Crown Prince
Villain of the Screen: My Ruthless Journey Begins in Joy of Life
Biodata
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Crown Prince |
| Original Name | 太子 |
| Type | Imperial title |
| Known Holder | Li Chengqian 20 35 |
| Affiliation | Qing imperial family; Eastern Palace 37 170 |
| Role | Heir Apparent and legally recognized successor to Emperor Qing 20 178 |
| Seat | Eastern Palace 63 170 |
| Succession Outcome | Li Chengqian’s accession is interrupted, and Zhou Cheng ultimately takes the throne 181 183 184 198 199 |
| First Mention | During Noble Consort Li’s discussion of the princes’ education 2 |
Position and Succession
- Legal precedence: The Crown Prince possesses the legitimacy of rites and law, giving Li Chengqian a recognized claim superior to those of competing princes 20.
- Separate numbering: Emperor Qing deliberately excludes the Heir Apparent from the numbered princes. He later explains that this arrangement reflected his intention never to replace Chengqian 174.
- Public obligations: The holder’s conduct is treated as a matter of imperial dignity. Zhou Cheng exploits this expectation to secure Li Chengqian’s silence after assaulting the Second Prince 37.
- Dependence on the emperor: Legal standing does not provide political independence. Emperor Qing restricts the Crown Prince’s associations, controls investigations into his conduct, and can confine him to the Eastern Palace 153 170.
- Popular recognition: After Emperor Qing’s reported death, ordinary people largely favor the Crown Prince because they regard his succession as the natural order 180.
Emperor Qing’s Intended Successor
Emperor Qing privately teaches Li Chengqian Overlord True Energy and cultivates rival princes to sharpen his abilities. The Second Prince, Zhou Cheng, and eventually Fan Xian serve as sources of pressure rather than straightforward replacements for the heir 94 155 171.
This intention is not clear to Li Chengqian. At a family meal, Emperor Qing’s reference to whichever son might inherit leaves him trembling with anxiety. Even after incriminating evidence emerges, however, Emperor Qing refuses to depose him and privately declares that only genuine rebellion would change his determination 123 171.
Political Support
| Supporter or Connection | Relationship to the Crown Prince |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Rites and Censorate | Identified by Fan Jian as supporters of the Crown Prince early in Fan Xian’s time in the Capital 20. |
| Li Yunrui | An influential supporter and intermediary in his smuggling and political dealings with Northern Qi 20 64 170. |
| Empress | His mother. He seeks her help in overcoming obstacles to an alliance with Fan Xian and later in securing Qin Family backing 137 138 178. |
| Empress Dowager | A steadfast supporter who values his resemblance to Emperor Qing and his relatively uncomplicated maternal connections. She abandons him when Zhou Cheng controls the palace, then turns back toward him during the confrontation with Qin Heng 176 184 186. |
| Lin Gong | A publicly recognized member of his faction. The Crown Prince orders him out of the Capital after his involvement in the attack on Fan Xian becomes dangerous 56 59. |
| Guo Baokun | A faction member whose beating brings the Crown Prince into direct conflict with Fan Xian at the Capital Prefecture 35. |
| Gong Dian | A former private connection cultivated through gifts of paintings and calligraphy. Emperor Qing forces Gong Dian to return the gifts and sever the association 153. |
| Qin Family | Supports his accession against Zhou Cheng. Its stated justification is lawful succession; its private calculation is that Li Chengqian would be easier to control 184 185. |
The faction loses ground as Zhou Cheng rises. After the Second Prince’s supporters scatter, substantially more join Zhou Cheng than the Crown Prince, prompting Emperor Qing to consider ways to rebalance their influence 153.
History
Conflict with Fan Xian
Fan Jian initially considers the Crown Prince the likeliest prince to move against Fan Xian, citing his faction and the interests surrounding control of the Imperial Treasury. Fan Xian’s suspicions deepen when Xu Yunzhang’s file reveals close connections to the Eastern Palace 20 25.
During Fan Xian’s trial for beating Guo Baokun, the Crown Prince rejects Si Lili’s supporting testimony and orders her tortured. She refuses to retract her account, and he has Teng Zijing brought into court 35.
Lin Gong’s death subsequently exposes the Crown Prince to accusations that he colluded with Northern Qi and silenced an associate. The murder allegation is false, but his foreign dealings are real: he has conducted smuggling and political transactions through Li Yunrui for years 64.
Emperor Qing briefly sentences him to three days’ confinement. Zhou Cheng proposes sending him to supervise the Northern Qi campaign, ostensibly to clear his name. The Second Prince opposes the deployment, fearing the military prestige it might bring, and Emperor Qing rejects it while waiving the confinement 67.
Efforts to Recruit Fan Xian
After learning that Fan Xian is Emperor Qing’s son, Li Chengqian treats him as a potential ally rather than a succession rival: so long as Fan Xian retains the surname Fan, he believes the throne is safe from him. He presses the Empress to tolerate cooperation and promises to kill Fan Xian after securing the throne 137 138.
He publicly welcomes Fan Xian home from Northern Qi, holds his hand through the procession, and conspicuously displays their closeness. Fan Xian’s decision to visit Zhou Cheng immediately afterward leaves him alarmed about a possible alliance between them 139 140.
The Crown Prince later offers assistance with the investigation into the Second Prince’s smuggling. Fan Xian shares the Shijia Town lead with him; Zhou Cheng warns that this disclosure could enable the Crown Prince to massacre witnesses and blame his rival. This is presented as a warning, not confirmation that the Crown Prince carries out such an order 143.
Hanging Temple Incident
At the Hanging Temple, Zhou Cheng pushes Li Chengqian toward a cliffside drop. His instinctive grip leaves deep handprints in the railing, exposing the seventh-rank cultivation he has concealed even from his mother 154 155.
Li Chengqian later challenges Zhou Cheng to repeat the act before witnesses. Zhou Cheng disrupts his true qi, pushes him outward, and then pulls him back, appearing to the onlookers to have saved him. The resulting confrontation ends with the Crown Prince apologizing while the imperial relatives praise Zhou Cheng 157 158.
During the ensuing assassination attempt, Zhou Cheng drags him into combat with an eighth-rank attacker and uses him as a shield. The assassin unexpectedly withdraws his blade, allowing Li Chengqian’s palm strike to kill him. That hesitation becomes a conspicuous source of suspicion 161 162 170.
Investigation and Confinement
The Overwatch Council traces the Northern Qi assassins to the Crown Prince’s connections, uncovers his private meeting with Zhuang Mohan, and captures an intermediary. Alarmed, Li Chengqian attempts to silence everyone involved in his dealings 169 170.
Confronted privately, he admits his transactions with Northern Qi but denies ordering the assassination. Emperor Qing confines him to the Eastern Palace without formally deposing him 170.
Zhou Cheng subsequently admits that the Hanging Temple attack was designed to frame the Crown Prince rather than kill Emperor Qing. His wider purpose is to give the emperor a pretext to travel to Great Eastern Mountain, where the Grandmasters can be drawn into a confrontation 174 195.
Interrupted Accession
When Emperor Qing is reported dead, Li Chengqian emphasizes that he remains the undeposed Heir Apparent. He urges the Empress to secure Qin Heng’s support, recognizing that his lawful title is not enough without armed backing 178.
His accession ceremony stops just before he sits on the throne. Shu Wu, his nominal tutor and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, announces the existence of an imperial final edict entrusted to Fan Xian 181 182.
Li Chengqian rejects the claim and orders Shu Wu and Hu Xian imprisoned. More than a hundred officials rise in opposition after Zhou Cheng stands, and the Crown Prince ultimately postpones the coronation rather than risk a violent confrontation 182 183.
Zhou Cheng then claims the throne himself. The palace guards ignore Li Chengqian’s orders, and the Empress Dowager tells him to accept defeat. Qin Heng’s intervention briefly restores his hopes, but the Qin uprising is crushed and Zhou Cheng’s accession succeeds 183 184 185 186 198 199.
Li Chengqian’s Martial Training
| Stage / Realm / Level | Chapter | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Seventh Rank | 155 | Reached through Emperor Qing’s private instruction in Overlord True Energy from childhood. Revealed when Li Chengqian instinctively channels true qi into the Hanging Temple railing; no earlier attained rank is specified. |
- Concealed reserve: Li Chengqian regards his cultivation as a final trump card and maintains a public reputation for knowing no martial arts 155.
- Limited combat experience: His cultivation exceeds his practical experience; Emperor Qing also acknowledges his lack of exposure to desperate combat 155 162.
- Conditional victory over an eighth-rank opponent: He kills the Hanging Temple assassin only after the attacker unexpectedly redirects his blade and withdraws his strength 161.