History Characters / TheApothecaryDiaries

!!The Imperial Medical Office

[[folder: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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[[folder: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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[[folder:Tianyu]]
!!Tianyu
!!!'''Debut:''' Volume 8
A young apprentice physician in the Outer Court and rather chatty fellow.

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[[folder: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
[[folder:Luomen]]
!!Kan Luomen (汉罗门/漢羅門, Hàn Luómén)
!!!'''Debut:''' Volume 1
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HiroshiYanaka (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.

* BlackSheep: 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.
* BornUnlucky: 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.
* CoolUncle: He is [[spoiler:Lakan's uncle. While Lakan can't see his face, Lakan himself is genuinely fond of and respects Luomen because he was one of the only people to understand him and gave him chess pieces that led him to see chess pieces as their faces to understand how useful they were. He saw Luomen was a Chariot realizing his uncle was a talented, intelligent man]].
* CourtPhysician: 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, [[spoiler:after he successfully helps deliver Gyokuyou's son, he is permanently reemployed as a court physician]].
* DarkAndTroubledPast: 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. [[spoiler: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.
* GeniusCripple: 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.
* GoodParents: Despite not being her biological father, Luomen raised Maomao with genuine love and care and taught her everything she knows. This is probably why [[spoiler:she rejects Lakan despite his own attempts at bonding with daughter and loving her too because she has Luomen. Then again she had a terrible first impression of Lakan]].
* HeroWithBadPublicity: 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. [[spoiler:He does regain some respect after assisting in Gyokuyou's son's birth.]]
* InconsistentSpelling: The furigana say his name is ルォメン, which is why some translations spell it as Ruomen.
* MentorArchetype: Maomao became a decent doctor (and a superb apothecary) by learning from Luomen.
* NiceGuy: One of the nicest people in the story. He took pity on Lakan and taught him ways to deal with his disability. He has no problem [[spoiler:raising Lakan's daughter Maomao and it's implied one of the reasons she doesn't truly hate her father is because Luomen told her about him and what he been through]]. He is also one of the few people who bothers to remember Guen's (the quack) name and genuinely treats him nicely without disdain.
* ParentalSubstitute: Technically, [[FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo 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.
* PerpetualPoverty: 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.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Him teaching Lakan about chess allowed Lakan to see people's face as chess pieces and he was able to realize who was useful or not, with the latter realizing his uncle as a Chariot, was actually a talented, intelligent man.
* SuperDoc: 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
[[folder:'Grams']]
!!'Grams'
!!!'''Debut:''' Volume 1
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KimikoSaito (Japanese), Creator/WendyPowell (English)

The elderly madam of the Verdigris House.

* BenevolentBoss: ZigZagged. She treats you well if you work hard and are useful. She also kicks you out very quickly if you are not [[spoiler:like with Fengxian who was pregnant with Maomao]]. That said, she has a soft spot for Maomao and Fengxian. Despite her threats to Maomao on selling her body and constantly demanding her to bring back cutstomers, 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 WordOfGod that [[spoiler:Fengxian is her daughter therefore making Maomao her granddaughter. Grams treating them family better makes sense]].
* DancingRoyalty: Skilled enough at this that stories of one of her performances have survived for several generations. Although as revealed in Volume 3, [[spoiler:she did have some help from a breed of luminescent moth for that one]].
* GrumpyOldWoman: Outside of money-related matters, she is usually cranky and irritable.
* IWasQuiteALooker: In her youth, she was attractive enough to be called up to entertain foreign dignitaries.
* LikeMotherLikeDaughter: [[spoiler: More like Like Grandmother like Grandaughter. If Grams being Maomao's grandmother is true, the one thing they are similar is having the same energy of excitement when they receive something they wanted badly.]]
** This trope comes true with [[spoiler:Fengxian if the fact she's her daughter is true, both were pregnant during their time as a courtesan. However, it's unknown how Grams manage to give birth to Fengxian and live her life to the point she becomes the madam of the Verdigris House since Fengxian says she's never had a mother and that you can't be one as a courtesan]].
* MiniatureSeniorCitizens: A realistically played example -- she apparently was quite tall in her glory days as a courtesan, but she's constantly leaning nowadays.
* MissKitty: She's a former courtesan who now runs the Verdegris House in the city's pleasure district.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: She's only known as "Grams" or "Madame" ("Yarite Baba" in Japanese), and her real name has yet to be revealed.
* PetTheDog: [[spoiler:Despite Fengxian's pregnancy being the reason the Verdegris House almost went bankrupt and throwing her out to the streets as punishment, Grams hides her in a building behind the Verdegris House despite Fengxian having syphilis and being unable to do anything]]. [[spoiler:It's heavily implied it's because she is her daughter.]]
* TheScrooge: Of the named cast, Jinshi, Lakan, Lihaku and Maomao have all fallen afoul of Grams' high prices and penny pinching.
* StatuesqueStunner: She was around one hundred seventy-five centimeters when she was young. It apparently helped her to become DancingRoyalty for her long arms and legs, and she was called to entertain foreign dignitaries ''because'' they would find a tall woman more attractive. [[spoiler:When her performance needs to be produced again, Jinshi is DisguisedInDrag because he's the only person beautiful and tall enough to impersonate her.]]

[[folder: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:''' Creator/HirokiNanami (Japanese), Monica Flatley (English)\\
'''Meimei is voiced by:''' Creator/MegumiHan (Japanese), Rebecca Danae (English)\\
'''Pairin is voiced by:''' Creator/AmiKoshimizu (Japanese), Creator/CiaranStrange (English)

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

* TheBard: Meimei is also known for her poetry skills.
* BlueBlood: 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.
* BuxomBeautyStandard: 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 [[ACupAngst she knows she doesn't have the same "assets" as they do]].
* CoolBigSis: 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 "[[UsefulNotes/JapaneseSiblingTerminology -neechan]]" honorific in Japanese.
* DancingRoyalty: Pairin is famous for her dancing skills.
* DoesNotLikeMen: Yes, Joka actually can't stand men. Her IceQueen beauty and intelligence makes her a very attractive and desirable conversation partner though.
* HasAType: Pairin likes her men heavily muscled and with a lot of stamina.
* HighClassCallGirl: 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.
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Off-duty, all three are sweet and caring women who serve as surrogate older sisters for Maomao.
* HopelessSuitor: 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.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: 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.
* InconsistentSpelling: Pairin's name is spelled パイリン in katakana; however, Square Enix transliterates her name as Pai Ling.
* ParentalSubstitute: 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.
* ReallyGetsAround: Pairin has a seemingly insatiable lust and when she isn't satisfied, she sometimes pounces on the workers, regardless of gender.
* SexGod: 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.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Meimei is known for her skill at playing ''{{TabletopGame/Go}}''. [[spoiler:She used to be Fengxian's apprentice and learned the game from Fengxian and Lakan.]]
* ThinksLikeARomanceNovel: According to Maomao, Pairin still dreams about a prince coming for her despite her not being an adolescent anymore.

[[folder:Fengxian]]
!!Fengxian (凤仙/鳳仙, Fèngxiān)
!!!'''Debut:''' Volume 2
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HoukoKuwashima (Japanese), Creator/CaitlinGlass (English)
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fengxian.jpg]]

Maomao's ailing mother. Before the Three Princesses debut, she was once the top earning courtesan in the Verdigris House but her pregnancy with Maomao led her to be seen not valuable and was thrown into the streets to fend for herself and her daughter.

* AbusiveParents: 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.
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: 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 loathe her daughter and despise her as the root of her unhappiness. [[spoiler:She deliberately tried to do this so that Lakan would come and buy her when her price would go to zero so she could be with him because he would realize the child is his. Unfortunately, she didn't calculate he would be gone for years by the orders of his father.]]
* DaughterOfAWhore: Not much is known about her parents, but Fengxian told Lakan that her mother was also likely a courtesan. [[spoiler:Said mother possibly being Grams.]]
* FatalFlaw: '''Pride'''. Fengxian was determined to stand alone and be self-sufficient to survive in her cutthroat environment. Unfortunately, this attitude kept her from [[spoiler:admitting how much her plan to be with Lakan relied on him, resulting in him not knowing about Maomao's conception until years too late. This flaw also allowed her to not get checked out by Luomen on her syphilis even though he was a talented physician that had a chance of curing it but because of being an eunuch that was kicked out of the palace she refused.]]
* {{Fingore}}: Out of grief and anger for Lakan not returning to her on time [[spoiler:when she was pregnant with his child]], she cut off one of her fingers as well as her daughter's pinky and sent them to him.
* FloralThemeNaming:
** Fengxian (鳳仙) is named after "impatiens balsamina" (鳳仙花), also known as "touch-me-not". She was a HighClassCallGirl 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.
* HighClassCallGirl: 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 [[SmartPeoplePlayChess her skill at playing strategic board games]].
* IceQueen: Lakan remembers her as extremely haughty and aloof toward her clients, musing it was part of her appeal.
* IWasQuiteALooker: 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.
* MadwomanInTheAttic: 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. Even with Luomen's medicine [[spoiler:Maomao states all they could do is stop the disease from further ravaging her body but states in her current stage there is nothing to save her.]]
* OneTrueLove: [[spoiler:If her getting pregnant with Lakan's child, whether boy or girl, was on purpose so he would be the only one to buy her because her price was too high for him to buy, then this trope implies she truly loved Lakan despite having other prestigous, very rich men willing to redeem her. The fact she sent a tons of letters to him and asked him when could he visit her again also showed she wanted to see him again.]]
* PoorCommunicationKills: If she just told Lakan [[spoiler:he was the one she wanted to be redeemed by instead of playing around with words for him to figure out then the tragedy surrounding her and him probably would have been averted.]] Even Meimei sadly says this wishing her big sister could have been honest at the start.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: She was Lakan's equal as a shogi player, and the only member of the cast to regularly beat him at go which was he was fascinated by her and being the first face he can see.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: Fengxian is already a PosthumousCharacter 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. [[spoiler:Lakan mourns her death in Volume 6.]]
* TooCleverByHalf: 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.
[[/folder]]

!!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.

[[folder:Lord Shishou]]
!!Lord Shishou (子昌, Zǐ Chāng)
!!!'''Debut:''' Volume 2
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/{{Cho}} (Japanese, Anime), Creator/JasonDouglas (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, [[spoiler:Suirei)]] and then a second time to Shenmei (with whom he had Loulan).

* AmbitionIsEvil: 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.
* AnimalMotifs: 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.
* FatBastard: Maomao's narration notes his girth once she finally meets him. [[spoiler: 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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[[folder: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.

* AbusiveParent: Shenmei has never been above turning her HairTriggerTemper on her daughter Loulan if she failed to be match up to Shenmei's expectations. [[spoiler:And she was more horrible to her husband's first daughter, Suirei.]]
* TheCorrupter: To the nobility of the Shi clan. She has a particular fondness for corrupting married women after they've had children.
* TheDreaded: To most named members of the Shi clan (like Loulan, Suirei and Kyou-u).
* EvilMatriarch: Easily the most evil member of the Shi clan seen to date, and dominates every character that has interacted with her, related or otherwise [[spoiler:except the foreign envoy Lady Ayla]].
* EvilStepmother: 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 [[spoiler:Shisui]] and at least one stint in the [[Room101 Taibon]].
* FaceHeelTurn: 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.
* TheHedonist: A big fan of hosting orgies in her spare time.
* ImmortalitySeeker: She has had at least one alchemist working on creating an Elixir of Immortality. [[spoiler: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.

[[folder:Suirei (Unmarked Spoilers)]]
!!Suirei (翠苓, Cuìlíng)
!!!'''Debut:''' Volume 2
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KaoriNazuka (Japanese, Anime), Veronica Laux (English)
[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/suirei_anime_render.png]]

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.

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: 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.
* AttractiveBentGender: 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.
* TheChessmaster: 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.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: 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.
* EvilCounterpart: 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.
* FakingTheDead: 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.
* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: 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.
* ManipulativeBastard: 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.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Played for Drama. She has crippling herpetophobia due to having been sent to [[Room101 Taibon]] when she was younger by her cruel stepmother.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: 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!

!!!The Western Capital
!!I-Sei Providence
[[folder: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.

* KnightTemplar: 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.
* {{Sucksessor}}: Has all of his father's drive and ambition, but little of Gyokuen's political savvy or foresight.

[[/folder]]

!!!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)
[[folder: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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* HeadTurningBeauty: Maomao suspects that the cousins were also chosen for [[ForeignFanservice their]] [[BuxomBeautyStandard 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.
* ManBehindTheMan: During Maomao's confinement in the Shi clan's territory, [[spoiler: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]].
* RedOniBlueOni: 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.
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: 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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[[/folder]]
[[folder:The White Lady]]
!!The White Lady
A supposed immortal mystic from the West that had been gaining popularity through her occult performances in Li. In reality, she's an albino girl from Shaoh and her performances maybe a shroud for something far more sinister...
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*
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[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shrine Maiden of Shaoh]]
!!Shrine Maiden
The current shrine maiden of Shaoh and one of the two pillar of governance of Shaoh as representative of their faith. She is noted to have held the office of shrine maiden for an unusually long time so perhaps there is a secret to her long tenure...
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*
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[[/folder]]
[[folder:Jazgul]]
!!Jazgul
The current handmaiden to the shrine maiden of Shaoh. Although mute, she is able to express herself in ways beyond mere spoken words.
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*
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* HeelRealization: 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 Maomao calmly revealing that she's 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. Recognizing that she's a ''person'' with her own troubles and fears, 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.

* CallToAgriculture: As she can't be sent back to the same nunnery as last time, the emperor instead [[spoiler:sends her to an agricultural research station that is technically considered a monastery. Unsurprisingly, a drama-adverse research station in the tranquil countryside meant Lishu was finally given the peace and simple happiness she so longed for, even if she had to send everyday toiling in mud to learn their craft]].

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* HeelRealization: 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.

* AbsurdlyYouthfulFather: He became a father around the age of 15 when he was crown prince.

* GoodParents: Given his position, at least. He has many partners and there are plenty staff on hand to take care of his children and potential children, but the Emperor tries to spend quality time with his kids over being a completely absentee parent. [[spoiler:Including his firstborn son Jinshi, who was raised as his brother. Despite complications in their relationship, the Emperor has genuine affection for 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 [[spoiler:and she's heavily implied to be the Emperor's OneTrueLove]].

* LikeFatherLikeSon: [[spoiler:With his son Jinshi, they surpisingly both have the trait of seeing someone as their true and only love; Maomao with Jinshi and Jinshi's mother Ah-Duo with the Emperor. Jinshi only wants to be with Maomao and no one else like his father. Unforunately, he is forced to gain more concubines because Ah-Duo lost her womb and Jinshi fears if he inherits the position as Emperor he will have to take in other women as he wants to stay loyal to Maomao]].

* NotSoStoic: The only times he drops his stoic look is when he's with people he trusts a lot and with [[spoiler: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.

* FacialHorror: A scarred face is rumored to be the reason for the mask.

* SingleTargetSexuality: 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 [[ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou doesn't grovel to him]] or constantly oggle him because of his looks.

* ChivalrousPervert: 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 [[BuxomBeautyStandard 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, 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. It turns out Lishu being placed as a high-ranking concubine despite her young age was explicitly because the Emperor [[spoiler: was friends with Lishu's late mother and he wanted to protect Lishu from being used as a political tool by her scheming father]].

** 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 [[spoiler: and she's heavily implied to be the Emperor's OneTrueLove]].

* LikeFatherLikeSon: [[spoiler:With his son Jinshi, they surpisingly both have the trait of seeing someone as their true and only love; Maomao with Jinshi and Jinshi's mother Ah-Duo with the Emperor. Jinshi only wants to be with Maomao and no one else like his father. Unforunately, as the Emperor, he is forced to gain more concubines because Ah-Duo lost her womb]].

* OneTrueLove: While Lady Gyokuyou is his favorite concubine [[spoiler:and eventually becomes his empress once she births him a son,]] [[spoiler: 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 [[RejectingTheInheritence Jinshi himself wants nothing to do with this plot]]]].