Book of the Week: To Be a Virtuous Wife

Author: Butterfly's Shadow Beneath the Moon/Yue Xia Die Ying (月下蝶影)

Genre: transmigration, ancient setting, revenge, josei

Rating: M

My Synopsis: Qu Qing Ju lives by one philosophy: here for a good time, not a long time. That means eating well, dressing beautifully, and, due to lack of modern entertainment, outmaneuvering all the tyrants who bullied her original host. It doesn't hurt that this life comes ready-set with a handsome husband in tow. Said husband, He Heng—between scheming against his brothers for the throne—just wants to know if his new wife has always been this interesting.

My Actual Review: In order to understand Qu Qing Ju as a character, you need to understand that despite her being a girls girl, that doesn't mean she'll take shit. So she's all for empowering the women around her—as long as they don't fuck with her bottom line. For the characters who meet that condition, she coexists peacefully with them, and they love her. Fuck with her, though? You'll never have another peaceful day, if you’re so lucky to even have a long life. There's probably more I could say about He Heng, but honestly, the thing that most stuck with me was how much man just really loved his wife and desperately wanted to know she loved him back.

As much as this story involves the main character getting revenge against those who transgressed against the original host, I feel like a good deal of tension in the story comes from He Heng trying to convince Qu Qing Ju that he is not a useless man that'll abandon her the moment something new and shiny comes along. Lots of narrative discussion about the role of women in ancient China, the unreliability of men, and how women need to be able to depend on each other for aid rather than clinging to the power of others in hopes of earning a secure life, which is a common discussion in all of this author's josei novels. Speaking of which: content warnings for the usual with this author, including underage marriage, pregnancy, etc. (if you want to count it, since technically the mc transmigrates in as an adult, but the original host's body is a teen). Other than this, a little bit of suspense and a whole lot of comedy is the mood of this novel!

Translation: complete