1. "The Ruyi Fragrance" is a terrible novel, so terrible it is utterly infuriating.
For the first three hundred thousand words, it follows a beloved princess willingly becoming a concubine, keeping her head down in her husband's household and devoting herself to serving her in-laws and her husband's son, who is not yet three. At the three-hundred-thousand-word mark, the princess finally wakes up and firmly divorces him.
But her "awakening" lasts less than fifty thousand words. The man agrees to forget his deceased first wife and promote the princess to official wife, and the two rush into a happy ending. The remaining two hundred thousand words are about the princess helping the male lead rise through the ranks in government.
Readers: Excuse me?
There's also a young princess who pines for a minister's son despite having a princess's title and unparalleled beauty, yet is "insecure and sensitive";
The third prince loves a maid instead of his princess consort. The maid turns out to be a princess from the previous dynasty, who murders the emperor without mercy. The third prince covers up the truth for love and eventually escorts her away to the ends of the earth, tears in his eyes;
The crown prince is gay and gets tangled up with the new top scholar.
It's a veritable gathering of colorful characters.
None of this has anything to do with Jiang Qingli, though. She's just the daughter of an ordinary eighth-rank official. The highest-ranking person she can meet is a fifth-rank vice minister whose home she visits for New Year's greetings.
That is, until one day, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man stopped by her house to rest.
2. One day, Emperor Longde went incognito and happened upon an elegant courtyard, where he went in to ask for some water.
But the owner's daughter shocked the entire imperial family with her inner thoughts.
[The eldest daughter, Baojia, becomes a concubine for love]
[The younger daughter, Changrou, secretly loves the chancellor's son but is too insecure to confess]
[The third son has never shared a bed with his wife]
[The crown prince, he, he, he...]
"Y-Your Majesty, I mean, Master Huang, what's wrong? Someone, quick, bring the medicine!"
The emperor took a liking to the daughter of a minor official and appointed her a palace attendant, keeping her at his side for matters great and small. Such boundless favor was rarely seen.
One day, the emperor woke from his afternoon nap and summoned Lady Jiang. Just as she was about to enter his room, the emperor suddenly said, "Wait a moment."
He pulled out a sachet, took two pills from it, swallowed them, and drank a cup of calming tea. Then he put his life-saving pills back in the sachet and waved his hand, full of confidence:
"Come on, let's go see Lady Jiang!"
The eunuch beside him: "..."
Before meeting Jiang Qingli, the emperor thought: My imperial family is harmonious, with a loving father and dutiful children. A rare thing in this world.
After meeting Jiang Qingli, the emperor thought: I can't spend another day in this family!
Note: The emperor is not the heroine's romantic partner. Why would we pair her with a man in his fifties?
Theme: Become a better version of yourself
Trapped in an Infinite Loop with the Demon Who Killed Me
I Became a Preschool Teacher in Ancient Times
Playing Chef in a Novel That Abuses Its Female Lead
After the Reluctant Slacker Was Forced into a High-Status Marriage
The Lazy Fish's Stepmotherly Life in Ancient Times
Blacklisted, I Became the Owner of a Pig Farm