Well-Written CN Historical Romances

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Well-Written CN Historical Romances

These ancient Chinese historical stories not only have a satisfying romance (thus far), but they also include plots of politics and other deep topics (such as social commentary). Most* of these also have good/excellent translations and writing! Notes are included to highlight what I like (and don't exactly like) about each title. All of these have female protagonists. Most stories are either completely translated or have regular updates. List is more or less in order of what I like the most and find most fun to read, all the way down to ones that don't entice strong reactions for me but I like them enough to list them.

*There is at least one title on this list that I have dropped. I have noted it, but still left it as is I liked the first part of the novel well-enough to warrant a place on this list. There are at least two MTL'ed stories on this list as well.

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36 Followers

sketchy333

Created: Nov 4th, 2020, Updated: Jun 25th, 2021

Created Nov 4th, 2020

Updated Jun 25th, 2021

CN (4.1)

#1Tyrannical Wang’s Beloved Wife

1178 Chapters Every 14.1 Day(s) 7980 Readers 96 Reviews 11-04-2023

Completed Action Drama Fantasy Mature Romance

TBH this is the historical ancient China romance novel I hold as The StandardTM to all other novels of the same ilk. Great writing, great plots/arcs, great characters, and you can see the immense amount of effort and researched poured into this novel by both the author and translator. It's astounding how much thought was put into this story, to the point that there has only been one inconsistency and it was regarding the age of a single minor character who shows up less than... 3 times? (it's so good guys pls read it)... more>>

CN (4.3)

#2Three Marriages

51 Chapters Every 79 Day(s) 2585 Readers 9 Reviews 12-28-2021

Comedy Historical Romance

This is pretty slow to update, but it's very worth the wait! We've got a capable FL with a disability (blindness) that isn't played for laughs or needless drama. She's shown to have adapted to her disability well and though others pity her, the FL herself demonstrates that she is perfectly happy as a disabled person. The way the FL and her disability is portrayed and handled by the author is worthy of praise. She's not played as some poor and helpless lady who's facing some sort of great injustice at the hands of her blindness. Rather, she is portrayed as a respectable and capable person who flourishes with her blindness.... more>>

CN (3.8)

#3Farmer Lady of Fortune, Imperial Concubine, Don’t Be Too Sweet

641 Chapters Every 36 Day(s) 2858 Readers 19 Reviews 11-26-2022

Comedy Josei Romance Slice of Life

Considering that there's 2k chapters and the translations are only at ~130, it's a bit too early to call this amazing in my opinion. HOWEVER, what has been translated thus far merits a recommendation from me. Definitely worth reading, "bittersweet" is the best way to describe "Farmer Lady of Fortune".... more>>

CN (4.2)

#4Heroine Saves A Gentleman

150 Chapters Every 81.1 Day(s) 6374 Readers 83 Reviews 01-03-2021

Completed Comedy Fantasy Martial Arts Romance

EDIT: The site that hosted the translations is under going maintenance and won't be up and running until the new year starts. Here's to hoping this title isn't dropped!!... more>>

CN (4.3)

#5Why Harem Intrigue When You Can Just Raise a Dog Instead

89 Chapters Every 46.5 Day(s) 5645 Readers 70 Reviews 03-07-2024

Completed Drama Historical Romance Supernatural

Emperor's soul gets implanted into a dog, the dog gets adopted by one of his consorts (one that he is not particularly close to), and learns about how one should never take things at face value--- even if one is the venerable emperor, even if one believes they know a person completely, even if one is assured of their so-called allies and enemies.... more>>

CN (4.2)

#6Counterattack of the Cannon Fodder Chambermaid

190 Chapters Every 87.2 Day(s) 5636 Readers 135 Reviews 10-05-2020

Completed Adult Historical Horror Mature Psychological Tragedy

Like "Legend of the Concubine's Daughter Minglan" CCFC is a slice-of-life historical romance that paints a very realistic, even melancholic/sad picture of life in an historical China. The FL, Xiao Hua, lived her first life as a concubine that struggled and fought with the principal wife of her husband, after seducing the master and leaving her s*ave status behind. When she reincarnates, she still becomes a s*ave at the master's house. But instead, being tired of such a vicious lifestyle, Xiao Hua lays low and just wants to live long enough to free herself from her s*ave status.... more>>

CN (4.3)

#7Legend of Concubine’s Daughter Minglan

435 Chapters Every 154.9 Day(s) 8005 Readers 100 Reviews 05-01-2018

Harem Historical Josei Romance Slice of Life Supernatural

This is the quintessential "Slice-of-Life" of ancient Chinese romance novels. So far the novel can be split generously into 2 parts: before and after Minglan is married. The "before" part is excellence par none at depicting the intricacies of the boudoir and noble society in ancient China. Minglan is a very observant and practical protagonist, whose goal is simply to live a genuinely good life (whatever form it takes and with whomever it is she sill share that life). There are a lot of suitors for Minglan, but the one she ends up marrying is a bit of a surprise. At the very least, it was fun to read how the ML plotted to marry... more>>

CN (3.9)

#8Queen of Flowers

192 Chapters Every 65.4 Day(s) 1849 Readers 25 Reviews 01-17-2022

Drama Fantasy Romance

I'll need to reread from the start again since there was a huge gap between its initial run of updates til now. Overall, my impression of this book is very positive. The FL, Yong Ruo, is quite sensible and is akin to Minglan and Jing Wan of LCDM and TWBW, respectively. She's got an interesting system that gains points from absorbing contraceptives and other abortive medicine, which definitely has a unique place in a royal court setting. This title is unique in this list in that, so far, it's the only book with a transmigration system.... more>>

CN (4.2)

#9The Promotion Record of A Crown Princess

21 Chapters Every 162.5 Day(s) 4107 Readers 52 Reviews 01-14-2019

Comedy Gender Bender Harem Historical Josei Psychological Romance

The beginning of this story is definitely misleading. It starts off with a cishet guy transmigrating into the body of an ill-favored prince consort. I describe him/her a "cishet guy" because the MC regularly comments on how hot all the women are, whether it's their fellow concubine-wives or the maidservants. At points, it comes off as parody but I SWEAR it's worth it.... more>>

CN (4.6)

#10Eight Treasures Trousseau

108 Chapters Every 157.1 Day(s) 13472 Readers 242 Reviews 12-19-2017

Completed Drama Historical Josei Romance Slice of Life

This one is just as good as TWBW, but I found the writing and plot not as compelling as those in TWBW. It's still a... more>>

CN (4.6)

#11The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage

441 Chapters Every 115.7 Day(s) 20805 Readers 541 Reviews 05-26-2021

Completed Fantasy Historical Josei Martial Arts Mature Romance

This one's on par with TWBW in terms of political scheming and complex personal/familial relationships. Even the MLs are somewhat similar: both are sons who are endlessly indulged by their fathers, but universally hated by everyone else; they have reprehensible personalities on the outside but hidden depths on the inside; they are extremely possessive of their FLs and aren't ones to take slights against them lightly. The FLs are similar in how both women do not compromise their dignity, though Shen Miao is very much driven by her hatred and desire for revenge while Jing Wan is just... living as best a life as she can, and doesn't actively seek trouble, so to speak.
... more>>

CN (4.2)

#12Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife

631 Chapters Every 26.4 Day(s) 6428 Readers 26 Reviews 04-25-2024

Action Drama Fantasy Mystery Romance

The translation quality of this title is really poor. I believe it's MTL'ed and it's one of the worse ones. Definitely be ready to flex your comprehension skills if you decide to read this. That being said, the comic adaptation of this novel is excellent and was actually my first foray into PPRW. The art of the comic is lovely and doesn't drop in quality, however it stops midway through the story (which is why I'm reading the novel now). The translations have not caught up to the end of the comic at the time of writing this.... more>>

CN (4.6)

#13Villainess Wants To Turn Over A New Leaf

468 Chapters Every 9.3 Day(s) 9286 Readers 143 Reviews 04-28-2024

Comedy Fantasy Josei Romance

A fairly "simple" title compared to the likes of ETT and TWBW when it comes to court and boudoir politics, but it's main draw for me is different from them. The MC Lin Feilu is 100% the best part of this story. She's sassy, witty, scheming, and doesn't hesitate to use her assets (cuteness).... more>>

CN (4.5)

#14Greetings, Ninth Uncle

408 Chapters Every 27.7 Day(s) 11236 Readers 187 Reviews 05-04-2023

Completed Drama Fantasy Josei Romance

It's not finished yet and only about halfway through at the time of writing this, but I've enjoyed it! I left my review on the novel’s page so you can head there for a full view of my thoughts so far. This one is comparable to another title on this list, “I Became the Stepmother of My Ex-Husband” in both quality and the focus on social politics (and also MCs, both have been “reborn” or “regressed”). Definitely recommend it. The MC is by far more calculating and self-centered, but she’s an enjoyable character to read and watch. Cheng Yujin shares similarities to Mu Yunyao of “Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife”, but without the revenge and cruelty.... more>>

CN (4.4)

#15Golden Age Legitimate Fei

52 Chapters Every 149.6 Day(s) 6402 Readers 55 Reviews 03-30-2018

Action Drama Historical Josei Martial Arts Romance

EDIT: This series hasn't updated in a while, so read at your own risk!... more>>

CN (4.4)

#16Grabbing Your Hand, Dragging you Away

88 Chapters Every 157.5 Day(s) 7666 Readers 118 Reviews 11-19-2017

Completed Drama Josei Romance

I finished this a while back, so I can't confidently say I remember this book. But, it's lasting impression on me was that it's a... more>>

CN (4.4)

#17I Became The Stepmother of My Ex-husband

274 Chapters Every 60.1 Day(s) 9262 Readers 160 Reviews 04-17-2023

Completed Drama Fantasy Romance Slice of Life

NOTE: This novel has been MTL’ed, so if you are not one to tolerate grammatical errors well I wouldn’t recommend reading this. The person who had been posting the chapters said they will go through their posts and start fixing these errors, so consider waiting for that instead.... more>>

“I Became the Stepmother” is almost 100% a pure historical romance drama, with the only fantastical elements being the MC Gao Xi taking over the body of Lin Wei Xi (so it’s a combo of transmigration and body snatching as the original Lin Wei Xi died, and that Gao Xi’s shu sister is a true transmigrator from the modern era. When Gao Xi/LWX took on the new body, she finds out about Gao Ran’s origins and discovers that GR is the FL of a novel where she lives a happy life with GX’s husband, Gu Cheng Yao. GCY used to be married to GX, but after she died he married GR (yeah, it’s as douchebag a move as you’re thinking it is on both GCY and GR’s parts). In her new identity as LWX, our MC ends up under the care of Lin father’s boss, Gu Hui Yan. GHY is a 30yo general, who is pretty much a legend and hero to the country, and GCY’s father. Things happen, and LWX ends up marrying Gu Hui Yan, hence the title.

This love quadrangle forms the basis of the story’s drama. Gao Ran is, quite honestly, a very poisonous and shrew-like lady who schemes against anyone and everyone standing in the way of her happiness, which includes her new stepmother LWX, of course. LWX mainly tries to reconcile her old identity with her new one, sort of like addressing the grievances she built up as Gao Xi. GCY, as the ideal ML of a pampering romance novel, is proud but also naive. He believes he knows all there is to know about life, including his two wives GX and GR. His perceptions get challenged as he finds himself drawn to LWX while also living under the scrutiny of his usually absentee father. GHY had been away from the manor for decades, and only recently stayed behind in the capital after meeting, taking care of, and marrying LWX. It’s important to note that GHY was absent when GCY was married to Gao Xi (a marriage that lasted a whole 6 months) and was not present for his son’s second wedding too.

As you may surmise from my lengthy explanation of the Yan manor’s familial relationship, this novel focuses heavily on the developing relationships and interactions between LWX, her current husband and previous father-in-law Gu Hui Yan, her FORMER husband and current stepson Gu Cheng Yao, and her former shu sister and current stepdaughter Gao Ran. A lot of the novel’s pull is how these very disparate yet similar characters interact, from LWX’s bold, proud, and stubborn temper to GCY’s aloof arrogance that stems almost entirely from his identity as his father’s son and the indulgent upbringing of his birth mother, a person of interest to the development of LWX and GHY’s relationship.

There is some politics involved, but only to the point that concerns the ML Gu Hui Yan. The plots instigated by GR and counterplotted by LWX are nothing groundbreaking or particular exciting, but they serve well as demonstrations of each lady’s character. One of the best parts of this novel is how it approaches and examines each of the four characters’ personality, upbringing, motivation, and how all of them influence each other. The revelation about GHY’s first wife’s, Shen Shi aka GCY’s birth mother, back story was a highlight I particularly enjoyed.

It’s a pretty quick read, on par with Eight Treasures Trousseau, but less intricate on the politics and boudoir schemes. Overall not a bad read, I’d definitely recommend it if you’re dipping your toes into the genre for the first time, or if you want something less dense but more sensible than the usual fare. <<less

CN (3.7)

#18Lady General: My Word Is Your Command, Tyrant

0 Chapters Every 93.5 Day(s) 583 Readers 3 Reviews 08-05-2020

Fantasy Historical Romance

***EDIT: I've stopped reading this at the ~200ch. mark. The MTL on the Flying Lines app is truly disappointing and upsetting and I can't support the chapters in good conscious.***... more>>

CN (4)

#19Our Binding Love: My Gentle Tyrant

414 Chapters Every 30.9 Day(s) 5928 Readers 39 Reviews 03-13-2023

Completed Action Comedy Fantasy Martial Arts Psychological Romance

At the time of this edit, I've dropped this novel. The first two arcs of this story I liked were before the second timeskip (iirc there was a timeskip between the first and second arc). The third arc has just finished and both it and the fourth arc are already/shaping to be... really poor quality. The villains in the third arc are poorly written and two-dimensional at best. Meanwhile, the fourth arc (ML formally courting FL) has the ML coming off as pe*verted, lustful, and generally creepy. Despite knowing that he's a "yandere" ML, I can't help but be unnerved by how pushy he is towards the FL. He is 18 and she is 14... more>>

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