Ju Ying

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Yingju; introduces herself as Ju Ying (居盈) while traveling 5 176.
Alias(es)	Princess Yongchang — her official imperial title; Princess Qingcheng — the name associated with her celebrated beauty 175 176.
Species/Race	Human; remains mortal despite her Daoist studies 455.
Gender	Female 5.
Affiliation	Imperial family; Shangqing Palace as a lay disciple; Four Seas Hall during her residence on Mount Luofu 104 175.
Occupation/Role	Imperial princess, Daoist student, and a central figure in restoring and stabilizing the court after Marquis Changyi’s rebellion 453 455.
Status	Alive; remains in Luoyang to support the unsettled realm and accepts Xing Yan’s promise to return in three years 455.
First Appearance	Rice Fragrance Tavern in Raozhou, traveling with “Uncle Cheng” 5.

Power Progression

Her documented progression concerns instruction and practice rather than named cultivation realms.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Shangqing lay disciple	104	A retrospective account explains that Ling Cheng cured her grave childhood illness, after which she entered Shangqing to study qi refinement and spiritual clarity.
Regular training in nourishing qi and clearing the spirit	105 106	Studies under Ling Zhen Zi at Purple Cloud Hall on Yuxiu Peak while living at Four Seas Hall.
Instruction expanded to demon-subduing arts	119	Persuades Ling Zhen to teach arts for slaying monsters and vanquishing demons, hoping to help Xing Yan in danger. Permission to learn is established, not mastery.
Continued magical practice in the palace	181	States that she has practiced diligently throughout the preceding year. The extent of her combat ability remains untested in the passage.
New cultivation path through Dust Along the Immortal Road	455	Receives Xing Yan’s completed book and accepts his instruction. He affirms her cultivation potential and promises further teaching; no attainment of immortality is documented.

Background / History

Childhood and concealed travels

Yingju is the emperor’s youngest daughter. Frail from childhood, she suffered a serious illness that Ling Cheng of Shangqing Palace cured. He advised frequent travel among mountains and waters to nurture her body and spirit. Her journeys were protected by trusted escorts, including Ling Cheng under the guise of “Uncle Cheng,” General Zong Han, and Zong Yueru 5 44 104 178.

During her first journey with Xing Yan, she claims to be the daughter of a Luoyang merchant. Her father requires her to conceal her appearance as a condition of traveling. When her true beauty is revealed, Xing Yan accepts this explanation without recognizing how unusual such a convincing disguise would be for a merchant’s household 7 13.

Meeting Xing Yan in Raozhou

Ju Ying meets Zhang Xing Yan while he works at Rice Fragrance Tavern. She and Uncle Cheng hire him as a local guide, enjoying his stories, poetry, and imaginative descriptions of Raozhou. She names the evening view “Horseshoe Mountain at Sunset” and visits his family’s home 5 6.

Their friendship develops at Poyang Lake. Ju Ying insists that Xing Yan share her meal at Lakeview Tower rather than exclude himself because he cannot afford it. Angered by constable Chen Kui’s abuse of a medicine-selling family, she helps Xing Yan investigate Chen and Magistrate Lü Chonghuang and takes part in their scheme against the corrupt officials 7 8 9 11 302.

The revelation of her undisguised appearance disrupts the outing. Uncle Zong presses her to return home, leaving Xing Yan with memories of their brief companionship and the jade pendant she gave him 13 14 24 104.

Life at Four Seas Hall

Ju Ying reunites with Xing Yan at Shangqing Palace, bringing the bamboo cup he carved for her at Poyang Lake. He shows that he has kept her pendant. With the sect leaders’ approval, she takes up residence at Four Seas Hall on Thousand Birds Cliff 104.

She quickly befriends Kou Xueyi and Qiong Rong, teaches them reading and writing, and brings back Daoist texts unavailable for ordinary disciples to borrow. Alongside her own studies, she joins the hall’s informal household life and its celebrations of wine, poetry, and music 105 107 110.

Zhao Wuchen abducts her to Black Pine Valley, intending to assault her as revenge against Xing Yan. Ju Ying tricks him into activating her Protective Jade Belt, whose defenses severely injure his hand. Xing Yan reaches her, but the pair are subsequently trapped in the Ice-Snow Spirit-Locking Formation. Qiong Rong and Xueyi arrive with Nangong Qiuyu, and Qiong Rong’s fiery blades break them free 120 121 122.

The ordeal deepens their affection. Ju Ying remains at the hall until she is summoned home for New Year. She delays her departure as long as possible, then sings through tears as Xing Yan plays farewell music 122.

Royal identity and declaration of love

After more than a year apart, Ju Ying and Xing Yan meet again at Watercloud Manor. Her respectful treatment of him surprises Bai Shijun and Xu Zifang, who know she is a princess. Bai credits her with helping secure Xing Yan’s appointment as Central Court Grand Master; Xing Yan mistakenly concludes that she must be Princess Qingcheng’s attendant 174.

Ju Ying finally reveals that she herself is Princess Qingcheng, officially Princess Yongchang. Xing Yan initially responds with frightened formality, but she uses a mock royal command to restore their familiar rapport. She also reveals that Sunset Cottage was built to resemble his childhood home and passes along silver and reassurance from his parents 175 176.

After escaping Watercloud Manor, the two speak privately beside a stream. Xing Yan admits that he likes her despite the apparent impossibility of overcoming their difference in rank. Ju Ying reciprocates, making their affection explicit 181 183.

Changyi’s coup and rescue

Marquis Changyi murders the emperor, imprisons the imperial children, and prepares to seize the throne. Bai Shijun’s infatuation with Ju Ying persuades Changyi to spare her temporarily. She uses her increasing freedom of movement to contact former Feathered Forest Army commander Yan Chuyi, who gathers loyal soldiers and rescues her from confinement 448.

Their flight is costly. On Muliang Plain, Li Keding’s cavalry corners Ju Ying and her exhausted escort. Facing capture and sexual violence, she prepares to hang herself rather than submit. A familiar flute melody interrupts her attempt: Xing Yan has arrived after receiving her urgent message through Qinghe 446 447.

Xing Yan embraces her, allowing her suppressed grief to break through before she faints from exhaustion. He defeats the pursuing cavalry and shelters the loyalists in Frost City. This encounter becomes the opening battle of her restoration campaign, later called the “Two-Day Battle” 447.

Court responsibilities and the three-year promise

After the rebellion is suppressed, Ju Ying issues commands from the imperial Bright Hall with the help of loyal elder ministers. Her composure, decisiveness, and political judgment impress Xing Yan, who realizes that he had underestimated the familiar, playful girl he knew 453.

She supports him while he writes Dust Along the Immortal Road, arranging a study in the palace gardens and tending to his food, rest, and comfort. Her songs eventually reveal sorrow over their approaching separation 454.

Ju Ying cannot readily leave Luoyang: the young sovereign and uncertain ministers depend on her, and she is the sole surviving descendant among the late emperor’s children and his brothers’ children. She also fears the growing gulf between her mortal life and Xing Yan’s immortal abilities. At their farewell, he gives her his book, urges her to cultivate, and promises to return in three years and take her to Mount Luofu regardless of her progress 455.

Appearance

• True appearance: Celebrated throughout the realm for exceptional beauty; descriptions emphasize a clear, delicate complexion, graceful figure, and radiance compared to blossoms and lotus flowers 5 104.
• Travel disguise: Initially conceals her looks at her father’s insistence. After her beauty is exposed, she uses a bamboo hat to avoid attracting attention ashore 13 14.
• Clothing and ornaments: Appears in white silk robes during the Black Pine Valley ordeal, splendid attire at Shangqing Palace, and an elegant court gown when revealing her identity 104 121 175.
• Palace presentation: Later wears a high palace coiffure and jade ornaments whose chime announces her approach 453 454.

Personality

Ju Ying is curious, playful, and emotionally responsive. She enjoys Xing Yan’s storytelling, teases him about romance, and is moved to tears by a tragic tale. Her consideration extends beyond polite manners: she finishes unpleasant amaranth-seed porridge as an expression of remorse and refuses to let poverty prevent Xing Yan from sharing lunch 5 7.

Her gentleness does not exclude courage or calculation. She becomes indignant at Chen Kui’s abuses, seeks offensive magic so she can support Xing Yan, and maintains enough composure during her abduction to manipulate Zhao Wuchen into triggering her defenses 8 119 120.

She values familiar affection over royal deference and does not take pride in her beauty. Even when distressed by separation, she refuses to keep Xing Yan beside her through guilt and recognizes his obligations to the Plum Spirit. Her private vulnerability contrasts with the endurance and clear judgment she displays in government 176 453 455.

Abilities & Skills

Daoist cultivation

• Studies methods of nourishing qi and clearing the spirit under Ling Zhen Zi 105.
• Seeks demon-subduing instruction specifically to help Xing Yan face danger 119.
• Continues practicing after returning to the palace 181.
• Her potential is affirmed by Xing Yan, but she still regards herself as mortal at their final documented farewell 455.

Scholarship and teaching

• Teaches Xueyi and Qiong Rong reading and writing 105.
• Identifies Yao Guang as the star at the tip of the Northern Dipper’s handle, helping Xing Yan interpret his sword’s inscription 106.
• Obtains restricted Daoist texts for the household’s study; this access is associated with her family’s connections to Shangqing masters 105.

Poetry and music

• Exchanges familiar lines of poetry with Xing Yan during their reunion 174.
• Recognizes the emotional messages in his farewell flute music and sings along 122.
• Plays the zither and sings poems expressing longing for seclusion beyond worldly concerns 454.

Political administration

• Directs the court’s post-rebellion reorganization with loyal elder ministers 453.
• Resolves tangled affairs through measured conduct, decisiveness, and clear judgment 453.
• Her continuing importance to the unstable realm prevents her immediate withdrawal to Mount Luofu 455.

Deception and defensive judgment

• Feigns fear and then compliance to lure Zhao Wuchen into activating her belt 120.
• Uses an incantation to dismiss the belt’s protective pillars after Xing Yan arrives 120.
• These defenses belong to an artifact; the encounter does not establish comparable offensive power of her own 120.

Equipment / Items

• Protective Jade Belt — Releases pillars of defensive light when Zhao Wuchen presses its jade clasp, blasting away half his palm. Ju Ying can dismiss the barriers by incantation 120.
• Dust Repelling Jade Pendant — A precious imperial heirloom she gives Xing Yan. It later absorbs fire poison from numerous wounded soldiers without visible change. She refuses his offer to return it 98 183.
• Bamboo cup — Carved by Xing Yan at Poyang Lake and preserved as a keepsake; she brings it to their Shangqing reunion as proof of their shared past 104.
• Dust Along the Immortal Road — Xing Yan’s book of cultivation insights, given to her at their farewell as the basis for further study 454 455.

Relationships

• Zhang Xing Yan — Traveling companion, Daoist teacher, and beloved. Their affection develops through shared adventures, separations, and mutual confession; he ultimately promises a future together through cultivation 5 174 183 455.
• The emperor — Her father. He restricts her travels for her safety; his murder leaves her involved in the struggle to restore the imperial court 13 448 453.
• Ling Chengzi / Uncle Cheng — Childhood healer and trusted escort, acquainted with her family and entrusted with protecting her during travel 44 104.
• Ling Zhen Zi — Teacher of qi-nourishing and spirit-clearing methods; agrees to expand her instruction after repeated requests 105 119.
• Kou Xueyi — Close companion and pupil in literacy; Ju Ying later sympathizes with her suffering and recognizes Xing Yan’s responsibility toward her 105 455.
• Qiong Rong — Affectionate younger companion who calls her “Sister Ju Ying” and helps rescue her from the ice formation 105 122.
• Lingyi — Fellow guest at the Mid-Autumn gathering. They immediately appreciate one another’s beauty, and Ju Ying perceptively recognizes Lingyi’s feelings for Xing Yan 109 110.
• Zong Yueru — Childhood confidante and bodyguard. Yueru tries to discourage Xing Yan’s romantic hopes because of Ju Ying’s royal status 178.
• Yan Chuyi — Loyal former guard commander who frees her from confinement and protects her during flight 446 448.
• Bai Shijun — Childhood acquaintance and persistent admirer. His attachment later helps keep her alive during Changyi’s coup, but does not earn her affection 176 177 448.
• Xing Yan’s parents — She visits them and carries their silver and messages to him, but is too embarrassed to relay their request that he consider marriage 176.

Notable Quotes

“Mm, although my real name is Yingju, you can still call me Ju Ying if that feels more natural.” 176

“Xing Yan, keep the jade.”
“Yingju now feels that the dust and smoke of this mortal world have their own charm.” 183

“Yes! Yingju will faithfully follow the Hall Master’s teachings!” 455