Novels like The Empress’s Guide to Avoiding the Rat Race
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Empress’s Guide to Avoiding the Rat Race, best match first.
- 101 A Devoted Emperor Chases Love from Ancient Times to the Modern Day 痴情帝王，从古代追爱到现代 "The ancient-era portion of this book is not a clean romance and takes a realistic approach, with an emphasis on plausibility. Readers who insist on both leads being untouched should read with caution. Once they reach the modern era, both leads are untouched. The story is a slow burn, but the later chapters are exciting, so be sure to read to the end." The heroine, Lin Wan, is a woman of unparalleled beauty and a celebrated history professor at a modern university. Not only is she exceptionally 2Reads9.1Score—14d adds
- 102 Spring Deepens in Bianjing 汴京春深 [Audio version now available, welcome to listen] Madam Rongguo, Wang Fu, devoted herself to her family until she fell gravely ill and died. She was reborn in the body of Meng Jiuniang, a foolish illegitimate daughter who was only seven years old. In her previous life, her husband became her uncle in this life, and her son became her cousin. In this life, Meng Wan had a simple wish: to live peacefully and watch her son, her cousin Su Fang in this life, grow up safe and sound. But as she and a gro 19.4kReads9.5Score2.5k14d adds
- 103 The Wicked Supporting Actress Is Reborn and Wins at Life 恶毒女配重生后躺赢了 The emperor has never touched anyone but the heroine! One beloved consort in the harem + 1v1 romance + fictional setting. Meng Yan only learns on the brink of death that she's a supporting character in a sweet palace-intrigue novel. In the story, she loves the emperor, Lu Haozhi, devotedly until the very end. She diligently competes for his favor and tirelessly fights the innocent white-lotus heroine, only to land herself in the cold palace and die miserably in the snow. After being reborn, she 21kReads9.1Score2k14d adds
- 104 The Pretty Palace Maid's Step-by-Step Rise to Empress 娇娇宫女，步步为后 [Palace intrigue / not both partners’ first time / devoted love in the later story / not a strong heroine; the female lead cries easily and isn’t particularly clever, so don’t expect too much!] After three years in the palace, Yue Li has worked carefully and waited for a chance at promotion. Just before she is promoted, a palace maid sharing her room is sentenced to death for offending a consort. Thunder crashes and rain pours that night as blood spatters everywhere. Terrified, Yue Li cannot sle 25.1kReads9.3Score12.4k14d adds
- 105 A Lost-Memory Noble Consort’s Story of Winning the Emperor’s Favor 失忆贵妃承宠记 [Harem romance + aloof beauty + historical coming-of-age + worlds apart in status + devoted in body and heart, one-on-one] Kang Yuyi was born a hereditary servant of the Prince of Qin’s household. Because of her extraordinary beauty, the princess consort took a liking to her and sent her to serve as a bedchamber maid to the heir, Li Yuanheng. But the heir turned out to be cold and distant, with no interest in women. After Kang Yuyi’s attempts to flirt with Li Yuanheng repeatedly failed, his cous 19.9kReads9.3Score1.4k14d adds
- 106 The Emperor and Empress Fight Every Day to See Who Dies First 帝后每天互殴，看谁先死 Feng Xing is the daughter of Chu Xi’s Grand Marshal, who commands an army of four hundred thousand. Shen Feng has been emperor for just two years. Shen Feng is utterly depraved, ruthless, and cruel. To secure his throne, he decides to marry Feng Xing and make her empress. First, he will fake her death to lure her father to the capital for the funeral. Then he will wipe out her entire family and take control of the Chu Xi army. Feng Xing is a fierce, accomplished warrior who takes whatever she wa 34.9kReads9.2Score2.5k14d adds
- 107 The Feisty Consort Climbs to Power Through Palace Intrigue, Everyone Else Back Off 拽妃宫斗上位，闲杂人等退退退 The short drama is out now. Search for it on Fanqie to watch. [Palace Intrigue Power Fantasy + Not a Clean Romance + Being the Emperor’s Mother Is Better Than Being His Consort] Every woman in the harem hopes to win Emperor Jingrong’s favor, but Yuan Yuntang sees the emperor only as a tool for having children. Women in ancient times had to marry sooner or later anyway, so she might as well marry the most powerful man of all. After all, Emperor Jingrong has a great figure, a handsome face, and a 16.4kReads9.1Score1.7k14d adds
- 108 Reborn After My Own Son, the Cruel Empress Dowager, Stabbed Me to Death 恶毒太后被亲儿子捅死之后重生了 The vicious Empress Dowager Jiang Mingzhu was reborn. In her previous life, to put her son on the throne, she poisoned and tried to assassinate the emperor, colluded with court officials, drugged a pregnant consort to make her miscarry, and plotted against the young crown prince. Every time she schemed, she put her own life on the line to grind her stepson's face into the dirt. But when the plot to put the son she'd worked so hard to support on the throne was exposed, he stabbed her in the back 19.6kReads8.9Score2.1k14d adds
- 109 The White Moonlight Noble Consort’s Daily Life in the Harem 白月光贵妃的后宫日常 (Cover used with permission) With an illustrious family background, breathtaking beauty, and the distinction of being the emperor’s moonlight, Jiang Hui should have found life as a Noble Consort effortlessly easy. Unfortunately, the sisters in all but name in the Eastern Palace, wave after wave of beautiful candidates from the provinces, and the supposed substitutes who resemble her in looks and bearing all tell her the same thing: no one can walk unscathed through the imperial harem. [Alternate 25.1kReads9.3Score2k14d adds
- 110 The Second Empress 继后 The Noble Consort was favored, the Worthy Consort bore a son, the Bright Etiquette was the emperor’s white moonlight, and the Beautiful Consort was his cinnabar mole. Every other concubine had her own talents and charms. It was a whole garden in full bloom. So who was our protagonist? The unfavored empress, with no children and no powerful family backing. Great. Why did this plot feel so familiar? Never mind. On the first day Zhao Wumian transmigrated here, she decided to lie flat. Compete for t 79.6kReads9.5Score8.9k14d adds
- 111 I Was Reborn, and This Time I'm Going on a Rampage 我重生了，这一世我嘎嘎乱杀 In my past life, I was schemed against and killed by Bai Lianhua and Liu Ruyan! This time, I'll send every one of the people who hurt me straight to hell! Seeing them hate me to the bone yet be powerless to do anything about it is so satisfying! This time, let me weave the path that sends you all to hell! I'm the head of the Wen family business. Watch me put men aside and focus on my career. I'm the leading lady of my own story! I just love building my business! When I try to put men aside, they 1.9kReads9.4Score19314d adds
- 112 The Tyrant's Little Temptress Is Wild and Irresistible 暴君的小妖精又撩又野 [Search the leads' names to find the short drama] [Both leads are chaste + equally powerful, one-to-one romance. Enjoy] The slave she had once humiliated and tormented has ascended the throne. He pins her against a chaise longue, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The delicate chain around her ankle jingles softly, its chill seeping into the dark of night. “Your Highness, do you know that from the very first moment I saw you, I… No, this slave wanted to see you in such a helpless, w 7.3kReads9.2Score87814d adds
- 113 Ninefold Brocade 九重锦 Household and palace intrigue, with the leads not both being each other's first. A fictional setting, with all ranks and titles made up. A heroine who grows over time and isn't blinded by love. After being suppressed for more than a decade, a concubine-born daughter has her fate rearranged overnight. Entering the prince's manor only fuels her ambition. Her birth father ignores her, allowing her stepmother to torment her and her mother for half their lives without ever offering them the slightest 35.1kReads9.3Score5.9k14d adds
- 114 Beauty and Strategy in a Land of Rivers and Mountains 山河美人谋 [Proud young lady who always gets even vs. frail, scheming Ninth Prince] Her fiancé was a total jerk, and he was planning to kill her to keep her quiet. Ye Jiao decided to strike first and find a scapegoat while she was at it. She thought the scapegoat would be a transparent, sickly “living corpse,” but rumors were misleading. He was clearly a two-faced, deeply cunning Ninth Prince. After Ye Jiao used the Ninth Prince’s name to punish her scumbag fiancé, Li Ce, the real Ninth Prince: “Miss, I be 18.3kReads9.5Score2.6k14d adds
- 115 On Our Wedding Night, the Obsessive Crown Prince Took Me to the Eastern Palace 成亲当晚，偏执太子夺我入东宫 The aloof, possessive Crown Prince × the dazzling beauty who loves money Everyone in the Eastern Palace knows that the Crown Princess was snatched away from someone else by the Crown Prince. Once the Crown Prince, as elegant as jade and as clear as moonlight, fell into the sea of love, there was no climbing back out. He Yue transmigrated to ancient times and became the owner of a rouge shop. She wasn’t rich or powerful, but her life was peaceful and carefree. Then one day, the woman she liv 34.7kReads9.0Score2.7k14d adds
- 116 Your Majesty, the Tyrant Can Read Minds 报告娘娘，暴君他有读心术 After she touched the tyrant’s skull, which had been polished into a wine bowl, she unexpectedly transmigrated into the empress who died the most gruesome death in history. Every day, she plotted to kill the tyrant and become empress in her own right, unaware that he could read minds. When the tyrant fell gravely ill, she wept and begged Heaven to let her trade her own years of life for his safety. The tyrant was deeply moved, until he suddenly heard her thoughts: [If he’s so sick, hurry up and 6kReads9.3Score99414d adds
- 117 The Empress Leaped to Her Death, and the Mad Tyrant Wept Until His Eyes Were Red 皇后纵身一跃，疯批暴君哭红了眼 [One-on-one romance, devoted couple + palace intrigue + regretful pursuit, clear-headed heroine, everyone's unattainable ideal] Meng Tang is a gracious, gentle empress who never competes for favor. Everyone thinks she is a true white lotus standing tall in the harem, and even the tyrant believes it. He takes a new concubine, and she smiles, congratulates him, and arranges for the newcomer to spend the night with him. He sends her restorative medicine, and she obediently takes it, knowing full we 21.5kReads9.3Score2k14d adds
- 118 The Chaos of Zhaohua 昭华乱 [Available in print. Search "Zhaohua Rebellion" on any platform to purchase.] [Strong female lead, satisfying revenge, high-IQ palace intrigue, the heroine schemes against the entire harem, a dangerously unhinged antagonist] Song Zhao has always been a woman who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals, and she has always seen the world more clearly than anyone else. From the moment she learned that Xiao Jingheng had chosen her to enter the palace as a consort, her goal was crystal clear: "I en 87.1kReads9.5Score9.7k14d adds
- 119 My Lord, the Princess Consort Says She’ll Never See You Again 王爷，王妃说此生不复相见 [Historical Romance Tragedy + No Getting Back Together + Second Male Lead Takes the Lead] A tragic romance! A tragic romance! A tragic romance! Ye Chuyan loved Pei Xiuyan for twelve years, but never moved him in the slightest. All she got in return was Pei Xiuyan wiping out the Ye family and having her father and brothers tortured to death over three days in the snow. At last, she understood: for the rest of her life, there would be no love between her and Pei Xiuyan, only hatred, until one o 26.7kReads9.3Score1.7k14d adds
- 120 Five Years of Waiting Came to Nothing: My Husband Brings His New Love to Demand a Divorce 五年痴等成空，夫君带女逼我和离 [Both Chaste] [Romance with His Older Brother's Wife] [Male-Male Story] [The Male Lead is repeatedly seen completely naked but stays faithful. Later, what looks like infidelity is actually a guard in disguise; the male lead remains devoted to the female lead throughout.] [Dear readers, we're very sorry! When you reach Chapter 139, please skip straight to Chapter 146. Chapters 140 to 145 are inconsistent and can be ignored.] On their wedding night, unrest broke out at the border, and her husband 5.8kReads9.3Score43414d adds
- 121 Reborn as the Empress Dowager, I Just Want to Take It Easy 穿成太后只想咸鱼 “Pay attention: this is a story with a strong female lead, no male lead, and no romance.” After transmigrating, she became the most exalted woman in Yun Zhao. She thought she could live a carefree life of wealth and luxury, but danger closed in from every side, with pitfalls everywhere. It was not just her reputation at stake, but her life. The emperor dreams of ruling in his own right? Here, take the imperial seal. Go play by yourself, kid! The consorts are fighting for power in the palace? Tos 15.3kReads9.2Score1.6k14d adds
- 122 After Marrying the Mad Crown Prince to Bring Him Good Fortune 嫁给疯批太子冲喜后 The unfavored legitimate daughter of the Mu family is ordered by imperial decree to marry the crown prince, Zhou Jing, who is at death's door, to bring him good luck. Plenty of people wait to laugh at her, saying she might just end up bringing him luck by killing him in bed. When Zhou Jing opens his eyes, he finds himself with a fiancée. The young woman is clearly terrified of him, but still can't help swearing her loyalty. “Your Highness, I'll treat you very well.” “Your Highness, after you pas 33.2kReads9.4Score4.6k14d adds
- 123 The Mistress's Daily Life 主母日常 [An Aristocratic Lady Tears Apart a Transmigrator + Reborn + An Idyllic, Leisurely Life as the Mistress of an Ancient Estate] Lu Lingjun and her legitimate younger sister, Lu Hanyi, were both reborn. In their previous lives, Lu Lingjun married the second son of a sixth-rank civil official, while her younger sister married the heir to a marquis’s estate. Everyone said her sister had made the better match. But who could have guessed that Lu Lingjun’s husband would become the prime minister and sec 23.3kReads9.0Score3.2k14d adds
- 124 Whose Favored Concubine Doesn't Get Herself Killed? 谁家宠妾不作死啊 Pei Shiyuan had always thought that, as a concubine-born daughter, she thrived at her family home because she knew a little tea ceremony and all she had to do was flatter her father, the head of the household. She had been quite pleased with herself about it, right up until she entered the Eighth Prince’s household. The Eighth Prince’s mother, the Noble Consort, was so favored that the Empress had no room to stand. His maternal family wielded so much power that the court officials could barely b 77.1kReads9.5Score7.9k14d adds
- 125 Joy with You 与君欢 [Palace Intrigue and Political Scheming + Marriage Before Love + Mutual Devotion] A young king and queen join hands to bring peace to the realm, brimming with ambition! A sinister, calculating ruler versus a clever, decisive queen: evenly matched, they win the world together! Jiang He, daughter of an envoy from Qi, was forced to enter the palace as a servant after her mother died and her father disappeared. Then, just before the marriage alliance, the princess of Qi died a tragic death, leaving 26.3kReads9.5Score3.4k14d adds
- 126 Late in the Day 行止晚 [Devoted love + emperor and empress + tragic palace romance] 145,000 readers gave it top ratings, and countless readers cried their way through it! The year’s breakout historical romance, a heartache readers can’t forget. A clear-eyed, sweet empress VS a proud emperor whose love never wavers. Born into the imperial family, how can everything ever go as you wish? May we remain together forever, and may I keep you safe and at peace. A gentleman’s word is his bond. In a daze, I saw the moon rise. 25.7kReads9.6Score3.3k14d adds
- 127 Can You Believe It? The Empress Wrote a Hundred Palace Rules 谁懂啊，娘娘写了一百条宫规 [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
- 128 Ride Out to Battle, Peach Blossoms in My Wake 桃花马上请长缨 The short drama adaptation of June's novel, Power and Favor 3: Power and Favor in the Capital, is now available on Hongguo App. She cared for her in-laws and used her dowry to support the General's household, only for him to use his hard-won military achievements to ask for the female general's hand as his equal wife. Zhan Beiwang mocked her. “Song Xixie, do you know that your fine clothes, rich food, and glittering jewels all come from General Yi Fang and me fighting bloody battles to hold back 15kReads9.5Score5.5k14d adds
- 129 The Empress Is Alluring and Bewitching, and the Emperor Gives In to Pleasure 娘娘撩人魅惑，帝王纵情堕落 The Tomato short drama Kun Yi is now streaming~ [Transmigrate into a book, male lead is not a virgin but female lead is, palace intrigue, psychological games, happy ending] The Crown Prince, Jun Zechen, has seen his fair share of calculating women, and loves only those who are pure and kind. While campaigning beyond the frontier, he meets Ling Yue and is captivated by her free-spirited kindness. He promises to spend his life with her alone. But two years pass, and the Crown Princess has yet to c 120.1kReads9.5Score11.3k14d adds
- 130 After Breaking Off the Engagement, the Foolish Princess Marries the Ninth Lord with Her Four Maids 退婚后，傻妃携四大丫鬟嫁九千岁 [Palace Intrigue + Household Intrigue + Historical Romance + Princess Consort + Legitimate Daughter + Medical Skills + Two Powerful Leads + Cunning + Playing the Fool + Reborn + Fiercely Protective + Political Scheming] 99% of the comments are positive! Read with confidence! Su Qian, once the leader of a special forces unit in the apocalypse, died unexpectedly while carrying out a mission. With her portable medical space, she transmigrated to ancient times and into the residence of a great gener 23.3kReads8.1Score3.8k14d adds
- 131 The Willow by the Palace Wall 宫墙柳 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
- 132 Bound by Spring 缚春情 [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
- 133 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） 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 40kReads9.7Score6.1k14d adds
