To Be A Virtuous Wife

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As a virtuous wife, does it include tolerating his cousin, enduring his concubines, bearing his mother?

If you will not let me live freely, why would I let you live in satisfaction?

Did fate let women time-travel so they could learn the three morals and four virtues?

Rather than act like a coward and live, it would be better to live in satisfaction and die.

Associated Names
One entry per line
He Wei Xian Qi
Thế nào là hiền thê
ชายาผู้มีคุณธรรม
何为贤妻
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Eight Treasures Trousseau (31)
Chu Wang Fei (14)
Husband, Be A Gentleman (12)
Chongfei Manual (9)
Demon Wang’s Golden Favorite Fei (8)
Mei Gongqing (7)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Best Female Protagonists
  2. 5 RATED HISTORICAL NOVEL
  3. a history
  4. Favorite B/G Historical Novels
  5. The BEST Historical Novels (BG only)

Latest Release

Date Group Release
01/05/16 Dreams of Jianghu c123 (end)
01/04/16 Dreams of Jianghu c122
01/03/16 Dreams of Jianghu c121
01/02/16 Dreams of Jianghu c120
01/01/16 Dreams of Jianghu c119
12/31/15 Dreams of Jianghu c118
12/30/15 Dreams of Jianghu c117
12/29/15 Dreams of Jianghu c116
12/28/15 Dreams of Jianghu c115
12/27/15 Dreams of Jianghu c114
12/26/15 Dreams of Jianghu c113
12/25/15 Dreams of Jianghu c112
12/24/15 Dreams of Jianghu c111
12/23/15 Dreams of Jianghu c110
12/22/15 Dreams of Jianghu c109
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352 Reviews sorted by


Selax
Selax rated it
September 10, 2016
Status: c123
Awesome story. Couldn't keep it down. So addictive that I had to re-read it immediately. Definitely recommending this story to everyone. You won't be disappointed. Straight forward with no time wasted.

The female lead is amazing. One of the best reincarnation character that I have come across so far.
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Kinksexual
Kinksexual
September 16, 2023
Status: --
I’m not really someone who really writes reviews but I just felt like I had to do it for this. I was very drawn in by the synopsis and reviews but I stopped at chapter 11 or so. THIS IS NOT BECAUSE I THOUGHT THE STORY WAS BAD (hence no rating) BUT BECAUSE OF THE TRANSLATION. So many things like eunuch, maid, princess consort—a lot of basic things—were left untranslated and it made it so hard to read when I was flipping back and forth every second. I get that... more>> the translator wanted to preserve the Chinese words and stuff but translation is meant to be legible. I can get one or two left by itself if it makes the text too wordy but cmon. Seriously? I was slowly starting to understand some words but at the end of the day I don’t wanna be thinking every single time “oh what’s this word?”. It’s just troublesome and because of that I can’t find the motivation to finish it. End of rant. <<less
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Evie Ren A
Evie Ren A
July 19, 2022
Status: Completed
This story is the perfect historical romance. A healthy romance, not the melodramatic, tragic or obsessive type. Maybe not realistic, but it is reasonable enough to be just perfect.

Even the struggles for the throne and the schemes are pretty light comparing to other stories, everything flowed seamlessly.

When I read Eight Treasures Trousseau I said that the FML was there to be the perfect companion to the ML. Well, in this case, I believe the FML would've worked out just fine anywhere else. She was independent, free and determined, she also... more>> had one of the highest EQ I've read so far, so she would've been decently fine without the ML or his love. However, I do believe that the series of coincidences and fate brought about the best result.

I just felt like the whole story was so peaceful, there was no major war, there was no strikingly vicious villain, everything was still pretty restrained to me, even the ML was not as dark, possessive, violent or cruel as many others, and even his "dedication" or "dote" was not on the level of, say Zhao Jie of Chongfei Manual, Xie Jing Xing of RMEML, or even Zhao Chengjun, if anything I think his love is more on the level of Prince Jing from CCFC.

Anyways, this story is completely about love. We see all kinds of love; maternal love, familial love, toxic love, the normal level of love for a marriage in those times, love turned hatred, antagonism turns love, inexperienced love, but most importantly self-love.

It has enough added flavors that makes it a very memorable love story.

There were several characters whose development was very nice and remarkable, others that sank into despair and there was the perfect amount of face slapping and retribution to make the novel even more satisfying. <<less
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Ting Ting Ball og Jungkook
Ting Ting Ball og Jungkook rated it
May 24, 2022
Status: Completed
BORING!!!

I'm a huge fan of historical chinese romance novels. This novel was recommended in so many list that I finally though of giving it a go. But it disappointed me so much I had to write a bad review. First of all, many terms are not translated in the novel. Yeah, I understand that CN novel readers are familiar with some of the terms, still it's irritating. Those terms were explained at the end by the words written in mandarin character. I mean come on! If I knew how to... more>> read mandarin, I wouldn't be looking at the meaning. Secondly, the novel is really boring. The main leads (both ML and FL) are stoic. There is almost no fluff and the face slapping moments are also boring. <<less
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Luvd007
Luvd007 rated it
January 4, 2022
Status: Completed
2 paragraphs in and I am in agreement with the commentary re the excessive Pinyin. Just 2 paragraphs, and my reading was interrupted 5 times. Perhaps if the footnotes were embedded (where you cld see it by just hovering on pc, or click with mobile, without scrolling down to bottom) it might be ok, maybe. Sigh

There are some words which are expected to remain in Pinyin, such as: ge, jie, shifu, shidi, shixiong, mei mei, wang ye/fei, daren. Those are expected and can be easily inferred otherwise, and even... more>> though one is a novice reader, footnotes will get the job done, and because they'll most likely be repeated continuously, one will get used to it. But what dafuq is a neiyuan, yahuan, jia-ao or zhengyuan? Those were all found in the first 2 paragraphs. This does not bode well for the rest of the story. Sigh. I'm really not usually a stickler for Pinyin, but it's...a lot

Update: completed

All that said, this is an amazing story. I've read a few of the transmigration, face slapping stories, but this one is definitely at the top. This is a more realistically based story. They was no insta-love, but mutual increase of feeling and respect over time. The major characters were fully fleshed out with everyone having their own clear motivations.

The MC didn't go gun-ho on every omen of her adversaries, instead actually giving some of other life lines as she understood what it was to be a woman in those times. The ML not only talked the talk, but walked the walk when he started to realize his feeling for the MC.

The translation quality was pretty ok. After a few dozen chapters, I managed to get most of the characters straight. Usually when I read, unknown word would be pretty much read as -$&/:;@" in my head (I'd just skim it without bothering to embarrass myself, even in my head, lol) but, with so many word being read as '$-) ;&;@;, it became a bit frustrating figuring out just who was who.

4 stars

Note: I first started with 8 Treasures, but the MC had absolutely personality beyond being super lazy, and fantastically beautiful and I couldn't figure out none of her motivations, unlike the characters of TBVW, who completely grabbed me from the get go <<less
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AetherRaid
AetherRaid rated it
July 2, 2020
Status: Completed
I noticed that some other reviewers complained about the FL's lack of affection for the ML, but I actually like how FL was true to her personal philosophy of "don't expect others to love you if you don't love yourself first." That's why she doesn't trust the ML from the beginning when he promises to only love her. When it is normal to have one main wife and many concubines, she, as a modern woman, will not fall for such sweet words.

As a prince in Ancient China, ML is obviously... more>> used to having women swoon as his feet and line up to serve him, but he finds the FL so desirable and worthy of his attention because of how she acts— dignified, proud, and unafraid to back down. Yes, she acts uncaring or indifferent towards the ML at the beginning, but that's exactly why he fell in love with her and continued to spoil and shower her with gifts and attention. She mentions that would rather see him prove his intentions with actions than words and will reciprocate if she finds him worthy of her (I find this very reasonable and realistic). She is a bit of a tsundere, but there are definite times when FL does reveal her caring side (see spoiler below).

Spoiler

My favorite scene is in CH117 where someone tries to stab FL with a hairpin and ML rushes to cover her and she completely breaks her usual calm facade and explodes in anger out of concern. I think this is a reflection of how she really feels for him.

"Emperor, are you alright?" Qu Qing Ju stood, her face fearful as she examined He Heng from top to toe. She released a breath, and then in a voice filled with anger, she shouted, "What are you doing, there's so many people, what are you doing in front of me?!"

The entire hall instantly became silent, all those that were shocked, that had been pushing Qin Bai Lu down, been asking for mercy. At one point, it was as though their necks were being strangled so that they were unable to make a sound.

"There's so many people in the hall, who let you go in front of me, showing off how long your legs are?! Ah! Do you not have regard for your life, who needed you to save me, I'm not an idiot, would I have just sat for her to stab?! Do you have brains?! Ah!"

Mu Jin stared with wide eyes and mouth at the Empress flipping out. As she watched the Emperor unconsciously step back as the Empress ranted at him, her shoulders couldn't help but shake as she swallowed.

At the side, Qian Chang Xin, Ming He and the others also stood with dumbstruck eyes. Who had seen the Empress be so valiant?! Who had even seen the Empress scold the Emperor? As the personal attendants of the Emperor, they should stop the finger that the Empress was poking onto the Emperor's chest, should reproach the Empress for her disrespectful conduct, but..... for some reason, they didn't dare speak, and didn't dare to even breathe loudly.

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Is she lazy? Yeah, obviously she states that early on she just wants to live a happy life where she can eat, play and rest as she pleases. But she is also smart and witty. The greatest benefit she has from her past life before transmigrating is her experience as a manager. She knows how to see through her opponents' schemes and remain level-headed as she quickly figures out the best response. She is generous and lenient to those who treat her well and silently kills those who oppose her with great tact. Although being in a higher social position, she shows concern for the servants (she rewards them for doing well and even gave them new clothes in the winter) and for women's rights. There isn't much she can do during a time when men and women are separated at banquets and in social activities, but
Spoiler

after becoming empress, she goes out of her way to encourage the young, unmarried girls brought into the palace that instead of wasting their youth to serve someone who will never have any feelings for them, it was better to go back home. She remind think of themselves first and get married to someone who will treat them well.

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9/10 <<less
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Saphie
Saphie rated it
May 2, 2020
Status: Completed
A very good time travel novel with just the right amount of drama! No unnecessary family shits and all.

The only thing that dissatisfied me in this otherwise amazing novel is that the MC's lack of feelings. She was too cold. It wasn't until the end that you can see a tiny bit of her feelings. She holds her self in dignity and isn't the clingy type of woman.

I love how MC is the 'just overly harsh to someone who harms her loved ones' she was lenient which gave way to... more>> the offender to change, cruel to those whom she knows are hopeless and won't change their conducts.

ML is a devoted lover, at first, he seemed a bit of a womanizer with his words but you can see how sincere he becomes. The MC not completely believing it is just to protect her heart which is also good yet bad since that's where the 'coldness' came from.

4.5- it didn't make me smile much just interested in what was going to happen next. The interactions between the MC and ML can be considered sweet but as I said, since the MC is the cold type I overlooked it and did not feel a single butterfly on my stomach.

Don't let the coldness of the MC stop you from reading- its also a factor why the MC is loveable. <<less
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Silver_Moon789
Silver_Moon789 rated it
April 20, 2020
Status: Completed
Ugh I've reread this novel at least three times and I've only noticed now I never rated or left a comment for it, which is a mistake I'm now rectifying.

As for the novel itself, I find it amazing and come back to reread it every once in a while. If you're looking for an OP MC with a golden finger and amazing backstory before she reincarnated, leave right now because this is not that kind of novel. I find it incredibly human and slice of life, well, as much ancient... more>> chinese political intrigue can be slice of life lol. The MC and ML don't immediately fall in love, and never in the novel does the MC mention that she loves the ML, but she doesn't need to nor does that mean that there is a lack of love in the novel either, unlike what some of the comments are stating. Like the MC states herself, actions are greater than words, with what she never says to the ML, she shows through her actions. The ML himself also never clearly states "I love you" but just by their interactions throughout the novel shows their slow but steady development of love for each other. If the people reading the novel can't recognize that then that just means the novel isn't quite suitable for them.

The MC and ML begin as a mutually beneficial relationship, as they recognize they are officially married and therefore have responsibilities to the other to maintain. The ML doesn't rashly mistreat the MC unlike a lot of MLs in other novels *cough*like a certain ice cube mf*cough* despite not originally wanting/expecting her as his wife, but nor does he give her special privileges other than those that are her right as official wife until much later in the novel at least when he actually starts falling in love and even then it's not anything too drastic. The MC understands her position as a woman in that era is not high but utilizes whatever she can to the best of her capabilities to provide for herself, using her body, attitude, and actions that only one from the modern world with the knowledge of the ancient world can do to capture the ML's attention and using his favor to keep living as best she can and is not ashamed to do so.

Like the title states, she acts as a virtuous wife, but it's not like she's a pushover or anything, she's just human. She won't stand for insult, but also won't actively cause trouble with other people. She understands that other women have it tough and therefore doesn't treat the concubines unfairly (some just bring about their own ruin though) or insist the ML to immediately clear out the harem even though she doesn't like sharing her man as a modern woman who is used to monogamy but nor is she just going to let the concubines take the ML away from her because she still needs his favor to live a good life, and later on because she does care for him and refuses to let him go to another woman just like that. Those that treat her well, she treats well in return (like the ML), and those that offend her get their just desserts, but once again nothing too drastic and there is logic behind her actions (remember they are in ancient times where insulting someone above you could get your entire family killed so in comparison what the MC does is just about right for the time period). Some people might consider this as having the MC as a transmigrator useless if she doesn't try to change society or something because she's modern, but like what do you expect? She's a normal white collar worker, not some miracle doctor or economic/agricultural expert. And it's not like she tries to do nothing
Spoiler

there's a scene where when she becomes empress she sends a personally embroidered handkerchief (?) can't remember exactly to a widow who saved a bunch of orphans in a fire so that she would be able to remarry as one with the empress' favor because being a widow in those times was pretty worrying since women didn't have many rights. There are other scenes, but that's the one I remember off the top of my head.

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Yes the actions aren't groundbreaking, but the MC isn't some all-knowing, all capable god, just human.

The ML is similarly very human. He is not a transmigrator from the modern world, so he still has the mindset of one from the ancient times, which yes, is misogynistic and outdated compared to now, but for his time he's quite progressive and his mindset changes little by little due to the MC and the plot's progression. He's also, while still quite capable as his birth and status complies, he's also not overpowered or anything. Honestly I love how well they work together as a husband and wife and support each other for their own reasons before they even start actually loving each other, and it just gets better from there.

I also love how there aren't ever really any TRUE villains, as the other characters mostly have if not logical than comprehensible motives for what they do, even if their actions aren't good by any means.
Spoiler

If people believe that the MC's family or the 4th (?) prince have incomprehensible motives/reasoning personally I don't agree. The MC's family didn't cherish the MC because the father didn't like the MC's mother anyway and as the first legitimate daughter from another mother the stepmother didn't like her either since she was a risk to her own children, therefore treated her badly as a way to show her superiority because she was insecure. Her children unfortunately just grew up in that environment and came to believe that they too were above the MC. Their motives aren't very logical, but they are understandable for that time period with its strict family hierarchy and arranged marriages. As for the 4th (?) prince well, he's a spoiled twat (though I enjoyed his character even if he was a twat because he was interesting) so his actions aren't logical by any means because he was so used to the emperor's favor that logic can't really apply to him (he does however grow as a person which I liked) If anything I pity him since he was spoiled since birth to believe that no matter what he did he would become emperor so when that rug was pulled from under him it was a pretty big slap of the real world for him. He was not a good person by any means but it's not like I cant understand why he acted as he did.

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I loved that the characters, even the minor ones, were quite fleshed out so that they could also be seen as humans just trying to achieve success in life even if their actions weren't just (I mean it's not like the MC or ML were angels either, they just happened to come out on top).

ALSO, I read through the comments giving one stars because of the vocabulary issues and how it wasn't "translated properly" and I'm not sure if it's just because I've just read too many chinese imperial palace related novels by this point or something, but I just want to rant about that because imo the translator did a wonderful job with the novel. If anything I felt that leaving the words as pinyin made it feel more authentic, as english words can't really fully describe a role as succinctly as ce fei, ya tou, or other terms. It would take a longer phrase if not a sentence to fully explain what it meant, which is what the translator provided in footnotes below. Not to mention, the translator also provided a full page that described all of the vocabulary used in the novel as well as characters iirc so if you really needed it to adjust you could just use the glossary which was really organized and detailed. As this was one of the first chinese imperial intrigue novels I read when I started reading light novels, I'll admit there was definitely a learning curve to remember all the roles and terms used in the novel, but I loved the premise and plot enough to you know, learn all the terms properly. It might have taken keeping the glossary up permanently in a separate tab for like a good quarter of the novel but it was totally worth it in my opinion. Plus, it's a slice of life imperial intrigue novel, I'm not sure what people are imagining when they read this novel, if you don't like it don't read it then.

Ok rant over, sorry it's so long lmao I just really really loved this novel. It's one of my absolute favorites in its genre and I hope that whoever managed to read all of this enjoys it too. <<less
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sushi roll
sushi roll rated it
November 26, 2019
Status: Completed
Bruh. This is my shit.

This is such a refreshing read after my cycle of seeing repetitive transmigration novel plots. Well its still a transmigration plot too but I really liked this because of its pretty light & somehow realistic ride. FL is clever and perceptive, she doesn't really go out of her way to intentionally plot against others and is pretty much just aiming to live a chill life, (some might say boring but come on, if ever I get transmigrated i'd do the same. Heck, this is my... more>> 2nd chance in life, i'd rather live good & not die carelessly). The thing I loved about the FL the most is probably the fact that she is NOT a lovesick fool and is very rational even during the romance, she is very clear headed about her reality & her expections from the ML.

The ML is highly mysterious for me, I mean you can feel he is a decent person but its kinda hard to grasp his character because he wasn't described that extensively. The scheming in this are pretty light, in my opinion, because the FL & ML are pretty subtle in what they're doing.

It was a very satisfying read to me. Other than the difficulty (it was uncomfortable tbh) in smoothly continuous reading because of the chinese terms here & there (at first but eventually I got used to it I guess). It was well written and nicely paced, the dialogues are also well thought out, as well the length of each chapter (pretty long) is good. This is definitely worth a re-read someday from me. <<less
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potatosince1992
potatosince1992 rated it
August 23, 2019
Status: Completed
I looove it!

Rating: 5/5

First off, the translation is simply awesome. I have never felt so calm while reading, some people may not like that, but I'm perfectly fine with it. In fact, I really really love it. It didn't feel like a chore and instead, a form of healing.

Secondly, the story is amazing. The pacing is perfect. Character development is awesome. The female lead is cynical in terms of love which is perfect for a male lead that is ... more>>
Spoiler

two faced

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. It was a slow but permanent burn, and I love it. For an adult person, that kind of love is realistic. It's more believable.

Third point, I love the emotional independence of every character. They are not simply 'there' to convince us that the Main Leads are desirable. They experience change based on their own logic, and they get the ending based on their own choices. Yes, there is jealousy for the main leads but it is the kind of jealousy that is based on a perfectly reasonable backstory.

Fourth and last, I wasn't forced by the author to agree with the main leads. There are times that I disliked them, or felt them lacking, and because of it, they felt more real.

For me, the best story is when you can't feel that there's an author manipulating stuff. That is why this is a perfect novel for me. I am willing to overlook anything, simply because of this. <<less
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Kitama
Kitama rated it
September 19, 2018
Status: c123
It's so beautiful and fulfilling from beginning to end! I was s**ked into this story, so enrapturing it is to read. I legitimately cried at the end of the story because of how beautiful those epilogues were omg ? ❤ ? ?

I really love Qu Qing Yu's attitude about how she lives her life. She is not seeking trouble, but she is also not letting others walk all over her. She is like my idol! I aspire to have her attitude regarding... more>> life, and I love how the author tied it together with Chinese values and the Ancient Chinese Fate/"Will of the Heavens" thing.

Coming with that, this is part of my favorite paragraph; "At this time, she felt that the worries she had about her marriage were just she making it difficult on herself. Nothing would be different thinking about things that had already been set in stone. It would be better for her to think how she would live the rest of her life, that was her good fortune." - this is from chapter 35, and it really resonated with me! It really hit close to home, and I just admire that perspective and way of thinking a lot. It shouldn't really apply to my life, and usually I would be the kind of person who doesn't really believe in fate so much as a "all our choices impact and lead to certain actions" kind of thinking, but it makes me think of how people with anxiety and/or realists think, because we are almost always imagining/thinking of all the ways things could go wrong, or how to avoid imagined scenarios, which gives me so much stress inside. So, I kind of want that type of acceptance in my life- a sort of, this is gonna happen regardless, accept that fact, and now you can just think about the positives.

The romance too is just beautiful and pretty realistic in my opinion. I love how it was gradually built up, and it was so sweet and moving by the end that you have to cry ???? Qu Qing Yu takes a realists view in her attitude towards her husband, and I think that that's really fair considering her social status and the social dynamics of Ancient China, wherein men, especially royals, often have legal relations with more than one women.
Spoiler

She keeps this view for most of the story, and it's only towards the end that He Heng really notices her own love for him; like she was basically saying, talk is cheap, but she'd rather listen to actions (obviously I'm paraphrasing rather badly, but that's the kind of impression I got ?). This was a huge part of why the epilogues felt so meaningful to me, because it really felt genuine. Yes, He Heng became infatuated with her, but their mutual respect and loving actions towards each other built such a beautiful relationship out of an arranged marriage. I really think that Ru Wang's relationships, the Emperor's between himself and his Imperial consorts, and even that of Qu Qing Yu's parents' really served a great purpose as a literary foil/comparison to emphasize the beauty, the rareness really, of the FL (Qu Qing Yu) and the ML's (He Heng's) relationship for its era.

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I really admire Qu Qing Yu's attitude and composure a lot. I like her attitude and management regarding her "place" in an ancient Chinese royal society. She really is an example of virtue and how a wang fei is supposed to act like, and her foils really make it more apparent?. Rather than worry about being the most favored or competing with the concubines/consorts of her husband, she just tries to live her life appropriately and enjoy herself. She is very fair in her dealings, and I love that reoccurring theme of karma through the story. She is not hateful to her husband's women, like some other wang fei are, but she also has her own sort of pride in herself. It is not an ugly, arrogant pride, but the kind that all women should aspire to have. She is self-confident, intelligent, virtuous, and she takes good care of herself. When I say she takes good care of herself, I don't just mean in a beauty way; I'm talking about mentally, because she treats herself and does the things she takes enjoyment in.

I love how the author wrote that, and maybe it seems kinda petty to some that she finds joy in wearing beautiful things, but I think that is natural to want to be pretty and treat yourself. She is the wife to an Imperial Prince, why shouldn't she enjoy her life to the fullest? Why shouldn't she have beautiful things, and wear beautiful clothing and accessories?

I think it is really important to love yourself in life, and I am really moved to tears by this story.

So much love to the author for writing this! ? ❤ ❤ ❤ <<less
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Tarroyn
Tarroyn rated it
September 15, 2017
Status: Completed
Court intrigue is one of the many common settings of novels translated. Usually centered around female protagonists and Power Couples, its something very distinct, and yet so similar to the common Xuanhuan novel.

To be a Virtuous Wife circumvents this in a simple, if unorthodox way. Instead of focusing on the politics, the novel focuses on Qu Qing Ju's everyday life, and within that, the relationship she was married into. Similar novels that come to mind are A Mistaken Marriage Match: Record of Washed Grievances and A Mistaken Marriage Match: A... more>> Generation of Military Counselor. While both of these step away from the court intrigue style, and lay closer to the mystery genre, To Be a Virtuous Wife is much more similar in tone to these than the more Soap Opera-esque political drama novels, a la Chu Wang Fei.

The series reads a lot like a slice of life, but the main difference is definitely evident in the tone. To Be a Virtuous Wife (hence TBaVW) has a more serious tone then something like Death March, although the usage of power is more similar to the latter than the aforementioned novels. Although the setting lends itself to mystery and drama very well, TBaVW strays away from both of these, and focuses on Qu Qing Ju and her relationship with He Heng, rather than the myriad of external complications it could focus on.

Worldbuilding:

The world of TBaVW is nothing surprising, but well done nonetheless. The beginning group of princes is unorthodox, as is the lack of a crown prince. Something of special note is the more active role the emperor plays in this novel over others. Many times, the emperor exists more as a plot device than anything else, or is so simple that he could be considered one. TBaVW really humanizes the emperor, which breathes a lot of life into the setting.

Characters:

TBaVW, as romance tends to do, lives off the development of the characters. Fortunately, the characters are written very well. Antagonists don't boil down to simple-minded fools or overly arrogant "young master" types. The array of characters is broad, and each character feels distinct from the others, though so many occupy similar niches. Our main pairing is given enough depth to feel human, and their relationship isn't single-faceted, based purely on beauty or s*x. As a result, the relationship, while not feeling entirely natural (more ethereal than anything else) doesn't feel forced or fake.

Story Development:

The plot of TBaVW is a bit episodic, as it doesn't focus on a hero's journey. However, its distinctly separated from a slice of life by its focus on time and that things change over time. Whether it focuses on the fading of beauty over time or the fading of love or life, TBaVW greatly emphasizes the time throughout its snapshots of Qu Qing Ju's life. Within this timeframe, however, the series focuses on day-to-day life. There isn't constant parties one must attend, in which poison or drugs are thrown about like water. Neither is there an overwhelming sense of corruption within the greater government we see: although there is a system of nobility, it focuses more on propriety than legality, even within court sessions. One thing worth criticizing is the use and reuse of female characters throwing themselves at He Heng. This trope was one of the few carried over from other political intrigue novels, and it becomes a bit repetitive, though still enjoyable. That being said, TBaVW still has a sense of class within this trope: people look for tricks to attract his attention, rather than the drugs or competitions many novels like to favor.

Enjoyment:

TBaVW is marvelous in both its enjoyment with reading and its re-readability. Unlike Xuanhuan novels, which have oodles of pseudo-filler inbetween each readable moment of enjoyment, the entirety to TBaVW is re-readable in some fashion or another, and enjoyable on first reads as well. It really stands out as a fun novel to read even among novels of higher literary quality. A large part of this novel's enjoyability is also do to its incredible translation. The translation includes reference images as well as explanations of objects within the time period, which boosted my enjoyment of it quite a bit.

I heavily recommend To Be A Virtuous Wife to anybody. Even for people not usually into romance or political intrigue novels, To Be a Virtuous Wife has a charm to its main relationship dynamic that sets it apart from the usual novel of those genres, and for that I greatly recommend you read it. <<less
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alexfilia
alexfilia rated it
August 9, 2017
Status: c123
This novel was awesome!... it was really buetifully written <3

Its a slice of life story about womens lifes in an ancient china family

It deals with the struggles of being one in many where the husband may not like you, your family only wants to use you and your servants may not respect you.... Untill you step up your game and take charge

Or that what the MC did when she lived her life
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sakirol
sakirol
December 24, 2016
Status: c123
To Be A Virtuous Wife didn't jive well with me since I overlooked the slice-of-life tag. It truly is a slice-of-life.

The MC doesn't particularly have ambitions. She just wants to live a good life. Nor is she particularly romantic, though she plays the part of a wife well. The political plots are simple and obvious, unlike some of the convoluted, layered schemes in other historical novels. The girls that scheme against the MC are also too obvious and unintelligent, so they get thwarted easily, and the issues are resolved promptly.... more>> We see the enemies crushed simply because they're being dumb and impudent.

All in all, I thought it was an OK read, but I felt the plot was weak, and there was little character development past the part where the male lead gets infatuated with the MC. Thus, I found myself knowing how the story would end before reaching it and wondering if it would go anywhere. Well, I finished reading it and found myself feeling pretty... meh. <<less
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sindea
sindea rated it
January 14, 2024
Status: Completed
It was fine/pretty good. 3.5

It was fine, however not really my cup of tea.

Like previous reviewers have stated, the translators left SO MANY words in pinyin that it really took the reader out of immersion. There was literally 5 footnotes in every paragraph, and I couldn't remember what all the pinyin stood for, so I had to keep scrolling back to previous footnotes; and I even speak Chinese (albeit not well but still fluent) ! And it was still hard for me.

This is probably one of those more realistic ancient... more>> novels. Although FL is powerful, but during those times, woman are after-all still VERY limited in what they can do, and their life really DOES depend on men. So FL was pretty limited, and most of the scheming is about how to make ML stay loyal to her.

Again, it was well written and realistic, but I guess for my personal taste I didnt like that everything FL did revolved so much around ML. I prefer stories were FL has her own goals and ambitions.

Their romance was also very... well not romantic, and kind of off putting at times for me. Again, the way it was portrayed was probably more according to how things were realistically back then, but still.. isnt that why we dont live in that kind of society anymore? Nobody likes it lol (except for men I guess they can have harems and have all the power ofc...).

Their romance basically is FL being very guarded and always having to stay alert to keep MLs interest.. Imagine living like that.. ML is very dedicated to FL but
Spoiler

at a later part when he has already said OVER and OVER again how much hes into FL and how loyal he is to her, it is still kind of implied that he flirts with one of the members of his harem... UGH... disgusting.

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So yeah, it was good enough, I liked it, I finished it. But it was not my cup of tea. I prefer something more like Malicious Empress <<less
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Kitix
Kitix rated it
November 12, 2023
Status: Completed
I read this novel long ago, but never left recommendation. I just never could put all my feelings I have towards it in words. This is my 10th time (or more than 10th) reading it and first time I actually went to see reviews and surprised to see many 1-3 stars. In my opinion, only readers who was waiting for drama and face-slapping gave those ratings. That's their taste and I don't blame them.

Personally, I adore this novel. It's not brainless face-slapping, logic with some magical punish him or her,... more>> beat that to death or not. This piece is close to slice of life and more close to reality, life in ancient China from the point of view of a woman of that time. We never actually see much of He Heng (ML) point of view and it has it's own charm. Qu Qing Ju is a charming clever MC, she knows her boundaries and knows that love of the man of that era is fickle. She prioritizes herself and exactly that charms ML and me in her. Yes, you can't exactly tell if she in the end loved He Heng, but I believe she did, but as she herself said Qu Qing Ju is a logical person and believes in things done rather than just words. The charm of hers that she lived her life putting herself first and that's all.

As much as I also enjoy face-slapping type of drama, this novel was fresh breath of air. Those who was jealous got their own ending because of their own choices. There are no gruesome endings or punishments (except Qin Bai Lu). However, it shows how harsh is reality of woman in actual ancient times. Qin Bai Lu even if the main 'villain' was just 15 when married, an immature teen who crashed into the wall called reality unlike pink expectations of youth. To be honest, there were no villains, just life and choices.

I love this novel and re-read it quite a lot. There is similar novel in recommendations "Eight Treasures", but I will always prefer "Virtuous Wife". This feeling of actually getting a glimpse of life in ancient China from the eyes of the woman of that time has it's own flavour (of course it's still fiction and time period was mix and match of dynasties, but I am not here for history lessons). Qu Qing Ju was unique main character, strong, but also powerless. He Heng was a character of that time, not overpowered, but clever and patient. He knew what he wanted and he found his perfect half in Qing Ju. Their love story is not exactly what you would expect, but their progression from strangers to companions and then finally loves of their life (Qing Ju I know your heart melt by the end Dx) is mesmerizing. <<less
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Nettie
Nettie rated it
August 22, 2023
Status: Completed
I'm so sad.

Why did they have to write about them in old age and after passing.. That's the greatest conflict I have when reading. It's so hard to read about your two favorite characters dying now I'm writing this with wet eyes..

Anyways I really appreciate QQJ's personality and how she receives HH's affections. The act that she was stubborn when to came to believing the truth behind his words. After a while I did symphatise with HH's sincerity but we can't blame QQJ for being unable to read his mind... more>> like us who have a completely different POV. But at some point before QQJ knew it she had already fell though she still thought that she would be able to let go at any time.

I don't know what to say I really love they're story and don't be mad at the fact that she has an easy life cause that's what she earned. Her personality and temperament is the reason she was able to live so well and I personally don't think there's anything unfair about it (or perhaps I'm also being biased..?).

Anyways I really like this story so give it a try and don't let the bad reviews stop you from enjoying this piece.

I'm now going to let go of these characters and in the future when I recall them I'll really miss the days I spent reading this novel. <<less
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ykovache
ykovache rated it
July 28, 2023
Status: Completed
I read the novel because of the good ratings and the recommendations that it's supposedly of higher quality than other romantic novels set in ancient Chinese times. It's more realistic, detailed, and it definitely has a rich language with philosophical tendencies. We see a bit of the ancient times through the eyes of the MC. All things that I generally love, yet here I find their execution (how the characters were developed instead the characters of ML and MC themselves, what the author emphasized and what ignored, the general attitude... more>> of the author toward the characters) annoying instead of enriching the story. The author introduced many different ideas and attitudes (some even opposite) switching between them and not fully developing them and often exaggerates an already good idea in an effort to make it great, making it feel bad as it fails short of what the author is trying to make it artificially. One of the main issues for me is the combination of realistic elements and the more simplistic attitude that the main characters are good by understanding without needing to prove it (especially the ML whose previous actions to the beginning of the novel are not promising at all and nearly contradict the supposed goodness and need an actual proof to believe that he's not that bad), the remaining characters are bad and s*upid and the main characters set an extremely low bar. In a simple more action based story, where the bad guys are clear from the start (because we're told what they have done) and it doesn't hurt that they are of higher standing - so it is satisfying when the good main characters beat the more powerful bad guys using their smarts.

Here the main characters more than anything just enjoy their lives and the advantages their high positions allow, they are not s*upid but they barely use that (get to deserve their happiness) and instead it's more served on their platter. On its own that wouldn't have been that bad - nothing inherently bad in rich people enjoying themselves, but when the MC gets so much so easy due to pure good luck and high position and yet she judges disparagingly (contrivedly interpreting others's actions in very negative light) who haven't had that many opportunities whether her husband's concubines or other main wives with husbands not even willing to entertain the idea of relationship with their wives in contrast to the ML, I find it really off putting. So many secondary characters get treated unfairly (unnecessary and unfair judgement and/or mostly undeserved harsh punishments) by the author and the 2 main characters so that the main characters can enjoy their worry free relationship. This very strong favoritism attitude of the author toward the main couple at the cost of others less socially privileged or generally lucky, with the focus of showing that the others are supposedly not good enough instead of elevating the couple through actions, makes me unsympathetic toward the main couple. This is the reason why the author made me I disliked both main characters in the first 6 chapters and it kept reiterated for the most part in the first 40 or so chapters and again in the end. Initially it sounds like the MC is transmigrated in a bad situation and she would need to fight (enjoy herself and go all out for as long as she could), but in reality she doesn't have that many challenges and this repeated implication that she has done a lot/brave becomes annoying. She gets control of the house so easily because she has the highest position and has the support of her husband - so not really that impressive. Another the part I personally disliked that while the MC doesn't go all the way scheming against the other concubines, in the first few chapters before we even get to know her, the MC goes out of her way to be mean to them without them actually doing anything to directly to her in a complain that she's not getting the respect due to her position
Spoiler

(the handkerchief incident and going to check/antagonize the flute girl) in a very showy way with a pompous language

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Moreover, the author keeps treating the concubines as the bad or s*upid for trying to improve their positions by getting the attention of the ML - I'm sorry for the MC but this is normal for the time period so if we forgive the ML for playing with women, why should we see the concubines as so bad. Why couldn't it just be that they try for the off chance they get lucky (it could have been their fairy tale instead of the MC's) and then don't succeed as the ML prefers his wife or tries to be good (the author treating them with dignity) and then leave the concubines to accept the result, instead of not immediately accepting the sudden complete dominance of the MC meaning that they are shameless, s*upid etc and necessarily getting a bad ending or if they accept it, the author makes sure that they are very clear on how much "better" the MC is. If anything, I think the ML is the one in fault for creating the situations - he's the one who got the concubines, indirectly encouraged them by paying more attention to them instead of his wife, he even took as a tong-fang one of the servants of his dying wife after she just performs a dance.

ML is not necessarily a terrible person, especially for the times, in that he was willing to see how far would the relationship between him and his wife develop but he didn't actually go out of his way to get to know her or make it work. The lack of actual acknowledgment that he didn't behave that greatly in the past (and now suddenly the author is trying to imply that he's trying to develop a relationship with his wife, instead of just spending time with her because he's smitten with her) even by the MC, who doesn't acknowledge that other women have less opportunities or the ML treated other women badly to the very end, she's too focused on getting his approval for her benefit. Somehow we should accept very quickly that he's good and suddenly from the smallest thing - in general him saying that he's not a bad person and automatically/immediately he gets all the praise for being so good (which off puts me toward him instead of endearing him - again everything oh so easy given to him). I get that there's a certain growth in him in that the ML is initially cold to all women and sees them as playthings and in the end he falls for his wife, but for actual growth he or at least the author must admit that there some bad characteristics. Instead the ML's growth is - he gets the wife of his dreams to entertain and entice him in the bedroom regularly and he's willing to stick with her and treat her well. The author places the whole blame on the concubines and would be concubines in that they didn't know that he's supposedly good guy (who despite his previous actions of neglect, is actually interested in interacting with his wife) and not the typical guy of the time ignoring his wife, so they bear the burnt of the MC's punishment while the MC tries to create intimacy and domesticity with the ML to improve her situation. Not favoring the concubines turns more into, he favored them in the past at the cost of his wife but now he doesn't care how much the MC punishes them. Even in the end, MC encouraging to other women felt more like yet another reprimand for being wrong -
Spoiler

the MC admits the men are unfaithful and women are left to suffer so if she said that the young women should want to be main wives instead of concubines because then they will get more respect from people include their husbands I will agree, instead in a very Marie Antoinette's moment the MC implies that the young women are wrong to want prestige as imperial concubines and talks how love is better when as most marriages are arranged, unless the women are very lucky they won't have even warm relationship with their husband and mostly because of his actions.

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This makes me unsympathetic toward both ML and MC: for him - no acknowledging that he hasn't been great in the past but now that he's interested in his wife, he's trying and so this is why he's not taking other concubines and for her - all these grandiose words that she doesn't care about the ML, she'll get her pleasure etc, and yet she goes to seduce him like the rest for her benefit and blames/punishes/disparages the concubines, not overly but enough to be clear that she's mostly empty beautiful words. Additionally while the couple is seen just following their lust it is often implied that they are trying to create a harmonious domestic relationship - again implying that the main couple does more/is better than presented. To the end bad/worse things happen to most women instead of the guys - even the worst brother of the ML gets a bright future with a good wife and being turned in a tragic character romantically languing after the MC while his wife who he definitely didn't treat well is used to create drama by doing something very uncharacteristic for the time period -
Spoiler

infiltrate the palace to kill the MC.

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which the author can get away if they are portrayed as one sided characters in a more simplistic action focus story but here in a more realistic setting and characters, it's wildly unfair - they must suffer for dramatic effect so that the main characters can enjoy their mostly worry free fairy tale. The author doesn't really care about them so it doesn't matter that the ML sees them as only playthings, the important thing is that the great MC gets her happiness and if the less great secondary characters suffer, oh well, their fault for not being so awesome or not being born under a lucky star because the author shares the casual callousness bordering on cruelty. Yes that atmosphere explains why the MC is reluctant to believe that ML will remain faithful or emphasizes the MC's great achievement of completely charming off the emperor, but it also shows how badly the others are treated (mostly just for not being as lucky) while the MC lives her fairy tale. Throughout the story the philosophical attitude of the author, it's very often a backhand way of implying that the main characters are intrinsically better than the rest, without them doing much beside having "cute" scenes in which they enjoy each other or how much the MC has achieved/how great she is and so different than the rest (trying to enjoy her life is a completely new idea (s) and oh so easy to say by the one having so much and so easily, very unsympathetic). Cute is in quotations because I don't find such scenes (2 people in love) cute for their own sake and spreading from there to the characters, for me it is the other way round. I need to like characters and find them interesting in order to be interested in their love story and to be able to enjoy their cute scenes.

The way the story stands - we have a woman trying to interest her husband, who's used to treating women as playthings, and yet somehow the story very soon (strong undertones that this is their fairy love story already in chapters 20-21) jumps to their love story and we need to treat them as love heroes because they fall in love. Good for them, but why should we care and root for them? Develop it properly by building their relationship where they get to know each other by interacting outside of the bedroom to explain why they fall for each other instead of just focusing on growing feelings and how much the ML is satisfied with the MC. The very limited part of the story where they (mostly ML scheming for the throne) and we see that they are better power couple than the other 2 realistic options is the middle 1/3 of the story, which I actually like and wished it was more developed (it's abstractly interesting as I can't muster enough sympathy for him to see a guy spoilt imperial prince like the ML fall in love and try to win the MC's love but again it's done in a very self-centered way) and much earlier in the story, instead of the actual focus - concubines and other women bad, the main characters fall in love. It feels too much like a fanfic about a couple the author likes instead of the actual story. I care to get to know the main characters and why I should root for them and not that others characters are supposedly s*upid! Then again in the last one third of the story back to the same old the focus is again intimate moments between the couple, the other people are bad - women get humiliated for trying to improve their situations in order to emphasize the ML's love, bad stuff happen to other women for drama and excitement.

Moreover, I am interested in what the MC thinks of the ML as a person (how can she so easily/actually love a man like him just cuz he treats her well??? She even avoids calling him out in her head and is more focused on how to win a man, way too accepting about the inequalities around her, as long as she's happy, she doesn't call out enough the men/husbands) instead of the author's emphasis that the MC doesn't believe whether he would remain faithful and even more the emphasis is on her being cautious vs whether he's good enough. I understand that she can't do much in who her husband is and the author is trying to present the MC as the best woman, but if the author gave us a bit more look inside the MC's feelings about her situation (worries/complaints) and be more honest that she's trying to make her husband like her, instead of flaunting the MC's supposed greatness with grandstanding words in vacuum (pretending not to care), I would actually like MC more and sympathize with her instead of getting angry/annoyed with the MC/author. <<less
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Anna_Tiashe
Anna_Tiashe rated it
April 14, 2023
Status: Completed
It's a relaxing and enjoyable read for leisure. Although it gave me mixed feelings, whether the story should have been elongated or sometimes feeling that it was just right to stop there. Sigh.... so much confusion. It's a transmigration plot where a future person enters an ancient person's body.

Now, this main character is neither trying to forge a new path nor finding a new guy but adapting to the current situation that she is in. It's really refreshing to come across such a point of view. The author is really... more>> brave to be introducing the male lead who's in a polygamy relationship. Kudos to the effort and your brilliance (because it's the truth in ancient times; one man, many wife).

The pace of the story is not too fast or slow and just nice to keep up without feeling bored. The progress of their relationship is gradual, and you find yourself rooting for them, too. Lastly, they could improve on the use of language and punctuation. Thank you for your efforts, author and translator. <<less
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Drenlith
Drenlith rated it
April 10, 2023
Status: Completed
Reading this, it doesn't feel like the MC is the MC but the ML. She's the window for readers to look into to her new world and how she accompanies the ML along the way. There are often a lot of conspiracies only left for ML to know, MC and the readers are left to speculate by themselves.

A type of realistic shuangwen/feels-good novel with little drama.
From the synopsis, I thought this would've been angsty but it was nothing but soothing and calming.
I love MC's rational mindset in her... more>> new circumstances. She adjusts well and keeps her head in the game, aside from the matters she's required to take care of, she won't worry much about anything else and simply enjoys life to the max.
Spoiler

One has to emphasize how important her viewpoint toward love is. She has no room for the struggle against someone like ML. He treated the original QQJ horribly, took one of her maids as his concubine, and let a higher-ranked concubine mess with her til the point she died and the MC transmigrated. You can argue it wasn't intentional, but it is what it is.

ML isn't a good person. He may love her but she knows that this love can change at any time.
She can only give back as much as he's willing to share. She can't afford to make herself miserable by falling head over into a pit. The society in which she now dwells won't free her from him even if he's one to grow tired of her. She can't just pack up and leave, she never had a choice but to settle with the marriage of the original QQJ.
She's lucky that ML and she hit it off well, and that he appreciates her good and bad.

There are enough of his concubines that set a good example of how they can have a sweet phase and once he saw something better, be ignored and turned away for good. If MC falls out of favor as a wife, she may keep her status but what's a lonely heart good for other than pain?
She's in love with him but she's fully capable of drawing clear lines if she needs to.
Negative comments on her lucid attitude towards ML make no sense :D

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Side Note: Not too happy with the translations. Translators are purposefully leaving SIMPLE words in pinyin turning this more or less into a weird Chinglish with typos littered everywhere making things even harder than necessary for the reader. Words like daughter/son-/sister-/brother-/mother-/father-in-law, imperial/royal father/mother, uncle & aunt (maternal and paternal), official, official's madam, eunuch, maid, the capital, etc. Are all in pinyin that can be translated and sound definitely less weird than their pinyin counterparts. The point of translations is to translate. Unique terminologies and phrases aside, those weren't the issue. <<less
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