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The Marquis Is Innocent
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Web Novel (CN)
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Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 101 votes)
5    50% (51 votes)
4    23% (23 votes)
3    9% (9 votes)
2    4% (4 votes)
1    14% (14 votes)
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2016
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171 Chapters (Completed)
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Release Frequency
Every 72.5 Day(s)
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Weekly Rank: #754
Monthly Rank: #2494
All Time Rank: #4944
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On 1797 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #2441
All Time Rank: #5520

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She replaced her older sister to become the wife of her family’s long-time enemy. The moment she got into the bridal sedan chair, Xiao Qiao was prepared for a lifetime of loneliness. As she expected, Wei Shao didn’t go and fetch the bride and they got married in a hasty manner. The day after the wedding, he was going to send her away.

She initially thought they are likely to spend the rest of their life “treating each other with respect”, but they encountered setbacks one after another.

She was kidnapped, and he led troops to rescue her and slaughtered the enemy in anger.

She was framed by her mother-in-law, and he stepped forward to reprimand his mother and protect his wife.

“You really are a source of calamity.”

“To whom do I bring calamity?”

“To my heart.”

Associated Names
One entry per line
The Prisoner of Beauty
The Prisoner of Beauty -Cdrama (2025)
ปรปักษ์จำนน
君侯本无邪
折腰
烽火红绡 (drama)
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Who Cares (2)
Greetings, Ninth Uncle (1)
I Became The Stepmother of My Ex-husband (1)
Pampered Into Being The Empress (1)
Song in the Peach Blossoms (1)
Spring Banquet (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. CHINESE HISTORICAL ROMANCE
  2. Historical Romance Chinese
  3. Historical C-Novels That Live in My Heart Forever
  4. BG Yandere Romace
  5. Can be your next read

Latest Release

Date Group Release
06/06/25 Tang Zi Xi Translations c64
06/05/25 readwithsora c70
06/05/25 readwithsora c69
06/05/25 readwithsora c68
06/05/25 readwithsora c65
06/05/25 readwithsora c64
06/05/25 readwithsora c63
06/05/25 readwithsora c62
06/05/25 readwithsora c61
06/04/25 Tang Zi Xi Translations c63
06/02/25 Tang Zi Xi Translations c62
05/30/25 Tang Zi Xi Translations c61
06/05/25 readwithsora c60
05/28/25 Tang Zi Xi Translations c60
06/05/25 readwithsora c59
123…7
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Tigg4Real
New Tigg4Real
May 28, 2025
Status: Completed
In Zhe Yao / Marquis is Innocent, Qiao Xiao is given a glimpse of the future in the form of a nightmare. Determined to save her family, Qiao Xiao must marry Wei Shao, to whom her family must make amends for past misdeeds. But is Wei Shao willing to forgive them?

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

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

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

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

Also, this is not a smut novel. The author is just really good at writing opaque s*x scenes. <<less
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luvies26
luvies26 rated it
October 11, 2022
Status: Completed
Love Love Love the MC, she knows that no one would treat her like a decent human being cuz she is a women and acts in a way that will be favorable to her and her family. I love that she wants her older sister to live a life of happiness with a man her sister loved nd thus sacrifices herself in marriage with ML... also cuz she knew her og fiance was also tr*shbit*h from her previous life so she tells her sis to run away nd marries s*um... more>> ML instead.

Now onto ML...... he did not plan to keep her as a wife for a long time, he did not plan to treat her well neither did he plan to be respectful to her when they got married. nd I know what ya'll will say, like their families are enemies, but dude his grandma wanted him to marry her to end this enmity so either he should have refused if he didnt like it, or should have treated her with some respect atleast. Also no he wasnt forced to marry her bcauz of his grandma, he is a MAN, he is the marquis, the head of the household he can always refuse but he didnt cuz he did not take this marriage seriously nd was thinking of divorce in future for them.

We can see him being slightly good to her cuz she really pretty nd thats the only reason why he go to her room and take care of her needs sometimes. In the past life we can see that he did not care abt MC's sis cuz she was not that pretty nd witty like MC nd just let her be ab*sed by his mom nd his dumb childhood friend who wants to marry him who also kills MC's sis in 1st life. He is only thinking of having s*x with her nd thats it, again cuz she really pretty, he thinks even though her family is his enemy, atleast they sent a pretty wife for him to enjoy (barf). So he thinks its his sole right to f*ck her cuz that is the only thing she can be useful for.

when they start having s*x he literally does not leave her nd does it everyday, like u guys do realize that they r not in love nd she is not enjoying it sometimes, but cant speak up. She has to tolerate his nasty mother's antics cuz she hates her as her family is the cause of death of ML's dad nd elder bro (enmity). Even though she has nothing to do with it, she has to tolerate these nasty ppl cuz they consider her as enemy, even though she had no power to resist this marriage. He only uses her to relieve his lust nd occasionally will consider her feelings when he is in good mood. When his mood is bad he will make sure to make her life worse. He gets jealous easily nd tries to force himself onto her when he knows that his cousin bro kinda likes her which is not her fault at all.

When he kinda considers divorcing her when her family again betrays him, I think it was actually a bit ok for him to think like that. But I still dont like him tho, it feels like he doesnt care much abt his daughter nd is like good to her only cuz the MC asks him to. Later when he becomes emperor, even his grandma is wanting a son from her. Idk how to say it, but like he doesnt love his daughter that much but he also doesnt hate her.

Spoiler

He also becomes emperor in 1st life and is super depressed cuz he is really close to his grandma, but she dies from poisoning nd he forever blames his then wife MC's sister for her death as, if she had been more attentive, his granny wouldnt have died. He ignores her nd hates her for this reason nd also lets his friend who is empress, kill MC's sis when he becomes emperor. He just becomes indifferent to everything that he doesnt even care abt his concubines fighting. YES he has concubines cuz he is apparently emotionally dead nd will sleep with any women that is offered to him cuz he is depressed. He literally does not repent his wife that is MC's sis death ever. I love the fact that the person who kills him is the MC's sister's lover who she runs away with in 2nd life nd lives a happy life. He kills him as he made his sweetheart live in such misery.

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Nelle
Nelle rated it
October 9, 2022
Status: Completed
3.5 stars

The MC is a heartstrong resolute woman. She knows her boundaries and she has great emotional control. She does whatever she can with her limited resources. I like her.

The ML is just a big mass of male ego. He only sees her worth as someone who is pleasing to the eye - someone he can release his lust on. His immediate reaction after seeing someone treat MC well is that he will exercise his "husband rights" a.k.a. Commit s*xual acts towards our MC. He treats her like air on... more>> normal days and but becomes possessive the moment another male appreciates MC. Our MC thinks the same. This is from ch49: "she felt that she was a plaything of Wei Shao who was just named as his wife."

Spoiler

ch62: This s*umbag is really hateful. He attempted to r@p3 MC just because another man coveted her?! If MC was not brave enough to scold and slap him she would have been r*ped. It's not even MC's fault that other men have improper thoughts about her, but this ML just puts the blame on her head. I would also like to add that before they had proper s3x, ML attempted to r@p3 her twice first. It's just something happened that stopped him from continuing his horrible actions.

ch92: ML is still far from being an acceptable husband. 9/10 of his interactions with MC are still just to have s3x and it's not always enjoyable for MC. There's still no groveling.

ch97: ML fckd her in her sleep. She was blackout drunk and he just couldn't control his lust. Wtf.

For the remaining 10% of the story, he finally became a good husband. He finally recognized his mistakes and learned from them.

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I am looking forward to the groveling moments of ML. I hope I don't get disappointed. The groveling is minimal. The only moment I could think of is him riding his horse in heavy rain to catch up with MC who got sooooo disappointed of him. The romance is a little depressing, ngl. It's because although MC has feelings for ML, she is somehow stuck in the marriage forced by her circumstances. On the other hand, ML's hate for the Qiao family is also understandable (his actions towards MC are uncalled for though). Their relationship gets better after every hurdle, but it still leaves you with a feeling that there's still a piece of bone stuck in your throat. Putting aside the romance, MC and the other supporting characters are worth reading for though. <<less
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Wang Feng
Wang Feng rated it
October 20, 2022
Status: Completed
Peng lai ke novels ain't for light novel lovers. This one is a deep plot + lil meat. (Yes, there's meat lol) There's lot of angst between the leads as the plot is enemy to lovers. It's a gem for those who like heavy plot + slow burn romance + meat. Give it a try. Don't let the low rating miss this gem.

... more>>
Spoiler

FL is from modern-day but didn't quite matters in the novel (actually not quite sure cause I've read this novel a long time ago) . She was pierced by her fiance in her previous life. She rebirth to before everything happens. Her knowledge of future events becomes her golden finger. Thus, tried to avoid the tragic end.

ML is quite powerful but he listened to his grandma. Grandma is the matchmaker indirectly. She's good. She doesn't treat the FL badly even though she's from the family of her husband's killer. ML is a jerk at the beginning. Because of the family feud, both the leads were first suspicious of each other then accepting of each other and love. The plot of wars and romance are all balanced out.

Character growth of the ML is done beautifully. First, he treats the FL like she owed all his family's feud. Then, accepting her and falling for her. But still he wants her to do whatever he wanted. It's like doing a favour for her for falling in love with her. Then, he saw the difference when FL is with him and when FL is with her family members. Thus, apologies to her and call himself a jerk. Lol And pampered her afterwards.

The extras are also interesting.

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Hiril344
Hiril344 rated it
May 18, 2023
Status: --
Despite its initial premise, the story quickly devolves into a disturbing portrayal of a toxic relationship with shallow characters and questionable dynamics.

The protagonist, starts off as a promising character, possessing intelligence and wit. However, as the story progresses, her agency and independence diminish, becoming overshadowed by her obsession with the male lead. It is disheartening to witness MC's self-worth being solely determined by her physical beauty, reducing her to a pawn in the male lead's desires.

ML, on the other hand, is an embodiment of male ego and possessiveness. His shallow... more>> perception of MC, valuing her solely for her appearance and as an object of lust, is deeply concerning. He displays little regard for her feelings or well-being, treating her as a plaything to satisfy his desires. His actions and lack of respect towards MC paint a disturbing picture of their relationship, one that is built on unequal power dynamics and objectification.

Furthermore, the lack of consent and coercive behaviors displayed by ML during intimate moments is deeply troubling. It is disheartening to see the protagonist subjected to his whims and desires, with no agency to voice her discomfort or boundaries. The author's portrayal of these scenes is uncomfortable and fails to address the importance of consent and mutual respect in a healthy relationship.

Additionally, the overall plot suffers from a lack of depth and originality. The initial premise of enemies turning into lovers holds potential, but it quickly devolves into a predictable and repetitive cycle of lust and possessiveness. The narrative fails to explore the characters' emotional growth or provide meaningful development beyond their physical desires.

Moreover, the supporting characters lack depth and contribute little to the overall story. They serve as mere plot devices, reinforcing the shallow nature of the novel. The absence of well-rounded secondary characters further hinders the reader's engagement and investment in the story. <<less
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avarachika
avarachika rated it
February 15, 2023
Status: Completed
Since the English translation (the better translator) for this novel is unfinished, I don't know how the 3rd half will be like. From what I have read so far, the novel is good. I really like it and it is an enjoyable read. The plot keeps me interested. It's been a while since I've read anything that has to do with enemies becoming lovers.

MC is a transmigratory soul who retains all memories of the previous owner's life who gets a reset of knowing how the future will be like, which... more>> is to her advantage, but also to her disadvantage. Her character is known to be very beautiful and I'm talking about how a war can start for her just because of how beautiful she is. Our MC incidentally gets pulled into an arranged marriage with ML and from here she tries to save herself and her family. I love how even though she is hated by her husband and her mother-in-law, she is smart enough to rely on Mrs. Xu, the head grandma to help her (not everyone is bad!) making her pretty witty.

Due to a tragic past, our ML was forced to led an army at a young age. This causes him to become a strong and cold marquis whose name is known everywhere. He has dreams and ambitions. His past gets him tied in an arranged marriage with our MC. Although, MC is really beautiful, ML doesn't let her beauty bury the hatred that he has for her family. He did not plan to have anything to do with the MC in the first place, but the things that his mom does causes him to spend more time with her. Mind you, there's a lot of s*x in this novel. ML is a virg*n and he's been abstaining for the longest time. Once he slept with MC, it was over LOL. Over time, you can see that he slowly starts to treat MC with more care and affection.

If MC was ruthless, she could have used her beauty to wrap ML around her little finger. Alot of commenters said that ML was a jerk. Yes, he can be a jerk at times, but he has his own reasons, and he was battling with himself and his growing feelings for her. He does protect her and make sure that she's not wrongly accused, which is A+ in my book. MC is not without fault here too. I would say that both have their own fault. ML for being unable to see her goodness and just letting the past grudge go, and MC for knowing about the future and thinking that nothing about him will change and is afraid to break his walls.

One thing I would like to see, or hope is them letting all their burdens go and just freely love each other.

I do miss all the beginning parts when ML and MC were bringing petty troubles to each other, but I also like seeing them change towards one another.

I would say do give this novel a try.

Edit: I finally completed this. It took me a while as the chapters were paid subscription at that time. I did put a hold on this novel at it's last 15 chapters as I got distracted with other things. During the wait period, I think I've reread the beginning part like 2 times already which shows how much I really liked this novel. My memory of the 3rd to 4th part is definitely woozy as I don't remember much in comparison to the beginning part, but I did remember liking it as our FL spoke her thoughts to ML, ML finally realized what he did wrong and made up for it, and villians were brought down. I'll probably do a reread in the future so I could read this novel all in one sitting. <<less
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dramamonster
dramamonster rated it
December 19, 2023
Status: Completed
Original review (at chapter 161) :

Note: There is no fluff, no OP FL, just harsh historical times, politics, and warfare. If you are looking for a ML who is kind/respectful/understands modern consensual relationships, you should really skip this novel. (UPDATED: The sweetness and romance snowballs towards the end of the novel, as this is a wife-chasing crematorium kind of story).

In an ancient, chaotic China with warring states, feudal warlords fight constantly for power. A strong, harsh warlord is forced to marry the daughter of his enemy.

The FL knows her family... more>> was guilty (of mu*dering the ML's family) and tries very hard to fulfil her duties as a wife. The ML is hard, resentful, and often away at war. However, eventually the warlord ML falls for her beauty trap and totally head over heels for her.

Transmigration and Rebirth:

The novel premise is a bit confusing. There is both transmigration and rebirth. But her modern life is only mentioned in one paragraph, ""In her previous life, she grew up in a family of scholars and her parents were both university professors. She learned calligraphy when she was a child and persisted for over ten years. She could imitate the extremely beautiful, small script of Zhao Mengfu. Because of her sickly constitution, she passed away in her twenties, and somehow woke up and became the current Xiao Qiao.""

There's even mention of "If this were in the original post-apocalyptic world,...", which isn't mentioned again.

Now transmigrated, the FL becomes the Empress of Emperor Liu Yan. But when warlord Wei Shao (the ML) is about to storm the palace, Emperor Liu Yan kills everyone in his harem, including the FL.

The FL is reborn again. This time, she takes a different path and ends up with warlord Wei Shao.

For the rest of the novel, the FL doesn't mention her modern life, and only refers to her first ancient life (where she died as Empress) as a dream. So the author could have cut out the transmigration and rebirth and only kept the alternate tragic Empress storyline as a recurring dream.

Things I liked:

    • story was riveting, I read it nonstop
    • FL is smart and reasonable
    • grandma is awesome, lots of good characters, good people mostly live, bad people get their punishment
Things I got annoyed by:

    • tons of fighting, warlords, politics, military strategies
    • FL is 14, so indescribably beautiful that every powerful man (at least 3+ rulers) who sees her lusts/loves her, until they are ruined by their own obsession with her. Young women are either beautiful vases/objects to be possessed/used or menial servants.
    • ML is an emotional idiot/boor, so busy fighting for land and power and blinded by revenge that he doesn't realize until midway that he's fallen for her beauty trap and until the end that he's completely in love with her
    • limited female roles - female servants, kind grandma/aunt/sister, crazy/jealous mother-in-law, evil jealous beautiful women - FL has no female friends, just female servants and relatives. But I guess this is part of the narrative, FL has no female friends, so she has to struggle alone in difficult times.
The Chinese drama is called, "Prisoner of Beauty", which is a lot more accurate of a title than "The Marquis is Innocent"...

UPDATE: After completing the novel, I loved the epilogue. As a wife-chasing crematorium book (the ML is an arrogant warlord who doesn't appreciate the FL at first, then eventually falls head over heels for her and has to chase her love for the rest of the novel), it gets sweeter and fluffier towards the end.
Spoiler

ML becomes Emperor, FL is Empress, there is no one else in their relationship.

The epilogue was the best by far. The ML turns into the cat (as divine punishment), and the lonely warlord Wei Shao from her first ancient life

(that she never met) takes over the ML's body and realizes in this new timeline/reality, he has everything he was missing - his grandma, loving wife, kids, etc. When they swap back, the ML is totally humbled from his time as a cat and having someone else possess his body, so the ML is even more grateful/loving/doting on the FL.

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apricotplum
apricotplum rated it
May 7, 2025
Status: Completed
Much has been said about the "problematic" elements of this novel but if one can leave his/her modern mindset behind and just read the novel from the era it's supposed to be set in, I find it all quite logical and believable.

The ML, Wei Shao, is not nice but it's understandable why. He is torn between filial piety and burgeoning feelings for his wife. His growth is gradual but it's there. Every step of the way, he does make small concessions leading to him coming to terms with their families'... more>> bitter history and eventual release from resentment.

The FL, Xiao Qiao, is the gem of the book for me. She is a paragon of virtue—soft and resilient, patient and uncomplaining, loyal and loving. She's quite a departure from the all-powerful, all-smart, unbendable FLs of other novels. Other readers might find her weak and a push over/doormat but she's making the most out of her life with the cards given to her. Her softness IS her strength and the reward for her hardwork is harmony in her household and peace across the empire.

Another plus for me is that the novel is written from a third person's perspective. I am not a fan of being privy to the main character's every thought. I like figuring things out more from simple clues and small actions.

What I did not like as much are the graphic, explicit s*x scenes. Too much. I'm glad there's a drama coming soon where I can appreciate the story again sans this aspect.

I'd probably give this closer to 4.5 stars? <<less
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midori_13
midori_13 rated it
November 3, 2023
Status: Completed
I recommend the novel for people that like Transmigration Ancient Chinese Novels.

It’s a story about Love, Affection, Forgiveness and Redemption versus Killing, War, Hatred and Revenge and which one will prevail in the end. Love or hate?

But I gave a three stars rating, because the story is kinda cliche: a cruel, powerful and handsome Marquis and a beautiful, nice and weak noble lady that got together. Enemies that becomes lovers. A couple that wasn’t likable at all in my opinion.

Besides, the story is very complicated. You really need to take... more>> notes of all the names of warlords and all the places and counties depicted in the story, otherwise it’s impossible to understand the plot. I had to burn some brain cells to understand the military and political moves of the story, so it’s definitely not a light novel.

Spoilers!! ⛔️

Spoiler

Plot (don’t read if you don’t want to know all the surprises and twists of the novel)

Spoiler

The story is about a young female lead, Xiao Qiao, that had a tragic end in her first life.

Female lead married her sweetheart love, Liu Yan, that in the end, becomes the Emperor. While, her older cousin Da Qiao, despite loving Bi Zhi, a s*ave, had to marry through contract the male lead Marquis Wei Shao, a powerful warlord.

Because the Qiao family, the family of the female lead and her cousin used to be powerful but started to decline, in the turbulent war times, they had to seek the support of the powerful Wei family, the family of the male lead.

The problem is that the family of male lead had a deep grudge against the family of female lead. Because the Qiaos betrayed the Wens during a war, male lead’s father and older brother ended up dying.

Long story short, both families agreed to the contract marriage because one family would gain the military support and the other would easily get access to the land.

But female lead’s cousin was really mistreated by male lead, because of his grudge. To the point that she ended up dying of depression. So, male lead turn his concubine, his childhood sweetheart love, Su E Huan, as the main wife.

Male lead becomes Emperor, turning his wife Empress, and cornered the previous Emperor Liu Yan, which made Liu Yan commit su*cide after killing his entire harem and female lead, his Empress Xiao Qiao.

In the end, I don’t know if female lead went back in time or reborn, but she remembered her past life and decide to change her future.

First, she doesn’t want to marry or love anymore her childhood sweetheart love, since she discovered how weak he was, by committing su*cide after killing her and his entire harem, after losing the war.

Second, she helps her cousin ran away and marry the s*ave Bi Zhi, the person that her cousin really loved. Since she knew how Bi Zhi would become an extraordinary general.

Third, she tried to change the fate of her family, that was exterminated by male lead in her previous life.

She was able to change all that, but got screwed in the end, because she had to replace her cousin and marry the cruel male lead.

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Now, about the male lead... No comments...

Spoiler

... he acted like those kindergarten boys that bully the girls they have a crush.

First, he says that her appearance is barely acceptable and despise her, then he admits that despite her body not being a big deal, her face was kinda pretty so he wanted to sleep with her, and finally he gets too jealous because he feels she’s too pretty and all the other men covet her.

So, he decided to be cold and ignore her at first, but changed his mind and started to bully her, like a typical kindergarten boy in love.

For example, male lead’s mother was fond of his cousin and always wanted them to marry.

Male lead kept saying no, but changed his mind. So he tells female lead that he’s going to accept a concubine. When he sees that female lead doesn’t get bothered or jealous, he changed his mind again. Saying that female lead needs to go to tell his mother that he doesn’t want a concubine anymore. He does that, because he knows how his mother despise female lead. Female lead gets irritated because of his scheme, so she decides to look for help with male lead’s grandmother, since the grandmother was the only person in the family that treated female lead well.

When male lead discovered that female lead went to seek help with his grandmother instead of going straight to his mother like he ordered, he gets mad and start punishing female lead, by forcing her to keep eating bowl after bowl of food, until she starts feeling unwell and had to beg and apologize to him...

He was so petty!

Also, they barely talk... the meaningful conversations they had can be counted in one hand... all their “deep” emotions were conveyed through s*x. And that wasn’t even good, because female lead rarely got pleasure because he was bad in bed and in the beginning, he used to misfire all the time, if you know what I mean (finish in seconds).

They were always arguing and giving each other the cold shoulder. He also, couldn’t get rid of his grudge against female lead’s family.

Male lead was a s*umbag that despite admiring his grandma, a woman, for being wise and have knowledge of politics and wars, used to give speeches like: “How dare a woman be so bold and try to meddle with politics and wars?” Or: “why should I change my political strategies because of a woman?” Argh, what an idiot!

Besides, I don’t get why he deserved a second chance in this second life. He got everything he wanted in the first life, he conquered the world and became emperor, he avenged his family by killing female lead and her family, he married his sweetheart love and turn her into Empress. Okay, I get it... he didn’t have a good ending. He couldn’t get rid of his grudge and hate, became a tyrant that lust for war and s*x, his sweetheart lover was a schemy bit*h and he died tragically in his last war. But so what? All that happened because of his own actions... he got everything he wanted, so why he should be happy in his second life? I think that’s really unfair...

So I don’t get it at all that novel’s title. “The Marquis is Innocent” He’s not innocent at all!

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About the female lead...

Spoiler

At first, she seemed smart but throughout the novel, I couldn’t like her anymore... Instead of curing favor with male lead, she kept throwing tantrums and giving him the cold shoulder. I get it that male lead was nasty towards her. But girl! You are in a contract relationship, you need to please and grab the thighs of male lead so he can protect your family.

So realistically speaking, unfortunately she had to trample on her feelings and humiliate herself in front of male lead, by trying to make him fall in love with her. But nope, she kept giving him the cold shoulder and every time male lead wanted to sleep with her, she kept saying no... Any ancient women, from concubines to empresses, knew that the best way to get Emperors’ favor, was to please them in bed and make them fall in love to became the Emperors’ favorite and get what they want. Maybe I’m being too cold, schemy and b*tchy... but that’s the reality of the women in the harem that didn’t have any power in their hands and could only depend on the favors of the powerful men. (I know that my speech may be encouraging r*pe... since male lead was always forcing her to have s*x with him while she keep saying no... but what would you do if you had to save your family and didn’t have any power at all and depend of the goodwill of a bad guy?)

Besides, I thought that female lead was going to be stronger, since she had some knowledge of the future... I thought she was going to be more useful by giving some pointers to male lead about strategies in the war... but that only happened one time, when she needed to save her family of an imminent war... and that’s it, her knowledge of the future wasn’t so useful to win wars in my opinion... she mainly depended of her beautiful appearance...

But at the same time, I think it’s unfair to female lead, since because of her sacrifices the main characters in the story had a happy ending in the second life... especially her cousin, that was able to marry her true love, a caring and valiant man. While female lead got screwed in both lives... in the first life, she got killed because of her weak husband and nasty male lead... and in the second life, she had to marry that nasty male lead... so poor her

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I think the likable characters are...

Spoiler

... male lead’s grandmother, Mrs Xu: a wise woman that know how to deal with wars and politics and wanted the male lead to get rid of his grudge against female lead’s family

... female lead’s father, Qiao Ping: a wise scholar and a relatively good general that tried to fix the Qiao family and deeply loved his daughter, the female lead

... female lead’s twin brother, Qiao Ci: a valiant and impulsive young man, that always tells the truth and always wanted to protect female lead

... male lead’s older cousin, Wei Yan: despite female lead not liking him, I think he was very pitiful. He always tried to be loyal to male lead and the family. But deep down, he always asked himself, why he couldn’t be the heir of the family, since he was as talented as his cousin, the male lead... he also falls in love with female lead, the first woman that he loved... so why his cousin could have everything while he didn’t have anything? And in the end, he really had a sad ending, not achieving anything.

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pimni
pimni rated it
October 8, 2022
Status: c171
Thanks to the translator for picking up this novel. It has one of the best character growth of an ML in an ancient China setting. I loved the FL who was intelligent, knew when to bend and kept her emotions in check. Though the story is from the FL's point of view, I loved the ML because he really grows as the novel progresses, and by the end is one of the best husband one can have.
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Nightkun
Nightkun rated it
January 14, 2024
Status: c164
I wasn't expecting to like this novel and to be clear, this rating is not trying to say that the romance is the best I've seen out of webnovels I read. However, I read this novel twice before writing this review and I can say - I was fascinated how my second read was ultimately different from my first, because after you read it the first time and go back and read it the second time, you can scrutinize the male lead a bit more and have some ideas of... more>> what's going through his head that you cannot figure out during the first read.

I think this webnovel did a good job of dealing with the point that the ML is someone who is full of hatred against the FL's family and has a hard time letting that go. Upon the second read, I can understand so much better how much the ML really must respect his grandmother and the advice of others to the extent to agree to marry the FL, but personally still feel absolutely ready to never be kind to the FL and even let her suffer.

In my first read, I feel like what impressed me was the FL's desire to make the future different for her sister. Truly, it makes her take action in ways that otherwise look crazy, but she sincerely wished her sister not to suffer a tragic fate and that desire ultimately became the thing that took a butterfly effect.

In my second read, rereading what the author shared about alternative timelines for the lead couple hit me differently. I think the impact of rereading this webnovel is the realization that it can be the people you underestimate and devalue who end up being incredibly precious to you, your well-being and the well-being of others. Especially in the case of the ML, he is someone who could become a more cold-hearted and brutal person. While it's not all due to the FL, what the FL does to make the future of his family and her family a better future ends up being crucial for the ML to keep have meaningful relationships, trustworthy people and good counsel in his life. The novel makes it very clear that the ML does not believe himself to be a good person in particular, just one who is capable of wielding power, and so, he always seems to be at a certain fork in the road about what he'll choose to do and more, who'll he choose to be. While the road is bumpy and I'm not in any way trying to excuse toxic/abusive/privileged actions, I was touched by the story's implications of who you can be with or without some of the most important relationships in your life.

There are some parts of the story I dislike... there are times when the villains of the story are a bit tedious in the evil thoughts they tend to have and when your villains are less strong, it can take away the depth of contrast to show the strengths of your more heroic characters. However, it is nothing that took away that much from what I enjoyed about the story and I don't want to include in-depth spoilers in this, so that's all I say. Hope you enjoy your read. I'm hopeful that the drama version can come out one day, although of course, that is out of the hands of me or any fan and up to fate. <<less
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Eeria
Eeria rated it
October 15, 2022
Status: Completed
It’s a 3.5

I agree with previous reviewer: the ML is really unlikable. He is barely better than scummy bastard ML. However the FL is very likable. I only managed to finish the novel for her. The romance is really unpalatable. Sometimes I wonder if their romance was born because of Stockholm syndrome... The FL is quick witted and also very kind. Her love for her female cousin is admirable.
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jenagreen
jenagreen rated it
July 31, 2024
Status: c1
I didnt care for the fan translations which got progressively worse, so I ended up switching to MTI, which read better, and was less like "broken English", but ultimately, I ended up DNF'ing around chapter 130, because I am not a fan of war stories.

There is more love scenes in this than your average CN books, but compared to American romance novels, its not very smutty or detailed. Moreover, for all the people complaining about the forced love scenes/r*pe in this book, you should stick with American romance novels where... more>> everythings been whitewashed to not offend you. FL's in CN romance novels seem to hate s*x (is it a culture thing?), so it feels like every love scene in every CN romance is forced if its detailed. The most ridiculous thing about reading the reviews is people b*tching about r*pe scenes. Here's a life changing tip for you, if you dont like to read stuff like this, then avoid books with r*pe. Its not like it hasnt been mentioned by literally every review.

Pet peeve of mine, if the ML loved another woman (she was his first love, and a childhood fiance), then I dont want to see him get bored with her and cheat on this woman years later.
Spoiler

In their previous life, the ML ended up spending 10 happy years with his first love, marrying her, making her an empress (he didnt know the FL then), then 10 years later he accepted concubines and moved on to other women.


To me when I read plot lines like this, I feel like if he loved her and did this, wouldnt he do the same with the FL, he loved both women after all? That instantly makes the story not a HE for me, even if the book tells me its a HE, and he is faithful, I call bullshit. This probably is the reason why I ultimately lost interest in the story DNF'd it.
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Kumo723
Kumo723 rated it
March 8, 2024
Status: Completed
Please don't read it if smut isn't up your alley. This is a smut novel where relationship development is done in bed. Literally. After he fcks her once, he only thinks about two things. Fighting and "sleeping." If you're not okay with papapa, leave. Save yourself and this novel from an angry review

First of all, I love how realistic this is. I mean like, most of the time with time travel rebirth, you always gets this "not like other girls" trope where the MC commit acts that IRL in that... more>> time period, would totally land her in massive trouble. Xiao Qiao doesn't do that. Finally, a fresh taste.

Second, bc I read it for Liu YuNing and the drama is no hope, I'm kinda biased towards Wei Shao. Wei Shao, personally, I think his actions were reasonable knowing the hate and history. You can't just expect him to just cozy up right away. His feelings are more complicated. This is what makes his character development so much satisfying. <<less
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shekie
shekie rated it
December 27, 2023
Status: Completed
This is surprisingly good. Although im not a fan of stories with so much misunderstanding, but the plot and characters are to my liking. The ML is so arrogant and self centered, clearly a product of that era but I love how he compromised and realize the FL's misgiving and sacrifices at the end. I will not be able to finish this novel if not for the FL, coz I have so much hate for the ML from the beginning until the later part. But overall it's a good read.... more>> I wish there's a separate story for Da Qiao and Bi Zi though. <<less
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mercipourleslivres
mercipourleslivres rated it
July 25, 2023
Status: Completed
So I tried reading this novel 2 years ago and dropped it around chapter 70ish and my notes were very mean..."awful ML! awful sex! FL gets kidnapped all the time! Blah!"

But then my interest in the source material was renewed with the trailer for Prisoner of Beauty with Liu Yuning starring as the ML. And a friend read the book and was loving it and all the parts she was posting were ones I hadn't gotten to yet because I'd stopped reading it lol.

So I went back and started over... more>> again last week... and. Well I'm giving it 4 stars. I think I've read a lot of cnovels with much scummier/hateful ML's in the 2 years since I first tried this, because Wei Shao doesn't seem all that bad anymore from a period dude kind of meter. I also love the FL and I was wrong, she's only kidnapped...2 times? Lol.

There was also a lot of inventive s*x going on in this novel. A bit more scandalous than I'm used to but I'll take it lol. <<less
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DojaDoge
DojaDoge rated it
February 10, 2023
Status: Completed
Translator, thanks for working so hard on this novel! It's a good translation. Highly recommended.

This novel was pretty good. I would give it a B-, 3.5 stars. The plot was interesting, but I wasn't attached to the characters. The MC was a Mary Sue. I don't think there was anything very remarkable about her. Yes, she was an admirable woman-- but so are the other heroines of CN novels. She's smart and beautiful... just like the other ones. I don't know why she falls in love with the ML.

The ML... more>> was a jerk and unlikeable-- but not a monster like some of the other reviewers would have you believe. Let's say you were forced to marry into a family that caused the mu*der of your dad and your brother. Wouldn't you be a bit ticked off too? On top of that, he felt manipulated and tricked. So he felt extra resentful.

Spoiler

In chapter 127, I think, he talks about how he thinks his wife is a honey trap. That her family sent her because she's beautiful in order to manipulate her. It makes him extra angry because he knows he has fallen for her. He's angry at himself for falling for her, but he takes it out on her because he's emotionally stunted. And also a jerk.

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So, yeah, he's a jerk. I don't approve, but I see where he's coming from. What I don't understand is why the two fell in love. That part is underdeveloped. Why does he love her?

Yes, there's a lot of s*x. All I can think is that maybe the author wanted it to be a metaphor for the ML's feelings towards the MC, and for the relationship. At first he is brutish. Later, he progressively becomes more tender.

I thought the villain was the most interesting. He started out as a lovesick weakling. Then he became a heroic king. Finally, he became a ruthless scum. His ending was just tragic and pathetic.

The book gets more fluffy and sweet towards the end. The side stories were okay. There's one where the ML gets turned into a cat, but the ending was unsatisfying. <<less
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Mistyrose
Mistyrose rated it
January 30, 2025
Status: Completed
I give this 5 stars. A lot of reviews rated it low and I understand it is because of the ML but I really liked how his character developed and it developed beautifully. It shows his struggle between revenge/hate and love - and love finally won in the end. Once the ML got together with the FL, he becomes clingy (yet disdains other men who are under a woman’s skirt which I find funny). Also love the grandmother, who is wise and magnanimous. I really recommend this story. Its actually... more>> beautifully written. <<less
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AAALTRATIO
AAALTRATIO
September 15, 2024
Status: Completed
I love this novel.
Spoiler

For those who are saying that ML is mean, he does admit he is an as*hole in the later part of the book and he changes.

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The romance is slow but very satisfying at the end. There is a lot of misunderstandings caused by the scheming of others but the characters talk about their feelings and they grow to understand one another better. I love the MC and her strong will. This book is about forgiveness and learning to let go of hatred and obsession.

Spoiler

My only regrets is that I wish the author would write about Wei Yan's ending as I feel that he is very pitiful.

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Clarimel7
Clarimel7 rated it
July 6, 2024
Status: Completed
I realized early on that the tribulations for our dropped dead gorgeous FL was essential for the later-on bonding of the couple.

It was heartbreaking to see the ML go out of his revenge path to embrace his new found love.

I loved that he was devoted to the FL. At the same time, I hated that circumstances always pushed the grudge of the death of his loved ones. (His brother and father's mu*der.) Such a shadow was truly the source of the depressive aura surrounding the ML.

Heads-up: There was a lot... more>> of s*xual ab*se, but the FL was intelligent enough not to give her heart to such beast-like behavior of the ML, which forced him to change. <<less
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lonelysaram
lonelysaram
January 26, 2024
Status: --
It’s not the first romance novel that put a heavy focus on the war part, but I really like this one. I can safely say this novel made it up to my “will reread” list because the story is well-written with a nice balance of romance and war. I also enjoyed the chemistry between the leads because they feel relatable and real. The male lead has his struggle emotionally which made him not OP and I like that a lot. The female lead isn’t cunning, just realistic and the way... more>> she feels for him and her later choices make a lot of sense and you can’t find fault at her. I like that they have issues and not just being resolved quickly. And I like that despite everything they do trust each other. <<less
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