Characters / The Apothecary Diaries

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Editorial Note: For character names and their alternate readings, all of them will be arranged in J-Novel Club Japanese Romanization or Licensed Chinese Pinyin ([Simplified Chinese] / [Traditional Chinese] / [Japanese Kanji], [Chinese Pinyin]) pronunciation.

Beware of Unmarked Spoilers

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Main Characters

Maomao

Maomao (猫猫/貓貓, Māomāo)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Aoi Yūki (Japanese, Drama CD & Anime), Emi Lo (English)^{Foreign V As}Desireé González (Latin American Spanish)

Maomao is a 17-year-old dry apothecary who was kidnapped and sold into the imperial rear palace. When she deduced the cause of the "curse" affecting the emperor's babies, she attempted to warn the consorts discreetly, only to be discovered by Jinshi. Now at his beck and call, Maomao is often consulted on mysterious illnesses or deaths in the palace, as well as her knowledge of various medicines. She gradually builds notoriety, despite her wish for anything but.

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• A-Cup Angst: Downplayed. While Maomao doesn't angst over it per se, she is awfully aware of her lacking size and does notice those...with a more generous size. She considers Lihua's generous bosom a blessing.
• Acquired Poison Immunity: Due to her numerous experiments as a child, Maomao developed a strong resistance to poison. Whether it be snake bites, aphrodisiacs, or hallucinogenic mushrooms, she's all but immune. It's specifically because of this, that she was assigned as a food taster. She seems to enjoy it a little too much, though...
• Adaptational Attractiveness: In the manga adaptation by Nekokurage and the anime adaptation, which based its designs on the former, Maomao looks more beautiful than she is described as in the novel and by Word of Godinvoked. In the adaptations, she physically resembles her mother more, while having her father's eyes. Canonically, she's said to take more after her father's family, as it's often noted that she and her cousin/adoptive older brother Lahan look very much like siblings.
• Affectionate Nickname: Suiren and Gaoshun affectionately call her "Xiaomao" ("xiao" being an approximate equivalent to the Japanese "-chan"; literally means "little cat").
• Amateur Sleuth: Maomao's vocation is that of an apothecary and she was brought to the rear palace as a servant and later a foodtaster. Jinshi frequently uses her medical knowledge and general logical thinking to solve mysteries.
• Animal Motifs: Cats, from her small frame to her highly curious personality, distant relationship to people and occasional irritability. In the manga and anime, she also tends to sprout cat ears and a tail whenever she's startled or particularly excited/interested in something. Even the kanji (貓) for her name is "cat".
• Beware the Quiet Ones: Maomao is generally rather nonplussed about what goes on at the palace, doing anything asked of her, both as a servant and apothecary, with internal complaining at most, to the point you'd probably mistake her for a stone-faced Extreme Doormat. That said, as an apothecary, she takes the health of her patients very seriously and won't tolerate anything that can worsen their ailments. Case in point, after learning that one of Lihua's ladies-in-waiting was hiding some of the banned lead make-up that poisoned her son and was currently causing her sickness and still applying it to her to maintain her beauty, Maomao gets pissed, Bitch Slapping the woman in question, dragging her by the hair, and dunking the lead make-up powder on her, all while giving her a ruthless "Reason You Suck" Speech about the sheer stupidity of her actions.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Despite high expectations from Jinshi and Gaoshun, Maomao fails the court lady exams. Not because of intellectual incapability, but rather a complete disinterest in the test criteria. Maomao herself admits that she's terrible at learning things that fall outside of her interest in medicine. When Jinshi decides to get Grams to ensure Maomao will actually study when taking the court lady exams the second time, Maomao aces the test.
• Brutal Honesty: Maomao lacks a bit of tact, as she often is far too direct, which irritates people.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Maomao has been known to report the presence of poison (that she'd just had some of) with a big smile on her face, or barge into a pavilion and start ripping off maids' clothing. If she wasn't so competent as an investigator and medical practitioner it's unlikely she'd get away with such things.
• Celibate Heroine: Maomao really has no interest in romance or marriage. Sorry, Jinshi.
• Cloudcuckoolander: When it comes to medicine and poison, she will eagerly get lost in her thoughts.
• Comically Missing the Point: Sometimes, even someone as perceptive as her has a few blind spots when it comes to people. It takes a surprisingly long time for her to pick on Jinshi's crush, leading to a few awkward encounters. She also didn't pick up on why a story involving an exhibitionist and a snapping turtle would be an unpleasant topic for men (let alone eunuchs).
• Conditioned to Accept Horror: Due to her upbringing in the red-light district, Maomao is well-informed on the cruelties of the world, whether it be rape or murder. That's why when Jinshi comes on to her, she surmises that she'll be raped and decides to submit rather than fight back. He, of course, does not. Her upbringing is perhaps also a reason why she isn't too much affected by dissections, when starting in Volume 9 she starts to train to become a surgeon.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Maomao became Gyokuyou's personal food taster and apothecary on Jinshi's recommendation, which is why he often comes to her whenever he needs help. After Maomao is dismissed at the end of Volume 1, Jinshi pays off her debts and asks her to come work for him in the outer court, thus making him her direct employer. Jinshi later lends Maomao out to Consort Gyokuyou again, after Gyokuyou shows signs that she's pregnant. She thus equally serves both Gyokuyou and Jinshi.
• Constantly Curious: Hardly a surprise, considering her name literally means "cat". When it comes to riddles or anything medicine-related, she quickly sticks her nose into things she probably shouldn't.
• Cool Big Sis: She acts as one towards Xiaolan, who is around two to three years younger than Maomao.
• Daddy's Girl: Luomen is arguably the only person Maomao displays affection to. Her biological father, though? Maomao can barely stand him.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Maomao spent the first few years of her life raised by her sisters who, although they loved her dearly, had to put their jobs first and often left her alone for long stretches of time even while she cried, plus (although she can't remember it properly since she was still a baby at the time) her mother cut one of her fingers off which continues to give her nightmares years later. All this means that Maomao has a chronic need to not draw attention to herself and immense guilt that her birth nearly bankrupted the Verdegris House.
• Death Glare: Rare, but notable for when it happens. Like her temper, not much can bring out Maomao's hatred, but implying she needs to get involved with her biological father in some matter is one of the surefire ways of eliciting a death glare from her, as Jinshi discovered much to his surprise.
• The Dreaded: Played for laughs. After she puts them in their place, most of Lihua's haidmaidens will run for the hills if they recognize Maomao nearby. Kanan is briefly intimidated by her for awhile, although it's less exaggerated.
• Dr. Jerk: A Downplayed apothecary example. While she doesn't go out of her way to be a jerk to most other people, Maomao can be quite blunt at times. That being said, she does take her patients' health seriously and tries to give them the proper medical treatment.
• Emotionless Girl: Unless she's geeking out over poisons or delicious food, Maomao's almost always calm and reserved. When she was still a baby she learned that crying wouldn't get her anything, since her sisters generally had to wait until their work was done before they could tend to her, and thus she thinks being emotional is generally a waste of time.
• Evil Laugh: Belts a magnificent one once she uncovers Suirei's successful scheme to cheat death and by extension a confirmation that a resurrection drug exists.
  • She has another one when she discovers that the Taibon torture chamber involves locking a victim in a room with a bunch of toxic critters like snakes, frogs, and insects. What would ordinarily be a living Hell to other people is instead Maomao's version of paradise until she was rescued (read: interrupted) by a sympathetic guard.
• Experienced Protagonist: If it's anything to do with medicine or poisons, ask Maomao. Despite being only 17 at the start of the story, she has plenty of knowledge and experience in her field thanks to being raised by an apothecary and testing numerous poisons on herself.
• Fingore: Every now and then Maomao dreams of having her little finger cut off by a madwoman. It wasn't just a dream but a Flashback Nightmare. As the incident happened when Maomao was an infant, her left pinky regrew (it is possible for fingertips to regrow if the amputation happened above the joint and while the patient is young), but its misshapen form is proof of the nightmare being real. In her grief and anger, Fengxian cut off a part of Maomao's pinky and her own ring finger and sent them to Lakan's residence.
• First Person Snarker: Her inner monologues are full of snark.
• Floral Theme Naming: Sort of. Woodsorrel (片喰) is also known as "cat's paw" in Japanese. The nail reddener that Maomao and her mother Fengxian (her name literally meaning balsam) use is made of a mix of balsam and woodsorrel.
• Good Is Not Nice: Maomao is a genuinely morally upstanding and heroic individual who cares for her patients but, while she doesn't get out of her way to be rude, she's very blunt and can be a bit of a jerk.
• Green-Eyed Monster: One of her reasons for her dislike of Lakan is because she's envious of his intellect and deductive skills; mysteries that take her a good deal of investigation and detective work are absurdly easy to him.
• Great Detective: Jinshi values Maomao for her great deductive skills when it comes to mysterious events.
• Happily Adopted: By Luomen, her great-uncle. She also considers the Madame and Three Princesses of the Verdigris House to be her family. Maomao knows the environment she grew up in is unconventional, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
• Hates Their Parent: Downplayed. Maomao doesn't truly hate her parents, but she will never come to love them, either, and doesn't acknowledge them as anything more than her 'stud-horse' and 'the woman who gave birth to [her]'. Volume 2 shows that she is fully aware of the tragedy of what happened between her biological parents, and seems to at the very least pity their situation. Maomao is shown diligently (if detachedly) caring for her terminally ill biological mother Fengxian, and ultimately pulls strings to allow biological father Lakan the chance to properly buy Fengxian out and care for her for the rest of her days.
  • In regards to her father Lakan, she doesn't like him in part because of a horrible first impression that has stuck in her mind: the first time she saw him, he'd just been beaten bloody for showing his face again at the Verdigris House, and he was in crazed desperation trying to reach out to her after discovering she was his daughter. Ever since then, whenever Maomao thinks of "fear", his face is the first thing that pops up in her mind. She also finds Lakan's strong insistence on trying to get her to acknowledge him as her father and replace Luomen as her father figure to be extremely distasteful when she resolutely views Luomen to be her dad, given Luomen was the man who actually raised her. There is also a hint of jealousy involved, because Lakan is a Brilliant, but Lazy genius. Maomao is frustrated that he's smart enough to figure things out with very little work, something which earns him Luomen's praise, but is also too often too lazy to do anything about it even when its important. Meanwhile, Maomao is a "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl for Luomen, and wants that open approval herself.
  • In regards to her mother, Maomao knows that Fengxian cut off the tip of her pinky when she was an infant. She still experiences nightmares of this and will always carry the reminder of it in the form of her pinky which grew back mishapen, but she doesn't really remember it and isn't particularly resentful of the incident. However, Maomao regards Fengxian as foolish and selfish for deciding to birth her, as that decision ruined Fengxian's life and nearly destroyed Verdigris House's reputation and business. While Maomao is ultimately glad to be alive, the circumstances around her birth made her the subject of gossip around the brothel, and made her harbor a sense of guilt while growing up.
• Hero Protagonist: The story is largely told from Maomao's perspective, and she happens to have a Chronic Hero Syndrome with her own set of values and morals.
• Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Several of Maomao's flashbacks involve Grams hitting or threatening her for eating poison and running weird experiments. The abuse she suffered from her mother Fengxian though, was far from comedic.
• Ignored Expert: Partially. At the start of the story, Consort Lihua ignores Maomao's advice, but Consort Gyokuyou doesn't. Thus, Lihua's son succumbs to the poison inside the face powder, but Gyokuyou's daughter survives. The anime changes this so that Lihua never actually received Maomao's warning and so didn't know about the poison until it was too late.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Maomao's bluntness can come off as off-putting, but she will usually do what she deems is morally right. She goes out of her way to warn the consorts what may kill them, and she usually keeps things to herself and does not report them to Gaoshun or Jinshi, if she believes it will result in a punishment she does not agree with.
  • After the garden party in Volume 1, she initially tries to subtly tell Consort Lishu's poison tester to stop bullying her mistress, as she got lucky Lishu didn't die from an allergic reaction to a food her poison tester swapped to harass her. When Gaoshun asks Maomao why she didn't tell anyone, she remarks that the lady-in-waiting's life is expendable, especially as she acts as a poison tester, so Maomao sympathized with her to a degree.
  • Near the end of Volume 1, after confronting the person who attempted to poison an upper consort, Maomao offers a motive that will not involve the culprit's mistress and hide the real reason she tried to silence the consort she tried to kill. It will not save the culprit's life, as Jinshi and Gaoshun would soon find her anyway, but it leaves the culprit's mistress out of that mess.
  • Maomao claims that Xiaolan is mostly just a useful tool to pick up rumors, but Maomao does look after the girl and pities her, as Xiaolan was sold by her parents to work in the rear palace. Xiaolan looks up to Maomao like a big sister, and Maomao can't help but be protective of Xiaolan.
  • Maomao regards her biological parents, Fengxian and Lakan, with emotional indifference at best and disgust at worst. In particular she rejects Lakan's attempts to form a relationship with her and would prefer he not approach her at all. However, despite her not viewing them to be her parents in any meaningful way, she still helped take care of the extremely ill and bedbound Fengxian, and eventually orchestrates a situation to allow Lakan to see Fengxian again for the first time in nearly two decades. When Lakan buys Fengxian out so they can spend the rest of her remaining life together, Maomao chooses to privately dance in their honor.
  • Generally speaking, Maomao is like a gender-flipped combination of Dr. Gregory House and Sherlock Holmes (with House himself being a character inspired by Sherlock), and has exactly the sort of attitude you’d expect from that.
• Like Father, Like Son:
  • She's a sharp-witted pharmacist like her father Luomen. And despite the fact she disregards her biological father Lakan, personality-wise, they're more alike than she would ever admit. Many of their mannerisms and personality traits are similar, especially in having very focused interests, keen intuition, and No Social Skills when in specific circumstances. She also has his eye color.
  • Like her mother, Maomao is cold and hard to approach. She is never honest about her feelings, though she eventually comes to admit that she does like Jinshi.
• Like Parent, Like Spouse:
  • If there's anything Maomao likes about Jinshi, it's his kindness and consideration for others. However, she notes that she doesn't want Jinshi to be as self-sacrificial as Luomen, as it's that quality of Luomen's that has had a hand in why he's had such an unlucky life.
  • Zigzagged when it comes to Lakan, her biological father. To Maomao's great displeasure, Lakan and Jinshi both tend to pester her and not know when to take the hint that she wants to be left alone. They also share unexpectedly childish temperaments, a fondness for pranks, and suffer from awkward communication issues. As she finds out in Volume 2 though, contrary to her initial impression of him, Jinshi is actually constantly working to the point of exhaustion, unlike Lakan who she resents for being Brilliant, but Lazy. She likes hard-working people (evidenced by the fact that she likes her older cousin Junjie much more than Lahan), although she doesn't want them to work themselves to the bone.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Among Jinshi's staff, Maomao is the only one who isn't aware about Jinshi's real identity as the younger brother of the current Emperor. To a certain degree Maomao is in the dark about it willingly, as she has picked up on many of the hints that Jinshi isn't who he says he is, but she refuses to investigate further out of a desire to keep her life from getting even more complicated than it already has. While Maomao eventually finds out that Jinshi isn't actually a eunuch, any attempts he makes to properly explain his situation to her end up getting cut off due to Maomao getting distracted or her actively shutting the conversation down. In the end, she only learns of who he is when it's made completely obvious to her, by way of her seeing him decked in armor and commanding a squadron under his true identity.
• Mad Scientist: As a child, Maomao joyfully administered various poisons and relished in the sensations created. It's outright pointed out that people in the west call someone like her "mad scientists", a term her father also uses.
• Missing Mom: Her mother isn't dead in the light novel and manga, but she might as well be, as she has lost her mind to syphilis a long time ago.
• The Nicknamer: Maomao has little patience for anything that isn't poisonous, so she tends to refer to people by titles of convenience in her head. Lakan, her father, is consistently "the strategist," "the freak," or "the fox," while the kindly but incompetent chief physician of the rear palace is always called "the quack doctor." At one point she's surprised to learn his name, then immediately dismisses it and resolves to continue calling him a quack.
• Never Gets Drunk: Maomao in the present can drink copious amounts of alcohol without feeling drunk after she grew resistant to poisons. This is in stark contrast to her biological father, Lakan, who can't even handle one cup of liquor before getting drunk.
• Nightmare Fetishist: Maomao looks positively ecstatic when she works as a food taster and realizes that something she's eaten is poisoned.
  • This along with certain logistical mishaps was the reason why being sent to the Taibon torture chamber had no effect on her. In fact, it was quite the opposite results.
• The Nondescript: Invoked. Maomao does her utmost to not stand out. She hides the fact that she is literate, as she would be given a higher position, resulting in a higher pay for her and her kidnappers, which disgusts her. Average workers are also let go of their duties early, which is exactly what she aims at. For the same reason, she tries to look as plain as possible.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: Maomao is capable of objectively recognizing attractiveness, but Lihaku and Jinshi's good looks notably do not get much of a reaction from Maomao. The latter is why Jinshi's so interested in Maomao. Maomao having grown up in the pleasure district rendered her very desensitized to human sexuality.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Maomao willingly invokes this to some extent, because showing off that she's clever brings her more attention than she likes. At the beginning, she feigned being illiterate so she could keep her duties simple and to prevent any additional pay she'd be awarded for having more skill to be given to the kidnappers who sold her. Unfortunately Maomao is too curious for her own good, so she frequently gets pulled into situations regardless of her wishes to keep a low profile.
• Only Sane Woman: A pure rationalist, Maomao is usually the sanest person in the room. When she is around poison, however, she does lose it a little.
• Plain Jane: Downplayed and partially invoked. Maomao doesn't think of herself as attractive, but she also consciously keeps her appearance as plain as possible (including painting freckles on her face) so as to avoid attention.
• Professor Guinea Pig: The woman considers her own left forearm to be a perfectly acceptable testing site for poisons and medicines. She is also extremely casual about ingesting both to see what they do. Her Acquired Poison Immunity is the result of this habit.
• Really Royalty Reveal: Volume 2 reveals that her father is Lakan of the prestigious La clan, making her nobility by blood. However, Maomao knew of her heritage and doesn't want to improve her social status. She officially becomes a noble after Lakan marries Fengxian, making her a legitimate member of the La clan. When Jinshi proposes to her, she gains even more of a headache.
• Resigned to the Call: Maomao is not excited to do everything that Jinshi asks her to do, but due to her awareness and adherence to her station in life she will typically do so with little complaint. While on a personal level Jinshi doesn't want to force Maomao to do anything, Maomao has pointed out that because he far outranks her, it's foolish of him to act like she truly has a choice.
• Royal Favorite: Maomao is promoted to the position of a personal attendant of Consort Gyokuyou's at the start of the series, after she saves Princess Lingli's life. She also earns Consort Lihua's favor after saving Lihua's life and giving her sex tips to spend more nights with the emperor again. Jinshi also grows fond of her and later buys her from the Verdigris House.
• Scars Are Forever: Her left forearm is completely covered in scar tissue, a product of her many years of deliberately using it for her experiments in exposing herself to various poisons and other medicinal ingredients.
• Selective Obliviousness: Maomao is generally intelligent and curious, but when she senses she's stumbling onto information that might endanger her or make her life more complicated than she wants, she often will stop her lines of thought and pretend to not notice anything.
  • She isn't actually Oblivious to Love. Maomao is very aware that Jinshi is infatuated with her, but she largely ignores his romantic gestures, mainly because she can't be bothered to deal with it.
  • When Jinshi starts describing the military officer who has been pestering him lately, Maomao immediately decides she wants to get back to her duties and forget the conversation, because the description is lining up with that of her estranged biological father who she tries to avoid.
  • Maomao is normally so perceptive that for awhile Jinshi wonders if Maomao has already figured out what his real identity is before trying to confront her. But even though Maomao does pick up on various clues, she very deliberately chooses to ignore them and not pry further, because she doesn't want to deal with a situation that she senses is very complicated and not supposed to be any of her business. Jinshi calls her out on this when he points out that she is clearly ignoring the fact that she is also set up as a potential bridal candidate of his.
  • When Maomao learns Jinshi isn't a true eunuch by way of accidentally grabbing his crotch, Maomao is quick to ignore what just happened, even though both she and Jinshi know what this means. Even when Jinshi tries to properly explain his situation, Maomao is so intent on not learning the particulars that she blatantly continues to shut the conversation down.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Ordinarily, she wears plain and frumpy clothing, paired with her makeup freckles. Once she's dressed in more elegant and feminine clothes and the freckles come off, she's a head turner.
• Skewed Priorities: Invoked in-universe. To most people in the royal palace, particularly women, Maomao pursues neither beauty nor gossip, which is very uncharacteristic of a woman in her position. In addition, if something involving poison or medicinal ingredients pops up, she will prioritize it over her personal safety. For example, when recovering from an incident where she got hurt trying to save Jinshi, she was more upset that she didn't get the ox bezoar she was promised than the fact that her leg wound opened up again.
• Son of a Whore: Volume 2 reveals that Maomao's mother was once a famous and prized High-Class Call Girl of the Verdigris House. Her days of glory ended when she lost her virginity and became pregnant with Maomao. Having grown up in the red-light district, Maomao fears that she also would have to do the same job eventually.
• Sprouting Ears: In the manga and anime adaptations, she tends to sprout cat ears (and occasionally a tail as well) whenever she's startled or particularly interested in or excited about something. This also ties into her overall cat motif.
• Street Smart: As she was brought up in the red-light district, Maomao knows how to blend in and avoid trouble.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Maomao comes more after her father's family. Her looks are rather plain and people don't doubt Lahan is her brother since they resemble each other so much. However, her icy cold glare is something she probably got from her mother.
• Suddenly Suitable Suitor: Jinshi does eventually come to love her, but they can't be together on account of their different stations in life, not counting for her personal feelings on the matter. It's a good thing for Jinshi she turns out to be Lakan's biological kid, making her eligible as a consort even if she refuses to acknowledge the latter being related to her. Especially after her father marries her mother, making Maomao a legitimate child of the La clan.
  • Maomao also becomes this symbolically, as she deduces the correct order of the doors to the Shrine of Choosing, a puzzle created by the Royal Mother, the mother first Emperor of the current nation to determine who are the heirs with genetics most closely similar to her. The Royal Mother was red-green color blind, and the puzzle is, unbeknownst to most people, meant to be only solvable by someone with the same trait. It was said that if any current heirs couldn't solve the puzzle, they were advised to find a spouse who could. Neither the current emperor nor his 'brother' Jinshi are color blind. Maomao isn't either - but she solved the puzzle nevertheless. After this, the Emperor even jokes that if it weren't for him not wanting to incur the wrath of her father Lakan (and the fact Maomao's too scrawny for his taste), he might consider taking Maomao as one of his consorts - and then proceeds to suggest that Jinshi should consider it instead.
• Suggestive Collision: When Maomao needs to climb onto Jinshi's shoulders, she ends up slipping and falling on top of him and to her horror, accidentally gets a handful of his groin. This is how she ends up finding out that he's actually an intact male, and not a true eunuch.
• Tempting Fate: Maomao very frequently has a knack for sensing if she might be stumbling into information that will cause her problems. Sometimes she tries to use Selective Obliviousness to turn tail. Others, her curiosity wins out and she starts to dig deeper. Either way, her hunches tend to pan out eventually somewhere along the line.
• That Came Out Wrong: Whenever she's playing matchmaker for Lihaku, there are moments when Maomao has a bad habit of this, namely phrasing things to Jinshi in a manner that make her seem more involved with him than she really is.
  • To get him to agree to take her to the pleasure district to visit her father, she offers Lihaku a pass that'll get him a night with one of Verdigris House "Three Princesses", to which he agrees. After the fact when Jinshi questions what she gave Lihaku to get him to do that for her, she simply states that she gave him a "night of pleasure", with her failure to mention who was doing the pleasuring causing Jinshi assume it was her and go into a Heroic BSoD. This earns her a Dope Slap from Hongniang when she exits the room to find her, Gyokuyou, and Gaoshun eavesdropping on the conversation.
  • Later on, Lihaku, having heard of one of the "Three Princesses" being bought out and fearing its Pairin, summons Maomao to ask for advice. This leads to her having Lihaku strip so she can see if he's Pairin's type, with Jinshi walking in just as he's about take off his underwear. Maomao then proceeds to explain she was examining his body, and worsens Jinshi's impression by saying it was to see if it was "good enough". It's not until she mentions it's important to make sure someone's right for her sister that the misunderstanding gets cleared up.
• Tranquil Fury: Whenever Maomao gets angry, it's not hot-headed ranting or throwing of chairs. Rather, it's a chilly glare and eerie calm.
• Underestimating Badassery: Several characters with nefarious intent tend to underestimate/ignore Maomao because of her lower social status (sometimes even within earshot of her), overlooking the fact that Jinshi graced them with her presence for a reason, mainly, to crack open the whole shebang.
• Unknown Rival: Due to her biological father’s actions with his clan, the other members of the clan hated her long before they actually met her. That resulted her being imprisoned by her biological grandfather along with her cousin when they visit the estate.
• Weak, but Skilled: Maomao can't fight to save her life, but never underestimate her sharp perception or knowledge of medicine.
• What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Maomao remarks that she feels that 'love is something [she] left behind in the womb of the woman who gave birth to [her]'. She comments a number of times that she has trouble comprehending exactly what love is, stating that she can't bring herself to feel that strongly about anyone. That said, it's clear she holds affection for her adoptive family and is able to recognize romance between others, but when it comes to herself, there's a disconnect.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Despite being only seventeen at the start of the series, Maomao displays a certain maturity and perceptiveness beyond her age.
• When She Smiles: It's rare, but when it happens, she's captivating.
• Work Off the Debt: Maomao is technically still the resident of the Red Light District's Verdigris House as well, and as Grams tells her, still has some unpaid loans for living there since birth. So when possible, Maomao works for extra payment, afraid she could be sold off as a prostitute when she returns.
• You're Not My Father: She refuses to acknowledge Lakan as her father, as it was Luomen who raised her.
• Youthful Freckles: Subverted on account of them actually being fake. She applies them to herself to make herself seem less attractive.

Jinshi

Jinshi (壬氏, Rénshì)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese, Drama CD), Takeo Ōtsuka (Japanese, Anime), Kaiji Tang (English)

Jinshi is a beautiful 24-year-old eunuch who presides over the imperial harem in the rear palace ever since the current Emperor has taken over the throne. He finds Maomao's antipathy of him refreshing and incredibly amusing. Later, his childish curiosity evolves into romantic affection.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: Inverted. Jinshi is almost supernaturally beautiful and very quickly becomes interested in, and then infatuated, with the intentionally plain-looking Maomao. He then starts to engage in very outlandish methods to grab her attention or find excuses to invade her personal space. Maomao doesn't appreciate this in the slightest.
• Attractive Bent-Gender: In Volume 3, it becomes necessary to find an attractive woman at least 175cm tall perform a special dance for two foreign envoys. Jinshi is roped in to do it since they can't find someone who fits the requirements. He's entirely convincing in the role.
• Beneath the Mask: While Jinshi appears to be a serene and beautiful eunuch who carries himself with confidence and keeps the rear palace in working order, he is deeply insecure from the belief that the only merit he really has is his looks. He is neither a great scholar nor a brilliant general and pales to the large shadow that is his "brother"/biological father, the Emperor. His real personality also can be quite childish, both in the sense of being more whimsical and playful, and also being whiny and petulant. He only lets a select few people see this side of him.
• Bishie Sparkle: To emphasize when he is actively charming toward someone. Maomao is less than amused when it's directed anywhere near her.
• Breakout Character: The author reveals that Jinshi was meant to be a comic relief character, but he ended up becoming popular enough among the readers that he was later upgraded to become a major protagonist as the story continues.
• Casual Kink: He seems to be a bit of a masochist, enjoying it whenever Maomao reacts to him with exasperation or revulsion. After being fawned over by onlookers to the point of exhaustion his entire life, the prospect of someone looking at him with abject disdain has become exciting. In fact, after Maomao becomes more accustomed to being around Jinshi and her aversion to him generally lessens, when Maomao looks at him with disgust for the first time in awhile, Jinshi is still delighted.
• Chick Magnet: Wherever Jinshi walks around, women fawn all over him. Maomao not being attracted to him based on his looks is what catches his attention.
• Corner of Woe: Jinshi is prone to comically sulking like this when things don't go his way, sometimes with bonus growing mushrooms. It highlights how childish he can behave.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Jinshi doesn't want to admit it, but he gets increasingly jealous if similarly-aged men are spending time with Maomao. The first person he gets jealous of is Lihaku. He reacts in a similar way to Rikuson. Even when Gaoshun gives Maomao a coat to keep her warm, he immediately has to say it was actually a present from Jinshi, but that apparently didn't fool Maomao.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Jinshi was posted in the rear palace in part to be the living embodiment of this. His attractive appearance is used as a tool to help weed out concubines and staff who are too distracted by his beauty to be trusted by the Emperor. He also strategically acts as a distraction if the situation calls for it in general.
• Dramatic Irony: On two levels regarding his true parentage. He is, of course, utterly unaware of the truth.
  • Jinshi spent a chunk of his childhood thinking the current Emperor was his father, but was eventually corrected and learned that his father was previous Emperor. But as it turns out, Jinshi was correct all along and he really is the oldest child of the current Emperor.
  • Since he was raised as the Imperial Brother, Jinshi grew up assuming that he was the Empress Dowager's son. Early in the series, he briefly wonders if he would have the concerns he does if Ah-Duo's deceased son survived. As it turns out, he is Ah-Duo's son. The child Ah-Duo lost was the Empress Dowager's biological son.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Look at those luscious long locks. When Maomao first saw him she even thought he was a woman. He is described as a tennyo (also known as a celestial maiden, nymph or fairy), which is a beautiful supernatural female spirit. Justified, as he's a eunuch, who look feminine due to a lack of testosterone. Or so it was believed , as Jinshi isn't a eunuch. He's just been taking drugs to suppress his testosterone and emphasize his feminine features. Still, justified.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Even more so since he's a eunuch. Or at least, so people think.
• Handsome Lech: Of sorts. He's ridiculously beautiful and he knows it. He isn't afraid to make flirtatious passes at people, especially if it's to influence them for his benefit. However, for most people he never seriously leads anyone on for too long since it's mainly just a means to an end. In Maomao's case though, his genuine interest in her leads him to make moves that range from unusually bold to inappropriately perverted territory, which completely creeps her out.
• Hates Their Parent: With good reason. Jinshi's real identity is officially the Imperial Brother, the second son of the previous emperor who was infamously a pedophile and many young girls were his victims. When one of the former victims panics in Jinshi's presence and insinuates that he reminds her of her abuser, Jinshi is left shaken at the idea he resembles the man at all. The fact that Jinshi is biologically actually the man's grandson and not direct son matters not, since Jinshi isn't aware of this and nonetheless shudders at having any relation to him.
• Heel Realization: At the start of their acquaintance Jinshi regards Maomao as an extremely useful servant whom he also takes great enjoyment in teasing, since he knows she dislikes him and he finds her disdain to be a relief after a lifetime of being fawned upon. However, he's very shaken by the reveal that Maomao has spent much of her adolescence living with the possibility of being sexually assaulted, due to growing up near the pleasure district, and she resorted to makeup in order to camouflage herself and appear ugly; he's also dismayed that she's resigned to having been kidnapped and forced into being an indentured servant. Realizing that she's a person with her own troubles and not just a toy for him to play with, Jinshi gives her one of his hairpins to bring her under his protection, marking the beginnings of his actual infatuation with her.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Despite the air of pride he normally exudes, Jinshi has terrible confidence issues. While he's all too aware that he's incredibly attractive, he deems himself to only be at best above average in any other respect even if he works hard at it. It is for this reason that he thinks he is an Inadequate Inheritor to the Emperor, which is why he wants the Emperor to quickly get another crown prince.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Basen, who is the same age as him and they grew up together. Maomao notes that Jinshi tends to cut Basen slack and overlook some of his more glaring flaws.
• Hyper-Awareness: Jinshi pays a lot of attention to seemingly small details.
  • In general, Maomao isn't that bad at hiding her emotions, but Jinshi notices even the slightest change in her face.
  • At the start of Volume 4, he notices that Lishu's former chief lady-in-waiting is wearing a hairpin that someone like her has no right to wear, which means she must have taken it from Lishu. This gives him enough ground to admonish her publicly for her behavior.
  • In Volume 4, Jinshi unmasks Renpu, as she had a mole on her temple that her makeup couldn't quite hide, while Loulan had no such mark.
• I Love You Because I Can't Control You: At least part of his initial fascination for Maomao is this, as the first woman he can't make swoon with just a glance. He's ecstatic when he states it's the first time anyone has ever looked at him with disdain.
• Informed Attractiveness: Every time he appears in the novel, there’s at least some reference to his ‘voice of honey’ and ‘smile of a nymph'.^note Literally a "celestial maiden".
• Jack of All Trades: ...And master of none. Jinshi is good at many things, but nowhere would he or anyone else call him a genius at something. It nags at him, as he doesn't think he's exceptional.
• King Incognito: Jinshi's Secret Identity is in fact the Imperial younger brother, making him the crown prince until Gyokuyou bears a son to the Emperor. He entered the rear palace due to a bet with the Emperor, though its exact nature is unknown. Only a select number of people at the palace know his real identity, as the 'Imperial Brother' has been out of the public eye since he was 13, with a cover story that he's sickly and covered in burn scars. Then there's the fact that he's actually still the crown prince as he's in truth the current Emperor's firstborn son.
• Like Father, Like Son: It's apparently a hereditary trait to fall madly in love with an unconventional person who, despite a genuine close relationship forming, does not return the feelings romantically. Jinshi falls hard for Maomao, the sharp-witted servant girl who only has eyes for medicine, and who at first vehemently dislikes him. But even after she begins to respect him and they grow to develop a good bond, she continues to have no interest in romance with him. Or anyone else, for that matter. Meanwhile, though Jinshi's real father the Emperor has favourites among his consorts and makes Gyokuyou his Empress when she gives birth to their son, it's heavily implied that the woman he truly loves above all others is the androgynous, One of the Boys Ah-Duo; she was for many years the Emperor's only consort, and he retained her as a high-ranking consort for over a decade even after she was rendered incapable of having children. Even when she ceases to be his consort altogether, he tries to keep her by his side in some form by giving her a villa to live in. But for all of the Emperor's devotion, it emerges that while Ah-Duo genuinely loves him as her childhood friend, she never saw him as a romantic partner or really wanted to be his consort, and she longed to explore the world rather than staying put in the rear palace.
• Love Makes You Dumb: Jinshi's signature shrewdness fluctuates more than a rapidly flipped switch when Maomao's around.
• Manchild: Downplayed. Jinshi's playful nature often shows up when he starts teasing Maomao and treats her like a toy he can play with. It's noted by Gaoshun and Suiren that Jinshi used to be very possessive of his toys, which is why they regularly took his toys away from him to prevent it from becoming too much of a habit. He also often displays a number of other childish mannerisms that you would normally expect an adult to restrain, like reacting to things with overexaggerated surprise or disgust, or pouting openly when he doesn't get his way. However, it should be noted that Jinshi is younger than the public believes him to be.
• Manly Tears: While Jinshi is a pretty sentimental guy, he isn't reduced to tears much. But Maomao ends up finding him drunk the night before Ah-Duo is released from her position as consort, as he seems to be bereft at her leaving. Maomao ends up letting Jinshi hug her while he cries on her shoulder silently. Flashbacks to his childhood indicate he was something of a crybaby.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Jinshi is effeminately gorgeous for a man while Ah-Duo is beautiully handsome for a woman. Which is to say, gender aside, their faces are remarkably similar on account of Ah-Duo being Jinshi's real biological mother.
• Mistaken for Romance: "Jinshi the Eunuch" is observed to have a notably close relationship with the Emperor, such that rumors circulate that he's 'the Emperor's favorite' - as in, sexual partner. Maomao herself is even under this impression for a time. Given Jinshi's beautiful appearance and the fact he seems to have privleges beyond what would be normal for someone of his position, it is no wonder people speculate this. In truth, the reason for their closeness is that Jinshi is officially the Emperor's brother, and, unbeknownst to Jinshi, actually the Emperor's firstborn son.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Jinshi doesn't feel the need to respect Maomao's boundaries, as he often talks to her at an uncomfortable distance and touches her hair without permission.
• Pen-Pushing President: Jinshi is constantly overworked, as he is practically buried in paperwork. In Volume 8, he hires Maamei and Baryou to assist him, and Maamei eventually realizes that Jinshi is doing work that other departments are meant to do, so she advises him to send their work back. It ends up working, as he finally can get more than six hours of sleep for once.
• Poor Communication Kills: His Fatal Flaw when it comes to his relationship with Maomao. Maomao lampshades his poor communication skills and compares him to a tragic love story that she was aware of in the Pleasure Distrct, and the man's poor communication skills caused the woman to eventually marry someone else. When Jinshi gets the message and decides to outright tell Maomao he intends to make her his wife, she is more horrified than finding it romantic because she interprets it as him giving her an order she is forced to obey. It doesn't get any better when he burns himself with a symbol of Gyokuyou's family, and she is forced to act as the medical attendant.
• Pretty Boy: A classic example. Jinshi's beauty is his most remarkable trait. His looks even put many beautiful women to shame, although it also has given him unwanted attraction and he fears people reduce him to only his looks. It's to the point Maomao didn't want to bring him to the brothel because it would go out of business immediately if he was there.
• Proud Beauty: Subverted. Jinshi thinks his only merit is his heavenly beauty, but this is nothing he really is proud of, it actually puts dampers on his confidence. Therefore, he doesn't mind it too much that Loulan permanently scarred his face at the end of Volume 4.
• Raised by Grandparents: Anshi, the Empress Dowager, who was responsible for Jinshi's education, is actually his paternal grandmother. More directly, his attendant Suiren is actually Ah-duo's mother, meaning she is Jinshi's maternal grandmother.
• Really 17 Years Old: Jinshi is stated to be 24, but Maomao always thought he was Younger Than He Looks, especially when his behavior towards her is at times downright juvenile, enhancing this impression. Volume 2 reveals that Jinshi is actually 19, the same age as Gaoshun's youngest son, Basen, or more accurately, a little over one year older than Maomao.
• Rejecting the Inheritance: He thinks he would be an awful successor to the Emperor because he's good for nothing except to stand around and look pretty, and is pretty desperate for one of the imperial consorts to sire another prince. The issue is that he is the Emperor’s oldest son, so technically he will always be first in line. In Volume 8, he even goes out of his way to brand himself with the Gyokuyou family crest, affirming his loyalty to Gyokuyou's son, the crown prince. The emperor doesn't take it well.
• Scars Are Forever: At the end of Volume 4, Loulan inflicts a wound on his face that leaves a permanent scar. While this ruins Jinshi's flawless beauty, Jinshi isn't too bothered by it and, as he later finds out, the scar actually helps the face-blind Lakan recognize Jinshi better.
• Single-Target Sexuality: The only person he actively shows any inkling of romantic or sexual interest in is Maomao. This is mainly due to two reasons: First, Maomao is one of the smartest people he knows, and second, because she's the only woman he knows that doesn't grovel to him or constantly oggle him because of his looks.
• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Jinshi laments that the only natural gift he was bestowed was his ridiculously attractive appearance. Although he knows how to and regularly does weaponize his looks for his and others benefit, it ultimately serves as a barrier between himself and others. Having people constantly swooning over him is both annoying and inconvenient, and easily shifts into downright creepy territory when they try to slip him aphrodisiacs or send him love tokens like underwear made out of their hair. That's why he falls for Maomao, who's unaffected by his beauty and cares little even when his Secret Identity is revealed. He's so naturally beautiful that attempts to make him 'uglier' by way of disguise simply render him generically handsome. It's very telling he's thrilled with having a court lady who loves a woman and hates him serve him when Maomao isn't available since that's far more manageable for him.
• Spoiled Sweet: Jinshi had a privileged upbringing and still largely has a lifestyle and outlook that indicates this. He has bodyguards, and has a handmaid who does everything from cooking and cleaning for him, to helping him change in the morning and dry his hair. He's also fairly naive about the realities of commoners. However, he's sympathetic to hardships when he hears of them and is aghast when he realizes what kind of environment Maomao had to get used to while growing up. He also delights in the chances to be of service to those around him rather than the other way around.
• Strong Family Resemblance:
  • When looking at him standing directly next to Lady Ah-Duo, Maomao is startled by how alike they look, to the point she posits they could swap clothing and most people would mistake them for each other, and proceeds to formulate a fantasy in her head that Ah-Duo's supposedly deceased son somehow survived and grew up to be Jinshi. She's yet to know that her hypothesis was spot on.
  • In Volume 4, Jinshi confronts Shenlü, who is shocked to see Jinshi's face and hear his voice, as he resembles the previous Emperor so much that she starts panicking. The previous Emperor raped her up until she was 14 and made it impossible for her to leave the rear palace, due to her low status. As well as Lady Anshi, the Empress Dowager, making note of just how much he resembles his "father" (actually his grandfather).
• Stronger Than They Look: Maomao noted his musculature to be better than expected for a eunuch. As she would find out, it's because he's not a eunuch.
• Suggestive Collision: Maomao falls on top of him and accidentally gets a handful of his groin, which is how she learns that he's not actually a true eunuch. Unsure at first of what she grabbed onto, she even gives it a squeeze, which Jinshi is suitibly affected by.
• The Tease: Jinshi loves teasing Maomao which sometimes crosses the line. Remember the honey incident?
• Tranquil Fury: In the anime, we see the aftermath of Maomao passing out after saving Jinshi from an elaborate assassination attempt. He picks up and calmly carries Maomao's battered, bleeding body to get her medical treatment. He says nothing and keeps his expression controlled, but you can tell underneath his feelings are raging.
• The Unmasking: Jinshi is forced to drop his ruse pretending to be a eunuch and publically don his identity as the Imperial Brother when Maomao gets taken hostage, as the situation is serious enough that he is required to command an army. For many people who work in the palace including Maomao, this is a huge revelation to contend with.
• Two Aliases, One Character: Jinshi the Eunuch and Ka Zuigetsu the Imperial Brother. If Maomao's speculations are correct, he might as well be the firstborn prince of the Emperor. This is later confirmed to be the case, although it seems Jinshi is unaware of this.
• The Watson: As the series secondary lead character, Jinshi is who is most commonly in the position of prompting Maomao to explain what's going on in a situation.
• Younger Than He Looks: Zigzagged. Jinshi is said to be a 24 year old man, but Maomao comments to herself that he at times seems to look and act too juvenile for that age. In reality Jinshi is 19. After Maomao realizes his real age, she comments that his appearance can make him appear a little older than he really is, which explains in part how he got away with pretending he was older to begin with, although his behavior still can be immature.

The Jade Pavilion

Consort Gyokuyou

Gyokuyou (玉叶/玉葉, Yǜyè)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa (Japanese, Drama CD), Atsumi Tanezaki (Japanese, Anime), Molly Zhang (English)

The Precious Consort

The Precious Consort. Gyokuyou is initially 19 years old when Maomao enters the rear palace. She is the Emperor's favourite consort and Maomao's mistress.

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• Benevolent Boss: Gyokuyou is pretty swell towards her ladies-in-waiting, even if she's using Maomao as her foodtaster (potentially endangering her life). Even the wet nurse who brought the poisonous face powder that could have killed her daughter was gently dismissed with a generous severance pay and did not suffer any harsh consequences. Gyokuyou in general is very protective of her ladies-in-waiting, not tolerating any abuse towards them, even if it's from Jinshi.
• Career Versus Man: Gyokuyou is implied to have willingly sacrificed much personal happiness by becoming a consort to maintain good relations between Li and her homeland.
• Cassandra Truth: In the anime, Gyokuyou tried to warn Lihua about the face powder after getting Maomao's warning to save Lihua's son, but in part due to Lihua not trusting her and having never gotten the warning Maomao sent to her palace after it was deliberately ignored by Shin, Lihua refused to listen to her, which ultimately resulted in her son's death.
• Everyone Has Standards: Gyokuyou attempted to save the life of Lihua's son by telling her to take Maomao's warning seriously even if it meant putting her at a disadvantage. She simply didn't want the child to die. On a more comedic note, she's somewhat put off by the Emperor's sexual stamina as she goes Blue with Shock when Maomao's aphrodisiac is noted to be three times more potent than normal and is relieved when Lihua is taught how to use her breasts to pleasure the Emperor as it means she can finally have a full night's sleep.
• Excellent Judge of Character: Gyokuyou only had four ladies-in-waiting before Maomao came to the Jade Pavilion. However, she is very picky about them and Maomao instantly realizes that all of her colleagues are genuinely nice and trustworthy people, who have no ambitions to undermine their mistress. Gyokuyou also decided to take in Maomao as gratitude for saving her daughter and views her as a very valuable asset. The three extra ladies who get hired later on are also familiar with Gyokuyou and more-or-less confirm that she never would have hired Maomao without a good reason.
• Faint in Shock: Has an episode of this when she made to witness the lengths Jinshi was willing to go in order to remove himself from the line of succession and the emperor's resulting wrath regarding Jinshi's decision. Thankfully Maomao was able to catch her in time.
• Foreign Fanservice: Gyokuyou is said to have foreign ancestry, which explains her exotic hair and eye color. She inherited her looks from her mother, who was a traveling dancer from the west.
• The Gadfly: Thanks to her cunning, she is fully capable of keeping up with Jinshi's snarky nature and loves teasing him, especially when it's about Maomao. There are implications that it's the only time she can act anywhere near her age of 19-20.
• Good Parents: She is shown to be a kind and loving mother to Lingli and has a fairly open-minded approach to raising her.
• Green-Eyed Monster: You would not expect this from someone like her, but listen close as she says how she's jealous on how she sees several men like Jinshi and Fuyou's childhood friend being devoted and loyal to one woman they love (Maomao, Fuyou). Considering she is one of the current emperor's concubines, she has to share him with the other consorts but it's unknown if she truly loves the emperor or not.
• Hot Consort: Gyokuyou is known for her beauty and exotic features, as well as being the emperor's favorite concubine. She eventually becomes his Empress after she gives birth to a son.
• Imperiled in Pregnancy: She got almost poisoned twice when she was carrying her daughter, so she's rather anxious when she falls pregnant again and does her best to hide it.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Square Enix's official manga translation romanizes her name as "Gyokuyo", while the anime romanizes it as "Gyokuyou".
• Lady in Red: She's mainly associated with red shades for her exotic hair colour, and her beauty made her the Emperor's favourite consort.
• Nice Guy: She is the nicest out of all the consorts. She's thankful to Maomao for saving her daughter's life despite the difference in social status between them showing she can appreciate people's help. When she notices Lishu's hesitation towards her treats, instead of getting insulted or mad, she subtly switches for another that she can consume. She also tried to help Lihua with their situation over their babies' diseases, even though it would put her to a disadvantage as Lihua had a son while Gyokuyou had a daughter.
• Rank Up: At the end of Volume 4, she gives birth to a son and the Emperor declares her his empress.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Gyokuyou is not against listening to good counsel. If Maomao offers a good explanation, she is willing to go against the norm and decide for herself whether she should follow Maomao's advice.
  • The story begins with Gyokuyou trusting the message Maomao sent anonymously. It ends up saving Lingli's life.
  • At the start of Volume 4, Maomao visits the public bath with Shisui and Xiaolan to gain favor with other consorts by plucking their hair or massaging them (it's mostly for Xiaolan's sake). Gyokuyou doesn't mind; on the contrary, she sees this as a good opportunity for Maomao to pick up rumors and other intel that she could use.
  • In the later parts of Volume 4 Maomao predicts complications during the birth of Gyokuyou's second child. She suggests examining Gyokuyou by having a look at her genitalia, to which Gyokuyou consents. When it turns out that Maomao does not have the experience to, in the worst case, perform a Caesarean delivery, she asks to bring in her adoptive father, who is a skilled doctor and can enter the rear palace since he already is a eunuch. The only problem is that he was branded a criminal, to which Hongniang reacts with repulsion, but Gyokuyou again consents, because Maomao trusts Luomen, and Gyokuyou trusts Maomao.
• Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Her red hair and jade-coloured eyes are noted to be uncommon in the setting, and she takes the main protagonist as her Lady-In-Waiting.
• The Social Expert: Gyokuyou shows time and time again that she is an expert in reading and understanding people. She is diplomatic and considerate, but firm when she has to be.
• Stepford Smiler: Downplayed, but Gyokuyou learned at an early age to hide her negative emotions with her smiles to not give her abusive family members, particularly her older half-brother, any quarter. She is much happier now that she's away from them, but this behavior still occasionally crop up in stressful situations.
• Teen Genius: At the start of the series, Gyokuyou is still only 19. She is highly valued for her intelligence as one of the upper-class consorts, and her cautiousness, foresight, and excellent skill in reading people correctly is one of the reasons why she does not suffer abuse like Lihua or Lishu do.
• Troll: She really gets a kick out of teasing Jinshi about his infatuation with Maomao.

Princess Lingli

Princess Lingli (铃丽/鈴麗, Línglì)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Monica Piskor (English)

The daughter of Consort Gyokuyou and the Emperor.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Gyokuyou has also been known to refer to her as Xiaoling (小铃/小鈴, Xiǎolíng).
• Cheerful Child: She's an outgoing and friendly little girl.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: She absolutely adores cats, which is why she is instantly drawn to Maomao the cat. Funnily, she also likes the human Maomao.
• Sole Survivor: The only known victim of the "Harem's Curse" (lead poisoning caused by face powder) to recover and survive.
• Tomboy: Maomao notes her adventurous streak. Her curious tomboy nature leads to the discovery of Maomao the cat.

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Yaqin

Yaqin

Debut: Volume 10

Gyoku-ou's daughter and thus Gyokuyou's niece sent to the Imperial Palace as a potential consort. Having figured out her brother's ploy, Gyokuyou instead takes the girl under her wing.

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• Rags to Riches: Prior to her adoption by Gyoku-ou, she was simple farmer's daughter. Now she's essentially royalty.

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Hongniang

Hongniang (红娘/紅娘, Hóngniáng)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Kyosuke Nitta (Japanese, Drama CD), Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese, Anime), Giovannie Cruz (English)

Gyokuyou's head Lady-In-Waiting. Maomao's immediate superior during her time in the Jade Pavilion.

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• Benevolent Boss: Maomao thinks that Hongniang is very skilled at motivating her subordinates as shown in the Rules Lawyer entry.
• Hopeless Suitor: She had her eyes on Gaoshun, but learns in Volume 3 that he's already married and has children.
• Old Maid: Downplayed. Hongniang is thirty years old at the start of the series. She is already older than the average serving woman in the rear palace at an age when it's time to find a partner and marry.
• Only Sane Man: She appears to be this out of everyone from the Jade Pavilion as Gyokuyou enjoys teasing Jinshi about his feelings for Maomao a lot, Ailan, Guiyuan and Yinghua occasionally get into incidents (like the one with the aphrodisiacs) and Maomao is well... Maomao.
• Rules Lawyer: When Hongniang learned of Maomao's kidnapping, she caused Maomao to "accidentally" break an expensive carafe. The resulting debt was assigned to her kidnappers, preventing them claiming the customary portion of Maomao's salary... while letting Maomao herself keep her full share.
• Straight Man: In many of the story's more comedic moments, Hongniang often acts as the straight man and will occasionally give Maomao a Dope Slap when she does something stupid.

Ailan, Guiyuan, and Yinghua

Ailan (爱蓝/愛藍, Àilán), Guiyuan (贵园/貴園, Guìyuán), and Yinghua (樱花/櫻花/桜花, Yīnghuā)

Debut: Volume 1

Ailan is voiced by: Mari Kawano (Japanese, Drama CD), Misa Ishii (Japanese, Anime), Naya Moreno (English)
Guiyuan is voiced by: Kyouka Moriya (Japanese, Drama CD), Takako Tanaka (Japanese, Anime), Kelly Greenshield (English)
Yinghua is voiced by: Saeko Kamijo (Japanese, Drama CD), Rie Hikisaka (Japanese, Anime), Kelsey Maher (English)

From left to right: Ailan, Guiyuan, Yinghua & Maomao

Gyokuyou's three regular Ladies-in-Waiting.

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• Big Sister Instinct: All three display this in their interactions with Maomao; they supply her with extra food and keep her from being assigned extra work wherever possible, despite the short staff in the Jade Pavilion.
• Entertainingly Wrong: Part of the reason behind their Big Sister Instinct, is that they keep mistaking Maomao's situation as worse than it actually is. For instance, they thought the bandages on her left arm were caused by an abusive family, rather than from Maomao experimenting on herself, or that Maomao would need far more time to recover from the poisoned soup, not knowing just how ludicrous her Acquired Poison Immunity actually is.
• Hot-Blooded: Yinghua is this as she gets super fired up when talking about the upcoming garden party. During said garden party, Ailan and Guiyuan have restrain her from attacking Lihua's ladies in waiting after the latter group insults them and Maomao.
• The Reliable One: It's no wonder that these three have earned the trust of the discerning Gyokuyou.
• Those Two Girls: Yinghua may get some solo appearances, but Ailan and Guiyan are rarely seen without each other and they are constantly gossiping.
• Workaholic: These three women (and Hongniang) manage a workload that is typically expected to require closer to ten ladies-in-waiting to accomplish.

Haku-u, Koku-u, and Seki-u

Haku-u (白羽, Báiyǚ), Koku-u (黑羽/黒羽, Hēiyǚ), and Seki-u (赤羽, Chìyǚ)

Debut: Volume 3

Three additional Ladies-in-Waiting Gyokuyou acquires during her second pregnancy. They are three sisters, one year apart each, from the same region as Gyokuyou herself.

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• Big Sister Instinct: Seki-u takes care of Xiaolan until the latter's contract ends in Volume 4, as Maomao and Shisui were dismissed from the rear palace (or so she was told).
• Early-Bird Cameo: They are very briefly mentioned in Chapter 15 of Volume 3, but since Maomao has no interest in them, she doesn't really interact with them until Volume 4.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Maomao has trouble differentiating the sisters, which is why they are each wearing a hairband that matches the color of their names.
• D-Cup Distress: Seki-u is quite self-conscious about her large breasts. Since most of the women who hear her complain about this have the opposite problem, she doesn't get much sympathy.
• Shrinking Violet: To the point Seki-u ends up shaking just from Maomao introducing her to Xiaolan and Shisui.
• Strong Family Resemblance: In fact, they look so similar that Maomao cannot tell them apart easily and are made to wear different colored ribbons to help with identification.
• Theme Naming: White Feather, Black Feather, and Red Feather respectively.

Maomao the Cat

Maomao (毛毛, Máomáo)

Debut: Volume 3

A stray calico cat that Maomao caught with Shisui's help. She was allowed to stay in the rear palace because Princess Lingli took a liking to her.

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• Asian Lion Dogs: Played for laughs. The Emperor allows the cat to stay and even bestows her with the official court rank of "Admonisher of Thieves". She mostly hunts down little mice in the medical office.
• Cute Kitten: Once Maomao and the Doctor have cleaned her up, anyway.
• We Named the Monkey "Jack": Technically, Maomao (貓貓) and Maomao the Cat's (毛毛) names are different, they just sound extremely similar. The former means kitty and uses the first tone, while the latter means furry and uses the second tone. Maomao (the human one) wasn't pleased with the choice.

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The Crystal Pavilion

Consort Lihua

Lihua (梨花, Líhuā)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Yui Ishikawa (Japanese), Trina Nishimura (English)

^{Click to see Lihua's appearance in the manga}

The Wise Consort

The Wise Consort. Lihua is initially 23 years old when Maomao enters the rear palace and the Emperor's second favourite. Maomao revives her from the brink of death from poisoning and earns her favour.

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• Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed, because she already was a Spoiled Sweet person in the novel. In Episode 5 of the anime, when Maomao takes a rest on a bench after caring for Lihua for a few months, Lihua comes and gently pets Maomao on the head. In addition, the lady-in-waiting who had stupidly kept applying the poisonous makeup until Maomao caught her is spared, whereas the manga notes her dismissal.
• Alternate Character Reading: Her name is written as 梨花: in Japanese, this is pronounced "Rika" but the furigana point out that her name is to be pronounced Rifa. Since this is neither the on nor the kun reading, the English translator guessed that the Mandarin pronunciation is likely the intention, which is why they use Lihua.
• Bait-and-Switch Character Intro: Maomao's first encounter with Lihua is when the Consort attacks Gyokuyou in a fit of hysteria, wrongly believing the other consort has cursed her son. However, as Maomao nurses her back to health, her true graceful and kind personality reveals itself.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted. Lihua's poisoning leaves her with a haggard, gaunt appearance that helps Maomao identify the true nature of the "curse". When Maomao comes to her care, Lihua is emaciated and near-death, and it takes a full two months for her to recover.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Lihua is frequently described as full-figured, especially regarding her gigantic breasts. After voicing her concern that the Emperor will lose interest with her, Lihua gets some tips from Maomao about how to use her large breasts to "pleasure" the Emperor. Judging by the Emperor's subsequent absence from the Jade Pavilion, it's safe to say they worked.
• Despair Event Horizon: Lihua briefly passes it when her firstborn dies from the "curse", and has nearly lost the will to live by the time Maomao arrives to nurse her back to health.
• Foil: To Gyokuyou, her main competitor for the Emperor's favor. The two are presented as roughly equal in terms of grace and beauty (if anything, Lihua's curvaceous figure puts her slightly ahead in the latter). Where Lihua falls behind is in judgement, the area Gyokuyou consistently excels in.
  • This is established at the beginning of the story, when the children of both consorts are afflicted by the "curse". Lihua either fails to hear or heed the warning Maomao leaves and loses her son as a result; Gyokuyou followed the warning, saving her daughter's life. More subtly, Lihua used the toxic makeup herself, while Gyokuyou did not (her daughter's exposure to the face powder came instead from a wet nurse).
  • Lihua left staffing of her residence to her cousin Shin, who intentionally gathered a large group of haughty, unpleasant and mostly incompetent ladies-in-waiting. Gyokuyou is more discerning, and is attended to by a smaller group of kind, talented women who have earned her trust.
• Horrible Judge of Character:
  • Subtle, but present when it comes to her ladies-in-waiting. This is most obvious with Shin, who was secretly plotting to give her an abortion. As for the rest of her staff, their loyalty may be unquestionable, but their competency is not. Then again, she didn't exactly pick her ladies-in-waiting.
  • To a lesser extent with Gyokuyou, whom she initially believed to be the cause of her son's condition. Then again, she was suffering from the metal poisoning makeup so her judgement was skewed at the moment.
• Hot Consort: Lihua is very attractive and has the most voluptuous figure of the high consorts.
• Hysterical Woman: When Lihua is first introduced, she is shown screaming at the top of her lungs and slapping Gyokuyou in the face. Justified, as her baby was dying and she herself was suffering from the same lead poisoning that was killing him. She's normally a much kinder and more level-headed person, as later shown following her recovery.
• It's All My Fault: Her ignoring Maomao’s warning ends up costing her son's life. She is on the verge of giving up on life at the start of the story, still being affected by the poison that killed her son. Even after recovering, she wonders if she has lost all favor with the emperor, but Maomao assures her that the emperor still cares a lot about Lihua since he was the one who sent Maomao to nurse Lihua back to health in the first place.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Her infant son dies because of her lead makeup, and she briefly undergoes a Despair Event Horizon. She becomes extra cautious and protective when she is pregnant a second time.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Lihua is shown to be a kind and graceful woman who treats others well. The two times she slapped a person in the face were when her child and later on her second pregnancy were in danger. Even then, when she slapped Shin in the face for trying to secretly abort her pregnancy, she still managed to remain relatively calm and composed (though it could be argued that it was partially because the latter was family). The fact that she was hysterically screaming at the top of her lungs during the incident where she slapped Gyokuyou also showed how much of a toll the poison from the lead makeup had on her mental state.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Lihua has pale skin and stark hair, while being one of the most beautiful women in the setting.
• Spoiled Sweet: She comes from an influential family that is related to the Emperor and she has her pride, but she isn't arrogant. Maomao notices this after she nurses Lihua back to health, with Lihua being very thankful to Maomao for saving her life and from that point on treats her very well. She even gives her a hairpin in case if Maomao would be interested in serving her.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Played for drama. The moment Maomao arrives to care for the ailing Lihua (who by this point is bedridden), it is clear that not a single one of the consort's ladies-in-waiting have any idea how to help her. They insist on feeding her rich food that she's too weak to swallow and prevent Maomao from giving her a more suitable diet or do anything that could help with treatment. The real kicker, though, is that one of the maids chose to keep applying lead face powder to Lihua—the same banned makeup, mind you, that killed her son and is poisoning her in the first place. Maomao suspects that this was a deliberate choice by Shin, who was trying to sabotage her cousin out of envy. It is noted by Maomao in later volumes that a number of those ladies-in-waiting that harassed Maomao had been dismissed and replaced with more competent servants.
• Taught by Experience: Having lost her first son (and nearly her own life) to the poisoned makeup, Lihua is far more cautious during her second pregnancy. Thankfully, her second son is born without issue.
• Token Good Teammate: Save for the aforementioned bout of hysteria towards Gyokuyou, Lihua is nothing but gracious and kind. Her ladies-in-waiting? Not much good to say about them. She is the only one to treat Maomao well and show gratitude while the others are happy to talk behind Maomao’s back and be fearful when they recognize her. It is later noted most of them were fired and replaced.
• True Blue Femininity: Her Colour Motif as a Consort is blue, contrasting with Gyokuyou.

Shin (unmarked spoilers)

Shin (杏, Xìng)

Debut: Volume 3

Voiced by: Sayaka Kinoshita (Japanese)

Shin (left) and Lihua (right)

Lihua's chief Lady-In-Waiting. Shin is Lihua's first cousin, and was a candidate to become Wise Consort, until Lihua was given the role.

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• Adaptational Early Appearance: Episode 1 of the anime adaptation shows Shin from behind in a Freeze-Frame Bonus, pushing the flower that was Maomao's warning about the poisonous face powder out of the Crystal Palace; also implicating her in the loss of Lihua's firstborn.
• Adaptational Villainy: As noted above, instead of Lihua ignoring Maomao's warning in the novels, Shin in the anime adaptation is shown having pushed the warning out, ensuring Lihua never saw the warning at all, making her indirectly responsible for Lihua's firstborn's death as well.
• Ambition Is Evil: Shin wanted, above all, to become the Mother of the Nation (i.e. the mother of the next Emperor), and she was perfectly happy with 'accidentally' poisoning her cousin into infertility or death to achieve this.
• Cruel Mercy: Shin trying to create an abortion drug to make her cousin infertile during her second pregnancy with a prince is something that can result in capital punishment. Lihua chooses to spare her from death, but Shin has all but ensured all her prospects and reputation are ruined from her crime.
• Driven by Envy: She's not happy that Lihua was chosen as consort instead of her. In an effort to sabotage her, she purposefully hires incompetent staff and gets caught trying to make abortion drugs when Lihua becomes pregnant again.
• False Friend: Shin had remained on outwardly good terms with Lihua even while attempting to keep her from having her life saved (or to covertly abort Lihua's second pregnancy), on top of ensuring Lihua had incompentent maids. The facade did not falter until Maomao revealed the attempt to make abortion drugs to Lihua.
• Foil: To her cousin, Lihua. Both have their pride, but the difference is that Shin is selfish and prideful. Her pride leads to envy, which drives her to secretly trying to poison her cousin with abortion drugs. Maomao even notes this was probably another factor why the Emperor chose Lihua as a consort over her (aside from her lack of breasts). While her cousin is kind and graceful being thankful to Maomao for saving her despite her lower class, Shin slapped her for touching her.
• Inconsistent Spelling: The light novel translation goes with Shin, as is written out in katakana (シン). Square Enix's official English translation goes with Xing instead.
• The Narcissist: Shin's narcissistic behavior is one of the distinctive differences between her and her cousin Lihua.
  • Shin disrespects everyone. From eunuchs or lowly maids like Gaoshun and Maomao touching her to her own mistress, Lihua. The only reason Lihua tolerated this for so long was because she pitied Shin, her own cousin, who failed to attract the emperor. It has the opposite effect though as Lihua's compassion towards her cousin is perceived as arrogance by Shin.
  • She thinks herself better than Lihua in every aspect and wants to deny Lihua of any happiness or further advancement in any possible way. Shin was the one who chose Lihua's ladies-in-waiting, deliberately picking ones that would not disobey her specifically, and it's indirectly implied she deliberately didn't interfere when one of Lihua's ladies-in-waiting kept applying the toxic face powder to Lihua in the hopes that it would kill her (while hiding the stench with incense), just as Shin later tries in Volume 3 to use one of the sick ladies-in-waiting to hide abortion-inducing perfumes. The anime adaptation also has her deliberately ignore and discard Maomao's warning about the face powder, which ultimately killed Lihua's firstborn and left Lihua both a physical and emotional wreck for a long while.
  • Maomao figures the only reason Shin really wants to become the Mother of the Nation (i. e. the Empress) is for power and her own ego. She couldn't care less about the Emperor or the people of the empire, and likely that was why the Emperor chose Lihua over her.
• The Resenter: Shin is Driven by Envy. She envies Lihua for her position as consort and hates having to serve her. Both were sent by their families to gain the Emperor's affection, but only Lihua was accepted as consort.
• Social Climber: Shin merely seeks the position of Empress for her own pride. She does not care about the Emperor or the nation or anything, which is the major difference between her and Lihua.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Shin is a beautiful woman and looks very similar to Lihua. This is where their similarities end, though.
• Token Evil Teammate: Is this out of Lihua's staff. While the majority of Lihua's maids may be arrogant, they at least care about her. Shin on the other hand, actively (albeit covertly) tries to sabotage her cousin and couldn't care less if she died.

The Diamond Pavilion

Consort Lishu

Lishu (里树/里樹, Lǐshù)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Hina Kino (Japanese), Reshel Mae (English)

^{Click to see Lishu's appearance in the manga}

The Virtuous Consort

The Virtuous Consort. She is 14 when Maomao enters the rear palace. Lishu was 8 when her parents made her one of the former emperor's consorts. At that time, she spent a lot of time with Lady Ah-Duo, the partner of the crown prince, until the former emperor passed away and Lishu was sent away to become a nun. A few years later, the new emperor took her in as a consort again.

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• All of the Other Reindeer: Lishu gets no respect at all from her staff, mostly due to a combination of her young age (which means she never gets any night visits from the emperor), her past as one of the Former Emperor's consorts, and her timid personality. Ah-Duo's ladies-in-waiting and Maomao show more concern for her and her wellbeing than the people she should be trusting.
• The Baby of the Bunch: At 14, she's the youngest of the Emperor's consorts, as she was made a consort at only eight years old by the previous Emperor due to his preference for young girls. Unfortunately, despite Ah-Duo doing her best to look out for her, Lishu's young age is one reason why she's constantly bullied and disrespected by her own ladies-in-waiting.
• Bully Magnet: Her timid personality combined with her position as one of the top four consorts in the rear palace, as well as the fact that she already was the consort of the previous emperor makes her an easy bully target for everyone around her, including her own ladies-in-waiting.
• The Bus Came Back: She comes back in Volume 10 when Basen encounters her while handling an assignment Jinshi set him on.
• Does Not Like Spam: Besides being allergic to seafood, she also tries to avoid honey, as she apparently almost died after being fed honey as an infant. In the later parts of Volume 1, this is later revealed to be the reason why Fengming tried to kill Lishu. Lishu could have tipped Ah-Duo off that Fengming accidentally killed Ah-Duo's "son" with honey.
• Hidden Depths: Volume 10 showcases she is pretty good at handling animals, especially ducks, which proves to be helpful to Lihaku in completing his assignment.
• Inconsistent Spelling: The katakana of her name 里樹 says it's to be pronounced リーシュ (Rīshu), which is why her name is also romanized as Rishu, Riishu or Rīshu. Justified as the letter L doesn’t even exist in the written Japanese alphabet.
• Lonely Rich Kid: Being shipped off to the royal harem at age eight does not create a convenient environment to make friends, especially since the other consorts are much older and the maids, being your maids, can never be your equal. To make matters worse, Lishu's maids have no respect for her and bully her for reasons that aren't her fault, leaving her with no real friends or allies aside from Maomao and Ah-Duo (at least until her food taster Kanan reforms). In Volume 10, this is taken further as the only companions Lishu has during her time in the convent is the animals she is tasked with taking care of.
• Missing Mom: Her mother is no longer alive. She treasures a mirror that her mother gave her.
• No Social Skills: In Volume 1, Lishu attends a banquet wearing a deep pink dress: as her Color Motif is supposed to be white, it implies she's unable to follow the rules and it makes her look like a rival for Gyokuyou. Maomao suspects that Lishu's haidmaidens (who were all wearing the correct white attire) tricked her into wearing pink to humiliate her in public.
• Old Man Marrying a Child: She became a consort to the previous Emperor when she was barely eight years old. Maomao is disgusted when she learns just how old Lishu was at the time. Thankfully, the previous Emperor died before he could lay a hand on her and the current Emperor doesn't have her fulfill her duties as a consort due to her young age to where he considered marrying her off to the younger Jinshi and later is implied to be willing to let her marry the similar aged Basan instead.
• Picky Eater: She doesn't like fish or honey; her ladies-in-waiting, who already have no respect for her, tend to bully her by forcing her to eat foods she doesn't like while assuming she's just being picky due to her young age. However, her dislikes are justified since she's allergic to seafood and she almost died from being fed honey as a baby^note In general, babies younger than one year can't consume honey since they are still vulnerable to any bacteria in the honey.
• Plot Allergy: She's allergic to seafood, but she was forced to eat a dish containing mackerel at a banquet in Volume 1 because her food taster, Kanan, swapped her plate with Gyokuyou's to bully her. She's left covered with hives, but the swap prevents a poisoning attempt against her. In the aftermath, Maomao later calls Kanan out by spelling how stupid it is to bully someone who is able to execute you for ruining their health. Much later, Maomao uses this fact to prove to her father, who believes Lishu isn't his child, that she is his biological daughter as he also has a seafood allergy.
• Precocious Crush: She's only 14 when first introduced, and like many other female residents of the rear palace, she's very obviously smitten with Jinshi thanks to his good looks. She later develops feelings for Basen which he reciprocates, and it is implied the Emperor will allow them to be together after she spends a year in the convent.
• Protectorate: Lishu was a helpless child when she was sent to the rear palace at the age of eight. The former emperor being a pedophile was one of the reasons why Ah-Duo kept staying together with Lishu during his reign to keep the former emperor from approaching her. Later on, the current emperor brought her back to the rear palace as one of his consorts without ever touching her, because there was a realistic chance her opportunistic father would try to use her as a political pawn again.
• Put on a Bus: After the events of Volume 6 which was her Day in the Limelight, she is sent off to a convent for a year, but it is implied that after a year she will be paired with Basen. She eventually returns a few volumes later.
• Rage Breaking Point: She reaches this point in Volume 6 after being betrayed by most of her maids-in-waiting and falsely imprisoned for an extended period of time despite Maomao finding evidence that should have exonerated her. She is tricked into believing Kanan doesn’t care about her due to her taking forever to bring her food while in reality Kanan was being harrassed, and she was keeping it to herself.
• Rescue Romance: She falls in love with Basen after he saves her on multiple occasions throughout Volumes 5 and 6.
• Shrinking Violet: Lishu is quite timid and shy around most other characters. Unfortunately for her, her being this as well as other reasons outside of her control are why she is bullied by her own servants.
• The Unfavorite: Her father makes it no secret that he favors anyone and everyone, especially her half-sister, over her. She serves as this to the Emperor as well, but this isn’t out of malice. Instead, he has no interest in a consort so young, and he’s actually concerned regarding her future, with her being a consort being a way to protect her from being further exploited by her father for political gain.
• Virgin in a White Dress: She's rather naive, unaccustomed to being a consort and her Color Motif is white.

Kanan

Kanan (河南, Hénán)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Umeka Shoji (Japanese), Kat Lozano (English)

Lishu's food taster in the first volume. Promoted to Chief Lady-In-Waiting at some point after the first volume.

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• Bullying a Dragon: Joins in with the bullying of Lishu in Volume 1, including switching food at the Garden Party so Lishu had to eat something she was allergic to. Lishu could have had her executed for that.
• Everyone Has Standards: As much as she apparently enjoyed picking on Lishu and making fun of her eating habits (while assuming Lishu is just a Picky Eater when she's actually allergic to fish), she never meant to actually harm her mistress and is horrified to learn she was effectively poisoning her.
• Heel Realization: After learning part of the reason Lishu is picky about her food is due to her allergies, and finding out that forcing her to eat such food is basically poisoning her, Kanan appears to realize how wrong she was.
• Karmic Jackpot: Unlike the other so-called maids in waiting, Lishu made sure Kanan was rewarded for her services. After releasing Kanan from her service, she had the Emperor find a good match for Kanan, so Kanan could have a good future.
• My God, What Have I Done?: It's strongly implied that Kanan was unaware of Lishu's allergy and simply assumed she was picky. When Maomao spells out how she effectively poisoned Lishu, her horrified face says it all. She also has this face when Maomao consumes poison that was meant for Lishu.
• Only Friend: After her Heel–Face Turn, she’s effectively Lishu’s only ally, and she’s the closest thing she has to a friend. She continues to be this even when Lishu is wrongly imprisoned due to false allegations/evidence in Volume 6.
• Poor Communication Kills: Barely averted. Kanan is harassed by others when she remains loyal to Lishu which results in her prolonged absences from attending to Lishu. While she means well to keep it to herself, it eventually causes Lishu to be vulnerable to being manipulated into believing that Kanan betrayed her as well. Lishu is thankfully saved. In Volume 10, it is revealed by Lishu that the two of them apparently reconciled, but they had to go their separate ways.
• Put on a Bus: After Volume 6, she disappears from the plot. In Volume 10, it is revealed that Lishu put Kanan on the bus personally as seen in Karmic Jackpot.
• Reformed Bully: Initially, she bullied Lishu along with her mistress' other ladies-in-waiting, and in her first appearance she switches plates at the garden party just to force Lishu to eat a dish with fish in it. After Maomao points out just how serious her actions were since Lishu is actually allergic to seafood, Kanan appears to have resolved to look after Lishu properly.
• Spanner in the Works: By switching out Lishu's food for Gyokuyou's in an attempt to humiliate the former, she inadvertently thwarts an assassination attempt.
• Token Good Teammate: Following the garden party, Kanan is the only one of Lishu's staff who actually cares about her and looks after her properly.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Kanan is shown to be far nicer to her mistress by her next appearance. She even comforts Lishu as she is freaked out after taking Maomao’s class to curry favor with the Emperor. She has become Lishu's only direct ally.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: In the aftermath of Volume 6, it isn’t entirely clear what happened to her after Lishu was rescued and sent to spend a year in the convent. It is revealed by Lishu in Volume 10 that she released Kanan from her service, and she got the Emperor to find Kanan a good match.

Lishu's Original Chief Lady-in-Waiting

Lishu's Chief Lady-In-Waiting

Debut: Volume 3

Thanks to Lishu's young age and timid personality, this woman was the effective ruler of the Diamond Pavilion. Even after being replaced in her position by Kanan, she still retains the most influence over the remainder of the pavilion's staff.

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• Alpha Bitch: Turned Lishu's staff into her own personal Girl Posse, and used them to subtly abuse their mistress.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: As Maomao notices during one of her visits to the Diamond Pavilion, while the former Chief Lady-In-Waiting's words may seem well meaning on the surface, they are just another way to bully her mistress.
• Bullying a Dragon: Leads the Diamond Pavilion's staff in an extended campaign of low-grade abuse against Lishu. This continues until Jinshi catches her in the act in the fourth book. Lishu could have had her dismissed or outright executed for such behavior.
• Did Not Think This Through: She thinks that framing and getting Lishu kicked out of the Rear Palace would give her a new opportunity. She apparently didn’t realize, as Lishu's retainer and essentially property, she’d be kicked out as well.
• Stealing from the Till: Helps herself to Lishu's things. Jinshi eventually catches her wearing a hair stick that only Lishu is permitted to have, and he witnesses her taking one of Lishu's belongings and refusing to give it back despite Lishu demanding its return.
• Uncertain Doom: The fate of Lishu's former chief and the other ladies-in-waiting besides Kanan was not made clear. While it was more or less implied that at the very least, they would be dismissed because of Lishu being removed from the rear palace, which was a consequence they were unaware of, Maomao provided evidence indicating they were most likely framing Lishu which would possibly result in greater consequences since it did nearly result in Lishu getting killed.

The Garnet Pavilion

Consort Ah-Duo

Ah-Duo (阿多, Āduō)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Yuko Kaida (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

The Pure Consort

The Pure Consort. Being 35 years old when Maomao enters the rear palace, she is one year older than the Emperor, and is the eldest of the four consorts. She was the Emperor's first consort, and also his oldest friend.

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• Better as Friends: She always saw the Emperor as a friend instead of a romantic partner, and renews the friendship after giving up the title of consort. He's fond enough of her that he gives her a villa in palace grounds to live in after she vacates the Garnet Pavilion. It's implied that on the Emperor's end though, this isn't quite the case. There are strong hints that, while he treats all his concubines well, Ah-Duo is who the Emperor loves most of all, only giving up on taking her as his official Empress due to her no longer being capable of bearing children. Even after vacating her position, the Emperor continues to consult Ah-Duo for advice.
• Bifauxnen: While Ah-Duo is biologically female, her appearance is androgynous and her disposition is said to have a gallant quality to it, which causes many of her maidservants to fawn over her. Upon meeting her, Maomao notes that while she deems Ah-Duo to be beautiful regardless, she would look very handsome in a man's outfit. Maomao is proven correct when she runs into Ah-Duo wearing men's clothing while having a drink, shortly before her official dismissal as consort. In Ah-Duo's subsequent appearances, this seems to be her preferred way of dress.
• Body Double: Ah-Duo stands in for the Imperial Brother at a high official meeting in vol. 4 of the novel. As the Imperial Brother already is seldom seen in public, and on the few occassions he is seen tends to have his face covered with a mask due to what is explained to be burn scars acquired in childhood, this is fairly easy for Ah-Duo to do, provided she doesn't speak. It probably also helps that, mask aside, Ah-Duo already physically resembles the Imperial Brother on account of being his real biological mother.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Surprisingly or not, Ah-Duo does have a decent chest size, showing she does fit with the Emperor's type.
• Childhood Friends: With the Emperor and Gaoshun. They grew up and played together. Later on, she became the Emperor's first partner.
• The Confidant: It is said that Ah-Duo was also kept as a consort for so long because she advised the emperor on many matters, which is another reason why after her tenure as consort ends, she moves to a villa close-by. Even as Gyokuyou becomes Empress, the current emperor still goes to Ah-Duo for advice.
• Friend to All Children: As seen with Lishu, Ah-Duo is very kind and caring towards children. As revealed at the end of Volume 4, the surviving children of the Shi clan (including Suirei) reside in Ah-Duo's Imperial villa.
• Girliness Upgrade: Inverted. After Ah-Duo leaves the rear palace, her preferred choice of dress is men's clothing.
• Inconsistent Spelling: In the official translation of the Square Enix manga, her name 阿多 is romanized as Aduo.
• The Lad-ette: Ah-duo is described as a woman who fits in male garments just as well as female ones. At the end of Volume 1 and in later volumes, she is constantly seen dressed in men's clothing, indicating that she prefers them over women's robes. She also enjoys alcohol a lot. It's later shown that she's been like this since she was young, and her being One of the Boys is part of why she's so close to the emperor, having played and interacted with him as an equal since childhood.
• Law of Inverse Fertility: Being an Imperial Consort, Mandatory Motherhood is kinda expected. Unfortunately for Ah-Duo, giving birth to her only son was so fraught with complications (in part because her labor coincided with the Emperor's brother) that her womb had to be removed, and she wound up Outliving One's Offspring (or so the public is led to believe). The Emperor nonetheless kept her beside him for almost two decades out of fondness for their childhood friendship, but she ultimately departs as she cannot produce another heir to the throne.
• Mama Bear: For all of her otherwise more masculine traits, Ah-Duo has, by her own admission, a strong maternal instinct and cares a lot for children.
  • After her son's traumatic birth, fearing for his life and her capacity to care for her son properly while knowing he would not get as much attention as the Crown Prince's brother, who was born at nearly the same time, she swapped the two children. She knew that being raised as the second prince would give her child better odds for survival. Despite her desire to be freed from being a Consort, it's implied at least part of the reason Ah-Duo allowed being retained in the position for as long as she had because it gave her the opportunity to have a relationship with Jinshi, her son, even if he isn't aware of the truth.
  • Ah-Duo was able to love the Emperess Dowager Anshi's second son, when his real mother could not given the dark circumstances around his conception. This was in part what helped fuel the decision to swap the children, since her own child would get better care while Anshi's child would at least be loved. When the child died in infancy, Ah-Duo genuinely mourned his death.
  • Ah-Duo was very protective of a young Lishu in the past. This was at a time when the former emperor, a known pedophile, was still reigning.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Ah-Duo is the strikingly handsome woman to Jinshi's ethereally beautiful man. Which is fitting given that Ah-Duo is Jinshi's real biological mother.
• Older Than She Looks: It's remarked by multiple cast members that Ah-Duo looks considerably younger than she really is, especially since she's around the same age as the Emperor.
• Parental Substitute: Lishu sees her as somewhat of a maternal figure, due to talking to her and playing with her when she was younger. When Lishu comes to see her off, Maomao notes that Ah-Duo looks "like a mother" when she greets the young girl.
• Strong Family Resemblance: With Jinshi, her biological son. They look so much alike, Maomao remarks about how they look like the same person wearing different clothes long before knowing the truth.
• Teen Pregnancy: If the math is right, Ah-Duo gave birth to her only child at the age of 17.

Fengming (Unmarked Spoilers)

Fengming (风明/風明, Fēngmíng)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka (Japanese), Sarah Vahle (English)

Ah-Duo's head maid, who has served her for years.

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• Accidental Murder: She accidentally killed Ah-Duo's son (or so she thought) by feeding him honey. As Maomao points out, honeys that are safe for adults to eat aren't necessarily safe for babies to eat.
• Affably Evil: Fengming is unfailingly polite and courteous. When Maomao confronts her about her crimes, she remains polite (albeit cold) throughout the exchange until her confession brings her to tears.
• The Butler Did It: Well, more like tried to do it. She orchestrated the assassination attempt on Lishu, marking the first true conspiracy Maomao uncovers.
• Dramatic Irony: She dies believing she killed Ah-Duo's son, but later events reveal Fengming actually killed the real Imperial Brother and Ah-Duo's real son is still alive as Jinshi.
• Face Death with Dignity: After Maomao uncovers her crimes, such as attempting to poison Lishu and accidentally killing a baby, Maomao convinces her to turn herself in while making her two motivations into one. While she was doomed either way, Maomao allowed her to carry her darkest secret to her grave.
• Jerkass to One: Fengming became hostile to Lishu out of fear that she would alert Ah-Duo to the cause of her son's death. Otherwise, she is unfailingly polite and courteous, even to the servant girls.
• My God, What Have I Done?: She was responsible for her beloved mistress losing her only son because she wanted to give the baby a little treat from her home. Needless to say, she carries a heapload of guilt for that.
• One Degree of Separation: It is revealed after her death that her family was connected to those that kidnapped and sold off Maomao to the Rear Palace.
• Undying Loyalty: She downright reveres Ah-Duo and does her best to serve her. That's why Fengming cannot forgive herself for her Accidental Murder of Ah-Duo's only son.

Consort Loulan (unmarked spoilers)

Loulan (楼兰/樓蘭/楼蘭, Lóulán)

Debut: Volume 2

^{Click to see her appearance in the manga}

The Second Pure Consort

Ah-Duo's 17-year-old replacement as the mistress of the Garnet Pavilion. Loulan is the daughter of Shishou, an official who rose to prominence in the time of the Emperor's father, and his wife Shenmei. Appears more often under the name Shisui.

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• Animal Motifs: A tanuki, for her ability to disguise herself and fool others. However, her intelligence and willingness to play the villain make her more resemble an Asian Fox Spirit. The new name she assumes after she runs away from the Li Empire is also possibly a reference to Tamamo-no-Mae.
• Antagonistic Offspring: As it turns out at the end of Volume 4, Loulan only pretended to side with her mother and played the role of the obedient daughter.
• Anti-Hero: Loulan isn't evil actually. She kidnaps Maomao when the latter discovers Suirei's identity, but she treats Maomao respectfully and tries to make sure that Maomao isn't harmed. As it turns out, she was Good All Along. Her goal with her father was to stop her mother and the corrupt Shi clan.
• Beneath the Mask: Underneath the stoic and obedient Loulan is a free-spirited girl who loves bugs. While she perhaps used the visits to the bath as a way to relay information to Suirei, she probably genuinely wanted to help her friend Xiaolan.
• Big Sister Instinct:
  • Inverted with her older half-sister, Suirei. Loulan never liked her mother abusing Suirei. If she had to choose between her mother or her sister, she would choose her sister.
  • Played straight with the young children like Kyou-u whose mothers serve Loulan's mother, Shenmei. At the end of Volume 4, she is Faking the Dead by making them drink the resurrection drug (letting the invading soldiers believe they were poisoned to death) and asks Maomao to take care of them when they wake up and Jinshi to spare them.
• Colorblind Confusion: When Maomao participates in a festival in Shisui's hometown, she notes that some of the fox masks are painted with green facial markings, including Shisui's, when they traditionally are red. Shisui then reveals that she's red-green colorblind, and their clan is known for having a high incidence of colorblindness. It is because of this their clan believes themselves to be genetically closest to the first Empress of the nation. This is at least part of the reason for why they were so insistent on making her a consort, so that their clan would have a known descendant be next in line for the throne.
• Extreme Doormat: For her mother, Shenmei. Loulan learned not to disappoint her before she was 5 years old.
• The Fashionista: Loulan gives off this impression, being seen in a succession of fashions from around (and outside) the Empire.
• Friend to Bugs: Shisui regularly visits the mostly abandoned North Quarter to collect (and/or sketch) insects. Her skill with insects is high enough that Maomao has to draft her to collect the luminescent moths for Jinshi's dance in Volume 3.
• Genki Girl: As Shisui, she's very upbeat and chipper.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Loulan and her father, Shishou, die as traitorous villains who had to be eradicated. Loulan is also known as the person who damaged the Imperial younger brother's flawless face and left a scar, for which she is gunned down. Well, except they did it for the good of the empire and she probably survived at the end.
• Hidden Buxom: Her clothes as a consort as well as her work uniform when she's disguised as Shisui conceal her curves fairly well. When Maomao visits the baths with Xiaolan and Shisui, she notes how well-endowed Shisui is in the chest area.
• Love-Interest Traitor: Loulan is one of the Emperor's Upper Consorts. She is, at exactly the same time, involved in a conspiracy against him. Then again, like her father, she is actually loyal to the empire.
• Master of Disguise: The Emperor never can quite get in the mood because whenever he visits her pavilion, he can't recognize her because she looks completely different. This is intentional to make it easier for her to sneak away and let her double take over. Loulan uses her frequent changes in style to hide when she swaps places with her Body Double, Renpu. She can convincingly appear like a completely different person as Shisui. She often played a servant girl without her mother noticing.
• Put on a Bus: After her apparent survival, she has disappeared from the plot with only Maomao occasionally wondering what became of her.
• Spared by the Adaptation: In the web novel, Loulan is cut down. In Volume 4 of the light novel, she is shot in the chest and falls off the roof of the fortress into the snow. They Never Found the Body. The epilogue heavily implies that she survived thanks to Maomao's "borrowed" hairpin, now using the name Tamamo and leaving the empire to travel far away.

Renpu (Unmarked Spoilers)

Renpu (涟风/漣風, Liánfēng)

Debut: Volume 3

A Lady-In-Waiting who serves Loulan in the Garnet Pavilion. Due to their similar sizes and builds, she gets roped into serving as Loulan's body double.

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• Body Double: To Loulan.
• Confusion Fu: Loulan's eccentric fashion sense serves as this. With Loulan looking significantly different each time she is seen, nobody notices when Renpu appears in her place.
• Unwitting Pawn: To Loulan. Renpu had no idea the consort was engaged in treason - and that providing Loulan's alibi would get her implicated as well.

Other Consorts

Fuyou (unmarked spoilers)

Fuyou (芙蓉, Fúróng)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Natsumi Kawaida (Japanese), Sarah Roach (English)

A princess from one of the Empire's client nations, Anan. Introduced to the story as a middle consort of the fourth rank, renowned for her dancing. After messing up a dance in the Emperor's presence, she kept to herself until she left the rear palace to marry a military officer who was her childhood playmate.

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• Babies Ever After: When she makes a reappearance in Volume 9, she is pregnant with her husband’s child, and they are happy together.
• The Bus Came Back: She finally reappeared in Volume 9, a full eight volumes after her departure from the Rear Palace.
• Childhood Friend Romance: The military officer she's married off to is actually her childhood playmate who'd worked tirelessly to gain enough military merits to be able to take her as his wife.
• Contrived Clumsiness: The dancing incident was quite deliberate on her part. Fuyou wanted to save herself for her lover, and screwing up kept the Emperor from taking an interest in her.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: She was gifted to the Emperor as a consort due to her legendary beauty and elegant dancing, despite loving someone else. Through creative deception she was able to maintain her chastity and eventually married to the childhood friend she fell in love with.
• Happily Married: After leaving the Rear Palace, Fuyou marries her childhood friend and is shown to be very happy to be with him and have his child when she makes a reappearance in Volume 9.
• Hidden Buxom: Very much intentional on her part, Fuyou is significantly more attractive than she normally appears. She wears fashion and hairstyles that downplay her beauty as much as possible to avoid attracting desire from the Emperor. It's mentioned in the novel, but especially emphasized in the manga and anime, that Fuyou is breathtaking when she doesn't hide her looks.
• I Will Wait for You: The only way her childhood friend could marry her was joining the military and climbing through the ranks as an exceptional general who could ask for her as a reward. Even after she was made an imperial consort before he could achieve that, she never lost faith he would become a great warrior and eventually win her back from the Emperor himself. Maomao suspects her dance at the eastern gate at night after her bestowing to him is confirmed is her way of a prayer to ensure he's able to return safely.
• Letting Her Hair Down: She has luxurious long hair kept in various braided hairstyles to avoid it being noticed for her beauty. She takes full advantage of this to appear as an unsettling Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl when sleepwalking.
• Sleepwalking: Both chapters of "The Unsettling Matter of the Spirit," were centered around Fuyou developing a case of sleepwalking. She was spotted dancing on the top of the East Wall while asleep at night, though in truth she was pretending it as a way to deter the Emperor from taking carnal interest in her after her childhood friend was finally able to gain enough merits to be bestowed her as his wife.
• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: She was taken from her nation to be a consort of the Emperor because of her exceptional beauty and dancing skills, regardless that she was in love with another man.

Jin (Unmarked Spoilers)

Jin (静/靜, Jìng)

Debut: Volume 3

A middle consort and the daughter of an important government official. She had been shut up in her chambers for a year prior to her death after suffering a facial disfigurement.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Jin was so unpopular that her Ladies in Waiting were willing to help one of her victims cover up her death.
• Asshole Victim: Jin had an altercation with a court lady which possibly ended with the latter accidently killing her in self-defense. That being said, none of her servants liked her very much due to her abusing them and they decided to cover up her death. Jin was also known to attack other consorts out of jealousy.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Jin had a habit of lashing out at consorts who had more of the Emperor's attentions than she did, with poisonous mushrooms as her weapon of choice. She claimed at least two other consorts as victims, and was suspected of at least one more attempt (against Gyokuyou before the series started).
• Dead All Along: The real Jin died a year before her official death. Her staff arranged for her killer/final victim to take her place in the mean time.
• Posthumous Character: Maomao is first introduced to Jin at her funeral.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Jin's father was an (unspecified) high government official, and this protected her from most of the consequences she would have otherwise faced for her behavior.

Rear Palace Staff

Xiaolan

Xiaolan (小兰/小蘭, Xiǎolán)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Misaki Kuno (Japanese), Bree Han (English)

A 14-year-old girl who was sold to the rear palace by her parents. She is one of Maomao's roommates before she moves to the Jade Pavilion and Maomao's first friend in the rear palace.

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• A-Cup Angst: In the baths, it is made clear she wishes she was more gifted in the asset department.
• Big Sister Worship: She looks up to Maomao like a big sister, which is one of the reasons why Maomao is very protective of Xiaolan.
• Cheerful Child: Xiaolan is a bright and cheerful girl. Her innocence is one of the reasons why Maomao is fond of her, even though she would never admit it.
• Gossipy Hens: Xiaolan's main role in the story is to act as Maomao's primary source for palace gossip.
• Ms. Exposition: Xiaolan giving Maomao information about rumors and other bits of gossip she isn’t aware of is another way to describe her role.
• Never Learned to Read: Justified. Xiaolan's parents were poor farmers and the rear palace women don't receive any literary education. One of the plot points in Volume 3 is that despite literature being distributed to the palace women, Xiaolan is unable to read or write, which is why she asks Maomao to teach her.
• Only Friend: It is implied that for the first few months of her time in the rear palace, she was the only person Maomao remotely considered a friend.
• Put on a Bus: It is established in the epilogue of Volume 4 that she has left the rear palace and got a new job elsewhere. Maomao occasionally thinks of her and wonders how she is doing.
• Small Role, Big Impact: If it weren’t for her telling Maomao about the ‘curse’ that was killing the Emperor’s children, Maomao never would’ve gotten curious to figure out what was going on and simply kept her head down. Her role as Ms. Exposition tends to trigger some of Maomao’s actions in other instances, such as using the hairpin to visit her family.
• Sweet Tooth: Maomao is regularly able to bribe Xiaolan with sweets. It helps that they are difficult for a maid to acquire under normal circumstances.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Xiaolan's parents were poor farmers who sold their daughter to the rear palace. At the start of Volume 4, Xiaolan has to figure out what to do in the future, as her two-year-long contract is about to run out and she doesn't think it's possible to go back home. Thanks to Maomao and Shisui's help, she establishes a connection to a lower consort who offers Xiaolan a place as a serving woman in her sister's household.

Guen / The Quack Doctor

Guen (虞淵, Yúyuān)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Mitsuru Ogata (Japanese, Drama CD), Mitsuaki Kanuka (Japanese, Anime), Jim Foronda (English)

A eunuch of friendly character but questionable medical skill who serves as the rear palace's only doctor.

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• Ambiguously Gay: Like most of the minor cast, he openly fawns over Jinshi, though as a eunuch, obviously he can't do much about it.
• Big Brother Instinct: When his family was going through tough times, his younger sister was going to be sold off. He volunteered in her place and willingly became a eunuch to protect her from that fate.
• Body Double: Unknowingly. In Volume 9, he effectively acts as a replacement for Maomao’s father who isn’t capable of making an arduous journey, and the palace couldn’t afford to put him at risk. In case if anything went wrong, the Quack would be a sacrificial pawn.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: This is effectively why he wasn’t punished despite his failure to resolve the poisoning incident that resulted in several of the Emperor’s children dying. However, it is noted that his reputation plummeted as a result.
• Closest Thing We Got: While he is a legitimate doctor by the standards of this fictional world, he isn't a very good one; most accomplished doctors can find far better positions than one which requires them to be castrated.
• Hidden Depths: While he's an awful doctor, he comes from a family of paper makers and knows the family trade very well. Maomao comments that the paper he uses to pack medicine is of very high quality.
• Ironic Name: The kanji used to write Guen's name are 虞 (fear/worry) and 淵 (abyss): the only title less appropriate for the timid, kind-hearted would be "good doctor".
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: He practically dotes on Maomao the cat.
• Kindhearted Simpleton: He may be unqualified, but he's always a friendly face (save for an initial bad impression). That he's voiced to sound a little dopey leans into this trope very heavily.
• Named in the Sequel: His proper name was revealed in Volume 4 of the light novel for the first time. Maomao thinks she probably heard his name before, but she simply forgot. She makes note in other volumes she keeps forgetting his name as well.
• Quack Doctor: Exactly how Maomao refers to him, and unfortunately it's a fair assessment. Justified, as there aren't many skilled doctors willing to become eunuchs: he was the best doctor they could get.
• Sweet Tooth: Maomao mentions that eunuchs can develop a sweet tooth as a result of missing their sex drive, and it is absolutely true in Guen's case. He loves visitors because it gives him a good excuse to serve tea and snacks, which he always seems to have on hand.
• Took a Level in Kindness: He is somewhat hostile towards Maomao during their initial meeting, but he warms up to her rather quickly (willingly accepting advice from and discussing more personal matters with Maomao), and she notes that while he is a Quack Doctor, he is a decent person.

Shisui (Unmarked Spoilers)

Shisui (子翠, Zǐ Cuì)

Debut: Volume 3

A member of the Wardrobe Service like Xiaolan, which is how her and Xiaolan became friends.

For more details, see Loulan.

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Shenlü (Unmarked Spoilers)

Shenlü (深绿/深緑, Shēnlǜ)

Debut: Volume 3

Head of the rear palace's treatment clinic. In the fourth novel, Shenlü is revealed to be a traitor in league with Loulan and Suirei.

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• Closest Thing We Got: Shenlü and her staff don't have any medicine or proper medical training, but they do have sterilized recovery rooms and a full-time nursing staff. Since the rear palace only has one doctor (of dubious competence) and one apothecary (of great competence) to cover a population of several thousand, Shenlü's clinic is the best care all but the highest ranking palace women will ever get.
• Lie Back and Think of England: When you are a prepubescent girl and the Emperor wants to have sex with you, you don't have much of a choice but to go through with it.
• Manipulative Bastard: Shenlü has been getting her revenge on the Imperial Family by handing out Luomen's poison warning flyers to those with grudges against the upper consorts and leaving them to act independently on that knowledge. The most notable case is that of Lihua's cousin/chief Lady-In-Waiting Shin.
• Rape as Backstory: Shenlü and her staff are all bedmates of the Former Emperor - that is, they were all victims of a prolific paedophile that they were not allowed to refuse or defend themselves against on pain of death. Since they were former lovers of an Emperor, the only way out of the rear palace (alive) required their families to be influential enough to arrange a marriage to a government official for them. Those who could not achieve such an escape ended up as the clinic staff.

Taihou

Taihou (大宝/大寶, Dàbǎo)

One of Lady Shenmei's servants during her time in the rear palace. Unfortunately for her, she was also one of the Former Emperor's 'lovers' - and unlike her mistress, she had no suitor willing to help her leave due to her family lacking connections. When she bore a daughter, the Emperor refused to acknowledge the child as his, claiming it was fathered by the rear palace's doctor. She ultimately passed away only a few months prior to the events of the story, never able to leave the rear palace.

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• Connected All Along: While unacknowledged by law, she is or rather was technically the current emperor's stepmother and thus Jinshi's great-aunt.
• And I Must Scream: She was trapped and perished in the home of her rapist, never again allowed to set foot in the outside world as a free woman.
• Posthumous Character: Taihou died shortly before the story begins.
• Rape as Drama: She was essentially forced to be one of the Former Emperor's lovers when she was a prepubescent girl, even conceiving a daughter from it. This caused her to be trapped in the rear palace for the rest of her life since she didn't have any suitors able to allow her to leave.
• The Storyteller: Taihou's one joy once the Former Emperor and Lady Shenmei were both gone from the rear palace. She was responsible for running the scary stories club that Maomao, Shisui, and Yinghua attended up until her death.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The controversy around Taihou's daughter being claimed as the child of the rear palace's doctor resulted in the loophole that allowed non-eunuch doctors to attend the rear palace to be closed, kicking off a chain of events that started with Loumen's castration and ended with Maomao's adventures in the rear palace. Not to mention her unwittingly getting the Former Emperor's attention was the impetus for Lady Shenmei's hatred for the royal family and her plot to destroy them.

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Tian

Tian (天, Tiān)

Debut: Volume 3

The only named member of the new batch of eunuchs added to the rear palace. Very attractive, but suffers from partial paralysis on their left hand.

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• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Tian's looks draw unwanted attention from the women of the rear palace. He doesn't have it quite as bad as Jinshi does, but he's firmly in second place.
• Walking Spoiler: Tian's first significant role in the story is where his true identity is revealed: Suirei.

The Imperial Family

The Emperor

The Emperor

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Daichi Endo (Japanese), Alex Mai (English)

The current Emperor. He is 34 years old at the start of the story. Maomao generally only sees him when he's visiting his harem, but he is by all accounts a decent ruler. He's widely considered an improvement on his father.

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• Childhood Friend Romance: With Ah-Duo. It's implied he had a big crush on her very early on. She was his first consort when he was still only the crown prince and was kept as a high-ranking consort for years, despite only giving birth to one son who sadly passed away shortly after. Or not, since he knows his younger brother Jinshi is actually his son.
• Chivalrous Pervert: His enthusiastic fulfillment of his 'duties' in the rear palace, support of the 'instructional materials' Maomao supplies, and his open preference for women with a certain endowment that Maomao personally lacks place him firmly in this territory. But he displays care for each of his concubines and tries to spend time with his young children rather than be a completely absentee parent, qualifying him for the chilvarous part. Maomao is surprised though when she finds out when he was still crown prince, he only had Ah-Duo as his one concubine.
• Has a Type:
  • Almost all of his favored consorts are voluptuous, and this preference appears to be at least part of why he never sleeps with his younger consorts.
  • He also likes intelligent and witty women, which is why Gyokuyou is his favorite consort, and why he has a longstanding close friendship with Ah-Duo. He has that in common with his son, Jinshi.
  • While Ah-Duo isn't considerably voluptuous, her figure is still well filled out, and her being one year older than the Emperor fits his apparent preference for mature women and she's heavily implied to be the Emperor's One True Love.
• Holding Hands: Showed this with an exhausted Ah-Duo when she gave birth to their child. It makes sense as she was his first and only concubine then to give birth to his first child.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: On the 'jerk' side we have him playing mindgames with Jinshi. Additionally, both Maomao and Gyokuyou considering it fully in-character for the Emperor to visit Fuyou just before her time in the harem ends, just so he could have her before she could marry her childhood friend (though he never actually does it). On the 'heart of gold' side it's mentioned the Emperor banned slavery and stopped kidnapping peasant women for the Royal Harem. He also shows some degree of care for his main consorts, having sent Maomao to cure Lihua and letting Lishu and Ah-Duo stay on as consorts despite the former being too young to have children and the latter turning out to be sterile. While for Lishu's case it's implied to be because he plans to set her up with Jinshi as a backup plan for succession, when that plan falls through, he is indicated to still be willing to allow her to marry Basan instead after she spends a year in a convent. He also relocates Ah-Duo to one of his palaces after retiring her, letting her stay at court as one of his closest friends considering his feelings for her and her advice towards him as a ruler.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: He likes his consorts fully grown, while the Former Emperor was an unrepentant paedo. Maomao actually suspects him of deliberately liking well-endowed women to show off how different he is from his sire. He's also a good politician and very much invested in ruling the Li Empire, while everything we learn about his predecessor just showcases how unfit the man was for his position.
• Not So Stoic: The only times he drops his stoic look is when he's with people he trusts a lot and with his son Jinshi most times showing behind his phlegmatic, regal look is a person who can still show himself to be a normal person. He also had a smile when he was with Ah-Duo after she gave birth to their child when he was crown prince.
• One True Love: While Lady Gyokuyou is his favorite concubine and eventually becomes his empress once she births him a son, There's a heavy implication that his truest love is Lady Ah-Duo. Ah-Duo was the Emperor's milk sibling (they were nursed by the same woman) and oldest friend, and in adulthood, Ah-Duo became a close confidant and advisor to the Emperor. While on Ah-Duo's part, she admits she saw him primarily as a friend and never wanted to become a concubine, and so being released from the position was something of a relief to her, the Emperor is heavily implied to love her romantically, or at the very least bears a very strong attachment to her. In line with this, it is noted that for a long time, Ah-Duo was the Emperor's only concubine. Even when Ah-Duo leaves the rear palace, he makes arrangements to ensure she has a place to live, and it is later shown that the Emperor is still inclined to go to her for advice when possible. It seems that the only reason why Ah-Duo did not become the Emperor's Empress is because she became infertile due to losing her womb in the process of giving birth to her only child, who shortly after was officially recorded as deceased. As a result, the Emperor was forced to seek out other concubines to birth more heirs. In spite of this, the Emperor seems absolutely determined to do what he can to ensure that it is his and Ah-Duo's secretly still surviving son, Jinshi, who succeeds him - although Jinshi himself wants nothing to do with this plot.
• On the Rebound: This trope comes in as the Emperor wanted Ah-Duo to be his only wife because she was the woman he loved above all. He only took more concubines because Ah-Duo lost her womb. While it seems like Gyokuyou is his favorite because she is his type of woman and he is lustful with his women, he's only fulfilling his duties as the Emperor and still loves Ah-Duo.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: While he does appear to have to make difficult decisions regarding certain situation due to his position as the Emperor, he is willing to listen to others and/or grant requests as well as rewarding others for their service/loyalty. While the situation that Lishu became embroiled in wasn't her fault, he was expected to make an example out of her for the trouble she inadvertently caused. However, he kept it at a minimum by simply sending her to a convent for a year, and he is willing to let Basen take Lishu as his wife. Additionally, he granted Lishu's request to reward Kanan for her loyalty and service by helping her find a good match for her.
• Shipper with an Agenda: The Emperor half-jokingly considers Maomao as a potential match for Jinshi when she passes an ancient Secret Test of Character used to find wives with favorable genes for the Emperor.
• Superior Successor: He's a massive improvement from his father, both as an emperor and as a husband.

Ka Zuigetsu, the Imperial Brother

Ka Zuigetsu (华瑞月/華瑞月, Huá Ruìyuè)

The Emperor's younger brother. Rumored to have been burned in an accident some time ago. In the present day he is rarely seen in public, and is always masked when he does show up.

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• Cool Mask: Wears one at all times during public appearances.
• Delicate and Sickly: One of the supposed reasons why he rarely appears in public. This is later revealed to be part of the cover-up of his true identity.
• Dead Person Impersonation: If Maomao's suspicion is correct, the real Ka Zuigetsu was switched with Ah-Duo's son and accidentally poisoned as a baby. This was later confirmed to be the case and the baby he was switched with, Ah-Duo's son, is Jinshi.
• Facial Horror: A scarred face is rumored to be the reason for the mask.
• Family Relationship Switcheroo: Maomao guesses the Imperial Brother isn't the current Emperor's sibling but his eldest child, something with the potential to utterly upend the political landscape.

Lady Anshi, the Empress Dowager

Anshi (安氏, Ānshì)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese)

The mother of the Emperor and his younger brother (also known as the Mother of the Nation).

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• Absurdly Youthful Mother: Her eldest son is only about 10 years younger than she is.
• Changeling Tale: Anshi comments that after he was born, many people accused her second son of being an illegitimate or a changeling child due to how the former Emperor would normally reject her as being too old for his tastes. That notion is correct, although not for the reason most people assume. Her "son" Jinshi is actually her grandson who was swapped with her actual child during infancy; Anshi's actual younger son, a product of her forcing herself on the former emperor, passed away when he was still an infant. The light novel reveals that she was aware of (and agreed to) the swap personally, as she eventually found out that she couldn't love the boy. That said, she and her "official" son Jinshi seem to have a good relationship, despite everything.
• Cool Old Lady: Gets along well against the current crop of consorts despite already being a grandmother. Though in reality the age gap is not quite so massive on account of how young she was when she conceived the Emperor.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Anshi appears early on at the garden party in Volume 1, caring for her granddaughter, Lingli. She only starts taking a more prominent role in Volume 3, when she asks for Maomao's skills to figure out the truth behind the curse of the deceased former Emperor.
• Hot Consort: The former Emperor thought so, initially. Unfortunately for all involved, she was only ten years old at the time.
• Interclass Friendship: With Suiren, Jinshi's Lady-In-Waiting, who is a commoner. Anshi has known Suiren since she was little. It was in fact Suiren who, after she was sold to the rear palace by her parents, noticed that the ten-year-old Anshi was pregnant. Suiren then nursed Anshi's child, the current emperor, with her daughter Ah-Duo together.
• Rape and Revenge: Anshi was impregnated by the former Emperor at the age of only ten, far below the age when she could have reasonably consented to the act (if she could have ever refused him at all as the Emperor). After she becomes an adult and he loses interest in her, her resentment towards him, coupled with her disgust at him continuing to persue (and therefore abuse) other young girls, boiled over to the point she forced herself on him in turn, which led to the conception of her second child who died after being swapped for an infant Jinshi.
• Traumatic C-Section: Since a barely pubescent girl's body is unfit for naturally giving birth, she was forced to undergo one of these. It almost killed her, and her survival came with very ugly scarring on her belly.
• Woman Scorned: She wasn't happy with the former Emperor abandoning her once she grew up. This ends up with her forcing the former Emperor to give her a second son.

The Former Emperor

The Former Emperor

The Emperor's father and predecessor as Emperor. A weak ruler who spent his life under his mother's control. A confirmed paedophile with a crippling fear of adult women. Also an enthusiastic painter.

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• Freudian Excuse: His mother completely dominated him after all of his siblings died and he was left the only remaining heir to the throne, to the point he couldn't even stand being around grown women without pitching a fit. It led him to assault little girls because they were the only females he wasn't afraid to touch.
• Hidden Depths: He was an enthusiastic painter and the paintings he left behind after his death is captivating enough for Maomao to think being forced on the throne made him unable to ever express his true talent.
• Karmic Rape: Although he lost interest in Lady Anshi after she became an adult and no longer went to "visit" her, the humiliation of being an Empress who was no longer visited by the Emperor led her to drag him into bed and force herself on him against his will, which led to the conception of the Empress's second child who was swapped out for Jinshi. That being said, Anshi doesn't look back on what she did with any satisfaction, and the rape is depicted as exactly that, with no sugarcoating.
• Manchild: The few memories we get of the Emperor suggest someone whose mind never managed to fully develop.
• Old Man Marrying a Child: Or to be more accurate, children. Anshi was impregnated at the age of ten, and one of his later consorts, Lishu, was married off at the age of eight more than twenty years later. They are the only ones who have been named thus far, but it is sadly implied he had other victims as well.
• Pædo Hunt: Anshi was only ten years old the first time he got her pregnant. She wasn't his only victim.
• Posthumous Character: The Former Emperor died well before the beginning of the story.
• Puppet King: His mother, the Empress Regnant, was the one pulling the strings.
• Small Role, Big Impact: He's been dead for several years by the start of the story and only briefly shows up in flashbacks, but a lot of the troubles, plots and mysteries that the main characters face hark back to his weakness as a ruler and his abuse of his underage concubines.
• Tragic Villain: While none of the characters feel sympathy for him - at best, they might feel pity - and are disgusted by his paedophilia, they do acknowledge that he was utterly dominated by his mother and really was not a person fit to be emperor. Maomao reflects that if he hadn't been forced into the role he could have shown his talents as a painter and actually done something meaningful in his life, while harming far fewer people.

The Empress Regnant

The Empress Regnant

The former Emperor's mother, and the de facto ruler during his reign. She rose from humble origins to become the Mother of the Nation after a plague wiped out all the other princes in the line of succession.

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• Accidental Murder: One of the paints she supplied the Former Emperor was made from orpiment, a stone that contains arsenic. Continued use of the paint slowly killed him.
• Freudian Excuse: Maomao theorizes that her domination over her son was done because she knew he wasn't suitable for the throne, and did everything to be able to protect him when he got forced into the position when all of the other heirs died from a plague.
• Posthumous Character: The Empress Regnant is long dead by the start of the story.
• Regent for Life: Her son was by no means capable of running a nation, but he was the only male heir left. The Empress Regnant stepped in to fill the gap from his accession to her death.
• Social Climber: Started off as a regular palace woman, before being promoted to Lesser Consort. Ended up running the country for most of her son's reign.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her complete dominance over her son turned him into a paedophile, ruining many young girls' lives and inflaming resentment against the imperial family that would see hatch a plot to overthrow them.

Wang Mu, the Mother Royal

Wang Mu (王母, Wáng Mǔ), the Mother Royal

Mother of the first Emperor of the nation of Li. She is remembered in the present day as the nation's founder, a foreign-born noblewoman who came to unite the local tribes.

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• Colorblind Confusion: Wang Mu was red/green Colorblind, a trait that was more or less unknown in Li's native tribes. Thus the Shrine of Choosing was built to test for red/green colorblindness as a way of finding those with the strongest descent from Wang Mu herself. The trait seems to have not survived into the current generation, as the current Emperor isn't colorblind. Neither is Jinshi for that fact, as he is officially the Emperor's brother. Maomao notes that's probably for the best, since she is aware that trying to preserve a specific familial trait can lead to detrimental amounts of inbreeding.
• Innate Night Vision: One of the few details of Wang Mu that survived both into the present day and through Maomao's tendency to ignore history lessons. Most likely a side effect of the colorblindness.
• Foreign Ruling Class: The founder of one, as she (and then her descendants) became the rulers of Li. The foreign part is mostly unnoticeable by the present day.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: As you can see, 王母 just means "mother royal" in Chinese; we don't know what her name was.

Palace Staff & Officials

Ma (马/馬) Clan

General

A long serving clan of exclusive service to the imperial family, in particular to the emperor and his heirs.

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• Praetorian Guard: Their clan's duty to the imperial family and they have taken varies pragmatic measures to ensure it is carried out, this includes the head of the clan having and training multiple heirs, adopting talented heirs, and even training the women of the clan despite the attitude of their era.

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Gaoshun

Gaoshun (高順, Gāoshùn)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (Japanese, Drama CD), Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese, Anime), Alex Hom (English)

Jinshi's loyal subordinate. A stoic yet kind man.

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• Beleaguered Assistant: Gaoshun is this to Jinshi, who tends to slack off to tease Maomao.
• Childhood Friends: He was this to the current Emperor and Ah-Duo.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: He is there to ensure Jinshi and Maomao don't do anything stupid or reckless and often confiscates the latter's belongings if he thinks it crosses a line.
• Family Man: Gaoshun is noted to be a good and devoted father, feeling sad for Lakan as Maomao said she didn't like him. 'No father wants to be hated by their own child', as he said.
• Henpecked Husband: His wife is the one that rules the household.
• Obfuscating Disability: Like Jinshi, he is not a eunuch. He takes a medicine that temporarily makes him one functionally and there are rumors about the Empress Regnant castrating him as punishment, but they are not true.
• Parental Substitute: Gaoshun has been helping care for Jinshi since he was a baby, and it's mentioned in the novels that Gaoshun spent more time with Jinshi than Jinshi's actual parents. Given the complications surrounding Jinshi's official parentage vs. his actual parentage, this is perhaps not surprising.
• The Reliable One: He's a pillar of support for both Maomao and Jinshi, being good at stepping in where necessary and avoiding unnecessary drama.
• Took the Wife's Name: Gaoshun married into the Ma clan as part of an Arranged Marriage when he was sixteen. "Gaoshun" is his birth name, which he assumed again after he entered the rear palace with Jinshi, his Ma name is unknown.

Taomei

Taomei

Debut: Volume 9

Gaoshun's wife and the current imperial wet nurse.

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• Age-Gap Romance: Taomei is actually the elder in her marriage with Gaoshun, a rather uncommon occurrence as noted by Maomao.
• Blank White Eyes: Her right eye was blinded in an incident years ago.
• Obnoxious In-Laws: Downplayed. She pesters Chue about birthing more children as Chue is married to Baryou, making them the future heads of the family once Taomei and Gaoshun retires.

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Basen

Basen (马闪/馬閃, Má Shǎn)

Debut: Volume 2

Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Japanese, Drama CD), Tatsumaru Tachibana (Japanese, Anime), Edward Escamilla (English)

Gaoshun's youngest son who is the same age as Jinshi. Frequently gets roped in as the designated Maomao Minder when Jinshi and Gaoshun are busy elsewhere.

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• Adaptational Early Appearance: In the anime, Basen already appears in Episode 5 sparring with Jinshi, which takes place during the events of Volume 1. He first appears in Volume 2 of the light novel, which takes place after Maomao leaves the rear palace the first time.
• Bodyguard Legacy: He is Gaoshun's replacement as Jinshi's guard in later volumes, as Gaoshun returns to the Emperor's side. Members of the Ma clan are traditionally in the military and act as bodyguards to the imperial family.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: His most common role in the story is accompanying Maomao when she's on an investigation. This half involves getting Maomao access to wherever she needs to go, and half involves making sure she doesn't do anything too weird while she's there.
• Consummate Professional: Basen takes his job very seriously and admonishes those who don't. He lacks the flexibility and maturity of his father.
• Does Not Know His Own Strength: Back when he was a little child, he managed to break his big sister's arm.
• Dumb Muscle: Downplayed. He is not unintelligent, but compared to his older siblings short-tempered and doesn't think things through.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Jinshi. They were nursed by the same woman and they grew up together. The two of them are noted to be very loyal to one another.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Basen tries to do his job well but he's very easily agitated and it doesn't take much to make him start yelling or become accusatory.
• Hot-Blooded: Due to his young age, he is far more passionate in his duty to serve and quick to anger if he sees something he doesn't like. Maomao comments that even though he's not too different in age to her (and is the same age as Jinshi), Basen is rather immature and doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut.
• Hunk: He regularly spars with Jinshi and has an impressive tone physique to show for it.
• Jerkass to One: For the most part, he is polite and respectful towards others. The sole exception is Maomao who he can be seen getting snappy and irritated with. Though considering how much of a handful she be at times, especially if poison is involved, this is pretty understandable.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Among Gaoshun's children, Basen is the strongest, but he is not as smart as them.
• Strong Family Resemblance: He looks like a younger version of his father. Once Maomao gets a closer look at Basen, she realizes the relation to Gaoshun.
• Super-Strength: Basen is noted to possess immense strength which have resulted in incidence such him accidently breaking his sister's arm when he was a child and an episode where he brutally thrashed a much older and experience soldier for disrespecting his father.
• Unskilled, but Strong: His impressive strength only adds to his angst when he compares himself to his father and Jinshi; both people he considers Strong and Skilled when it comes to swordplay.

Baryou

Baryou (马良/馬良, Mǎ Liáng)

Debut: Volume 8

Gaoshun's second child and first son. Untypical for a member of the Ma clan, he is not physically apt. Instead, he is a talented civil servant and Jinshi hires him to assist with the paperwork. He is married to Chue and has one child.

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• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Baryou has no say in his arranged marriage and can't stand Chue at first, even fainted at her presence. However he is eventually warmed up to her and refused to divorce her when she becomes injured and her hand is disabled.
• Bookworm: Baryou is an excellent civil servant. He managed to pass the civil servant examination on his first try. Seeing as Jinshi is overwhelmed by paperwork in Volume 8 and Basen is not exactly good at it, Baryou is hired to lift the burden on Jinshi.
• Henpecked Husband: In his case, the women that dominate him include his mother Taomei and his big sister Maamei, who set up his Arranged Marriage and they are the ones who take care of his child.
• Non-Action Guy: Baryou is not acting as a bodyguard unlike Gaoshun or Basen. He has no talent for it.
• No Social Skills: Due to his nervous disposition, his communication skills are rather bad. Maamei sometimes needs to interpret his words for others.
• Pathetically Weak: Gaoshun quickly realized his son has no talent as a military man, because Baryou is very weak physically.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Unlike his siblings, he is terribly weak, not very skilled in martial arts and lacks confidence.
• Strong Family Resemblance: He looks very much like his father, and thus like Basen, but that's where the similarities end.

Maamei

Maamei (麻美, Má Měi)

Debut: Volume 8

Gaoshun's first child and only daughter. She is married and has two children.

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• Almighty Mom: Maamei scares the hell out of her brothers, even Basen.
• Blank White Eyes:
• Promotion to Parent: She took care of the two-years-younger Basen. At least until he broke her arm.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Maamei is physically able and trained, though not as much as Basen, while being very intelligent and having good administrative skills, though not being as good as Baryou.
• Strong Family Resemblance: She almost looks just like her mother Taomei.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Subverted. Maamei doesn't appear the least bit submissive, and she is very much a strongwilled wildflower at heart.

Chue

Chue

Debut: Volume 9

Baryou's wife and a member of the Mi clan

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• Animal Motifs: Her name means Sparrow. Lampshaded when she leave a clue to Maomao in a form of sparrow embroidery.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Even though it's an Arranged Marriage, Chue noted Baryou is a good husband.
• Beneath the Mask: Under her silly acts Chue's intelligence is likely on par with Maomao; as shown when she is orchestrating some things to fulfill her mission.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Chue always acts cheerful, refers to herself in third person and often says something silly. She is also capable doing various trick, a polyglot, and skilled in disguises and martial arts.
• But Not Too Foreign: Chue's mother is originally from Li while her father is foreigner.
• Character Catchphrase: Chue has a habit calling Maomao twice, to which Maomao responds by calling back to her twice too.
• Dark and Troubled Past: She was abandoned when she was a child. This leads to her belief that she can only be valued if she is useful and her joining Mi clan.
  • When Maomao examines her body she founds marks of injuries that even a warrior would be proud of and some marks of torture.
• Sleight of Handiness: How she manages to store and produce so many items from her robes without any indications is a proprietary secret.
• Taking the Bullet: She does this for Maomao, which results in her loss of use of her right hand.
• Third-Person Person : Chue always refers to herself in third person. When she is not you know O.O.C. Is Serious Business.

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La (罗/羅, Luó) Clan

Lakan

Kan Lakan (汉罗汉/漢羅漢, Hàn Luóhàn)

Debut: Volume 2

Voiced by: Takuya Kirimoto (Japanese, Anime), Ricco Fajardo (English)

^{Click to see Lakan's appearance in the novel}

The Strategist

A brilliant but eccentric military tactician and head of the La clan. He holds the rank of Grand Commandant of the Li Empire.

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• Adopt-a-Servant: He has a habit of adopting people that would be helpful to him. Aside from Lahan, he has six other people he's adopted, although all of them had rather unfortunate circumstances.
• Aloof Big Brother: Lakan was this with his younger half-brother, partially due to his prosopagnosia. He never manages to recognize his unremarkable brother.
• Always Someone Better: If Maomao is to be compared to Sherlock Holmes as a protagonist detective, Lakan is, in many ways, her Mycroft. He's a blood relative of hers in a position of invaluable influence among the country's governing bodies and is, to her reluctant admission, more skilled than her at figuring out the particulars in a situation. One of the main reasons she dislikes him is that not only does he realize when things are amiss quicker than her, he will also do so virtually effortlessly, while Maomao has to work hard to gather and put together evidence. And on top of that, he often can't be bothered to do anything about his suspicions and has on multiple occassions not-so-subtly pawned the work off to Jinshi (and by proxy, Maomao herself). To further twist the knife, his uncle and Maomao's adoptive father Luomen praises his intellect, which makes Maomao very envious, as she's always looking for approval from Luomen herself.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Lakan has a long history of behaving outrageously in public in his attempts to get Maomao to acknowledge him as her father, which only serves to make her reject him more. Maomao would prefer not seeing him at all, much less acknowledge any familial ties, but unfortunately for her, her new work position has placed them in close proximity to each other. With Lakan still unwaveringly making attempts to be close to his daughter, people take notice, making it harder and harder for Maomao to completely deny their relation.
• Animal Motifs: The fox, being sly and intelligent as one. His face also resembles one, and one scene in chapter 36/episode 23 briefly depicts him as a fox.
• Bait-and-Switch Character Intro: Lakan was introduced as a foreboding, sinister figure, one who for reasons unknown had an interest in Maomao and was tormenting Jinshi in an attempt to get to her. In reality, he's Maomao's estranged biological father who desperately wants to have a relationship with his daughter and deeply regrets the circumstances that prevented him from being there for her and her biological mother when she was born.
  • In line with the above, Lakan is described as 'only being able to see people as Go stones or Chess pieces', which at first sounds like he looks down on people and never sees them for who they are. Later it is further explained that he has a cognitive disorder that makes it literally difficult for him to distinguish peoples faces, and him seeing people as game pieces is a metaphorical coping mechanism he uses.
• Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Lakan's opinion of Jinshi jumps straight from "indifferent" to "plotting the murder of" when he notices how close he and Maomao are. He especially hates that his daughter permits him to touch her with affection when she will never allow him, her father, to.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Due to his genius, he can solve a lot of cases that would require Maomao to gather clues first before making a hypothesis without any effort, he just doesn't care. Unless it's a board game or involves his loved ones, he won't lift a finger. He more often delegates the work to others instead.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Lakan is as infamous for his eccentric nature as he is for his intelligence and keen insight. In fact, the La clan as a whole are known for having talented but eccentric members. Lakan in particular gets away with a lot of behaviors that range from odd to disrespectful that other people would easily be punished for because he's too good at his job.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: This man does not do well with alcohol. He is always only seen drinking juice.
• Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Lakan suspected that Fengxian had become pregnant during their last meeting, and assumed that he'd be able to return in six months, at which point he'd be able to redeem her and start a life together. Unfortunately, he didn't forsee being sent away for three years instead, by which point Fengxian had begun a downward spiral and their daughter was taken in by his uncle.
• Detrimental Determination: Lakan is aware that his biological daughter Maomao dislikes him, and even finds it understandable. But despite this, he doesn't stop trying to approach her or get her to acknowledge him as her father. For all his intelligence, it doesn't seem to cross his mind that the way he goes about his attempts only serve to drive her further away from him, especially since she feels it's like he's trying to replace Luomen as her father figure, which to her is unacceptable.
• Doting Parent: To his biological daughter Maomao, who doesn't return the affections due to her considering her Parental Substitute Luomen to be her real father. While Lakan is aware she doesn't like him, it doesn't stop him from adoring her anyway. Desperate to have any sort of relationship with his daughter, Lakan is pretty much willing to do anything for Maomao should she ever deign to approach him. Maomao exploits this at one point to get him to give initiative to uncover the Shi clan's plot by pretending to have been poisoned while food tasting for the Emperor's brother.
• The Dreaded: Lakan is the leader of one of the empire's most prestigious clans. Not even the emperor wants to mess with Lakan.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Through Maomao's machinations and much tribulation, Lakan finally fulfills his greatest wish and redeems Fengxian. The ensuing celebration lasts for seven days and seven nights although it is implied that their time together may be brief as Fengxian is dying due to complications from syphilis.
• Excellent Judge of Character: Lakan has an unusual talent to judge a person's character and capabilities correctly, which is an exceptionally important skill as a military tactician.
• Genius Slob: Lakan doesn't bother with shaving his stubble or straightening his robes, reflecting both how his mind is on other things and how his invaluable mind lets him get away with being slovenly in public.
• Giver of Lame Names: He has adopted a number of people aside from Lahan, who have a Numerical Theme Naming.
• Gut Feeling: Lakan has such sharp intuition that he can often solve cases primarily following his instinct. It's actually one of the many reasons Maomao doesn't like him. It irritates her that he has that kind of talent, while Maomao has to gather evidence and think carefully about a situation before coming to a conclusion.
• Handicapped Badass: Lakan suffers from prosopagnosia, also known as face-blindness, which is a disorder where someone has an extremely difficult time distinguishing people by their faces (he can identify the parts of a face and is able to read facial expressions, but cannot remember individual faces). His condition is severe enough that as a child, he couldn't identify his parents, and was passed over by his father as heir to the family in favor of his younger half-brother. To help compensate for this disability, Lakan's uncle Luomen taught him to pay attention to other details like a person's voice, body language or silhouettes. Lakan describes most people as only looking like Go pieces to him, although gradually, he can grow to see people he deems to be important as shogi tiles or chess pieces, which, in combination with his otherwise extremely perceptive mind, is able to tell him how to use a person's skills; Lakan knows how to place and move people like he moves game pieces on a board, and it's this ability that allowed him to gain a reputation as a genius military strategist. He is smart enough to make calculated decisions almost entirely on intuition, and he's valuable enough that he's able to get away with a lot of faux pas that others wouldn't.
• Heroic Neutral: Despite his high rank, Lakan and his clan have not formed and do not belong to any political faction. Anyone who tried messing with him got burned though. Thus going hand in hand with his Brilliant, but Lazy nature, if you leave him and his alone, he won't do anything. In Volume 4, Maomao being abducted infuriates him and makes him go after the Shi clan.
• Hiding the Handicap: Downplayed. While it's not treated as a big, hushed secret, nonetheless it seems it's not common knowledge that Lakan has severe difficulties with recognizing people by their faces. Lakan has learned how to cope with his disorder enough that most people can't tell. Considering that it was this condition that caused his father to treat him as a disappointment, it is understandable Lakan does not openly talk about it and instead is content to let people view him as a generic weirdo for any of the odder behaviors induced by his disability.
• High-Class Glass: One of Lakan's most distinguishing features is the monocle he wears. He doesn't actually need it, it just suits him.
• Hyper-Awareness: He has great senses for detail. He will notice even the smallest things, which is why he is such an Excellent Judge of Character and Living Lie Detector and why he is able to delegate work very effectively.
• Jerkass to One: He usually leaves people alone, but he specifically starts picking on Jinshi after Jinshi hires Maomao as his maid in Volume 2. It ranges from barging in with snacks in hand that stain Jinshi's paperwork to pushing all of his paperwork to Jinshi. The work delegation to Jinshi only stops after the events of Volume 8 when Maamei starts pushing back and Lakan acknowledges Jinshi after their go match.
• Living Lie Detector: Lakan notices even the slightest hints that someone is lying, like increased sweating or widened pupils.
• Manchild: Lakan's two modes seem to whiplash between unreasonably sinister and absurdly childish. He typically maintains an air of threatening superiority while boasting a smirk, but he has a fondness for clever tricks, and can get into an excitably good mood if something interests him. He once spread blue roses around the palace by feeding them blue colored water just on a whim. He also can become extremely petty if he feels scorned, is easily distractable, and can be obliviously rude.
• Must Make Amends: Lakan acknowledges that he is at fault for what happened with Fengxian and Maomao, which is why he willingly let himself get beaten up by the Madam. He spent ten years paying off more than twice the damage he originally caused to the Verdigris House and never gives up trying to connect with Maomao to be a father to her.
• My Greatest Failure: Being unable to redeem Fengxian and only finding out what happened to her too late. It's one reason he's attached to Maomao even if said daughter refuses to acknowledge him as her father.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: One of the few people not charmed by Jinshi. Justified, due to his prosopagnosia and because he dislikes Jinshi because of his interest in Maomao. In general, Lakan's inability to recognize people by their faces means that physical appearance is of little importance to him - he can have a group of the most beautiful courtesans and nobles in front of him but they're little more attractive to him than any commoner. The one exception was Fengxian, the one person he truly loved and, aside from his daughter Maomao, the one person whose face he can clearly picture and remember. This ends up working in the opposite direction as well, as even when faced with meeting Fengxian again after her body and mind has been destroyed by Syphilis, she's still as beautiful to him as the day he last saw her.
• Not Helping Your Case: While Lakan is not a bad man per-se, his personality and behavior can be abhorrent. He's introduced badgering Jinshi about 'buying out' Maomao in a way that seems like he has bad intentions for the both of them, while often making cryptic smalltalk with disturbing implications. Later on, it's shown that he's desperate to have a good relationship with his biological daughter Maomao, but she wants nothing to do with him precisely because he insists on getting her to acknowledge him as her father when she views Luomen, the man who actually raised her, to be her dad. Lakan even wagers a bet to try to force her to come live with him, and he has apparently tried to take her away from Luomen multiple other times in the past. With the way he disrespects her wishes, it really is no wonder his daughter does not warm up to him. Given that it turns out that Luomen greatly helped Lakan out as a child, Lakan's attempts at pushing him aside in his daughter's life seem insulting.
• No Social Skills: Despite being from a prestigious noble family, he lacks etiquette. It is implied that part of this is due to him working around his face-blindness: for example, his habit of barging in on Jinshi in his office unannounced is to increase the chances that, even if he can't distinguish his face, Lakan will be in fact speaking to Jinshi (as opposed to planning a meeting beforehand and allowing Jinshi the opportunity to run away or assign someone else to deal with him).
• One True Love: Lakan loved Fengxian, and Fengxian only. She was one of the only people he viewed as an intellectual equal to him due to never being able to defeat her in a game of Go, and she is the only person except for their daughter Maomao whose face is easily distinguishable to him. One of his noted 'eccentricities' upon his introduction was being in his forties but lacking a wife or other lovers, and opting instead to adopt his heirs, because of what was an assumed complete lack of interest in romance. The truth was really because he had no interest in any other women. When Lakan realizes that Fengxian, although terminally ill, is still alive, he immediately takes her in to marry her so they can live out the rest of her life together. Even with her body ravaged with disease, she's still as beautiful to him as ever.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: While he's understandably panicking and agitated when Maomao gets kidnapped, in Lakan's frustration and urgency to get Jinshi to get a move on doing something already, he disparages Jinshi's pretend status as a eunuch by calling him a 'half-man'. Unfortunately Lakan did not realize that his uncle Luomen, who was forced to become a eunuch due to his occupation, was standing outside the door. Lakan immediately backpedals and begins blubbering apologies to his uncle, clearly feeling guilty for saying something that could be hurtful to one of the only family members he looks up to and respects.
• Papa Wolf: Touch his daughter and you will pay. The guard who hit Maomao nearly unconscious in Volume 2 was later beaten up by Lakan. He also is ready to move heaven and earth to rescue Maomao when he learns she was abducted by the Shi clan in Volume 4.
• Parental Marriage Veto: When Jinshi announced his interest in marrying the La daughter (aka Maomao) while Maomao was away, Lakan ended up causing a fuss yelling about how he would never give away his daughter, despite the fact said daughter doesn't acknowledge their relation.
• Purely Aesthetic Glasses: He doesn't need the monocle, it's purely for aesthetics. He can sometimes be seen wearing the monocle on his other eye. It's a product Lahan had specifically made by a craftsman.
• Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: Lakan is introduced with a sinister air, and his desire to buy Maomao from the Verdigris House incites suspicion from Jinshi and absolute hatred from Maomao. It's ultimately revealed his intentions are not those of a predator but an estranged father with no sense of social nuance.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: While what we see is basically onesided on account of Fengxian being terminally ill, Lakan excessively gushes about her after he marries her, whether the people around him want to hear or not.
• Smart People Play Chess: Fitting for a strategist, he loves board games, especially shogi and go. Since he quickly was abandoned by his father for his inability to recognize faces, he spent his youth doing whatever he pleased and spent most of his time playing strategy board games. One of the only people who could match him was Fengxian, a courtesan from the Verdigris House. Even the Go Sage doesn't think he can beat Lakan when he is in his best condition.
• Stalker without a Crush: In later volumes, he can be seen following Maomao around when she's working because he worries about her. He is not very good at hiding though and it creeps others like Yao and En'en out.
• The Strategist: This is literally Lakan's title. He's a brilliant man whose accomplishments quickly helped the La clan rise to the top after he took over the clan.
• Sweet Tooth: He craves sweet things, which is why he is always seen drinking juice (the other reason being that he Can't Hold His Liquor). A way to make him not play in his best condition is to only offer him salty snacks and nothing sweet.
• The Unfavorite: Due to his facial recognition disorder, his father chose to focus on his younger half-brother from his mistress and made him the next head, which was one factor behind him being sent away for years and therefore not learning about Fengxian's situation until it was too late.

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Lahan

Kan Lahan (汉罗半/漢羅半, Hàn Luóbàn)

Debut: Volume 4

The second son of Lakan's half-brother. He is one year older than Maomao. After Lahan helped Lakan take over as head of the La clan, Lakan adopted Lahan and named him as heir, thus making Lahan both Maomao's cousin and adoptive older brother.

Like the rest of his family, he is an eccentric genius, his specialty being numbers.

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• Animal Motifs: Like Lakan, a fox. He has fox-like eyes and can be just as sly.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Inverted, because he is older than Maomao. Or rather, Maomao doesn't even want to acknowledge their relation and frequently tries to correct others when Lahan introduces himself as Maomao's older brother.
• Brutal Honesty: When he wants to, he can be just as blunt as Maomao, like in Volume 9 when he is asked for his honest opinion on women becoming physicians.
• The Casanova: Zigzagged. Lahan is looking for a wife, but his attempts to flirt with others very often fail. On the other hand, he is known for being a smooth talker, and this is partially a reason both Yao and a servant from his household have a crush on him.
• Cutting Corners: Justified. Maomao calls Lahan a miser who is always out there looking for a way to make and save money, not unlike the Verdigris madam, but his adoptive father has put the clan deep in debt to redeem a courtesan. He is not as rich as he should be, so he saves money on things like only hiring half as many guards as usually needed at his house.
• A Day in the Limelight : Volume 11 of the web novel started from Lahan's POV with him solving the mystery of a hanged man.
• Early-Bird Cameo: He is first mentioned in Volume 2, when Lakan's backstory is brought up. He makes his first appearance in Volume 4, when he introduces himself to Jinshi.
• Good with Numbers: Lahan's speciality lies in numbers. He is often seen with an abacus in hand and his skill in maths is unmatched.
• Nephewism: His adoptive father, Lakan, is at the same time his uncle. Although it's questionable how much Lakan really is acting like a parent to Lahan.
• The Nondescript: Unfortunately for him, he has inherited the La look, so he looks rather plain and unremarkable.
• Oblivious to Hatred: Lahan helped Lakan gather proof that his grandfather was embezzling money. Lakan then ousted his father and took over as head of the La clan. Volume 6 however shows that Lahan genuinely has no idea why he is hated by his mother and grandfather who were chased away by Lakan, which baffles Maomao.
• Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Like Lakan, he doesn't need the glasses he's wearing. Just like the abacus he's carrying around, he is only wearing the glasses to help Lakan recognize him.
• Sherlock Scan: It doesn't take him long to figure out Jinshi's real identity. How? By comparing Jinshi's sizes with Ka Zuigetsu's and realizing that they are identical.
• Shipper with an Agenda: He ships Maomao with Jinshi. While he is smitten with Jinshi's beauty, he thinks it's a shame Jinshi is male. Thus, should Maomao give birth to a daughter, he would very much like to raise the girl as his future wife.
• Sibling Yin-Yang:
  • Unlike Maomao, he has no issue getting involved with things that actually have nothing to do with him, sometimes purely out of curiosity.
  • His older brother is a bit of a simpleton whose true calling is being a farmer. It is probably for the better Lakan and Lahan are heading the clan instead of Lahan's father and older brother.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: He is one of very few characters who is seen wearing glasses, while having an intellect that matches the rest of his family.
• Strong Family Resemblance: It's often remarked that he and Maomao can pass as siblings, because they resemble each other so much.
• Sweet Tooth: Lahan loves eating sweet things. As he says in Volume 6, sugar helps him think.
• Unexpected Successor: Lahan was only supposed to be the Spare to the Throne. By all rights, Lahan's older brother should have been heir of the La clan, as his grandfather made his father the heir. However, after Lakan got rid of both his father and half-brother, he adopted Lahan and made him his heir. This was probably the right decision, because Lahan's father is similar in character to Luomen and Lahan's older brother is simply not suited to head the clan.

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Rikuson

Rikuson

Debut: Volume 5

Voiced by: Kōki Uchiyama (Japanese), Charles Nguyen (English)

Lakan's primary aid and right hand man.

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• Adaptational Early Appearance: His first appearance in the anime is in Episode 14 (around Volume 2 of the novel). In the novel, he wouldn't appear until Volume 5.
• Photographic Memory: For faces, at least. To compensate for Lakan's impaired ability to recognize faces, Rikuson seems to have been employed specifically because he has a very good memory for faces.

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Others

Suiren

Suiren (水莲/水蓮, Shuǐlián)

Debut: Volume 2

Voiced by: Mika Doi (Japanese, Anime), Kenneisha Thompson (English)

Jinshi's Lady-In-Waiting. She's been responsible for Jinshi since he was little.

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• Adaptational Early Appearance: She makes a brief appearance in Episode 5, which takes place shortly before the garden party in Volume 1. Suiren in the novel didn't appear until Volume 2, which happens long after the garden party.
• The Immune: One of the few characters functionally immune to exposure to Jinshi. It's why she (and the similarly gifted Maomao) are his only female subordinates. Which makes perfect sense because Jinshi is her grandson.
• Never Mess with Granny: Not only does she single-handedly manage the whole of Jinshin's pavilion, which includes chopping charcoal logs, but she is also perceptive and has dismissed her fair share of inadequate staff when they make inappropriate advances toward Jinshi. This competence comes from her early days of working in the imperial court during the Former Emperor's reign and having to protect her charges, namely Anshi aka the current Empress Dowager, from harm with stories of her even converting assailants to her cause and then setting them against their former masters.
• Old Retainer: Suiren has been in service of the imperial family for most of her life. She was the current emperor's wet nurse, nursing him and her daughter, Ah-Duo, together, and also used to serve the empress dowager prior to becoming Jinshi's caretaker.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: If you're part of her team, she will expect nothing less than excellence from you. But in the event something, Suiren will personally ensure that her staff are able to recover physically and mentally before sending them back to work.
• Remember the New Guy?: She's been with Jinshi since long before the series started, but we don't meet her until the second volume of the novel. Justified as she's responsible for Jinshi's chambers, and so doesn't follow him on his visits to the rear palace.

Lihaku

Lihaku (李白, Lǐ Bái)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Yasuaki Takumi (Japanese, Drama CD), Kenji Akabane (Japanese, Anime), Seth Fuentes (English, Anime)

^{Click to see Lihaku's appearance in the novel}

An up-and-coming Military Officer that Maomao first meets during the garden party.

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• Animal Motifs: Maomao compares him to a dog due to his friendly and loyal nature.
• Clark Kent Outfit: The baggy robes he wears hide that he's actually very muscular underneath, as shown when he pulls up one of his sleeves to show his biceps.
• Hunk: He's considered attractive but in a more masculine way than Jinshi, being handsome and very muscular. His muscles are pronounced enough to draw Pairin's attention.
• Nice Guy: Maomao meets Lihaku as he's handing out hairpins to those women attending the garden party who might otherwise have been left out. Him being nice and loyal is one of the reasons why Maomao even seriously considers him as a possible suitor for Pairin.
• Sex God: Has enough stamina to keep up with the sexually voracious Pairin for a whole afternoon, leaving her rather intrigued and open to consider him a suitor able to redeem her.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Once he's met Pairin, no other woman could measure up.
• Stupid Sexy Flanders: Lihaku privately admits at one point that he never thought he would ever consider another man attractive, but can't help but admit that Jinshi is beautiful.

Kounen

Kounen (浩然, Hàorán)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Hiroki Goto (Japanese), Brent Mukai (English)

A renowned warrior turned bureaucrat, and an acquaintance of Jinshi and Gaoshun. When he dies at a party, Maomao is called in to work out what killed him.

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• Outliving One's Offspring: Not only did he lose his wife, but also his child to an epidemic many years prior to the main story.
• Posthumous Character: Maomao never even hears of him until she's called on to investigate his death.
• Retired Badass: A renowned warrior before he settled down into a government job.
• Sweet Tooth: Not originally, but he developed this after an illness robbed him of the ability to taste salty flavors. This ultimately cost him his life, since he couldn't taste the fatal dose of salt added to his wine.
• Victim of the Week: For Chapter 25 ('Wine') in the first novel.

The Imperial Medical Office

Yao

Yao

Debut: Volume 7

A candidate who passed the medical assistant exam. She work as a physician assistant alongside her attendant En'en in the Outer Court.

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En'en

En'en

Debut: Volume 7

Yao's attendant and also another candidate who passed the exam and became a physician's assistant in the Outer Court.

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Tianyu

Tianyu

Debut: Volume 8

A young apprentice physician in the Outer Court and rather chatty fellow.

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Doctor Li

Doctor Li

Debut: Volume 7

A stern physician and one of the overseer for the medical office in the Outer Court. He's also a long-time acquaintance of Luomen.

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The Pleasure District

Luomen

Kan Luomen (汉罗门/漢羅門, Hàn Luómén)

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Hiroshi Yanaka (Japanese), Stephen Miller (English)

Maomao's father, an old doctor and apothecary (and eunuch) who plies his trade in the pleasure district. Everything she knows about medicine and poison, she learned from him.

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• Black Sheep: His family, the La clan, specifically Luomen's brother and head of the house, stopped associating Luomen with the clan. Unfortunately, this also had consequences for his nephew Lakan, although Lakan later ousted his father.
• Born Unlucky: If there is one thing Luomen lacks, it's luck. After his adventure in the west, the Empress Regnant became interested in Luomen and forced him to enter the rear palace, which led to his castration. Later on, due to Ah-Duo losing her womb and the switched crown prince dying to unknown causes, his kneecap was removed and he was banished from the rear palace.
• Court Physician: He held this position in the rear palace sometime prior to raising Maomao. He was fired (and had one of his knees mutilated) over his failure to keep Ah-Duo's son alive. In Volume 4, after he successfully helps deliver Gyokuyou's son, he is permanently reemployed as a court physician.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Luomen was allowed to journey to the west to study medicine, but what he witnessed there was not something he likes to speak about, as is revealed in Volume 9. His teacher ended up being the victim of a witch hunt. Following her wishes, he dissected and studied her body, but was almost caught and accused of being the disciple of a witch, barely escaping with his life. He returned to Li and eventually was made a eunuch to save Anshi and her son with his surgical skills. When he was blamed for the death of Ah-Duo's child, he was banished from the palace and lost his kneecap, then was chased away by his family for disgracing himself.
• Genius Cripple: A genius in medicine, but he was castrated when he was forced to enter the rear palace, and his kneecap was removed when he was banished from the rear palace.
• Good Parents: Despite not being her biological father, Luomen raised Maomao with genuine love and care and taught her everything she knows.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Due to how his stint in the rear palace ended, he is officially branded a criminal. People on the streets also mistrust eunuchs, which is why Maomao's mother Fengxian didn't let Luomen examine her, or else he could have discovered and treated her syphilis in time before it progressed further. He does regain some respect after assisting in Gyokuyou's son's birth.
• Inconsistent Spelling: The furigana say his name is ルォメン, which is why some translations spell it as Ruomen.
• Mentor Archetype: Maomao became a decent doctor (and a superb apothecary) by learning from Luomen.
• Nice Guy: One of the nicest people in the story. He took pity on Lakan and taught him ways to deal with his disability. He is also one of the few people who bothers to remember Guen's (the quack) name and genuinely treats him nicely without disdain.
• Parental Substitute: Technically, he's Maomao's great uncle. But since he adopted and raised her, they regard each other as father and daughter. He was also much more of a father figure to Lakan than Lakan's own father, which is why to this day Lakan greatly respects Luomen.
• Perpetual Poverty: Luomen is a bit too naive and helps out people without these people ever repaying him for his services. This is why despite his skills he always barely makes ends meet.
• Super Doc: His time in the pleasure district hasn't dulled his skills any. He's still Maomao's go-to choice when there is a medical issue in the rear palace that's beyond her own skills.

Verdigris House

'Grams'

'Grams'

Debut: Volume 1

Voiced by: Kimiko Saito (Japanese), Wendy Powell (English)

The elderly madam of the Verdigris House.

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• Benevolent Boss: Zig-Zagged. She treats you well if you work hard and are useful. She also kicks you out very quickly if you are not. That said, she has a soft spot for Maomao and Fengxian. She never forces Maomao to sell her body for sex and Volume 2 reveals that she keeps Fengxian in the back of the Verdigris House, despite Fengxian being terminally sick with syphilis and having lost her mind already (thus being unable to earn money). Although this may have more to do with the heavy implication from Word of God that Fengxian is her daughter therefore making Maomao her granddaughter. Grams treating them family better makes sense.
• Dancing Royalty: Skilled enough at this that stories of one of her performances have survived for several generations. Although as revealed in Volume 3, she did have some help from a breed of luminescent moth for that one.
• Grumpy Old Woman: Outside of money-related matters, she is usually cranky and irritable.
• I Was Quite a Looker: In her youth, she was attractive enough to be called up to entertain foreign dignitaries.
• Miniature Senior Citizens: A realistically played example — she apparently was quite tall in her glory days as a courtesan, but she's constantly leaning nowadays.
• Miss Kitty: She's a former courtesan who now runs the Verdegris House in the city's pleasure district.
• The Scrooge: Of the named cast, Jinshi, Lakan, Lihaku and Maomao have all fallen afoul of Grams' high prices and penny pinching.
• Statuesque Stunner: She was around one hundred seventy-five centimeters when she was young. It apparently helped her to become Dancing Royalty for her long arms and legs, and she was called to entertain foreign dignitaries because they would find a tall woman more attractive. When her performance needs to be produced again, Jinshi is Disguised in Drag because he's the only person beautiful and tall enough to impersonate her.

Joka, Meimei, and Pairin

Joka (女华/女華, Nǚhuá), Meimei (梅梅, Méiméi), and Pairin (白铃/白鈴, Báilíng)

Debut: Volume 1

Joka is voiced by: Hiroki Nanami (Japanese), Monica Flatley (English)
Meimei is voiced by: Megumi Han (Japanese), Rebecca Danae (English)
Pairin is voiced by: Ami Koshimizu (Japanese), Ciarán Strange (English)

The 'Three Princesses' of the Verdigris House - amongst the best (and most expensive) courtesans the pleasure district has to offer.

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• The Bard: Meimei is also known for her poetry skills.
• Blue Blood: Joka's name 女華 contains the 華 (ka) kanji which is reserved for nobility such as the current emperor and his younger brother. Joka is descended from nobility, or at least that is her supposed background story which is why she also uses that kanji in her name.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: They're considered the most beautiful and talented of the courtesans at the Verdigris House, and they're all very well-endowed, with their outfits showing as much cleavage as possible. One reason why Maomao doesn't want to be a courtesan herself is because she knows she doesn't have the same "assets" as they do.
• Cool Big Sis: All three have been looking after Maomao since she was a child (as her mother couldn't), and thus she views all three of them as her older sister figures, referring to them with the "-neechan" honorific in Japanese.
• Dancing Royalty: Pairin is famous for her dancing skills.
• Does Not Like Men: Yes, Joka actually can't stand men. Her Ice Queen beauty and intelligence makes her a very attractive and desirable conversation partner though.
• Has a Type: Pairin likes her men heavily muscled and with a lot of stamina.
• High-Class Call Girl: All of the Three Princesses have skills that distinguish them from a common prostitute. Pairin is a great dancer, while Meimei and Joka have intellectual talks with their guests or play board games. All three of them are also highly sought after for their services, which are very expensive.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Off-duty, all three are sweet and caring women who serve as surrogate older sisters for Maomao.
• Hopeless Suitor: Meimei had hopes of being redeemed by Lakan, who she seemingly liked a lot. However, at the end of Volume 2, when he comes to the Verdigris House and almost picks Meimei, she lets him know that Fengxian is still alive. She is heartbroken when she sees that he still longs for Fengxian. Meimei never drew much of Lakan's attention in the first place as to him her face looks like a go stone.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Meimei has feelings for Lakan understands that he only has eyes for her former mentor Fengxian. Because of this, she shows him where Fengxian is being hidden away so that he can be with the woman he loves.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Pairin's name is spelled パイリン in katakana; however, Square Enix transliterates her name as Pai Ling.
• Parental Substitute: Maomao views all three as her sisters, but Pairin in particular actually fed Maomao with her breast milk (despite never being pregnant but lactates anyway due to galactorrhea) when she was an infant, which is why it wouldn't be wrong to call Pairin a replacement for Maomao's mother.
• Really Gets Around: Pairin has a seemingly insatiable lust and when she isn't satisfied, she sometimes pounces on the workers, regardless of gender.
• Sex God: Pairin is famous for her prowess in bed coupled with insatiable lust. She leaves all her patrons worse for the wear the next day. Lihaku seems to be one of the few exceptions, and the first time he visits the Verdigris House, he stays for two entire days without looking drained.
• Smart People Play Chess: Meimei is known for her skill at playing Go. She used to be Fengxian's apprentice and learned the game from Fengxian and Lakan.
• Thinks Like a Romance Novel: According to Maomao, Pairin still dreams about a prince coming for her despite her not being an adolescent anymore.

Fengxian

Fengxian (凤仙/鳳仙, Fèngxiān)

Debut: Volume 2

Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Caitlin Glass (English)

Maomao's ailing mother.

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• Abusive Parents: She cut a part of her daughter's pinky off with a knife and heaped verbal abuse at her every time she saw the girl, blaming her for ruining her life. Fengxian only stopped when her disease progressed so far she started to lose her mind and was left bedbound.
• Babies Make Everything Better: A staunch inversion — falling pregnant with Maomao utterly destroyed her worth as a courtesan since nobody wanted her anymore, and she was reduced to sell herself in the streets to keep eating. Unsurprisingly, it caused her to loath her daughter and despise her as the root of her unhappiness.
• Fingore: Out of grief and anger for Lakan not returning to her on time, she cut off one of her fingers as well as her daughter's pinky and sent them to him.
• Floral Theme Naming:
  • Fengxian (鳳仙) is named after "impatiens balsamina" (鳳仙花), also known as "touch-me-not". She was a High-Class Call Girl and used to wear nail reddener made of balsam and woodsorrel.
  • Her first name is also written with the characters for "phoenix" and "fairy", showing her beauty and wisdom.
• High-Class Call Girl: She was the most expensive and highly sought-after courtesan at the Verdigris House before the Three Princesses took that spot from her (one of them, Meimei, started out as her apprentice). She was well-known for her beauty and her skill at playing strategic board games.
• Ice Queen: Lakan remembers her as extremely haughty and aloof toward her clients, musing it was part of her appeal.
• I Was Quite a Looker: Before Lakan came into her life, Fengxian was one of the top earners in her brothel, if not the top earner. Disease rotted away her looks until she became a senile shell of herself stuck in her bed.
• Madwoman in the Attic: A truly horrific example of what happens to someone with untreated syphilis — her beauty has rotted away (she lost her nose and is covered in rashes), she's unable to leave her bed, and her mind has deteriorated to the point that she cannot care for herself. Grams hides her far away from any customers, especially Lakan.
• Smart People Play Chess: She was Lakan's equal as a shogi player, and the only member of the cast to regularly beat him at go.
• Son of a Whore: Not much is known about her parents, but Fengxian told Lakan that her mother was also likely a courtesan. Said mother possibly being Grams.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Fengxian is already a Posthumous Character in the original web novel when Maomao reenters the imperial palace. The light novel and subsequent adaptations instead keep her alive, but barely clinging to life. At least for a while. Lakan mourns her death in Volume 6.
• Too Clever by Half: Fengxian was praised for her intelligence, but she gambled on Lakan redeeming her and intentionally slept with him on her period to get pregnant and give birth to Maomao, to make her price drop to nothing. What she didn't see coming was Lakan being sent away for three years. A famine came, and since Fengxian became worthless, she had to take less clean customers to earn money, which is how she ended up contracting syphilis. By the time Lakan returned, it was too late for Fengxian.

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Shi (子, Zǐ) Clan

The most influential of the original clans that was united to form the Empire of Li. It holds power over a northern region in the Empire.

Lord Shishou

Lord Shishou (子昌, Zǐ Chāng)

Debut: Volume 2

Voiced by: Chō (Japanese, Anime), Jason Douglas (English)

An official who was a favorite of the Empress Regnant. A member of the ruling family of the Shi clan. Shishou has been married twice - first to Taihou's maybe-of-royal-blood daughter (with whom he had a daughter, Suirei) and then a second time to Shenmei (with whom he had Loulan).

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• Ambition Is Evil: As one of the rulers of the Shi clan, he's a very influential lord. But during the Empress Regnant's time, he was more powerful still. He seems quite determined to get a hold on the current Emperor so he can have that power again.
• Animal Motifs: Tanuki. This is in contrast to Lakan's fox motif, as the two are usually depicted as enemies. The comparison is also made with his daughter Loulan, whose motif is a vixen.
• Fat Bastard: Maomao's narration notes his girth once she finally meets him. The bastard part turns out to be a subversion as it's later revealed that he was on the Emperor's side the whole time.

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Lady Shenmei

Lady Shenmei (神美, Shénměi)

Debut: Volume 4

Shishou's second wife, and a former consort of the Former Emperor. Shishou and Shenmei have one daughter together, Loulan.

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• Abusive Parent: Shenmei has never been above turning her Hair-Trigger Temper on her daughter Loulan if she failed to be match up to Shenmei's expectations. And she was more horrible to her husband's first daughter, Suirei.
• The Corrupter: To the nobility of the Shi clan. She has a particular fondness for corrupting married women after they've had children.
• The Dreaded: To most named members of the Shi clan (like Loulan, Suirei and Kyou-u).
• Evil Matriarch: Easily the most evil member of the Shi clan seen to date, and dominates every character that has interacted with her, related or otherwise except the foreign envoy Lady Ayla.
• Evil Stepmother: To Suirei. Shenmei had a grudge against Suirei and her mother from the moment she returned to the Shi clan, and never missed an opportunity to take that resentment out on Suirei. Instances we've heard of start with simple rudeness and top out at having Suirei stripped of her original name Shisui and at least one stint in the Taibon.
• Face–Heel Turn: Shishou thinks that Shenmei went through one in the rear palace. The woman he got engaged to was very different from the twisted person that returned to him after 20 years as a consort.
• The Hedonist: A big fan of hosting orgies in her spare time.
• Immortality Seeker: She has had at least one alchemist working on creating an Elixir of Immortality. Once Maomao is in her custody, she is forced to take over the project.
• Sadist: Shenmei is always very enthusiastic about finding an excuse to punish someone.

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Suirei (Unmarked Spoilers)

Suirei (翠苓, Cuìlíng)

Debut: Volume 2

Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (Japanese, Anime), Veronica Laux (English)

One of the ladies working in the outer palace implied to be doing something related to the military. She is Taihou's granddaughter and Loulan's half-sister (via Shishou's first wife), although neither of these is common knowledge outside of the nobility of the Shi clan.

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• Adaptational Early Appearance: While it's not made obvious, closer inspection shows that Suirei first appears in episode 9 of the anime, in disguise as the young male officer who secretly poisons Sir Kounen with an oversalted alcoholic drink. In the source material this was an event that happened in volume 1 of the novel, while she's introduced in volume 2.
• Attractive Bent-Gender: Suirei's disguise as Tian the Eunuch draws a lot of admirers in the rear palace.
• Bifauxnen: Suirei can easily pass for both sexes thanks to her natural looks.
• The Chessmaster: Her assassination attempt against Jinshi required many other crimes (Maomao has investigated 3 of them, but implies she finds evidence of more in the archives) as part of its lengthy setup. And even after that, she still had a plan for how to escape the palace if she was ever caught.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Her past is essentially Cinderella's, but worse. Forced to watch her mother be beaten to death by her cruel stepmother, stripped of her own name, and then implied to have been tortured into obedience by the same woman while her father stood by helpless to do anything. The only bright spots in her life were practicing medicine and her step-sister, Loulan.
• Evil Counterpart: To Maomao though the evil part is eventually subverted. Like Maomao she too is the illegitimate daughter of a high official and was raised by a palace physician following her abandonment which helped to cultivate her skills in pharmaceutical craft.
• Faking the Dead: How she escaped execution for the assassination attempt against Jinshi. She took a poison that made her appear dead for a short time, then escaped from the morgue once she was revived.
• Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Shishou and Loulan believe Suirei to be the granddaughter of the Former Emperor (and by extension, the Emperor's niece and Jinshi's first cousin). The Former Emperor publicly denied this, claiming her grandmother had borne the child of the rear palace's physician, though it's made apparent the latter was likely scapegoated.
• Manipulative Bastard: Though not by choice. She fabricated multiple minor incidents around the rear palace in order to arrange the pieces for a near-perfect assassination attempt on Jinshi on orders from her family the Shi clan.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Played for Drama. She has crippling herpetophobia due to having been sent to Taibon when she was younger by her cruel stepmother.
• Wound That Will Not Heal: The nerves in her left hand are permanently damaged following her revival due to the flawed formula she used to create her false-death poison and this was considered a minor side-effect!

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The Western Capital

I-Sei Providence

Gyoku-ou

Gyoku-ou

Debut: Volume 9

Gyokuen's eldest son and thus Consort Gyokuyou's half-brother. He governs I-Sei providence in the Western Capital after his father was given a seat in the Imperial Capital following Gyokuyou's ascension as empress.

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• Inferior Successor: Has all of his father's drive and ambition, but little of Gyokuen's political savvy or foresight.
• Knight Templar: In Gyoku-ou's mind, a person is either with or against him. Anyone in the latter camp will be ruthlessly stamped out in order to fit his vision of a correct world.

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Outside The Country of Li (茘/荔, Lì)

Due to the political nature of the plot, foreign visitors and locations are occasionally brought up, although whether or not they are hospitable to the cast is another matter.

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The Country of Shaoh (砂欧, Shāōu)

Ladies Ayla and Aylin

Ladies Ayla (姶良, Èliáng) and Aylin (爱凛/愛凛, Àilǐn)

A pair of cousins acting as the emissaries of Shaoh, a country to the West of Li seemingly inspired by Balkan culture.

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• Head-Turning Beauty: Maomao suspects that the cousins were also chosen for their looks in order to try to seduce either the emperor or the emperor's brother during their stay. Not a moment later, she is proven correct as Ayla steps out of her palanquin and openly flirts with the emperor, until her cousin bids her back to their seats.
• Man Behind the Man: During Maomao's confinement in the Shi clan's territory, she discovers that Ayla was in leagues with the Shi clan, having provided them with samples of the newest models of flintlock to aid their insurrection scheme in exchange for yet unknown benefits.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ayla is more overtly confident, and outspoken and openly displays her emotions. Aylin on the other hand, is more reserved and holds herself with serene grace. This is even reflected in their accessory preferences, with Ayla mainly wearing red while Aylin wears blue.
• Uncanny Family Resemblance: Despite being cousins of paternal descent, Ayla and Aylin are completely identical to the point an outsider will likely mistake them for twins. The only way to tell them apart is from their personalities and accessories, with Ayla preferring red while Aylin prefers blue.

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Shrine Maiden of Shaoh

Shrine Maiden

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Jazgul

Jazgul

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