Dantai Mo

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Dantai Mo (澹台墨)
Alias(es)	Fourth Prince; Prince Rui; Xiaosi, the Black Tortoise System’s nickname for him 12 31 129
Gender	Male 12
Affiliation	Great Xia imperial family; commands troops and directs Embroidered Uniform Guard investigations 12 49 136
Occupation/Role	Military commander → Crown Prince → Emperor of Great Xia 12 374 442
Parents	Emperor Deyuan and Consort Yan; Consort Yan’s eldest son 12
Spouse	Jian Ruonan, later Empress of Great Xia 442
Children	Three: a Crown Prince, a second son, and a daughter 442
Residence	Prince Rui’s Residence; later the Eastern Palace 12 430
Status	Alive; recovered from paralysis and reigning as emperor in the side story 298 442
First Appearance	12

Power Progression

Dantai Mo’s documented progression centers on system-assisted recovery and his eventual return to the imperial succession, rather than named cultivation realms.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Bonded with the Black Tortoise System	12	Bonds after losing sensation in his lower body. The system promises restoration but initially lacks sufficient energy.
Brief return of leg sensation	19	Sensation during an acupuncture session disappears within about twenty minutes. Black Tortoise maintains that further recovery requires “Lamp Oil.”
Access to Jian Ruonan’s thoughts	23	Confirms that he can hear her inner voice. Low energy causes static and an unreliable connection.
First documented standing	49 50	Rises from his wheelchair after Black Tortoise obtains a large energy haul. Pain soon forces him to sit, and sensation fades again.
Standing and two steps	123	System-supplied energy lets him stand and take two difficult steps.
Seven steps	154	Walks seven steps before falling; his legs remain stiff but regain some sensation.
Independent movement into a carriage	164	A fresh surge of energy enables him to stand and enter the carriage on his own.
Near-complete recovery	168	Needs only additional energy to consolidate the healing. Continues using his wheelchair while investigating the attack behind his injury.
Concealed mobility exposed	170 171	Jian Ruonan’s examination makes his leg and foot kick, revealing that he can move them.
Normal walking openly demonstrated	265 298	Walks to claim the seat beside Jian Ruonan; later, Zi Azha also witnesses him walking normally.
Return to riding	315	Rides a white horse beside Jian Ruonan during their investigation.
Crown Prince	374	Identified as Crown Prince after the six-year time skip; the appointment itself is not shown in the supplied passages.
Emperor	442	Ascends after Deyuan abdicates ten years later, grants a general amnesty, and establishes the Ruinan era.

Corruption Value

Jian Ruonan’s mission includes preventing Dantai Mo from turning evil and launching a rebellion. Her system tracks his corruption on a scale with a maximum of 100 40 70.

Chapter	Documented Change	Circumstances
70	Initial value of 90; current value of 95	His positive reactions to agricultural discoveries have not prevented his corruption from rising.
110	Decreases by 2	Jian Ruonan’s gifts and their interaction produce a measurable reduction.
297	Spikes, then falls incrementally	Embarrassment over the energy-theft secret agitates him; her massage and examination lower the value.
298	Drops sharply	Further physical treatment accompanies large point rewards and the revelation of the systems’ energy arrangement.
385	Rises sharply	The Hou System warns of renewed corruption during his jealous response to two youths introduced to Jian Ruonan.

Background / History

Childhood and Injury

Emperor Deyuan cherished Dantai Mo from childhood and personally began teaching him at three. He could read at three, write essays at five, and hunt wild beasts alone before ten. At thirteen, he entered the army, repelled the Xiongnu, and earned distinguished military honors 12.

Until sixteen, he was a leading candidate for crown prince. During riding and archery practice outside the city, a herd of maddened wild horses appeared, and he fell from his mount. The resulting loss of sensation in his lower body ended his eligibility for the succession, with the expectation of producing an heir cited as an obstacle 12.

He received the title Prince Rui and his own residence at sixteen. Because of his health and unmarried status, Deyuan allowed him to remain in the capital rather than depart for his fief; his childhood palace courtyard was also preserved 31.

Dantai Mo suspected that someone had drugged his horse. The unexpected wild horses and his mount’s unusual agitation made the incident seem staged, but his investigation had produced no answer when Jian Ruonan raised the same possibility in her thoughts 40.

Contact with Jian Ruonan

Black Tortoise identified Jian Ruonan’s system as a potential energy source. Although Dantai Mo objected to the language of “stealing Lamp Oil,” he accepted an arrangement in which conversation gave the system an opportunity to establish an energy-borrowing channel 12 16.

His interest initially combined the hope of recovery with the intelligence available through her thoughts. Those thoughts exposed hidden political ambitions, while her medicines, crops, books, and inventions repeatedly demonstrated practical value for Great Xia 23 37 70 110.

Courtship and Marriage

Dantai Mo gradually began interpreting Jian Ruonan’s generosity and business dealings as evidence of affection. Black Tortoise repeatedly countered that she was earning points from his emotional reactions. By the time his mother resumed searching for a bride after his recovery, he had already chosen Jian Ruonan and wanted to avoid another marriage arrangement 110 314.

After the six-year time skip, he proposed a sham marriage and then directly confessed his love. Despite his battlefield experience, he had never kissed anyone; when Jian Ruonan challenged him to kiss her, he grasped her shoulders and fled instead 374 375 377 378.

Their eventual marriage agreement protected her against forced childbirth, early rising, and pressure over concubines. He signed immediately, affixed the Crown Prince’s gold seal, and promised that she could leave if he failed to honor it. His requested addition was that they not sleep separately after marriage 426.

Reign

Ten years later, Deyuan abdicated, and Dantai Mo became emperor with Jian Ruonan as empress. His reign emphasized economic development; widespread briquette coal use and her steam engine ushered in Great Xia’s first industrial revolution 442.

The couple had three children. Dantai Mo remained an attentive husband and father while encouraging the children’s independence. He and Ruonan continued making time for each other, including a lantern-festival outing in ordinary clothes 442.

Appearance

Dantai Mo has a straight, lean build, cool pale skin, and features repeatedly compared to flawless jade or an ink painting. His composed bearing remains conspicuous even when he uses a wheelchair 40 130 175.

• Height: Estimated at at least 185 centimeters while still unable to stand 40.
• Hair and eyes: Silky black hair and deep, pitch-black eyes 129 374.
• Family resemblance: Strongly resembles Consort Yan and inherits nearly all her best features 31 32.
• Physique: Maintains defined muscles through daily exercise during his disability; his palms bear thin calluses 40 129.
• Princely clothing: Wears black python-patterned robes, jade ornaments, and elaborate crowns or hats 31 130 257.
• Crown Prince’s ceremonial dress: Blue gauze over scarlet gauze and red silk, gold-and-silver floral decoration, and a crown with nine pearl strands at both front and back 425.

Personality

Dantai Mo is intelligent, proud, reserved, and unusually self-disciplined. As a child, he concentrated on his studies while other princes played. His outward calm often conceals anger, excitement, jealousy, or embarrassment—especially when Jian Ruonan and Black Tortoise are involved 69 119 264.

His enthusiasm for useful discoveries reflects strategic judgment rather than a simple love of farming. Agricultural yields, veterinary knowledge, printing, irrigation, and cavalry equipment excite him because of their implications for the state. Jian Ruonan nevertheless repeatedly treats him as a “Farmer Prince” whose reactions are easy to exploit for points 70 110 119 130.

His attachment to Jian Ruonan brings out both tenderness and possessiveness. He cooks for her, waits patiently, and accepts her conditions for marriage, but also becomes jealous of other men and uses severe authority against perceived rivals. His punishment of a family accused of bribery, including sending its two youths to coal mines, contrasts sharply with his later reassurance that Ruonan may leave him if he breaks their agreement 267 385 426.

His integrity is similarly complicated. He refuses Black Tortoise’s suggestion that he manipulate Jian Ruonan’s affection to obtain a firearm, yet later gives an incomplete confession about his system connection. Xiaowu exposes the energy theft and spying that he omitted 77 350.

Abilities & Skills

Martial Arts and Archery

• Entered military service at thirteen and earned honors against the Xiongnu 12.
• Draws a Three-Picul Bow while seated and shoots an arrow carrying a grenade into a mountain cypress 235.
• Continues strength training and push-ups throughout his injury 129.
• Demonstrates sword handling after recovery and uses a lightness skill to follow Jian Ruonan secretly 296 298.
• Returns to horseback riding once his legs recover 315.

Military Command and Strategy

• Uses revelations about the Third Prince to arrange surveillance and consider placing trusted personnel in the Golden Guards and Five City Garrison Command 49.
• Tests saddles and stirrups on novice riders, mounted-archery beginners, and trained cavalry before ordering over ten thousand sets for an elite Cavalry Camp 121.
• Is permitted three guard battalions, each with five thousand to thirty thousand men. Improved grain supplies allow him to plan an expansion from five thousand to thirty thousand per battalion 136.
• Volunteers alongside Jian Ruonan to capture the rebel Third Prince 259.

Mind-Reading and System Communication

• Through Black Tortoise, hears Jian Ruonan’s thoughts and conversations with her system 23 42.
• Early access depends on energy: insufficient Lamp Oil produces static or cuts the connection entirely 23 40.
• Uses overheard information as investigative and political intelligence, rather than merely as gossip 37 49.
• Loses access to Jian Ruonan’s private system conversations after her system upgrades, while she gains access to his exchanges with Black Tortoise 314 315.
• His ability to hear her thoughts remains confirmed later, when he responds to her request to blink if he can hear her 433.

System-Assisted Healing

• Black Tortoise spends accumulated energy repairing his injured legs 111.
• The energy treatment prevents the muscle atrophy and sagging skin expected after prolonged paralysis 111.
• Recovery is initially unstable; his ability to move or stand can fade when the energy supply proves inadequate 50 96.
• Black Tortoise eventually admits arranging point generation for Jian Ruonan in exchange for the energy needed to heal him 298.

Scholarship, Governance, and Practical Skills

• Recognizes the public value of veterinary books, irrigation methods, and improved food production 70 110 130.
• Seeks Jian Ruonan’s advice on weakening vassal domains through divided inheritance and rewards her proposal with iron 199.
• Is skilled in music, a talent Consort Yan considers when evaluating potential brides 31.
• Uses tile-counting and strategic mahjong play to help Jian Ruonan win 267.
• Cooks water-boiled pork slices and twice-cooked pork for her during the campaign 267.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Wheelchair — Initially necessary for mobility; retained after substantial recovery to conceal his condition while investigating his injury 168.
• Three-Picul Bow — Used to launch a grenade-bearing arrow during a weapons demonstration 235.
• Sword — Practiced with after regaining mobility 296.
• Tourmaline prayer beads — Valuable beads he gives Jian Ruonan early in their acquaintance 23.
• Pain-relief capsules — Purchases ten from Jian Ruonan for one hundred taels of gold, intending to use them for his soldiers and recurring hip pain 47.
• Black Facekini — Jian Ruonan gives him a distinctive mask with an enormous red-and-white mouth design. Its apparent invisibility effect comes from her “Hide” function, not the mask itself 209.
• White horse — Ridden during investigations and after the six-year time skip 315 374.
• Crown Prince’s gold seal — Used to authenticate the marriage agreement 426.

Relationships

• Jian Ruonan — Initially an energy source and intelligence resource, later his chosen partner and empress. Their relationship moves from mutual misreading to an explicit confession and a negotiated marriage 23 110 377 426 442.
• Emperor Deyuan — Father and early teacher. Continues favoring him after his injury, later considers succession candidates following his recovery, and eventually abdicates in his favor 12 31 314 442.
• Consort Yan — Mother. Privately grieves his disability, searches for a suitable bride, and agrees to delay imperial matchmaking once she understands his preference for Jian Ruonan 31 314.
• Xuan Xiaowu / Black Tortoise System — Healing partner, intrusive adviser, and frequent source of irritation. Revealed to be an eight-year-old Black Tortoise Clan child impersonating his older brother; exposes Dantai Mo’s omissions during his confession 12 350.
• Dantai Huai / Mechuan Yaokuzi — Third Prince and political rival. Dantai Mo learns of his hidden ambitions through Ruonan, orders surveillance, and joins the campaign against his rebellion 23 49 259.
• Eldest Princess — Aunt. Attempts to arrange his marriage and later encourages Ruonan’s interest in handsome performers, aggravating his jealousy 57 385 386.
• Wang Defa — Fellow gossip companion and rival for proximity to Ruonan. Dantai Mo intimidates him into surrendering the carriage seat beside her; Wang later becomes a pillar of the imperial court 265 283 442.
• Jian Huateng (Teng) — Ruonan’s younger brother. Initially idolizes him, later questions his marital intentions, and is quickly won over by a jade ornament 38 258.
• Plum Blossom and Tangyuan — His pandas. He grooms and feeds them to build trust and create common ground with Ruonan, even promising treats and swings if they cooperate with her visits 130 155.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arc	Chapters	Dantai Mo’s Role
Corruption and palace investigations	37 38	Recognizes the investigative value of Ruonan’s system; joins inquiries into Censor Cao’s corruption and the emperor’s repeated drugging.
Imperial child-switching scandal	56 57	Acts on Ruonan’s information, brings Prince Kang and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, exposes the exchanged children, and has Xue Yuanyu arrested.
Agricultural and military modernization	70 110 121 130 136	Supports cattle purchases, evaluates knowledge and inventions, equips cavalry, and plans greater troop strength and maritime trade.
Luo Shuirong and the First Prince	131 158	Detects Ruonan’s attempt to redirect powerful figures against the First Prince and later retrieves Jian Huayuan from Sea City.
Rebellion-suppression campaign	259 265 281	Accompanies Ruonan, reveals normal mobility, and recites loudspeaker challenges while she directs the rockets that secure victory.
Predator and suspected-traitor investigations	314 315 319	Receives permission to assist Ruonan and accompanies her to the Five City Garrison Command and an undercover pleasure-house visit.
System confession	350	Admits his bond with Black Tortoise and some eavesdropping; Xiaowu reveals the omitted energy theft and spying.
Imperial marriage	426 430 433 438	Signs Ruonan’s agreement, prepares the wedding, acknowledges his mind-reading, and publicly prioritizes the Crown Princess’s rest and privacy.
Ruinan reign	442	Succeeds Deyuan and leads an era of economic growth and industrial development alongside Empress Jian Ruonan.

Notable Quotes

“You have no flaws.”
“And you're not willful, either.” 431

“If you wish, I can take your place as the one who gives the world its heart, gives the people their purpose, carries on the lost teachings of the ancient sages, and brings peace to all generations.” 433

“The Crown Princess is mine.” 438

Trivia

• “Farmer Prince” is a misunderstanding: He explicitly attributes his excitement to the combined importance of papermaking, movable type printing, and veterinary knowledge—not an enthusiasm for farming itself 110.
• Cat wedding rehearsal: He conducts a full wedding ceremony with Consort Yan’s male Persian cat, calls it “Nan Nan,” and declares it Crown Princess. Consort Yan interrupts and retrieves the cat 385 386.
• Gossip enthusiast: Jian Ruonan observes that he progresses from resisting gossip to enjoying it and even helping generate new spectacles; Xiaowu claims credit for the change 419.