Jiang Liuli

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Jiang Liuli (姜琉璃)
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Jiang household; allied with Jiang An and Qin Wanru 15 18
Occupation/Role	Favored adopted daughter of the Jiang family; rival and antagonist to Jiang Shuyue 1 19 20
Birth Mother	Qin Wanru, Jiang An’s longtime mistress 16
Birth Father	An unnamed salted-fish seller; Jiang An mistakenly believes Liuli is his biological daughter 15
Status	Alive; becomes Consort Shu’s sworn sister, complicating her intended marriage to the Fourth Prince 48 49
First Appearance	Mentioned in Chapter 1; appears directly during Jiang Shuyue’s homecoming in Chapter 14 1 14

Background / History

Jiang Liuli was born to Qin Wanru and a salted-fish seller. Qin Wanru claimed that her child belonged to Jiang An to secure his patronage. Although initially identified by the system as Jiang An’s biological daughter, Liuli’s actual parentage is revealed in the following chapter. She and Jiang Shuyue were born only two hours apart, with Liuli being the older girl despite being addressed as Shuyue’s younger sister 14 15.

When Shuyue was three, Jiang An arranged her disappearance. Less than two months later, he brought Liuli into the household. Because the girls were similar in age and appearance, Madam Jiang transferred her affection to Liuli, who grew up as the family’s cherished daughter. The man assigned to kill Shuyue was Liuli’s biological father; he instead spared Shuyue because he believed she could eventually be sold for a high price 14 15.

After Shuyue returned, Liuli helped conceal her mistreatment and manipulated the brothers’ dealings with her. When the Jiang family arranged a marriage to Zhou Yunshen, Liuli refused to become a stepmother and claimed she feared his temper. Her parents sent Shuyue in her place—a decision Liuli later regretted after seeing Zhou’s affection and the Marquis’s household’s wealth 1 14 16 19 20.

Personality

Liuli cultivates the image of a gentle, well-mannered daughter who suffers silently. She uses tears, lowered eyes, and hesitant denials to solicit protection or imply that Shuyue has wronged her. This approach depends heavily on others accepting her account without checking it; when Jiang Wujie begins questioning her, she tries to make Shuyue retract her accusations 15 19 44.

Privately, Liuli is possessive, status-conscious, and resentful of Shuyue’s good fortune. She regards Shuyue’s luxurious clothing and marriage as benefits that should have belonged to her. Her composure breaks when challenged: she insults Shuyue openly, abuses servants over clothing, attempts to strike her maid, and shoves Shuyue after being deliberately provoked 20 21 39.

Her ambition extends beyond household favoritism. She believes she is destined to become empress and imagines using that position to retaliate against her enemies. The system also describes her as a ruthless “black lotus” responsible for twelve deaths, though the supplied account does not identify those victims 12 22.

Abilities & Skills

Emotional Manipulation

Liuli uses an appearance of vulnerability to influence relatives and conceal hostility 15 19 44.

• Distorts Jiang Wujie’s messages so that Shuyue feels unwanted while Wujie believes he is looking after her 19.
• Presents borrowed or traded valuables as gifts that Shuyue willingly discarded 20.
• Praises Shuyue publicly while acting frightened and aggrieved, encouraging suspicions without making a direct accusation 44.
• Loses effectiveness once family members recognize the discrepancy between her performance and her behavior 21 45.

Literary and Musical Presentation

Liuli performs poetry and guqin music at Consort Shu’s birthday celebration, receiving praise as the “foremost talented lady” of Great Zhou. Her apparent originality is fraudulent 46.

• Her poems come from the impoverished scholar Fu Mingcheng 46.
• Her banquet music was purchased from a courtesan at the Happy Red Chamber 46.
• She can present these works in court, but the context does not establish independent composition ability 46.
• Fu Mingcheng hears Shuyue’s thoughts exposing the theft and becomes angry when Liuli claims his verse as her own 46.

Household Intrigue

Liuli participates in schemes aimed at controlling the Jiang family and its wealth 15 18 21.

• Infiltration: Jasmine, a maid in Jiang Wujie’s courtyard, is identified as Liuli’s spy 21.
• Planned poisoning: Jiang An instructs Qin Wanru to have Liuli gradually add Thousand-Day Dream to Madam Jiang’s bird’s nest soup, intending to drive her insane within six months 18.
• Limits: These dangers are exposed through Shuyue’s thoughts and the system. The poisoning plan is documented, but its intended outcome is not shown occurring in the supplied chapters 18 22.

Relationships

• Jiang Shuyue — Nominal elder sister and principal rival. Liuli takes her possessions, undermines her family relationships, and resents her successful marriage. Shuyue retaliates by exposing her lies and turning her own methods against her 19 20 21 40.
• Qin Wanru — Biological mother and confidante. Qin comforts Liuli after her brothers turn against her and shares her ambition to acquire the Jiang family’s wealth 16 18 22.
• Jiang An — Adoptive father and co-conspirator, who believes Liuli is his biological child. He installs her in Shuyue’s place and treats her as an ally in taking over the family 14 15.
• Madam Jiang — Adoptive mother and former protector. After learning the family’s secrets, she withdraws her support, restores privileges to Shuyue, and retaliates against Liuli through household arrangements and humiliating pranks 15 17 39 45.
• Jiang Wujie — Adoptive eldest brother, formerly easy to influence. He begins doubting Liuli’s accounts, orders her to return Shuyue’s earrings, and punishes her for insulting Shuyue 19 20 21.
• Jiang Chen — Adoptive second brother. Initially confronts Shuyue on Liuli’s behalf, but later openly rebukes Liuli and supports Shuyue 17 21.
• Zhou Yunshen — Rejected prospective husband and eventual brother-in-law. Liuli tries to attract his attention after Shuyue marries him, but he rejects her familiarity and orders her away from the family meal 14 15.
• Consort Shu — Desired patron and eventual sworn sister. Liuli welcomes their sisterhood as a route to advancement, failing to recognize that it obstructs her marriage prospects 46 48.
• Fourth Prince — Intended marriage prospect. He considers marrying Liuli, but her sworn sisterhood with his mother makes her his nominal aunt and renders the match socially compromising 38 48 49.
• Chen Furong — Ally against Shuyue. Furong publicly repeats Liuli’s insults, drawing her into a confrontation; Liuli later tries to shift blame for her own embarrassing flatulence onto Furong 43 44 45.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Loss of Household Favor

• Homecoming confrontation: Liuli’s attempt to apologize on Madam Jiang’s behalf is rejected by Zhou Yunshen. Her carefully prepared meal is criticized, and her attempts to serve Zhou food end with orders to leave and clear the table afterward 14 15.
• Courtyard reassignment: Madam Jiang gives Shuyue the Eastern Fence Courtyard, previously occupied by Liuli, and directs Liuli to the more remote South Pear Garden 16 17.
• Salted-fish gifts: Shuyue’s homecoming gifts fill Liuli’s courtyard with salted fish and cured meat. The smell makes her faint and leaves her vomiting; Madam Jiang prevents her from openly rejecting the gifts 17 19.
• Brothers’ change of allegiance: Shuyue exposes Liuli’s handling of eighteen valuable items and her false accounts of Jiang Wujie’s intentions. Liuli’s angry outburst leads Wujie to order her to copy the Analects one hundred times 19 20 21.

Exposure of the Family Conspiracy

• Jiang An and Qin Wanru’s conversation identifies Liuli as the intended means of administering poison to Madam Jiang 18.
• The system exposes Jasmine’s position as Liuli’s spy and describes her future involvement in harming Wujie and his fiancée, Ji Hanshuang 21.
• Liuli sends Madam Jiang bird’s nest porridge, but Madam Jiang redirects it to Qin Wanru, who eats it. The passage does not explicitly confirm whether that serving contains poison 22.

The Hairpin Dispute

• Liuli objects to her reduced clothing allowance and tries to portray Shuyue’s lavish banquet outfit as improper. The old madam orders Shuyue to surrender a hairpin to her 39.
• After Shuyue privately insults her, Liuli shoves her and is slapped by Madam Jiang 39.
• Shuyue claims the broken hairpin was an imperial gift and threatens to involve the emperor and Fourth Prince. To protect her marriage prospects, Liuli agrees to kneel on the Blue Stone Road until permission arrives; Shuyue never seeks that permission, and Liuli eventually faints 40 41.

Consort Shu’s Birthday Banquet

• Chen Furong draws Liuli into a public dispute over her remarks about Shuyue. Liuli denies having grievances but suffers a prolonged bout of flatulence, then attempts to blame Furong. Observing families decide their children should avoid her 44 45.
• Liuli presents stolen poetry and purchased music to impress Consort Shu and the Fourth Prince. Shuyue reframes the music as a love confession and challenges Liuli’s claim to Jiang blood 46 47.
• Liuli asks that Shuyue perform, hoping to expose her lack of refinement. Shuyue instead turns the occasion into a sworn-sisterhood ceremony with Consort Shu and brings Liuli into the oath 47 48.
• The new kinship makes Liuli the Fourth Prince’s “second aunt.” She remains pleased with her connection to Consort Shu, while the prince recognizes that pursuing her could damage his reputation and ambitions 48 49.

Trivia

• Liuli is older than Shuyue by two hours, despite their customary elder-sister/younger-sister forms of address 15.
• Her rumored status as Zhou Shiye’s “cherished moonlight” was deliberately circulated by Liuli and the minister’s household. Shiye says he cannot even remember what she looks like 11.
• Her failed schemes become a recurring source of Shuyue’s Green Tea Points. The banquet confrontation involving Liuli helps Shuyue pass three hundred points and obtain a Marrow-Cleansing Pill intended for Jiang Chen 20 21 44.