What do you think?
Scheme of Blood Relations 嫡谋
"In the previous life, though Ren Yaoqi got rid of the yoke of family, she wrongly believed her close relative's saying that all can be sacrificed for the family interests, causing her sister to burn herself in the military camp, her mother die at an early age in tears and her father die in swords.
Being born again in her childhood, she swore to get rid of all who tried to control her life, including the sly concubine, unscrupulous elders, aggressive enemies and the arrow shot from the obscure corner in the imperial court.
She would tear their disguise one by one and seek happiness and peace for her and her beloved one for a lifetime.
任瑶期前世虽然摆脱了家族羁绊，可终究因为错信至亲血脉所谓为家族利益牺牲一切的言论，导致姐姐军营自焚，母亲含泪早逝，父亲血溅剑下……
重生于幼时，她发誓要斩掉所有意图掌控自己人生的利爪。
心怀鬼胎的姨娘，狼心狗肺的长辈，咄咄逼人的外敌，朝堂暗处的冷箭……
她要一一揭去他们的画皮，为自己和所爱之人谋得一生幸福长安。"
Being born again in her childhood, she swore to get rid of all who tried to control her life, including the sly concubine, unscrupulous elders, aggressive enemies and the arrow shot from the obscure corner in the imperial court.
She would tear their disguise one by one and seek happiness and peace for her and her beloved one for a lifetime.
任瑶期前世虽然摆脱了家族羁绊，可终究因为错信至亲血脉所谓为家族利益牺牲一切的言论，导致姐姐军营自焚，母亲含泪早逝，父亲血溅剑下……
重生于幼时，她发誓要斩掉所有意图掌控自己人生的利爪。
心怀鬼胎的姨娘，狼心狗肺的长辈，咄咄逼人的外敌，朝堂暗处的冷箭……
她要一一揭去他们的画皮，为自己和所爱之人谋得一生幸福长安。"
- GenresChina
896 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 8, 2026
Wow this was a whopping 500+ chapters, but if you like slow-paced historical novels with plenty of intrigue and a reborn FL who's smart, then this is the novel for you! I personally really enjoyed it.
The FL is Ren Yaoqi, the unfavored 5th daughter of the Ren family. Due to her concubine mother's schemes in her previous life, her whole family, including her birth mother and her older sister, didn't well. Now that she's reborn, she's determined to not make the same mistakes again and prevent the events that lead to her family's past misery as much as possible.
To be honest, it was a bit hard getting into this novel because there were sooooooo many names and family relations thrown at you right from the get go and it was difficult to keep track of everyone. It doesn't help the translation quality wasn't great and names were constantly mixed up, or the fact that the FL has two sisters with very similar names called Ren Yaoyin and Ren Yaoying. But I saw the potential in the novel and stuck with it, and I'm so glad I did as it was worth it.
At its core, this story is a historical slice of life novel. We follow the FL as she navigates life in the Ren family and then later on in the Prince of Yanbei's household after she gets married. The first part of the novel deals more with various household schemes, while the latter part takes on a larger stage and deals more with the fraught political situation between the court and Yanbei.
**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**
What makes the story shine for me is a combination of things:
1) the schemes, even the ones within the Ren household, are at times pretty complex. Right up my alley!
2) following along with the FL as she investigates things that weren't clear to her in her past life, like why her sister's betrothal to the Han family fell through or how Concubine Fang has so many resources available to her. She ends up uncovering a lot of things that weren't clear to her previously, which I found interesting.
3) the strong sisterly bond between the FL and her older sister, Ren Yaohua, who tries her best to protect the FL but ends up getting protected instead
4) the strong cast of side characters, such as the FL's single-mindedly scholarly father or her cousin Ren Yijun and his smart/playful wife Qi Shi (I love them so much; they made me lol so many times)
5) the princess and the ML's sister Xiao Jinglin gets a special shoutout here. Love that the FL has a bestie who's so strong and independent, in an era where women are traditionally limited to the backyard. So glad she ended up with Yun Wenting as her heart desired!
6) well written villains you love to hate, like the Zeng family and even the FL's natal Ren family. They're a family of coal merchants, so the old master and madam of the family are super calculating and never take any actions that won't benefit them. I was super frustrated with them on multiple occasions, but I have to admit they were written realistically and stayed in character throughout the novel
7) the fact that FL is a magnanimous person who doesn't want her enemies tortured and killed. Instead, she gets her revenge in a more civilized way. For example, Concubine Fang ends up spending the rest of her days confined with current events being told to her, so she can only watch helplessly as everyone she cares about suffers. The Ren family lose their wealth and prestige and return what they stole from the Zhai family back, but at least they're able to keep their lives and live a decent if not extravagant life.
I really liked the FL. She's smart and levelheaded, and because of everything she's experienced in her previous life, she always stays calm regardless of the situation. For a young girl in the boudoir (I believe she's only 10-11 years old when the novel first starts), she does a really impressive job of deflecting schemes from the shadows. For example, early on she drags in one of her aunts to fight against Concubine Fang while she watches on in secret. Or some gentle advice to her father makes him suspicious of the Han heir so that he discourages the marriage discussions between him and the FL's older sister. Later on, once she has some trustworthy men under her, she's able to do so much more.
The ML is the second son of Prince Yanbei, Xiao Jingxi. Initially they have a couple of chance encounters, but he quickly realizes that the FL is smart, and through repeated encounters, slowly falls for a combination of her beauty and wit. The romance is cute, but it wasn't particularly memorable imo. More so than the romance, I enjoyed their conversations where the FL constantly amazes the ML with how much she's able to infer with just a couple hints. It happens quite often in the early phase of their acquaintance.
There's one character I have mixed feelings about: Yun Wenfang. He was initially super annoying with how obsessed he was with the FL, but he kind of redeems himself later through his actions. I was pretty impressed with how he publicly humiliated his own sister by exposing her schemes in front of everyone and slapping her to the point of deafness in one ear. He really doesn't care about his family's face lol
I have to call out one of my favorite and most memorable scenes of the whole novel. During the second Thousand Gold Banquet, an informal competition where unmarried ladies compete and show off a talent. The FL is already married at this point, so she's sitting with the judges. However, the 10 young ladies from the capital all take turns challenging her to different talents, and she wins over all of them. It was super satisfying to read and a complete slap in the face to the imperial court who sent the girls over to compete with the Yanbei ladies.
The FL is Ren Yaoqi, the unfavored 5th daughter of the Ren family. Due to her concubine mother's schemes in her previous life, her whole family, including her birth mother and her older sister, didn't well. Now that she's reborn, she's determined to not make the same mistakes again and prevent the events that lead to her family's past misery as much as possible.
To be honest, it was a bit hard getting into this novel because there were sooooooo many names and family relations thrown at you right from the get go and it was difficult to keep track of everyone. It doesn't help the translation quality wasn't great and names were constantly mixed up, or the fact that the FL has two sisters with very similar names called Ren Yaoyin and Ren Yaoying. But I saw the potential in the novel and stuck with it, and I'm so glad I did as it was worth it.
At its core, this story is a historical slice of life novel. We follow the FL as she navigates life in the Ren family and then later on in the Prince of Yanbei's household after she gets married. The first part of the novel deals more with various household schemes, while the latter part takes on a larger stage and deals more with the fraught political situation between the court and Yanbei.
**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**
What makes the story shine for me is a combination of things:
1) the schemes, even the ones within the Ren household, are at times pretty complex. Right up my alley!
2) following along with the FL as she investigates things that weren't clear to her in her past life, like why her sister's betrothal to the Han family fell through or how Concubine Fang has so many resources available to her. She ends up uncovering a lot of things that weren't clear to her previously, which I found interesting.
3) the strong sisterly bond between the FL and her older sister, Ren Yaohua, who tries her best to protect the FL but ends up getting protected instead
4) the strong cast of side characters, such as the FL's single-mindedly scholarly father or her cousin Ren Yijun and his smart/playful wife Qi Shi (I love them so much; they made me lol so many times)
5) the princess and the ML's sister Xiao Jinglin gets a special shoutout here. Love that the FL has a bestie who's so strong and independent, in an era where women are traditionally limited to the backyard. So glad she ended up with Yun Wenting as her heart desired!
6) well written villains you love to hate, like the Zeng family and even the FL's natal Ren family. They're a family of coal merchants, so the old master and madam of the family are super calculating and never take any actions that won't benefit them. I was super frustrated with them on multiple occasions, but I have to admit they were written realistically and stayed in character throughout the novel
7) the fact that FL is a magnanimous person who doesn't want her enemies tortured and killed. Instead, she gets her revenge in a more civilized way. For example, Concubine Fang ends up spending the rest of her days confined with current events being told to her, so she can only watch helplessly as everyone she cares about suffers. The Ren family lose their wealth and prestige and return what they stole from the Zhai family back, but at least they're able to keep their lives and live a decent if not extravagant life.
I really liked the FL. She's smart and levelheaded, and because of everything she's experienced in her previous life, she always stays calm regardless of the situation. For a young girl in the boudoir (I believe she's only 10-11 years old when the novel first starts), she does a really impressive job of deflecting schemes from the shadows. For example, early on she drags in one of her aunts to fight against Concubine Fang while she watches on in secret. Or some gentle advice to her father makes him suspicious of the Han heir so that he discourages the marriage discussions between him and the FL's older sister. Later on, once she has some trustworthy men under her, she's able to do so much more.
The ML is the second son of Prince Yanbei, Xiao Jingxi. Initially they have a couple of chance encounters, but he quickly realizes that the FL is smart, and through repeated encounters, slowly falls for a combination of her beauty and wit. The romance is cute, but it wasn't particularly memorable imo. More so than the romance, I enjoyed their conversations where the FL constantly amazes the ML with how much she's able to infer with just a couple hints. It happens quite often in the early phase of their acquaintance.
There's one character I have mixed feelings about: Yun Wenfang. He was initially super annoying with how obsessed he was with the FL, but he kind of redeems himself later through his actions. I was pretty impressed with how he publicly humiliated his own sister by exposing her schemes in front of everyone and slapping her to the point of deafness in one ear. He really doesn't care about his family's face lol
I have to call out one of my favorite and most memorable scenes of the whole novel. During the second Thousand Gold Banquet, an informal competition where unmarried ladies compete and show off a talent. The FL is already married at this point, so she's sitting with the judges. However, the 10 young ladies from the capital all take turns challenging her to different talents, and she wins over all of them. It was super satisfying to read and a complete slap in the face to the imperial court who sent the girls over to compete with the Yanbei ladies.
April 3, 2021
The beginning was great...and translator has simply done an amazing job, with all the additional pictures, references and explanations. But the story, the plot as such...couldn't hold up similar standards. It was like a graph heading downwards. Probably because I find it too similar at times to The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage, I simply couldn't sit back and enjoy the read. Consciously or unconsciously, I was forever on the lookout for such parallels.
Which took out the simple joy from reading, and eventually turned it into a chore that I had to get over with.
Which took out the simple joy from reading, and eventually turned it into a chore that I had to get over with.
June 16, 2026
4.2/5
Filled with inner courtyard intrigue and hidden traps, Yaoqi relives her life and turns around. Holding up her family and paying the debts.
I found the novel to be a soap opera, it focused 50-60% time on the Ren family drama which was soo complicated, exhausting yet mildly entertaining.
I enjoyed the ML being a true sweetheart to his beloved. It's rare to read a guy like him. I found their equation a true pair who are equal to each other.
On the other hand, I found Yao Wenfang, Yan N & Han Yunqian terrible. People who cannot let go of their obsessions and cannot accept the reality are frustrating to deal with. Yao Wenting, you are up there too!
Filled with inner courtyard intrigue and hidden traps, Yaoqi relives her life and turns around. Holding up her family and paying the debts.
I found the novel to be a soap opera, it focused 50-60% time on the Ren family drama which was soo complicated, exhausting yet mildly entertaining.
I enjoyed the ML being a true sweetheart to his beloved. It's rare to read a guy like him. I found their equation a true pair who are equal to each other.
On the other hand, I found Yao Wenfang, Yan N & Han Yunqian terrible. People who cannot let go of their obsessions and cannot accept the reality are frustrating to deal with. Yao Wenting, you are up there too!
June 20, 2019
it was okay.. started off a little slow, but pace picked up around end of book 1.
there are a total of 3 books in this series. to be continued with another 3 in the 终章.
there are a total of 3 books in this series. to be continued with another 3 in the 终章.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews