Greetings Ninth Uncle 九叔万福

by Jiu Yue Liu Huo, September Flowing Fire, 九月流火

Cheng Yujin was the elder twin sister, who was supposed to be engaged to an excellent man. However she later learned that her fiance, Marquis Jingyong, had proposed to her because he mistakenly recognized her as her younger twin sister. Marquis Jingyong and her younger sister had a deep relationship, and after many twists and turns, finally broke through all hardships and became eternal lovers. While Cheng Yujin was the villain who replaced her sister’s good marriage, kept framing her sister, and hindered the main couple to be together. A really wicked older sister and poisonous ex-wife.

After the younger twin sister was reborn, she revealed Cheng Yujin’s ‘conspiracy’ early on. Everyone scorned her, and her so-called fiance was indifferent. Cheng Yujin sneered and tore off their engagement letter in front of her fiance.

Everyone was gloating and happily waiting to see her regret her actions. However, before Marquis Jingyong had a chance to see Cheng Yujin’s regret, he saw his former fiancee marrying her uncle.

The ninth uncle of Cheng family was truly a hidden dragon, his real power frightening everyone.

***

Cheng Yujin, this coquettish little wife, lightly lifted her eyebrows and casually said, “A mere Marquis Jingyong, is he worthy? Do you think that robbing him away will affect me?”

Almost forgot to say, ninth uncle wasn’t surnamed Cheng. His real name was Li Chengjing, the crown prince.

Genres: Romance, China, Historical, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Asian Literature

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Associated Names:
* Jiu Yue Liu Huo / September Flowing Fire (English)
* 九月流火 (Chinese)
* Cửu Nguyệt Lưu Hỏa (Vietnamese)
* จิ่วเยวี่ยหลิวหั่ว / จิ่วเยว่หลิวหั่ว (Thai)

Reviews

[Sanjana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely one of my all-time favourite c-novels, and that too with a happy ending..
It's like a combination of The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage, To Be a Virtuous Wife and Eight Treasures Trousseau.
The male lead reminds me a lot of Xie Jing Xing (fromThe Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage)..., but Li Chengjing is somehow even better because he accepts Yujin completely for who she is. He understands her coldness, her calculations, her selfishness, her intentional manipulations, and yet... is ready to accept it all. The fact that he's simply making a calm, level-headed statement of fact, without even the slightest inclination to find fault with her conduct, when he says this to Yujin (almost a week into their marriage), proves this: You never regarded your husband as the person you'd spent a lifetime with, he is just a tool for you. Marriage- a process that you must go through in your life. So you actively chose your groom, the one likely to provide you with the most benefits. In the final analysis, they are just a pedal for you to push down on, to achieve your life goals......and I love him for it.
One can hardly fault Yujin for living the way she does, because she's living in an era where being born a woman, no matter how noble equates to living a lifetime of docile servitude with no respectable prospects of ever getting out of it. She was simply trying to make the best of her means, and Chengjing, contrary to the other men of his ilk, and being a gem of a human being, understands her desperation. He never resents her for her choices, and instead tries his utmost to provide her with a sense of security, comfort, unconditional support and understanding.

[Delirious Disquisitions · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read This If You Like: regency romances with deeply flawed, proud and arrogant, heroines with a penchant for perfectionism, love interest who scheme together, friends-lovers dynamic, revenge dramas, scummy exes, flawed characters, etc.

I re-read this over the weekend just for fun and yes it's just as good as the first time around! I cannot fully encapsulate how much I love the way this author writes women. The women in these stories are deeply flawed, capricious, proud, arrogant, cunning, materialistic, vain, shallow, smart, pragmatic, viscous, ruthless, selfish, and above all badass.

I hate how silly this title sounds in English because it really does take away from how ridiculously good the story is. While it is not the most politically driven, complex piece of literature out there. It does make for an addictive, character driven drama.

It begins when the beautiful, and highly accomplished Cheng Yujin just has her engagement, to the Marquis Jingyong, broken off. The Marquis had mistakenly recognized Chen Yujin as her younger twin sister and proposed to her in return for saving his life. On the day he comes to call off the engagement, Chen Yujin wakes from a dream of a past life in which she had married the Marquis not knowing she would later be perceived as a villain who had taken credit for her sister, and replaced her in marriage. This would then lead to a lifetime of misunderstandings and hardships, with her husband and sister caught in an affair and eventually culminating in her tragic death. Having glimpsed the future, Chen Yujin resolves to wash her hands off the marquis and walk down a different path this time around.

As melodramatic as the premise sounds, the characters really drive the story. The story reads like a regency romance. Chen Yujin is a perfectionist. As a titled lady from a respectable household, she has made it her life’s ambition to be the perfect wife and mother. With a very complicated family background, making a good match is the only way out for Yujin, and most girls in her situation. When her engagement falls through, damaging her reputation, Yujin must rush to find another suitable suitor and be married before it is too late.

Yujin is a product of her times. Outwardly she is demure, genteel, and has all the tools to make her an exemplary wife. But she is also very pragmatic and materialistic. She is cunning, proud, and arrogant, looking at marriage as nothing more than a business deal and at her potential suitors as fattened pigs she can slowly lead to slaughter. Knowing all that she has to offer she would never settle down for anything less than what she deserves. My girl has a heart of iron and ice and I absolutely worship at her alter.

The women in these stories are vicious. But they are all making the best of the cards they have been dealt in life. And sometimes the gamble does fall off the short end.

The love interest is the Ninth Uncle in question. And no, unlike House of Dragons, it's just a title and there is no actual incest involved. Like most Chinese male leads, Li Chengjing is quite literally perfect. But despite the lack of flaws, his relationship with Yujin is one built on friendship, mutual trust, respect, and admiration. They are two sides of the same coin: both with their outward perfections that lead to alienation from friends and family; their ruthless ambition, their insidious schemes, selfish desires, and the way they deal with their enemies. They make for a truly machiavellian couple that schemes together and always has each other's back through thick and thin. And honestly, what more could you want in a romance??

Greetings, Ninth Uncle is one of my all time favorite stories by this author. A tad bit melodramatic but it makes for such a fun read and did not disappoint even on a re-read. 5 stars.

[Pratyasha Pokhrel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of themes in this one is similar to other rebirth novels, which I still love about it. Considering that this novel is set in historical China, what stood out to me the most about it was the nature of the two main characters. There is literally nothing that can stop them from creating a life that they want for themselves, they are always giving their best. This might sound like a weird thing for me to say about a chinese webnovel, but I admit that I did feel inspired by their passion for life. The male lead surprised me many times as well, he is definitely a "man written by a woman".
It was a lovely read. But I'm curious: why do novels like these lose their pace after the leads get married? Give me more of the drama like in the beginning!

[yana · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌙 On-going translation by koffeam.

☀️ Completed machine translation.

•• SPOILERS INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW :-



After ✨I Became The Stepmother of My Ex-husband✨, who knew that the author would treat us to yet another dreamy novel of the same kind? Stumbled upon this gem quite accidentally on NovelUpdates.

Cheng Yujin, the eldest of the two twin sisters is engaged to be married to Marquis Jingyong. The Marquis is elated to marry this beautiful angel who had saved him from being frozen to death, while Yujin is glad to marry into a family on a tier, higher than her Cheng family.

Cheng Yumo, the younger twin on the other hand is silently fuming at the fate. It was she who had dragged the Marquis into the safety of the cave, it was her who had warmed him the whole night, it was all her but the moment she went to seek help in the morning, her sister came in and got the credit of rescuing the Marquis.

Yujin and the Marquis get married with the blessings of their elders & bask in their marital bliss, more than satisfied with each other's companionship. Soon, Yujin is pregnant with their son and Marquis' happiness knew no bounds!

That is until Cheng Yumo can not bear it anymore & complains to Marquis about the injustice he'd done to her while it was she who had extended his life force. Marquis Jingyong is shocked at the revelation, while he couldn't help but think that Yujin had played him all along. Once the beans has been spilt, Yujin's life takes turn for the worse. Yujin never had a clue about all that transpired on that snowy day before she appeared at the cave, so she's shocked to learn about her husband's affair with her own twin sister.

But all that happened in Yujin's dream! She's not married to Marquis Jingyong yet, so she has a chance to change her fate! Luckily for her, Cheng Yumo's also had the same vision as her's so Yumo is more determined than ever to keep Mmthe Marquis to herself.

Well, she can keep the Marquis for herself, Yujin has caught the eyes of her ninth uncle.

Cheng Yuanjing is such a mood honestly. He's a caring, supportive male lead who has eyes only for our FL. Anyone who wants to snatch his little white rabbit has to go through him first. There were a handful of other men who competed to get the attention of our FL but the couple stayed devoted to each other all throughout.

Cheng Yujin on other hand was a refreshing breath of air in this genre. She's someone who doesn't go to excessive lengths to take revenge on others unlike other female leads from this genre. Yujin knows what she's good at and doesn't try to be someone she's not, staying true to her character ti the end. Neither Yuanjing nor Yujin have some flowery ideas of how each other's character should be. They fell for each other's existing personality, not the ideal one which everyone expects of them.

Overall, this was a feel good romance which makes you sigh dreamily after you're done reading this. That last, extra chapter though, that one blew my mind, that's all I gotta say.

- NOT an incest because Ninth Uncle is hiding something.
- HEA ending!

[Staring At A Star · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm breathless after reading this book. How is it possible for the author to create such smart, perfectly flawed characters? The FL is so beautifully crafted. Rational and sharp. Independent and able to fight for herself. Constrained only by the restrictions of her time period to fail without the support of others, so desperately conniving to steal that support in any way possible. She is so calculating and cold because she had to be from birth. But I get the sense that she is naturally very soft hearted given the chance.

The ml is just as good. Equally rationale because he has had to be to get where he was. But raised with the power to grab what he wants if something catches his fancy. Secretly reveres love and those who can give it to him. However, smart enough to decipher others' motivations and understand that he will likely never get sincere love. I thought the extra really helped answer any lingering questions the reader might have had about what happened in the first life.

I enjoyed reading about these characters - they're just the type of people I like. Fiercely intelligent ones that find themselves unable to suppress the slow creep of affection due to admiration and repeated shows of dependability. There is no fiery passion, in fact, this story argue that fiery passion is the least reliable.

I love how perfectly the ml and FL complement each other - you get the sense that they're in an equal relationship with mutual respect. And I don't mean equal in that they are doing the same things (they do have the restrictions of the time period after all), but equal in that both are contributing similarly to their wellbeing. The FL doesn't just dither and wait for a hero. She fights. She calculate. She evaluates situations with clear eyes. I usually hate BG romances because of how weak the female inevitably will be. They'll be overwhelmed into stupidity by love. Or they'll stop doing anything the instant they have love. Or they'll just be resigned to being unable to do anything other than acting cute and relying on their lover. In a bl, at least the two start from a position of possible equity. But in this book, both characters start from such different positions and are actually so similar. They're more equal in the severely restricted environment of ancient China than many romances I read set in the "liberated" modern world (Chinese or English).

The story also shows how there is often a discrepancy between what others see and what a person is experiencing. This is especially important as much of real life is so focused on comparing yourself with others, or creating that perfect Instagram-perfect image. Someone might look to be having the perfect life - with wealth, love, and status - but others don't know the struggle they have to go through to maintain such a life. I love that. Don't ferment jealousy for others' lives, just focus on making yours the best it can be.

[Humbledaisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

For an author to take such a painful and fantastical subject - a character's rebirth after dying in childbirth after an unhappy marriage - and turn it into a great discussion of life choices and pathways shows a lot of skill.

In this novel, set in a fictional version of ancient China, the heroine is reborn to right before her wedding to the nobleman she saved as a young woman. She is, of course, determined not to make the same mistake twice (it's clear right from the start that she died in childbirth and her husband moves immediately on to marry her very similar but more popular sister) and breaks the engagement. But, as she begins to relive her life as a Virtuous and Talented Miss (quite frankly, she's the kind of person who buries her sorrows in learning difficult subjects and exquisite manners) - she starts to notice small changes in her "storyline." Is she the only person who has returned in this storyline?

Using this situation as a challenge, she decides to become even more perfect and starts eying up young men of her acquaintance in order to quickly marry out of her unhappy home. Cousins, widowers and - strangely - the handsome Ninth Uncle of the family. She starts noticing how much his life has seemed to change and how helpful he's being to her. Hmm. What could possibly be causing this?

In other hands, this story would be the perfect set-up for a revenge story but that's not how our FL sees it. She seems it as a chance to burnish her skills and evade the poor behavior of her family and other noble families. The description of her calligraphy and embroidery skills are fascinating and give you a lot of insight into her reasons for wanting to be so skilled. Eventually, she starts to let real feelings creep under the skin of her perfect shell. Really, she's so smart, well-mannered and shiny that when she starts giving tit for tat, you cheer!

It's a charming story but not all fluff and dogs blood. The author does a great job letting you into the FL and ML's minds. Some characters change, grow and find their wings. Some characters learn to regret their life choices. Other characters never see the pits opening up beneath their feet.

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I finished this book in a little over a day. I was so into it I stayed up until 4:30 am reading the night I picked it up, and every time I picked it up I would get sucked in again. After reading a bunch of danmei, it was a breath of fresh air to read a story like this.

The story follows Cheng Yujin, the eldest daughter of the Marquis Cheng family who died in childbirth after being wronged by her husband and mother-in-law and then wakes up again as an engaged 14 year old who has yet to marry. Armed with the knowledge from her previous life, she's determined to not make the same mistakes this time and to find the best husband for herself, someone who will be able to provide a good life for her. She wants nothing more than to be like her grandmother in her old age, living life in relative luxury with complete control over the household.

Unfortunately, her efforts are complicated by the fact that her fiance, the up and coming Marquis Huo Changyuan, canceled the engagement and instead got engaged to her younger twin sister Cheng Yumo. The canceled engagement reflects poorly on Cheng Yujin, who now has a terrible reputation among the noble families in the capital, and her marriage prospects have gotten much worse. Nevertheless, CYJ doesn't let this get her down and proceeds very methodologically to rank each man she comes in contact with as a potential husband. Once she's determined her target, she then is very deliberate about charming them into making a marriage proposal to her.

Sadly for Cheng Yujin, her efforts are completely seen through by her Ninth Uncle, a man called Cheng Yuanjing who was adopted into the Cheng by her grandfather. Her uncle, who is in fact the Crown Prince Li Chengjing in hiding and not related to her by blood at all, slowly falls for her through their daily interactions and uses every opportunity he can to block her attempts to hook other men into marriage XP And to clarify, Li Chengjing is only 5 years older than her, so we're not looking at a huge age gap here as the uncle-niece relationship would imply.

**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**

I would roughly break the book into two arcs. In the first arc, Cheng Yujin spends most of her time scheming on how to secure her desired target as her husband and fending off unwanted advances. It's quite impressive what she's able to do as a young female who has limited access to the outside world. The second part of the story follows her life in the palace as the Crown Princess as she has to defend against malicious attacks from the other palace women who want to use her to take down, or at least reduce the influence of, the Crown Prince.

I really liked the female lead's personality. CYJ is perhaps the most calculating female lead I've ever read, which is part of what makes the story very interesting. Here's a perfect example:

Cheng Yujin combined their family background, property, future prospect, and personality. At the final point, she found that Lin Qingyuan scored a little higher. Very good, Cheng Yujin’s candidate for her future husband has been replaced.

After making the decision, Cheng Yujin began to subtly give Lin Qingyuan more attention and care.

She grew up pitifully with no real mother, as her birth mother was forced to give up her and her adopted mother didn't care about her at all. As a result, she's had to learn to read the room to provide the perfect response and to mature much quicker than the average 14 year old. She has very progressive views on how women should treat marriage and treats it as a business deal where both sides should bring something to the table. This is evident in her conversation with Duke Zhai:

Cheng Yujin was already very impatient: “Duke Cai, I think you are also a high-ranking official of the court. Then let’s just speak openly. Since you want to form a cooperation with me, then you should show sincerity. Don’t bring nonsense like womanly virtue or gentleness to the negotiating table. I can bring peace and order to your family for at least thirty years. If you still want me to take care of Old Madam Zhai and correct Zhai Qing’s behavior, you have to add more bargaining chips. This is my worth. What about you? What can you bring to me?”

I also appreciated CYJ's intelligence. It was a pleasure reading her out talk and out wit pretty much anyone who tried to go after her, whether it was someone from her family, from the Yang family, etc.

As far as the romance goes, CYJ and Li Chengjing are a good match for each other in terms of their upright and restrained personalities, but don't expect too many sweet scenes. For almost two thirds of the book, their interactions happen under the guise of their uncle-niece relationship, so while it is nice to see LCJ periodically helping the female lead solve her problems, there's not much romance since CYJ isn't considering the Crown Prince as a potential husband at all. To her, he's just a tool she can use to better her marriage prospects. It's not until after their marriage that the feelings slowly develop, and even longer before she finally admits it to him.

There is a lot of vinegar drinking on the ML's side though, as there multiple men interested in CYJ, some through her efforts and some not, and he has to subtly (or not so subtly in same cases) discourage those relationships from developing XP

I was really into the story up until their marriage, since I absolutely loved reading about CYJ foiling her indifferent family members and all of her small schemes. The story slowed down a bit through the first part of their marriage due to the lack of romance, and honestly they didn't have that much time to interact with each other since Li Chengjing got busy with his Crown Prince duties too. Near the end it picked up again as there was more scheming again, this time to take down the deep-rooted Yang family who directly opposed the Crown Prince. It felt really rewarding when slowly but surely each prominent member of the Yang family lost their reputation or power.

Of course, I'd be remiss in my review if I didn't mention her younger sister Cheng Yumo. From the beginning she was painted as a selfish character who's always lived under CYJ's shadow and desperately wants to get out. She's so proud of her marriage to Huo Changyuan and lords it over CYJ at every opportunity, but the joke's on her. She ends up in an unhappy marriage with a mean and overly demanding mother-in-law and a husband who doesn't even love her, and she's STILL unable to get out of CYJ's shadow once CYJ becomes the Crown Princess. I did feel slightly bad for her at first, but hey, you reap what you sow.

[Joelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this one, more specifically with the MC.

I appreciated her intelligence, the way the cleverly handled every situation thrown at her. It's just that she was so smart that she totally lacked emotional intelligence. I understand that was her character, her flaw, and yes, it was so clearly explained throughout the book. I just personally really didn't like it. It really bothered me. And although she did experience some development, it wasn't enough for me to like her. So, while I like her attitude when it comes to dealing with other people, I didn't like her when it came to the main relationship.

As for ML, I really liked him. He had a well developed character. I felt for him sometimes, when it came to dealing with MC but he is clearly the perfect man for her, because he saw her flaws before she did and still loved her even if she could never return his feelings in the same way.

Now, the uncle niece thing. While they were not actually related, and they had not met when they were younger, it doesn't change the fact that she wholeheartedly thought that he was her uncle for half of the book. I guess it was okay since she had zero feelings for him, but it's still weird. Him on the other hand, knew that they weren't related. So I don't really know what to think.

The ages of the girls made me very uncomfortable at times, luckily it wasn't mentioned too much, but when an old lady is telling a 14 year old that she needs to hurry and get pregnant, I wanted to stop reading😃

Overall, it was a good read. There were just little things that made it a little less enjoyable. I really liked the plot and the ML, which is why I still gave it 4 🌟

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

2025/03/20 Notes:

Completed LN
Great Fan Translation
Ch146
Pages 2634

- Main FL, Cheng Yu Jin, has a realistic dream that showed her life. She decided to bypass the tragedies of that dream life and create a better one.
- Main ML, Li Cheng Jing, is the Crown Prince, but lived in hiding due to political dangers. When he realized that he had feelings for Yu Jin, he cut the path to make her his.

I enjoyed the other LN by the author and decided to read the other stories written by September Flowing Fire.

Came across a great fan translation of this LN and decided to try out other LNs translated by the translator. The translation was well done. Not necessarily the best translation for the story, but good enough that I didn't have to play word-puzzle-what's that mean mental gymnastics as much.

Greetings Ninth Uncle was more serious in tone and events. The face slapping/comeuppance were cooler & smarter than those in It's Better to be the Empress Dowager. The relationship progress was great! It wasn't instant love in either LN, and I enjoyed the way the couple fell into mutual love over time and shared experiences.

There are many fantasy elements in this historical Chinese drama. Even though most of the story was told in a realistic fashion, there's the element of a reborn sibling and other characters that "dream" of an alternate life or past life of the one being lived.

There's a scene towards the last quarter of the book that I really enjoyed. It was an excellent moment of drama that focused on the character's psychological state and being strong enough to face their fear.

It seems that the author has a particular type that they enjoy writing about in different plot settings. While many characteristics remain the same, the settings, story voice + tone, and event flows were different. I've had fun reading about these well-rounded by life characters that have strong mental fortitude and the smarts to work hard to achieve their goals. The characters (including side characters) have depth and layers. Nothing is purely good or evil.

Next LN will be a work by a different author, but same fan translator.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written, well paced historical c-novel revolving around a second chance life and fated partners.

Our MC is meticulous and cunning, thinking ahead of her time as a woman living in Ancient China. She knows the value of women in that time period and thinks selfishly for herself, having been neglected emotionally for many years. She hopes to marry rich and live comfortably, seeking the best match possible for herself with the men presented to her. Her way of thinking is rational and sensible to the point that it's almost machine like, for example, she doesn't consider concubines or other women her future husband may have as a problem, merely additional household items she will need to manage. She knows her place and doesn't hope to step out of it, especially seeing what happened in her previous life.

Our male LI is the hidden Crown Prince, having avoided death early in life, he has to pretend to be much lower than his intended level until he can reclaim his birthright. By a single chance meeting, he and our MCs lives entwine, producing a beautifully written love story.

While some things are set in stone and cannot be altered, the many what ifs and reflection to their past lives show that it only takes a single point in life that could ultimately change the future. If our MC and male LI hadn't interacted in the manner that they did, their lives would never have intersected, and they would never have met each other.

This story speaks a lot about fate, and how it is written in the stars, but there is only so much that it can do in order to guide us on that path.

[Ra! ʕ •̀ ω •́ ʔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ I love family drama! palace drama... not so much! tropes: historical, he falls first, family drama | no steam | digital

characters
🩶 Cheng Yujin is a top tier fmc. She was raised in a house without love and learned how to use perfection and piety to get what she needs.
🩶 Cheng Yuanjing is such a great male lead. He is smart and capable but also unused to having someone care about him and caring for someone.

favorite bits
🖤 I loved the banter between Cheng Yujin and Yuanjing! Yujin is a professional bootliker and knows how to talk her way out of anything and Yuanjing hated nonsense.
🖤 I loved watching Yujin try to appease Yuanjing the way she always did with her family only to piss him off with the constant marriage talk... He wants to BE your future husband!!!
🖤 I loved Cheng Yujin's conversations about marriage and womanhood at a time where women didn't have options. Yuanjing often internally chastised her for all her schemes and fake "nonsense" but that was the only weapon she had as a woman.
🖤 I loved the development of their relationship in the last third. Yujin really softened up and allowed herself to rely on him and seeing their family life was so sweet.

issues
❌ There were some mini arcs I had to skim through. Like they were interesting to see how other people saw Yujin and Yuanjing but it wasn't always essential to the story.
❌ I forgot why I stopped reading this novel the first time but it was definitely the wedding and palace arc. I think because it's towards the end and palace politics rarely interest me especially when I just want the couple to be happy after 100 chapters of drama and mini battles.


final thoughts:
Overall, a great novel! I need this to be made into a drama at some point please!!

[Thenappan Thenappan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, the story and pace are good. It could have been more character driven and the ending seemed to be a bit rushed.

[Wordaholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again a Chinese novel with deep and inter-mingled plot. In this story Mc dreamed a life yet to come. And experience rebirth. She avoids the major event of her life that pushed her to tragedy in the life she dreamed.

And in current timeline the path she chooses for herself put her in front of our ML, her Ninth Uncle incognito ...

Overall it is a good novel to read.

[Sammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd like to divide this book into two main parts; BEFORE and AFTER the marriage of our main protagonists. The before part I rate 10/5 stars. The witty banter between the leads as well as the way they circumnavigate their difficult families was really well-written. I was amused, astounded, angered, basically the gamut of human emotions, all while at the edge of my seat anticipating the next page.

While the events before their marriage mainly take place in the Cheng family home, everything after marriage essentially happens in the imperial palace after the male lead's name is restored. For this part, I'd give a 4.9/5. The second half had all the same wittiness and sweetness that I loved in the first part but I guess I sort of imagined their enemies, the Yang family, to be a little more villainous. I was bracing myself for unreasonable tyrants, and they were but they were also a little less vicious than I predicted. It's like when you hear a loud roar thinking a lion is about to pounce but then two lion cubs come instead trying to bat your head away. They just can't quite reach you but they're really serious about it and it ends up just looking both amusing and pathetic.

Other than that, I'd say this is one of the best Chinese historical/ political intrigue/ reincarnation novels I've read, definitely in the top 10. It's also a really decent length, not thousands of chapters like so many others of the same ilk. This is definitely a must-read.

[lyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be fair, my rating is 3.8/5. As the universe knows, I love webnovels, specially those with transmigration/reincarnation kind of trope. This one is more into second life chance, which also included on my favorite webnovels plot.

Greetings, Ninth Uncle, as the title suggests, it's a story between a niece and an uncle. Don't take this in a wrong way, they're not blood related and have a zero interaction as a kid. The ninth uncle is actually a crown prince that have been missing for the last 10 years, in efforts to get the tittle back, this man rarely come into the main house.

The only reason why I read this book is because they didn't grow up together and regard each other as a stranger. I hate it when there's a step-bro, cousin, uncle, and stuff where both are insanely close as a kid and feel like a family but somehow manage to fall in love with each other as they grow older.

Still, a fun and light read. As I think webnovels are not for everyone, I would recommend it to people who I know will like this kind of stuff. Other than that, better keep it for myself.

[Sunny Butterfly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a fun read. It’s one of the better Chinese novel I have read in a long time. It has all the components to be a good TV drama without relying on miscommunications between the leads to carry the plot. It’s refreshing to see the main couple communicating from their early days and not taking action on rumors without verifying information. The couple is caring, but, romance is very slow burning. Love rivals are quickly dealt with and don’t drag out a weak subplot. It still has some of the cliche elements found in historical rebirth novels like stunningly beautiful people with a long list of top skills including photographic memory that astounds and crushes all the nobles. This adds to the story because some of the high and mighty need to be crushed! 😆

[Limecello · Rating 5 out of 5]

C9 *snickers* HCY is such a shithead. I mean I guess I can see how/why he was led astray but FL was definitely the victim in all this. I hope HCY becomes obsessed w/ her & eats his heart out.
Also impatiently waiting for “ninth uncle” to be able to reveal himself. (And be with our FL! 💪❤️)

C10- Lowkey confused how FL’s “mom” this junzhu’s status is so low like was her dad a useless prince? How does she not compare to the wife of a duke’s younger brother? How is her status in her own married family ~so low? She’s a princess of sorts already…

FL’s bio mother- her second aunt- is SHIT. Utter shit. Blaming poor FL for life’s circumstances AYFKM. FL isn’t the one who put herself in the first branch. Asshat.

C11 WTF; the crown prince is back? Though this from yumo who thought uncle 9 was dead so clearly unreliable…
And wait WTF Yumo was also “reborn” what?

C12(?) omg I CACKLED when FL is told the calligraphy she just praised was writing by “ninth uncle.” And the secondhand embarrassment 😹☠️😖😹☠️

C18 😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️ FL is trying to find more husband candidates and is shamelessly low key using ML. (Who so far doesn’t think much of her. Also she truly thinks he’s her illegitimate uncle so…)

Ahhhh c21; whether he realizes it or not ML is starting to get jealous! 😄

C22; I hope Zhou Mama tells the world how shit the Zhou family is and how great FL is
<.< I guess I’m greedy cuz I was hoping for more for FL than just some bolts of cloth & embroidery tools. I guess imperial praise & being called a “role model for women” means more here

C23; I love this FL
“She wasn’t stupid. Of course she could distinguish who was sincere and who was simply seeking for profit. Her heart was so small. After putting herself in, at most it could only contain a few more sincere people, and no place for others.”

Lololol end of c24 I literally said “shiiiiit” after my heart jumped into my throat after ML asks FL “still not coming out?” 😱 those secrets she heard 😱

😹😹☠️☠️☠️☠️ translator notes at end of c25 - ML would die from rage
Translator asking if ML is a dog so he can smell FL’s scent in a cabinet over the smell of medicine 😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️

C26 🫡 I salute this FL quickly thinking how she can use this “uncle” to secure herself a good husband - one of his subordinates has to be capable and qualified right? lol and I wonder if she wants to crush HCY

C27 it’s actually literally exhausting how awful & selfish FL’s family us

😭 *gently holds heart* c28 - her “family” is … beyond shamefully neglectful. Emotionally & mentally abusive. This poor FL my heart literally hurts.

C29; I don’t blame them too much since they don’t know but FL is DESPERATELY trying to protect her family but the greedy uncles are leaving themselves NO room.
… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!! NINTH UNCLE JUST MADE HIS SHARE FL’S DOWRY!!! Duuuuuuuude!!!!!!!!!!!!
😒😡😒😠🫤😐 her parents are definitely going to steal it aren’t they 🫥
<.< that secret box from her grandfather better be hell full of gold. And lol to FL being like “come hell or high weather I’m going to make this box look like air”

C30 Yumo was the one who ran away like I feel like I’m losing my fucking mind everyone blames FL for “stealing” trash ass HCY. Seriously she shoulda just let him die 😡
<.< ok that land deed & Jinling(?) official seal has to be something super important…
WAITWAITWAIT *ML* GAVE FL THE DEED?!?!? 😱😱😱😹😹😹😱😱😱❤️❤️❤️
!!!! Yooooo FL got about 60% of her grandpa’s wealth?! GO GIRL 💯❤️

:/ c31 I’m already stressed anticipating her family trying to steal the shops from her 😭
😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️ shitty evil sister now has to wait a year to get married 😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️
(I mean so does FL but she doesn’t have an impatient evil future MIL 😹💯)

C33; I can’t remember what chapter it was mentioned but seriously how did these people birth & raise FL she is ten million levels above them
😬😱😖 I mean I saw it coming but I’m still cringe & anchos at FL’s aunt wanting her son to marry FL (though the aunt has “great eyesight” 💯)

Lol c35; poor stupid dummy cousin. Also FL will never believe his sincere feelings. I mean I wouldn’t after hearing his exclamation either 🤷🏻‍♀️
Glad Lin & “uncle” seem to have heard cousin proposing though - eat your heart out boys, FL is a hot commodity 💯❤️

36 lololol POOR FL ML always only sees her at her worst/thinks the worst of her 🫠
Whatever at least she got to spend some time with Lin ZhiZhi
😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️ DYYYING at FL/translator calling (compiler?) Lin “this stock” 😹☠️
🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ oh but this dummy exposed FL for taking a roundabout route 🤦🏻‍♀️
OH GOOOOOOD. FL never never never gets to save ANY face before ML and omgggggg telling her to talk Zhizhi (ge? Xiong?) UNCLE?!?! 😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️ he is TOO MEAN 😹 ML you evil.

Yooooo c37, after asking his friend what he thinks of FL & Lin responds ~enthusiastically…
“ Right now, Cheng Yuanjing looked like a lion whose territory was invaded. His expression unchanged, but there was a great thunder underneath.”
😿 it’s so goddamn sad only her aunt thought of her
However, the thought only flashed by quickly before she put it aside. Since Ruan-shi and Cheng Yuanhan only loved the children who grew up by their side, and Qingfu and Cheng Yuanxian never treated her as their child, she would treat herself freely, and all her efforts were only for her own sake. They should never talk to her about blood relationships and grace repayment.”
😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️ end of 37 her pastry for marriage bribe

C39; damn it really is sad/difficult for a woman to B go out/so unfair.
Glad “uncle” Is willing to take her. 😒😜 for him making it so difficult on her though. I hope she gets her pound of flesh for him smacking her on the forehead with the fan
OMGGGGGGG ok him buying her everything she really touched or looked at… ok that’s good enough - plus accompanying her ❤️❤️❤️💯

C40 - SNORTING when shop clerk realizes their “relationship” after thinking that FL & ML are engaged 😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️ (also for some weird reason being major deja vu…)

C41 seriously not seeing where/how FL is lazy (yet) - love her business sense, designs, and flattery game. lol and the eunuch/steward being on her side 💯❤️

C42 this fucking family 😒 her biological mom should be thrown in a compost pile
Also I am getting STRESSED here I am on c42 and there’s NOTHING between our leads! ML reclaiming his identity is HARD shouldn’t we be seeing stuff?!
Uh yeah I don’t blame her at all - oh you always have to sacrifice as the oldest? 🙄😒
“Cheng Yujin secretly thought: Alright, then she really would care no longer. She wouldn’t long for her parents’ attention nor the love of her relatives. She only needed money and benefits.” fucking set them all on fire

😐 c43, even the gifting of precious jade bracelets has become awful - the evil grandma always using FL as a shield. JFC. Being evil but putting the target on your granddaughter. Evil.
I literally had to close my eyes and take a moment. Her biological mother is worse than no mother. I cannot comprehend being so shameless and small - demanding this girl you’re SO AWFUL to call you mother and give you all her benefits? Are you DEMENTED.

C44 😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️ I love this sensible bitch
“ Cheng Yujin pondered for a moment. Then she said again: “Ninth Uncle’s one thousand mu of land can barely be counted along. It seems that I have to take the time to pay my respect to the god of wealth and ask him to help protect my money. Otherwise, it might be taken away.”

Du Ruo asked: “Miss, do you want to visit a temple?””
Oh her servants. They’ll lose their mind when they V learn the truth…

End c49 part one my jaw literally dropped and I said “oh fuck” lol FL gave the duke NO face

C50 having Very Complicated Feelings cuz I never thought I’d be this disgusted [with] a duke who wants to marry FL like isn’t he her dad’s age? And his family sucks. And she’d be a SECOND wife. And his son is a bratty monster. I just… and his “oh my marriage is up to you, mom.” 🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
They honestly just want a baby sitter & house manager like AYFKM “oh and if you ever have a son he’ll be nothing”
I hope she smacks their faces into next year & EVERYONE sees them lose face

C52 YAAAASSSSS ML to the rescue to protect FL’s dowry!!!! (Although stressed for if/when they get together how can an emperor not have a harem 😒)
AHHHHHHH HAHAHAHA he does the public transfer of his inheritance to FL & ONLY her and it’s all listed wat your hearts out asshole family
Assholes

C54 - ok whether he knows it or not I am CONVINCED ML has fallen for FL. His protection and help. His ~disappointment she’s wishing him well/sending him of.
*snort* he is SO MAD about her talking about her future not him husband. And I think he REALLY doesn’t get it.
I mean she DEFINITELY doesn’t 😹🫠

C55 ok ML’s conversation with Liu Yi have me convinced ML *does* know & the author is just EXCEEDINGLY vague
AHHHHHHHHH ok thank you and *fans self*
“ Before, he had not realized what he actually wanted. Until today, when he saw how Cheng Yujin bade him farewell so easily, and how she began to talk happily about her and her future husband, Cheng Yuanjing finally understood what kind of answer he actually wanted to hear.

He was not her uncle, nor was she his niece. What he wanted was for Cheng Yujin to see him as a man. He wanted her to give him an embroidery, make him pastries, and came to see him — as a man.”

lol clearly I just need to complain about shit for it to happen 😹☠️💯

OH MY GOD I am 🤩 giddy - ML clearly knows FL brings no “benefits” socially to the court but he gives no fucks. My man in SMITTEN. And also confident - the power etc will come from *him*
Omg so hot

C56 🙄😒 seriously everyone in FL’s family is so awful like I get it’s depressing AF to always come up short against your sister but the twin is only ever greedy & jealous like you got a LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT the FL never did

Ahahaha c57 Lin Qingyuan has finally been struck by love lighting 😄💯 … and I’m glad HCY is eating his heart out. Fuckhead. Even though he’s too stupid to even realize that’s what’s happening 🙄😒🙄
… I literally said “goddamn” in a giddy voice when I read “ At this moment, Cheng Yuanjing was like a lion king whose territory was being invaded. The cold aura around him was so dense that it almost visible.” Our ML did NOOOOOT like that look & just sentence exchanged between FL & Lin

People have asked if there’s something wrong with Huo Changyuan’s brain and … honestly IS there?! Cuz FL definitely saved him too but he always just calls her a “vicious woman” like SERIOUSLY she should’ve left him to die 😡

Eeee c60; ML true aura unleashed 😻😻😻
Also wow Duke Zhai is TRAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSHHHHH

*snort* end c62 FL telling trash Huo Changyuan to call her eldest sister 😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️
(Also her sister is so awful - nothing is ever her fault. Everything was just magical for FL 🙄🙄🙄😒😒😒)

C65 marquis has lost his goddamn mind. 🤷🏻‍♀️ his own fault though.

C66 *snickers* I love my smart bitch. FL after coaxing her grandma to eat & getting a lovely meal herself:
“ Cheng Yujin saw that Old Madam Cheng had almost finished, and put down her own chopsticks at the right timing. “Grandmother, may this granddaughter pour you a cup of hot tea?”
Old Madam Cheng nodded. Cheng Yujin took the teacup from a servant girl and handed it to Old Madam Cheng. Saying that Cheng Yujin poured the tea, but in fact, she was merely handing the teacup. In fact, there were very few occasions when she really needed to work.”
Oh man emperor going with empress dowager to the temple I am STRESSED about the process of his identity being restored

C68 *snickers* I mean I feel a little bad for Yumo’s married life but also she DEFINITELY did it too herself so 🤷🏻‍♀️ *tiny violin*
Ugh fuuuuuuuuck this fucking Zhai family.
Ahhhh shit creepy fucking Duke cornered her 😖😖😖

C69 omg she CRUSHED shitty Duke lololol straight up pointed out he’s worthless. Hopefully this humbles him & he and his shit family don’t make things difficult for her. Although they’re so small and petty 😒

Awww first “real” meeting between father & son in 14 years. Poor emperor former minor vassal prince unfavored third prince
[c… 72?]
Anyway also hilarious “all parents everywhere hope their kids get married” ☠️☠️☠️

😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️ c76 poor Lin - and poor FL!
“ Lin Qingyuan was chatting about the book he was currently reading. When he raised his head and met Cheng Yujin’s eyes, his voice stopped momentarily.
Eldest miss Cheng was polite and elegant as usual, but why did he feel that her eyes were a bit wrong?
It was like…an old farmer smiling kindly at the pigs that had been fattened before the winter, or a mother watching the son she had worked hard to raise finally passed the imperial examination.
Lin Qingyuan was shocked by his own assumptions and felt goosebumps.”

C77 oh damn I bow to FL’s manipulation skills poor Lin has been tied into knots 😹💯
(:x tho kinda scared as to how badly ML will blow his top)
😡😡😡 I’m actually mad ML is mad at FL you ass she’s trying to save herself from terrible duke Zhai!

😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️ c78 “ Why did she never cease to do things that made him angry? The answer was simple. It was because the men outside were not decent and always jumping in front of Cheng Yujin, thus obstructing her eyes and clouding her judgment. This matter was very simple for His Highness the Crown Prince. All the eye-catching men were to be shoveled far away.

And Lin Qingyuan was the first on the blacklist.”
Poor innocent Lin.
Oh my god oh my god oh my god
“ Cheng Yujin’s teeth were itchy with anger. Cheng Yuanjing listened to her rant in silence. His fingers gently fiddled with a strand of loose hair from her hairdo.” our touchy feely hero 😻😻😻😻😻

C80 ok seriously the aunt Cheng Min is so lovely & I hope this continues & she gets good things
Also I NEED something awful to happen to Cheng Yumo on like Qian Shan Cha Ke level of awful.


Lololol 81 “ Zhai Yanlin was angry and resentful, and there was also jealousy that he didn’t dare to show. In the end, he could only break the lantern pole in his hand and turned away in anger.

He left as he came: no one knew, and no one cared.”

C82 after ML rescued FL from the river & is carrying her away - I don’t get this “ Cheng Yujin was silent for a long time. “Why?”

The man’s step seemed to pause slightly. He held her tighter: “Yujin, you are always smart. Don’t you already know?”

Cheng Yujin felt even dizzier and finally couldn’t hold it anymore. She leaned on the sturdy chest and closed her eyes. Before losing consciousness, she whispered with a feeble voice, so small that it was almost inaudible: “I never believe that others can do the same for me, because I cannot do it either.”

C83 😹😹😅 FL thinks “man the crown prince is extravagant/the ultra rich really do live differently” meanwhile I’m pretty sure ML & his people are like “This is my future wife” 😜💯

Ohhhhh the “I cannot do it either” I think is a ~translation issue? Like she’s saying she never considered ML cuz she was scared to. At least that’s the gist I’m getting from them talking in c81

Awwww “ Unless there was a hole in her brain, Cheng Yujin would never choose Zou Cheng. Marrying him was tantamount to a high-risk, low-return business. From another perspective, however, the situation between her and Cheng Yuanjing was the same.”
As someone who… thinks (way) even less of herself … it kinda hurts to see how absolutely clear eyed FL is about herself/family.
Oh lol no she’s not so much looking down on herself as 10,000% “business.” I am DYING 😹😹😹☠️
Her wishing she could marry both Lin & keep the impoverished well scoring guy as a backup husband/investment

C85 😹😹😹☠️ our poor calculating FL is losing it at realizing she’s inadvertently kept her future father in law — THE EMPEROR — waiting. (Although she def doesn’t even think he’ll be her future father in law..)
And awww to her thinking she’d be a side consort

😅 end of c87 I literally EEE’d so high and violently I hurt my throat 😹😅
FL IS GONNA BE THE CROWN PRINCESS lololol she so thought it was NOT going to be her 😅🫠

C88 ok I don’t try to comment on strangers but IMO the person who said FL is lazy fundamentally didn’t understand her.
She is NOT lazy. She’s just extremely calculating & wants to live well. That’s it. Her whole life she’s worked hard & is willing to continue to work hard. It’s just “” that she demands adequate compensation/returns. Good sign is how she “serves”/attends her grandma - our bitch works smart not laboriously.
😹😹😹☠️☠️☠️ as soon as she hears the news/recovers FL wants to see the house and oh stride it’s now hers so she’s calculating the value & I love this mercenary bitch 😹😹😹💯❤️

90- fam continues to be the worst

93 YAAAAS FL is amazing! (And so glad she shut down her awful family)

C94 FL is a monster HOW does she know every rule & can do it all perfectly 😱

C96 Fascinating wedding ~ceremony and so impersonal! Plus different from ~usual

C97 oh my heart the steps & willingness thing

Awwwwc103 ML realizes FL treats him as an “outsider” despite them being married. 😜🙄 Granted it’s been a while 3 days
AHHHHHHHH him knowing her SO WELL and “ The wife he wanted to marry was Cheng Yujin, and he accepted every part of her.”

C112 😹 ok seeing FL scold HCY was satisfying AF & even more ML saying one wife in life is enough ❤️

C118 “ Facts proved that smart people could live well anywhere. Two smart people put together only ended up twice as good. The so-called excellent men did not like smart and capable wives was merely a self-comfort of stupid people.”
DYING at ML’s zen scripture dirty talk

Finished! I KNEW it would be dragon phoenix twins! So annoyed the emperor turned out to be so shitty in the end 😐 - I actually skipped the last scheme/skimmed the Taoist priest stuff cuz it was annoying & irrelevant.
Heh so ~EVERYONE was “reincarnated.” 😜 🤷🏻‍♀️ shitty stupid sister. 🙄 dumb servants. (Wonder about the scent FL put around empress dowager but I guess in the end NBD) ❤️ but ML was NOT as good as XJX

B+

[Hamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best cnovel I've read

[jasan · Rating 5 out of 5]

not only did i eat this up but i actually felt bad for all the women in this one

[Inn Auni · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEWARE of SPOILER

The blurb was the biggest spoiler.

1st Life
Chen Yujin and her entourage saved Marquis Jingyong, who was recuperating inside a cave. They got married. But, Chen Yumo, her younger sister, told Marquis Jingyong, that she was the person who saved him. She left him in the cave to go and look for help. Marquis Jingyong accepted Chen Yumo in the family and wanted to make her his second wife. Heartbroken, Chen Yujin died after she gave birth. Her son was also dead after being neglected by the family.

Li Chengjing as the Crown Prince and then the Emperor, never married. A Taoist Master told him that he only had one life partner and she was already dead. Li Chengjing then started to have vivid dreams a.k.a. the 2nd Life. He found out about Chen Yujin and how Marquis Jingyong and his family treated her which led to her death. He retaliated against Marquis Jingyong even though he only met Chen Yujin in his dream.

2nd Life
Both Chen Yujin and Chen Yumo were reborn. Chen Yujin was already engaged to be married to Marquis Jingyong but, Chen Yumo told him early on that she was his savior. Marquis Jingyong decided to break his engagement with Chen Yujin and chose Chen Yumo as his wife. Chen Yujin then met her Ninth Uncle and both of them were given a task to prepare a gift for the Emperor. She also met with Ninth Uncle's friends. She decided to find her own husband and came to the conclusion that Ninth Uncle's friends were the best candidates. Little did she know that Ninth Uncle wasn't blood-related to her and was also interested in her. He was her biggest obstacle in finding a husband. After some up and down, Chen Yujin married her Ninth Uncle, who was Li Chengjing, the Crown Prince. Her desire to one-up Chen Yumo finally paid off.

3rd Life
Li Chengjing was reborn (from the 1st life) days before he returned to Chen's Mansion. With the knowledge from his 1st and 2nd (dream) life, he decided to make his dream life come true.

Note:
Chen Yujin was portrayed as someone with knowledge and experience even though she was only 14. She knew how to tackle every problem that came her way. In her 1st life, for example, she knew how to handle her annoying mother-in-law. In her 2nd life, she overcomes every problem thrown her way.

Chen Yujin's fraternal twin, Chen Yumo, never had it easy in her life. In her 1st life, she had Chen Yujin as a shield against Marquis Jingyong's mother. Even though it wasn't told in detail the aftermath of Chen Yujin's death, but, from the input we got from the 2nd life, one could already imagine the ending for Chen Yumo. In the 2nd life, Chen Yumo thought everything will be easy for her. But, without Chen Yujin as a buffer, she's practically a fool.

Marquis Jingyong was another fool in this story. Technically, both Chen Yujin and Chen Yumo were his savior. Chen Yumo found him injured and got him inside a cave, and instead of finding help, she did the unthinkable. She stayed with him in the cave for a few days, using her body to shield the cold. Chen Yujin found him in the cave after Chen Yumo left and with her servants, brought him to get help. But, because Chen Yumo used her body, so in his eyes, she did more than Chen Yujin. He regained his memory from the 1st life. In the memory, we could see that he regretted his decision to take Chen Yumo as his second wife. Alas, it was all too late because Chen Yujin died. He then neglected their son because he looks just like Chen Yujin, which led the child to his death after he drowned in a pool. In the 2nd life, he was again too late as Chen Yujin was already betrothed to Li Chengjing.

There was debate about whether Li Chengjing was reborn in the 2nd life or not. Most agreed that he was reborn in the 3rd life as they were some discrepancies if he was reborn in the 2nd life. For example, he only showed interest in Chen Yujin when she started pursuing his friends. If he was reborn in the 2nd life, he would have shown interest in her the first time they met.

Overall, I like the plot. Chen Yujin and Li Chengjing made a power couple. It may seem like they were icy in personality but, their background dictated them that way. I followed the translation team for almost 2 years and was sad to say goodbye.

[Megan Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheng Yujin knows that her second cousin Cheng Yumo is actually her twin sibling, but from the moment she was gifted from the Ruan-shi (or second branch of the family) her mother is County Princess Quinfu Junzhu (heretofore childless) and she is officially the eldest di grand-daughter of Marquis Yuchin. A privileged life which allowed her talents to grow but with a cost. Her birth mother cannot recognize her and Junzhu does only what her duty requires afraid she will favor outsiders. When Yujin rescued a soldier during a snowstorm while on vacation last year, the households quickly secured an engagement to unite the clans. Today Huo Changyuan comes to cancel that promise of marriage…
A few weeks ago, she may have fought this unreasonable behavior that would damage her future prospects, but Yujin had a dream where she saw her miserable life with Changyuan. Her mother-in-law was vicious and stubborn, Yumo visited during her pregnancy and had a love affair with her husband, and Yujin died in premature labor abandoned. She had managed the household, kept her vows, and tried to protect his status when she learned of the infidelity, so she was confused. But then she saw events from another angle. Apparently Yumo had moved him to the cave before Yujin arrived and kept him warm all night. He had mistaken their identities when he awoke due to their physical similarities. Yumo had held her tongue through the wedding but revealed the truth during her visit. He fought hard to become lovers with his real savior and Yujin was turned into some poisonous villain that had stolen much from her once sibling—like in some book or play crafted for another’s amusement. Given the slight alternation of events she assumes Yumo must have had a similar dream and they have both chosen to live on a different path.
While Cheng Yujin looks for ways to restore her honor and find a suitable husband, she is forced to interact with Ninth Master Cheng Yuanjing. This is allegedly an illegitimate child brought into the household by her grandfather over a decade ago, creating much family tension especially after he was made a fourth rank official jinshi before the age of twenty overshadowing the heir. However, he is really Li Chenjing the crown prince who went missing fourteen years ago on a journey to temple. Empress Yang and her powerful family had been scheming to kill him to make a path for her own son. He is preparing to reclaim his name and title and battle for the throne. His observations of the scheming Yujin and the similarities in their past and personalities cause Chenjing to want something non-rationale for the first time in life. He uses every opportunity to block her attempts to pair up with other men and when she gambles her life to test commitment—Chenjing demands the emperor grant him a marriage. The sudden change in status causes more issues in the Cheng family and many more enemies arise to take down the influence of the returned Crown Prince and his Princess.
* * * * *---------------* * * * *---------------* * * * *
This one starts with the “cancel the engagement confrontation scene” from otome media with a rebirther background and revenge vibes. However, it uses that to look at gender power dynamics, cultural expectations, and selfish character goals in a very interesting way. It’s lengthy, sometimes repetitive/predictable, and flawed but I can still recommend it. You get personal insight regarding motivations and internal thoughts which is great. Further the narrative structure allows for direct parallel examples in certain choices. Yumo looked at events, blamed Yujin for stealing what was hers, revealed this ‘conspiracy’ early on and thought that would magically make her life perfect without any more work. The carefree attitude and cutesy actions do not serve well when her role transitioned from a second branch daughter into a Marquis’ wife. Yumo continues to compare herself to Yujin despite the changes. Meanwhile Yujin looked at the alternate timeline and cut off the path entirely rather than trying to correct its flaws. She obviously is unhappy with the system that denies her power, but she strives to perfect the requirements of said system so she can get the most benefits out of them. If she has to be servile and cook well to have status and safety she makes that trade. If she has to give up popularity and fun now, for things later she does. She accepts the consequences for her actions and is more concerned with her own plans than what others are doing. As their lives move forward it is easy to see how the author thinks one should live their life.
Historical Chinese dramas and web novels can be hard to take for a variety of reasons including ridiculous gender roles and violent punishments. People will complain about thirteen-year-olds not being pregnant, people have ready access to poisons somehow, there can be decades of an age difference in couples, babies could be killed or sold for their parents’ failings, star charts are consulted for matchmaking and a priest might condemn a life with a wrong word. The melodramatic representation of these cultural themes can be off putting. There is also a tendency to exaggerate character archetypes in this genre. The etiquette was unassailable, the martial arts skill was invincible, or the villain can’t just be a drunkard but also is murdering puppies, cheating on his taxes, and strangling women in alleys. The mismatch of the comedic fluffy tone of our jealous ML peacocking away rivals (or his poor servants trying to cater to whims) doesn’t jive with the generational trauma which pulls the Cheng twins into messy and desperate inner court fights. And for all of those flaws I can only say try to remember it is a romantic fantasy. It’s still cringe but sometimes it feels coated in a haze of unreality.
In the positive column we have the discussion about life choices and autonomy. Further, our romance is based on common feelings of alienation, giving no quarter to enemies, companionship, and respect rather than insta-lust and fate. It’s not flashy and passionate but it is nice to see this kind of relationship portrayed. The complicated family backgrounds and scenarios are contrived but sympathetic with valid emotional connections. The players are flawed by things like greed and pride, but their extreme stances have identifiable causes and mitigating factors. For example, our protagonist’s survival tactic is to be stoic and appease those above her. That makes her at times fake and calculating which is not necessarily likable. Similarly, our male lead really understands how desperate Yujin is and still selfishly tramples her goals. Only this controlling behavior is softened by him giving her what she desires in trade and basic human nature. These events cause good and bad changes in the characters. Even though our power couple is clearly headed to a happy ending, they are not fantastically over-powered. Chenjing is unable to protect his wife during her pregnancy and is only able (go against cultural norms ) to be affectionate given his power as a royal. While Yujin is not a damsel in distress she would have been sold off without male protection and doesn’t ever agree to her marriage it happens when she is unconscious. On the negative side of things, the pacing really is all over the pace. Sometimes it is glacier slice of life describing how each tea cup was brewed and then other moments we might drop a few months with only talking about one holiday greeting exchange. It introduces a lot of different subplots regarding side character backstories, store management techniques, funeral rites, or what have you… and then they disappear once it is no longer the focus of the story although one assumes they are still going on presumably. And this is worsened by translation or editing issues where a character might leave a room and then be in the dialogue later. The alternate timelines are super underutilized. Given Huo doesn’t confront Yumo or Yujin I don’t know why the author has him remember snippets starting at the wedding. The Lonely Emperor side story adds more confusing elements about what is real. The coherency of the story goes down for the second half that deals with our Imperial court elements. The stakes are higher adding to the melodrama but the characters feel less real and strangely our couple have almost no direct interactions with each other. Weird choice but it is what it is. Overall, better than average for the genre (3.5 stars)

[Stephanie (Jump) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story. At the beginning we find out the FL is capable, cunning, calculating. We then find out why, she really drew the short end of the stick. Born to the 2nd wife in the family as a pair of twins, she was adopted by the main wife (while her twin was kept by her real biological mother). Her adopted mother wanted her for the sake of having a child but later had a male child of her own. Her biological mother of course favors and cares for the one that isn't adopted. In a world where females are already in a precarious situation, she has it much worst than others. No one fights for her or cares about her. She tries very hard to be perfect, and she can't take off her mask at home. When her greedy relatives wants her dowry (including her biological mom who wants it for her other daughter who is marrying first), the dowry that was given by the old head of the family before he passed, she as a young girl is pretty powerless against the owner adults. It is the ML that steps in to save her.

And I love how well the authors show us how precarious women's life were back in this time. A woman has to "marry well" which meant marrying someone rich/titled. But the more rich and titled, the more likely there are relatives and future concubines, waiting to take your glory. If your mother in law doesn't like you, she can make trouble. The only way to secure your position is to have a male child, and the first male child in the household, who has to grow up to adulthood. Otherwise, if the husband passes away or if another wife has the male child, your position is challenged. And yet so many things in this are out of your control, like the gender or even the ability to have a child.

For marrying a good husband, female reputation was important but so easy to lose through gossip or other people's schemes.

I did like that while she reincarnated, she wasn't bent on revenge. She only cared what happens to herself in this life and to maximise her own security, which makes sense given her lack of power at the beginning. Fate actually gives her a great revenge but it was not her own doing.

[Courtnee Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheng Yujin wakes up from a vivid dream and realizes that she no longer cares to be engaged to her current fiancée. In the process of extracting herself and salvaging her reputation, she meets her mysterious Ninth Uncle. Except, Ninth Uncle is actually the missing Crown Prince.

This story is ultimately about two capable, but lonely, people finding love, strength, and belonging in each other. Cheng Yujin had to be perfect and Li Chengjing had to be capable. Them being so perfect for each other is wild in context.

I like that this is a Rebirth story, and I also like how there is technically a third rebirth at the end.

Is it wild that these two people were once relatives? Very much so. However, it does works out in the end. But don’t bother with this one if you know it’ll bother you.

If you like Rebirth, Lost Prince, and turning Ls into Ws, then this is for you.

[Kara-karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish there was a Chinese drama adaptation but I hear rebirth stories right now are banned from production so this one wouldn't be allowed.
This is a second chance at living the same life story and the heroine makes all the different choices to lead a longer and happier life.
I really enjoyed her unapologetic focus on herself and what's good for her instead of making sacrifices for someone else. You go, girl!
Her partner is also an absolute delight. If anyone every watched drama The Story of Ming Lan, the heroine cleverness really reminded me of Ming Lan.
To me, the story was so good in it's everyday dealings with family law, intrigues and politics, I would certainly re-read it again.
And the teasing of her cold, pragmatic nature from her significant other added a sprinkle of delight to their interactions because he certainly knew how to read her and ruffle her feathers ;) Loved it.

[Hannah Kleinsasser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely one of my most favorite historical romance stories.
It stayed true to how life back then would have been and as frustrating as it was sometimes to read how useless women are, and how they're treated. It was quite realistic.

The entire story kept me captivated from start to finish. While Cheng Yujin isn't my favourite character ever, she is definitely someone to be admired.
I honestly wish the author made a extra chapter with Cheng Yujin being in the modern world, as a lot of her thinking was rather modern for the times.

All in all it was a really good book with a lot of political schemes that really had me on my toes worrying how Cheng Yujin and Li Chengjing would get out of it.

[nurmawati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bagus banget sih ini, yg dikira uncle ke 9 ternyata putra mahkota. Sayang blm di adaptasi jadi drama.
Lead perempuan nya pinter dan cerdik, sedikit oportunis tp itu wajar secara keluarga nya jg pada jahat. Ortu nya cuma peduli sama saudara kembaran nya. Trus si twin sister itu ngerebut pertunangan nya. Org tua angkat nya gak perduli jg, Nenek nya pun mau nikahin dia ke duda yg walau gak jelek tp pede banget dan punya byk selir. Si cowok sebener nya putra mahkota yg disangka udah meninggal waktu kecil Krn terbawa arus banjir. Di istana dulu si putra mahkota mau di bunuh sana ibu tiri nya jadi nya si ayah aka raja yg gak punya kekuasaan terpaksa ngumpetin dia di rumah keluarga bangsawan biasa sebagai anak ke 9. Disitulah si cowok dekat sama si ce yg anggap dia paman nya beberan.

[Jena]

- h "Nobody loved her growing up so she doesnt love anyone but herself. Nobody was ever truly sincere to her so she learned to fake and manipulate to get the best outcome. Nobody gave her a safety net so she cushions her own even if she has to wear mask every second of her life. She's hella fake and a master bootlicker but growing up in a major family with a shabby standing anyone would turn into that"

- Both twins, the h and her evil, man-stealing sister, are reincarnated back in time, and gets a do-over.

- Book translated to English - https://aerialrain.com/greetings-nint...

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel. It kept my attention and made me want to continue reading it, even at 4:30 in the morning!
It's hard to put my finger on why I loved it so much. If you were to describe the novel it actually sounds kinda boring. There isn't a whole lot of action or suspense. No revenge plots. Just a couple of incredibly smart scheming people that are always playing 3-dimensional chess while the rest of the world is playing hopscotch!
I love this pairing a lot. Neither of them have weaknesses. Neither of them are willing to compromise. Both of them can outsmart anyone. So when they team up together...🤯

[Beiyu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the story, love the protagonists, love the writing.

FL is a smart young woman who knows her priorities, and author successfully navigates her thinking in a way not ooc for a historical setting character. I love her. She deserves the world.

ML RESPECTS FL and is comfortable to let her handle things without having to be the hero saving the day every time something goes wrong. I love that.

And EXTRA LOVE to the author who makes a point of CONSENT in their relationship

[Ani · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE IT. LOVE IT ALL!!!

Haven't read this good Chinese historical novel in a while. Though the political aspects may have some faults but I didn't come here for that on the first place. The character settings are sooo good. Everyone is complex. No one is totally black or white. I loved the female lead in this one and the chemistry between the main leads is just as good. What is up with the bedroom play of this naught crown prince! 😆😆😆

Going to reread again soon!
💜💜💜💜💜