Tigers Sniff the Rose › Novel
Tigers Sniff the Rose novel: 尚公主 by Yi Ren Kui Kui
The drama adapts 尚公主 by Yi Ren Kui Kui (伊人睽睽), a web novel serialized on JJWXC (晋江文学城) from February 20 to August 18, 2020. It belongs to the author's Great Wei dynasty series, as its "restoration" (中兴) installment.
What does the title mean?
In classical Chinese, 尚 is the verb for a man marrying a princess, so 尚公主 means roughly "marrying the princess". It points straight at the ending. The English title, Tigers Sniff the Rose, echoes the line "In me the tiger sniffs the rose", famous in Chinese as 心有猛虎，细嗅蔷薇. The drama plays on the tiger image in episode 4.
How the book opens
The novel is framed as history: years later, court historians ask the princess and the chancellor how they met, and she answers, roughly, that it began with an inferior overstepping and a superior pushing him around. Baidu Baike: the novel 尚公主
In the book, Mu Wanyao goes to Lingnan after her first husband's death to recover, lodging with a local gentry family. Woken one rainy morning by a young man reading aloud under her window, she tells him bluntly that rote learning will never get him through the exams. That young man is Yan Shisheng (言石生), who later takes the name Yan Shang. The drama instead opens with her carriage breaking down on the way home from rites for her mother. Baidu Baike: the novel 尚公主 Production filing synopsis (via Baidu Baike)
Is there an English translation?
We couldn't find an official English translation when we checked on October 26, 2026. If you read Chinese, the legal places to read it are JJWXC and the print edition. Please avoid pirated translations; they hurt the author.
The print edition
People's Literature Publishing House (人民文学出版社) published it in three volumes: 艳歌行, 少年行 (April 2025) and 歌未竟，东方白 (late 2025), with a bonus booklet of extra stories, 少年游. On JJWXC the novel has more than 30,000 reviews, and Baidu Baike lists a 9.8 rating there. Baidu Baike: the novel 尚公主 Baidu Baike: cast, crew, 追剧日历 and overseas release
Novel ending
Per Baidu Baike's entry on the book, the relationship moves from a lopsided patron-and-protégé game to love and a firm political alliance. The two face court intrigue and a border war, with the Wuman pressing at the frontier. In the end Yan Shang becomes chancellor and marries Mu Wanyao, though the Great Wei dynasty still faces upheaval at home and abroad. A chapter-checked account of the side characters' fates in the book is not confirmed yet. For the drama, see the ending explained. Baidu Baike: the novel 尚公主
FAQ
Is there an English translation of the Tigers Sniff the Rose novel?
Not officially, as far as we could find on October 26, 2026. The original 尚公主 is on JJWXC and in a three-volume print edition from People's Literature Publishing House.
Who wrote the novel?
Yi Ren Kui Kui (伊人睽睽). It was serialized on JJWXC from February to August 2020 as part of the author's Great Wei dynasty series.
How does the novel end?
Yan Shang becomes chancellor and marries Mu Wanyao, according to Baidu Baike's entry on the novel.
Is the drama faithful to the novel?
The main arc matches, but the opening differs: in the book a widowed Mu Wanyao lodges with a gentry family in Lingnan to recover, while the drama starts with her carriage breaking down on the way back from rites for her mother.