Xiao Yuanqi

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Xiao Yuanqi (萧元启)
Alias(es)	Crown Prince; His Highness the Crown Prince 5
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Great Qian imperial family; Eastern Palace 19 26
Occupation/Role	Crown Prince and heir to the throne; educated from childhood as a future emperor 157
Family	Eldest legitimate son of Emperor Wu’an and Empress Lin; elder full brother of Xiao Jinyi 4 26
Spouse	Meng Jiyao, Crown Princess 114 156
Status	Alive; remains Crown Prince in the supplied chapters 167
First Appearance	Qionglin Banquet 5

Background / History

Upbringing and Position at Court

Xiao Yuanqi was raised with an emperor’s education. His position as Crown Prince is exceptionally secure: Emperor Wu’an favors him, his maternal family is dependable, and his younger full brother, Xiao Jinyi, firmly supports him. Years of dealing with crafty officials taught him to conceal a calculating side beneath his upright, easygoing manner 26 157.

He grew up alongside both Xiao Jinyi and his youngest uncle, Xiao Lie, who is only slightly older than him. Before Xiao Lie first left the palace to roam the martial world, Yuanqi spent an entire night giving him safety advice. Xiao Lie complained about his nagging—a slight Yuanqi still remembered years later 47.

Yang Wenhui’s Betrayal

Yuanqi persuades Xiao Jinyi to attend the Qionglin Banquet because he wants him to meet the new Top Scholar, Shen Shixu. At the banquet, he explains that Shen’s conversations with Gossip System 011 can be overheard and that its earlier revelations about corruption proved true 5.

The same gathering exposes his fiancée Yang Wenhui’s secret relationship with her cousin, their recently born child, and her household’s violent concealment of the affair. Yuanqi becomes pale and shaken, and Jinyi escorts him away without revealing to Shen that they heard the gossip. Jinyi stays with him through the night; Emperor Wu’an and Empress Lin also learn of the betrayal. A later banquet is arranged to choose a replacement crown princess 5 6 25.

Supporting Xiao Jinyi’s Courtship

When Jinyi seeks an imperial physician because he believes his intense attachment to someone is an illness, Yuanqi recognizes the symptoms as love. He initially assumes the beloved is a woman and is stunned when Jinyi names Shen Shixu 19 20.

Yuanqi does not blame Shen for seducing his brother. Having observed Shen’s caution, intelligence, and character, he accepts Jinyi’s feelings, but warns that their parents might protect Jinyi at Shen’s expense. He promises secrecy and practical help, including arranging opportunities for Shen to make a favorable impression on the imperial family 20.

When Jinyi eventually requests permission to marry Shen, Yuanqi supports him. Emperor Wu’an orders Yuanqi to deliver the marriage decree because he had helped conceal the courtship. After announcing it, Yuanqi tells Shen about Jinyi’s forfeited military merit and corporal punishment, then takes him into the palace to see Jinyi 89 90.

Choosing Meng Jiyao

Yuanqi initially treats the selection of a crown princess as a state responsibility. He insists that the future mother of the nation must possess character, virtue, beauty, ability, and an appropriate family background. Jinyi nevertheless urges him to choose someone he can genuinely love 26.

At the selection banquet, 011 reveals that Meng Jiyao secretly took the imperial examinations disguised as a man and earned Third Place in the Palace Examination. Her achievement draws Yuanqi’s admiration. Shen’s thoughts then suggest that she could use the crown princess’s position to advance women’s education and opportunities to serve as officials 26 27.

Yuanqi arranges a private meeting and directly asks Meng to become his crown princess. Rather than seeking a dependent wife, he wants a capable partner who can help him govern Great Qian. He assures her that ability, not gender, determines whom he wishes to employ. Their marriage is subsequently established, and Meng formally enters the imperial family through a tea ceremony 27 114.

Establishing the Girls’ School

Yuanqi, Meng Jiyao, and Jinyi discuss founding a Girls’ School but anticipate resistance from conservative officials. Yuanqi asks Jinyi to seek Shen’s advice 42.

Shen proposes gradual reform: combine classical study with familiar arts and practical household skills, while giving noble families social reasons to support enrollment. Yuanqi adopts the proposal and secures Empress Lin’s backing. Her recruitment of teachers and influential supporters, together with Princess Kangning and the Empress Dowager’s involvement, helps make the school politically credible. An estate outside the city is converted, and the school is ready after more than a month 43.

Diplomacy and Later Family Life

At the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, Yuanqi learns that Western Di’s delegation is plotting royal marriage alliances while concealing its princess’s pregnancy. He reacts angrily and asks Shen, whom he calls his future brother-in-law, to help address the diplomatic problem 94 95.

When Western Di offers three cities to avoid military retaliation, Yuanqi follows Emperor Wu’an’s signal and argues that war harms ordinary people and should not be undertaken lightly. His intervention supports the emperor’s effort to extract concessions without actually dispatching Jinyi’s army 97.

Later, Yuanqi accompanies Jinyi on visits to their brothers to request wedding gifts, openly displaying the shrewdness he usually hides from him. After Jinyi marries Shen, Yuanqi continues urging him to engage with court affairs; Meng counters that Jinyi is an adult and should enjoy greater freedom in peacetime 157 167.

Personality

Yuanqi presents himself as warm, courteous, and approachable. At the Qionglin Banquet, he smiles and invites the guests to continue without minding his presence. Empress Lin describes him as gentle and refined, yet capable of decisive action. His admission that he has long concealed his scheming side shows that this pleasant manner does not make him politically naïve 5 43 157.

His affection for family often takes the form of anxious advice, teasing, and practical intervention. He immediately worries that Jinyi’s request for a physician means an old battlefield injury, promises to help with his courtship, and remains concerned about his participation in government even after marriage. With Xiao Lie, the same protectiveness becomes a comic, years-long grudge over being called a nag 19 20 47 167.

He is also willing to question convention when it obstructs talent. Meng Jiyao’s examination success interests him rather than disqualifying her, and he supports women studying and potentially serving as officials. His school project pursues that ambition through gradual, politically workable measures 27 42 43.

Abilities & Skills

Political Judgment and Statecraft

• Imperial training: Educated from childhood for the responsibilities of an emperor 157.
• Court maneuvering: Experienced in matching wits with officials who outwardly respect him while pursuing their own schemes 157.
• Building support for reform: Turns Shen’s educational proposal into a concrete project and obtains Empress Lin’s backing 43.
• Diplomatic coordination: Recognizes Emperor Wu’an’s cue and intervenes against unnecessary warfare during negotiations with Western Di 97.

Hearing Shen Shixu’s Thoughts

• Can hear Shen’s unspoken conversations with Gossip System 011, including revelations about his own fiancée and Meng Jiyao 5 26.
• Explains the phenomenon to Xiao Jinyi and notes that earlier corruption allegations were verified 5.
• Uses information gained through the conversations while keeping Shen unaware that he has been overheard 5 27.

Martial Arts

• Has some martial arts training; he narrowly dodges Mo Yu’s instinctive palm strike when he grabs the guard’s arm 158.
• No named technique or ranked advancement is documented for him in the supplied passages.

Relationships

• Xiao Jinyi — Younger full brother. Their loyalty is mutual: Yuanqi protects his courtship, while Jinyi promises to help him even through extreme danger. Their closeness also permits frequent teasing and arguments 20 21 95 157.
• Meng Jiyao — Wife and Crown Princess. He chooses her for her ability and wants her as a partner in governing; they later work together on women’s education 27 42 156.
• Shen Shixu — Adviser and eventual brother-in-law. Yuanqi respects his intelligence, seeks his help with reform and diplomacy, and personally delivers his marriage decree 20 43 90 95.
• Emperor Wu’an — Father. The emperor’s favor underpins Yuanqi’s secure succession, and father and son coordinate during the Western Di negotiations 26 97.
• Empress Lin — Mother. She selects his original prospective bride and later becomes a major supporter of his Girls’ School project 6 43.
• Xiao Lie — Youngest paternal uncle and childhood companion. Yuanqi’s concern before Lie’s departure develops into affectionate bickering over his supposedly excessive advice 47.
• Yang Wenhui — Former fiancée. Her concealed affair and childbirth devastate him and lead to the selection of a replacement crown princess 5 6 25.

Notable Quotes

“I want capable people. I hope they can help me govern Great Qian, so I don't care whether they are men or women. As long as they have ability, I will employ them!” 27

“You go win your beloved's heart, and while you're courting him, I'll work on Father and Mother for you.” 20

“Father, war inflicts grievous harm on the common people. We should not resort to arms lightly.” 97

Trivia

• His preferred tea is Junshan Silver Needle; the Third Prince specifically serves it when Yuanqi visits 157.
• He owns a collection of fine brushes. Jinyi insists that Shen’s advice on the Girls’ School deserves one as a reward 43.
• He helps prepare a white jade Guanyin statue for Shen to present at the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration 94.
• He jokingly claims that Meng Jiyao keeping Empress Lin company counts as his own filial duty because she is his wife 157.