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Ruo Xi/Zhang Xiao
Ma'ertai Ruo Xi (馬爾泰·若曦)/Zhang Xiao (張曉)
- Played by: Liu Shi Shi
A modern-day woman who time-travels back to the Qing Dynasty. Also the narrator and main protagonist of the TV series and novel.
- Adaptational Alternate Ending: Zhang Xiao doesn’t return to her original body in the novel after she dies during her time in the Qing dynasty. This is not included in the TV series probably because this ending is far too depressing. Instead, Zhang Xiao does wake up from being in comatose for so long. She ends up seeing a man that is the modern reincarnation of Yin Zhen but she doesn’t speak when she does because she felt a lot of guilt on what she’s done back when she was Ruo Xi. She takes her glasses off as she starts crying.
- A Family Affair: Ruo Xi and Yin Si briefly courted each other out in the early episodes of Scarlet Heart. Even though they are siblings-in-law due to his marriage with Ruo Lan, it wasn’t considered taboo of him to court her out at the time. She herself isn’t exactly sure why he ended up developing feelings for her and thinks he only was interested in her because of her personality being a whole lot similar to Ruo Lan before her lover died after being sent out to war. This only ends because Ruo Xi couldn’t stand the fact that he found fighting for the throne to be more important than her.
- Age Lift: Ruo Xi is 13 at the start of the novel. In the TV series, she is aged up to 16 years old.
- Big "SHUT UP!": She got annoyed at Ming Yu’s whiny and irritating crying after their fight that only ended when both of them fell into a lake with Yin Xiang and Yin Ti helping them get out of it. Each time it looks like Ming Yu would start crying she tells her to shut up and ask her if she’s still going to cry. That shuts her up instantly and shocking others around her (it’s implied they want to do this but can’t due to her higher status and being a distant relative of the Aisin Gioro clan.)
- Convenient Miscarriage: Deconstructed. In the 32nd episode, Ruo Xi miscarries a baby she could’ve had with Yong Zheng and is rendered infertile afterwards. She is deeply affected by the death of her potential son/daughter and her illness got worse because of it.
- Break the Cutie: She goes through this in the second half of the series. The poor girl couldn’t catch a break! Her older sister dies from an illness in the 28th episode, before that, she had found out that Lu Wu committed suicide by drowning herself in a river since someone gave news to her and Yin Zhen (who by all means is now Yong Zheng due to his ascension to the throne after Kang Xi dies) on how they found the corpse. Then in episode 30, she partially witnesses Yu Tan being steamed to death and then fainting right afterwards. The person who had her executed is none other than Yong Zheng. The worst part is that she wasn’t even given any chances to confront Yu Tan’s betrayal towards her and learning too late about her being a spy and a fake friend. Ruo Xi suffers a misscarraige in the 32nd episode but Yin Zhen intentionally keeps that truth away from her, probably to spare the pain that she can’t have kids anymore. She only finds out she’s infertile for the remainders of her life in the 32nd episode the hardest way possible because Yin Xiang had no other option but to explain to Yin Si as to why the suicide of Ming Hui inevitably happened and the real reason why Yong Zheng had them divorce. In the 33rd episode, she’s shown begging Yong Zheng to not leave her after he finds out about her past romance with Yin Si, he never turned back to see her sobbing on the ground. Things don’t get better in the next episode, while she is legally now Yin Ti’s second wife after marrying him, she clearly misses Yin Zhen and never stopped loving him. She writes her last letter in hopes she’ll see him before she dies. Sadly that never came true because of her husband putting her letter in an envelope with his handwriting on it all because he got worried about people gossiping about why his second wife has the same handwriting like his older brother. She lost hope that he’ll visit and dies thinking he never forgave her and stopped loving her because of what happened.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: She dies in the arms of Yin Ti, never being able to see or being able to say her final words for Yin Zhen before she perished.
- Little Sister Instinct: She doesn’t take it well when Ming Yu starts to badmouth her older sister and slaps her in the face for it. Once the shock wore off and Ming Yu realizes she just got slapped by Ruo Xi, she wasn’t about to take it. She and her get into a fight that only ends with them falling into a lake.
- Marriage of Convenience: In the 33rd episode, she uses this moment in order to get away from the Forbidden City, which is the only reason why she married Yin Ti to do so.
- The Narrator: The whole novel that she is the main protagonist of is in her POV. But after she dies, it immediately switches to third person POV.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Ruo Xi miscarries what could’ve been a baby she had with Yong Zheng in the 32nd episode and lost all chances of being a mother because right after she suffers that miscarriage, she suffers from infertility for the rest of her life.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: In the 33rd episode, she clearly doesn’t want Yong Zheng to leave her and even before this was happening and knowing he’s feeling angry, disappointed, and betrayed because of her not bothering to tell him about her past romance with Yin Si during the time they were courting each other, she still tries to comfort him because she noticed the tears that are starting to fall down on his face by wiping them away even with her also crying. He immediately pushes her hand away from him, telling her that she’s no longer allowed to touch him ever again and leaves her alone, not noticing her futile attempt at trying to grab part of his clothing to prevent him from leaving. She gave up trying because this is All for Nothing and is seen sobbing on the floor.
- Second Love: Yin Zhen is this to her in the second half of Scarlet Heart.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: This is the case between her and Yin Zhen. They had to deal with having to wait for 10 years in order to be together and it’s only after Kang Xi’s death. Unfortunately things don’t immediately get better when this happens. A lot of people’s deaths kept them further and further apart and the last straw had to do with Yu Tan’s gruesome execution and the fact that Ruo Xi tried to change history and it ultimately ends in failure along with making her guilt-ridden for being the main cause to what happened.
- You Can't Fight Fate: She tried to change the tragic fate on what would happen to Yin Si if he continues to battle Yin Zhen for the throne by wanting him to abandon it along with warning him about people that helped him to being emperor. It backfires horribly. Yin Si still lost the battle and anything she did didn’t prevent Yin Zhen from becoming Yong Zheng emperor.
Yin Zhen
Aisin Gioro Yin Zhen (愛新覺羅 胤禛)/ Yong Zheng (雍正)
- Played by: Nicky Wu
The fourth prince.
- All Love Is Unrequited: He never loved Lady Ula Nara ( she becomes his empress in the majority of the second half of the series due to his ascension to the throne as Yong Zheng). Even though there is no love in the marriage he was arranged to marry with her, he still goes through great amount of care by not abandoning her ( they have a deceased son that died before he became emperor and this is why he refuses to depose her role as empress in the second half of the series) She is aware that he only has eyes for Ruo Xi and doesn’t hold that against him.
- Defrosting Ice King: Prior to being in a romantic relationship with Ruo Xi, he’s seen as an aloof, emotionless, and stoic man. Eventually he warms up towards Ruo Xi gradually as more episodes went by.
- How Dare You Die on Me!: His reaction upon finding out about Ruo Xi’s death a few days after her last letter that was in another envelope that has Yin Ti’s handwriting on it in the near end of the 34th episode. Even before he screams in heartbreak as he starts to cry, “Ma’ertai Ruo Xi, without my permission, you’re not allowed to die!” He sheds a teardrop.
- My God, What Have I Done?: He genuinely regrets the decision of not wanting to hear the news on what’s happening between Ruo Xi and to see if she was doing okay. The result had him not visiting her when she actually needed him the most.
- Parting-Words Regret: The last thing he ever said to Ruo Xi and also the final time he’ll ever get to see her in person before they part ways in the 33rd episode is that she no longer has any permission to touch him ever again after finding out about her past romance with Yin Si. Ruo Xi dies thinking he still held her under contempt of this incident and that he no longer loves her because of this after trying to wait and see if he gotten her final letter she sent to him. See My God, What Have I Done? for more details.
- Outliving One's Offspring: He’s dealt with this numerous times. Way before Ruo Xi came into the picture, he’s fathered a lot of children with other women that he’s had as concubines and primary consort. Most of them didn’t make it to adulthood. Having to outlive a possible baby he fathered with Ruo Xi one affected him the most because his chance of having a baby with the first woman he genuinely loves is rendered infertile after she miscarried him/her. Instead of disposing Ruo Xi just because she’s unable to bear him anymore children, he still attempts to keep her at his side and making sure she is emotionally doing better since outliving ones offspring isn’t so easy to get over with.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: He wasn’t there to visit Ruo Xi in the 34th episode before she dies from her illness because of Yin Ti’s meddling. Yin Ti got worried about people gossiping and them wondering why his second wife’s handwriting is identical to his older brother and thus, his her letter in an envelope that has his handwriting on it. This comes to bite him in the ass badly for not doing it sooner.
- Nobody Touches the Hair: He always holds his braid, it symbolizes his wariness towards others and a way to warn people to back off from trying to grab him by that. It’s double subverted in the case of Ruo Xi since she has his full permission to touch him and his queue because she’s the first woman he has a romantic interest in (along with her as well). However, in the 33rd episode, after finding out about her being in a past romance with Yin Si, the last thing he ever told her was that she isn’t allowed to touch him ever again and leaves the room with her on the ground helplessly trying to reach for him in an attempt to get him to not leave her. She’s left sobbing on the ground. He could only watch her get on the carriage taking her to his younger brother’s residence to get married to him for good, he is last seen in the episode grabbing the back of his braid towards himself while crying. And that would never happen ever again because she dies in the 34th episode and they never saw each other in person because of their 2 years of separation from each other.
- Tragic Keepsake: He keeps everything that he gave to Ruo Xi during their time when he was courting her with him at all times after she died.
Yin Si
Aisin Gioro Yin Si (愛新覺羅 胤禩)
- Played by: Kevin Cheng
The eighth prince.
- All Love Is Unrequited: He fell in love with Ruo Lan ever since he first saw her in person. The problem was that she already fell in love with someone and that person isn’t him, it’s Qing Shan. In a bid for her to be able to marry him without complications, her father sends Qing Shan off to war in the frontlines and as predicted, he didn’t survive. Furious and heartbroken, Ruo Lan arrived in his residence as an unwilling and frigid bride. He paid the price by being able to get the woman he loves and marry her but never being able to win her over for years. Yin Si never loved his primary consort and only married her to gain support for battling the throne against Yin Zhen and Yin Xiang.
- A Family Affair: He briefly was in a romantic relationship with Ruo Xi but most viewers/readers aren’t sure if he’s only doing this because she resembled how Ruo Lan behaved before her lover died. It doesn’t last for long. Ruo Xi breaks up with him because his ambition for the throne was far more important than it was to have a romance with her. What he does with Ruo Xi isn’t considered taboo at the time, since it was normal for Qing men to court his sister-in-law and being married to her.
- Driven to Suicide: In the 35th episode, he is in prison for trumped up charges by Yong Zheng along with being forced to change his name to Akina (Manchurian word for pig). Yin Xiang visits him to give him poison, in which he immediately drinks after he leaves. The real life Yin Si died from an unknown illness during his four years in prison.
- Dying Alone: No one else was by his side when he commits suicide in the 35th episode by drinking poison.
- Love at First Sight: This is how he came to fall in love with Ruo Lan.
- Polyamory: He has two known wives in this series, them being Ming Hui and Ruo Lan. Unfortunately for him, both of his relationships with them end in divorce. Ruo Lan got ill in the 28th episode and is about to die from it. But before her time is up, she had her younger sister get a divorce letter from him because she’s terrified that if she doesn’t divorce him, it would be near impossible for her to reunite with Qing Shan in what seems to be for years ever since he died. He grants Ruo Lan’s last request by signing the divorce letter because Ming Hui suggests that he does since there is a lot of evidence that the relationship never went anywhere for years and he knows that she never loved him and only Qing Shan won her heart. When she immediately got the divorce letter, she dies while Ruo Xi and Qiao Hui are by her side in her residence. Later, in the 32nd episode, he and Ming Hui are forced to divorce under the decree made by Yong Zheng. Why? He blames Ming Hui for causing Ruo Xi to miscarry what could’ve been a child they would’ve had together. Should either one refuse to do as they’ve been told, he will make their family suffer alongside with them. Ming Hui complies only for the sake of their son. Not only does she do it, she is then Driven to Suicide because she can’t bear to remain apart from the man she loved unconditionally even though he never loves her in return by burning her residence down and hanging herself.
- The Mourning After: After Ruo Lan dies from her illness and no longer married to him in the 28th episode, he’s not taking the news well and is shown crying on Ming Hui’s shoulder in the middle end of the episode.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Yin Si and Ruo Lan outlive their unborn baby. Ruo Lan herself gotten so ill to the point of suffering a miscarraige due to learning that Qing Shan got slain in battle and was deliberately set to die in such a manner.
- Uriah Gambit: Deconstructed. This was the method he used to get rid of Qing Shan so he wouldn't have anyone else competing to have Ruo Lan's hand in marriage. While he did succeed indirectly being involved with Qing Shan's death due to him being set up to killed in battle, this in itself caused him to pay the price for using questionable methods of having Ruo Lan being his 2nd wife. Ruo Lan became so angry and heartbroken when learning he's the man responsible for getting rid of her one true love and because of this, she refuses to have anything to do with him after miscarrying their child due to her becoming so ill.
Yin Tang
Aisin Gioro Yin Tang (愛新覺羅 胤禟)
- Played by: Han Dong
The ninth prince.
- Driven to Suicide: He kills himself by ingesting poison that Yin Xiang gave him during his short visit in prison. What drove him into it is that he reads Yu Tan’s last words on the cloth she wrote before she died doing his orders as his spy and servant. She doesn’t regret her actions nor does she hold any hate for him even though he knew she’s going to die for her crimes. The real life Yin Tang in history is said to have died from an “abdominal illness” while in prison along with being forced to change his name to dog in Manchurian, some historians think he’s been poisoned and that was used to cover up the fact that he’s gotten executed in there.
- Dying Alone: Just like Yin Si, he to suffers this when he commits suicide by drinking poison in the 35th episode.
- Manipulative Bastard: He successfully manipulated Ming Hui into calling out on Ruo Xi for being the reason why her husband suffers so much and that Yong Zheng has no clue that he’s been taking his hate on the wrong person.
Yin Xiang
Aisin Gioro Yin Xiang (愛新覺羅 胤祥)
- Played by: Yuan Hong
The thirteenth prince.
- Birds of a Feather: Ruo Xi and him are this platonically.
- Has a Type: He preferred women who’s personalities that are similar to his deceased mother. Before she died, she was known for being ladylike and gentle. When Ruo Xi and Ming Yu got into a fight and neither were paying any attention on where they were doing it, they both accidentally fall into a lake nearby and Yin Xiang and Yin Ti had to save them. This is one of the reasons why he’s not romantically interested in Ruo Xi and developed an interest in Lu Wu.
- Little Brother Instinct: Yin Zhen was being framed for a crime that involved getting rid of Yin Reng (the crown prince) by Yin Si and his groupies. Instead of letting this injustice slip by, he immediately steps in by going through under house arrest and solitary confinement for him, because he knows that there is no way he would be able to handle it in the 20th episode. From that day forward, he and Yin Zhen are separated for 10 years.
- Locked Out of the Loop: He never knows exactly what happened to Lu Wu and why she suddenly disappeared without a trace. He arrived too late to prevent her suicide from happening. Ruo Xi and Yin Zhen choose to hide this fact intentionally because they think he won’t take the news of what really happened too well.
Yin Ti
Aisin Gioro Yin Ti (愛新覺羅 胤禎)
- Played by: Lin Geng Xin
The fourteenth prince. Yin Zhen's only full brother.
- Big Little Brother: He’s noticeably a lot more taller than his older brother along with Yin Si, Yin Tang, Yin Xiang, Yin Reng, Yin Qi, Yin Zhi (third prince) and Yin Zhi (first prince).
- Did Not Get the Girl: Yes, he did successfully marry Ruo Xi in the 34th episode, but despite this, she doesn’t reciprocate his affections since she only married him out of convenience. This is because she still loved his older brother even after they have been separated.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: He wasn’t present during the time his mother (De Fei) and father (Kang Xi) died.
- Sibling Triangle: His strained relationship with Yin Zhen only gets worse in the second half of Scarlet Heart because they both fell in love with Ruo Xi. It’s not helped that he’s the one that got to marry Ruo Xi.
Yin E
Aisin Gioro Yin E (愛新覺羅 胤䄉)
- Played by: Ye Zu Xin
The tenth prince.
Ruo Lan
Ma'ertai Ruo Lan (马尔泰·若兰)
- Played by: Annie Liu
Ruo Xi's sister.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Even after so many years of being married to Yin Si, she never gave in or even consider the idea of loving him because that’s really not true and she won’t try denying this anymore. (In the first few episodes that had her subplots being focused on her, she tried to make it seem like she isn’t miserable about her married life with Yin Si, but he already knows she doesn’t love him and doesn’t want her to continue doing that anymore because it’s pointless to do so since he knows nothing is going to change with her.). As she is about to die from her illness at only in her early thirties, she wants to divorce Yin Si and he grants her last request.
- Last Request: Getting a divorce letter from Yin Si. It is the last happiest moment in her life because this means she won’t be forced to see Yin Si in the afterlife and that she’s no longer a married woman.
- Loveless Marriage: On her part, very much so! Even in flashbacks on the first day she showed up in Yin Si’s residence all dressed in red and a veil covering her head, as he lifted it up, she’s already in tears.
- Mirror Character: She and Ruo Xi always wanted freedom in a place that didn’t restrict them from doing things they could be able to do. Before she and Yin Si married, at her old residence, the rules weren’t as strict compared to living in the Forbidden City.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Ruo Lan got ill to the point of suffering a miscarraige. What caused this inevitable outcome is that she found out about Qing Shan being slain in battle and was deliberately set up to die in said manner. Since then, Ruo Lan absolutely wants nothing to do with Yin Si after going through the grief of losing her only child.
- Together in Death: This is what she wants to have with Qing Shan ever since he died while he was at war. She felt that this wasn’t possible because she’s married into the Aisin Gioro clan and is scared that she won’t see him and instead, she’ll be forced to only be with Yin Si in the afterlife. This is because she never loved him for many decades after they’ve been married for so long. This is thankfully not the case, Yin Si agreed to sign the divorce letter and gave it to Ruo Xi in order for her to get it as she lies on her bed. Once she got it and knowing she’s not a married woman anymore, she dies.
- The Mourning After: She didn’t take Qing Shan’s death well and it shows. She hardly smiles and refuses to do anything that involves horse riding because it brings back painful memories of her short time together she had with Qing Shan.
- Unwanted Spouse: She never wanted to be Yin Si’s wife and having him as her husband. She ends up making Yin Si divorce her while she is on her deathbed from being terminally ill. This is so she can be given a chance to reunite with Qing Shan in the afterlife.
Yu Tan
Yu Tan (玉檀)
- Played by: Ye Qing
Ruo Xi's servant.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: She is steamed to death in a large pot in the 30th episode.
- Dies Wide Open: The lid didn’t fully cover her corpse when she is being steamed. Her eyes remain open after she dies inside the pot.
- I Regret Nothing: Yu Tan doesn’t have much regret about being Yin Tang’s spy when she wrote her last words before she is steamed.
- The Mole: She is Yin Tang’s spy the entire time and thus, she already betrayed Ruo Xi by being on the losing party’s side of the battle for the throne. That has horrific consequences when Yin Zhen had enough of her continuing to spy on him and Ruo Xi but it wasn’t the main reason why her execution inevitably occurred. She deliberately tried to strain his relationship with Hong Shi even more. Thus, this is what led up to her getting steamed.
- Together in Death: She and Yin Tang are implied to have this happen immediately after his suicide by deliberately ingesting poison.
- Only One Name: Her surname is not revealed in the novel/TV series.
Guo Luo Luo Ming Hui
Gororo Ming Hui/Guo Luo Luo Ming Hui (郭络罗·明慧)
- Played by: Shi Xiao Qun
Yin Si's first wife.
- All Love Is Unrequited: She is genuinely devoted and has nothing but unconditional love towards Yin Si through the good and bad times, but unfortunately he never loved her. He only married her to be able to gain support for battling the throne.
- Everybody Calls Him "Barkeep": Historically, the real life Lady Guo Luo Luo’s first name is lost in history. Here, in the novel and TV series, she is given the name Ming Hui.
- Driven to Suicide: She burns her residence down and hangs herself immediately just a few minutes after being divorced with Yin Si in the 32nd episode.
- Green-Eyed Monster: She dislikes Ruo Lan ( even though it is obvious that Ruo Lan wants nothing to do with him because of his indirect involvement of causing her lover to die.) due to the fact that her husband is in love with her.
- Hates Being Alone: In an early episode, she states that she can’t bear to be apart from Yin Si even though she is well aware that he never loved her. This plays a tragic turn because she and him were forced to divorce under Yong Zheng’s decree in the 32nd episode. She only obeyed to protect their son.
- Locked Out of the Loop: In the end of 31st episode and the 32nd episode, when she gave "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Ruo Xi when they had a chat in private due to being manipulated by Yin Tang into saying those things to her, she wasn’t given any reason to assume Ruo Xi is with child because Yong Zheng intentionally concealed her pregnancy out of wedlock away from nearly everyone except for Yin Xiang.
- Mama Bear: While she wasn’t the greatest mother in earlier episodes of Scarlet Heart due to her manipulating her only son to bully both Ruo Xi and Ruo Lan because she has nothing but contempt for both Ma’ertai sisters, however, she wasn’t going to let him get harmed just because of something he had nothing to do with. Yong Zheng made an issue that forced her and Yin Si to divorce each other because he blames her for causing Ruo Xi to miscarry and become infertile for the remainders of her life in the 32nd episode. She was willing to die by suicide in order to protect him too.
Guo Luo Luo Ming Yu
Gororo Ming Yu/Guo Luo Luo Ming Yu (郭络罗·明玉)
- Played by: Liu Yu Xin
Yin E's wife. Ming Hui’s sister.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Unlike the other characters, especially Ruo Xi and Yin Zhen, Ming Yu’s ending shown in the final episode of Scarlet Heart isn’t as sad, sure, she looses her freedom because she is willing to stay by Yin’e’s side because she knows there is no way he would be able to handle being isolated due to being under house arrest. During their imprisonment, she is shown to be 9 months pregnant with their firstborn child and he is genuinely excited to be a dad to their kid.
- Everybody Calls Him "Barkeep": Like her older sister, her first name is also lost to history. Here, in the novel and TV series, she’s given the name Ming Yu.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: In earlier episodes, that wasn’t the case. She and Yin’e absolutely loathed each other and it didn’t help that neither were given a right to choose their own spouses, up to the point that they tried to divorce each other because Yin’e got fed up with Ming Yu’s bad temperament and spoiled rotten attitude. Neither go through with divorcing each other thanks to Ruo Xi’s help of sorting their issues out. They are then shown holding hands in one episode. In the end of the novel/TV series, despite their lost freedom, they still support each other in the end and are expecting to have a child together.
- Spoiled Brat: She’s shown signs of being this in the early episodes, mostly because she looks down at Ruo Lan along with Ruo Xi. She tends to get away with what she does due to her being a distant relative of the Aisin Gioro clan and that she is of higher status compared to Ruo Xi and Ruo Lan (because the Ma’ertai sisters are daughters of a general). Eventually, she grows out of this in the second half of the series.
De Fei
De Fei/Consort De/ Empress Dowager Ren Shou / Empress Dowager Xiao Gong Ren (德妃 / 孝恭仁皇后)
- Played by: Dai Chun Rong
Yin Zhen and Yin Ti's mother.
- I Have No Son!: She refuses to accept the fact that Yin Zhen is the new emperor in the 28th episode and disowns him during her final day before she dies. She even says word by word that he’s no son of hers.
- Parental Favoritism: She doesn’t hide the fact that she only cares about Yin Ti over Yin Zhen. ( The reason for this is because Yin Ti is the only surviving offspring that she raised on her own without any help from another woman who has a higher status than she. At the time of Yin Zhen’s birth, he was given to another woman to be raised by because she wasn’t yet titled as De Fei and was just one of the many mistresses that Kang Xi had. In real history, she and Yin Zhen had a very strained relationship and it only worsened when he became emperor. The world may view him as such, but she won’t because he stole the throne that was supposed to go to Yin Ti.)
Liang Fei
Liang Fei/Consort Liang (德妃)
- Played by: Liu Jie
Yin Si's mother.
Kang Xi Emperor
Kang Xi (康熙)/Aisin Gioro Xuan Ye (愛新覺羅 玄燁)
- Played by: Damian Lau
Third emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
- Parental Substitute: He genuinely views Ruo Xi as if she is like his daughter.
Li De Quan
Li De Quan (李德全)
- Played by: Deng Li Min
Head of the internal department.
- Driven to Suicide: It really isn’t his choice to die in this manner, though. Yin Zhen forced him to because he got too close to reveal how he actually obtained the throne to his mother.
- He Knows Too Much: In the 26th episode, he clearly knows that Yin Zhen didn’t gain the throne by legitimate means and he had several people help him forge the will so Yin Ti couldn’t have any chance at being the new emperor. Not to mention, he was the last person to bow down before him after he became the next emperor after Kang Xi succumbs to his illness. He was under a lot of pressure to immediately reveal the truth to De Fei since she clearly wants hear it from him. Unfortunately Yin Zhen overheard their conversation just as he’s about to give confirmation. Yin Zhen has the latter forced to commit suicide by drinking poison so that way, he’d remain loyal to Kang Xi.
Lu Wu
Lü Wu (绿芜)
- Played by: Guo Zhen Ni
A courtesan who falls in love with Yin Xiang.
- Babies Ever After: Deconstructed. She isn’t an abusive mother towards Cheng Huan, but even this wasn’t enough to prevent her suicide from happening. In Yin Xiang’s POV, she disappeared without a trace on where she’s went.
- Driven to Suicide: Lu Wu is seen running off from Yin Xiang’s residence along with leaving him a note containing a vague message on why she had to leave him in the 27th episode. She drowns herself in a river she jumps into before Yin Xiang is able to fully see her and preventing her suicide from happening in the 28th episode. Lady Fu Ca got jealous of her and couldn’t fathom in whatever her husband saw in this former courtesan. She insults her for her lowly status, then said that Cheng Huan is far better off to be raised by a woman of higher status and that she is far better off without her being part of her life, and if she decides not to do that, her daughter is likely going to face harassment and bullying by other children just because her mother’s low status.
- Good Parents: Even though her time with raising Cheng Huan was cut short and slightly defying tradition by not having her be raised by another woman, it is clear that Lu Wu cared a great deal about her and was willing to die just to protect her from possible harassment she could’ve gotten by other children if they knew about her low status.
- Official Couple: She and Yin Xiang start courting each other out in the 25th episode along with having Chenghuan. Unfortunately their time as a couple wasn’t meant to last.
- Only One Name: Her surname is never revealed in the novel/TV series.
Cheng Huan
Aisin Gioro Cheng Huan (愛新覺羅 承欢)
- Played by: Chai Wei
Yin Xiang and Lu Wu's daughter.
- Locked Out of the Loop: She has no idea as to what happened to her mother and why she disappeared at all. Yin Zhen and Ruo Xi decide to also keep the real truth away from her because they think she won’t respond well to what actually happened to her
- Ironic Name: Cheng Huan’s name was supposed to keep her parents linked together, but because one of them is dead due to suicide (Cheng Huan herself along with Yin Xiang are unaware of this) her name became a tragic irony.
- Meaningful Name: Cheng Huan means to please ones parents and keeping them happy. Sadly, this wasn’t the case with her. Her mother commits suicide when she was just entering childhood. Her father’s reaction to her sudden and vaguely explained disappearance wasn’t so good.
Lady Fu Ca
Lady Fu Ca (富察氏)
- Played by: Li Lin Lin
Yin Xiang's wife.
- Green-Eyed Monster: She is jealous of Lu Wu for being able to win the heart of her husband.
- Suicide Dare: Tells Lu Wu that she should kill herself and that Cheng Huan would only fare far better without her all because she couldn’t get whatever the hell her husband saw in her and got together with her despite her lowly status as a courtesan before they decided to tie the knot in the 27th episode in flashbacks.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Ruo Xi calls her out on being responsible as to why Lu Wu committed suicide in the first place. Right afterwards, she ends up shoving her straight towards the ground.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: She’s not shown in the last episode nor does she make anymore appearances other than the 27th (in that case she’s technically an unseen character due to her appearing in Lu Wu’s flashback before her suicide) and 28th episode. The last that she is seen is her being given "The Reason You Suck" Speech by Ruo Xi for being responsible for Lu Wu’s suicide and got shoved to the ground right afterwards.
Lady Nian
Lady Nian/Consort Nian/Imperial Noble Consort Dun Su (年妃 / 敦肃皇贵妃)
- Played by: Lu Mei Fang
Yin Zhen's second wife.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Just like Lady Fu Ca, she only makes an appearance in one episode and also never makes an appearance in the final episode.
Nian Geng Yao
Nian Geng Yao (年羹尧)
- Played by: Xiang Han Qing
Lady Nian's brother.
Chang Qing Shan
Chang Qing Shan (常青山)
- Played by: Wang Xiao Dong
A general who was in love with Ruo Lan.
- The Lost Lenore: Towards Ruo Lan
- Together in Death: He gets his wish of being with Ruo Lan in the 28th episode.
- The Ghost: He dies way before the TV series/novel begins and only appears in flashbacks along with being mentioned by Ruo Lan.
Ula Nara Duoqimuli
Lady Ulanara (乌拉那拉氏)/Empress (皇后)/Empress Xiaojingxian(孝敬憲皇后)
- Played by: Mu Ting Ting
Yin Zhen's first wife.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Her husband never loved her and it is heavily implied that their marriage was arranged and they’re just trying to make the best out of it.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: She is aware that Yin Zhen ( Yong Zheng in the second half of the series due to his ascension to the throne after Kang Xi’s death) isn’t in love with her and that the only woman he ever came close to being in love with and him having mutual feelings for is Ruo Xi. In the 33rd episode, the only thing she’d like to see with both of them is that as long as they’re happy with each other, that’s all it matters to her. Sadly, her blessing for them doesn’t end well and Ruo Xi dies before she and Yin Zhen patch things up after being separated for two decades.
- Outliving One's Offspring: She had a son named Hong Hui with Yin Zhen way before he ascended the throne but sadly, he died at 7 years old due to illness. This is one of the main reasons why Yong Zheng refuses to dispose her role as empress because it won’t do wonders for her mental health.
Qiao Hui
Qiao Hui (巧慧)
- Only One Name: Just like Lu Wu and Yu Tan, her surname is not revealed in the novel/TV series.
