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Jiang Zuo Alliance and Allies
One of the most powerful political forces in the pugilist world of Da Ling. Its leader, Mei Changsu, created it and spent 12 years gaining power in order to facilitate his larger plans.
Mei Changsu/Su Zhe/Lin Shu
Played by: Ge Hu and Zhehan Zhang (young)
The leader of the Jiang Zuo Alliance
Tropes:
- Batman Gambit: Basically all of Mei Changsu's strategies are this. He is extremely good at predicting how others will react to events.
- The best example is when Lin Shu tricks Xia Jiang into leading our protagonists straight to Wei Zheng's secret location by manipulating him to infer that they have already discovered his location themselves.
- Bash Brothers: With Jingyan in their youth.
- Because I'm Good At It: One of Lin Shu's justifications for taking on the role of the political manipulator
- Blatant Lies: When Lin Shu tells Nihuang he has 10 years left to live and any other time Lin Shu says he'll hang around with Jingyan in the future even in the very last episode, dammit.
- Blue Oni, Red Oni: The highly intellectual and manipulative Mei Changsu plays blue oni to the red oni that is the emotionally driven Prince Jingyan.
- Captured on Purpose: Lin Shu walks right into the Xuanjing Bureau and Xia Jiang's hands in super slow motion and looking totally bad-ass.
- Xia Jiang even told the emperor he wanted to move fast so Mei Changsu wouldn't know he was coming and be able to plan for it. When he arrives at the Su residence though, MCS meets him at the entrance completely unruffled.
- Cassandra Truth: Lin Shu admits he's a member of Prince Qi's household to Xia Jiang partly so that he will sound even crazier and discredit himself when he reports it to the emperor. Lin Shu even explains away Xia Jiang's claim to Jingyan by saying he lied about his identity for this very effect.
- The Chessmaster: Mei Changsu is a master of manipulating others, predicting their actions and reactions, and thinking steps ahead of them. During the confrontation in Xie Manor, he sends Fei Liu to sabotage the armory so Xie Yu's guards are unable to fire on his guests with crossbows.
- He even has wooden tiles for each one of his enemies that he burns upon 'removing' them from the board.
- The Chosen One: "To have the Divine Talent is to have the World." Possibly subverted in that Lin Chen is Mei Changsu's best friend and this "prophecy" was likely given out as part of his master plan. Doubly subverted when you consider that Langya Hall's "prophecies" are actually just statements of fact derived from carefully compiled information. Essentially, Mei Changsu chose himself.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Lin Shu just can't seem to stop trying to help his friends and uphold his duty, even when he's literally dying from pushing himself too hard.
- Crazy-Prepared: Lin Shu's ability to foresee and plan for every possible outcome is the quality that makes him the ultimate Divine Talent. See The Chosen One
- Empty Promise: regarding his health and life expectancy. Any time Mei Changsu promises anyone anything regarding the future. See his promise to stay by Jingyan's side and watch him become emperor or his promise never to leave Nihuang again.
- Flashback Nightmare: The first scene of the series shows the bloody massacre of an army and the young Lin Shu's dying father urging him to survive just before he falls off a cliff... and our adult hero catapults awake, panting in his bed.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: After 12 years playing shadowy manipulator, a lot of people would have lost sight of their original goals. Granted, being on the verge of death tends to give people a sense of priority.
- Insufferable Genius: Played straight as Lin Shu, people overlooked it because his personality wasn't particularly obnoxious and because he really was that talented. Mostly averted as Mei Changsu, who doesn't have the energy or the circumstances to be as showy as Lin Shu. He still has his moments where he uses his superior logical thinking to outwit Lin Chen and his followers into letting him get involved in the action despite his poor health.
- Multilayer Façade: When he first comes to the capital, Mei Changsu introduces himself as "Sir Su" a mere visiting scholar. When his enemies get suspicious, they do a background check and discover his "real" identity, the powerful leader of the Jiang Zuo Alliance. This prevents them from thinking to dig deeper and discover his actual Secret Identity Lin Shu.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated
- Sarcastic Confession: When he's cornered by Consort Yue and Xia Jiang's attempt to reveal his true identity, Lin Shu straight up admits it to the emperor's face. But then he follows up by saying even if he admits it it doesn't prove anything and uses enough Word Fu to convince the emperor to dismiss Xia Jiang entirely. That is talent. Although, admittedly it doesn't prevent the emperor from trying to kill him anyway... See Murder Is the Best Solution.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Nihuang and Lin Shu have loved each other their whole lives but are fated never to be together in this life.
- Starting a New Life: Lin Shu's new life as Mei Changsu.
- Unsportsmanlike Gloating: Mei Changsu uncharacteristically gives in to a little gloating the last time he sees Xia Jiang in prison. "You're just here to gloat this time aren't you?" "Yes. I've seen you play all your best cards and end up back in prison anyway. It makes me happy." So. Satisfying.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Mei Changsu is driven to reach his goal as quickly as possible because of his limited time left to live.
Fei Liu
Played by: Lei Wu
Mei Changsu's young bodyguard and close companion.
Tropes:
- Ambiguous Disorder: Fei Liu has some kind of developmental disability, which mostly seems to manifest in acting young for his age and rough, limited speech. It certainly doesn't hurt his motor skills or coordination.
- Badass Adorable
- Wire Fu: Apparently the second thing every martial artist learns is flying, but Fei Liu especially spends most of his time on rooftops.
Meng Zhi
Played by: Long Chen
Commander General of Da Liang and of the Imperial Guard.
Tropes:
- The Watson: Not being a dedicated politico like most of the other main cast-members, he winds up asking a lot of Captain Obvious questions so plot-points can be explained to him (and slower members of the audience).
Li Gang and Zhen Ping
Played by: Hong Wang and Yilong Zhao
Two survivors of the Chiyan Army that serve Mei Changsu.
Tropes:
Li Gang
Zhen Ping
Gong Yu
Played by: Qiqi Zhou
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Daughter of an assassin and very skilled with a sword.
- Ignored Enamored Underling: Gong Yu's has a really obvious crush on Mei Changsu. He takes the Cruel to Be Kind approach and never gives her any hope.
Sir Shisan
Played by: Fangmin Gong
Tropes:
Tong Lu
Played by: Wei Wei
Tropes:
Wei Zheng
Played by: Shuai Li
Tropes:
Lin Chen
Played by: Dong Jin
Tropes:
- Insufferable Genius
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Lin Chen has long flowing hair - instead of the topknots most of the other men wear - and an androgynously handsome face.
- The Medic: Lin Chen is the one who saved Mei Changsu after he was poisoned and was his primary physician for 12 years.
Physican Yan
Played by: Weihua Zhong
Tropes:
- The Medic: Mei Changsu's personal doctor while he is in the capital.
Nie Feng
Played by: Yingzhe Shan
Tropes:
- Chekhov's Gunman: You know that "beast" Jingyan's soldiers have been trying to catch since the early episodes? It's almost the end of the series and they finally caught it! Turns out it's actually one of the few survivors of the Chiyan Army, Nie Feng, who helps reveal how Lin Shu himself survived and the nature of his illness.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated
The Jing Household and Allies
Xiao Jingyan, Prince Jing
Played by: Kai Wang
Tropes:
- Ambition Is Evil: Jingyan seeks power for altruistic reasons and is ultimately able to become Emperor. while The Crown Prince and Prince Yu are ultimately defeated by the consequences of their own unscrupulous greed for power.
- Arranged Marriage: When Princess Nian Nian arrives in Da Liang to be married to one of the princes, Jingyan is a candidate having only one concubine. She end's up engaged to Jingting
- Bash Brothers: With Lin Shu in their youth.
- Blue Oni, Red Oni: The highly intellectual and manipulative Mei Changsu plays blue oni to the red oni that is the emotionally driven Prince Jingyan.
- Dark Horse Sibling
- Honor Before Reason: Jingyan's default setting. Mei Changsu tries his best to make him behave more strategically, but has to give in when Jingyan refuses to leave Wei Zheng in prison to be executed, even though breaking him out is an extremely dangerous move that will potentially waste all of Jingyan's political gains so far.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: The reason many support Jingyan to become emperor. Prince Yu even points this out when Jingyan is sent to handle disaster relief, wondering how Jingyan can resist skimming off the relief funds.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Mei Changsu won't let anyone tell Jingyan who he really is because he knows his best friend will be too worried about him to treat him as a mere strategist and follow his plans without question. By the time Jingyan finds out, it feels like everyone knows but him, including his mother.
- Pulling the Thread: Jingyan attempts to do this when he asks both his mother and Mei Changsu what his father's name was without giving them time to consult each other. Unfortunately for him, Mei Changsu's cover is too well planned- they both give the same name, the one Lin Shu's real father used as an alias.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: When Jingyan insists on breaking the falsely accused Wei Zheng out of prison.
- Spotting the Thread:
- Jingyan notes Mei Changsu's habit of rubbing at things when he's thinking- just like this one guy he used to know...
- Lin Shu accidentally draws Jingyan's sword and uses it to point out troop movements, unconsciously repeating a familiar gesture which Jingyan recognizes
- Warrior Prince: Jingyan is a capable fighter and general, as well as the seventh son of the emperor.
Consort Jing
Played by: Mintao Liu
Tropes:
- The Chessmaster: Consort Jing may be even more of a Chessmaster than Mei Changsu. She tampers with the Emperor's medicine to induce insomnia, restlessness, and hallucinations, which all contributed to him having nightmares which she then convinced the Emperor is caused by restless ghosts and can only be resolved by setting up a memorial plaque.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Empress Yan compares her to a cotton ball because she absorbs everything thrown at her until she turns it all against you.
- Spotting the Thread:
- Consort Jing discovers Mei Changsu's true identity after finding a veiled reference to his mother's name in a book he wrote notes in
- She also realizes her maid was part of the enemy's plot to cause mistrust between Jingyan and Mei Changsu when the maid makes sure to tell the story of Mei Changsu's supposed capture of her to the prince. They couldn't leave such a crucial part of the plot (making sure Jingyan heard the story told their way) to some unrelated person.
Lie Zhanying
Played by: Yujian Zhang
Tropes:
Xiao Tingsheng
Played by: Juming Zhang
Tropes:
- Hidden Backup Prince: Tingsheng was of royal blood even as a slave and there were a few people who knew this, even if he didn't. It was possible he could have been made emperor if something had happened to all the other princes, even before his adoption.
- Subverted by the fact that, being the son of the late Crown Prince Qi, Tingsheng would have been third in line for the throne upon his birth had his father not been declared a traitor. Had Prince Qi become emperor, Tingsheng would have been Crown Prince. Technically, the Crown Prince, Prince Yu, and Prince Jing are all after him in a direct line of succession.
- Rags to Royalty: Tingsheng is a slave who ends in the care of and later adopted by Prince Jing. But he was really a prince all along, being the only son of the late Prince Qi.
Shen Zhui and Cai Quan
Played by: Hui Feng and Duo Li
Tropes:
Shen Zhui
Cai Quan
The Mu Household
Princess Mu Nihuang
Played by: Tao Liu and Xiaoyang Pan (young)
Tropes:
- Action Girl: General of the military in Yunnan guarding the border with Southern Chu.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: A decidedly non-G rated version.
- The Crown Prince and his mother Consort Yue attempt this with Nihuang so that she is forced to marry one of her potential suitors, that is loyal to them, and have her military and political influence serving their faction. Thankfully it stops at Attempted Rape.
- Engagement Challenge: The tournament set up for Nihuang's suitors. The top ten have to pass the final challenge- beating Nihuang herself. This effectively gives Nihuang Child Marriage Veto powers.
- Lady of War: Nihuang has protected the southern border from invasion as the general of the southern fortress for years and she's so awesome at martial arts than none of the skilled warriors from all around China that come to compete as her potential suitors are able to beat her in a one on one duel.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Nihuang and Lin Shu have loved each other their whole lives but are fated never to be together in this life.
- Warrior Princess: Nihuang is the general of the armies defending Yannan from Southern Chu and her first appearance has her defeating Jingrui and Yujin, two-on-one in combat.
Prince Mu Qing
Played by: Xiaoqian Zhang
Tropes:
- Big Brother Instinct: He's very protective of Nihuang (though the trope is inverted because he's her younger brother). After Sima Lei tried to rape Nihuang, Mu Qing beat him up and broke his leg.
- Brother–Sister Team: in charge of defending the southern border with Nihuang.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Nihuang chastises him multiple times for goofing off and not attending to his studies.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: toward Nihuang's many suitors.
The Yan Household
Yan Yujin
Played by: Xiaoran Guo
Tropes:
Marquis Yan Que
Played by: Jinsong Wang
Tropes:
- Holding the Floor: Marquis Yan does this admirably on many occasions.
The Yu Household and Allies
Xiao Jinghuan
Played by: Victor Huang
Tropes:
- Alas, Poor Villain: Prince Yu manages to be a pretty sympathetic villain throughout the series, but even if you never liked him, his pathetic breakdown due to the discovery of his father's betrayal of his mother and his subsequent suicide in a desperate attempt to save his wife and unborn child will have you shedding a tear.
- Ambition Is Evil: Like the Crown Prince, Prince Yu is ultimately defeated by the consequences of his own unscrupulous greed for power.
- Dark Mistress: In Qin Banruo.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Prince Yu doesn't understand how Prince Jing can be so moral. When Jingyyan is sent to handle disaster relief, Prince Yu wonders how can control himself when there is so much money.
- The Evil Prince
- Moral Event Horizon: He crosses it in Episode 17, when he deliberately has a gunpowder warehouse exploded in the middle of the city, killing countless uninvolved civilians, as part of his ongoing feud with the Crown Prince.
Qin Banruo
Empress Yan
Played by: Xiaoli Fang
Tropes:
- Cool Crown: There are some stunningly elaborate royal headpieces in this drama, but the Empress's crown definitely takes the prize.
Jun Niang, Fourth Sister
Played by: Feng Jin
Tropes:
- Honey Trap: Fourth Sister is set up as this to get information out of Mei Changsu's messenger Tong Lu. This is partially subverted when Jun Niang actually falls for Tong Lu and later helps him escape.
Xuan Jing Bureau
Xia Dong
Played by: Lingxin Zhang
Tropes:
- Action Girl
- Friend on the Force: Xia Dong becomes this to our protagonists.
- I Will Wait for You: Xia Dong has never forgotten her dead husband even after 13 years. Happily she is rewarded for her faithfulness when Nie Feng returns alive against all hope.
Xia Jiang
Played by: Yongquan Wang
Tropes:
- Dirty Cop: The Xuanjing Bureau is supposed to be completely neutral in party politics and loyal only to the emperor, but Xia Jiang uses the faction disputes to protect his own personal power.
- Evil Mentor: Xia Jiang is this to Xia Dong. Leading a disillusioned Xia Dong to a Was It All a Lie? speech.
Xia Chun and Xia Qiu
Played by: Guanlin Liu and Shuyang Sui
Tropes:
The Eastern Palace and Allies
Xiao Jingxuan, Crown Prince Xian
Played by: Xin Gao
Tropes:
- Ambition Is Evil: Like Prince Yu, the Crown Prince is ultimately defeated by the consequences of his own unscrupulous greed for power.
Noble Consort Yue
Played by: Yuting Yang
Tropes:
- Cool Crown: Yue is always very elaborately dressed.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Consort Yue really likes to use this.
The Xie and Zhou Households
Xiao Jingrui
Played by: Haofeng Cheng
Tropes:
- Break the Cutie: When all truths are revealed, Jingrui is left a little worse for wear.
- Family Disunion: Jingrui's disaster of a birthday party. You know it's a failed family get together when you find out neither of your "fathers" is actually related to you, one of them was trying to kill you all along, and he's decided to finish the job now, along with the rest of your family and all the guests who now know too much. Ouch.
- Family Relationship Switcheroo: Jingrui has two surnames. His mother gave birth on the same night as her friend at the temple they were staying at. That same night they were attacked and the two baby boys were mixed up in the darkness and confusion, making it impossible to tell which baby belonged to which mother. When one of the babies died after a few days, things became even more complicated. With no way to decide which family the baby belonged to, the emperor declared that he should belong to both of them and be given both their surnames. However the real switcheroo is that Jingrui's real mother Princess Liyang was pregnant with her lover's baby and then was forced to marry Marquis Xie. She realized her husband was trying to kill her illegitimate son but had actually killed her friend's baby by accident. She perpetuated the confusion with the Zhuo family in order to protect Jingrui from the Marquis. Jingrui finds out his true parentage at his birthday party.
- Put on a Bus: Leaves for Southern Chu in episode 26 with his half-sister and doesn’t reappear until episode 51.
- The Bus Came Back: Returns to the capital in episode 51 just in time to kick-start the revelation of Xie Yu’s crimes.
Marquis Xie Yu
Played by: Yijun Liu
Tropes:
- Destroy the Evidence: Marquis Xie used the martial arts skills of the Zhuo family to get rid of incriminating evidence and people.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Xie Yu tended to have anyone who he saw as a threat killed, even when he could have easily paid them off or they were the entirety of his household This leads to...
- No Kill like Overkill: See Family Disunion above.
Grand Princess Liyang
Played by: Yanyan Zhang
Tropes:
- And Now You Must Marry Me: A decidedly non-G rated version where Princess Liyang was in love with a foreign prince but the empress and Marquis Xie conspired to drug and rape her so that she would be forced to marry Xie. Unsurprisingly this situation led to some complications, see Family Switcheroo.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Liyang comes off as very quiet and accepting of everything that has happened to her, including being separated from her lover, being drugged and raped and then having to marry her rapist, and having said husband hire an assassin to murder her lover's child after she gave birth. However, not only does she manage to protect her son and does her best to protect Nihuang from a similar marriage plot, Liyang proves herself far from a wilting flower in episode 21 when she holds a knife to her own throat to get Xie Yu to allow Prince Yu's guards into the manor. The fact that her husband of 20 years complies says a lot about whether she's bluffing.
- Stop, or I Shoot Myself!: As mentioned above, she threatens suicide to make Xie Yu stand aside.
Xie Bi
Played by: Muye Kuang
Tropes:
Zhuo Dingfeng
Played by: Haoming Liu
Tropes:
- Destroy the Evidence: Marquis Xie used the martial arts skills of the Zhuo family to get rid of incriminating evidence and people.
Zhuo Qingyao
Played by: Jie Yan
Tropes:
Xie Qi
Played by: Yumeng Sui
Tropes:
- Death by Childbirth: Xie Qi dies in childbirth, possibly because of complications from the shock of the Family Disunion.
The Royal Family
Xiao Xuan, Emperor of Liang
Played by: Yongdai Ding
Tropes:
- Murder Is the Best Solution: The emperor is pretty sure he doesn't believe Xia Jiang's claims about Mei Changsu's real identity, but his solution is to attempt to poison him anyway just to make certain there's no future threat.
- Never My Fault: The Emperor takes this to extremes.
Prince Ji
Played by: Wentong Ning
Tropes:
Grand Dowager Empress
Played by: Yuzhi Zheng
Tropes:
Consort Hui
Played by: Lina Chen
Tropes:
Xiao Jingting, Prince Nian
Xiao Jingyu, Prince Qi
Played by: Chen Ji
Tropes:
- Death by Origin Story: Prince Qi and General Lin Xie and his men are betrayed and framed as traitors. Lin Shu is also almost killed but comes back as Mei Changsu with the goal of getting justice for their deaths.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The ultimate reason why Prince Qi was framed and the emperor threw him under the bus. He was just too good and had too many loyal followers, making him a threat to the throne and the powerful Xuanjing Bureau.
Lin Yueyao, Consort Chen
Tropes:
- Death by Origin Story: Hangs herself after her son dies.
Grand Empress
Tropes:
The Lin Household
Lin Xie
Played by: Shengli Zheng
Tropes:
- Death by Origin Story: General Lin Xie, his men, and Prince Qi are betrayed and framed as traitors. His son. Lin Shu, is also almost killed but comes back as Mei Changsu with the goal of getting justice for their deaths.
Grand Princess Jinyang
Tropes:
- Death by Origin Story: Commits suicide have her son and husband are declared traitors and to have been executed, unaware her son survived.
The Hua Kingdom
Princess Xuanji
Tropes:
Princess Linglong, Consort Xiang
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Is said to have died on the battlefield before the show begins.
- Posthumous Character
- Missing Mom: to Prince Yu.
- Warrior Princess: Died leading her people in battle.
The Southern Chu Kingdom
Wen Xian, Prince Ling
Tropes:
Princess Nian Nian
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Her fight with Jingrui is her first appearance.
- Arranged Marriage: Nian Nian goes to Da Liang to be married to one of the princes. She ends up engaged to Jingting.
- Long-Lost Relative: to Jingrui.
