The Tyrant's Beloved Empress Review
Danmei Web Novel Review: The Tyrant's Beloved Empress by Xiu Sheng
The Story
They say that hindsight is 20/20. An Changqing has to reach the end of his life before he realizes that he had misjudged his husband. The story opens with him dying from poison but no miracle cure appears. He dies and his spirit lingers for years afterwards watching his husband.
The son of a concubine An Changqing was married off to Xiao Zhige, the general of the Northern army when he was 18 years old. Believing the rumors he’d heard about Xiao Zhige being a tyrant and resenting the marriage he spent the next decade ignoring the man. During their marriage Xiao Zhige becomes the king and he becomes the empress, but the two never grew close. It’s only after his death that he learns how much the man cared for him.
When An Changqing wakes up in the past, on the day of his wedding to Xiao Zhige he knows that it’s his chance to change things. In his last life he was resentful and distrustful, but this time he wants to build a relationship with Xiao Zhige. He takes the hand of the man he once rejected.
Who’s it for?
This web novel is a rebirth story set in a fantastical historical world. It’s one of those tales in which the main character gets to relive their life and do things differently. There’s also some of the political scheming that’s common among the noble families going on.
It’s perfect for romance fans. If you like couples who support and treat each other as equals you’ll probably like their dynamic.
The Downsides
The main character has knowledge of future events and the unconditional support of his husband. This makes An Changqing pretty powerful. He’s so powerful that the story sometimes lacks tension because you know that everything will work out fine. This might be a downside for some readers but others may prefer it.
The author has a habit of briefly summarizing major events. These info dumps sometimes resolve important issues with just a few lines. This makes the more distressing parts of the story less impactful but also less depressing to readers.
The romance overshadows everything else in the novel. The court intrigue, the war and all of the other subplots are not given the same weight as the romance making those parts of the story lack depth. This isn’t really a problem as most people reading something called The Tyrant’s Beloved Empress picked it because of the romance.
Part of me also feels like the fantasy in this novel exists mainly to give a “valid” reason for the mpreg that pops up later. Consider this your warning about the fact that this story contains mpreg. Anyone with issues surrounding that tag can abandoned ship.
The Romance
In their past life there were a lot of misunderstandings between the main couple. There are still some of the romantic comedy type misunderstandings between the two at first in their new life. Thankfully, these aren’t drawn out too long. Their relationship becomes sweet and supportive.
The book contains some wife pampering because Xiao Zhige believes in giving An Changqing whatever he wants. However, this isn’t one of those situations where one character sits back accepting praise and favors while doing nothing for their partner. Once he decides to try to make their marriage work An Changqing does his best to help Xiao Zhige.
Where to Read
Chapters 1 to 83
Chapters 84 to 141
Final Thoughts
The last few books I’ve read, both in terms of traditional novels and web novels, were all very dark and intense so this felt refreshing. I’m not complaining as horror, sci-fi, and the supernatural are some of my favorite genres, but coming across this story when I was in the mood for something lighter was great timing.
If you choose to read this web novel do it for the fluff and the feelings.