harmful things. So how does she fall in love with him at the end? Actually, the novel hasn't gotten to that point yet so I'll update once it finishes, but the way the winds are blowing show clear indication of how this romance is going to occur, and again I feel it's going down a pretty reasonable path.

Ning Yuxuan gets drugged with an aphrodisiac (not by Ji Man) and she pushes him into her servant's room. There is very obvious dubious consent in this, but I just want to say that the servant was very willing to sleep with Ning Yuxuan. I can't say the same for him though.

Ning Yuxuan kills some of his unborn children through staged accidents for political reasons, which is obviously pretty horrible of him. Then, in order to 'protect' Ji Man, he keeps her separated from her child and tricks her to believing her child is another woman's, knowing all the while the amount of emotional pain he is putting her through (at one point she is borderline suicidal). Also, he lets Ji Man's entire family except her and her brother die in order to save her life. The list goes on.

claims he’s “in love” with JM/NSY despite killing her entire clan, I can’t handle it anymore. Furthermore, he’s holding their own baby hostage because she won’t give him attention.

To start off, let me clarify some of my points by introducing the characters:

[1] Female Lead's family is powerful.

Now, what do you think happens to an FL who has a powerful backing and then married to an equally powerful house but not a Wang? (1) She is an eye-candy politically, so (2) a lot of people want to manipulate/use her, have her killed or get her as an ally. ML-FL relationship isn't simple.

[2] Male Lead's

family is powerful but not Imperial.

Now, what do you think happens to characters that aren't Imperial but powerful? Their family hangs on a scale. Princes either wanting to recruit them or have them killed. So to this, the ML tried his damnest to balance things out.

This ML has layers upon layers of schemes of his own and really manipulative.

(1) He is not Imperial so (2) he has limited privileges, and (3) he is good in martial arts but not ridiculously good, but (4) it doesn't matter anyway because martial arts is not a central point in this thing. So he isn't OP.

Now, the reason I say it's similar to TBAVW is because it's more of a politically intrigue novel where characters are not what they seemed.

In character temperament, and the romance aspect, both novels followed the same formula:

In both novels, ML use their women to gain advantage.

[1] Except in TBAVW, because the ML is a Wang and FL bg is powerful, he only had to look at her and insta-support. No need to be antagonistic to FL. Moreover, FL transmigrated early so she immediately behaved herself. Hence, we don't have drama and ML is only loving to her. Readers love him and everyone is happy.

[2] Here in DSB, on one hand we have an FL background who is skewed to one faction (i.e. FL's aunt who is the favoured Imperial Concubine, say IC) and another hand the scheming crown prince's under the Empress. FL married the ML because of IC in the first place, so yknow. Anyway, ML hangs on a delicate balance. And since this is ancient setting, we don't have the privilege of seeing an overly-doting ML on the FL.

Instead, he used that "ancient setting sh!t" to his advantage by:

using his harem like 100% more than TBAVW

because (1) he needs to, (2) yeah, he still has a choice not to but why not anyway, and (3) original owner's behaviour (original owner of body before FL transmigrated) was very disagreeable at the start so they had a major fall out.

Imagine being in a tricky situation where you are trying not to offend people to preserve your life, then here goes a person waltzing in and cannot even understand what you're trying to do so unintentionally wrecking havoc in your plans? I think ML felt that way to original!owner and so she lost his favour. And rather than doting on her, his original actions is more on the negative end and being antagonistic by appearing not too biased on a faction.

I stand my ground that ML on both novels are scheming and manipulative (and both FL's know this). Just that, because of circumstances, ML on former is doting on his wife and ML of latter is hot-cold.

This is also the reason why I say both followed the same formula. Most other novels followed a different one (and one that readers loved best) : ML is black-bellied, FL may or may not be black-bellied, and ML is only doting to FL because they are both black-bellied anyway so they don't mind offending people. Case in point: DCF, PGC, BBM, all other novels with once-assassin/doctor female transmigrated to ancient times.

That aside, other things about this novel so far:

The FL's modern knowledge doesn't make her OP, and she is sympathetic to fellow women.

But that doesn't make her the holy mother, that role belonged to OFL (lol). It's just that... she's not vengeful, very tolerant but doesn't mean she'll just allow others to bully her. She understand why women have to do this and that, and so doesn't take it against them.

Her view on love is also very similar to TBAVW's FL: she really doesn't care about ML but also won't actively push him away. To live well, she has to pretend to still like him. She also knew ML's status and so behaved properly according to her role.

Also, like I said she's not OP (unlike in DCF perhaps where later on Nee Bai used her knowledge on bombs and stuff to gain leverage and help ML) which is something I appreciate 'cause hey, it's not like you can just randomly see formulas of bombs anywhere, remember it and use it. Instead, her "modern" knowledge comes in the form of production of beauty products (which is more realistic imo), having business skills despite being a woman, earning money, and being able to cook despite being noble.

The characters have depth, the OFL halo is strong and FL's life is not given on a silver platter.

The characters aren't 2D, enough said. Putting aside ML's asshol-ic personality, I'm hands down to author for not making him black-bellied but still someone who knows his sh!t nonetheless. I mean... I appreciate his character the most. He is not all-good 2D. He is scheming, manipulative, to a point I find him hateful, funny, but interesting (yes, I am weird).

Not just he ML, but basically everyone. Cannon fodders aren't just cannot fodders. They didn't become hateful just for the sake of being one, but because they were pushed that way (another example is the antagonist of Rebirth of an Abandone Woman), as opposed to say OFL of DCF where, tbh, she became hateful just for the sake of it: I don't understand her because she's just too s*upid. Something like that.

I appreciate smart antagonists, as oppose to plain unreasonable ones. And so far, the development here is good. Like, for example, the development of OFL to a true antagonist after her fall from grace is reasonable. There's a step-by-step process we get to see and I like that, and isn't because she's just inherently/became s*upid.

OFL's halo is strong. Unlike DCF where it was slowly but surely being clipped, here it isn't (at least not obviously), which I appreciate. A lot of people might hate ML because she dotes on her while being antagonistic to FL, but do remember FL

is

villainous and cannon fodder originally. So why would ML have his sights on her?

It's strange how people don't bat an eyelid when ML of other novels act harsh on antagonists, but flip heaven and earth when ML is harsh on FL who is (again) supposed to be an antagonist. You don't pity women antagonists on other novels who died and was tortured by MLs, but complain when ML here had FL be punished and ignored her in favour of OFL who is the original protag? lol

FL's life isn't given on a silver platter. Unlike in DCF or TBAVW where everything is smooth-sailing, here is obviously not. Not only because the OFL halo is strong and the tricky part of FL's background, but like... every action of FL really has consequences.

I read a bit later on (before MTL fried my brain) and, yeah, the consequences can be

heavy. It's heart-wrenching, but provided the realism I need that not everything is rainbows and ponies. Just because she is now the FL doesn't mean she now gets the express lane in everything. In fact, the things that happened just made me appreciate her character more, for being strong, independent and... just so far, I really like her.

I also have this strong desire for Ji Man, the MC, to be the first (at least that I've read) female protagonist to actually leave the ancient world behind when she has the chance to. Considering we're closing in on the half-way point and she still has no feelings for the male lead, I'd be pleasantly surprised if she never truly falls for him and just GTFO's, since she has a clear way back to the modern world.

well almost. later she disguised as a man yo! even tried to marry a woman yo!

First of all, I am rating this story 5/5 because of its translator, fuyu neko. I love her/him!!!!!! Literally the best translator ever. This person deserves all the love, support and recognition this world could give. After reading fuyu neko's works, my standard when it comes to chinese novels (ofc translated) became high LOLOLOLOL so... I found this novel through Chongfei Manual (fuyu neko announced there that he/she will translate another novel) and I got excited and because I'm a fan of his/her works so I checked it out as soon as possible. I am sorry I just love and admire the translator so much T___T I'm honestly thankful that I don't have to miss his/her works aka da wonderful translations since Chongfei Manual is ending soon. YAY!!!

ps I also recommend chongfei manual!!!!!!!!!!!