Dongfang Liren

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Dongfang Liren’s birth was indirectly made possible by Qiu Tianhe’s abduction of Xuanyuan Shuye, a woman selected to become an imperial consort. The resulting vacancy brought another woman into the palace, where she won the emperor’s affection and gave birth to Liren and her elder sister, the future Empress. This connection gives Liren grounds to seek leniency for Qiu Tianhe despite his imprisonment 20 44.

Liren and the Empress both studied under Perfected Person Xuanji. From childhood, Liren aspired to combine the strengths of a hundred martial schools, but encountered traditions restricting true techniques to a school’s own disciples. Her tower houses renowned weapons and martial manuals accumulated across successive dynasties 20 30.

As Prince Jing, she oversees the Black Bureau and reviews intelligence from across the country. Her duties include monitoring martial organizations, investigating dangerous newcomers to the capital, and responding to assassins employed by the Green Bandits 20 22.

Appearance

• Height and build: Very tall for a woman, reaching roughly Ye Jingtang’s eye level; long-limbed, slender-waisted, and full-busted 20.
• Face: Sharply defined, heroic features, pale skin, willow-leaf brows, a high straight nose, and vivid scarlet lips 14 20.
• Usual clothing: A fitted, masculine-style silver-and-white python robe, jade crown, and gold-inlaid jade belt with an emerald dragon pendant 20.
• Hair: Long enough to spill over her shoulders when Blood Bodhi’s hidden weapon shatters her jade hairpin 47 49.
• Bearing: Frequently stands or walks with her hands behind her back, projecting the authority of a prince 14 20 46.

Personality

Liren is proud, ambitious, and deeply invested in martial arts. She values composure, loyalty, and honesty: Ye Jingtang’s calm conduct wins her approval, and his willingness to share techniques strengthens her interest in him. Although conscious of her rank, she diligently practices under his instruction and is willing to learn from someone beneath her station 20 31 45.

Her confidence is repeatedly unsettled by Ye Jingtang’s extraordinary progress. She becomes irritated when his crude lightness skill outpaces hers, but still acknowledges his exceptional foundation and gives useful advice. After seeing him employ the Tianhe Blade in combat, she privately recognizes how badly she underestimated him 46 50.

She is considerate toward the lonely Empress Dowager, arranging stays outside the palace and keeping her company. Romantic teasing and sexual subjects, however, readily embarrass her. Her imperious manner also softens into open concern when Ye Jingtang is injured protecting her 5 31 44 49 50.

Abilities & Skills

Lightness Skill

Liren learned a first-rate lightness skill from the White-Haired Truth-Listener 46.

• Can land lightly on a willow branch and skim across a river’s surface 46.
• Emphasizes quiet, unobtrusive movement rather than speed alone 46.
• Cannot catch Ye Jingtang once he begins accelerating across the water, despite his visibly unrefined technique 46.

Saber Arts

Liren possesses martial knowledge and a strong memory, but her Tianhe Blade lesson exposes a gap between reproducing movements and understanding their application 45.

• Memorizes precise physical details through repeated demonstrations 45.
• Fails to infer the technique’s qi circulation from its movements 45.
• Offers to teach Ye Jingtang the Dragon-Slaying Order if he can establish a clear training method for the Tianhe Blade, even without mastering it himself 46.
• Has never experienced real combat when Blood Bodhi attacks; she recognizes that fighting him herself would endanger her protection 47.

Intelligence and Command

Liren directs investigations and uses the Black Bureau’s information to assess threats 3 22.

• Orders inquiries into Ye Jingtang’s background and tests of his blade technique 3 14.
• Orders surveillance of recent arrivals from Liangzhou after learning Blood Bodhi may be working with the Green Bandits 22.
• Identifies Blood Bodhi from his distinctive projectile and warns Ye Jingtang about his ranged weapons, Dragon-Subduing Staff, and preference for upper-body attacks 47.
• Coordinates guards, officials, and searches after the assassination attempt 50.

Cultural Arts and Swimming

• Accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting 45.
• Usually paints everyday scenes visible from Jade Resonance Tower; her portrait of Ye Jingtang captures both his expression and Niao Niao’s in fine detail 30.
• An excellent swimmer, demonstrated in Jade Pool Manor’s hot spring 44.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Green Garment: A treasured saber with a jade-inlaid scabbard, forged for her by the old patriarch of the Watercloud Sword Pool. Liren claims its craftsmanship exceeds that of the martial world’s ten famous sabers; Ye Jingtang privately considers it beautiful but impractical 45.
• Dagger: Used to cut through a bookshop’s brass lock while seeking shelter from Blood Bodhi 47.
• Dragon-Mingling Spear replica: Kept in her collection. She states that its materials surpass those of the centuries-old original, which now serves as a palace decoration 20.
• Palace-Calming Pill: A precious medicine she gives Ye Jingtang after the attack. Madam Wang later judges that his constitution would have allowed him to recover without it 49 50.
• Jade hairpin: Shattered by a deflected hidden weapon during Blood Bodhi’s ambush 47.

Relationships

• Ye Jingtang — Black Bureau recruit, martial instructor, and protector. Their exchange of techniques develops alongside her growing admiration and embarrassment over his exceptional ability; no formal romance is established in these chapters 20 45 48 50.
• The Empress — Elder sister and fellow student of Perfected Person Xuanji. Liren discusses state affairs with her and initially considers submitting Ye Jingtang’s portrait for her approval 3 5 30 44.
• Empress Dowager — Imperial mother in name, not birth mother. Liren offers companionship and outings, while the Dowager teases her about marriage and the handsome man in her paintings 5 30 44.
• White-Haired Truth-Listener — Attendant, adviser, lightness-skill teacher, and protector who previously intercepted assassins before Liren could see them 3 22 46 50.
• Perfected Person Xuanji — Teacher shared with the Empress 30.
• Wang Chihu — Eldest cousin and Black Bureau officer; his assistance to Ye Jingtang includes lending the Horned Gentleman as bait 22.
• Qiu Tianhe — Imprisoned martial artist whose Tianhe Blade she wishes to learn. She offers to petition for his life if Ye Jingtang serves her successfully 20.
• Niao Niao — Ye Jingtang’s bird, which she renames Snow Consort because she finds “Freeloading King” vulgar 45.
• Blood Bodhi — Assassin who exploits her unguarded excursion to attempt her murder 47.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Recruiting Ye Jingtang

• Observes his encounter with Wang Chihu and suspects a possible connection between his slash, the Eight-Step Mad Blade, and the stolen Dragon-Mingling Diagram 3.
• Has She Long and Shang Jianli test him, then grants him a manor token after his performance. She decides not to send his portrait to the Empress, ostensibly to preserve his martial prospects 14.
• Negotiates a martial exchange and makes the Wingless Owl investigation his opportunity to prove himself 20.
• After his success, lets him retain Lu Jieyun’s lightness-skill insights and awards him the Dragon Pool Tourmaline under the Black Bureau’s rules for unclaimed stolen property 31.

Lessons at Jade Pool Manor

• Attempts to learn the Tianhe Blade from Ye Jingtang but asks him to obtain clearer instructions from Qiu Tianhe when she cannot grasp its essentials 45.
• Competes with him in lightness skills, expecting to demonstrate her superiority, only to be overtaken by his rapidly improving river-running technique 46.

Blood Bodhi’s Assassination Attempt

• Leaving the manor without notifying her guards creates an opening for Blood Bodhi. Ye Jingtang shields her from hidden weapons and forces the assassin to retreat 47 48 49.
• Examines Ye Jingtang’s injuries, gives him medicine, and arranges medical attention 49 50.
• Reprimands the Black Bureau for failing to detect Blood Bodhi, but imposes no punishment because she recognizes her own carelessness contributed to the attack 50.

Notable Quotes

“Since childhood, I have wished to gather the strengths of a hundred schools within myself.” 20

“The key to a Lightness Skill is ‘lightness.’ Only speed without a sound or trace is true speed...” 46

Trivia

• “Dongfang Dum-Dum” reflects Ye Jingtang’s private reaction to her difficulty learning the Tianhe Blade, rather than an official title. The narration still describes her memorization speed as evidence of considerable talent 45.
• The recurring “fat-headed dragon” joke refers to the python embroidery stretched across the chest of her fitted clothing 20 31.