Palace and Household Intrigue: A Cunning, Strong-Willed Female Lead Who Keeps the Male Lead in Check 宫斗宅斗，女主有心机不圣母，拿捏男主

1. 201 我 I Healed the Demon Lord's Eyes, and He Said He Was Too Ashamed to Live 我治好魔尊的眼睛，他说没脸活了 You Jiu犹酒Ancient Romance411k WordsCompleted [Sweet Romance] [Comedy] [No Angst in the Main Story] Now streaming as a manhua drama on Tomato Ruan Shengsheng was struck by a bolt of lightning and transported into a novel. By an incredible coincidence, she was mistaken for a spy and brought before the Demon Lord. Legend had it that someone had gouged out both of Demon Lord Jing Si's eyes, leaving him hot-tempered and unpredictable. Ruan Shengsheng: "Hi~" Jing Si smiled bloodthirstily. "Tell me the truth. Who sent you?" Ruan Shengsheng gave h 6.9kReads9.2Score1.1k14d adds
2. 202 招EN After I Provoked the Obsessive Villain, His Serpent Tail Wrapped Around Me 招惹偏执反派后，国师蛇尾缠上我 Chu Sandao楚三刀Two Male Leads311k WordsCompleted Couple guide: [passerby-turned-obsessive-only fan, possessive villain, snake pursuer Zhang Lanhe x transmigrated-into-a-book painter, Ninth Prince, pursued Xie Huizhou] Reader's guide: Snake pursuer, transmigrate into a book, nonhuman, silver-hair enthusiast, both devoted to each other, 1v1 Xie Huizhou transmigrated into a book and became a disposable prince who coveted the protagonist's love interest. In the end, he was killed by the villain. To avoid the same fate, he did his best to stay away 4.2kReads9.3Score85514d adds
3. 203 国 The Duke Became the Regent’s Little Darling 国公大人成了摄政王的小娇包 Cat Bean Rice猫豆米Ancient Romance1.2M WordsCompleted The spoiled young heir gained the memories of a young general and discovered an obsession in his hands: whenever he saw Young Lord Jing, he wanted to touch him! But Young Lord Jing was aloof and untouchable. If you have no feelings for me, then I’ll let you go! Sheng Changge turned around and headed for the battlefield. Love had gone badly, so she would make a name for herself on the battlefield. Who says a woman can’t live without a man? Later, Young Lord Jing became regent. Sheng Changge retur 1.1kReads9.2Score19114d adds
4. 204 深 Schemes of the Inner Palace 深宫心计 Ji Rucheng九如城Ancient Romance127k WordsOngoing [A high-stakes “love and lies” game between master players] She is a top modern criminal profiler who views imperial power and love with rational scrutiny, even disdain. Though her mind refuses to fall for anyone, her body and emotions gradually slip out of control amid an intense push and pull. Born into a bloody succession struggle, he has followed strict rules since childhood to “other” his emotions and desires, all to consolidate imperial power. He craves absolute control, but then he meets —Reads—Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   A thrilling new book about palace intrigue! 😆

5. 205 冷 The Cold Emperor’s Abandoned Empress 冷皇的废后 Little Fox Sister狐小妹Ancient Romance1.5M WordsCompleted They say Empress Helan Piao has no morals, laughing and playing with her male companions at a country estate. They say Empress Helan Piao is as beautiful as a flower but as vicious as a snake, and once gouged out a palace maid's eyes to have with her wine. Helan Piao transmigrated into the body of the infamous empress... The emperor, Xiao Mo, wanted something from her. He Ming, the State Preceptor of Qi, had made a strange pact with her. Her father, Helan Rui, had poisoned her, and every so ofte 53Reads—Score—14d adds
6. 206 替 After Marrying the Sickly Crown Prince Who Practices Buddhism in Her Sister's Place, She Makes Him Break His Vows 替嫁给病弱佛修太子后，他破戒了 Qin Qiu Chenyin琴秋尘音Ancient Romance1.2M WordsCompleted [Traditional Historical Romance + Household and Palace Intrigue + Rebirth Revenge Fantasy + Substitute Marriage + Powerful Hero and Heroine + Black Lotus] After jumping from the city tower, Jiang Nanzhi and her legitimate elder sister, Jiang Tanxin, are both reborn. In her previous life, Jiang Tanxin gave up her childhood sweetheart, the young lord Shen Che, to become the Crown Princess, and schemed to make Jiang Nanzhi marry Shen Che as her substitute. But who could have guessed that the Crown 4.1kReads8.9Score59914d adds
7. 207 重 Reborn, I Married Your Brother and Stole Your Position as Crown Prince 重生后嫁你弟，夺你太子之位 Qiao Yan乔焱Ancient Romance300k WordsCompleted [Reborn + revenge + palace and household intrigue + devoted couples + business + feel-good story with a strong female lead] Lu Wan, the only daughter of the richest family in the Great Xia Kingdom, is clever and kind. She marries the Fourth Prince, Ning Yuxiao, and her family gives everything it has to help him become Crown Prince. On the day Ning Yuxiao ascends the throne, he exterminates the entire Lu clan and has Lu Wan’s father executed by slow slicing. Lu Wan, dressed in the empress’s cerem 19Reads6.6Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   Both books are good. The female leads are both clear-headed and career-oriented, and they also manage to control the male leads.

8. 208 开 Thrown Into the River From the Start? The Foxlike Consort Takes the Palace by Storm 开局投河？贵妃狐媚子大杀四方了 Qiao Yan乔焱Ancient Romance462k WordsCompleted [Palace Intrigue + Not Both Leads’ First Love + Transmigration + Beloved Consort + Devoted Love Later] Yun Tang, a top-tier star and award-winning actress, wakes up one day to find she has transmigrated into the fictional Chengyu Kingdom, where she is the lowest-ranking palace attendant. From the start, things go badly: a hidden enemy pushes her into the water. The three most powerful women in the harem all want her gone, but thanks to her peerless acting skills and alluring charm, she manages t 171Reads7.8Score—14d adds
9. 209 宫 Harem Intrigue 宫斗 I'm Shameless and Proud我猥琐我自豪Eastern Fantasy296k WordsCompleted After transmigrating from the twenty-first century to ancient times, An Yuezhi refuses to let anyone dictate whom she marries. With her wit, she wins the freedom to choose her own husband and becomes the dynasty’s only female official, even rising to the high-ranking post of chancellor. She had hoped to live a quiet life, but then she and the new emperor switch bodies... 1.5kReads9.0Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   Palace intrigue is realistic; even if the emperor loves only the female lead, it doesn't stop him from favoring other women! 🌸 As a woman in the 21st century, being controlled in marriage is impossible. An Yuezhi used her wit to gain marital freedom, becoming the only female official in the court, and a high-ranking one at that—a prime minister. Originally, she just wanted a peaceful life, but she ended up switching bodies with the new emperor…

10. 210 娘 The Empress Is Otherworldly and Alluring: The Emperor's Exclusive Favorite 娘娘又仙又撩：陛下椒房独宠 Clouds Rise to the Ninth Heaven云出九霄Ancient Romance519k WordsCompleted [Not a first-love-only pairing; the heroine is no saint; the emperor favors her exclusively in the middle and later stages; fluffy, brainless sweet romance; silly and lighthearted, read with caution] Everyone says that a highborn legitimate daughter who enters the palace is doomed to a bad end, but Pei Jinyan refuses to believe it. Besides, she was once the emperor’s favorite consort in her previous life. She simply ruined a winning hand through her own arrogance and capriciousness. She gave bir 7.5kReads9.2Score86714d adds

    Reader note

    Both are palace intrigue novels, and the female leads are extremely cunning, not just love-struck. I highly recommend the second one.

11. 211 庶 The Fortunate Concubine 庶女有福 Leng Chu冷初Ancient Romance474k WordsCompleted The third daughter of the Chu family, Chu Lingran, is breathtakingly beautiful, with peerless looks. In truth, she is merely a concubine-born daughter of the Chengbo Marquis household, always cautious and modest, playing the pig to eat the tiger. Her stepmother took a fortune-teller’s words, “This girl will have many descendants,” and sent her to the Crown Prince’s residence to serve as a childbearing tool. But the full prediction was: “This girl will have many descendants, for she is destined t 1.3kReads9.0Score14014d adds
12. 212 侧 The Side Consort Takes Charge of the Household, Then Rises to the Throne as Empress 侧妃潜邸掌中馈，一朝成凰登后位 Xiao Yan Wants to Get Rich小闫要暴富Ancient Romance1.6M WordsCompleted [Not a Pure Couple, Not a Transmigration Story, Not Reborn, No Golden Finger] [Content warning: The heroine is caught in a whirlpool of conflict and is far from a good person. She knows how to read the situation and may even take the initiative to hurt others.] Given a choice, who would want to become a woman willing to do anything to achieve her goals? At a plum-blossom-viewing banquet in the snow, Hua Songyi tried to keep a low profile, but the host family chose her anyway and forced her to 5.5kReads8.5Score59614d adds
13. 213 君 The Emperor Claims His Minister's Wife? After Our Divorce, I Take the Empress's Seat 君夺臣妻？和离后我入主中宫 Huang Dandan黄蛋蛋Ancient Romance503k WordsCompleted [One-on-one romance, devoted couple, palace and household intrigue, reborn male lead, heroine who grows stronger over time, gentle heroine in the early stages who rises to power later, male rival gets the girl] In accordance with her father's dying wish, Yi Huan married the young general Lin Qingpei. She was cautious at every turn, but her husband doted on his concubines and neglected his wife, making her the laughingstock of the capital. Yi Huan thought this was how her life would go, until she 4.7kReads9.2Score59014d adds
14. 214 公 The Princess Sneaks Out on the Eve of Her Wedding, and the Crown Prince Comes to Catch Her Himself 公主婚前趁夜出逃，储君亲自抓人 Wuxi巫溪Ancient Romance1.0M WordsCompleted [Forceful Possession + Wife-Chasing Crematorium + Devoted Couple + Male Lead with a Black Heart Beneath His Gentle Exterior] Prince Xie Linheng was famous for having no interest in women. For years, he had never been close to a single woman. In the second year of Jian’an, the emperor fell gravely ill, and the crown prince took power. Desperate to see her mother, Yu Tingwan had no choice but to seek Xie Linheng’s help. Everyone said the crown prince was as noble and graceful as a pine tree, peerl 28.1kReads9.2Score2.6k14d adds
15. 215 又 The Roses Bloom Again: A Life Picked Up 又见蔷薇开之捡来的一世 Ning Qixia宁栖夏Ancient Romance358k WordsOngoing "You lot, that wretch in the water prison has been given to you as a reward. Remember, don't play with her until she dies," Zhu Ronghua said, covering her nose and mouth with a handkerchief. "Yes, yes, yes. Since the young lady has rewarded us, we'll make sure that little woman has a very comfortable time." "Hurry up and go. Stop running your mouths here." After speaking, Zhu Ronghua rolled her eyes in disgust. In her previous life, Zhu Yingyue was framed by Zhu Ronghua and the Crown Prince —Reads—Score—14d adds
16. 216 腹 The Scheming Prince: The Martial Spirit Consort Can't Escape His Love! 腹黑王爷：武灵妃难逃情网！ Dreams at the Tip of the Pen梦在笔端Ancient Romance381k WordsCompleted In the palace’s shadowy struggle for power, the women’s rivalries bloom like flowers in the dead of night: quiet, yet merciless. Wei Shuyao, the fiancée of a scheming prince, finds herself competing to become the crown princess because of a misunderstanding. Her beauty, talent, intelligence, and wisdom immediately catch the crown prince’s eye. The prince witnesses it all, his fury rising like a raging storm, his jealousy boundless. After Wei Shuyao is dragged back to the prince’s manor, the virt —Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    Love entanglements in noble families

17. 217 沈 The Shen Family’s Fifth Young Lady 沈家五姑娘 Boiled Radish Slices水煮萝卜片Ancient Romance763k WordsCompleted Reborn as the Shen family's Fifth Miss, she no longer envies the wealthy and powerful, yearns for a harmonious household with a husband and concubines, or hopes to win her in-laws' approval. All she wants is to meet a good man and live in peace and happiness. Of course, she'll repay those who harmed her in her past life with vengeance, and those who helped her with gratitude. But what's going on? What is going on with that man? So it was him, after all. 27.2kReads9.1Score3.1k14d adds

    Reader note

    Reborn, she seeks revenge for her grudges, repays kindness shown to her, and finds a good man. The heroine meticulously plans her revenge, ultimately achieving her goal and meeting her true love.

18. 218 重 Reborn as the Villainess, I Run Away Pregnant, and the Cold, Powerful Official Pursues Me to the Ends of the Earth 重生女配带球跑，清冷权臣追断腿 Chestnut, Chestnut, Chestnut, Chestnut栗子栗子栗栗子Ancient Romance301k WordsCompleted [The Wife-Chasing Crematorium, the Second Male Lead Takes the Crown] On the day Fu Ci married, Jiang Wan went into a difficult labor. As she lay at death’s door, she thought back on her brief life and could only feel that it had all been absurd and laughable. Her father was a treacherous minister. After his crimes were exposed, his entire clan was sentenced to execution. Fu Ci was a brilliant prodigy, the youngest prime minister in the realm. For her sake, he set aside his pride and knelt in the 10.1kReads8.9Score57714d adds

    Reader note

    The data speaks for itself 😎

19. 219 渣 My Scumbag Fiancé Ran Away from Our Wedding, So I Married Someone Else on the Spot 渣男逃婚，我当场改嫁了 Mu Yun Cheng慕妘娍Ancient Romance1.3M WordsCompleted On her wedding day, Meng Jinyao’s intended groom, Gu Xiuming, eloped with another woman, turning her into a laughingstock. She hardened her heart and changed grooms on the spot, marrying Gu Xiuming’s adoptive father, Gu Jingxi. After the wedding, Gu Xiuming sneered at her. “Meng Jinyao, have you no shame? You couldn’t become my bride, so now you want to become my mother?” Meng Jinyao looked at the man standing in the doorway and complained, “Husband, your son is being disrespectful and insulting 4kReads9.2Score1.6k14d adds

    Reader note

    This is a good story; the female lead is resourceful and takes the initiative after the male lead learns that she likes the female lead.

20. 220 拣 Choosing a Winter Branch: The Phoenix Perches in the Paulownia Tree 拣寒枝：凤栖梧桐 Egg Sauce蛋酱Ancient Romance631k WordsCompleted [Both leads are each other's first and only love + sweet romance + an elegant, old-world setting] More than ten years ago, the Li family arranged a marriage with the eldest legitimate daughter of the Jiang family. The Jiang family's legitimate daughter spent ten years being trained to become the perfect wife for a member of the imperial clan. Jiang Jiusheng went even further, learning everything the celebrated young heir of the Li family liked so she could be worthy of him. She waited ten years, 12.1kReads8.5Score1.2k14d adds
21. 221 女 The Female Bandit Goes to the Capital to Become an Official and Wins Over the Aloof Emperor 女土匪进京为官，诱拐了清冷陛下 Evening Ripples晚漾Ancient Romance1.1M WordsCompleted [Sweet historical romance + two powerful leads + devoted to each other + sweet and satisfying + fun and lively + no annoying supporting characters + sensible leads] A super-ferocious, super-rich bandit queen VS a cool, otherworldly beauty of an emperor Jin Sanglu owns thirty mountains of gold and is every inch a bandit queen. After earning military merit, she arrogantly calls out to the court: “If you won’t give me an official post, then make me empress.” The ministers are furious, but they fear 11.9kReads9.4Score1.6k14d adds
22. 222 误 Lost in the Exquisite Bedchamber 误入玲珑帐 A Cat, A Dog, and a Glass of Wine一猫一狗一杯酒Ancient Romance678k WordsCompleted The print edition is available on major platforms. [Pure historical romance + devoted couple + strong female lead + marriage before love + political intrigue + household rivalry] [Long-suffering princess of a fallen kingdom] X [scheming, rough-hewn prince] [Original title: The Enigma of Linglong] “A historical-romance version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith: outwardly united, secretly plotting against each other.” To seize power, Linglong spent sixteen years disguised as a young master named Ling, studyin 9kReads9.3Score1.2k14d adds
23. 223 贵 The Nobleborn Daughter 贵嫡 Zhao Fu Yang昭扶阳Ancient Romance1.5M WordsCompleted The Marquis's household plotted to rob and murder the Zhang family, wiping out the entire clan without a single survivor. She was made into a human pig and forced to watch her family beheaded before she herself was killed by vicious dogs. Reborn, she joins forces with her family to seek revenge, carefully plotting each step. Of course, she also needs a reliable powerful ally, and Prince Ji, renowned for his military achievements, is the perfect choice. Prince Ji needs money? No problem. She has 1kReads8.7Score15314d adds
24. 224 换 After the Marriage Swap, I Married the Memorial Tablet of a Young General 换亲后，嫁给少年将军的牌位 A Drunken Glance at the Glazed Moon一醉琉月Ancient Romance176k WordsCompleted Reborn into a household power struggle + heroine with yin-yang eyes + hero killed in battle + bride swap Zhu Changsheng died on the third day after being appointed Noble Consort, trapped in a carefully plotted scheme by Prince Jing. Before her death, a sorcerer had altered her fate. Her healthy body wasted away overnight, while the ailing Princess Jing recovered as if by a miracle. The following year, Princess Jing gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, helping Prince Jing become heir to the t 529Reads9.0Score11914d adds

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