Crown Prince

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Crown Prince
Original Name	太子
Type	Imperial title
Affiliation	Jin Kingdom
Occupation/Role	Heir apparent to the imperial throne 112 148
Residence	Eastern Palace 3 131
Documented Holders	Emperor Jinyuan before his accession; Chang, also called Yuanruo, who later becomes Emperor Jing 9 114 151
First Appearance	Chapter 3, “Consort Wan and the Crown Prince”

Title and Succession

The Crown Prince is the designated future ruler of Jin. The position carries expectations of state service, political marriage, and continuation of the royal line, but does not guarantee its holder safety or effective authority 112 148.

Holder / Event	Chapter	Details
Emperor Jinyuan holds the title	9	Before becoming emperor, he marries Consort Wan, whom the late emperor selected as Crown Princess. Consort Liu later becomes his secondary consort.
Chang becomes Crown Prince	5 9	Jinyuan registers Consort Wan’s son under the former empress’s name, giving him the standing to become the rightful Crown Prince.
Chang succeeds Jinyuan	151	An abdication decree transfers the throne to Crown Prince Chang on the second day of the second month. He becomes Emperor Jing of Jin.
Emperor Jing abdicates	154	After leaving for his Little Imperial Uncle’s wedding in Southern Zhao, he sends back an abdication edict. His younger brother becomes Emperor Xuan; the supplied account does not describe an intervening appointment as Crown Prince.

Duties and Political Expectations

• Preparation for government: Chang studies reading, writing, statecraft, and history under Su Yan, later works at the Ministry of Revenue, and reviews memorials 5 98 149.
• Dynastic marriage: His parents expect him to choose a Crown Princess. Both he and Cui Rong understand the marriage as a matter of succession and national responsibility rather than personal preference 148.
• Factional support: Cui Rong recommends Princess Ning’an partly because her connections to the Prince of Zhennan, Xiao Family Army, Su household, and Prince Yu could strengthen the heir’s position 148.
• Household administration: The Crown Prince’s Attendant oversees Eastern Palace affairs and personally assists the heir. Emperor Jinyuan approves Cui Rong for this post after questioning his loyalties 131.
• Protection of the succession: Jinyuan sends the Sixth Prince to Jiangzhou to separate the rival brothers and preserve the Crown Prince’s position 131.

History of Crown Prince Chang

Concealed Parentage and Palace Neglect

Chang initially believes he is the son of the disgraced empress deposed for poisoning Emperor Jinyuan. In reality, his mother is Consort Wan. Xiao Yu’s thoughts expose this concealed parentage when he arrives at the Eastern Palace 3.

Jinyuan’s decision to register him under the former empress’s name helped secure his position as heir, but also contributed to the former empress’s attempt to poison both father and son. The emperor subsequently reduced his visible attention to Chang out of fear that other consorts would target him; over time, protective distance became genuine neglect 5.

Palace servants steal or reduce Chang’s food, clothing, and supplies, leaving him in worn clothes and shoes with exposed toes. Consort Liu encourages his mistreatment and installs her childhood sweetheart, Shen Zhuocheng, as Eastern Palace guard captain to monitor him and prevent others from helping him. Xiao Yu remembers that the pair killed Chang in his previous life 3 9.

Reunion and Xiao Yu’s Protection

Consort Wan begins caring for Chang after discovering that he is the son she believed dead. She brings clothes and soup, then takes responsibility for his daily needs. Her kindness gradually challenges his belief that he does not deserve affection 3 12.

Xiao Yu becomes his companion and protector, first as an adopted younger brother and then as Emperor Jinyuan’s sworn brother, Prince Yu. When the other princes bully them, Xiao Yu uses his newly granted disciplinary authority to punish the offenders and challenges Chang’s habit of endlessly yielding to his siblings 10 11.

Chang survives an attempted drowning after a guard serving the Fifth Prince pushes him into a pond. Xiao Yu rescues him from malicious black waterweed, while Jinyuan confines the Fifth Prince for a year. The emperor’s subsequent visit exposes how awkward and estranged the father-son relationship has become 12 14.

Marriage Pressure and the Poisoned Arrow

Chang develops romantic feelings for Xiao Yu, who does not recognize their full meaning. While discussing his reluctance to marry, Chang begins a confession, but the assassin Yuchu interrupts them. After Xiao Yu blocks the first arrow, Chang shields him from the second and suffers a poisoned shoulder wound 49.

The poison is identified as a Southern Zhao gu requiring the poisoner’s blood as a cure catalyst. Before losing consciousness, Chang repeats that he does not want a Crown Princess, and Xiao Yu promises that no one will force him while he is present 49.

Cui Rong and the Jiangzhou Attack

After another assassination attempt, Chang carries the injured Cui Rong through a rain-soaked forest and helps him shelter in a cave. Cui Rong begins rejecting rumors that the prince is weak and useless, recognizing instead his persistence, kindness, and burden of responsibility. Their shared hardship develops into mutual tenderness 83 84 85.

Chang later escorts supplies to Prince Xuan in Jiangzhou and stays through the New Year. Despite warnings that succession politics will make them enemies, he expresses trust in both his younger brother and Cui Rong 106 107.

A note lures him to a pavilion outside the city, where attackers led by someone presenting himself as Ji Tian demand that he surrender the position of heir. Chang draws his sword and refuses to submit. Later revelations establish that Ji Tian’s identity had been stolen 112 116.

The attack leaves Chang near death. Cui Rong’s desperate wish activates the Life-and-Death Talisman, drawing Xiao Yu back from Southern Zhao. Xiao Yu gives a wisp of his divine soul for Chang’s rebirth; afterward, Chang has blurred memories of his earlier closeness with Cui Rong 114 115 116.

Eastern Palace Appointment

Cui Rong returns to the capital and secures appointment as Crown Prince’s Attendant. He openly tells Chancellor Cui that he loves Chang and intends to serve him, despite his father’s opposition and the family’s support for Prince Xuan 131 134.

Chang offers Cui Rong lodging in his bedchamber’s side hall when told that the chancellor has driven him out. He welcomes his help but distinguishes the official household-steward role from that of a personal attendant 135.

Return to the Past

A later arc returns Emperor Jinyuan six years into the past. In this earlier setting, Cui Rong defends the neglected Crown Prince in class and shares a meal with him. Chang admits that he has never eaten with anyone before, then reciprocates Cui Rong’s care by serving him food 140 141.

Xiao Yu subsequently discovers the princes using Chang as an archery target. He turns their punishment back on them and gives Chang an imperial gold token whose bearer acts in the emperor’s place 143.

Six years later, renewed pressure to choose a Crown Princess brings Chang’s conflict between duty and personal wishes to the forefront. He proposes a temporary arrangement with Princess Ning’an, Xiao Zhiyu, promising to restore her freedom once the court stabilizes. Cui Rong finally confesses his love and asks to become Crown Princess himself 148 149.

Accession and Abdication

Jinyuan and the Empress secretly leave the palace after Chang’s coming-of-age ceremony, leaving an abdication decree behind. As Emperor Jing, Chang arranges for Prince Xuan to govern during his trip to Southern Zhao, assisted by Chancellor Cui and the Minister of Judicial Review. He also affirms his love for Cui Rong 151.

He does not return from the trip. An abdication edict arrives instead, and Prince Xuan becomes emperor at fifteen 154.

Personality

Chang is gentle, considerate, and reluctant to repay kindness with betrayal. He shares sweets to comfort Xiao Yu, refuses Cui Rong’s suggestion that he kill him to remove a future political threat, and repeatedly places the kingdom’s welfare above his own claim to the throne 5 84.

Years of neglect leave him insecure and afraid of abandonment. He interprets Xiao Yu’s absence as rejection and frequently calls himself useless. Nevertheless, he insists that he has survived repeated attempts to remove him as Crown Prince and later confronts armed assassins rather than surrendering 12 34 83 112.

His reserve conceals a playful side, particularly when teasing Cui Rong. His diligence can also become excessive: Little Xiyue must persuade him to stop working, eat, and take a break 84 131.

Abilities & Skills

Hearing Xiao Yu’s Thoughts

• Hears Xiao Yu’s internal speech even when Xiao Yu does not speak aloud 3.
• Learns his true parentage, the reasons behind his father’s distance, and the conspiracy surrounding the Eastern Palace 3 5 9.

Education and Government

• Receives instruction in literacy, essays on statecraft, and history from Su Yan 5.
• Works at the Ministry of Revenue and reviews memorials before accession 98 149.
• Delegates government to Prince Xuan and senior ministers after becoming emperor 151.

Practical and Combat Skills

• Gains familiarity with camping equipment through night hunting with Xiao Yu, though he struggles to start a fire in the cave 83.
• Carries the injured Cui Rong through difficult terrain despite his slender build 83.
• Draws his sword and prepares to resist the Jiangzhou ambush 112.

Equipment / Items

• Sword — Drawn against the assassins outside Jiangzhou 112.
• Imperial gold token — Given by Xiao Yu in the return-to-the-past arc; authorizes its bearer to stand in the emperor’s place 143.
• Hand warmer — Given by Cui Rong during their snowy plum-blossom outing 116.

Relationships

• Emperor Jinyuan — Father and predecessor. His attempts to protect Chang through distance fail to prevent neglect and attacks; he eventually entrusts the throne to him 5 14 131 151.
• Consort Wan / Empress — Birth mother, separated from him through concealed parentage. After their reunion, she becomes his principal source of maternal care 3 12 17.
• Xiao Yu / Prince Yu — Companion, rescuer, and nominal Little Imperial Uncle. Chang initially loves him romantically; Xiao Yu later sacrifices part of his divine soul to save him 49 114.
• Cui Rong / Xuanzhi — Prince Xuan’s maternal uncle, whom Chang calls “Little Uncle.” Becomes his attendant and protector, confesses his love, and is later his acknowledged romantic partner 131 149 151.
• Sixth Prince / Prince Xuan — Younger brother and succession rival. Despite earlier murderous hostility, he later assists during Chang’s crisis and ultimately succeeds him as Emperor Xuan 87 114 154.
• Su Yan — Teacher and benefactor who provides education and rare encouragement during Chang’s neglected childhood 5.
• Wei Yi — Close attendant who serves him at the Eastern Palace and intervenes when danger approaches 3 58 140.
• Little Xiyue — Younger sister who brings food from the Empress and encourages him to rest 131.
• Princess Ning’an / Xiao Zhiyu — Supportive prospective Crown Princess who agrees to a temporary political arrangement rather than a permanent restriction on her freedom 149.
• Consort Liu and Shen Zhuocheng — Enemies responsible for orchestrating his isolation and, in Xiao Yu’s previous life, his death 9.

Notable Quotes

“As long as it's for the Jin Kingdom and its people, what does it matter who becomes emperor?” 84

“Surrendering without a fight is no conduct for a true man.” 112

“I will only fall in battle!” 112