The Grand Secretary’s Pampered Wife Chapter -- Discussion

I really wanted to like this novel bc everyone was raving about it and it has such high reviews but like... it's okay at best.

first, the mc

Ofc one of my biggest gripes is how the author bends over backwards to make the MC op and always come out on top. She's a transmigrator who is basically a genius/secret agent/martial arts specialist/amazing doctor. The one thing that could humanize her and round her out is her trauma around family. But it's treated so passively. Only brought up when it's convenient. Her blasé, nonchalant attitude was nice at first. The way she shirks off the bio dad and sees right through people is fine. Nice, really. But it gets to be annoying when other characters (and I am specifically talking about the members of her found family) are basically worshipping the ground she walks on and her vibes are so "meh" about it. The only characters she actually shows any genuine warmth towards are jing kong and the ml

The author creates this wide world with many characters and there's obviously pros and cons

pros: each character is given a unique background. each character has their own distinct personality. the relationships between some of the characters are quite heartwarming and interesting. some characters are allowed nuance and depth and it makes me really like them, even if they aren't completely nice/good people.

cons: it's like the author is just throwing characters at you after a certain point. To the point that, of course, characters get sidelined and forgotten. (I specifically have a gripe about how Gu Xiaoshun is treated by the narrative.)

Spoiler

Initially, he's the only "family" member of Gu Jiao's to actually genuinely love her and want her. Then, as the family grows, he gets sidelined to extra, EXTRA side character. Gu Jiao even acknowledges this and laments how he's basically getting the "middle child" treatment since he's fairly easy to deal with and doesn't cause much trouble. She then helps him get a master to teach him properly since he's got a great talent for wood carving and then... he's forgotten about again. Most of his scenes are in relation to Gu Yan but he's supremely left to the background. What really tipped it over the top for me is when his master and his masters wife ask to adopt him and Gu Jiao is so nonchalant about it. Sure, she asks him if he wants it but she doesn't seem to have any actually attachment to him. In fact, her only thought about his adoption is how she paid his parents twenty taels to be able to take him with her

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it was just so obnoxiously heartless and felt like the author just wanted to wipe their hands clean of him to further the plot and get rid of him. Jing Kong is this super star three-year-old

Spoiler

he's the one who will become the renowned general

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and I have had my own gripes about authors writing terribly written children, so jing kong is refreshing in some aspects. but he also becomes quite annoying in other aspects

Spoiler

the whole "bad brother in law" and constantly calling Xiao Xiulang dumb and incompetent shticks become eye rollingly annoying. Honestly, the only exam he did bad on was the initial entrance exam for the towns academy. So like, , , calling him dumb after that literally makes no sense and seems to be the authors way of emphasizing jing kong's innocence/devotion to the MC but it just becomes obnoxious

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Gu Chengqing is the only one of the other Gu brothers that gets any depth. Gu Chengfeng and Gu Chenglin get the "bullied by the narrative" deal. At points, they deserve it. Don't get me wrong. Especially Gu Chenglin

Spoiler

the way he bullied Gu Yan was genuine assault. Letting him get beat up and then tying him up and then locking him in a shed in school grounds is insane regardless of whether or not he actually recognized that it was Gu Yan. But then you learn that he'd done this before when they were young, knowing full well about his heart disease.

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but I just don't like and can never get behind the bit where characters are ceaselessly beat up (literally and/or figuratively) and it's treated like a gag. A joke and is supposed to be entertaining/funny.

i stopped reading after the Gu Xiaoshun thing so that was somewhere in the 300s I think.