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Main Characters
Xiao Yan Yan
- Played by: Tiffany Tang
The youngest Xiao sister.
- Action Girl: In her first appearance she beats a man in a duel.
- Faint in Shock: She faints when she hears about her father's death. Justified since she was also pregnant at the time.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: She's in the middle, not as foolish as Wuguli and not as responsible as Hu Nian.
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Xiao Yan Yan
. - Imperiled in Pregnancy: She's pregnant when Xi Yin tries to murder her.
- Missing Mum: Her mother died before the series starts.
- Pregnant Badass: Leads her army while pregnant.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Calls Wuguli out for her self-centredness.Yan Yan: You only care about your wedding and think about yourself. Have you ever thought about Hu Nian and our family? In order to save you, Hu Nian had no choice but to marry Yansage. You're ruining her life now, but you still feel at ease and justified.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: She personally shoots Yansage and leads her army into battle.
- Together in Death: She and De Rang are reunited in the afterlife.
- We Need a Distraction: She sees De Rang and Xian are being chased, so she sets a group of horses free to distract their pursuers.
- Youngest Child Wins: She's the youngest of the Xiao sisters. She's also the series' protagonist, the empress of Liao, and by far the most famous of her sisters.
Han De Rang
- Played by: Shawn Dou (adult), Lu Zhan Xiang (child)
A general. Yan Yan's first love and second husband.
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Han De Rang.
- Together in Death: He and Yan Yan are reunited in the afterlife.
- What the Hell, Hero?: He calls Xian out for ordering Yan Yan to marry him.De Rang: You have come to power now. Why don't you care about your empire instead of taking my love away?
Yelü Xian
- Played by: Jing Chao
Fifth Emperor of Liao. Yan Yan's first husband.
- Death of the Hypotenuse: His death allows Yan Yan and De Rang to finally marry.
- Delicate and Sickly: A male example. He's chronically ill and eventually dies of his illness.
- Disappeared Dad / Missing Mum: Both of his parents are murdered in the prologue.
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Emperor Jingzong.
- I Have Many Names: He has at least three names: Yelü Xian, Ming Yi, and Emperor Jingzong.
- Incurable Cough of Death: His illness makes him cough.
- Jerkass / Ungrateful Bastard: He knows Yan Yan and De Rang are engaged and Yan Yan will never love him. That doesn't stop him forcing her to marry him. Made worse because De Rang is his friend and helped him take the throne.
- Love Makes You Evil: His love for Yan Yan leads him to force her to marry him even though he knows she's engaged to De Rang.
- Secret Other Family: He takes a concubine and has a child with her without telling Yan Yan about it.
Xiao Hu Nian
- Played by: Charmaine Sheh
The eldest Xiao sister.
- Convenient Miscarriage: She miscarries her baby.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The most responsible of the Xiao sisters.
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Xiao Hu Nian.
- Scarpia Ultimatum: When Wuguli is imprisoned Hu Nian goes to Yansage for help. He promises to help as long as Hu Nian marries him, so she reluctantly agrees.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Historically Hu Nian was executed on Yan Yan's orders. In the series she outlives Yan Yan.
- Stop, or I Shoot Myself!: Holds a knife at her own throat and threatens to kill herself unless De Rang lets Yansage go.
Yan Yan's family
Xiao Wuguli
- Played by: Lu Shan
The second Xiao sister.
- Driven to Suicide: Kills herself after failing to kill Yan Yan.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The most foolish of the Xiao sisters.
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Lady Xiao.
- It's All About Me / Jerkass: To save her life Hu Nian has to promise to marry a man she doesn't love, and all Wuguli cares about is that she gets to marry Xi Yin. Later Yan Yan is forced to marry Xian, and Wuguli only cares that she and Xi Yin are imprisoned in their mansion.
- Lethally Stupid: She sneaks off to see Xi Yin after he's arrested for trying to assassinate the emperor and brings him a pass to help him escape. When Yansage catches them he sees the pass as evidence that Wuguli's father is in cahoots with Xi Yin, endangering Wuguli and her entire family.
- Named by the Adaptation: The real Lady Xiao's name has been lost to history. The series names her Wuguli.
- Outliving One's Offspring: She outlives her son Liulishou.
- Too Dumb to Live: Her husband and son have been executed because of their own stupidity, so she decides she'll try to murder Yan Yan. She kills herself after her attempt fails.
Xiao Si Wen
- Played by: Liu Yi Jun
Prime Minister of Liao. Father of the Xiao sisters.
- Good Parents: He is a good and gentle father to all three of his daughters. Even when Yanyan and Wuguli do really foolish things.
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Xiao Si Wen.
- The Mourning After: His wife has been dead for quite some time but he has not remarried despite not having a male heir.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He is very responsible and diligent with his position. Before accepting to help Xian take the throne he makes sure to actually check that Xian will make a good emperor.
- Unfriendly Fire: Is literally stabbed in the back by someone supposedly on his side.
De Rang's family
Li Si
- Played by: Meng Zi Yi
De Rang's first wife.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: In the beginning of the series she was very much in love with Derang and wanted to marry him. When she actually gets to marry him she knows that he loves Yanyan and will never love her back so Li Si is quite miserable during her wedding ceremony.
- Canon Foreigner: One of the few characters with no historical equivalent; the real Han De Rang never married.
- Proper Lady: She is elegant, graceful and always courteous.
Han Kuang Si
- Played by: Jiang Kai
De Rang's father.
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Han Kuang Si.
Madam Han
- Played by: Juan Zi
De Rang's mother.
- Historical Domain Character: She existed, though nothing is known about her historical counterpart.
Xian's family
Yelü Yansage
- Played by: Tan Kai
Hu Nian's husband. Yelü Jing's brother.
- Ambition Is Evil: He tries to burn a baby alive for the sake of ambition
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Yelü Yanchege.
- Spell My Name With An S: His name is sometimes given as Yanchege.
- Would Hurt a Child: Not just hurt but he tries to murder Xian's and Yanyan's newborn son by paying someone to throw the infant into a fire.
Yelü Xi Yin
- Played by: Ji Chen
Wuguli's husband. Xian's cousin.
- Ambition Is Evil: Tries to murder his pregnant sister in law out of ambition.
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Yelü Xi Yin.
Yelü Jing
- Played by: Li Ning
Xian's and Xi Yin's uncle. Became emperor after killing his brother.
- The Caligula: He is an insane monarch.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He is undoubtedly a piece of work but he genuinely loves and trusts Yansage, his younger brother.
- Evil Uncle: Xian is rightfully terrified of him and takes care not to provoke the emperor. Zhi Mo is careless and gets crippled.
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Emperor Muzong.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: While is doubtful that a Khitan emperor was a very nice guy, the historical him did not murder his brother and he was not an insane, murderous paranoiac. In fact the greatest criticism for the historical Muzong was that he liked to hunt too much at the expense of state affairs.
Yelü Zhi Mo
- Played by: Simon Lian
Xian's half-brother.
- Eye Scream: One of his eyes is removed as punishment.
- Groin Attack: His evil uncle castrates him for sleeping with a maid.
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Yelu Zhi Mo.
Yelü Long Xu
- Played by: Chen Hao (adult), Cary Ye (teenager), Leo Pei (child)
Yan Yan and Xian's son.
- Historical Domain Character: A fictionalised version of Emperor Shengzong.
