Old Madam

Biodata

Background / History

Shortly after Liu Wan married into the Xie family, the Old Madam fell into a river. Liu Wan rescued her but developed a lingering illness, contributing to her five-year struggle to conceive. The Old Madam later used that difficulty to argue that Liu Wan needed a boy to secure her position 2.

The household also owed its recovery to Liu Wan’s marriage. She brought a gold death-exemption token that helped the imprisoned marquis obtain a chance to prove his innocence through military service. The Old Madam understood that Liu Wan’s management and family connections were essential to the residence’s survival 9.

Mama Qing later reveals that the Old Madam herself proposed Xie Jin’an’s marriage to Liu Wan. She knew about Liu Wan’s Death-Exemption Token and her aunt’s connections to the imperial family, particularly the Ninth Prince, Xia Siheng, and deliberately sought to use those advantages to rescue the Xie household 126.

Before the family moved to the capital, the Old Madam and Marquis Jing’an learned of a jade pendant left by Xu Rourou’s mother. They believed it connected Rourou to Nanmei’s imperial family and supported her in anticipation of gaining powerful backing. Rourou later recognizes that bringing her and Huai Shan into the residence also bound her future to the Xie family 79 80.

Although she mistreats Liu Wan, the Old Madam protects Madam Li against Marquis Jing’an’s neglect and violence. Li’s natal family lacks the influence to support her, and she comes to regard the Old Madam as her own mother and principal source of advice 157.

Personality

The Old Madam openly favors sons over daughters. She calls a girl useless for securing Liu Wan’s standing, dismisses special arrangements for Wanwan as unnecessary, and insists on naming the baby “Zhaodi”—a wish for a younger brother 2 4 5.

Her treatment of Liu Wan shifts according to the household’s needs. She disparages her fertility and challenges her independence, yet becomes affectionate and pleading when she needs Liu Wan to resolve the imperial-gift scandal. Even after her punishment, she urges Xie Jin’an to prevent Liu Wan from gaining complete control 10 16.

Her support for Xu Rourou is similarly conditional. She rewards Rourou for bearing a male descendant but condemns her unmarried motherhood, publicly treats her as a wet nurse, and slaps her when the household’s secrets risk exposure 4 5 9.

The Old Madam’s religious practices coexist with vindictiveness. She prays for protection from the Thunder God after the family’s misfortunes, but later uses her Buddhist shrine to wish illness, humiliation, abandonment, and bankruptcy upon Liu Wan 23 35.

Her concern for the Xie family’s survival repeatedly takes the form of exploiting women’s money, connections, and presumed lineage. She expects Zhong Youyan to cover a major financial deficit because of her wealthy background, and pressures Liu Wan to rescue Xu Rourou by invoking both international conflict and the safety of Liu Wan’s children 63 80.

She is willing to conceal evidence through violence. After using Mama Qing’s nephew to abduct the drugged Liu Wan, she has his tongue cut out and his tendons destroyed. Later, fearing exposure of the household’s secrets, she declares that Liu Wan and Wanwan must both die 93 127.

Her final remorse emerges only after Xu Rourou gains power and turns against her. Helpless under Rourou’s abuse, she recalls Liu Wan’s former kindness, regrets having coveted Rourou’s supposed status, and is devastated to learn that Liu Wan has divorced Xie Jin’an 131.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Failed Infant Switch and Adoption Scheme

After Liu Wan prevents servants from exchanging her newborn daughter for a boy, the Old Madam takes charge of the boy and proposes that Liu Wan raise him as her own. She presents him as a pitiable child whose parents cannot be found, although he is Xie Jin’an and Xu Rourou’s son, Huai Shan 1 2 3.

Liu Wan refuses and suggests involving the authorities. The Old Madam inadvertently reveals her knowledge of the arrangement by confidently insisting that the child will not resent the Marquis’s Residence. When Liu Wan instead proposes that Xie Jin’an take concubines to raise the baby, the Old Madam reluctantly accepts 2.

She brings Xu Rourou into the household as a wet nurse. Although she tells Xie Jin’an to pay attention to Liu Wan, she also acknowledges that the residence cannot do without its mistress 3.

Favoritism and the Full-Month Banquet

The Old Madam rejects Liu Wan’s chosen name for her daughter and orders that she be called “Zhaodi.” She gives Xu Rourou her treasured jade bracelet, a symbol of the household’s future mistress, while sending Wanwan a silver longevity lock bearing the unwanted name 4.

She subsequently announces that she has adopted Huai Shan and invites relatives and clan elders to Charity Hall. Liu Wan redirects the gathering into a celebration of her brother Liu Ye’s promotion and impending marriage to the Fifth Princess, preventing the Old Madam from using it solely to establish the boy’s standing 5.

At Wanwan’s full-month banquet, Liu Wan asks the Fifth Princess to put the Old Madam’s silver lock on the baby. Its poor quality and “Bring a younger brother” inscription expose the Old Madam’s favoritism. She attempts to explain it away as a servant’s mistake 6.

Nanny Li supports that explanation by claiming the lock was intended for a distant relative, although Pan Chun points out that it was delivered to Liu Wan a month earlier. The Fifth Princess tactfully continues the ceremony while emphasizing that her own gifts bear Wanwan’s proper name, deepening the Old Madam’s embarrassment 6.

Plot Against the Fifth Princess

The Old Madam arranges for a highborn woman to fall into the water so Xie Jin’an can rescue her and force a marriage. The intended target is the Fifth Princess, whose position would strengthen the Xie household while displacing Liu Wan 7 12.

The scheme fails. Liu Wan pulls the princess away from danger, and Xie Zi Mu secretly arranges for Xu Rourou to be pushed into the pond instead. Xie Jin’an rescues his mistress rather than the princess 7 12.

The Old Madam’s situation worsens when Huai Shan is brought before the guests wearing the Late Emperor’s Jade Bead Strand. The Fifth Princess questions why an allegedly adopted child possesses an imperial heirloom reserved for the proper heir or household mistress and orders the Old Madam to explain herself to the emperor 8.

Lady Liu also confronts her over the contrast between Huai Shan’s imperial heirloom and Wanwan’s silver lock. She warns that the Minister’s Residence will oppose any attempt to implicate or mistreat Liu Wan 8.

Afterward, the Old Madam slaps Xu Rourou and blames her for publicly displaying the imperial gift. When Rourou admits that she overheard talk of someone falling into the water, the Old Madam realizes that an outsider may know about the princess scheme and have deliberately disrupted it 9.

Imperial Investigation and Lifelong Confinement

Seeking to avert punishment, the Old Madam again asks Liu Wan to adopt Huai Shan as a legitimate son. When pressed about his origins, she falsely claims that he is Xie Jinqiu’s child and that his birth mother is dead. Liu Wan refuses to endorse the deception and tells her to plead guilty at court 10.

At the palace, the Old Madam claims that the Jade Bead Strand was merely lent to a sickly family descendant. The emperor instead confronts her with accusations concerning the Fifth Princess, supported by two surviving maids whom she had believed Mama Qing had disposed of 12 13.

Liu Wan refuses to plead for her. The Old Madam then takes responsibility for the scheme and claims Xie Jin’an knew nothing about it. In recognition of the absent marquis and the late Old Marquis’s service, the emperor spares her life but confines her to Charity Hall until death; Xie Jin’an forfeits one year’s salary 13.

Attempts to Retain Influence

Despite losing formal authority, the Old Madam advises Xie Jin’an to bring Madam Li back from Golden Mountain Temple. She expects Liu Wan’s mother-in-law to restore control over her and protect the concealed relationship between Xie Jin’an, Xu Rourou, and Huai Shan 16.

The younger generation continues to obey her within the residence. When Xie Jinzhao threatens Qing Sheng and Qing Da, she rebukes him—notably warning that a scandal could destroy Xie Jinqiu’s engagement to the wealthy Zhong family. She also criticizes Madam Li for removing Liu Wan from household management, knowing that the residence survives on Liu Wan’s dowry 32.

Her proposed settlement of Qing Sheng’s case is coercive: Xie Jinzhao must apologize and offer money, while Qing Sheng must either accept compensation and remain silent or face drowning in a pig cage 33.

Madam Li later identifies the Old Madam’s insistence that Liu Wan must not have sole authority as the reason she abandoned her comparatively happy life at Golden Mountain Temple and returned to the residence 164.

Reflected Curse and Stroke

When Liu Wan refuses to help salvage Xie Jinqiu’s marriage arrangement, the Old Madam summons her. Liu Wan rejects the summons, citing the emperor’s confinement order and her own Third-Rank Imperial Lady status 35.

The Old Madam retaliates by cursing Liu Wan in her shrine. Wanwan senses the resulting baleful energy and reflects it back through her thoughts. The Old Madam suffers a stroke, loses consciousness, and soils herself 35.

Her attendants leave after Xie Jinzhao threatens to dock their wages. Neither he nor Xie Jinqiu is willing to nurse her personally, and other servants refuse the task for fear of punishment. A physician treats her with precious medicines; she awakens that evening but cannot get up 35.

The false account of Huai Shan’s parentage also damages the Zhong engagement. Madam Zhong reports that the Old Madam has requested more time for Xie Jinqiu to investigate the rumors. Amid the continuing crisis, the Old Madam laments that the family has gone bankrupt 36.

Financial Crisis and Pressure on Zhong Youyan

By the time Madam Li reports the household’s ruined accounts, the Old Madam is so gravely ill that she cannot leave her bed. She condemns Li for seizing financial control despite knowing little about the residence’s circumstances, noting that even she does not dare openly oppose Liu Wan 63.

The residence faces a deficit of 200,000 taels connected to the Golden Radiance Jewelry Shop, along with the danger of exposing a secret that could destroy the family. The Old Madam decides that Zhong Youyan must provide the money because her wealthy merchant background was the reason for bringing her into the household 63.

Together with Madam Li, she offers Youyan authority over the household finances and greater standing in exchange for resolving the deficit. When Youyan invokes Xie Jin’an’s restriction against her involvement in household affairs, the elders offer to remove restrictions and allow her to decide how to handle Xie Jinzhao and Li Duoduo. Youyan nevertheless refuses to commit immediately and says she must consult her natal family 63.

Xu Rourou’s Presumed Royal Origins

During the crisis surrounding Xu Rourou’s father, the Old Madam insists that both Rourou and her father must survive. An informant overhears her urging Xie Jin’an to give Rourou the Death-Exemption Token to save her father, whose Token of Identity may establish Rourou’s origins. She also mentions the impending arrival of a historian from Nanmei 72.

After Rourou is imprisoned, the Old Madam summons Liu Wan and initially attempts to describe the theft of the Death-Exemption Token as merely pressuring Liu Wan to hand it over. Liu Wan rejects that account. The Old Madam then reveals the supposed imperial connection and demands that Liu Wan use her natal family’s judicial and official contacts to save Rourou 80.

She warns that Rourou’s execution could trigger conflict between Great Xia and Nanmei, threatening the Xie household, Xie Zimu, Xie Zixing, Qing Da’s family, and Wanwan. When Liu Wan asks for proof, she cites the jade pendant seen in Border City and the marquis’s familiarity with Nanmei’s imperial possessions. She promises Liu Wan anything she wants in exchange for help 80.

Liu Wan privately intends to secure the Old Madam’s promise rather than actually rescue Rourou herself. When Xu Xinbo returns without finding the pendant and Xie Jin’an’s contacts refuse assistance, the Old Madam again begs Liu Wan for help. Liu Wan agrees to consider a solution while reminding the elders of their promised conditions 81 82.

After Liu Wan reports that Rourou is alive and recuperating at the Nanmei embassy, the Old Madam sends Madam Li to investigate discreetly and also calls for Xie Jin’an. Later, she wrongly interprets Rourou’s carriage outing with Commandery Princess Yan’er as evidence that the Eldest Princess is about to recognize her, renewing her plans to elevate Rourou 89 94.

Murder Plot Against Liu Wan and Wanwan

Fearing that Liu Wan knows too much about the household’s crimes, the Old Madam declares that neither Liu Wan nor Wanwan can be allowed to live. Madam Li initially worries that their deaths will expose Xie Jin’an to accusations of mistreating his wife, but the Old Madam insists that the family must take the risk and conceal the murders 93.

Madam Li agrees, motivated in part by fear that Wanwan will harm Huai Shan. She obtains medicine from Xie Jinqiu’s storeroom with the intention of poisoning Liu Wan. Before she can act, Wanwan’s talisman explodes in Li’s room, destroys the roof, and reduces the medicine to ashes 93.

Creeping Crawl Talisman and Loss of the Marquisate

Wanwan subsequently sneaks to Charity Hall with Pan Chun and selects her self-made Creeping Crawl Talisman. To keep its victim from crawling into Liu Wan’s room, she sets a destination, choosing the emperor as the recipient of what she considers a cheering gift. She folds the talisman into a paper figure and activates it when the Old Madam’s bedroom door opens 97.

Under the talisman’s influence, the Old Madam crawls through Charity Hall, laughing uncontrollably and terrifying the servants. That night, she enters the emperor’s chambers through a window and chases him. Guards subdue her with a blow and ice water, weakening the talisman’s effect 98.

The frightened emperor initially considers a harsher punishment against the household. At Eunuch Yu’s urging, he spares its property but strips the family of its noble title. The following day, the Old Madam is sent to the Nanmei embassy as a supposedly supernatural Great Xia “gift” 98.

Exposure of Liu Wan’s Drugging and Abduction

When Xie Jin’an asks how the Old Madam secured his release after he assaulted the Duke Who Guards the Nation’s heir, she conceals the real explanation. She falsely claims that the duke repaid an old family favor 82.

Mama Qing later tells Liu Wan that, after the Ninth Prince refused to meet her, the Old Madam arranged to drug her dinner with a sedative and an aphrodisiac. An assassin then took her to Xia Siheng’s residence under cover of night. The Old Madam counted on his unwillingness to let Liu Wan die and used his resulting involvement to secure Xie Jin’an’s release 126 127.

Liu Wan appeared with Xie Jin’an the next day, and he continued to believe that Wanwan was his daughter. Mama Qing’s confession instead establishes that Wanwan is Xia Siheng’s daughter. The assassin was Mama Qing’s nephew; the Old Madam subsequently had his tongue cut out and his tendons destroyed, breaking Mama Qing’s loyalty to her 127.

Fearing that the Old Madam could expose the truth and destroy both her and Wanwan’s reputations, Liu Wan decides that she must die. She writes a deliberately crooked, ink-splattered note and gives Mama Qing instructions for a “kill with a borrowed blade” scheme to be enacted after the Old Madam’s return 127.

Return, Abuse, and Regret

The Eldest Princess returns the Old Madam to the Xie household in a burlap sack. She is badly starved, paralyzed after a stroke, and unable to speak coherently. On seeing Xu Rourou, she struggles to point at her and tries to reveal what she knows about Rourou’s origins 130 131.

Marquis Jing’an misreads Rourou’s performance of filial concern and appoints her both caregiver and household mistress, with Zhong Youyan expected to assist. Once alone with the Old Madam, Rourou orders extra medicine added to her tonics to prevent her from exposing the false royal identity 131.

Rourou strikes the Old Madam, forces scalding medicine down her throat, and restricts visitors under the pretext of preventing illness from spreading. The Old Madam realizes that her favored beneficiary has become her tormentor. She calls for Liu Wan, recalls her former kindness, and bitterly regrets helping Rourou oppose her. Learning that Liu Wan and Xie Jin’an have divorced devastates her further 131.

A serving woman later brings Rourou the crooked note supposedly discovered beside the Old Madam’s hand. The woman is Mama Qing’s close friend, and Yinliu reports that the note is meant to expose Rourou to the marquis. Believing that the Old Madam has written it herself, Rourou decides she must die and obtains the Medicine Room key from Zhong Youyan 149.

Mama Qing and her friend also steal their indentures from the helpless Old Madam rather than continue waiting to buy their freedom. Their departure removes another remnant of her control over the servants 149.

Death and Household Aftermath

Madam Li reports that the Old Madam has suddenly collapsed and is expected to die within a day or two. Xu Rourou, fearing exposure through the supposed note, visits Charity Hall and abuses the dying woman. She admits that she drugged her the previous night and then presses a pillow over her face 156.

Yinliu enters, followed by Marquis Jing’an and Madam Li, who witness Rourou with the pillow. Rourou claims that she was merely removing it, but the Old Madam has stopped breathing. Yinliu’s apparent defense turns into an accusation that Rourou poisoned and repeatedly abused her 157.

Madam Li examines the body and finds extensive bruises, blood-red scars, and fresh swelling. Grieving for the woman who had protected her throughout her marriage, she turns against Rourou. Marquis Jing’an orders the physician and Zhong Youyan summoned 157.

Zhong Youyan reveals that Rourou borrowed the Medicine Storeroom key and that a packet of poison is missing. The Residence Physician confirms that the Old Madam died from poisoning. Nevertheless, the household’s hopes of benefiting from Rourou’s presumed royal identity interrupt demands for punishment. The marquis agrees to seek the Eldest Princess’s acknowledgment of Rourou before deciding her fate, moves his mother’s body to a side room, and postpones the funeral 158.

Yinliu subsequently confirms that she has been helping Zhong Youyan undermine Rourou in exchange for money and freedom. Bringing the serving woman and the supposed note before Rourou was intended to provoke her into attacking the Old Madam 159.

Posthumous Marriage-Conspiracy Revelations

When Zhong clan elders later pressure Zhong Youyan to return to the Xie household as a widow, she accuses the clan leader of having an improper relationship with the Old Madam. She says that he arranged her marriage to Xie Jinqiu to save the Xie family’s failing businesses while advancing the Zhong clan’s status 194.

Youyan also accuses the clan leader of helping ruin her reputation to force the marriage. Jin Yu reports that his investigation and Mama Qing’s testimony have uncovered evidence, and Youyan identifies Mama Qing and the clan leader’s divorced wife as prospective witnesses. These revelations extend the account of the Old Madam’s financial and marriage schemes beyond her death 194.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Cane — Used while pacing and asserting her decisions; she drops it in alarm when she realizes the princess scheme may have been exposed 4 9.
• Jade bracelet — An imperial-bestowed heirloom symbolizing the household’s future mistress. She gives it to Xu Rourou to reassure her and recognize Huai Shan’s importance 4.
• Late Emperor’s Jade Bead Strand — Found on Huai Shan during the banquet, triggering imperial scrutiny. The Old Madam later claims she only lent it to improve his health 8 10.
• Silver longevity lock — Her gift to Wanwan, engraved “Zhaodi” or “Bring a younger brother”; becomes evidence of her son preference before the banquet guests 4 6.
• Gold-and-jade neck ring — Offered to Wanwan while seeking Liu Wan’s assistance. Wanwan rejects and breaks it 10.
• Xu family jade pendant / Token of Identity — A pendant she and the marquis previously saw in Border City and interpreted as proof of Xu Rourou’s connection to Nanmei’s imperial family. This belief underlies their efforts to protect and elevate Rourou 79 80.
• Sedative and aphrodisiac — Used to drug Liu Wan before arranging her abduction to the Ninth Prince’s residence 127.
• Servants’ indentures — Documents through which she retains control over Mama Qing and her close friend; the two women eventually steal them while she is paralyzed and being abused 112 149.
• Supposed handwritten note — A crooked, ink-splattered message presented as her attempt to expose Rourou. Liu Wan prepares such a note for her borrowed-blade scheme, and its later delivery provokes Rourou’s lethal response 127 149 159.

Relationships

• Marquis Jing’an / Xie Jian — Her son. His military service helps persuade the emperor to spare her life. He is shocked by her return in a sack, entrusts her care to Rourou, and reacts violently to her death, but later postpones her funeral while pursuing the family’s hoped-for political advantage 13 32 130 131 157 158 164.
• Xie Jin’an — Her grandson and principal beneficiary of her schemes. She assumes responsibility at court to shield him, then advises him on restraining Liu Wan. She also orchestrates his marriage to Liu Wan and exploits Liu Wan to secure his release from imprisonment, concealing the truth even when he questions her 13 16 82 126 127.
• Liu Wan — Her granddaughter-in-law and former rescuer. She exploits Liu Wan’s labor, dowry, and connections while trying to make her raise Huai Shan. Her role in Liu Wan’s drugging and abduction ultimately prompts Liu Wan to plan her death through a borrowed blade. The Old Madam belatedly regrets mistreating her after Liu Wan’s divorce and Rourou’s rise 2 9 10 32 127 131.
• Xia Wanwan — Treated as her great-granddaughter but slighted in favor of Huai Shan; later revealed to be Xia Siheng’s daughter rather than Xie Jin’an’s. Wanwan reflects her curse back onto her and subsequently uses the Creeping Crawl Talisman on her. The Old Madam also conspires with Madam Li to kill her and Liu Wan 6 35 93 97 98 127.
• Xie Huaishan / Huai Shan — Her favored great-grandson, publicly presented as an adopted child. She repeatedly seeks legitimate-son status for him and remains concerned about his injuries during the household’s later crises 3 5 10 82 93.
• Xu Rourou — Xie Jin’an’s mistress and Huai Shan’s mother. The Old Madam sponsors her entry as a wet nurse but punishes her when exposure threatens the family. Her support also rests on Rourou’s presumed Nanmei royal lineage. After learning that the claim is false, she attempts to expose her; Rourou retaliates through forced medication, abuse, poisoning, and attempted smothering 3 9 80 131 156 157 158.
• Madam Li — Her daughter-in-law. She brings Li back as a counterweight to Liu Wan, then criticizes her financial judgment. Despite their shared mistreatment of Liu Wan, the Old Madam has protected Li against her abusive husband, and Li mourns her as a mother after discovering Rourou’s abuse 16 32 63 93 157.
• Xie Jinzhao and Xie Jinqiu — Her grandsons. They still defer to her after her confinement, but show little willingness to care for her following her stroke. She seeks to protect Jinqiu’s wealthy marriage alliance, and her death later becomes another crisis in the household’s pursuit of money and political backing 32 35 63 158.
• Mama Qing — Her attendant, involved in handling witnesses connected to the failed princess scheme; later becomes a coerced informant. Mama Qing also recruits her nephew for Liu Wan’s abduction, but breaks with the Old Madam after the nephew is mutilated. She reveals the secret to Liu Wan, helps enact the borrowed-blade scheme, and steals her indenture with her close friend 9 13 36 126 127 149.
• Fifth Princess Xia Zhao — Target of her staged-rescue marriage plot and the person who exposes the misuse of the imperial heirloom 8 12 13.
• Xia Siheng / Ninth Prince — Exploited through the Old Madam’s plan to send the drugged Liu Wan to his residence and secure Xie Jin’an’s release. His later assistance to Mama Qing helps bring the concealed crime to Liu Wan’s attention 82 126 127.
• Zhong Youyan — Her granddaughter-in-law, valued as a source of wealth to stabilize the residence. The Old Madam and Madam Li pressure her to cover the jewelry-shop deficit. Youyan later assists in exposing Rourou’s role in the Old Madam’s death and publicly reveals allegations concerning the Old Madam’s relationship with the Zhong clan leader 63 158 159 194.
• Eldest Princess of Nanmei — The hoped-for source of royal backing through Rourou’s supposed ancestry. The Old Madam is sent to her embassy as an unwilling diplomatic “gift” and later returned to the Xie household starved and paralyzed 80 94 98 130.
• Yinliu — Rourou’s attendant and a covert ally of Zhong Youyan. She helps present the supposed note that provokes Rourou against the Old Madam, then exposes the poisoning and abuse after witnessing the pillow incident 149 157 159.
• Zhong clan leader — Posthumously accused by Zhong Youyan of having an improper relationship with the Old Madam and using Youyan’s marriage to rescue the Xie family’s finances. Jin Yu cites investigative evidence and Mama Qing’s testimony in support of the exposed conspiracy 194.

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