The Wife Comes First: Qi Wei Shang (Novel) Vol. 1

The Wife Comes First: Qi Wei Shang (Novel) #1

by Lv Ye Qian He, foxghost (Translator)

A philandering prince discovers that the prince-consort he neglected in life is the only one by his side in death. Now that he’s got a second chance, can the prince make it up to him?! A heartwarming romance about second chances, palace intrigue, and found family—The Wife Comes First makes its English debut!

As his life flashes before his eyes, self-obsessed Prince Cheng has a moment to reflect on something curious. Despite knocking at death’s door, only one person remains by his side: his all-but-abandoned prince-consort, Mu Hanzhang. Except, rather than celebrate that fact, Prince Cheng can only wonder… Why, after everything, is Mu Hanzhang still with him?

After all, Prince Cheng spent most of his life philandering and mastering political intrigue. Meanwhile, Mu Hanzhang had to discard his dreams of taking the Imperial Examination to become a minister, and was instead coerced to serve as male wife to a cruel prince!

Granted a second chance, Prince Cheng is miraculously reborn, waking up the morning after his wedding. As he does, the prince makes another vow: the wife comes first, the state second, and the husband last.

Where to start? Well first, he must kneel outside Mu Hanzhang’s bedroom door and beg to be let in, of course! Then again, after the sacrifices Mu Hanzhang’s had to make, will he even be willing to forgive his new husband?

Genres: Fantasy, LGBT, Romance, Historical, China, Novels, Fiction

396 pages, Paperback

Published December 16, 2025

Reviews

[Alexia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

DNF 50%.

As I read through it again, I was reminded of the reasons why I didn't complete it the first time. Despite my strong desire to see it through on the second attempt, I ultimately found myself unable to do so. The entire novel gradually became more irritating because I found the characters increasingly intolerable.

The plot itself is not particularly original; it follows familiar themes. However, it could have been entertaining, especially if one cares deeply about the characters involved. Essentially, the story revolves around political intrigue(but do not expect it to be great)and the evolving relationship between the main protagonists.

Jing Shao is a character I simply cannot stand. He embodies the archetype of the himbo—everything about him makes me cringe. His actions and behavior drove me crazy. Although he is described as being nineteen at the start of the story, considering that he died in the beginning and then reincarnated into his younger self with all his memories intact, one would expect him to act more maturely. Instead, he behaves like a clown—immature and childlike.

He is both a prince and a general, yet he demonstrates a blatant lack of understanding of the political landscape surrounding him. While I can understand some naivety, his cluelessness seems so profound that I questioned how he could have risen to such a high rank as a general. I disliked him intensely.

On the other hand, Mu Hanzhang was a character I didn't have many complaints about. The only aspect that frustrated me was that he never once questioned why Jing Shao acted so familiar with him from their very first meeting. Instead, he just went along with it, which I found strange. If I were in his place, I would have found it very odd and might have questioned the sudden familiarity, especially since they had just met.

As for their relationship, I found it to be somewhat lacking in chemistry. They quickly moved into a state of being very affectionate and lovey-dovey, which didn't sit well with me. I prefer stories with a slower development of romance, so I was a bit disappointed by how rapidly their relationship progressed.

In summary, I went into this story with certain expectations but ended up reading something that didn't match my mood or preferences at the moment. It left me disappointed and unfulfilled.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5. DONT SPOIL FUTURE VOLUMES IN COMMENTS

Review: Why I Loved Volume 1 🍶

I honestly thought I wouldn't like this novel, I'm not even sure why, but I ended up absolutely loving Volume 1! The character development is just incredible. I especially loved the doting, heartfelt, and consensual love between the leads. Please give this novel a read! You get to see Jing Shao truly redeem himself, and how he becomes a better version of himself.

🍶 Spoiler Alert 🍶

The Story of Jing Shao and Mu Hanzhang
Jing Shao is a prince who was forced to marry a man, an act that stripped him of his rightful claim to the throne. For over ten years, he resented the male wife who actually saved him.

Mu Hanzhang was the common-born son of a noble house. He dreamed of becoming a scholar and hoped to use the imperial exams to gain freedom from his family. However, those dreams were shattered when he was forced to marry Prince Cheng (Jing Shao) just a year before the exams. Instead of freedom, he found himself confined to the "cage" of the inner harem.

The Turning Point
After being betrayed by his own country, Jing Shao found himself in prison with only Mu Hanzhang for company. During a desperate escape, they were hunted down; Mu Hanzhang was fatally stabbed, and Jing Shao was struck by arrows. Refusing to be captured, Jing Shao jumped off a cliff with his wife in his arms, promising to treat him better if they ever had a next life.

A Second Chance
Waking up on his wedding day a decade younger, Jing Shao is determined not to repeat his mistakes. This time, he wants to cherish Mu Hanzhang. He devotes all his time to him, seeking comfort from him like a child and truly listening to his needs. Most importantly, he waits for consent and treats him with the respect he deserves.

A Moment to Remember
A key plot point involves the mystery of who killed Jing Shao’s mother. During a moment of deep grief in the rain, Mu Hanzhang was the only one there for him when he needed someone most.
Happy Reading!

[trice (semi ia) · Rating 4 out of 5]

reread :3
-----------------------------------
just found out there's an official translation coming out, so i'm moving my review here!! while i think it's not as good as 君為下 (the mc js can be quite pushy towards mhz sometimes), i really liked the sibling relationship!! and mhz is just so sweet. (and smart!)

p.s. idk why they put prince cheng in the blurb? 1. he's not a prince 2. cheng is his title not his name?? 😭

[vaishnavi ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*]

pre-read જ⁀➴
╰┈➤ Seven Seas has picked it up; I will wait for the official translation to come out, as the fan translation isn't that good at the moment.

edit: oh girllll it's also the wife-chasing genre!!! 😋😋 def will be reading

[mara - hyrulevalkyrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SO good, can’t wait for the next volume

[V~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

RTC

[I.M.BookMeIn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A warm feel good historical romance with palace intrigue and military strategies.

Novel: 4⭐
Translation: 3⭐

This is a reread for me. So the rating is for the whole novel not only this volume. This is one of my favourite feel good webnovels. There's also a manhua adaptation that I find quite cute and funny with the chibi graphics every time the characters act childish 😂

So if you're in the mood for a light-hearted, wholesome romance, with conspiracies, satisfying revenge, and overall relaxing vibe, this is the one.

As for the translation, I can't help being a little disappointed:
- There were several long-winded sentences that got me confused and had me reread again.
- The way some characters were addressed was unnecessarily overcomplicated.
- Sometimes, the character names are wrong, which is also confusing. Ex: In a conversation between the 3rd Prince and his consort, the 4th Prince's name is used instead of the 3rd.

[Catalina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this novel so much but I just couldn't. Plot wise nothing interesting was happening, there was no politics, just a bunch of people talking nonsense and that nonsense hadn't even been smooth, a problem was arising and then gone next thing another one began. The first chapter had been my favorite and after that revolution on the mc side i expected some angst but nothing happened worth my while. The characters were ok but i didnt like how the mc just woke up from death and started being lovelydovely with his husband while ignoring and not caring for him in their first life. That aspect really made me not like the book that much. They did have their power couple moments but still nothing that could make me like them more or really vibe with them. Its looking like in the next book the mc is going to war and they will be apart for a while maybe then i would like this more after them both but especially the mc have some character growth and the premise of war might mean that the author is going to make the book with more plot and war politics and battles.

[Romina Elizabeth]

DNF at 11%

im not interested enough in either the story nor the characters to continue reading this, and frankly the fantranslation isnt very good, so

maybe i'll comeback for this in the future, when seven seas publishes it or something idk

[Gracie (gracie.belle.reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jing Shao is the fallen third prince of a powerful empire. However, after years of poor decisions and bad luck, he finds himself escaping prison with his gentleman wife, Mu Hanzhang, the only one who didn't jump from the prince's sinking ship. Having realized he trusted the one wrong people, neglected the ones he should've put his faith in, and lived his life foolishly, Jing Shao dies with regret...only to awaken about a decade in the past on the morning after his drunken wedding night to Mu Hanzhang. This time, though, Jing Shao is determined to avoid his past wrongs, starting with his treatment of his gentleman wife. But after the abuse the latter endured at the hands of the former, the reborn third prince will have his work cut out for him. He also must face his father's cutthroat court of scheming ministers and ruthless nobles -- including the empress consort and his own brothers! But with Mu Hanzhang and his older brother the second prince on his side, Jing Shao plans to turn the tables on the people who brought about his downfall and ensure a happy and prosperous life for gentleman wife.

Despite the suggestive cover, this was actually a cute read with only a little smut. The opening starts with Jing Shao and Mu Hanzhang's demise after breaking out of prison, having been thrown in there due to multiple accusations against the foolhardy third prince. He dies with great remorse over his poor treatment of his male wife, so when he awakens in the past, he's bound and determined to be a good husband to Mu Hanzhang -- starting with earning his trust after a painful wedding night. Mu Hanzhang is rightfully wary of him, but each kind gesture slowly weakens the walls he's built up over the years during his time as the common-born son of a noble household, and he also proves his value by deftly managing his husband's household, helping him navigate court politics, and being the picture-perfect image of a dutiful wife.

The majority of the book focuses on the two male leads' growing relationship, with the political sub-plot featured less prominently but not too overshadowed. Once or twice, I started to feel a little bored due to the lack of any significant developments, but then the story would pick up again with the external conflicts introduced at just the right time, so for me, this book is about as relationship-centric as I'd prefer a danmei novel to be. Nevertheless, I'm a sucker for a power couple that is ruthless with others and dotes on each other, so if that trope interests you, then this book is right up your alley.

[Cassie Renais · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly typical danmei with the MC being a prince doing his utmost to prove his obsession with his new male wife who is very obviously reluctant (or at the very least has to profess reluctance for unknown reasons; probably pride?). There's an imperial court, dismissive/villainous relatives, shallow political intrigue and lots of domestic fluff.

The regression trope is employed to great effect here so that it's clear why Jing Shao is so devoted and clear-sighted toward to the value of his new wife. Annoyingly, there's a big of dubious consent/coercion, and we return to the past just after an apparently brutal first night together which was a horrible starting point for the story. Why do danmei always have to be so violent?! Sure, it illustrates how far Jing Shao has come since his previous life and that he's different in this life, but it adds a dimension to his character that was hard for me to shake off, that in any life he would be that much of a bastard. Other than that, the rest of their relationship is very sweet and there's a good backdrop for their slowly developing chemistry, especially with Jing Shao's knowledge of the past/future. But it's hard to see how Mu Hanzhang could realistically trust him and come to rely on him when he seems so volatile.

Outside of the slow-burn romance, the rest of the plot is a bit thin. There's not a huge amount going on at any given point, and most of it is just political jockeying between the princes and their mothers and MILs. Lots of petty villains and bullies who usually get their comeuppance. There's quite a sweet relationship between Jing Shao and his older brother, but the actual plotting between the two of them in the fight for succession doesn't get a lot of airtime. I also quite liked the character of the Emperor- he was believably wily and multi-faced, aware of his family's infighting, temperamental, and all-powerful.

Overall, this was a nice start to a longer story, but it's missing any urgency or great stakes. No one's in terrible danger, there are no big threats looming, there's no huge conflict in the relationship to overcome, or big secrets to hide/discover... I enjoyed the book, but I think I will have forgotten everything about it by the time the next volume comes out. The story just isn't very memorable.

[akira · Rating 3 out of 5]

the wife comes first is a story i am very familiar with; I've read it both as a fan translation and as the manhua adaption. it is a story I thought I quite liked, but I didn’t quite love it here.

volume 1 begins at the end of our mc, jing shao, and ml, mu hanzhang's lives. they've been married for a decade at that point, and it has never been a happy union. jing shao was made to take a male wife in an effort to curb his growing achievements as in imperial prince. resentment at the leash that mu hanzhang represented led jing shao to be bitter and angry and neglectful. It is only at the end of this road, when everyone but his brother and his wife has turned against him, does jing shao feel guilt because of how he lived his life. and he vows to treat mu hanzhang right if they were to meet again in the next life.

to his surprise, instead of the next life, jing shao finds himself a decade in the past, on the morning after his disastrous wedding night. he now has the chance to right the wrongs of his past life.

and to his credit, he does. he has a single-minded goal to love and adore his wife and to ensure that mu hanzhang never suffers again. its really sweet, and they are adorable together. I love their banter and their flirting and their acts of love and affection towards one another.

the elephant in the room, lets address it - the men in this book are, high-key, chauvinistic, if not downright misogynistic... now I get that this is a period piece, and I get that this is a bl, but come on... i don't remember feeling this way for the fan tl, but that may be because the fan tl was one big story and not broken into volumes like this, so it may not have registered. and the manhua is as faithful as it can be, but a lot of what I was not liking cames from the thoughts of these characters.

like jing chen, jing shao's brother, thinking that he'd rather not explain something to his wife, because women (not his wife in particular, but women) wouldn't understand it, so why bother. and he's one of the good guys!

idk maybe I'm nitpicking, but I got taken straight out of the story every time there was a line about how scheming, or conniving, or stupid the women were 😭

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not GR checking how people get books prepublication date now! But mine isn’t anything fancy, just the book store shelving Tuesday releases on the weekend and me having no life to read it in a 24 hour span 🫠

I thought this premise sounded familiar and released I had started the manhua for it a year ago but lost track of it and hadn’t finished. I’m glad I picked it up as I’m really enjoying it. Definitely gives Husky and White Cat Shizun vibes for the MC’s personality and regression. Since the manhua was the typical closed door censorship of anything spicy I was surprised how often intimate scenes were depicted to completion on the page in this novel. A long time western romance reader the spice is still quite mild but the spice is there! I appreciate that considering he didn’t go back BEFORE the wedding night and the trauma/pain from that experience still existed, there was a lot of checking in, respecting limits and consent for the entire “second chance”. Not always common in danmeis.

I’m enjoying the court politics and overall plot, my main complaint is how almost all the women that have space on the page have little to no agency (yes I understand the significance to a historical point but there’s no reason one of two couldn’t have a healthy relationship with a male partner that treated them with respect) and all of the concubines of the MC are portrayed as scheming and irrational. Again i totally get that those specific women didn’t support him in the first life at the end so we are already setup to hate them but all the more reason to have one or two women that are allies in the story. It just gives misogyny and unnecessary perpetuation of sexism where when in stories are either the mother saint (ML’s mother) or scheming witches (like MC’s concubines and the empress). It’s an unnecessary trend I see in BL but I see it in straight romances too where all the other women aside from the heroine are evil schemes. I think authors can do better.

Overall still a fan, looking for the next volume in the spring. Yay for only being three volumes!

[Alastair · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7/5

Danmei has made me more partial to the "arranged marriage" trope, but this one has an issue I've noticed in most of similar works: the wife simply forgives too easily. I like that the author prides herself on cute feel-good stories, but some realism ought to be implemented, especially considering how closely ancient traditions and imperial rules are followed. 

The story does get a little repetitive after a certain point - one of the main guys leaves, does something, comes back to bed to discuss with the spouse, rinse and repeat. It's not a very interesting palace intrigue, tackling a bunch of matters at once, but it's something.

The writing flows nicely and that's what kept me reading. Nonetheless, I wish Mu Hanzhang had something more to do? It feels like the plot is just kind of... hanging in the air. There's some sort of distance here that prevents the reader from fully getting into the action of it all.

It might seem like I have many negative remarks, but while reading, I was actually satisfied enough with the story. It took me one day to finish the novel and I'll pick up the next volume when it comes out, too. 

[Sabine · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this alternate universe, men can take male wives which then excludes them from inheriting the title. Third prince Jing Shao was upset about that and treated his consort badly. But when things go south for him, his consort is the only one standing by him. Jing Shao dies and is reincarnated as his 19yo self the day after his wedding with all of his memories so he gets the chance to redo his life. Will he fare better now?

I loved the interactions between the two MCs and how the story develops. I'm looking forward to the next volume.

[... · Rating 2 out of 5]

And here I stop giving this author any more chances. This was the fourth novel of theirs I tried & it's been enough to make me avoid the author from now on. Reason? Boring, repetitive, and not written well. The story expects me to be already attached to the characters when they haven't even been properly introduced to me. The plot is nonexistent and the characters lack depth.

Heads up for noncon between the main couple coming in volume 3, not because it's noncon, but because it's noncon in the final chapters of the story, which is a ridiculous choice.

[Lucinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one! Jing Shao and Mu Hanzhang are really enjoyable characters.

One star off for... the way the characters still dismiss women. Not thrilled about that one.

*it is nice to finally read a danmei where lube is a thing...

[Ceilidhchaos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time travel fix it /Gay historical romance

Shao is forced to marry a man so that he can never be emperor and originally that pissed him off, but then he died and came back. He is pretty happy with his gentleman wife this time and is making sure to show it. Lots of politics.

[Austin]

Loved it

It's Christmas and I'm sleepy so this won't be long but I absolutely loved it the story was sweet and the characters were lovable and engaging. I also appreciate that the intrigue and scheming of the bad guys were not dragged out or to annoying. Over all I recommend.

[Lisa Soto Vargas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4. ⭐️

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the best book, you won't get bored.

[cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

a man who yearns is a man who earns