Wife-Taming Decree

Wife-Taming Decree is a long alternate-history romance by Wu Shiyi, serialized on Jinjiang Literature City from October 2015 to January 2016. It runs about 1.01 million characters across 227 chapters and is one of the author's "Beloved Wife" series, built on the premise of a dual-personality male lead versus an over-imagining female lead. The story is set in a fictional ancient clan society: Qu Lian, daughter of the third branch of the Qu family in Changzhou Prefecture, is reborn with memories of a past life and has been betrothed since childhood to Ji Lin, a young gentleman of impeccable reputation in the capital. Ji Lin is extraordinarily handsome and gentle in manner, universally regarded by elders and young ladies as the perfect man—except that Qu Lian discovers by chance that her fiancé actually has two personalities: one a refined, restrained gentleman, the other a paranoid, brooding, intensely controlling "psycho." Frightened by the truth, Qu Lian wants only to break off the engagement, but both of Ji Lin's personalities have fixed on her and permeate her boudoir life in every possible way, while the world assumes she is ungrateful for her good fortune and urges her to marry. With her family's blessing and encouragement, Qu Lian finally boards the bridal sedan and enters the wedding chamber. The book recounts married life in a light, humorous tone: the heroine loves to over-imagine, the hero switches between two faces while doting on his wife, and the path is sweet without angst, healing in both directions, complemented by the rebirth arc of her elder sister Qu Qin and sibling affection. The author describes it as "alternate-history ancient romance, silly and sweet, no historical research," with very little palace or household intrigue.