Danmei featuring politics, from light to heavy

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Created the list to sort the novels that I finished reading as I go through my TBR pile.

tbd

At least one protagonist, or important character, must be a known historical figure. Female protagonist. I welcome suggestions in the comments!

collection of all of my personal favorite novels over the years. 

Anything I like that’s vaguely set in ancient China. In no particular order. Incl. xianxia and wuxia. There’s political intrigue, harem intrigue, power struggles, mu*der investigations,... more>> etc. Mostly HE, romance is probably there, mainly straight and BL couples (can anyone rec good historical GL to me I’ve been looking??) <<less

Historical Genre. The FLs in this list are all smart, some are kind, most are ruthless. ... more>>

The novels of this list are the typical Transmigration, Reincarnation, and Romance. All novels here are BxG. The top novels in this list are THE BEST OF THE BEST, and I personally have read them more than 3x.

Do not confuse this with my other Rec List “Harem Intrigue / Empresses in the Palace vibes” since that focuses less on true love and more on ruthless, manipulative, intelligent FLs with the ongoing themes: “traditional palace struggle novel” and “The emperor will fall in love with the female lead, but she will not love him” <<less

Novels I found lacklustre, bland or dropped. 

In a world where fate is cruel and survival is a constant struggle, three men find themselves facing impossible odds. A knight’s son must rise... more>> above his humble origins in a realm of war and nobility, a cripple in the ruthless world of Murim defies his shattered body with an indomitable will, and an ordinary man stumbles upon a seemingly fake hypnosis app that alters his reality in ways he never imagined. Bound by struggle yet blessed with unexpected encounters, they embark on journeys filled with danger, power, and the allure of captivating women. Will they conquer their destinies, or will the world break them first? <<less

I’ve read so many, that these are the ones I will re read anytime because of how good they are in no particular order 

Just some ongoing and completed novels I came across in 2025!! No particular genre, historical, modern, and so... ... more>>

You can follow to get updates as soon as new reads are added!!  <<less

This is your list if you want good reads historical romance novel. A more culturaly realistic setting. The author doesn't make the leads (FL mostly... more>> for this genre)  seem smart by making the other people around them s*upid. The ML doesn't easily fall for the FL just because she's the FL. <<less

A realistic novel set in ancient China 

Curated list by yours truly. All genres, something for everyone. (A lot of Ancient China BG included).... more>>

Recommended novels not on NU- see comments. 

I’ll add comments/reviews for every one of them, but it’ll take me quite a while to get to all of them. 

NOTE: Moving all short stories/oneshots to Rec List “Small Stories, Big Feels” (like check it out, so many gems are like 30-40 chapters only, and their chapters are mostly long) <<less

Cunning Protagonist  Historical  Power StruggleRoyalty Schemes And Conspiracies 

A must to read - no s*upid 

Empresses in the Palace vibes + strong female lead who is either a concubine, noble consort, or empress... more>>

There are NO idiot/dumb/naive/innocent FLs in this list. Some FLs are kind, but most are ruthless. Emperor ML is not her prince charming & I prefer it that way. 

Palace intrigue & harem struggle between the concubines is the spotlight of most of these novels. However, the true hidden gem is the complex female relationships among the concubines/consorts, especially those who are deeply aware that the harem is their gilded cage ^^

Note: This is MY list. This means that just because a certain novel fits this niche, it won’t automatically be here. I don’t like wasting my time and other people’s. The novels here are my personal favorites and trusted recommendations. 

TBR means I can’t vouch for the novel yet. It’s labeled and found at the bottom of this list, which means that the synopsis was either really interesting or simply caught my eye . Since it’s a TBR, I don’t have an opinion on it yet and depending on the my reading experience, I may or may not remove it from this list. <<less

> Stories Painted in Red.
Only those from Imperial China.... more>>

Note: These tags are not present in all stories.   <<less

My fave Ancient Chinese Harem Novel. The MCs are very aware of their position in the harem, so they never fully fell in love with the "ML"; some didn't even let their true self/personality be seen by the "ML".... more>>

* I'M DOING AN INTERNSHIP RIGHT NOW (YES AGAIN), SO IF THERE'S ANY NEW NOVEL THAT SHOULD BE ADDED, TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS *

I'M RE-READING EVERYTHING SO THAT I CAN HAVE A NEW PERSPECTIVE OF THE QUALITY OF THE NOVEL

Didn't find in novelupdates, but have a translation
1. The noble consort is the most favored in the harem (3.7/5) (I haven't finished this so idk about the love part) <<less

Ancient China novels with strong FL, face slapping and overall very good!!! Its not according to rank, it's just the ones I can remember for... more>> the moment, I'll update the list if I recall more because I've read alot.!! <<less

I know we've all read books where the Female leads make you want to gag sooooo bad 

Male Consort as male empress/queen. 

Setting : Ancient China : transmigration + rebirth stories

All completed, romance and 1v1... and I'd read them all.... more>>

It all takes place in a historical setting, which are mostly related to military or monarchy or cultivation. 
Some novels in the end are cultivation worlds, which are kind of historical.

Hope you'll like it <3 <<less