The Duke House’s Ideal Daughter-in-law

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The legitimate eldest grandson of the Grand Duke of Jing, Zhao Huanxi, was born into a prestigious family with beauty as lovely as flowers. However, being confined to the inner courtyard, he did not seek advancement, having nothing to his credit except for his good looks.

At the age of sixteen, he married Xu Nian’an, the daughter of the late Wujing Boshi (the teacher of the Imperial Academy).

Xu Nian’an was astute and capable. Soon as she married into a high-status family, she shed all pretense of cordiality with her malicious Aunt.

The malicious Aunt was shamed into anger and spouted a stream of nonsense: “The father-in-law is biased, and the mother-in-law is overbearing. If it weren’t for the delicately good-for-nothing Zhao Huanxi, would you even have had a chance? Do you think marrying into a high-status family is your big stroke of luck? It’s nothing but a big joke!”

Xu Nian’an looked at her obedient, charming, and sweet-hearted husband and smiled back, saying, “Well, that’s still better than marrying beneath oneself and becoming a laughingstock.”

Three years into the marriage, the young husband diligently pursued progress. He excelled in both literary and military skills, capable of serving in the government and fighting on the battlefield. With his handsome appearance, he attracted attention and admiration throughout the capital city, yet he remained devoted to her alone.

The mother-in-law treated her like her own daughter, ensuring that she lacked nothing, including the finest and most luxurious things.

As for the biased father-in-law who favored concubines over his wife and mistreated her, well, my apologies, but he was promptly kicked out by the grandfather, sent flying a hundred thousand miles away.

Others might have thought that Xu Nian’an had stumbled into good luck by marrying so well, but only her mother-in-law, Yin Furen, knew the truth: “Try replacing her with someone else; see if you can achieve the same.”

User manual:

1.When they got married, ML was 16 and FL was 18. It’s a story of first marriage then love with a jie-di dynamic (older girl, younger boy), B-G love story, character development. If you don’t like then don’t enter.

2. ML has never liked anyone else before. There were reasons for his initial refusal to marry, so please refrain from making a scene about infidelity or changing affection.

3. The main focus is the daily life of a young couple after marriage, all about domestic triviality which progresses slowly but steadily. If you don’t like this type of story, please do not read.

4. This is a fictional story, not based on historical facts.

Content Tags: Court Nobles, Predestined Couple, Marriage, Brother-sister dynamic.

Main Leads: Xu Nian’an, Zhao Huanxi

Associated Names
One entry per line
Gōng Fǔ Jiā Xí
公府佳媳
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Long Wind Crossing (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Mature Audience Only!
  2. Comfort books to re-read 5
  3. Ancient china love stories 2
  4. Historic Favs
  5. The Girlies of Ancient Times (Historical)

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12 Reviews sorted by


Videospirit
Videospirit rated it
April 10, 2024
Status: c2
"Zhao Jiazhen put aside her playful demeanor and said, "My dear Niangqin, it's already this late. Don't just be angry with San Di. Zufu has always looked down on his weak character, but we can't let him be completely disfavored by Zufu because of this. After all, that Wufang... can really please Zufu.""

A sample of the translation this has. Pretty much every sentence is like that. It's completely unintelligible without constantly reading translators notes because the story is filled with untranslated pronouns. The poor translation really drags the story down,... more>> since the story seemed like it could be quite good if the translator wasn't too arrogant to use words like "Mother" or "You". <<less
13 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Naimena
Naimena rated it
June 17, 2024
Status: Completed
Great novel, one of my new favorites. It features the sweetest ML ever paired with an independent and clever FL. The story shines because of its warm relationship dynamics, detailed backstories, and excellent character development, particularly of the ML. It starts with a contract marriage trope that blossoms into a fluffy romance and a journey of personal growth.

Summary:

The Grand Duke, renowned for his military accomplishments, faces a personal crisis: his family lacks worthy heirs. His long absences from home have resulted in family conflicts and festering ambitions. His eldest legitimate... more>> son is a disappointing dandy who never worked hard, confident in his position as the future heir. To remedy this, the Grand Duke arranged a marriage for his son with an outstanding and competent lady. Unfortunately, his son favored his concubine and mistreated his official wife. After many hellish years and the birth of four daughters, this noble lady finally gave birth to a son, dedicating all her efforts to ensure his safety and well-being.

This long-awaited legitimate grandson of the first branch (eldest son's family) was outstanding in appearance but lacking in talent. Raised by an overprotective mother and four loving sisters, he developed a shy, sensitive, willful and melancholic temperament.

In contrast, the FL had to grow up fast to support her family. Despite her noble bloodline (her deceased grandfather was a minister), her family is declining. Her parents were unreliable: her father was depressed and indifferent, while her mother was fragile and sickly. After her father's death, relatives took the opportunity to divide the property and leave them destitute. The FL singlehandedly developed a business to support her family, eventually reaching stability, partly thanks to her father's old friend, the Grand Duke, who helped them in their most troubled times. In exchange, he proposed marrying the FL to his useless grandson.

Years later, the FL is 18, her brother has a bright future, and most of her younger sisters are engaged. Suddenly, her betrothed is making a fuss about not wanting to marry her, and her future mother-in-law wants to advance the wedding. The FL has a headache about it because she is still needed at home.

When her childish betrothed secretly meets her to cancel the marriage, she proposes a deal: let's be married for three years to satisfy the elders, then you can divorce me. Just give me a pension, and you'll be free to be with the one you love. In her mind, she planned to marry him to advise and encourage him to become a worthy man (to repay his grandfather for helping her) for a few years before returning to be her family's pillar. Basically, she saw him as a job.

Thus, they married, but she treated him as a younger brother. For the first time, someone explained common sense and social skills to him instead of just criticizing or flattering him. He grew to depend on her and fell in love with the FL, enjoying the trust, support, and openness between them. However, he understood she couldn't see him as a romantic partner while she viewed him as a younger brother to teach, so he decided to change and become a reliable man deserving of the FL and able to protect his mother and sisters amid complex family dynamics.

The uniqueness of this story lies in its themes of acceptance, self-improvement, and deep intimacy between the leads. They have the best communication ever. I also appreciate how the author didn't transform the ML into a cookie-cutter mold. He grew into the best version of himself, learning to use his strengths and talents rather than destroying his "less-desirable" qualities. He remained sensitive and naive, but these traits became strengths rather than weaknesses. The FL never shamed him for his personality or appearance; instead, she facilitated opportunities and inspired him to have his own aspirations, opinions, and confidence. This is the sweetest, most devoted, and responsible ML, and he's a credit to the FL's wisdom and dedication. <<less
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Eclat123
Eclat123 rated it
December 6, 2024
Status: Completed
Sorry but I just can’t seem to like this story even after finishing it. It’s not because of the translation, but rather the story itself.

I simply don’t like how powerless and flawed the women in this story are presented, except for FL. Here we have FL’s mother who can’t seem to even grow a backbone that the entire household is extremely dependent on her underage daughter. The daughter even postponed her marriage because she couldn’t trust her mother to handle the household management and finances after she was married, and... more>> she was entirely correct. Sure, she’s a widow, but she didn’t even put any effort into managing the household and finances that her children had to work when they were young. The children coddled this ‘frail’ mother so much that they couldn’t even tell her some significant events that happened to them. Purely because she’s a dodder flower.

And we also have ML’s mother, who coddled her son so much while behaving extremely cruelly to others. Yet she was so confused about how the son managed to turn out like that.

Let’s not even talk about ML’s scheming crush and his eldest sister-in-law.

And honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to like the ML even after I finished this novel. Sure he’s cute and eventually became the sweetest husband yada yada, but the growth phase just feels extremely gritting to me. He was a total brat, and even after reading the last arc where he finally joined the military, I kept thinking if it was all worth it. I mean, the FL practically raised him because his parents failed to do so!

Basically, all of these parents failed in parenting here and FL had to do all these roles because the adults were not adulting.

It just left a bad taste in my mouth. <<less
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solivagantsoul
solivagantsoul rated it
April 13, 2024
Status: Completed
THIS WAS SO GOOD!

Okay before we get ahead of ourselves let me clarify that this novel isn't about backyard conspiracies, palace drama or even remotely about political intrigues... NAURRR This is for my slice-of-life, romance-loving girlies. It's a sweet novel where an arranged marriage couple find themselves feeling more and more inseparable from each other. The ML fell for the FL despite being unwilling to follow through with family arrangements. But the thing about this novel is that it's got a bit of marriage of convenience and contract marriage mix... more>> into it...

it's a light-hearted read with an interesting older FL x younger ML, where FL is a huge influence on who the ML becomes and is more of an enlightening guru making him aware of his surroundings that he was ignorant of.

Side note-i love how the novel ended and his career was explained perfectly! I find that he did what was right for him, I'm sure his son has a much brighter future tho since he shows his mom's intelligence! XD

I completely agree with the other review, to parrot them- ML is the one who truly shines in this novel! truly author outdid themselves!

I highly recommend this if ur interested in an ancient arranged marriage+contract marriage setting without palace drama, over-the-top backyard conspiracies and extreme politics. <<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
sleepy wang
sleepy wang rated it
October 28, 2024
Status: Completed
The story itself is great, a real gem. What bother me the most is the translation. The translator basically didn't translate any pronouns and just gave tl notes for every untranslated pronouns. For example, they left a simple term like 'third (younger) brother' as 'San Di'. If you're not familiar with chinese pronouns and dont have a great patience to look up to tl note every here and then, well, I'll understand if you dnf this one. Imo, it's easier to read it in mtl (since mtl basically translate every... more>> pronouns). Just read the translated ver for several chapter to know who is who then jump right to the mtl <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Nommador
Nommador rated it
June 8, 2024
Status: c57
This novel is pretty good and so far, and if I read it all in one go, I think it could be 4.5/5 stars. However, it’s a little hard to read because so many of the terms for the various relatives aren’t translated, so I will almost certainly forget who everyone is between now and when the next chapter comes out. For that reason, I need to knock my rating down to a 3.5/4.
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
jaeran26
jaeran26 rated it
April 14, 2024
Status: c1
Story of an immature, weak ML, growing up with the support of a strong, intelligent FL. ML and FL are very likeable characters, the story is engaging, liked it!
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Asters_in_the_Sky
Asters_in_the_Sky rated it
October 31, 2024
Status: c89
This follows a fake couple trope but it actually doesn’t last that long. One thing that I really like about the story is that they address the feelings growing between them clearly. The ML is falling faster than the FL, but on the other hand the FL doesn’t quite love him yet. But the FL is still fond of the ML and admits that she does like him at least a little bit. The ML is respectful too. He states clearly that he likes the FL, and is playful and... more>> affectionate towards her, but maintains whatever boundaries that the FL sets. As a fake couple, they are comrades that respect and support one another.

Throughout the story, there are many scenes where the FL advises the ML about what’s going on, thus preventing him from making a bad decision. But, even though it might seem like their marriage only benefits the ML; as the ML grows, I can actually see that he is becoming someone who has the potential to be the one the FL needs. For example:

Spoiler

The ML is provoked by one of his school bullies. Because it is a rainy day and the ML has a phobia regarding thunder (and he has a serious reason why), the FL decides to confront the bully instead. Bully starts to act badly and even tries to harass the FL. But ML goes out and beats up the bully. I don’t know if I explained it clearly but this was a really big step for the ML. He went out into the open streets when it was raining and the thunder was loud, in order to protect FL. His knees were even shaking at the start.

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As for the translation, I admit I’ve already read quite a lot of chinese historical novels already. But the titles aren’t really that bad It’s a bit intimidating at first because of all the unfamiliar terms, but they aren’t actually that different from one another. Once you learn what a specific word means, you can also kind of understand what the others mean. And there are also footnotes available too.

I really like this novel. It has an interesting plot and even better characters. The translation is well-done too! <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
cosmicimmortal
cosmicimmortal
March 31, 2024
Status: Completed
I don’t have much to say. I really loved this novel, I read it all at once! I think while Xu Nian’an is a likeable FL it’s Zhao Huanxi who really shined in this novel.

His development was a joy to read and I loved his dedication to his family.

5/5 Definitely one of my favourite historical novels
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elliepot
elliepot rated it
November 19, 2024
Status: c81
The ML is such a cutie pie in comparison to all those icebergs out there. He gives off very strong "must protect" vibes with how innocent and pure his he is. Though, he does eventually start acting adult-like after realizing he loves the FL. I gotta say one of my favorite ML out there, he gets such an amazing character development and he's NOT OP. Can you believe that? The ML IS NOT OP! IT IS A MIRACLE I TELL YA'LL. He has his moments and the outcomes are very... more>> realistic, after all he did slack in his academics and military training for a long time so he can overcome certain situations but not overwhelmingly but rather with the help of others and his own abilities. So I love that, realism ya know, an ML can be charming without being OP.

FL from beginning to the end is an icon, she takes no bullsh*t from anyone. She's smart and calculating and she loves the ML for his softhearted personality. She helps him in his journey to improvement and encourages him to pursue what he desires. Gotta say the ML is lucky to have met her. They are truly a match made in heaven.

Definitely recommend!

Spoiler

You can see the result of his growth near the ending or per say the last arc in the story wherein as part of a military family lead by his grandfather who previously defeated the enemy of their country, they are required to send someone to fight because they're trying to invade again. Unfortunately, the ML's grandfather is too injured to fight so the ML, despite knowing how lacking his military prowess is, chose to join the military because he didn't want to disappoint his grandfather and ruin the legacy of their family. ABSOLUTE PEAK IN HIS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. I think I kinda cried when I read his resolve to join the front lines and how supportive the FL was even if she was afraid deep inside that he might die. In the end FL knew this was the ML's choice and that it is also culmination of all that he has learned and experienced in his journey. Fortunately, he did defeat the enemy using his wits though he sported grave injuries after given that he's not skilled physically. BUT ALL IS WELL AS LONG AS HE LIVES

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Neytreyi
Neytreyi rated it
October 24, 2024
Status: Completed
In a world of ancient men being being bloodthirsty and exuding toxic masculinity, this novel is such a breath of fresh air. ML is super cute and MC is very shrewd. Loved this story!!! Also wanted to give it a 4 stars.
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inkorporated
inkorporated rated it
October 17, 2024
Status: c87
ML is the cutest and most honest little puppy 😭 He's the purest, whitest lotus ML I've ever read in a BG novel—and to make him even more unique, he isn't tsundere either! He's a refreshing breath of fresh air from the toxic masculinity we sort of have to power through with most light novel Male Leads. He's just openly sweet, often playful, always devoted to our cunning and competent FL.

Overall a great story with fantastic family and character dynamics. Enough face-slapping without dogblood, and well-paced and satisfactory story arcs.
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