Cen Xue

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Cen Xue (岑雪)
Alias(es)	Xuexue 159 167
Species/Race	Human; transmigrator from the modern world 159 160
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Jiang Nuan’s circle; formerly the Cen household. The Heavenly Screen later identifies her with Great Xia’s Ministry of Works and imperial government 166 249.
Occupation/Role	An Yan’s assistant and aspiring imperial examination candidate; future official, engineer, and empress according to the Heavenly Screen 166 249
First Appearance	Chapter 159, “The transmigrator turned out to be” 159

Background / History

Modern life and transmigration

Cen Xue studied history in the modern world. Her father owned a small company earning over a million in annual profits, but she lived in the countryside with her grandparents. After their deaths when she was ten, she was left alone in the village 161 166.

She met Jiang Nuan when a shortage of university dormitory rooms placed Jiang in a graduate dormitory with her. Their personalities and tastes matched, and they became close friends, remaining in contact after graduation 159.

After dying young, Cen Xue arrived in Great Xia in the body of a minor official’s daughter. The original girl’s mother had died shortly after a difficult childbirth; her father remarried, and her stepmother had her sent to the countryside. The girl eventually starved to death, while the transmigrated Cen Xue survived through her own resourcefulness 160.

Reunion and separation from the Cen household

Cen Xue recognized Jiang Nuan at her milk-tea shop. They compared their experiences across worlds, and Jiang revealed that the box of books and seeds Cen had once given her had accompanied her to Great Xia and proved useful there 159 160.

When the Cen household summoned her home, Cen suspected a scheme. Jiang accompanied her and learned that Rao Chunlan intended to marry her to an intellectually disabled nephew, with concubinage and childbearing as an alternative. Cen Yansheng had approved the arrangement on the condition that her identity as his daughter remain undisclosed 161.

At the residence, Cen rejected the marriage and confronted both parents over her abandonment. She described years of patched clothing, hunger, and gathering mountain produce and medicinal herbs to survive. Guagua exposed Rao Chunlan’s diversion of the supplies intended for her 162 163 164.

Cen Yansheng initially dismissed Jiang’s imperial identity and threatened her token. Capital Prefect Xu Jincheng confirmed that she was the Ninth Princess, reversing the confrontation. With Jiang’s intervention, Cen obtained a Severance Letter and formally ended her ties to the household 164 165 166.

An independent future

Penniless and without connections in the capital beyond Jiang, Cen asked her friend for help. Jiang introduced her to An Yan and Yun Shining, and An recruited her as a temporary assistant after recognizing how readily she understood Jiang’s unusual ideas 166.

Cen soon admitted her attraction to Crown Prince Jiang Chengze. Although Jiang encouraged her, Cen refused to accept a marriage involving other wives and concubines. She chose instead to pursue the newly opened women’s imperial examinations, hoping to use her talents at court rather than remain confined to a household or harem 166.

Her ambition was to become a renowned chancellor and eventually support her friends as they had supported her. After the severance, she regarded her former family as strangers and took little interest in their subsequent disgrace 167.

Inspection tour and the discovery at Heaven and Earth Mountain

Cen joined Jiang Nuan on the emperor’s inspection tour, fulfilling their old wish for a spontaneous trip. They traveled disguised as a wealthy merchant’s daughters. Despite her excitement, Cen studied Great Xia’s laws and etiquette carefully, fearing the consequences of accidentally offending imperial authority 172 174.

During the journey, Chen Mo found that he could not read Cen’s destiny and invited her to Heaven and Earth Mountain. Qingxu Zi confirmed that both women possessed Mysterious Fate, associated with people whose lives had been radically altered through rebirth or arrival from another world 233 234 235 236.

At the mountain, Jiang finally learned that other people could hear her thoughts. Cen had known for some time but had been unable to warn her. The mountain’s natural barrier blocked the interference responsible, allowing Cen to speak about it openly 236 237.

Cen initially respected Jiang’s request to keep the discovery secret. After Chi Hengji independently deduced what had happened, she confirmed it and joined Jiang Yehua in reassuring Jiang that her loved ones’ affection was genuine 237 239 240.

Personality

Cen Xue is playful, outspoken, and quick to find comfort or amusement amid hardship. She jokes with Jiang, enthusiastically praises her, and readily asks for help when she needs it. Her experience of hunger also makes her determined not to waste food 160 166.

She rejects family authority when it is used to excuse neglect or control her marriage. Rao Chunlan’s prediction that she would never marry does not trouble her; losing a favorite meal would upset her more. She values independence over securing a prestigious husband 163 166.

Her ambition is deliberate rather than idle: she enjoys setting seemingly impossible goals and working toward the moment when her success surprises others. At the same time, she is cautious about the era’s dangers, learning its rules rather than assuming her modern values will protect her 167 174.

Abilities & Skills

Hearing Jiang Nuan’s thoughts

• Can hear Jiang Nuan’s inner voice and the secrets revealed through Guagua, allowing her to learn the marriage scheme before Jiang explains it aloud 160 161 162.
• Attempts to disclose this ability initially cause a suffocating sensation and prevent her from speaking 160.
• The restriction also blocks disclosure through mental communication 174.
• Can explain the phenomenon at Heaven and Earth Mountain, whose natural barrier blocks certain interference 237.

Gossip System link

• Joins Guagua’s upgraded gossip-sharing system and communicates with Jiang through thoughts 174.
• Recognizes that nearby people can overhear their mental exchanges; the link is not reliably private 174.
• Does not possess an independent system or Jiang’s apparent fortune-telling ability 234.

Historical and literary knowledge

• Her history studies provide grounding in imperial examination subjects 166.
• Poems and couplets she circulated help expose a plagiarist at a poetry gathering 167.
• The same material helps Great Xia’s ministers win a diplomatic contest against a Goryeo envoy, securing a promise of ten cities 167.

Practical knowledge and development

• Understands Jiang’s modern terminology and the projects being developed by her business circle, though she initially has little business experience 166.
• Later begins assessing objects by their value and market prospects, including Chen Mo’s jade invitation pendant 234.
• Proposes building a modern-style town in Great Xia as a tourist attraction. Within a year of its completion, visitor numbers continue rising, providing Rui’an County residents with additional income 244.

Equipment / Items

• Severance Letter — Formal document ending her relationship with Cen Yansheng and the Cen household 166.
• Jade invitation pendant — Given to her by Chen Mo after he identifies her unreadable destiny and invites her to Heaven and Earth Mountain 234.
• Box of books and seeds — A gift she gave Jiang Nuan in the modern world. Jiang brings it to Great Xia; its contents, particularly the Guidebook for Time Travelers, support her projects there 160.

Relationships

• Jiang Nuan — University roommate and closest friend. Jiang protects her from forced marriage, helps her establish an independent life, and shares Guagua’s communication link with her. Cen later helps Jiang recover from the discovery that her thoughts are audible 159 166 174 240.
• Jiang Chengze — Love-at-first-sight interest. Cen initially prioritizes her career because she will not accept a polygamous marriage. After the Heavenly Screen describes their future partnership, he promises to make it real, and she takes his hand in acceptance 166 248 249.
• An Yan — Employer and friend who recruits Cen as an assistant, valuing her understanding of Jiang’s ideas 166.
• Yun Shining — Friend and defender. She secretly beats Cen’s former father and stepmother; Cen is grateful but first checks whether the retaliation could cause Yun legal trouble 167.
• Cen Yansheng — Father of her host body, formally estranged through the Severance Letter. Cen rejects his demands for obedience and his sudden attempt to exploit her friendship with Jiang 164 165 166.
• Rao Chunlan — Former stepmother who helped send her away, withheld her supplies, and arranged the unwanted marriage 161 162 164.
• Chunhua and Qiuyue — Jiang’s attendants and protectors during the family confrontation. Chunhua stops Rao’s attempted slap, while Qiuyue fetches Xu Jincheng 162 164.
• Qingxu Zi — Confirms her Mysterious Fate and explains why she can finally discuss the thought-hearing phenomenon on the mountain 236 237.

Future Career and Legacy

The Heavenly Screen presents the following as later historical achievements. Its account is shown to Cen and her companions before Jiang Chengze promises to realize their future together 248 249.

Milestone	Details
Second-Place Laureate	Places second in Great Xia’s imperial examination, with Lü Zhi taking first. The Screen emphasizes the distinction of placing second nationally 248.
Ministry of Works official	Enters the ministry after the examination and puts her technical talents to use 249.
Engineer and public-works contributor	Is credited with numerous inventions and the Heavenly Canal 249.
Crown Princess and later Empress	Jiang Chengze marries only her, overturns the prohibition on the harem’s involvement in politics, and later governs alongside her as emperor 249.
Misty Pavilion honoree	Is commemorated as the pavilion’s second great contributor 248.

Notable Quotes

“Besides, I've already decided to take the Imperial Examination route. Since I've come to Great Xia, I want to carve out a place of my own!” 166

“I'm going to work hard to become a renowned chancellor. Then one of your best friends will be the chancellor, and I'll make sure you get to cling to my coattails!” 167