Jiang Miaokong

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Jiang Miaokong (江妙空) 72
Alias(es)	“Grasshopper,” a name he wrote for fun and rejects when Shen Shixu uses it; impersonates Little Fang 72 74
Gender	Male 74 160
Affiliation	Shen Shixu’s disciples; a participant in martial-world circles 79 85 100
Occupation/Role	Former occasional thief; earns money running errands and delivering letters; becomes Shen Shixu’s painting and calligraphy pupil 79 87
Spouse	Song Zhuoyang 160
Status	Alive; appears with Song Zhuoyang to welcome Shen Shixu’s parents 160
First Appearance	First identified in the provided context in Chapter 72, “Captured” 72

Background / History

Jiang Miaokong has wandered since childhood, visiting many places and seeing landscapes he later hopes to paint. Although he calls himself a “cultured thief,” he says his thefts were few and that he returned the stolen objects two days later. His ordinary spending money comes from running errands and delivering letters 79.

During his first theft, he met Song Xianghe. Rather than despising his background, Xianghe befriended him, taught him to read, and gave him a jade ring. Jiang credits that friendship with preventing him from truly becoming a thief 73 79.

His relationship with Song Zhuoyang began less peacefully. Zhuoyang caught him committing a burglary, noticed Xianghe’s ring, and assumed it had been stolen. Jiang refused to surrender it and escaped using his lightness skill. Further encounters brought them together repeatedly, with Zhuoyang stopping his thefts and eventually keeping him close to discourage them 73.

In Minglu City, Jiang tried to escape Zhuoyang by getting him drunk, only to become intoxicated himself. They spent an intimate night together—the same night that 164 members of the Song household were murdered in nearby Qu City. Their presence in Minglu became the basis of Jiang’s insistence that Zhuoyang could not be the killer 73.

Appearance

Jiang’s undisguised appearance is delicate and youthful, with a round face compared to a freshly steamed bun 74.

• Eyes: Large, almond-shaped, bright, and expressive; they curve into crescents when he smiles 72 74.
• Nose: Finely shaped, with a straight bridge 74.
• Teeth: Described as pearly; he bites his lower lip while worrying about Zhuoyang’s imprisonment 74.
• Disguised appearance: Closely matches Little Fang’s face, height, and build, but fails to reproduce his habitual squint and dull-looking eyes 72.

Personality

Jiang is cheeky and irreverent even after being captured. He objects to being called “Grasshopper,” turns Shen Shixu’s explanation of his disguise’s flaws into a compliment about his pretty eyes, and openly praises Shen’s intelligence over the martial prowess of the man who caught him 72.

His sharp tongue conceals considerable tenderness. He speaks dismissively of Zhuoyang and claims to help him out of gratitude and friendship with Xianghe, yet risks his life to secure his release. Shen recognizes that Jiang has “a sharp tongue but a soft heart”; Jiang blushes when Zhuoyang learns how far he went to save him 81 82 87.

He readily defends vulnerable people. He confronts a waiter for mistreating Fang Keru and intervenes when Jiang Bin pinches Xiao Ruixuan’s cheeks, insisting that an adult should not take a child’s teasing personally 78 108.

Playful curiosity also draws him toward investigations and family banter. He wants to accompany Shen to Prince Changping’s residence to watch the excitement, but accepts being left behind once Shen explains the danger. After becoming Shen’s disciple, he feels comfortable enough to ask Prince Jing for gifts when the disciples begin addressing him as their master’s husband 100 103.

Abilities & Skills

Lightness Skill

• Escapes Song Zhuoyang during their early encounters and travels across rooftops 72 73.
• Moves quickly enough to scout Furong Alley ahead of the rest of Shen’s party and jumps onto a wall to inspect the target residence 108.
• Primarily evades Xiao Jinyi during their confrontation, but cannot outrun him and is captured 72.

Disguise and Impersonation

• Successfully imitates Little Fang’s appearance, height, and build while taking his place at the Shen Residence 72 74.
• His disguise fails because Shen notices that his clear, lively eyes do not match Little Fang’s poor eyesight and habitual squint 72.

Investigation Support

• Supplies a verifiable alibi for Zhuoyang, identifying damaged market stalls and the inn where they stayed in Minglu City 73.
• Describes Zhuoyang’s features for Shen’s portrait, including the small brown mole beneath his lips 79.
• Questions an inn waiter about a lookalike, helping establish that the visitor differed from Zhuoyang in his eyes and lack of a mole 79 80.
• Scouts Xia He’s residence and confirms both its large willow tree and the woman’s facial mole 108.

Literacy, Painting, and Calligraphy

• Learns to read from Song Xianghe, though he initially describes his literacy as merely enough to avoid being completely illiterate 79.
• Cannot draw when first asked to produce Zhuoyang’s likeness 78 79.
• Accepts Shen’s offer to teach him painting, hoping to depict scenery from his travels; Shen later serves as his painting and calligraphy teacher 79 87.

Handcrafts and Cooking

• Carves a peachwood hairpin with an auspicious-cloud design for Shen’s mother, carefully finishing it without splinters 160.
• Knows only one dish: rice cooked with beans, cabbage, and sweet-potato noodles 82.

Equipment / Items

• Song Xianghe’s jade ring — A friendship gift Jiang habitually carries. Zhuoyang’s mistaken belief that he stole it sparks their initial pursuit 73.

Relationships

• Song Zhuoyang — Lover and later husband. Their adversarial beginning develops into a devoted partnership; Jiang fights to clear his name, while Zhuoyang regards him as his remaining family and promises never to let him go 73 81 87 160.
• Song Xianghe — Close friend and first literacy teacher. Jiang seeks justice for his murder and remembers him when meeting An Chengyu 79 82 100.
• Shen Shixu — Investigator, rescuer, and master. Clears Zhuoyang’s name, offers Jiang an alternative to theft through painting lessons, and protects him from retaliation by powerful households 79 81 83 103.
• Xiao Jinyi — Initially captures him, later saves him from He Chenyang. Jiang comes to regard him as family through his approaching marriage to Shen 72 83 100.
• An Chengyu — Young senior fellow disciple and close playmate. Jiang searches extensively for dried sweet potatoes as a get-well gift after Chengyu develops a toothache 100.
• Jiang Bin — Second senior fellow disciple and frequent target of teasing. Jiang reprimands him for bullying Xiao Ruixuan and punctures his claim that avoiding marriage will keep others from ordering him around 108 109.
• Shen Zexi — Reveals Jiang’s risky thefts to Zhuoyang and urges him to treat Jiang well 87.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Capture at the Shen Residence

• Shen and Xiao Jinyi trap Jiang after repeated thefts from Shen’s residence. Shen exposes his impersonation of Little Fang through the mismatch in their eyes 72.
• Jiang explains that seeing Shen’s Luminous Pearl and learning of his unusually young appointment led him to assume Shen had obtained office dishonestly. After witnessing his intelligence, he withdraws that judgment and asks him to investigate Zhuoyang’s case 72.
• Shen Zexi later tells Zhuoyang that Jiang stole from their residence for his sake, emphasizing the personal risk involved 87.
• Before the party leaves for Qu City, Little Fang is released from the woodshed and examined by a physician, who finds no serious injury 74.

Song Household Massacre

• Jiang brings Shen a case in which Zhuoyang’s alibi checks out, yet sword wounds and eyewitness testimony implicate him in 164 deaths. Jiang suspects an impersonator 73.
• He accompanies the investigators to Qu City, reached after seven days of relentless travel, and later joins their search in Guirong Town 74 78.
• His description of Zhuoyang enables Shen to draw a portrait. A waiter identifies a nearly identical visitor with distinguishing differences, producing testimony that supports Zhuoyang’s release 79 80 81.
• Jiang and Zhuoyang publicly tour Qu City as bait. That night, He Chenyang drugs Jiang in his rented courtyard and holds him hostage to torment Zhuoyang 81 82.
• Xiao Jinyi disarms He Chenyang, Zhuoyang pulls Jiang to safety, and Shen wakes him with water. The drug proves to be an ordinary sedative rather than a lasting injury 83.

Life as Shen Shixu’s Disciple

• After the case, Jiang leaves Qu City with Zhuoyang to study under Shen. Zhuoyang takes a position as Shen’s guard so they can remain together 84.
• Jiang becomes close to An Chengyu and participates in the disciples’ affectionate exchanges with Shen and Xiao Jinyi 87 100.
• Though initially excluded from the dangerous visit to Prince Changping’s residence, he later helps locate Xia He during the investigation into Hu Lanxin’s poisoning 103 108.
• By the visit of Shen’s parents, Jiang introduces Zhuoyang as his husband. The couple offer handmade gifts rather than matching their wealthier fellow disciples’ purchases 160.

Notable Quotes

“My name is Jiang Miaokong. Jiang as in mighty rivers, and Miaokong as in a deft-handed thief. I’m not Grasshopper. I just wrote that for fun.” 72

“He didn’t look down on me for my background. He became my friend and even taught me to read. That’s why I never truly became a thief.” 79

“I also know how much he loved and admired you as his big brother. Of course I have to help him take good care of you.” 82