庶女攻略 (Shu Nu Gong Lue)

No of Episodes: 753 (Audiobook 1); 517 (Audiobook 2); 505 (Audiobook 3)

Author: 吱吱 (Zhī Zhī)

Audiobook 1 – Female Voice: 悠然梦 (Yōu Rán Mèng)

Audiobook 2 – Multiple Voices: 花爷 (Huā Yé & others )

Audiobook 3 – Female Voice: 深宫庭院 (Shēn Gōng Tíng Yuàn)

Audiobook 1       Audiobook 2     Audiobook 3      Ebook

Comment: 

I like the 2 books written by Zhi Zhi so far.  This is the third book.  Another lengthy time travel book.  Even though FL came from the modern world, she did not use her modern knowledge to outshine others but adapted herself in the ancient world and even started to think and act like them.  The most obvious is when she marries ML who is a widow and her stepbrother in law.  She accepted ML’s concubines in her live.   In this story, ML slowly fall in love with FL and became faithful to her.  The book does not entirely focus on FL and ML but FL interaction with every member of the Xu family, how she looks after her stepchildren and how she became the matriarch of the Xu family.

Summary:

10^th Niang tried to take off the jacket from 11^th Niang (FL) claiming that it belongs to her.  The servant said FL will return the jacket once she finished paying respect to Madam Lou.  FL cried and said she will complain to Madam Lou.  During the fight, 11^th Niang got pushed and fell down.  11^th Niang went into a coma and after she woke up, she spent 6 months on the bed.  A new soul from the modern world took over the body of 11^th Niang.

FL is a lawyer in the modern world.  She arrived 3 years ago.  FL feeling in-secured knowing her fate is controlled by someone else because she was born by a concubine.  Wu Yi Niang (FL’s mother) purposely distanced herself from her own daughter wanting a better opportunity for FL.

Madam Lou has a son and daughter.  Her daughter (Lou Yuan Niang) married Xu Ling Yi who is Yong Ping Hou.  Lou Yuan Niang gave birth to a baby boy after she married for 8 years.  Xu Ling Yi is actually the 4^th Master.  When his 2^nd brother passed away, the Yong Ping Hou title got passed on to him.  Xu Ling Yi’s eldest sister is the Empress.  Xu Ling Yi has 2 concubines.  His concubines, Wei Yi Niang has a daughter and Qin Yi Niang has a son.   Lou Yuan Niang knows that she will not live long hence she started to plan for the future.  Lou Yuan Niang wanted one of her step sisters to marry Xu Ling Yi after she passed away. 

Madam Lou brought her stepdaughters to attend a party at Xu Ling Yi’s house.  During this party, FL indirectly got involved in a plot planned by Lou Yuan Niang.  Ms Wen caught in a room with Xu Ling Yi by Lou Yuan Niang.  Lou Yuan Niang used this incident to negotiate with Xu Ling Yi to marry FL after she passed away and to betrothed her son to the Jiang Family.  Lou Yuan Niang wanted the Jiang Family to support her son to get the Xi Zhi title.  Lou Yuan Niang not happy with Xu Ling Yi when he did not officially register her son as the heir to his title.

Even though FL not willing to marry to Xu Ling Yi, she has no choice but to accept her fate.  FL knows Lou Yuan Niang’s intention.  Lou Yuan Niang purposely made Xu Ling Yi marries a concubine born daughter as main wife and then get him to marry Wei Yi Niang who came from a noble family as his concubine.  Lou Yuan Niang also arranged FL to be around when she caught Xu Ling Yi with Wei Yi Niang hoping that he will dislike FL because of that.  Lou Yuan Niang also wanted FL and Wei Yi Niang to fight with each other.  And since FL is still young, she will need to rely on her son, Zhun Ge. 

FL is smarter than Lou Yuan Niang and Madam Lou.  After she married, FL became an obedient wife to Xu Ling Yi and daughter in law to Old Madam Xu.  FL knows the only way to survive is to get the support from Xu Ling Yi and Old Madam Xu.  FL treated Xu Ling Yi’s concubines fairly and not bother when Wen Yi Niang was rude to her.  FL followed the Xu’s family rule and arranged a roster for Xu Ling Yu to spend his nights with each of his concubine.  FL obediently slept with Xu Ling Yi on her wedding night.  FL knows she cannot reject Xu Ling Yi and since she has no intention of getting pregnant, she purposely arranged for Xu Ling Yi to sleep with his concubines during her fertile period.   Xu Ling Yi senses FL’s reluctance to sleep with him and he did not force her.

Wen Yi Niang at first very confident that she can hold on to Xu Ling Yi’s affection.  But she was wrong.  Wen Yi Niang became pregnant not long after FL married Xu Ling Yi.  Xu Ling Yi started to treat Wen Yi Niang coldly after Wen Yi Niang lost her baby and Wen Yi Niang blamed it on Qin Yi Niang.  Xu Ling Yi did not like it when Wen Yi Niang went to get support from the Wen family. 

Xu Ling Yi (ML) finds FL very understanding and supportive.  FL treated ML’s children like her own.  ML slowly falls for her.  It took a few years before FL slowly accepted ML into her heart.  ML no longer sleeps with any of his concubines.  FL gave birth to a son and named him Xu Si Jin.   ML loved Xu Si Jin the most among all his children.