Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Chunhua (春花) |
| Alias(es) | One of the Shadow Twin Assassins, alongside Qiuyue 106 |
| Gender | Female 34 |
| Affiliation | Jiang Nuan’s household; formerly the Assassin Pavilion 34 106 |
| Occupation/Role | Personal maid and bodyguard to the Ninth Princess; former assassin; Mu Xuan’s martial arts master 34 105 106 |
| First Appearance | Chapter 34, “The Owner Behind the Shop Turned Out to Be...” 34 |
Background / History
Chunhua and Qiuyue were abducted by human traffickers before entering an assassin organization, where they learned martial arts. When enemies attacked the organization in revenge, their skills allowed them to escape alive. Their own experiences later fuel their anger at the trafficking operation hidden inside Pure Brahma Temple 44.
As the Shadow Twin Assassins, each woman could individually rank among the martial world’s top ten assassins; together, they ranked first. Their reputation endured after they left the martial world, inspiring other assassins to form duos in imitation 106.
Emperor Jiang Yunsheng appoints them as Jiang Nuan’s personal maids to provide protection more conveniently than concealed Shadow Guards. He explicitly requires the princess to take them whenever she leaves the palace. Guagua confirms that both women’s martial arts rank among the best of their time 34.
Personality
Chunhua adapts readily to unexpected duties. Although she has wielded swords and spears and killed people, her first cooking assignment is whipping cream for Jiang Nuan. She initially feels out of place but quickly masters the task 35.
Her restrained expression conceals a mischievous streak. After enjoying Jiang Nuan’s cake, she tells Qiuyue it tastes merely “so-so,” hoping to claim the portion Qiuyue declined. Even after being caught, she smiles and continues eyeing her partner’s cake 35.
She is confident against weak opponents and blunt about unrealistic ambitions. When Gu Qingfeng proposes beginning martial arts in his fifties, she suggests that reincarnation would give him better odds. With Mu Xuan, however, she is encouraging and takes her responsibilities as a teacher seriously 105 106 108.
Abilities & Skills
Martial Arts and Assassination
- Elite standing: Individually capable of placing in the assassin rankings’ top ten; ranked first together with Qiuyue 106.
- Weapon experience: Has wielded both swords and spears. She privately recalls killing opponents before they could even see her sword’s shadow 35.
- Unarmed combat: She and Qiuyue incapacitate Qian Yangyue’s two maids with leg sweeps and knife-hand strikes in under ten seconds, then capture the fleeing conspirators roughly ten seconds later 108.
- Sparring superiority: Knocks Qing Yu to the ground in two moves before he can react 120.
- Protection against soldiers: Together with Qiuyue, swiftly defeats the fewer than twenty ordinary soldiers Lin Zhe sends to seize Jiang Nuan’s party 119.
- Limits: Guagua judges that the pair would be heavily disadvantaged against the numerous guards at Pure Brahma Temple while protecting an injured woman. Adding Jiang Yi would bring their estimated chance of victory to only about fifty percent 44.
Mobility and Awareness
- Leaps over Pure Brahma Temple’s wall rather than using the dog hole Jiang Nuan crawls through 43.
- Detects distant footsteps with Qiuyue before Jiang Nuan hears anything; the pair immediately carries the princess into hiding 43.
- Runs ahead at Jiang Nuan’s request to intercept Jiang Linxi 76.
- Uses her exceptional hand speed to whip cream quickly enough that Jiang Nuan compares her to an electric mixer 35.
Martial Arts Instruction
- Accepts Mu Xuan as a disciple alongside Qiuyue and drinks her formal apprenticeship tea 105.
- Helps devise a personalized training plan based on Mu Xuan’s physical condition, with regular adjustments planned 105.
- Encourages Mu Xuan after demonstrating her fighting skills, assuring her that she will eventually be capable of similar feats 108.
Hearing Jiang Nuan’s Thoughts
- Can hear Jiang Nuan’s inner thoughts. After the princess returns from Heaven and Earth Mountain upset, Chunhua and Qiuyue attempt to listen for an explanation but hear nothing 237.
Story Role / Major Arcs
| Arc / Event | Chunhua’s involvement |
|---|---|
| Appointment and cake-making | Joins Jiang Nuan’s household, then helps turn the princess’s cake experiment into a success. She and Qiuyue prepare the kitchen for a later batch as well 34 35 40. |
| Pure Brahma Temple investigation | Accompanies the nighttime intrusion, detects approaching monks, and reacts angrily to revelations of human trafficking. She also warns that an injured woman needs immediate treatment 43 44. |
| Emergency assistance | Responds immediately when Jiang Nuan calls her to Jiang Gaoyan and instructs her to stand behind him with her arms around his abdomen 73. |
| Curved Shaft Plow demonstration | Announces a prize contest under Jiang Nuan’s instructions, organizes the competing fields, and pays the winning farmer. Although the traditional plow wins narrowly, its user collapses from exhaustion while Jiao Chengwang finishes in better condition 85. |
| Mu Xuan’s apprenticeship | Becomes Mu Xuan’s “first master.” The apprenticeship leads Mu Zhiye to recognize the women as the Shadow Twin Assassins 105 106. |
| Qian Yangxi’s protection | Helps defeat and capture the conspirators after their staged kidnapping scheme is exposed 108. |
| Auspicious Peace County confrontation | Challenges officials threatening arrest and helps protect Jiang Nuan when Lin Zhe attempts to silence her. Qing Yu subsequently follows the party back to the capital seeking another sparring match 119 120. |
| Cen Residence confrontation | Plays cards with Jiang Nuan, Cen Xue, and Qiuyue while Rao Chunlan deliberately keeps them waiting; later stops Rao from slapping Cen Xue 162. |
| Travel and changing routines | Begins alternating protective duty with Qiuyue rather than accompanying Jiang Nuan together. Qiuyue invents a boyfriend for Chunhua to explain the change 230. |
| Jiang Nuan’s withdrawal | When Jiang Nuan refuses visitors and orders her brothers shown out, Chunhua and Qiuyue enforce her wishes despite their helplessness over the situation 239. |
Relationships
- Jiang Nuan — Mistress and protected charge. Jiang Nuan treats her politely, shares food with her, respects her choice to accept a disciple, and generally allows her freedom of movement provided one bodyguard remains nearby 35 105 230.
- Qiuyue — Long-standing assassin partner, fellow bodyguard, and co-master to Mu Xuan. Their close teamwork also includes teasing and competition over desserts 35 105 106.
- Jiang Yunsheng — Emperor who recruits her to protect his daughter and requires her presence on the princess’s outings 34.
- Mu Xuan — Disciple who calls Chunhua her “first master” and admires the pair’s legendary reputation 105 106.
- Mu Zhiye — Physician who previously treated the assassins while they were disguised. Recognizing their identities reassures him about his daughter’s new teachers 106.
- Qing Yu — Persistent would-be sparring partner. Chunhua’s effortless victory only increases his desire to learn from her and Qiuyue 120 121.
- Cen Xue — Jiang Nuan’s friend, whom Chunhua physically protects from Rao Chunlan’s attempted slap 162.
Notable Quotes
“It's best to start practicing martial arts before you're ten. Starting with a body in its fifties... you might have better odds if you were reincarnated first.”
— To Gu Qingfeng 106
“This is nothing. You'll be able to do it too someday.”
— Encouraging Mu Xuan after subduing the conspirators 108
Trivia
- Chunhua’s supposed romance during the journey is entirely fabricated by Qiuyue; it is not evidence that she actually has a lover 230.
- Jiang Nuan includes Chunhua and Qiuyue in her invented account of rescuing a reclusive master who supplied weapon blueprints. The rescue story is a cover for the real source of her inventions 111.