Historical Romance, Please! No Mindless Power Fantasy! I Want a Smart, Scheming Female Lead!! 要古言！不是无脑爽！要女主有脑子有谋虑的！！

1. 1 京 The Capital's Most Notorious Beauty 京城第一祸水 Stars Fill My Eyes满眼星宸Ancient Romance1.1M WordsCompleted Currently being published [rival suitors in a dramatic love triangle + top-tier schemer + supporting villainess fights back + everyone comes around] [Historical romance + told entirely from the wicked supporting female character’s perspective] ❣️Blurb One Qiao Wanyan learned from a storybook that she was nothing but a wicked supporting character who abandoned her childhood sweetheart and chased after wealth and status. She sowed discord, poisoned her elder sister, and committed every imaginable 58.2kReads9.3Score7.7k14d adds

   Reader note

   It's a really good show; the female lead is intelligent and resourceful.

2. 2 夭 Good Grief! I Woke Up as the Traitorous Official's Wife, Destined to Die Young 夭寿啦！一睁眼穿成奸臣早死原配 Every Inch Is Gold寸寸金Ancient Romance679k WordsCompleted Shen Heng transmigrates into an alternate history as the secret first wife of Xie Jian, the most notorious corrupt chancellor of all time, and finds herself on the way to elope with someone. She doesn't even know where to begin complaining. This is what the Record of True Chancellors says about Xie Jian: Xie Jian, courtesy name Zixuan, was the last chancellor of the Great Cong Dynasty. Through his own efforts, he brought down the dynasty, which had stood for over six hundred years. His life: He 16.4kReads9.0Score2k14d adds
3. 3 缚 Bound by Spring 缚春情 Ren Huanyou任欢游Ancient Romance603k WordsCompleted [The print edition is available on the homepage; film and television rights have been sold] The Jiang and Song families have been close for generations, and Song Wan was betrothed to Jiang Xingjian before she was even born. They grew up together, but she was confined to the inner quarters, where everything she learned was meant to prepare her to become a Jiang family wife. The young man was dashing and ambitious. Before he had even turned twenty, he went off to the frontier to make his name. Bef 90.9kReads9.6Score12.1k14d adds
4. 4 嫁 Marrying the Imperial Tutor 嫁帝师 Changshanli长山里Ancient Romance560k WordsCompleted [When a Scheming Black-Bellied Type Meets a Sweet-on-the-Outside, Dark-on-the-Inside Type + Love and Hate + Soul Swap + Revenge, Traditional Historical Romance in an Imaginary Setting] Jiang Wanzhi first met Song Qingshi when she was fourteen. At sixteen, she became Mrs. Song. Everyone said she was lucky: a merchant’s daughter had married a top-scoring scholar. That is, until she died under mysterious circumstances on the very night Song Qingshi asked her for a divorce. When she awoke again, she 28kReads9.3Score4.4k14d adds
5. 5 成 What on Earth Is This? Complete in Two Volumes (The Original Novel Behind the Hit Drama Starring Wang Churan and Cheng Lei) 成何体统：全二册（王楚然、丞磊主演热播影视剧原著） Qi Yingjun七英俊Anime Fanfiction314k WordsCompleted What is it like to transmigrate into a web novel and become the tyrant's bedmate? After a few simple calculations, Yu Wanyin reached a conclusion: she would have to find another way. In this story full of villains, if she wanted to carve out a path to survival, she had to become the biggest villain of all. First, help the tyrant take down Prince Duan, then take down the tyrant and become empress herself. But when she met the tyrant and carefully considered the strange sense of familiarity in his 40.3kReads9.7Score6.3k14d adds
6. 6 攀 Marrying Up 攀高枝 Egrets in Pairs白鹭成双Ancient Romance424k WordsCompleted [Film and TV rights sold] [Print edition published] Zhang Zhixu had everything from birth. A family with a century of prestige, enviable talent, and a career that kept rising step by step. But he found life terribly dull. Then, one day, an accident struck, and his soul entered a woman's body. A woman who couldn't read a single character, yet dreamed of marrying into a powerful family and becoming a phoenix. · Chen Baoxiang had traveled a thousand miles from the countryside to the capital, hoping 162.8kReads9.6Score22.7k14d adds

   Reader note

   Just finished watching it. Instead of trying to climb the social ladder, you should become the high branch yourself. The female lead is intelligent and capable in both combat.

7. 7 春 Spring Robes in Disarray: Only to Unravel the Chancellor's Desires 春衫乱：只为奸臣解风情 Fish in the South City南城有鱼Ancient Romance463k WordsCompleted [Traditional historical romance + reborn to change fate + devoted husband + political intrigue and revenge. The heroine is gentle yet resilient, kind and perceptive. The hero is a noble, powerful minister, beautiful and tragic. Many foreshadowed clues and twists.] Lin Shu was a noble young lady from the capital, raised without ever having to lift a finger. When disaster struck the Lin family, Lin Shu became a government slave. She was put to washing and dyeing cloth in the Imperial Household Dep 12kReads9.4Score1.4k14d adds

   Reader note

   It's strategic, well-structured, and not just mindless wish-fulfillment; the male and female leads are incredibly cunning. 🤭🤭🤭

8. 8 卿 My Beloved, Through Every Dawn and Dusk 卿是朝朝暮暮 Sugar-Roasted Little Deer糖炒小鹿Ancient Romance332k WordsCompleted Shen Yunshu studied archaeology and had been working for just two years. She loved history, and her favorite dynasty was the Rong Dynasty. A few days ago, she had read an unofficial history of the Rong Dynasty's royal family. Little did she expect that after falling asleep, she would wake up in the Rong Dynasty, sent there by the heavens, as Shen Yunshu, the legitimate daughter of the Shen family of Prince Zhenbei's residence. She had transmigrated to her favorite dynasty and become a descendant 24.2kReads9.5Score3k14d adds
9. 9 天 Fated Poison Consort: The Prince Dotes on Her Completely 天命毒妃：王爷一宠到底 Bing Xiayun冰夏云Ancient Romance579k WordsCompleted In her previous life, she helped him ascend the throne, but he slaughtered her entire Mu family. Later, she fed him a bowl of poison, carved him up piece by piece, and made delicious meatballs from his flesh. Then she forced his favorite concubine to swallow them with poisoned wine. She proved through her actions that you can't just pick on a woman like her and get away with it. Anyone who provokes her will be reduced to ashes and scattered to the winds. When she woke again, she had somehow ret 262Reads8.8Score—14d adds
10. 10 九 The Ninth Prince's Consort Is Bold and Dashing 九王妃她又飒又狂 Xu Chaobai许超白Ancient Romance395k WordsCompleted In the 21st century, a shadow assassin was betrayed by her partner and stabbed in the chest. She transmigrated into Gu An, the foolish legitimate daughter of a marquis’s household. Her vicious cousin and ruthless aunt plotted against her, forcing her to take her cousin’s place and marry the Ninth Prince, who could die at any moment. A fool and an invalid were a perfect match. The people of Junjing munched on seeds and watched the show. When the legitimate daughter of the Gu family was born, the 2.8kReads9.1Score34414d adds
11. 11 惹 Offending the Imperial Daughter 惹金枝 Kong Liu空留Ancient Romance1.2M WordsCompleted (Film and television rights have been sold. The physical book will be available for preorder on July 10 at 19:00.) Shi Buyu was born smiling. At that moment, lightning flashed and thunder roared, collapsing a row of outbuildings in the Shi family compound. Days of torrential rain brought devastating floods and countless victims. Rumors soon spread through the capital that she was a disaster star sent into the world. But she was as precocious as a demon, with a photographic memory, and learned bo 254.1kReads9.7Score29.8k14d adds

    Reader note

    The packaging is beautiful, especially the first book.

12. 12 让 They Wanted Me to Be a Sacrificial Stepmother, but I Chose to Make My Own Way 让我当炮灰主母，我偏另谋高枝 Ji Yun霁妘Ancient Romance1.0M WordsCompleted [Historical Romance / Household Intrigue / Sweet Romance / The Male Lead Is Head Over Heels] In Ruyi's Beloved Concubine, the heir apparent Xie Yunzhix is a brave and formidable warrior, always dashing across the battlefield in fine clothes, with no one able to stand against him. Sadly, he is only a supporting character. The story opens with him in a vegetative state, leaving behind three adopted sons. Xu Qingyi discovers that she has become the foil to the beloved heroine of a sweet romance. On 143.6kReads9.4Score20.6k14d adds
13. 13 宫 The Willow by the Palace Wall 宫墙柳 Dream Doll梦娃Ancient Romance166k WordsCompleted Why must the imperial consorts compete for the emperor’s favor? A smash-hit, heart-wrenching historical romance that burst onto the scene in 2019! Recommended by countless tearful readers, this unconventional palace-intrigue novel will stay with you long after you finish. In the lightest of styles, it captures everyone’s deepest regrets. In May of the year I turned fourteen, with the pagoda trees in fragrant bloom, I sat in Yong’an Palace, propping up my head as I dozed. The man’s laughter held 48.6kReads9.7Score7.1k14d adds
14. 14 穿 Transmigrated as a Treacherous Minister's Legitimate Daughter, She Plays the Part to Perfection 穿成奸臣嫡女，她本色出演 Garlic Bamboo Shoots蒜香竹笋Ancient Romance565k WordsCompleted [Transmigrate into a book + Career-focused early on + Sweet romance + One-on-one romance + Both leads are devoted to each other] [Two-faced, ruthless minister's daughter × Wild, formidable iron-faced general] The ruler of the business world transmigrates into a book overnight, becoming the daughter of the treacherous chancellor. She throws her weight around and commits every kind of evil, with the label “vicious supporting female character” practically branded onto her. She's madly pursuing the 86.4kReads9.6Score11.3k14d adds
15. 15 被 After the Female Lead Was Stolen, I Set Out to Save the Obsessive Villain 被抢女主后，拯救偏执反派大佬 Xu Lian序连Ancient Romance424k WordsCompleted [One-on-one sweet romance, marriage first and love later, the leads dote on each other, everyday romance, gentle and delicate beauty vs. a ruthless, possessive villainous tycoon] The Duke of Zhenguo’s entire household was fiercely loyal to the crown. With them gone, only Yan Yu, their sole daughter, remained. Raised by her maternal grandmother, she was betrothed to the Fifth Prince. After Yan Yu came of age, she was about to travel to the capital for her wedding. At that point, the eldest dau 18.9kReads8.9Score1.9k14d adds

    Reader note

    [Cheng Yan – A Sweet Romance in the Palace, A Tale of Love and Hate] [1v1 Sweet Romance, Arranged Marriage, Mutual Pampering] Amidst the intertwining of power struggles and love, Yan Yu, the only daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, is pushed by the wheels of fate into the abyss of the palace. Gentle and delicate, she is forced into the royal power struggles. [Book Highlights]• Yan Yu, an orphan raised by her maternal grandmother, was originally betrothed to the Fifth Prince, but was forced to remarry due to the affair of the eldest daughter of the Minister's mansion. • The Fifth Prince's betrayal, the Minister's daughter's ambition, the royal scandals—how will Yan Yu face all these conspiracies and schemes? • Prince Qin, a cruel and cold-blooded villain—is his affection poison or salvation? [Emotional Entanglement]• Is Yan Yu and Prince Qin's arranged marriage a cruel twist of fate or a test of true love? • In the midst of palace intrigue, how will they pamper and love each other, facing the storms of the outside world together? [Recommendation Reasons]• If you enjoy palace intrigue and sweet love stories, this book will take you into a world full of power struggles and love-hate relationships. • The interactions between Yan Yu's strength and the King of Qin's domineering nature are full of drama and will keep you hooked.

16. 16 新 New Bao Qingtian Fan Fiction: The Fragrant Consort of Luoshen 新包青天同人：洛神香妃 Moonlight Gaze月潋凝眸Female-Channel Fanfiction1.7M WordsOngoing Bai Yutang x Original Female Lead She is the reincarnation of the celestial realm's narcissus flower goddess, with a pure and holy soul. She has no noble status, only a mysterious and extraordinary background. She cares for all under heaven, is high-minded, excels in both letters and arms, and brings blessings to all living beings. … An adaptation of The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants, beginning when Zhan Zhao receives the title “Imperial Cat” from 87Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    This is a historical romance novel. The female protagonist possesses exceptional intelligence, strong logical reasoning and analytical skills. She is also skilled in both literature and martial arts, with first-rate light footwork, superb horsemanship, and excellent cooking.

17. 17 谁 Can You Believe It? The Empress Wrote a Hundred Palace Rules 谁懂啊，娘娘写了一百条宫规 Strawberry Xi草莓汐Ancient Romance602k WordsCompleted [Palace Intrigue + Ancient-Era Heroine + Reborn Supporting Female Character + Transmigrated Supporting Female Character + Everyone Is Clever + Clear-Eyed Heroine] From ordinary palace candidate to empress. Everyone believes the emperor is devoted to Ning Wanyin. Only Ning Wanyin knows how treacherous and perilous the journey has been. She has survived every step through sheer caution. Lady Tang, reborn: “She killed me in my last life. This time, of course I’ll… make her my friend! Do I really th 41.2kReads9.6Score5.9k14d adds

    Reader note

    ① This is a historical romance novel set in a palace intrigue world. It's very cautious and full of plot twists; it's not mindless wish-fulfillment. The female lead climbs the ranks step by step. ② This is also a historical romance novel about reincarnation, but the female lead disguises herself as a man to vie for power in the court. I don't know if you'll like it.

18. 18 权 The Alluring Powerful Minister 权臣妖娆 Minced Meat and Fried Egg肉沫跑蛋Ancient Romance960k WordsCompleted Also known as The Female Top Scorer and The Female Imperial Tutor. He was a celebrated, charmingly elegant top scorer, showered with every favor under the heavens. Only after the Du family was destroyed and he hanged himself in prison did the world learn that “he” was a woman! After her father's death, the family's good name was ruined. Dozens of loyal servants starved to death. The beautiful women of the household were either made into servants or reduced to playthings for officials. Reborn, Du 3.3kReads9.1Score43514d adds
19. 19 穿 Transported to a Year of Famine, the Fake Heiress Becomes the Village Darling 穿到荒年，假千金回村后成了团宠 Peachy Little Yao桃桃小夭Ancient Romance629k WordsCompleted [Fake and Real Heiresses + Face-Slapping + Farming + Building from Nothing + Making a Fortune + Feel-Good Read] Su Wanwan wakes up in the world of an ancient romance novel, transmigrated into the life of a fake heiress who was switched at birth. In the book, the scheming real heiress has one stroke of luck after another, while her plots and schemes never stop. The Jiang family is ruined, and each family member meets a more tragic end than the last. The original owner’s fate is even more miserabl 1.5kReads8.3Score11914d adds

    Reader note

    Traveling back to ancient times, the heroine encounters a real and a fake heiress. She uses her cunning to win over her awful family members and unite against the real heiress's revenge.

20. 20 不 No More Slacking: The Prince’s Favorite Concubine’s Daily Grind 不当咸鱼，王府宠妾的内卷日常 Four Crescent Moons四弯月Ancient Romance1.0M WordsCompleted [Transmigration + cutthroat household competition + no slacking off + ambitious heroine] Shen Wei, a die-hard rat-race fanatic, transmigrated into the lowest-ranking maid in a prince’s manor. Prince Yan held a position of great prestige, but all his wives and concubines had given up trying. The princess consort, born to a prestigious family, was as aloof as a chrysanthemum. The secondary consort wanted lifelong monogamy. The reborn woman had lost all hope in Prince Yan and was content to lie fla 69kReads9.4Score8.7k14d adds

    Reader note

    I think this is fantastic. The female lead treats being favored as a job, with the prince as her boss. Later, the prince ascends the throne, and the female lead becomes a concubine with two sons and a daughter. Before she even becomes a concubine, she has already considered various realistic factors and wants to live a better life. So she takes the initiative to strive for it. Her way of striving is not to suppress or frame others, but to figure out her "boss's" preferences, understand her own position, work hard to improve, and successfully win him over.

21. 21 凤 The Phoenix's Mistake: The Abandoned Bride in a Substitute Marriage 凤凰错：替嫁弃妃 A Cai阿彩Ancient Romance4.0M WordsCompleted [New book: The Imperial Physician Consort] Just how much is a woman’s beauty worth? She was personally chosen by the late emperor to be empress, yet when half her face was disfigured, an imperial edict demoted her from empress to consort. One edict, two marriages: her peerlessly beautiful younger sister entered the palace in her place, while she was sent far away to marry the young prince who had been granted a royal title, the Snow Prince, a cold and ruthless man wielding power over the court.. 1kReads8.5Score12114d adds

    Reader note

    No melodramatic plot, just the male and female leads.

22. 22 尤 The Alluring Consort Climbs to the Phoenix Throne and Captures the Emperor's Heart at First Sight 尤物娘娘爬凤位，让皇上一见钟情 Han Qingxue寒清雪Ancient Romance228k WordsCompleted [Devoted love + the emperor falls at first sight + palace intrigue and rising to power through favoritism + heroine’s acting skills + strong, clever heroine] Wen Shuyao loved only herself. Only losers loved men. Now that she had been granted the title of Attendant and ordered into the palace, she would make use of the emperor’s love at first sight. The emperor was merely a stepping stone for Wen Shuyao. It wouldn’t be hard to act like someone deeply in love with him. Wen Shuyao was the legitimat 5.1kReads9.0Score58714d adds
23. 23 赵 Zhao Xiaoxian’s Journey to Another World 赵小仙的异界之旅 There's Someone Like You in My Dreams梦里有个你Ancient Romance220k WordsOngoing (The rating is out, so feel free to dive in. Ratings build up gradually.) Zhao Xiaoxian’s ancestral bracelet has awakened! Its mysterious space comes with a Pinduoduo trading platform that connects to countless worlds! To open the iron gate leading to another realm, customer service representative Wang Tiezhu points Zhao Xiaoxian toward a path of “gathering plants” to earn points. At last, she buys a key to time and space and pushes open the iron gate, revealing a wondrous world unlike any she —Reads7.0Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    A very unique story, no romantic pairing, the author is very intelligent.

Other lists with The Capital's Most Notorious Beauty