REVIEW: The Wife Comes First: Qi Wei Shang Vol. 1

This is a spoiler-free review of The Wife Comes First: Qi Wei Shang, but it does contain mention of sexual assault.

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When a man is given a second chance at life, he is ready to fix everything that went wrong before. With the knowledge of what he did wrong, can he change the course of his life this second time around?

About The Wife Comes First: Qi Wei Shang

The Wife Comes First: Qi Wei Shang is a danmei novel series by Lv Ye Qian He, published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. She is also the author of The White Cat’s Divine Scratching Post, which will be available from Seven Seas later this month.

The story is told from the perspective of Jiang Shao, a third prince. At the start of the story, he is running for his life. By his side is Mu Hanzhang, his princely consort wife whom he’d been forced to marry ten years prior. As the two were forced into this marriage, they were both resentful. Jiang Shiao avoided his wife throughout their marriage, favoring his concubines instead. Now, at the end of his life, his wife was the only one by his side.

As Jiang Shiao is about to die, he wishes he had another life to right his wrongs with Mu Hanzhang. “If there is a next life, I promise to treat you well, and use my whole life to make it up to you.” Suddenly, Jiang Shiao wakes up and has been reborn on his wedding night, having the memories of his old life. Now with a second chance, Jiang Shao begins working to right all the wrongs from before.

My Thoughts

When Jiang Shao comes to in his second life, he realizes it is the night of his wedding. On his wedding night, he got too drunk and sexually assaulted Mu Hanzhang. Luckily, this is not described in detail. But starting from here, Jiang Shiao must work extremely hard to make it up to Mu Hanzhang. While I wish Jiang Shao had woken up before the events of the wedding night, I understand why his new life begins afterwards. He not only has to act differently, but he has to prove he knows why his actions were wrong and how they impacted Mu Hanzhang.

It’s interesting to read Jiang Shao’s point of view, as he often reflects on all the bad things he’s done. It becomes clear that in his previous life, Jiang Shao was disillusioned with his life and gave up trying to do anything meaningful. I think it’s also important to remember that he was 19 when he got married. While this is an “adult” in the world, he was still very immature.

In this new life, he is still 19 but has 10 extra years of wisdom added. We get to see in real time that he still has the impulse to act recklessly, but the wisdom reels him in. Initially, Jiang Shao aims to treat Mu Hanzhang better because of what happened in his past life. However, as time in his new life goes on, he genuinely starts falling for him. It was fun to read the motivation of his actions change from guilt to genuine love. On Mu Hanzhang’s end, we see him let his guard down and start trusting Jiang Shao.

What Comes Next

This novel has a political plot mixed in. It also contains an imperial harem, which I know is not everyone’s cup of tea. (Think The Apothecary Diaries.) There is currently a dire situation over territories and political enemies. Jiang Shao also isn’t in line for the throne, which is what ruined his life the first time.

As a first book, The Wife Comes First does a great job of introducing us to this world. At first, it feels like Jiang Shao will be living this new life on easy mode. He knows everything that is going to happen, right? He knows what to do differently. But as this first book is ending, we are starting to see that it simply isn’t enough for Jiang Shao to “right the wrongs” from his past. Although his relationship with Mu Hanzhang is different now, the political factors are unpredictable. Because he started making different choices from his first life, the events unfolding are ones he has no basis for. He’s going to have to rely on who he is NOW and what outcomes he wants.

I’m looking forward to the next volume and seeing how Jiang Shao and Mu Hanzhang’s relationship grows from here.

Where to Buy The Wife Comes First: Qi Wei Shang Vol 1

Thank you, Seven Seas Entertainment, for the ARC.