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Main Characters
Xiao Feng
Qu Xiao Feng
- Played by: Peng Xiao Ran
Click here to see her in Li Dynasty clothes
Ninth princess of Western Liang. Falls in love with Gu Xiao Wu, unaware he's really Cheng Yin.
- Awful Wedded Life: Her marriage to Cheng Yin becomes this very quickly. The first time around he murders her family and drives her to jump into the River of Forgetfulness. The second time he refuses to leave her alone even when she makes it clear she hates him. It ends with her committing suicide to escape him.
- Break the Cutie: Suffers this when she realises her husband betrayed and murdered her grandfather. Things just get worse for her later.
- Comically Missing the Point: She asks if a brothel is famous because it serves good food. Mi Luo says no, so Xiao Feng asks why the brothel is so famous.
- Destructive Romance: With Cheng Yin. Twice. Within hours of their first wedding he kills her grandfather and attacks her people. Their second marriage is even worse.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: She dies in Cheng Yin's arms.
- Driven to Suicide / Slashed Throat: She cuts her own throat.
- Heroic BSoD: Goes through a major one after Cheng Yin's betrayal. Made worse when she returns home to find she's walked into a trap, her mother's dead, and her father's insane.
- How Dare You Die on Me!: Her reaction to Gu Jian's death.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: The River of Forgetfulness temporarily erases her memories of meeting Cheng Yin and what happened afterwards.
- My Own Private "I Do": She and Cheng Yin are the only people present at their first wedding.
- Rebellious Princess: Arguably a deconstruction, since her rebelliousness leads to her meeting Cheng Yin.
- Runaway Fiancé: Runs away to escape her arranged marriage... and runs right into Cheng Yin.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: She and A Du are disguised as men when they meet Mi Luo.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Wears one after she regains her memories.
- White Shirt of Death: Kills herself while wearing a white dress.
Cheng Yin
Li Cheng Yin/Gu Xiao Wu
- Played by: Chen Xing Xu
Click here to see him as Xiao Wu
Fifth prince of Li Dynasty. Pretends to be a merchant when he first meets Xiao Feng.
- Abdicate the Throne: In the epilogue he abdicates and gives the throne to his nephew.
- Anti-Hero: Very quickly becomes one, and comes close to being a Villain Protagonist.
- Awful Wedded Life: Both his marriages to Xiao Feng end very badly, both times because of his own actions.
- Ax-Crazy: He gets increasingly unstable as the series goes on.
- Destructive Romance / Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He truly does love Xiao Feng. The problem is his way of showing his love is to force her to stay with him when she desperately wants to leave.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: The River of Forgetfulness temporarily erases his memories of meeting Xiao Feng.
- King Incognito: He claims he's a merchant and uses the name Gu Xiao Wu when he meets Xiao Feng.
- Missing Mum: His mother died before the series starts. Learning how she died contributes to his Start of Darkness.
- My Own Private "I Do": He and Xiao Feng are the only people present at their first wedding.
- Prince Charmless: And how!
- Princeling Rivalry: Between him and all his brothers.
- Start of Darkness: Becomes increasingly vengeful and cruel after he learns who killed his mother and Cheng Ji.
- Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Kills the man about to kill Cheng Ji by throwing his sword from horseback.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Starts out a genuinely nice guy. But when he decides he wants to be Crown Prince, he becomes more and more cruel.
- Unknown Relative: Gu Jian is his cousin. Cheng Yin only finds out when Ming Yuan tells him.
Gu Jian
- Played by: Shawn Wei
Xiao Feng's teacher.
- All Love Is Unrequited: He loves Xiao Feng, who loves Cheng Yin.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: He dies in Xiao Feng's arms.
- Drowning My Sorrows: He starts drinking heavily after he almost dies and realises Xiao Feng has lost her memory.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Gets impaled by several arrows.
- No One Could Survive That!: Everyone assumes he's dead after he was stabbed and fell off a cliff. He isn't.
- Teacher/Student Romance: His love for Xiao Feng is a one-sided version.
Li Dynasty
Emperor
- Played by: Gallen Lo
Cheng Yin's father.
- Abusive Parents: He whips Cheng Ji because he wore mourning for murdered students. Also shows absolutely no sympathy toward Cheng Yin when he is framed and thrown in prison.
- The Chains of Commanding: Bitterly regrets that for all his power he was unable to preserve the woman he loved, Cheng Yin's mother.
- The Good King: A nuanced example. He values the stability of the realm above everything and wants a strong successor to his throne. Unfortunately that means that he has little emotional attachment to his children.
- Love Ruins the Realm: He falls in love with a courtesan.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: Has this attitude toward the son that is the Crown Prince and his successor for the throne. If they cant survive plots against them then they don't deserve their position.
Empress
Zhang Mei Niang/Empress
- Played by: Zhang Ding Han
Cheng Yin's step-mother.
- Abusive Parents: She beats Cheng Yin — who was a child at the time — because he said he wanted to play with his brothers instead of plot against them.
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Cry for the Devil: When her husband starts doting on her cousin, Concubine Gao, she is visibly upset and is difficult not to sympathise with her a bit. Especially when Concubine Gao Ruyi falls pregant, which makes the Empress fear about her position. Which she cant keep without her uncle's support, Ruyi's father. - Desperately Craves Affection: Her husband the emperor does not love her, Mei Niang is well aware of that and has been in love with him since she was a young girl.
- Driven to Suicide: Hangs herself after her plots are revealed and she loses her position. The final straw was a furious Cheng Yin, having survived her assassination attempt, repudiating her as his adoptive mother.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She does love the Emperor, and is deeply hurt by his blatant favoring of other women. She also does love Cheng Yin and is devastated to the point of suicide when he repudiates her as his adopted mother.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: She schemes with her uncle to kill one of her stepsons, which eventually causes war with Dan Chi and abuses her adoptive son's wives, causing even more unrest.
- Green-Eyed Monster: She is very much in love with the emperor and hates all the women that gain his affection.
- Lawof Inverse Fertility: Desperately wanted a child but could not bear one, which is why she murdered Consort Gu and stole the baby Cheng Yin.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Never allows even the slightest pretext to punish Sese pass by. Would likely act the same with Xiao Feng if Cheng Yin actually acted on his real feelings.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Tries to play the I have a powerful family When the emperor dethrones her for murdering Consort Shu, Cheng Yin's biological mother and for attempting to murder Cheng Yin himself. The emperor reminds him that her cousin was recently made an imperial concubine and happens to be pregnant. Meaning that the Gao family will not bestir themselves for Mei Niang.
- Uncanny Valley Makeup: Her make-up is off-putting by modern standards. Her shaved-off and painted-on eyebrows are especially odd. Truth in Television, though; that style of make-up was common in the Tang dynasty.
- Wicked Stepmother: Sent assassins after Cheng Ji, even if her assassins were not the ones to succeed in killing him. She also abuses Cheng Yin and mistreats his harem. When she becomes aware that Cheng Yin knows that she murdered his biological mother and intends to tell the emperor, she tries to assassinate Cheng Yin as well.
Cheng Ji
- Played by: Zhang Ao Yue
Crown Prince of Li Dynasty.
- Bare-Handed Blade Block: Grabs an assassin's sword when they try to stab him.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Dies early in the series.
- The Wise Prince: In the few scenes that he gets he shows that he cares a lot for justice, his people and is well aware that he will not survive the mission to the west that his imperial father sends him to.
Cheng Ye
Li Cheng Ye/Prince Xuan De
- Played by: Kingone Wang
Second prince of Li Dynasty.
- Cain and Abel: He's responsible for Cheng Ji's death.
- Frame-Up: Poisons Xiaofeng and frames Cheng Yin for it.
- Villainous Breakdown: Has one after Li Yan's death.
Zhao Se Se
- Played by: Xia Wa
Cheng Yin's side consort.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She isn't nearly as kind and innocent as she pretends to be.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Sese does actually really love Cheng Yin. He however does not, but is merely exploiting her because her family is powerful and he needs a shield to protect Xiao Feng from the Empress.
- Green-Eyed Monster: She is extremely jealous that Xiao Feng is the legal wife and future Empress. The resentful look on her face when the Empress gives Xiao Feng a very beautiful dress as Crown Princess says it all.
- I Will Wait for You: Tells Cheng Yin she'll wait for him even if he's gone forever.
- Not Me This Time: She is the first suspect when Xuniang is given an abortive drug that kills her fetus, but the actual culprit was the Empress.
- Unwitting Pawn: Cheng Yin is not in love with her. He is just exploiting her to gain the support of her powerful family and also to use her to shield Xiaofeng from the Empress.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: She poisons herself to frame Xiao Feng.
Pei Zhao
- Played by: Wang Guan
Commander of Yu Lin Army.
- Arranged Marriage: Cheng Yin inspires the emperor to arrange for Pei Zhao to marry one of the princesses.
- Undying Loyalty: Towards Cheng Yin.
- Uptown Girl: He falls in love with the owner of a drinking house. Someone vastly his social inferior.
Zhao Shi Xuan
- Played by: Zhu Zan Jin
Zhao Se Se's brother.
- Ambition Is Evil: He is very ambitious and has to qualms about murdering rivals.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Arranges for Gao Zhen's death to look like he was attacked by wild animals.
- Unwitting Pawn: Like his sister Sese He is being used by Cheng Yin to counted the Empress and her family.
Ming Yue
Ming Yue/Chen Yan
- Played by: Wei Xiao Han
Gu Jian's childhood friend. Becomes one of the emperor's consorts to seek revenge for her family.
- Driven to Suicide: Stabs herself after the emperor kills her father.
Mi Luo
- Played by: Guan Le
Owner of Mi Luo Wine House.
- Drowning My Sorrows: She gets drunk when Pei Zhao marries Luo Xi.
Western Liang
Qu Wen Cheng
- Played by: Jiang Kai
King of Western Liang. Xiao Feng's father.
Ashina Yun
- Played by: Tian Ling
Queen of Western Liang. Xiao Feng's mother and Tömür's daughter.
- Driven to Suicide: Kills herself after Li Dynasty invade Western Liang.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Zigzaged with her. Opposes a marriage alliance partly because it was her rival's idea, she also tries to assassinate Ming Yuan, something that would cause a war if discovered. But also she is desperate to keep her only daughter close to her and understandably jealous and fearful that her husband listens to another woman more.
- Green-Eyed Monster: She really does not appreciate Ming Yuan's influence on her husband. At one point she even orders A-Du to assassinate Ming Yuan, but the attempt thankfully fails.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Tries to prevent her only daughter's marriage into the Li Dynasty but is overruled by her husband the king.
Ming Yuan
- Played by: Kristy Yang
Xiao Feng's step-mother. Formerly a princess of Li Dynasty.
- Altar Diplomacy: She was given to the King of Xizhao to ensure peace at the border.
- Good Stepmother: She is genuinely fond of Xiao Feng but political stability has to be her priority. She makes a genuine attempt to get Xiao Feng to accept her role and marry for the sake of peace.
- Incurable Cough of Death: She has tuberculosis, so this is inevitable.
- Only Sane Woman: She desperately wants peace between her homeland and her marital country.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: She tells the truth about his mother and maternal family to Cheng Yin, with the intention of warning him about the Empress as a way to keep her nephew safe, but unfortunately this triggers Cheng Yin's Start of Darkness.
Dan Chi
A Du
- Played by: Najima
Xiao Feng's best friend.
- Action Girl: Among other things she attempts to assassinate Ming Yuan and duels Gu Jian.
- Catch a Falling Star: Xiao Feng attempts suicide by jumping off a wall. A Du catches her before she hits the ground.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice / Mutual Kill: She stabs Gao Xian. Before he dies he stabs her, and she dies shortly after.
- Obfuscating Disability: Pretends to be mute so she can stay with Xiao Feng.
Tömür
Yi Mo Yan
- Played by: Zhang Ge
Xiao Feng's cousin.
