Zhong Chichi, a lazy, unambitious concubine-born daughter who only wants to lie flat and feed chickens, is forced to take her beautiful younger sister’s place at the Eastern Palace’s consort-selection banquet. She plans to get through it with a veil, only for the Crown Prince to publicly question whether she’s “ugly as sin.”
Her inner drama queen takes over, and she bursts into tears, blubbering, “I’m so ugly even cleavers split in two when they see me! I scared three and a half matrons out of their wits!” Then a sudden gust of wind blows her veil away, revealing a face of breathtaking beauty!
Xiao Yuan, the sharpest-tongued Prince Linyuan, smashes his cup and explodes: “You call that ugly? Then I’m the Underworld’s rakshasa looking for a new job!” Just as everyone stands there dumbfounded, a ridiculous System announcement rings out in Zhong Chichi’s mind: “Congratulations, Host! Your comedy score is off the charts. You’ve unlocked the permanent ‘Breathtaking Beauty’ skin! Bonus talent: ‘Motor Mouth’ (maximum taunt)! ”
From then on, though all she wants is to lie flat, she’s forced down the path of becoming a comedy queen, flooding the capital’s trending topics with one hilarious line after another. The prince who made a fool of himself right from the start keeps insulting her as “vulgar” and “improper,” yet can’t help secretly listening in on her banter, staring dreamily at her smile, and rushing to her side first whenever she’s in danger…
“Zhong Chichi! Try saying ‘cleavers split in two’ to someone else again, I dare you!”
“Your Highness, your ears are red~”
“Shut up! I’m just angry!”
[A heroine who lives to make people laugh themselves to death vs. a sharp-tongued prince who says he hates her but can’t help falling for her]
A hilarious romance sparked by a contest over who’s uglier, with the prince writing the entire love story in his own head!
The overall pace is fast, the writing is okay, and the ending👌