Qing

Biodata

Background

Qing grew up in the countryside with his birth mother, Ge Bao'er, who supported them and paid for his early education. His birth father is Lu Zhengliu, heir to the Wuding Marquisate. At about seven, Qing was presented to Lin Yunwan as a candidate for adoption; she exposed his claim that he had never studied by having Ping Ye inspect the writing callus on his finger 1 2 16.

Although Lu Zhengliu wanted Qing to be the legitimate eldest son, Lin Yunwan demanded that Lu Chang'gong receive that position. Qing was renamed Lu Changzong at the ancestral hall, where both boys addressed Lin Yunwan and Lu Zhengliu as their parents 3 4.

After Qing publicly acknowledged Ge Bao'er as his birth mother, he was registered under her name. Lin Yunwan later told him that Ge Bao'er's actions had changed his position from a legitimate son to a concubine-born son 73 82 106.

Previous life

In Lin Yunwan's previous life, she chose Qing as her legitimate son and devoted herself to raising and educating him. He became a xiucai at a young age and later passed the provincial examination 1.

As Lin Yunwan lay dying, Qing revealed that he had long hated her and that the maid Xiao Xuan was carrying his child. He left with Ge Bao'er and Lu Zhengliu for the banquet celebrating his examination success. After her rebirth, Lin Yunwan resolved not to repeat her sacrifices for him 1.

Appearance

Qing resembles Lu Zhengliu as a child. His bright, dark eyes have a lively expression, and he had a thin writing callus on his right middle finger when he entered the Lu household 1 11.

• Ge Bao'er noticed that he had grown plumper and fairer after his arrival at the residence 13.
• Under Zhang Feng'an's strict instruction, he appeared more composed; Lin Yunwan noticed that his palm was red and swollen 36.
• After Ge Bao'er was sent away and he lost Lin Yunwan's favor, he grew thinner and appeared absent-minded 83.

Personality

Qing is lively and mischievous, and he enjoys the attention of Old Madam Lu and the servants who indulge him. He can also be dishonest: he lied about his schooling, had a servant help with his assignments, and feigned illness to avoid practice 1 13 20.

He is strongly influenced by Ge Bao'er. At her urging, he reluctantly discarded a gift from Lin Yunwan, and he later repeated his mother's belief that the Lu household would belong to him. His behavior toward Chang'gong could be cruel, though Zhang Feng'an's discipline made him more outwardly obedient 13 31 36.

Qing is attached to his birth mother, but fears losing Lin Yunwan and Chang'gong's acceptance if his parentage becomes known. When a maid discovered his secret meetings with Ge Bao'er, he unsuccessfully asked Old Madam Lu to punish and sell her. He later set aside his fears about his status and pleaded for Ge Bao'er when she fell into a pond 70 71 72 73.

Although he sometimes resented Ge Bao'er for the trouble that cost him favor, he continued to worry about her and wept when they were reunited 94. Years later, Chang'gong described him as having been raised into a good-for-nothing 234.

Education

• Early schooling: Qing studied in the countryside and learned to write, but his educational foundation was shaky 1 2.
• Lessons with Lin Yunwan: She taught both boys the four treasures of the study and assigned foundational calligraphy practice. Qing tired of repeating horizontal strokes and used a servant's help on his work 13 18 20.
• Zhang Feng'an: After complaints about Lin Yunwan's teaching, Zhang took Qing as his sole student. Zhang later threatened to resign because Qing would not study and was indulged by the household; he agreed to continue under conditions requiring diligence and good behavior, and the family could not publicly claim Qing as his student 21 25.
• Progress: Qing found Zhang's lessons exhausting and asked Lin Yunwan to teach him again, but Ge Bao'er persuaded him to continue. At a later test, he struggled but completed a simple fu and a poem within the allotted time 30 38.
• Later schooling: After the upheaval over his parentage, Zhang repeatedly scolded Qing and considered resigning. Following Lin Yunwan's apparent death, Old Madam Lu ordered that Qing be sent to the clan school 83 114.

Relationships

• Ge Bao'er — Qing's birth mother. They were close but initially had to conceal their relationship within the residence; Qing called her “Cousin Aunt” in public. He later revealed their relationship while pleading for her life, and they were reunited after her removal to the estate 9 30 50 73 94.
• Lu Zhengliu — Qing's birth father. He wanted Qing to hold the position of legitimate eldest son and later urged him to respect Lin Yunwan 3 50.
• Lin Yunwan — Qing's legal mother. Her memories of his betrayal in her previous life shape her distant treatment of him after rebirth. She later treated him kindly for a time, but rejected his visits after his parentage was exposed; Qing pleaded with her not to reject him when he visited her at the nunnery 1 11 68 83 106.
• Lu Chang'gong — Qing's adopted elder brother and the legitimate eldest son. Qing bullied him, including striking him with a slingshot and mocking him for being adopted. Chang'gong later offered to help with his studies, but beat Qing after the exposure of his parentage 4 31 68 75.
• Old Madam Lu — Qing's great-grandmother, who dotes on him and insists that he study for the imperial examinations. She ordered him to distance himself from Ge Bao'er and grow close to Lin Yunwan 4 30 68.
• Zhang Feng'an — Qing's strict teacher, whose methods improved his conduct and schoolwork 25 36 38.
• Xiao Xuan — A maid Qing loved in Lin Yunwan's previous life; he told Lin Yunwan that Xiao Xuan was pregnant with his child 1.

Story Role

• Adoption and reunion: Qing enters the Lu household alongside Chang'gong and is eager to see Ge Bao'er after Lu Zhengliu brings her to the residence 4 8.
• Disputed lessons: Ge Bao'er questions Lin Yunwan's teaching after seeing Qing's calligraphy exercises. His feigned illness and substituted homework are exposed, and Zhang Feng'an is hired to teach him 18 20 21.
• Punishment for bullying: Qing shoots Chang'gong with a slingshot and claims the residence is his. Lin Yunwan has Qing beaten and made to stand while she tends Chang'gong's injury 31.
• Visiting relatives: During the Xia family's visit, Qing misses an opportunity to meet them because he is practicing calligraphy with Ge Bao'er. Lu Zhengliu takes him away and tells him to observe the proper courtesies toward Lin Yunwan 50.
• Fear for Ge Bao'er: Qing overhears Old Madam Lu discussing his mother's death and begs to stay with his great-grandmother. Lu Zhengliu subsequently chooses to keep Ge Bao'er as a concubine 59.
• Secret meetings and exposure: Ordered to keep his distance from Ge Bao'er, Qing nevertheless meets her secretly. At his birthday banquet, he runs to find her and publicly declares that she is his birth mother while begging for her rescue from a pond 68 70 73.
• Loss of favor: After Ge Bao'er is sent to the estate, Lin Yunwan tells Qing he need no longer pay his respects to her. He leaves in tears, and Old Madam Lu later arranges a tearful reunion between him and Ge Bao'er 83 94.
• The jade pendant: As part of a task from Lin Yunwan, Chang'gong lets Qing overhear a conversation claiming that Ge Bao'er is Duke Xingguo's missing legitimate daughter and that Lin Yunwan holds the identifying jade pendant. Qing tells Ge Bao'er, who resolves to recover it 98 99.
• Visit to the nunnery: Qing and Chang'gong try to persuade Lin Yunwan to return home. She refuses and tells Qing that Ge Bao'er's actions have made him a concubine-born son; he leaves with Chang'gong after Ge Bao'er interrupts 106.
• Later years: Following Lin Yunwan's apparent death, Old Madam Lu plans for Qing to attend the clan school. Years afterward, Chang'gong considers Lu Changzong no threat to him 114 234.