Marquis is Innocent

by Peng Lai Ke

In a time of chaos, after enduring the pain of losing his father and brothers, Wei Shao dedicated himself to the responsibilities of his family. As he led his clan to avenge the past atrocities of the city’s slaughter, he discovered that what the common people truly needed was not revenge or warfare, but peace.

To secure the livelihoods of the people, he extended a marriage alliance to the Qiao family, who had betrayed the Wei family. The youngest daughter, Qiao Man, was forced into marriage. Rumors portrayed Wei Shao as a ruthless conqueror, and Qiao Man understood that her marriage was merely a temporary measure. She lived in the Wei household with caution, treading carefully.

After navigating numerous crises, Qiao Man and Wei Shao gradually became drawn to each other’s intelligence, strategy, and open-mindedness. However, the enmity between their families loomed over them, creating a barrier in their relationship.

When the Wei family faced a life-and-death crisis, Qiao Man vowed to defend the city at all costs, ultimately winning the hearts of the Wei clan and Wei Shao. In the end, the two genuinely fell in love, using their mutual understanding to resolve family conflicts and together restore peace and stability to the people.

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Asian Literature

2130 pages, ebook

About the author

Associated Names:
* Peng Lai Ke (English)
* 蓬萊客 (Chinese)
* 蓬莱客 (Chinese)
* เผิงไหลเค่อ (Thai)

Reviews

[Mehrave · Rating 2 out of 5]

this novel has 171? chapters and i finished the version i had with 150 chapters i think it's safe to say I've read most of this book

tbh Idk why everyone literally ignores the child marriage and huge age gap that there is
the girl is a literal child with 14 years of age when she gets married and he's 22 years old like?
ok back at those years it makes sense but was it really necessary? couldn't the ages be a little bit more close?

also, it's important to note that the book definitely includes rape while she's not consenting or she's just asleep or drunk
and it's multiple times and even when they're good together, and weishao never even apologized for it or acknowledged that what he did was wrong
also there's so much description of feet and stuff like I just can't
the girl literally gets pregnant at the young age of 16

this is one of the times that I should say the adaptation was so much better than the book, and a lot of the time it's like that with chinese books and series
i think the drama made a much simpler version of the wars and stuff which could be more detailed
but the depiction of the love between weishao and xiao qiao, and the maturity of it was so much better. Weishao had a lot better of a character development, and at least in the series he wasn't just generally crazy
also at the series xiao qiao was a lot more of a strategist than just a girl with a pretty face, and that's what I like about chinese dramas

anyways in general, i think the drama is way better

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review is not for intelligent discussion. It's what I felt/thought while reading the book. Starting 2021, I would rate the book this way:
1 - DNF'ed
2 - Did not like it at all
3 - It was bearable
4 - It was enjoyable but it doesn't mean I recommend it
5 - I will re-read this for enjoyment





Themes: time travel/rebirth, war, smut, romance, enemies to lovers

I read the novel before I watched the drama. There is something in enemies to lovers trope that would make me focus my attention. It's as if my being is touching something forbidden and the slowburn romance is so fulfilling.

When it comes to this novel, I would say that this is really an enemies to lovers theme. Weis and Qiaos started as friends but ended as enemies when the latter betrayed the former. The betrayal caused the lives of three generations from the Weis, leaving only the sole heir: Wei Shao. At 22, he became ambitious, driven with revenge, started his campaign to expand his territory (or reclaim what was lost 14 years prior). This startled the Qiaos. They then offered a marriage of alliance between the two clans.



PLEASE LEAVE IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPOILERS.
Special note, some of the drama viewers were confused because there was first life, second life, etc. This story involved different lives in different time frames. I'll summarize this as:
1st life of FL - modern. She died in her 20s.
2nd life of FL - she became Xiao Qiao / Manman (the first life of Manman)
3rd life of FL - she was still Xiao Qiao. This is the pace of the novel.

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It is also important to note that during the first life of Manman, she didn't have any relations with Wei Shao at all. They never met. She married her childhood sweetheart and Wei Shao married her elder cousin, Da Qiao. Wei Shao successfully annihilated all the Qiaos.



In her second life as Manman, she retained all her memories. She used these memories to guide her as she navigated through her marriage with the Wei Shao.


Now that we set the pace of the novel, my thoughts are: there are scenes in the novel that I find uncomfortable and harsher that what I imagined. There are times that I jokingly tell myself that the main focus of the novel are three things: Fighting, Bathing, and the main leads coupling.

As I read the novel, there are some points that I felt that Manman was not really loved by the author. If I remember correctly, she wasn't given a proper name. Also, I questioned myself if Manman's emotions for Wei Shao in their second life were genuine or were those just barriers that she built because she was desperate for the Qiaos' survival.

I already read this twice before watching the drama and while watching the drama. My point of view about the novel is still the same. The drama has no sense of time travel or rebirth - it was just a plain historical setting. If I dare to compare, I love how Wei Shao and Manman were written in the drama and how their communication skills with each other were constructed. The relationship of Manman and Wei Shao is sweeter in the drama compared in the novel.

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Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel but some scenes would make others back off.





Bonus: I will put some Wei Shao and Manman pics. You may watch Prisoner on Beauty :-D

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[Courtnee Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Zhe Yao / Marquis is Innocent, Qiao Xiao is given a glimpse of the future in the form of a nightmare. Determined to save her family, Qiao Xiao must marry Wei Shao, to whom her family must make amends for past misdeeds. But is Wei Shao willing to forgive them?

I was aware that this was a drama, but I originally had no intention of watching it until I was made aware that is an arranged marriage. It's also a rebirth, a transmigration, and covers a number of things that I did not expect to find in a Chinese webnovel.

My only issue was Qiao Xiao's age for most of the book. It's tagged as an age gap, and this is a historical fiction, but some things are harder to get around than others (which is also a theme of this novel). Otherwise, this was a great novel.

(I know the drama will fix this issue, but I am also afraid of which sensible plotline will be changed in what will end up feeling like a tradeoff.)

Ultimately, if you like arranged marriages, rebirth/time travel/transmigration, building an empire, and not-enemies to lovers, this might be worth a peak.

[wini · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I think the connection between the leads could've been developed more because while I understood that any bridge and connection that they built was built off of physical intimacy, due to the difficult family relations, we never see these two have moments where they fully trust each other or are open to each other. By the end, they finally get to be open and start their relationship without the past weighing them down but I longed for more. Wish we had more fleshed out parts of them building their relationship together, the consistent guesswork and icing out got tiring after a while.
The cat part was so 😭

[Dhita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m conflicted about the Wei Shao I met here.
I knew the adaptation-version of him first, so considering everything… (yes, including the so-called period standards and all.) I’d still happily mince this Wei Shao or throw him in a fire just to keep Manman warm.

All in all, I’m glad I got to read about the little princess and prince here.

[Veren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wei Shao and Manman
the couple of my dream

[diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
entretenida, me la pasé comparando las diferencias con el cdrama en dónde suavizan al ml, lo cual es comprensible ya que es una red flag andante 😬.

[Azura Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The original version of The Prisoner of Beauty. At least I knew that both of them become a great Emperor and Empress, raising two kids.

[Jitka · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75

[mer · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think i'll just stick and ship to the c-drama adaptation The Prisoner of Beauty. i gave 3-star because of this book, the c-drama tv show happened.