Xie Jin'an

Biodata

Background / History

Before his grandfather received a marquisate, Xie Jin’an lived with his family in a border town. He and Xu Rourou grew up as childhood sweethearts, playing husband and wife before becoming sexually involved at twelve. Their relationship continued before and during his marriage to Liu Wan 11 12.

Rourou’s later recollections reveal that her childhood involvement extended to other Xie young masters as well. At thirteen, when Old Madam Xie asked which young master she preferred, she chose Jin’an because he dressed most richly and treated her best. Jin’an remained unaware of the extent of her other relationships for years 171 186.

At sixteen, he approached the Liu Minister’s Residence with winter-plum blossoms and asked for Liu Wan’s hand, invoking Marquis Jing’an’s earlier rescue of her father. The Xie household needed the Liu family’s help because Marquis Jing’an had been imprisoned on suspicion of treason. Liu Wan married into the residence with the Death-Exemption Token left by her aunt, saving the household and allowing the marquis an opportunity to prove his innocence 12 37.

Later revelations show that the Xie family had itself laid the trap behind the supposed favor to Liu Wan’s father. Liu Wan also explains that Jin’an’s winter-plum blossoms reminded her of Xia Siheng, whom she had loved since childhood; she accepted Jin’an partly as a substitute for the man she believed she could not marry 258 259.

Jin’an privately acknowledges that marrying Liu Wan was not his wish, though he appreciates her intelligence and household management. Over their five-year marriage, she endures neglect while using her dowry to support the residence and its failing businesses 6 11 23 32.

He also has a history of imprisonment. The emperor recalls the household invoking the Old Marquis’s service to obtain leniency, while Qing Da credits Liu Wan’s pleading with securing Jin’an’s release 13 18. The incident is later identified as his assault on the heir of the Duke Who Guards the Nation, committed after someone humiliated his drinking companion Wu Chang’an, minister of the Court of Judicial Review. The assault caused public criticism and impeachment, and Jin’an spent several days in jail 82.

Old Madam Xie secretly obtained his release by drugging Liu Wan and sending her to Xia Siheng, drawing the prince into the matter. She conceals this exploitation from Jin’an and claims that the duke repaid an old family favor. Xia Siheng later tells Jin’an that he placed him in Liu Wan’s room after his release, and that the child conceived from that night was Xia Siheng’s daughter, not Jin’an’s 82 116 197.

Jin’an’s privileged upbringing also rests on the Xie family’s criminal businesses, including the harmful Happy Powder trade. Although he later claims not to have known how the household’s wealth was obtained, he is forced to confront that his comfortable life was funded by harm to ordinary people. His final years are spent working and caring for recovering addicts in an effort to repay that debt 195 294 536 537.

Appearance

• Handsome and refined: His elegant robes, gentle manner, and scholarly appearance support his public image as a considerate husband 3 6 11 18.
• Physically weak: He approaches Liu Wan with trembling legs before their palace visit, struggles to lift Xu Rourou, and delivers kicks that Qing Da privately considers feeble 12 20 25.
• Temporary blackened appearance: After the mountain-road disaster, he returns battered and swollen, with his face darkened beyond recognition. Liu Shi’s difficult-to-remove ink—not merely the lightning strike—accounts for the persistent blackness 20 21 23.
• Repeated injuries: His later humiliations leave him bruised, swollen, and bloodied, notably after the crowd attacks him outside Liu Wan’s residence and after the confiscation of the Xie household’s property 156 195.
• Destitute appearance: After the family’s ruin, he becomes dirty and impoverished enough to scavenge discarded food. Xie Jinqian has him washed before arranging his encounter with Yan 202.
• Sexual dysfunction: Liu Wan’s understanding of her marriage and Jin’an’s later encounters with Yan and brothel women reveal sexual inadequacy that Xu Rourou’s praise had concealed from him. He eventually agrees to seek a Daoist’s treatment, though no formal diagnosis is given 152 202 203.

Personality

Jin’an values family standing and treats his children partly as assets. On hearing of Wanwan’s beauty, he imagines her marrying into a powerful family to benefit the residence. By contrast, he carefully chooses Huaishan’s name to express expansive ambition and insists that the boy he believes to be his biological son should not be reduced to concubine-born status. He accepts the name “Zhaodi” for his daughter because he considers a girl’s name unimportant 3 4.

His outward courtesy conceals entitlement and a volatile temper. He expects Liu Wan to obey him and rescue the household from scandals, then blames her when she refuses. When humiliated, he attacks servants, threatens to sell Qing Da, and beats a physician unable to remove the ink from his face. His restraint toward Liu Wan later stems partly from knowing that the residence depends on her 13 14 20 23 27.

He is susceptible to flattery, nostalgia, and superstition. Xu Rourou repeatedly restores his affection by appealing to their childhood bond, while Madam Li’s sympathy encourages his suspicions about Liu Wan. Frightened by the household’s misfortunes, he pays Master Yuantong and gratefully accepts a fabricated protective talisman 11 16 17 25.

His possessiveness becomes particularly evident when Liu Wan seeks a divorce. He panics at losing the wife who has made his life comfortable, refuses to release her even after his misconduct is exposed, and threatens to take her into death with him. His interest in Zimu’s apparent examination success immediately revives his hopes of restoring the family’s fortunes 90 104.

His jealousy and wounded pride also produce severe violence toward Rourou and his brothers. He attacks Rourou after discovering evidence of an affair, orders Yinliu beaten for allegedly concealing it, and later strikes Jinzhao with an incense burner after learning that Rourou had been involved with other Xie brothers. Even so, ambition repeatedly persuades him to tolerate Rourou because he believes her supposed royal birth will benefit the household 108 109 118 156 186.

His development is uneven rather than an immediate reform. He begins to resist his father’s abuse of Madam Li and refuses to kill Rourou in exchange for a foreign official position, asserting that he will not surrender his last conscience or betray Great Xia. These choices do not immediately end his arrogance: he subsequently expels his brothers, denies a concubine-born brother any share of the property, and proclaims himself the founding ancestor of a new Xie line 158 167 187.

After the household’s destruction, his shame gradually becomes a sustained effort at atonement. He works deferentially, performs menial rehabilitation duties, and accepts danger and discomfort in the hope of repairing the harm caused by his family. His love for his new child and his remembered obligations as a former Great Xia official ultimately lead him to protect the emperor and, later, sacrifice his life for Yan and their daughter 294 296 333 536 537.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Attempted Infant Swap and Concealed Parentage

• Jin’an’s newborn daughter is meant to be replaced by his son with Xu Rourou, allowing the boy to inherit the marquis title while the girl is discarded. Liu Wan wakes and stops the exchange. Both children’s presumed relationship to Jin’an is later overturned 1 152 167 197.
• His private thoughts confirm that he expected the swap to succeed and knew the midwife had tampered with Liu Wan’s medicine. He wonders how she woke at the crucial moment 3.
• He neglects Liu Wan after childbirth while staying with Rourou, then presses his grandmother to secure Huaishan’s status. Rourou enters the residence disguised as the boy’s wet nurse 3.
• He enthusiastically presents Huaishan to relatives, but his smile freezes when Liu Wan arrives unexpectedly. He subsequently yields to his grandmother’s decision to call Wanwan “Zhaodi” and arrange Rourou’s admission as a concubine 4 5.
• His later forced confession confirms his complicity in the scheme and reveals that he intended to drown baby Wanwan. He claims he believed Liu Wan’s medicine would merely render her unconscious rather than poison her 104.

Fifth Princess Rescue Scheme and Imperial Punishment

• At Wanwan’s full-month banquet, he presents the “Love Evening Pavilion” and gifts for his daughter. The occasion also conceals a scheme to push the Fifth Princess into the pond so that his rescue would force an advantageous marriage 6 7.
• He jumps into the water but rescues Xu Rourou instead. Xie Zi Mu later admits that he pushed the wet nurse into the pond to disrupt the plan 7 12.
• The Fifth Princess discovers the Late Emperor’s Jade Bead Strand on Huaishan, bringing imperial scrutiny to the supposedly adopted boy. Jin’an cannot prevent her departure to report the matter 8.
• When Liu Wan directly asks whether Huaishan is his son, he avoids answering. His grandmother falsely identifies the child as Xie Jinqiu’s and claims the birth mother is dead 10.
• At court, Jin’an denies intending to compromise the princess, and his grandmother assumes responsibility. The emperor confines her to Charity Hall and docks Jin’an one year’s salary 12 13.
• He blames Liu Wan for not pleading for mercy and attempts to block her departure. Xia Siheng’s guard breaks his hand for disrespecting her newly granted third-rank title 13 14.

Failed Reconciliation and Mountain-Road Humiliation

• Jin’an attempts to reconcile with Liu Wan after recognizing that her imperial title could help the household. She rejects his touch and tells him to spend more time with Rourou instead 16.
• He accompanies Liu Wan to Golden Mountain Temple to retrieve Madam Li, then gives his mother a selective account of his injury. He accepts her unfounded suspicions about Liu Wan’s chastity and relationship with the Ninth Prince 16 17.
• He leaves the temple with Madam Li and Xu Xinbo without informing Liu Wan, stranding her and Wanwan during the rain. Lightning subsequently destroys their carriage, and the three tumble down the mountain 17.
• They return so battered and blackened that the household cannot identify them until Jin’an speaks. He tries to punish Qing Da for beating them and sending them to the authorities, but Liu Wan and others defend the servant’s actions 20.
• Unable to wash away the ink, he fears losing his official post through absence from court. He seeks Yuantong’s help and becomes jealous when Rourou visits Jinqiu with Huaishan 23 24.

Flood Relief and the “Coal Mine Spirits”

• Wanwan recalls an original-story future in which Jin’an gains merit from flood relief, receives a promotion, and improves Rourou’s status. This is foreknowledge, not a confirmed advancement in the altered storyline 21.
• Jin’an submits a memorial volunteering for relief after hearing that the disaster should be easy to resolve. He remains on leave because of his appearance 24.
• He expects an imperial decree to appoint him to the relief mission. Instead, it orders the capture of three “Coal Mine Spirits”; the eunuch identifies Jin’an, Madam Li, and Xu Xinbo as those spirits and has them bound and transported to Anyuan County as auspicious mascots 27 28.
• Ministers later credit the three with helping control the floods. The emperor agrees to keep them in Anyuan longer 40.
• After months away, the three return to the residence. Jin’an thanks Liu Wan for supposedly managing the household and presses her to resume responsibility, despite her insistence that she has not been managing its affairs 60.
• Zhong Youyan identifies herself as the actual household manager on Jinqiu’s behalf. Jin’an nevertheless insists that Jinzhao’s marriage to Li Duoduo should wait for discussion with Madam Li, challenging Zhong’s authority 61.

Xu Rourou’s Identity Crisis and Failing Influence

• When Rourou collapses over her father’s predicament, Jin’an promises to help and consults Old Madam Xie. An overheard discussion reveals that Old Madam wants him to give Rourou the Death-Exemption Token to save her father, whose identity token may establish Rourou’s supposed lineage 72.
• His former contacts refuse to assist. Wu Chang’an will not bend the rules, and Lord Qin has Jin’an beaten out of the Government Office despite his past payments 82.
• Xu Xinbo’s unsuccessful search of the demolished Xu family home leaves them without the jade pendant needed to substantiate Rourou’s identity. Jin’an again turns to Liu Wan and her father for help 82.
• His questions about how his grandmother previously obtained his release nearly expose her exploitation of Liu Wan, but he accepts her false explanation that the duke repaid a family favor 82.
• As Liu Wan seeks to leave him, Jin’an reacts with panic and anger, demanding to know why she no longer wants to live with him 90.

Loss of Title, Exposure, and Divorce

• Eunuch Yu delivers a decree stripping the household of its marquisate and renaming it the Xie Residence because Old Madam Xie escaped lifelong confinement and assaulted the emperor. Jin’an protests and blames Liu Wan and her family, but the eunuch rejects his excuses 99.
• Believing Rourou has secured his grandmother’s rescue, he visits the Eldest Princess with gifts. He mistakes her involvement for benevolence toward the Xies 99 100.
• Rourou’s supposed royal identity renews his fascination with her. He brings her home, supports arrangements allowing her and Xu Xinbo to spend time alone together, and treats the princess as a prospective mother-in-law 101 102.
• Before the Liu and Xie clan elders, Liu Shi forces him to swallow Truth Jelly. Jin’an admits his relationship with Rourou predated his marriage, his participation in the infant-switch scheme, his intention to kill Wanwan, and his desire to use Liu Wan’s household management and connections for Huaishan’s advancement 103 104.
• His admission distinguishes his own intention from Rourou’s escalation: he claims he expected medicine that would weaken or incapacitate Liu Wan, while Rourou had arranged for a slow-acting poison to replace it 104.
• After Minister Liu attempts suicide, the Xie clan chief expels the entire branch and tears its names out of the genealogy to protect the wider clan. Jin’an, already without his title and office, collapses and refuses to sign the Divorce Agreement, threatening to kill Liu Wan rather than release her 104.
• A messenger announces that eight-year-old Zimu has placed third in the examination, and Jin’an immediately treats the news as a way to restore the family. The supposed result is later exposed as unreliable; Xia Siheng reveals that Zimu deliberately submitted a blank paper so the Xies could not benefit from his talent 104 119 120.
• Liu Wan ultimately secures the divorce. Jin’an orders Zixing’s adoption agreement burned and declares that the boy may no longer use the Xie surname. Liu Shi and the Liu clan elders then beat him nearly to death 105.
• Liu Wan’s dowry is removed, and the public condemns the Xie household for deceiving and mistreating her 106 107 109.

Discovery of Rourou’s Affairs

• Jin’an discovers scars on Rourou’s body and suspects a lover’s bite marks. She insists they are injuries from prison torture, but he rejects her explanation, blames her for his losses, and threatens her with a vase 108.
• Jinzhao restrains him and invokes Huaishan’s need for his mother, particularly a mother believed to be a princess. Jin’an embraces the boy and calls him his only remaining biological son 108.
• He temporarily tolerates Rourou for strategic reasons, believing both Huaishan and Zimu need her status for their futures. Xu Xinbo encourages reconciliation and drinks with him 109.
• While seeking Rourou’s help to secure Madam Li’s release, Jin’an remains unaware that Rourou is with Xu Xinbo. Xia Siheng and Wanwan subsequently use an Explosive Talisman to destroy the roof of her room, exposing a naked lover fleeing through the window 117 118.
• Jin’an severely beats Rourou and orders Yinliu punished for allegedly concealing the affair. Jinzhao intervenes to prevent him from killing her. Jin’an then vomits blood and collapses as Huaishan rejects him with the declaration that he is not his father 118 119.
• Although servants catch Xu Xinbo under suspicious circumstances, Jinzhao later claims the lover cannot be identified. Jin’an goes to the Government Office to report the explosions, attempting unsuccessfully to use Zimu’s supposed examination result to regain influence 119 120.

Imprisonment and Attempts to Reclaim Wanwan

• While imprisoned, Jin’an hears that Wanwan has become Princess Ximing and assumes her elevation will secure his release. Jailers reject his claim, pointing out that she now belongs to the Imperial House 129.
• Marquis Jing’an is brought into the same jail and beats him for disgracing the household. Madam Li is placed in their cell, turning the reunion into a three-way confrontation 129.
• Zhong Youyan arranges a scheme in which Zimu and Qing Da are secretly substituted for Jin’an and Madam Li in jail. Jin’an escapes the frontier-labor punishment nominally assigned to the substitutes, while Xia Siheng’s men separately rescue Zimu and Qing Da 150.
• Jin’an stages a public plea outside Liu Wan’s residence, claiming his dying grandmother wants to see Princess Ximing and portraying himself as an affectionate father. Liu Wan challenges his account, and Wanwan rejects his belated attempt to claim her because of her rank 154.
• Wanwan calls him an “unfilial son” and strikes his head. The crowd turns against him and beats him, leaving him injured and humiliated 154 155 156.
• Despite resentment over Rourou’s affairs, he accepts Madam Li’s argument that her supposed royal birth could make him an imperial son-in-law. He decides to endure the marriage for advancement rather than divorce her 156.

Family Violence and Refusal of a Foreign Appointment

• When Old Madam Xie dies and Rourou is accused of poisoning her, Marquis Jing’an attacks Rourou, Huaishan, and Madam Li. Jin’an openly confronts his father for the first time, threatening to stop acknowledging him if he harms Madam Li again 158.
• After Madam Li’s attempted elopement with Xu Xinbo is exposed, Jin’an restrains his father and urges him not to publicize the household’s disgrace. He also invokes the supposed danger of harming the brother of the Eldest Princess’s daughter 164.
• The Eldest Princess reveals that Huaishan is not his son and pressures him to kill Rourou. Marquis Jing’an urges him to comply in exchange for an official position in Southern Mei 167.
• Jin’an raises his sword but turns it aside, wounding Xu Xinbo instead. He refuses to personally kill the woman who shared his life for more than a decade, while acknowledging that she has harmed others and may be judged by others 167.
• He also rejects becoming a foreign official at the cost of betraying Great Xia. The Eldest Princess reminds him that his claim to conscience does not erase his treatment of Liu Wan and Wanwan, and he recognizes the wider household’s responsibility for their suffering 167.

New Genealogy and the Xie Household’s Ruin

• After Rourou’s death, Jin’an is accused of avoiding the family’s crisis by leaving to bury her. Jinzhao confronts him before Huaishan’s corpse and Old Madam’s coffin, insisting that he has enjoyed the eldest legitimate son’s privileges without carrying the corresponding burdens 186.
• Jinzhao reveals that Rourou had been involved with several Xie brothers and claims Huaishan was more likely his son than Jin’an’s. Humiliated, Jin’an strikes Jinzhao with an incense burner and then attacks Jinqian 186.
• Jin’an formally expels Jinzhao. When Jinqian asks for half the property as a condition of staying, Jin’an refuses on the grounds of his concubine-born status. Both brothers publicly sever their ties, and Jinqian gives Madam Li the family seal 187.
• Jin’an establishes a new clan genealogy beginning with himself. Initially containing only his and Madam Li’s names, it embodies his hope of rebuilding the Xie line and becoming its founding ancestor 187.
• The court confiscates the household’s property and punishes its involvement in harmful medicinal trade. Jin’an is spared execution because Jinqian, revealed as Southern Yue’s Second Imperial Prince, exchanges his merits for Jin’an’s life 195.
• Commoners attack Jin’an for benefiting from wealth obtained through their suffering. Although he insists he did not know about the crimes, his confidence collapses as he confronts the source of his privilege 195.
• He seeks Liu Wan and Wanwan as his remaining emotional and familial refuge. Xia Siheng privately tells him that Wanwan is his own biological daughter and explains the circumstances surrounding her conception, destroying Jin’an’s belief that she can continue his bloodline 196 197.

Yan, Destitution, and the Beginning of Atonement

• Jinqian finds Jin’an scavenging food and offers an arrangement with Yan, a woman purchased from a brothel, to preserve the Xie bloodline. Jin’an resents his younger brother’s superiority but eventually accepts the humiliating proposal 202.
• Yan’s mockery of his sexual performance contradicts the praise he had always received from Rourou. Jinqian uses the encounter as a test, then sends Jin’an to a brothel, where further humiliation leaves him despairing 202 203.
• Jin’an initially refuses a physician out of shame but agrees to seek a pill-refining Daoist in Hezhou. He hopes to leave descendants before atoning for the Xie family’s crimes 203.
• By Liu Wan’s wedding to Xia Siheng, Jin’an is working humbly at a shop and caring for recovering Happy Powder addicts. Yan is now his pregnant wife and fears that his rehabilitation work endangers their family 294.
• Despite Yan’s anger and an injury caused when she throws a candlestick at him, he continues his work in the hope of making amends and securing good fortune for their child 294.
• He visits Liu Wan’s wedding but declines Wanwan’s invitation to stay for the feast. He asks the child he calls Great Xia’s Lucky Star to bless his unborn child, whom he assumes will be a son. Wanwan divines that the child will be safe, and he leaves in tears of gratitude 296.

Defense of the Emperor

• Having received the deity’s assurance that his unborn child will survive, Jin’an resolves to perform good deeds, protect Great Xia, and face death in a worthy way 333.
• When Gu Ming urges the crowd to surrender the emperor, Jin’an publicly defends the sovereign and reminds the people that neither their deity nor their emperor should be betrayed 333.
• Gu Ming attacks the imperial family. Jin’an pushes the emperor out of danger and prepares to take the fatal strike himself, acting for his child, his oath, and his desire to repay his sins 333.
• Liu Wan absorbs the approaching black energy with her Gourd, saving him. His attempted sacrifice and her intervention encourage the crowd to rise again in support of the emperor 333.

Rehabilitation Work and Final Sacrifice

• Jin’an spends more than a year caring for patients at the capital outskirts’ rehabilitation center, administering medicine and washing the preparation vessels. The director credits his sustained care as the last patient completes treatment 536.
• After Xiaomi reveals that Southern Yue remnants forced him back into harmful powder use, Jin’an reports the crime alone to the Government Office. Officers capture several remnants, and Jin’an gives his reward to Xiaomi’s family to support his recovery 536.
• A surviving loyalist retaliates by attacking Yan and their infant daughter. Jin’an returns to find the attacker holding the baby by the neck and pinning Yan’s hand beneath his foot 536 537.
• He attacks with a wooden club and, despite receiving repeated wounds, holds the assailant long enough for Yan and the baby to escape and call for help. Soldiers arrest the attacker, but Jin’an dies 537.
• Yan grieves his death and recognizes that, despite his earlier failings, he gave his life as a father to protect their child. Minister Liu interprets his actions as repayment of the debt the Xie family owed the people 537.
• The Empress Dowager arranges support for Yan and her daughter and uses the attack as grounds for a campaign against Southern Yue. Jin’an’s death thus becomes a catalyst for wider war 537.

Equipment / Items

• Buddhist relic / Sharira: Received from Madam Li for Huaishan after Yuantong predicts that the child will enter the imperial genealogy. Jin’an prioritizes using it to protect his son 17 23. The relic later explodes, blackening Huaishan but leaving him otherwise unharmed; Jin’an rushes to investigate and calls the physician when Madam Li also appears distressed 67.
• Yuantong’s talisman: Purchased through a substantial payment to the monk. Jin’an is told to bow to it three times daily and seek divine forgiveness; Yuantong privately admits that he invented it 25.
• Sword: Used during the Eldest Princess’s demand that he kill Rourou. He deliberately redirects the strike and wounds Xu Xinbo instead 167.
• New clan genealogy: Established after expelling Jinzhao and severing ties with Jinqian. Jin’an places himself first, intending to become the founder of a restored Xie family line 187.
• Wooden club: An improvised weapon taken from beside his door during the attack on Yan and their daughter. He uses it in the fight that leads to his death 537.

Relationships

• Liu Wan — Former wife and principal household manager. Her resources saved the Xie family, but his concealed affair and continued neglect lead her to withdraw financial support and refuse to cover its misconduct 11 12 23. He initially refuses her divorce and threatens to kill her rather than let her leave, but she obtains the agreement and recovers her dowry 104 105 106 107. He later considers her the best wife he could have had and is devastated by her marriage to Xia Siheng. She nevertheless saves his life when he attempts to protect the emperor 187 294 333.
• Xu Rourou — Childhood sweetheart, mistress, and later concubine. He repeatedly promises her better standing, although their relationship develops into quarrels over exposure, jealousy, and her reluctance to attend him while he is blackened 11 24 25 36. She is subsequently treated as his wife, while her supposed royal identity encourages him to keep relying on her despite her affairs 109 156. His discovery of her infidelity leads to severe violence, but he ultimately refuses to kill her for a foreign appointment. After her death, he leaves to bury her 118 167 186.
• Xie Huaishan — Initially believed to be his biological son with Rourou. Jin’an seeks legitimate status for him while concealing his supposed parentage behind adoption and the false claim that Jinqiu fathered him 3 10. Huaishan later rejects him after he beats Rourou, and the Eldest Princess states that the boy is not his son. Jinzhao subsequently claims that Huaishan may have been his own child; this claim does not establish definitive biological paternity 118 119 167 186. Huaishan’s corpse is present during Jin’an’s final rupture with his brothers 186.
• Xie Wanwan / Xia Wanwan — Daughter raised in the Xie household, whom Jin’an mistakenly believes to be his biological child. He sees her potential value as a marriage connection, while she condemns his treatment of Liu Wan and celebrates his humiliations 3 14 20. His forced confession reveals that he intended to drown her as an infant 104. He repeatedly tries to reclaim her after she becomes Princess Ximing, but she rejects his opportunistic affection. Xia Siheng eventually tells him that she is his own biological daughter 129 154 197. Wanwan later assures him that his child with Yan will be safe 296.
• Xie Zi Mu and Xie Zi Xing — Adopted sons selected by the Xie family and raised by Liu Wan. Zi Xing believes neither their father nor grandmother likes them and later deliberately destroys a gift from Jin’an to his mother 10 27 34. Jin’an attempts to use Zimu’s supposed examination success to rebuild his standing, while Zimu’s intervention helps Liu Wan obtain her divorce 104 105 120. Jin’an terminates Zixing’s adoption, and Zimu eventually escapes the household with Qing Da. Both boys later seek and receive the Liu surname 105 150 302. Jin’an is not aware of Xu Xinbo’s scheme involving Zixing’s martial arts instructor 117.
• Old Madam Xie — Paternal grandmother and principal accomplice in securing Huaishan’s position. Jin’an usually yields to her, though he recognizes that her schemes helped cause the family’s punishment 4 16. She conceals her use of the drugged Liu Wan to secure his earlier release from prison, and her escape from confinement brings about the household’s loss of its marquisate 82 99. Her poisoning and funeral become focal points of the family’s collapse 158 186.
• Madam Li — Mother. He seeks her sympathy and support against Liu Wan; they are later sent to Anyuan together 16 17 28. She repeatedly encourages his dependence on Rourou’s supposed royal status and backs his claim to exclusive family leadership 156 187. Jin’an eventually confronts his father to protect her from further violence and supports her after her affair with Xu Xinbo is exposed 158 164.
• Xie Jinqiu — Youngest brother and nominal father of Huaishan under the household’s cover story. Jinqiu’s growing attention to Rourou and the child provokes Jin’an’s jealousy 10 24 33. Jinqiu later leaves a ledger exposing the household’s criminal business before his death 159.
• Xia Siheng — Ninth Prince, whose attendant breaks Jin’an’s hand. Jin’an recognizes that he cannot afford to offend the prince but suspects his intervention indicates an improper connection with Liu Wan 14 16. Xia Siheng later helps expose Rourou’s affair, protects Liu Wan and her children, and privately reveals his biological paternity of Wanwan to Jin’an. He eventually marries Liu Wan 118 119 197 294.
• Marquis Jing’an / Xie Jian — Father, whose violent and domineering conduct shapes Jin’an’s childhood and dependence on Madam Li and Old Madam Xie. He beats Jin’an during their jail reunion and condemns him for failing to reclaim Wanwan discreetly 129 156. Jin’an later resists his abuse of Madam Li and refuses his demand to kill Rourou for a Southern Mei appointment 158 167.
• Xie Jinzhao — Younger brother who repeatedly restrains Jin’an’s attacks on Rourou and urges him to preserve the relationship for Huaishan’s sake 108 118. Their bond collapses when Jinzhao accuses him of evading responsibility and reveals Rourou’s involvement with other Xie brothers. Jin’an attacks and formally expels him 186 187.
• Xie Jinqian — Younger brother, raised as a concubine-born Xie son but later revealed as Southern Yue’s Second Imperial Prince. Jin’an denies him a share of the household property, prompting their public separation 187. Jinqian later saves Jin’an from execution by exchanging his own merits, finds him destitute, and arranges his encounter with Yan and subsequent search for treatment. Jin’an remains resentful and suspects his assistance is partly mockery or manipulation 195 202 203.
• Xu Xinbo — Rourou’s elder brother and Jin’an’s companion during the mountain disaster and Anyuan assignment 17 28. Jin’an trusts him to encourage reconciliation, unaware for a time that he is also Rourou’s lover. Xinbo additionally becomes Madam Li’s lover and secretly arranges the harmful scheme involving Zixing’s instructor 72 109 117 164. Jin’an wounds him rather than killing Rourou when pressured by the Eldest Princess 167.
• Zhong Youyan — Jinqiu’s wife and later household manager. She disputes Jin’an’s assumptions that Liu Wan remains responsible for the residence and helps arrange his release from jail through the prisoner-substitution scheme 61 150. Her disclosure of missing poison contributes to the confrontation over Old Madam Xie’s death 158.
• Eldest Princess — Foreign royal whose supposed relationship to Rourou offers Jin’an the prospect of restored status. He initially mistakes her actions for help to the Xie family, but she later exposes Rourou’s deception, challenges Jin’an’s conduct, and pressures him to kill Rourou for a foreign position 100 101 167.
• Yan / Miss Yan — Woman initially introduced through Jinqian’s arrangement to preserve Jin’an’s bloodline, later his wife. She openly mocks his sexual performance and subsequently fears that his rehabilitation work will endanger their unborn child 202 203 294. Her limited affection gives way to grief after he dies protecting her and their infant daughter 537.
• Daughter with Yan — His later biological child, initially assumed by him to be an unborn son. Her safety gives him a reason to seek atonement, and he ultimately sacrifices his life to protect her 296 333 537.
• Xiaomi — Recovering addict who tells Jin’an that Southern Yue remnants forced him into renewed powder use. Jin’an reports the perpetrators and gives the resulting reward to Xiaomi’s family for his recovery, leading to the retaliatory attack that kills Jin’an 536 537.

Notable Quotes

“Grandmother, what are we to do about Huai Shan’s parentage? He is my son. How can he be a concubine-born child?” 3

“A married woman obeys her husband. Who said you could go without my consent?” 14

“Not even if I die! I’ll take my wife down with me! Liu Wan, you can only die with me!” 104

“Father, if you lay a hand on my mother again, don’t blame me for refusing to acknowledge you from now on!” 158

“I cannot extinguish the last shred of my conscience. I cannot!” 167

“If you hand over His Majesty today, this demon will rule the Great Xia Dynasty from now on! Without our deity and sovereign, who will shelter us?” 333

“Let them go!” 537