Novels like The Crown Prince and I Are Both Frail: He Wields the Sword, I Sharpen the Knife
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Crown Prince and I Are Both Frail: He Wields the Sword, I Sharpen the Knife, best match first.
- 1 My Best Friend and I Transmigrated Into a Book, Leaving the Entire Court Trembling 闺蜜齐穿书后，满朝文武瑟瑟发抖 (Transmigrate into a book, sweet romance, golden finger space, lighthearted, putting the nasty characters in their place) Cheng Yao'er and Xia Xinuo both transmigrated into a book. One was supposed to marry the male lead, the Second Prince; the other, the male antagonist, her imperial uncle. But... they were both supposed to die before the weddings. There was no way they were going to die. They fought tooth and nail to survive. After narrowly escaping death at last... on the wedding day, their b 798Reads8.9Score11814d adds
- 2 The Little Nun Returns to Secular Life and Marries, Leaving the Entire Court of Nobles Regretting It 小尼姑还俗嫁人，满朝权贵悔疯了 [Courtly and household intrigue + Villainess + Everyone pays the price + Coercive possession + Unhinged + Corruption + Male rivalry + Devoted to one another] Shen Tanxi was the vicious supporting character in The Cold-Hearted Emperor's Sweet, Adored Consort. She fawned over the male lead, Lu Yan, all the way to the finale, only to be abandoned by him and despised by everyone. Still, she refused to give up. Even in death, she had to take down the villainous boss, Lu Xuan, to eliminate any future 1.4kReads8.6Score13314d adds
- 3 The Drama Queen Consort 戏精王妃 [A huge online hit] [Born to steal the show + unrivaled medical and poison skills + powerful hero and heroine + face-slapping + doting romance] Hua Raoyue transmigrates as a discarded consort. Watch her turn the tables with her extraordinary skills. Her maid reports, “Your Highness, we’ve been put under house arrest.” Yue: “It’s fine. I know hypnosis. We can go wherever we want.” Her maid reports, “Your Highness, they’re joining forces to bully you.” Yue: “It’s fine. I know how to poison people. 10.6kReads9.1Score1.5k14d adds
- 4 Don't Leave, My Darling: The Possessive Crown Prince Begs Her to Stay 娇娇宝贝别离开，偏执太子哀求 [Sweet romance, no angst + devoted couple + sugary sweet + feel-good power fantasy] [Soft, delicate beauty vs. possessive crown prince] [The leads get together in chapter 49; the earlier chapters are optional. It's all sweetness after that, and the villains are dealt with quickly.] On her wedding night, she was stabbed to death by the childhood sweetheart she had known for ten years. She discovered that he and her close cousin had been carrying on behind her back for a long time. Her soul linger 5.3kReads9.1Score43414d adds
- 5 I Came to the Capital to Find My Family, and My Brother’s Archrival Spoiled Me Rotten 进京寻亲，被哥哥死对头宠翻天 [Pure historical setting + one-on-one romance, both leads are each other’s only partners + lighthearted and sweet + direct communication, no misunderstandings + no transmigration or rebirth] [Airheaded, gentle heroine versus arrogant, ruthless minister] Jiang Yihuan’s older brother was an official in the capital, while she dug wild greens in the countryside and often went hungry. One day, her brother’s sworn enemy, Wei Zhao, captured her. “Your brother has been exiled. From now on, you’re coming 12.4kReads9.0Score2.2k14d adds
- 6 Storing Charm 储媚色 Li You transmigrated into a book, becoming the delicate, flowerlike heroine of a historical romance about political intrigue and tragic love, a heroine the male lead would torment in body, heart, and soul from beginning to end. But the moment she arrived, Li You discovered that her cousin, the story's wicked second female lead, had been reborn. So she was about to be demoted to a mere cannon-fodder character? Li You: "..." Fine, let me lie down for a while. On her wedding day, her cousin didn't 8.5kReads9.1Score93214d adds
- 7 The Spring Breeze Blows Through Yumen Pass! 春风吹度玉门关！ [They marry at the start + married life + sweet romance + native-born leads + mutually devoted] Gentle, tolerant, and magnanimous heroine & jealous, rough-around-the-edges puppy-dog hero The sixth year of the Zhending reign, spring. The old Duchess of Dingguo knelt before the Empress Dowager, asking for a marriage match for her grandson Yun Zheng, who was guarding the northwest. The emperor honored the Yun family’s generations of loyal service. Having also heard that the Cui family’s daughters 23.4kReads9.0Score2.9k14d adds
- 8 I Dumped My Poor, Good-for-Nothing Boyfriend for a Powerful Brocade Guard 踹掉穷渣男，我选权势滔天锦衣卫 [Hilarious] + [Lighthearted] + [Good values]: How do you turn an aloof, celibate man into a clingy puppy? Rong Shu raises her hand: I know this one! She transmigrated into an orphan whose parents had died, struggling to survive while caring for her younger brother. To protect herself, she spread the word everywhere that she was involved with Wei Yan, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Before long, the men who had been targeting her ran off with their tails between their legs. Rong S 26.9kReads9.2Score3.8k14d adds
- 9 The Emperor Has No Heart, Yet His Cool and Elegant Noble Consort Has Her Ways 帝本无心，怎奈清冷贵妃手段高 [Cool, seductive fox beauty vs. a carefree, womanizing emperor] [The heroine is the true daughter, driven by revenge and ambition: a scheming beauty, sweet on the outside but ruthless within, and far from virtuous. This is an unconventional palace-intrigue story focused on winning hearts. The hero is not chaste. Later, he desperately tries to win her back. The overall tone is sweet, and the romance becomes one-on-one in the latter half.] Until the age of five, Changyu Jiao was the legitimate da 8.8kReads9.4Score1k14d adds
- 10 With the Adorable Beauty at His Side, Even the Cold-Blooded Powerful Official Is Stirred by Mortal Desires 娇娇在侧，冷戾权臣也被撩动凡心 [Mutual devotion, sweet romance] Su Jiaojiao transmigrates with no grand ambitions. She only wants to make money, enjoy life, and be free. But her stunning looks catch the eye of Song Chi, the Prince of Jiangnan. He falls for her at first sight, and has only one thought when he sees her: I want her! “You're a merchant's daughter. It's your honor to be my concubine.” “I want to be your girlfriend.” “Your girlfriend? What's that?” “We can kiss, cuddle, and sleep together. No titles, no strings att 56.3kReads9.0Score6.8k14d adds
- 11 Love After Marriage: The Crown Princess Keeps Pretending to Be Good Again and Again 先婚后爱，太子妃又又又又在装乖 [Sweet Romance] Song Yao, who was born into this world, got married to Nangong Yi, the notoriously violent crown prince. After their wedding, they acted like a proper couple, treating each other with courtesy and respect. Gradually, Song Yao discovered that the crown prince was nothing like the violent man of the rumors. He was gentle, considerate, and easy to get along with. So she let her true nature out and started doing as she pleased. - At first, when facing the crown prince: Song Yao: gent 21.7kReads9.2Score2.3k14d adds
- 12 The Lazy Princess Returns to the Capital, and the Whole Dynasty Follows Her for the Gossip 咸鱼郡主回京，全皇朝追着吃瓜 [Everyone’s Favorite + Sweet Historical Romance + Fun and Lighthearted + Palace Politics with a Light Touch + Both Leads Are Each Other’s Only One + Equally Matched Leads + No Transmigration, Rebirth, System, or Inner Thoughts + Everyone Is Native to This World] A seemingly sweet and gentle daughter of a vassal king vs. a truly delicate and frail eldest imperial grandson For the old emperor’s birthday, vassal kings from across the land are ordered to come to the imperial capital and celebrate 41kReads9.1Score4k14d adds
- 13 After Being Kidnapped, I Kidnap the Western Regions' Young Lord and Bring Him Back to the Central Plains 被拐后，我反拐西域少主回中原 [Young lord of the Western Regions × Princess of Sheng'an] Ye Zhaoyu was born into the imperial family. She figured she'd surely been dealt the pampered darling's script in life, so she wisely decided to coast. But she never expected to take a wrong turn and be kidnapped to the Western Regions. By a stroke of bad luck, she was sent to the bed of a deranged young lord known as a demon's lair and a living Shura. She immediately switched into survival-and-escape mode, determined to flee back to the 9.2kReads9.5Score1.5k14d adds
- 14 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
- 15 Your Highness the Regent, Is Your Assassin Missing a Few Marbles? 摄政王殿下，你家杀手缺根筋！ After Jiu Yue died, the System told her that once she completed her mission, she could return to the real world with a reward of ten billion. Jiu Yue, who had been grumbling about her identity as an assassin, smiled sweetly. “Who says transmigrating is a bad thing? This is amazing!” However, a time-space delay kept the System from transmigrating with her, and it hadn't had time to explain the mission in full. But Jiu Yue didn't think that mattered. She was an assassin, after all. How hard could 38.6kReads9.4Score4.9k14d adds
- 16 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
- 17 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
- 18 The Capital's Most Notorious Beauty 京城第一祸水 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
- 19 Damn! Why Is the Crown Princess Surrounded by Suitors Everywhere? 可恶！怎么到处都是长公主的鱼！ [Short drama of the same name] [The Princess's World of Flowers] Now streaming [Content warning: The female lead is not exclusive, but all the men are, so read with caution] [Schrodinger's playgirl × a whole lot of men] [Lighthearted, not a serious historical drama] [Original title]: Too Many Men Are Such a Hassle. Who Should I Spoil? Wen Yu transmigrates into the Great Sheng Dynasty as its beautiful, useless, brainless eldest princess. After learning that the original owner drowned by accident 47.6kReads9.5Score6.4k14d adds
- 20 The Darling in the Palm 掌上娇娇 [Print edition preorder opens July 17] [Film and TV rights sold] [Reader's guide: sweet romance, devoted couple, feel-good wish fulfillment, with clever schemes and political intrigue, many clues and details, and a large cast of well-developed characters. The heroine never gets the short end of the stick; anything that doesn't make sense will be explained later] Prince Xuan, He Junting. In the novel Devoted to the Imperial Consort, the author wrote of how he slaughtered the entire Northern Di co 82.1kReads9.5Score9.3k14d adds
- 21 Marrying Up 攀高枝 [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
- 22 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
- 23 Spring Returns to the Branches of a Sick Tree 病树枝头又逢春 [Print edition now available] Sang Nian accidentally climbs into the world of cultivation and becomes the vicious supporting female character who meets a tragic end in the book. System: Your mission is to marry the male supporting character, Xie Chenzhou, abuse him, humiliate him, and then get killed by him. Sang Nian: OK (brandishes little whip) (hits herself) (collapses with a thud) System: (silence) (stares at the sky) System: Mission changed. Win him over, or go mine coal. Sang Nian: (smiles 183.4kReads9.5Score25.3k14d adds
