The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage

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Shen Miao, the Di daughter of a military family, was pure, quiet, gentle, and gracious. Because of her foolish love for Prince Ding, she forced her way into becoming his wife.

After six years of assisting her husband, she finally became the mother of the world: The Empress.

She had stayed with him during the fight for dominion over the empire and during the efforts to expand its territory. She even went so far as to put herself in danger and be taken hostage by a neighboring empire. In spite of this, when she returned to the Imperial Palace five years later, she no longer had a place in the Imperial Harem.

That beautiful woman he kept in his embrace gave her a bright, stunning smile and told her, “Older Sister, the country has settled down. It is time for you to step back as well.”

Her daughter died tragically and her son the Crown Prince was deposed. No one in her Shen family, who had been completely loyal to the Emperor, were spared. With arrival of a new reign, everything was overturned!

Shen Miao never thought that all of the perils they encountered as husband and wife, all of the assistance they gave each other mutually, were nothing but a joke in his eyes!

He told her, “Because you have been with this Emperor for more than two decades, this Emperor will allow you to keep an intact corpse. You should be grateful for this kindness.”

Beneath a meter of white silk, Shen Miao established a malicious oath: Once the day of reckoning arrives, every single one of you will die!

Once reborn, she returns to the year when she was only fourteen years old, a time when tragedy has not yet befallen, when her family still lived, and when she was still the pure, quiet, gentle, and gracious Di daughter of a military family.

Close relatives conceal evil intentions, her cousins are vicious and merciless, the new concubine is like tiger watching its prey and that scum wants the previous life’s events to be repeated?

Her family must be protected, the great enmity must be avenged, and the prize must include the empire’s imperial throne. In this lifetime, let us see who comes out on top!

But that Xie Family’s young marquis, that tyrannical and arrogant spear-wielding young man on horseback, stays stubbornly on her side and proudly declares, “It is merely toppling the Imperial Family. Do not forget, the world belongs to you, and you—you belong to me!”

The Thirteen Capitals of You Zhou: This belongs to you.

The Ding Yuan City in the North Desert: This belongs to you.

The Southern River of Yu Zhou, the Eastern Sea of Ding Xi, the Green Lakes of Lin’an, the Ancient City of Luo Yang: All of these belong to you.

“Xie Jing Xing, if all of this belongs to me, then can you tell me what you want?”

“Alright, I want you.”

Associated Names
One entry per line
Chong Sheng Zhi Jiang Men Du Hou
Rebirth of the Malicious Queen of Military Lineage (Mànhuà)
RMEML
The Rebirth of the Vengeful Empress from a Military Family
Tướng Môn Độc Hậu
Venomous Empress Reborn (Webnovel)
นางพญาท้ารบ
将门嫡女之定乾坤 (重生之将门毒后)
Related Series
The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Shared Universe)
Rebirth of a Star General (Shared Universe)
Recommendations
The Princess Wei Yang (28)
Chongfei Manual (24)
Chu Wang Fei (14)
To Be A Virtuous Wife (10)
Eight Treasures Trousseau (10)
Mei Gongqing (9)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Best Female Protagonists
  2. 5 RATED HISTORICAL NOVEL
  3. Favorite B/G Historical Novels
  4. MLs in Grayscale
  5. The BEST Historical Novels (BG only)

Latest Release

Date Group Release
08/26/17 Zazajunnie c82 part1
08/25/17 Zazajunnie c81 part3
08/24/17 Zazajunnie c81 part2
08/21/17 Zazajunnie c81 part1
08/19/17 Zazajunnie c80 part2
08/18/17 Zazajunnie c80 part1
08/17/17 Zazajunnie c79 part3
08/14/17 Zazajunnie c79 part2
08/10/17 Zazajunnie c79 part1
08/07/17 Zazajunnie c78 part3
08/05/17 Zazajunnie c78 part2
08/04/17 Zazajunnie c78 part1
08/03/17 Zazajunnie c77 part2
07/31/17 Zazajunnie c77 part1
07/29/17 Zazajunnie c76 part3
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537 Reviews sorted by


AyaYuy
New AyaYuy rated it
March 25, 2024
Status: Completed
This was a very fun novel to read. The FL is very easy to root for.

If I had one complaint, it's having to read endless descriptions of how beautiful the FL and the ML are. It's too much. I read Rebirth of an Ill-fated Consort and it has the same issue. Not only are the endless descriptions unnecessary and repetitive, but they also become annoying at some point.

That being said, I really enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend it for people who like this genre.
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runelt99
New runelt99 rated it
March 1, 2024
Status: Completed
There are 3 story arcs. First is probably peak, the pre-time skip. It's best because it's filled with David vs Goliath moments where she is at disadvantage, and the face slapping/reversing schemes onto the schemer feel great. Male lead feels too omnipotent, he knows everything, looking into general direction of somebody will have him divine every scheme they have instantly, if not then his ultra experts will tell him (although the second part is explained better)

2nd arc, after the time skip return, it feels weak. Most of the time... more>> the male lead comes in, does everything, and I'm pretty sure Shen Miao even mentions how crude it is. Towards the end of it ML gets some development I guess, so it's a start.

The final arc gets fun again as we finally deal with the most powerful foes and there is the benefit of diabetes from romance. And yeah, ML actually becomes interesting.

Originally, I thought the ending was rushed, but then I realized that the pieces were already collected, and the ending is just collecting the debt to destroy the main villain, so not getting details about the final battle don't feel bad. <<less
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luckychaams
luckychaams rated it
May 8, 2017
Status: c57
This is hands down the best "transmigration/relive past" story I've read. And trust me, I've read a few. Top of the list:

    1. THIS ONE!!
    2. Chu Wang Fei
    3. Princess Wei Yang
    4. Genius Doctor
    5. Evil Emperor's Wild Consort
    6. King of Hell's pampered wife
    7. Enchantress Among Alchemists
    8. Common sense of a duke's daughter
    9. Space and rebirth
    10. Bewitching prince spoils his wife
    11. The Captivating crown prince
    12. Poison genius consort
    13. Princess Medical Doctor
    14. Xian Wang Dotes on wife
    15. Insanely pampered wife
    16. The general's little pampered wife
    17. Assassin farmer
    18. Chongfei manual
    19. Mei gongqing
    20. Cry of the pheonix
    21. Legend of concubine's daughter minglan
    22. Wolf lord's lady
    23. Into the world of medicine
    24. Picking up a general to plow the fields
    25. The evil prince and his precious wife
(open for suggestions, since I love this genre)

So like I said... I've read A FEW. And these are just the ones I can think of. And hands DOWN. This is the best one I've read. You will be doing a disservice to yourself I you skip on this one.

If you like a BAD TO THE BONES heroine who doesn't take sh*t from anyone because of all the tragedy everyone put her through in her previous life... you'll love this. She is smart as a whip and plays everyone like a chessboard. AMAZING.

And what can I say about the Male Lead.. ahhhhhhhh seriously. I just can't. He is super smart like our little empress. And he has complete trust in her abilities. He isn't controlling or an a**hole like a lot of the genre's heroes are. I just love their interactions.

And the plot? FABULOUS. You'll never know what she is up to next and it always exceeds your expectations. I can't wait for this to be translated more. Of course I'll be reading as the translations come out.. but will definitely re-read from Chapter 1 over and over!!!

10/10 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Pomelo
Pomelo rated it
October 23, 2017
Status: c178 part2
I'm more of a reader and lurker than an active reviewer. This is because I know I have difficult standards for novels and I don't expect most people to agree with it. Most of the novels I consider as great already have reviews extolling its virtues and great points that another review would scarcely made a difference. The disappointing ones I've read usually already have a reviewer (or five) warning other people off it.

Yet reading MondoX's review just now compelled me to shed the cloak of anonymity and defend this... more>> excellent novel.

First, I believe that there's a novel for everyone, it's just a matter of finding the right fit. If this story is not your cup of tea, then fine, there's nothing wrong with that. But I find the scene that's described in MondoX's review (the choking scene) gave an inaccurate image of the novel without enough context, so I'm here to provide that.

Before I go on about that, I'll get some points of a traditional review out of the way first. This is one of those rebirth novels, where the main character wakes up in the body of their younger self after dying through treachery/betrayal. One of the great aspect of this novel is the protagonist, Shen Miao. She's not some uber-martial-arts master or one-in-a-thousand-years genius doctor type of character (which for me is clearly in the Mary Sue/Gary Stu zone already). She 'merely' had been empress for years, if not at least a decade. Her experience in presiding over the imperial court and its corresponding backstabbings and manoeuvres gave Shen Miao her political astuteness which she wields to great effect in her second life. Well, she also has a much more refined taste and fashion sense than she had the last time around. This is hard to miss since this became a plot point more than once, of how the second and third Shen families sabotaged her education in this matter to make sure she looked like a buffoon while the daughters from the second and third families looked elegant and refined in comparison. She had been too naive to notice it the first time around. If you want a more comprehensive review focusing on her characterisation, check out Promethean's review.

The next aspect that I find enjoyable is the fact that the male lead is not head over heels in love with her at first sight--or tenth sight, for that matter. Fifty chapters in, the romance is still not there yet. I suspect the novel's summary (as displayed in this page) is commissioned by the publisher with the express purpose of pulling in romance readers, but I will disillusion those readers right now - this is not a romance novel. It's a novel of intrigue and hoisting people by their own petard, but not primarily romance. I don't think it's even secondarily romance (EDIT: well, it might be able to be said as secondarily romance... only from the middle of the series. That's chapter 140-ish, or something). If you're looking for one where the romance progresses at a faster pace, look elsewhere.

For me, it's actually refreshing to see that both the female and male leads have their own damn life to live and plan than simply moon/follow the most attractive young man/woman that they can find. I would like to direct you to Eristol's review for more information, as it goes on a bit longer about Xie Jing Xing--that's the male lead, for those who hadn't picked up his name yet. His character archetype is somewhere between the Rogue and the Machiavellian Noble.

So, with that out of the way, allow me to address the choking scene (minor spoiler alerts regarding some details relevant. I'm not spoiling any big plot points, by the way).

Xie Jing Xing was slipping into a secret room to retrieve a top secret object (still unrevealed by chapter 128), when he encounters Shen Miao inside. This is the setup. She knew about this room from her previous life, but never had the chance to check (she has no idea what the object exactly is either).

At this point, it has to be said that they are not friends, and they're definitely not lovers. What they have for each other is a healthy respect given to another highly skilled player at the great game, with a large dose of feeling "let's hope he/she doesn't have plans that might mess up my plans". They both came from military families and both of their fathers are high-ranking generals at court with a known rivalry with each other.

In the secret room, Xie Jing Xing obviously expected to slip in, get the object and slip out with a minimum of fuss and as undetectable as possible. Shen Miao threw a wrench into this plan as she witnessed his presence. His co-conspirator left Xie Jing Xing to 'handle it' and left, with the implicit suggestion to kill her if need be.

To add a bit more detail, his fate in Shen Miao's previous life was to be torn up, his head and the rest of his carcass displayed on pikes above a city's wall. His risk-assessment is that if she leaked his presence out, certain parties (his enemies) can get wind of it and use the information somehow to ensure that he would lose his life. Considering what his fate was the last time around, he does have strong enemies. Death is a very real risk that he's facing. Politics in the imperial capital is the farthest thing from safe. It's easy to see that his perspective at this point is that it was either his life or hers. That Shen Miao managed to escape, to get Xie Jing Xing to change his mind and let her go, spoke of her cunning.

Why I consider explaining this scene as important is because context is important. For example, if in a marriage one partner decided to physically assault the other, regardless of whether the other partner fights back or not, it is domestic abuse. Yet if both partners are on the training grounds and agreeing that they both need to keep their martial arts skill up, the pattern of attacks and counter-attacks becomes sparring. The first is reprehensible, the second is a matter of choice - because it is clear that even if the bruises from the second activity may be worse than the first, it is actually a consensual one. Both partners know what they're getting into when they step on the training grounds to practice, they also know the limits of the damage they can inflict and receive.

This is how I see the choking scene: The location is the imperial city, the context is the great game. The maximum damage that one can inflict or receive? Death. Both Shen Miao and Xie Jing Xing knew that to make serious plays, you have to be prepared to gamble everything, up to and including your life. Some chapters before, Shen Miao had done exactly that to strike against the second and third households of her family/clan (it's not a spoiler to say that they're jerkasses--that's established in the first chapter, just before her first death). This is why I don't find it surprising either that as annoyed as she was at him for repeatedly crossing her way, she doesn't exactly fear for her life after she'd slipped away from him. His action is rational in the context of the situation, as is hers. If she was in his position, there's a good chance she might also act the same way.

If after this you still decide that it's not your cup of tea, it's your choice and your right, but at least you'd be doing it with enough information. My conscience is clear because I've laid the surrounding circumstances down. If you think a novel of intrigue and revenge served cold sounds like an interesting read, then welcome aboard! I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

(EDIT: possible flaws? Well, Shen Miao had a lot of enemies. After I get used to the idiocy of the first bunch or so, the next bunch were just as foolish and made me groan as I read them. I'm not saying they're idiotic as to be predictable, but I was maybe hoping someone that can be a more difficult adversary and see how she'll handle that). <<less
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Promethean
Promethean rated it
July 12, 2017
Status: c72
Guy Reviewer (I feel I don't need to do this, but I like convincing guys to read shojous) :

Five stars. A top notch series.

Now this... this is what I want from any and every redo series.

... more>> No, I'm not talking about the b*tchy characters, evil family, dumb but expected Chinese style schemes, but the main character.

Now here's why:

The main character. Through and through, the main character is really well developed.

She isn't really smart, she doesn't really have many good skills. But she does have temperament. The one thing that almost all redo- MC's should have is the temperament of someone who has experienced life once before. In other words, wisdom.

She comes back with the temperament of a ruler and maintains it. She just deals with everything with the deposition of a ruler. She doesn't get everything handed to her. Even if she has future knowledge it isn't absolute and doesn't automatically allow her to win everything with ease. She still has to take risks and try hard for her goals.

And you can feel it from how she is portrayed. Even though you only learn tidbits of her past life, you can feel how and why she is the way she is.

I can't explain anything more than this. The greatness of this series isn't from how the MC steamrolls her tribulations, nor from how genius she is at using her future knowledge, but from how the MC is portrayed, how you can feel for her much more than other series, how you can understand how she became her, and why she does it.

Recommendation: Whether you are a male or female, I highly recommend this series, especially if you are tired of unrealistic redo's and expect something better and more from these type of stories, read this. I highly recommend it. <<less
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Eutune
SiLverHearT_ rated it
February 21, 2017
Status: Completed
Beautiful.
Spoiler

A Masterpiece of the genre, I really like the rebirth, reincarnation, second chance genre involving empresses etc, but up until now, the novels have always either disappointed me in the end or didn't make me want to continue reading.

I read Princess WeiYoung, Congratulation Empress, The cry of the phoenix which reached the ninth heaven, Chu wangfei, Chonfei manual, Mei gongqin and a lot more, sometimes read only some chapters, others almost read until the end, and some were completely read but I always felt something missing.


This one is truly beautiful, I do not like sad stories, I don't even get the reason for reading them as I want to be happy when reading, but this novel made my heart melt. In the lasts chapters I cried four times for four different moments and reasons, I just felt my tears rolling down without me noticing and I really have to say that it was well worth my tears.

This novel reminds of Princess weiyang but there is one thing that elevates it, the True love. I dare to say that the love described and narrated here is one of the most beautiful and dreamed love, a fated love that lasts lifetimes.


It is a Second Chance story of a girl that regret what she has done and use whatever she can to change her destiny, she's ruthless with her enemies but warm with her true family.
I have to say that there were some crude part that may seem a little scary but if I think about it I can understand that probably in the past such things might really happen so beheading or torturing people is something you can accept plus it also gives a touch or realism.
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Recommended absolutely☆☆☆☆☆, today it has become my favourite novel in the Second chance genre, whereas for the Memories of the past life "Beautiful Bones" is my favourite.
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porkbuns
porkbuns rated it
August 18, 2017
Status: c79
Never have I thought that I wouldn't enjoy a novel about all the machinations and political intrigues amongst the noble and imperial families of an empire.

If you're sick of all the stereotypical female MC novels that seemingly retextures of the exact same format, then this is the novel for you.

What this novel can offer:

  • no endless cultivation and grinding that seemingly serve no purpose other than to become the strongest
  • no cheesy and overused faceslapping bullshit
  • a set purpose that the MC wishes to achieve
  • ruthless, cunning, and intelligent MC
  • suspenseful and interesting plot that keeps you wanting to read more and more
  • to the point (no bullsh*t filler chapters that serve no purpose, this novel is short and to the point)
  • sweet, sweet revenge
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Eristol
Eristol rated it
August 11, 2017
Status: Completed
Compared to the others of it's genre like Chu Wang Fei and Wei Yang, I absolutely loved this one!!! Although I do love the other two compared to the rest of the overkilled rebirth novels, this one however has more feel to it! The story was described well, and the protagonist's personality is cold and calculative however, not the usual bland coldness like most others as she shows her competence in firmly protecting those close to her and defending against her enemies while destroying them slowly in a very unorthodox... more>> method, that is to say unlike others where they set up various outrageous incidents and frames the enemies like some palace concubine, she simply acts precisely and calculates the possible outcome and takes advantage of the situation for getting rid of them. Also, I personally don't like over abused main characters as their pain makes me wish for them to die to end their sufferings, so I like the background of the story. The female lead also does everything with deep meaning in them which shows how farsighted and a deep thinker she is. In Wei Yang novel, I didn't like the female lead's obvious tendency of extreme methods, however here the way the female lead acts is believably subtle and her revenge is mostly she does the same thing to her enemies that they were planning to do to her. Also, other than a certain aunt of hers and granny, there aren't any overly shameless and idiotic overbearing villains here unlike the ones in Chu Wang Fei.

The most favourite part is the male lead in my eyes. His personality is extremely refreshing compared to the usual bland and cold iceblocks. A lazy, attractive and smart delinquent but a noble type. Kind of like Chu Fei Yang but much better, as Fei Yang's stalking tendency kinda pisses me off and also unlike Fei Yang who goes "Hmm... this girl is interesting! So I will go after her", the male lead shows interest in her but just interest, he is as always focused on his ambitions as the female lead is focused on her own. Their interactions with each other are extremely thrilling everytime as they usually get caught up in each others hidden schemes and gets wary of each other but occasionally helps each other out of whim. Their interactions almost makes me think of two buddies playing chess game together or something along the line. But whatever they do, they do on their own. And their abilities to read each other is extremely well, as the male lead often just watches the show and comments that the female lead's enemies have misfortunes coming. I also like him for respecting the female lead when he falls for her later as he doesn't force himself on her unlike many male leads, though he is not a saint either. He is shown to be really possessive and does kinda force her to marry him by taking advantage of the fact that she needed to marry someone to get out of a trouble. His forcefulness isn't to the point of being overbearing enough to irritate those who hates too forceful male leads but enough to satisfy those with a fetish for forceful male leads like myself. Overall his personality is extremely well-balanced, thus making him my most favourite male lead of all the novels I read so far. He also helped her quite a lot afterwards with her plans when she started going against royalties which is much late in the novel.

And finally, what made me love it is that the reason behind the rebirth was explained and the connection that the male lead and female lead had in her past life though they were almost strangers was shown. And damn, it was so touchy, in short these two are almost fated. But I absolutely loved how devoted he is to her once they are together! Really, wish to see another novel like this one. <<less
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Chichi
Chichi rated it
June 30, 2020
Status: c148 part2
God... I hate how I had to drop this because the ML sucks. Seriously, he just vacuums all the fun out of EVERYTHING. I wanted to read about the badass, manipulative, brutal female protagonist, not this smarmy, boring, Mary Sue douchebag who's perfect in every way and, for some reason, just has to be that slightly much better than the protagonist. After all, men have to be better than their girlfriends! *gag*

Seriously, I can't take this anymore. I can't take anymore of the narrative swooning like a neglected housewife every... more>> single time he shows up and subsequently laying it on thick with the purple prose. I can't take his garbage, unbelievable backstory that has loophole upon loophole in it. I can't take him getting BS one-ups on the protagonist, like how he's always ~conveniently around~ to spy on her, and thus always has an advantage over her. I can't take him being overbearing and possessive towards her, before they're even close, and not respecting boundaries like some creepy freak. I can't take how he somehow magically makes the smart MC's IQ drop a couple dozen points so that she humors his antics when he's as romantic as a rock and as appealing as a stalker! She's supposed to be the star of the show with her brilliant schemes, but here he is, here to steal the limelight as a s*upid Mary Sue frankenstein.

This novel is a scam and the author is a hack. I'm leaving it at three stars because I like the MC's sections -- the malice and face-slapping are some of the best I've read -- but I can't rate it higher because I want the ML to be crushed under fifty thousand rocks. <<less
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MondoX
MondoX rated it
October 12, 2017
Status: c88 part2
Sigh... I had to drop this one. It was alright, until the female lead began showing romantic feelings towards male lead, after he almost strangled her to death. While the male lead was strangling the female lead, the author described how beautiful his hands were... while he was choking her. Through inner monologue, the female lead knew the male lead wanted to kill her, yet she has no resentment towards him.
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snowgem6
snowgem6 rated it
July 10, 2017
Status: Completed
This book starts off as a regular reincarnation novel - girl marries the wrong man (whom she initially thought was the love of her life), ends up living a tragic life as an empress and dies a cruel and inhumane death, then she ends up waking up once again before she marries the prince (Fu Xiuyu) and was a lovestruck, publicly teased girl. There are few twists in the novel - she doesn't have a stepmother, stepsister or father who hates her, her family was not really around, as her... more>> mother, father and brother are all military-men (and woman), leaving her in the care of the second and third households (which is a little naive and s*upid on their part, as these aunts and uncles of Shen Miao (the MC) were sheep in wolves clothing, letting her make choices that would eventually led to her doom in the previous lifetime).

Thus, this time, Shen Miao although seems to start off with motives for revenge, instead it is evident in the course of the novel that her biggest goal in this lifetime, she wants to live a simple life and protect those important to her. Yes, this means
Spoiler

saving her brother from being framed into a scandal being forced to marry a wife who eventually led him to his doom, getting rid of the lady who would forcefully become her father's concubine and end up killing her mother and making her father a joke as she was married and had children.

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Her aunts and uncle do end up living a tragic life, but in my opinion, as they constantly tried to frame and pit against her, it was inevitable to a certain extent.

Now for the love interest... It is Xie Jing Xing, introduced the readers as the Marquis of the Lin An Household. He, however, has a major secret.
Spoiler

Later in the novel, we find out that he was actually the brother of the Yongle Emperor from the country, Da Liang, and is instead called Rui Wang. He was put here at the Lin An Household by his mother, the empress to protect him. Just to confirm, Yongle Emperor trusts Xie Jing Xing, so no evil plots there.

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The romance is a bit slow and does not really come up until later into the novel and even then it is surprisingly not as often as there are still many people scheming once she married in.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. The MC is never one to give up or concede, she manages to save herself and her loved ones multiple times and ends up getting her Happy Ending. One thing you have to appreciate about this story is that Shen Miao solves most of the troubles by herself through strategies and schemes - as ML doesn't actually consciously start loving her until halfway into the novel and her family (not her relatives) is still loyal and honest to a fault. The ML does help her and rescue her, but most of the time, she is able to solve things herself. Additionally, she is not excessive with her revenge; she merely doles out what was meant for her loved ones or her. For example,

Spoiler

One of her relatives tried to frame Shen Qiu, the MC's brother, into a scandal, where he (under the influence of alcohol) "sleeps" with the Old Furen's (the MC's step-grandmother) distant relative, Jing Chu Chu, who was "visiting." In the previous lifetime, this had actually happened. Jing Chu Chu was seemingly well-behaved, but would cheat on Shen Qiu with an influential official's son. Once he found out, he killed the son, only to end up in more trouble and eventually, leading to his death. In this lifetime, Shen Miao manages to change fate so that it was the Old Furen's favorite grandson and MC's cousin - Shen Yuan, who faces what the Shen Qiu had faced in the previous life and end up being beheaded for mu*der.

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Littledragonlady
Littledragonlady rated it
January 25, 2017
Status: Completed
Binge reading from jan 23rd and finished on feb 8th.

This is a story of a scorned lonely empress who was being plotted in her whole short life. In the end, after her death, someone who loved her chose to sacrifice himself in order to pay her back and right the wrongs. I'll rate the back story 4...
... more>>
Spoiler

The empress got her second chance, and she is going to out manuver those who tried to plot her. The plots are sometime over simplified, tangled but not very much so. Still, i'll rate the tactics 4...

Slow romance with both sides prodding each other before the male lead fall in love first and decided to conquer her. The protag, as a jilted empress, innocent and dense in the way of love is so cute to watch. In short, cute romance but once again overly... illogical on someway so i'll rate it 4 again.

The whole story, thought feature revenge and second chance as main theme, is not as poisonous as Princess Wei Yang. So, for people with less... affection to cruelty, this novel is a good first step to introduce in to the genre. The entire plot line and character growth, i'll rate it 5.

Just like Princess Wei Yang, the ending left us with warm and fulfilled feeling. This certainly deserve another 5.

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Certaintly better than Mei Gong Qing and Chu Wang Fei. Highly recomended if you like The princess Wei Yang and To be a virtuous wife. <<less
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Aniki212
Aniki212 rated it
August 25, 2018
Status: c201
Pro:

  • MC is BADASS yet still human. Unlike other similar female protagonist in this "second chance" CN type, our MC here was not tainted with revenge-revenge forever. She was deep scarred in her previous live but she treated other not solely based on what in her memories of past life. She wanted to live well, she wanted to protect ones she loved n loved her.. Her main family was not bunch of idiots, her parents were not miserable characters played by pity concubine schemes, her (maternal side) extended family gave her love n care. She had brain, she worked hard. Yes, she was sure cruel and unforgiving, merciless to those who wronged her, but not in petty way/s. So far, this is the only novel I can read the gorey scenes as parts of the story, not just some sadistic nonsense forced by the writer into it.
  • ML was very charming. Not because he was super duper handsome and doting on MC. He didn't fall for MC in the first sight (like so many ML in other similar stories), he had his own reasons to help MC and during the process he gradually fell for her.
  • Supporting character: teacher Pei Lang. He was very important in this story to make the rebirth happen, not just MC'c luck bestowed by the heavens to do-over her life. This is new (at least for me) that the rebirth happened with explained reasons. It's still supranatural thing though, but it was not purely heaven's favor MC. Other supporting characters were interesting too, not all well developed but still they were not just in canon foddler's trope.
  • MAIN REASON I HAVE 5 STARS for this novel: Well written. Plot, pace, characters, and writer's attempt to knot all loose ends. (I read the spoilers and try MTL-ing, not the actual translation for more than half novels-- so I really dont know how writer's writing quality since I absolutely cant read Chinese. However, that not hinder me from getting the vibes). When at the beginning chapters I found similar patterns as they existed in other reincarnation-second chance novels, I almost dropped this novel, but somehow I couldn't do it. Writer did excellent job making the cliffies triggered my anticipation on "what will Shen Miao do to this". Hats off for the writer not making this story ended in 1000 something chapters, not pouring so much overkill romance, not making ML as love-struct idiot, not making draggy chapters. THANK YOU WRITER, for writing a very good story. I had fun reading it, shed my tears on sad parts, smiled foolishly on cute scenes, and not regretting all the effort trying to MTL (LOL, you can try it--MTL-- you know what I mean by then)
Con:

Im greedy. With this story being well written I actually wished for love rivals to seriously present; good people with good attitude and excellent ability, with good intentions for MC and ML both. Sure it will add more... more>> spices. <<less
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Capa
Capa rated it
January 14, 2017
Status: Completed
I finished reading this. Excellent gem among the rebirth woman genre.

It'll show you how the MC took certain steps in the earlier chapters and you'll keep on guessing how all those steps will eventually converged together to become the antagonists downfall. The plot is not draggy and the intrigue is always there.
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meiberry
meiberry rated it
May 28, 2017
Status: Completed
--- THIS IS AN UPDATED REVIEW AFTER COMPLETION OF THE CHINESE on June 16, 2017 ---

TL;DR: Sweeping romance. Amazing plot for the most part, fell apart towards the end, but actual ending/epilogue was acceptable. Happy ending.

This was a great story. It wasn't perfect, but compared to Stunning Edge and Genius Doctor BBM, this was leaps and bounds better written. There are actually character flaws and there is actually character development. Side characters actually have purpose and I actually loved them and didn't want to part with them. The actions... more>> and reactions of characters are nuanced and usually unpredictable in an intriguing way, and the romance completely swept me off my feet; the romance started out at a pianississimo and then it grew a breathtaking crescendo across two hundred chapters.

WRITING: 10/10 Speaking of music, this was so well-written that I thought I heard soundtracks at some of the more intense scenes in the story. I am now used to very lame language in C-novels (easy because a lot could be lost in translation), but even with the English translation, I knew that this was a well-written story (and the good translation quality also helped I'm sure). The original author's pauses and the exact right phrases felt like drum strikes. There were so many moments in the story where I felt like I could hear background music ; it wasn't exactly because the author used a lot of poetic phrases and idioms, but like at the exact right moments, she chose to describe the exact right objects in certain lengths and rhythms...

Some of my favorite scenes where I thought I heard music in my brain as I was reading:

Spoiler

The presentations of Guang Wen Tang and other youths:

Spoiler

Shen Miao thinking "Do you dare? Well. I dare." as she was pulling the bow at Cai Lin at the presentations

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Chapter 71:

Spoiler

When Xie Jing Xing watches Shen Miao set the ancestral hall on fire, risking her life to show her family what the uncles' families are TRULY like under their masks, so that she could carve a future for herself

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Chapters 140s-150s, can't remember which chapters:

Spoiler

When Princess Rong Xin invites Shen Miao to her house to interrogate her [this is a HUGE SPOILER of like a series of unexpected progression of events...]

Spoiler

and Princess Rong Xin keeps asking her, Is Xie Jing Xing alive? IS he alive? And Shen Miao just keeps saying No, he isn't. And Shen Miao was thinking to herself, "the Fu family is just like this. They are all like this. They turn into heartless people." And then Xie Jing Xin shows up. I was crying so hard. I was so sad for literally all three characters in the scene; I was so sad for Princess Rong Xin and Shen Miao for picking Xie Jing Xing over her family and her own life, and then XJX for losing this mother figure who loved and cared for him for so long. CRY. But beautiful scene.

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OH and also the scene right after that scene,

Spoiler

when Shen Miao decides to climb over each and every wall between her house and XJX's house because XJX is too jealous to let Cong Yang touch her to carry her over to his house.

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And finally, MY FAVORITE SCENE. Literally the best scene of the novel, probably, chapters 190s

Spoiler

THE WEDDING. The entire wedding. From head to toe; from the proposal to the emperor to the family visit, to the betrothal gifts, and to the actual day of the wedding, omg I'm like crying right now thinking about it. I never had thoughts about my own wedding, but this wedding actually was legendary. The descriptions of the gifts that XJX sent to the Shen family and the gown that he had people make for Shen Miao gave me endless goosebumps; this was how much he loved her. The whole show was for Shen Miao's family but also for the readers. It was so beautiful. I also loved the part where Fu Xiu Yi watched as Shen Miao left her house and felt like crap.

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PLOT: This novel had an incredibly strong story for like 190 chapters, I was hooked, it's a 9/10. I was on the edge of my seat with the time travel revenge and the plot and the new discoveries of Shen Miao's new life. But then it seriously fell apart around chapter 200. I give the last 40 chapters like a 5.5/10.
Spoiler

Basically when they go to Da Liang, I felt like the new plots were totally crammed into the end.

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Though I liked certain new characters, I definitely felt that it was a little sudden. It felt like a different writer wrote the ending. But I am satisfied with the actual ending itself, with the epilogues and everything. However, the last 40 chapters were certainly kind of a mess.

There was a reviewer here who said that they never felt worried or anxious for Shen Miao and XJX because it felt like the main characters always had a grasp of everything, and I would say for the most part, I also felt this way-- not to the extent where it was like the main characters were too OP and had no difficulties doing any thing.

HOWEVER! For the last 40 chapters, I have to say that I seriously wasn't sure whether or not Shen Miao was going to come out on top. There was like a good ten chapters towards the end where she had one last "final boss" so to speak, and I was literally so anxious for her to the point of tears. I felt so cheated of the 190 chapters of confidence. XJX also had his own final boss. BUT!! I want to reassure you all that it's a happy ending. They make it through their difficulties. It will all be okay. All the villains are dead at the end of the story. No worries.

I would rate this novel a 3 actually, on the scale for all novels ever written in every language, but the ratings on this website are seriously inflated so I have to give this a 5 because it's the best C-Novel I've read so far.

ROMANCE: 10/10. Highly recommend.

READING IN CHINESE: I was so hooked on the English translation that I ended up reading the Chinese by copying and pasting the Chinese chapters into the Pleco app on my phone. (You could also use Pin1yin1. com) Luckily I had the time because I just graduated from college. This took me FOREVER and I think I have permanently ruined my eyes, but it was SO WORTH IT. If you know a teensy bit of basic Chinese, I highly recommend you do this too! You can learn so much Chinese this way, like idioms and stuff. And it was just plain gorgeous in Chinese.

------- This is MY OLD REVIEW from May 28, 2017, at the English translation of c63 part 2. I'm putting it all in a spoiler thing only to save space since I wrote so much in this review already ------

Spoiler

Kudos to luckychaams! This story with its long title that I can't even remember is also now my all-time favorite! Just a day ago, I had declared Chu Wang Fei my all-time favorite, and I picked this up as a recommendation from CWF, and overnight this one has now suddenly taken the lead. I stayed up until 8 am reading all the translations in one sitting...

The transmigration premise is slightly different from the more mainstream ones. This time, a woman dies in her ~late 30s and goes back in time to when she was 14 to fix her life to prevent evil people from completely ruining her life along with the lives of the people she loves. In her first life, she thought she was in love with him, but at her deathbed I guess she severed all these feelings... not sure yet because in the English translations we have yet to see her interact with that character personally and who knows she might still have lingering tender feelings for the as*hole (THOUGH I REALLY HOPE NOT).

So the character goes back in time with all the knowledge about the two-faced people that she didn't know about in her first life until too late. The beginning of the story that lays out the background of her tragic end felt a little bit heavy-handed, but it ended up helping us really make sense out of the endless wrath that she carries in her second chance and you really don't feel overwhelmed by her merciless dealings. She is out for blood, but in a patient, abiding way...

This actually reminds me a lot of the Hunger Games. They both have some settings where the main character is like "on stage" and performing in front of a larger audience. And they both have this sort of noble lone girl resisting against the evil greater rulers and astonishing heaven and earth... And finally, the way she gets to perform and come out on top as the underdog. It honestly feels really good. This sort of "coming out on top" is way better than the OP'd characters in Stunning Edge of Genius Doctor. This one is actually a good story. Of course, our character also has her sense of OP-ness...

Spoiler

given that she unexpectedly inherits all of her skills and knowledge from her previous life (word for word, without practice, without muscle building? really?)

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but at least it's not completely ridiculous. At least in my case, I was truly not certain about which things she would win at and at which things she would lose...

As for the romance; it develops very slowly, but it's there! It's just well entwined in a larger, exciting plot. In any case, when I read romances I also appeciate if the characters are good and if the plot is good, and in this case, all of these things are here. I think that the romance in this story might defeat the one in my beloved Chu Wang Fei... I thought Chu Fei Yang was a good male lead, but this guy actually gives him a run for his money. This story's protagonists are a smidge younger than in CWF, but they actually interact a little bit more. It feels a little more natural, watching how they might end up falling for each other...

I also think this transmigration (really it's more of a time-travel) story is my favorite because it is just clearly better written. It's a really good translation too. The translated prose is fine and the elegant, the punctuating, key phrases are harrowing and succinct.

Highly. Recommend. It feels like a short read but it took my like 9 hours so it is a nice escape.

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Kittybear
Kittybear rated it
June 6, 2017
Status: c64 part3
This is an amazing story. For those of you familiar with content similar to this one, this isn't a bullsh*t "assassin comes to the past and rebirths." No, no, this is some pure, intrigue and battle of wits kind of bullshit. There is no "cultivation genius" or "has the goddess of luck on her side every time" kind of plot armor here folks. She is an empress that has gone through the test of time, and when you hear her story, you can actually accept the changes she has now... more>> that she's been rebirthed. There is no luck here to explain the plot armor though, it's all there. These kinds of stories are the most refreshing kind because instead of the usual "Let's start cultivating and then beat them up later", it's rather "I'm going to make some schemes like ruining the reputations on my sl*t sister who tried to ruin me."
Spoiler

Also, her entire family, children included, was killed by the f*cking plot of her "beloved husband the emperor, her cousins and their family, and about half a dozen other greedy families that wanted a piece of the pie called "emperor's favor!!!!" So you can understand her rage when she comes back to being her younger self, before the incident, and plots to get her revenge. One of such revenges involves switching places with her "elder sister" when they go to a temple to pray. However, the b*tchy old madam has made a deal with Prince Yu, a man that is at least double of Shen Miao's age, who is renowned as being especially cruel (in that sort of way in bed). So when she switches places with her elder sister.... (the rest should be implied)

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I highly recommend this to anyone. It is a refreshingly good story with actual plot instead of "take this idiotic villains that should have died 50 chapters ago!!! Plot Armor ACTIVATE!!!" and then proceed trampling through a ton of bullsh*t to get to the end that is about....100, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 chapters away. YEP <<less
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fashionism
fashionism rated it
January 21, 2018
Status: c117 part2
Isnt it gorey and addicting? I like how malicious our MC is. The author makes it that they totally deserve the pain even on this life not just because they where evil on her past life.

An answer to the person below.

Seriously!this is exactly why people said you should read more. And yet you just judge and say "oh the reincarnation part won't be explained" how do you know? I tell you it will be explained. Aww people say we should love and trust our selves but I wouldnt trust myself... more>> if I where you. Lmao <<less
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Thelastmelody
Thelastmelody rated it
September 30, 2019
Status: c175
Holy hell, how do people even like this?

I'd originally give this a 2*, but with the way things are going, it's nothing more than a 1*.

Like, it was fairly good for the first 100-ish chapters, then it was all downhill, and damn, is this hill steep.

... more>> The translation is alright enough, nowhere close to a great job, but good enough and much better than a machine translation.

I greatly like the protagonist, taking no sh*t from anyone (except from the male lead, more on that later), in control of things (mostly) and not "op af", because literally no personal power to speak of (except for archery, which is, for whatever reason, not used for anything other than showing off...).

Now, this novel could have been great, but then there's this one thing that just, demolishes it. It's actually a miracle that I even got to 175 before it became insufferable, just goes to show how well it was done until a certain something just became too much:

The male lead and the "romance".

Where do I even begin? Let's see, the male lead himself. He is the epitome of the disease that all of these novels seem to suffer from. He's uber powerful, to the degree of being "unrivalled under the heavens" (Hi Mary Sue), personality can be summed up very easily: psychotic, self-entitled, self-righteous, stalker and insufferable (being all "me, me, me"). These are all horrible character traits, whom no one would want in their partner, especially not when all of these are meshed together. Most of these traits seem to be present in most of the male leads from these kind of novels (sadly).

The romance is basically all the male lead forcing himself on the protagonist and her being unable to do sh*t about it, because he's uber powerful and no one can help her with keeping him away and he naturally won't listen to her nor take her hints when she's trying to get him to f*ck off, because, yanno, that'd be too nice for a male lead for this kind of novel. Also the fact that her personality completely changes whenever interacting with male lead for no other reason than "plot convenience". Majorly disappointed

I am sad, this is good, EXCEPT the male lead and the romance. Those are insufferable. I can't handle it any more. I don't understand, how do people even like these kind of male leads and forced as hell romance?... <<less
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rakusu
rakusu rated it
January 11, 2019
Status: c202 part2
I very rarely write reviews and my previous reviews are usually only one star. After spending so many months reading Chinese novels of the same genre and theme, I finally found one where events and character's actions makes sense and very realistic or at least close to it.

Characters:

Here comes the female lead Shen Miao who is not too perfect and OP like other FL that there's no thrills in reading anymore. She has no heavenly medical or martial prowess. Not too beautiful that can cause the downfall of many... more>> cities. And not overly smart that she can foresee every plot and schemes. Aside from her limited knowledge of people and events from her previous life, there is no other cheat. She is just the normal Di daughter of the Shen family of military lineage.

She is vicious yet not overly vicious. At least, I have not seen her execute her revenge unjustifiably or unreasonably like in Chongfei Manual. Most of the time, she doesn't even lift her hands. That character of her I like. Some protagonists are just too arrogant and revengeful to be even worth that label.

As for the male lead, Xie Jing Xing, I have to say, I am quite satisfied of him so far. He's not useless like the ML in Princess Medical Doctor, not pe*ophile like the ML in Chongfei Manual, doesn't have eye rolling skills (flying in wheelchair) like the ML in Shen Yi Di Nu.

Of all the male leads I have read in similar genre, he is the most realistic so far. In other novels, the ML's appearance are mostly usually focused on... with only one paragraph of his dark history and how he is mysterious and ruthless, whatsoever. They are all too perfect. But in this novel, I see a bit of humanity and imperfection with the ML in the way he is conflicted with his relations to Princess Rong Xin and Su Ming Feng. Although he has impressive intelligence at hand, he is still not all knowing. The only small bit negative thing I can say is the exaggerated way of describing how handsome the ML is. Too repetitive.

Phew, that's a long review for the main couple. Now, for the other characters, this is what made me like the novel further. They are not just a bunch of potatoes and cannon fodders for our protagonists. They actually have their own brains and think. In other novels, characters would be so dumb it's beyond believable. Or they would be so bland or monistic that there's no clear distinction between each characters (I still think Huang Chuan and Wang Quan in Shen Yi Di Nu is same people split in two by the author).

Here, we have the frank type Feng An Ning (Shen Miao's friend), the playboy type Ji Yu Shu (Xie Jing Xing's cousin), the ruthless type Fu Xiu Yi (SM's previous life husband), the righteous type Pei Lang (Shen Miao adviser), the loyal type Shen Xin (SM's father), etc. Even the antagonists are smart and cunning, too. Take for example, Shen Dong Ling (SM's cousin), Shen Yuan (SM's cousin), Chen Ro Qiu and Cang Zai Qing.

Plot:

As for the events in the story, it is slow at first but there is the right amount of mystery on it. Even though we already know some based on Shen Miao's past life, there are still some changes in her current timeline. There is the 3 household of the Shen family, the Imperial family with the 9 princes vying for the throne, the erradication of the military families with meritorious achievements, the 3 major countries: Ming Qi, Qin and Great Liang, the truth about Shen Miao's reincarnation, etc.

The plot is interesting enough to keep you at your seat. The author is not just focused on family members scheming against each other. There is attention to politics, also. It is gonna be a long road to Phoenix throne for Shen Miao. It's the same so for her love story. It is kinda slow but it is good as Shen Miao is still recovering for her painful past.

Although there are no comedic characters here, the story has some funny moments, too. I find myself laughing in a few parts such as when the schemes are deflected or there are some misunderstandings. Even some internal monologues gave me a few laughs.

Perhaps, the only negative thing I can say is some inconsistencies with the events in Shen Miao's past life. In one chapter the author say this thing, and in another chapter the author say another thing. But this is small matter that can be ignored.

Translation:

In the first few chapters, the translation is bad but after some chapters it gets better since an editor is employed. Then it gets better after that. But there is an issue with grammar & interchanging of pronouns. She/He will be switched at times so it will make you read twice to clarify who said what. Also 2 or 3 dialogues will be mixed in one paragraph even though it are said by different characters so it's confusing at times.

Conclusion:

With all that mentioned, even though I'm yet to finished this novel, I will give it 5/5 as of now. The little inconsistencies and mistake can be disregarded since they do not affect the major plot. I have read all the novels on the Recommendations section, and as far as I'm concerned, only Eight Treasures Trousseau and To be a Virtuous Wife and Tyrannical Wang's Beloved Wife is on par with it. So I will put those 4 on the same light in addition to Rebirth of an Abandoned Woman and Legend of Concubine's Daughter Minglan mainly because all the FL can maintain virtuousness even after rebirth. I like FLs that are not too arrogant and OP. Also because the flow of writing is with depth and consistency. <<less
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Marinated Meat
Marinated Meat rated it
February 12, 2018
Status: c124
I'm just going to reread this for the fifth time.

The main character is not a character that has outrageous powers or an "out of this world" type beauty. She has knowledge of future events and uses that to her advantage. She has a magestic air about her and carries herself with a powerful bearing. (Like the queen she is) I know there are many similar novels such as this one, but it simply can't compare. The character development and the romance is realistic and amazing. After reading this I can't... more>> go back to the other novels with a similar plot, because nothing can beat this! I'm in a cycle of just re reading the novel, and waiting for updates. Give this one a try it is worth it. <<less
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Royalsoukoku
Royalsoukoku rated it
March 31, 2018
Status: Completed
All hail our Empress Jiao Jiao. I absolutely adore her, this story is definitely my favorite reincarnation novel. I cried, I cheered, I loved. Truly a wonderful story, I hope to see a drama someday.
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Arina-chan
Arina-chan rated it
September 9, 2017
Status: Completed
Chapter 84:

I totally love this story! It's definitely a recommendation for badass female protagonist who is not always protected by ML or the convenient plot armor. There isn't even any unreal OPness which most chinese novels seemed to have.
Spoiler

The ML doesn't even fall in love without any reason the moment she met MC *gasp*

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I'm usually not one to post review but this is so good I just meed to post my appreciation for this novel. Anyway, you should definitely read this. Now.

Edit: Completed the novel

I gave a rave review about this novel before and I've come back to read it until finished and couldn't feel a bit underwhelmed by my own review.

Don't get me wrong the novel is still good, I just wouldn't give it a 5 star, I'm not sure if it's because I read Greetings, Ninth Uncle. That made me feel mind blown, but this novel is comparably lacking.

At first the development of relationship between FL and ML was great but after the time skip, it all went downhill. I don't get why the ML suddenly is more like the usual blind with love ML when he didn't show that before and now he is everywhere and keep barging into her room whenever and wherever and FL seemed to only take sh*t from ML so that part was frustrating.

Overall it's still a decent novel, I'd rate it 3/5 above average but not something I'd re-read
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