Xie Huizhou

Biodata

Background / History

Transmigration and neglected childhood

Xie Huizhou died suddenly after staying up late reading a novel and was reborn inside it as the Ninth Prince. Initially forgetting his previous life, he grew up expecting to become a wealthy, idle gentleman. The emperor declared him a cursed child destined to harm his family and had him raised outside the main palace, where he lived in neglect and partial confinement 1 3.

During a succession conflict five years before the main story, Xie Huizhou struck his head and recovered his memories. He recognized himself as a cannon-fodder character who would eventually die at Zhang Lanhe’s hands. When Zhang approached him during the fighting, Xie Huizhou mistakenly thought he was being attacked and wounded him with a saber; Zhang was actually killing a soldier about to ambush him 1 2.

His closest childhood companions were Li Xu and several other young nobles uninterested in official careers. Their shared enthusiasm for games, illustrated books, eating, and wandering earned them reputations as wastrels, though they generally avoided serious wrongdoing 125.

The drugged wine and Spring Hunt

Xie Huizhou unknowingly disrupted the novel’s intended romance by drinking drugged wine in Zhou Yanqing’s place. This led to an intimate encounter with Zhang Lanhe. Afraid of being killed or confined, he escaped by swimming away, only to discover an irremovable silver snake mark on his waist 2 3.

He concealed himself while recuperating and ordered trusted confidants to spread misleading rumors. At the Spring Hunt, he exchanged identities with Shadow Guard Seven, allowing him to avoid Xie Tingchun’s assassination scheme while secretly ambushing nobles who had insulted him 4 12 14 15.

Zhang Lanhe found him in disguise and recognized him as the person from their earlier encounter. Xie Huizhou claimed to belong to the Eighth Prince to redirect Zhang’s anger, then withdrew his own guards before Zhang’s pursuit brought him into conflict with the Eighth Prince’s men 18 19.

Tutelage and the discovery of his poison

The emperor appointed Zhang Lanhe as Xie Huizhou’s tutor. Although Xie Huizhou resisted, Zhang insisted on making him capable of surviving the political hostility surrounding them. During their journey to the National Preceptor’s Residence, Zhang guided his hands in shooting Wei Hu, a bully whose tiger preyed on people 21 23 30.

While approaching him under the concealed identity of a snake demon, Zhang discovered that Xie Huizhou had been severely poisoned for years. He transferred some of the poison into himself through a kiss and warned Xie Huizhou not to trust those around him 40.

The discovery changed Xie Huizhou’s understanding of his lifelong frailty. The emperor’s refusal to allow physicians to treat him became especially suspicious, though the supplied account does not establish the poisoner’s identity conclusively 3 45.

Falling in love with Zhang Lanhe

Xie Huizhou gradually came to regard Zhang as his savior, mentor, and reliable protector, while remaining wary of the intrusive snake demon who concealed his face. The snake mark’s reactions and the familiarity of the demon’s body eventually led him to suspect that both were the same person 59 60.

After Zhang revealed his inhuman nature, they confessed their love. Xie Huizhou proposed eloping and disclosed that he had prepared properties, hidden wealth, and overseas assets for their escape. He had even considered ordering his Shadow Guards to abduct Zhang if necessary. Zhang wanted to leave with him but feared that he could never escape Capital City 73 76.

Border journey and Shared Life and Death

As the capital became more dangerous, Xie Huizhou traveled toward the Borderlands. He witnessed displacement and banditry, investigated the unrest, and entered the Nine Dragons Stronghold with Mu Jiu to negotiate with Xiao Chen. There he learned that Xiao Chen was Fang Yuanke’s former subordinate and a survivor of the Marquis of Anping Tragedy 83 85 89 90.

When Wuzi continued trying to seize him, Xie Huizhou fought back. Zhang joined the confrontation, but Xie Huizhou insisted that Wuzi be captured alive because he remained useful to the people at the border 91 92 93.

An old Taoist exposed Xie Huizhou’s otherworldly origin and warned that he was fated to die. Zhang accepted his secret without demanding an explanation. With Xie Huizhou’s consent, they formed Shared Life and Death, permanently linking their fates and allowing them to feel one another’s emotions and heartbeat 96 97.

Freeing the Dragon Vein

Xie Huizhou returned to Capital City despite the danger, using a body double and entering through the waterways to evade Xie Wangqiu’s preparations. At the Painting Appreciation Banquet, he concealed Zhang as a small snake and prepared to locate and free his imprisoned true body 98 106 109.

Their bond guided him to the Underground Palace, where Zhang’s enormous white-snake body lay wounded and chained. Xie Huizhou began cutting the restraints with a sword capable of breaking the suppressing formation. Xie Wangqiu intervened and overpowered him, but Xie Huizhou escaped by throwing painting pigment into his face while pretending it was “Bone-Dissolving Powder.” He then severed the remaining chains and shattered the Dragon-Trapping Formation 109 111 112.

Fang Yuanke subsequently arrived as the rebel leader. Later-discovered correspondence revealed that he and Xie Huizhou were biological brothers who had secretly cooperated to overthrow the former dynasty, and that Fang helped stage Xie Huizhou’s death 114 130.

Farewell and later life

At the graves of the former Marquis of Anping and his wife, Xie Huizhou mourned the parents he had never known and asked whether they would have loved him. Fang Yuanke assured him that he had been wanted and was not responsible for their deaths. Before leaving, Xie Huizhou attended a farewell banquet with Li Xu and their friends, toasting survival, health, freedom, and his loved ones 118.

After attending Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing’s wedding, he asked Zhang Lanhe to marry him. They prepared and sent invitations, although flirtation repeatedly interrupted the work. In later extras, they traveled together to gather inspiration while Xie Huizhou continued producing bestselling paintings 121 127.

Appearance

Xie Huizhou is renowned for an elegant, ethereal beauty that frequently contradicts his reputation as a dissolute, sickly prince 4 11.

• Face: Refined features, phoenix eyes, and brows and eyes said to closely resemble Consort Yu’s 4 11.
• Build: A slender neck and an apparently fragile constitution; his appearance often makes others underestimate his fighting ability 11 83 111.
• Bearing: Quiet and detached when still, with an air compared to a landscape painting or a scholar wandering among mountains and rivers 4.
• Distinguishing mark: A silver snake pattern at his waist that cannot be rubbed away and reacts to Zhang Lanhe’s presence 3 60.
• Notable clothing: Moon-white robes beneath a white fox-fur cloak at the Qionglin Banquet; red robes patterned with golden clouds during a later palace gathering 44 72.

Personality

Xie Huizhou values comfort and personal freedom more than rank or political ambition. He prepares escape routes and independent sources of income rather than trusting his princely status to protect him. He also rejects arranged marriage as unfair to both parties and initially has little interest in establishing a household 7 21 23 76.

Beneath his restrained appearance, he is mischievous, theatrical, and quick to retaliate. He prefers covert revenge when open confrontation would be dangerous, enjoys watching his enemies’ schemes collapse, and willingly uses deception when straightforward fighting is disadvantageous 12 15 19 112.

His self-preservation does not exclude kindness or loyalty. Helping Zhou Yanqing draws him into the central conflict, and he repeatedly prioritizes his guards’ survival over success. Once committed to Zhang Lanhe, he is determined to share his burdens and free him rather than escape alone 3 14 19 60 111.

Childhood rejection leaves him vulnerable to the belief that he is unwanted or brings misfortune. He worries that losing his princely identity might cost him Zhang’s affection and later struggles with guilt over his parents’ deaths 49 118.

Abilities & Skills

Painting and Illustrated Storytelling

Xie Huizhou is a gifted painter whose ability to learn from minimal instruction astonishes the court painter Old Master Zhang 7.

• Produces ink paintings, erotic art, and illustrated stories under the name Spring Studio Hermit 13 21 131.
• Uses Zhang Lanhe as inspiration for the snake-demon character Azure Lord, inadvertently approaching the truth of Zhang’s identity 26.
• Draws on intimate knowledge of court figures, making his work both popular and politically dangerous 110 131.
• His calligraphy is much weaker than his painting; Zhang writes most of their wedding invitations and teaches him handwriting 121.

Martial Arts and Lightness Skill

He secretly trains after experiencing the earlier succession conflict, both to strengthen his frail body and improve his chances of survival 9 16.

• Evades Zhang Lanhe’s arrows through speed and agility and exchanges blows with him despite becoming exhausted 16 17.
• Learns killing techniques directly from Zhang and applies them readily 93.
• Fights evenly with the battle-hardened Wuzi 92.
• Uses lightness skill to outpace Xie Wangqiu while freeing Zhang’s true body 112.
• Limit: Illness and limited stamina remain serious weaknesses; Xie Wangqiu overpowers him when he pauses for breath 111.

Swimming and Route Knowledge

Xie Huizhou is an accomplished swimmer with detailed knowledge of Capital City’s lakes and connecting waterways 2 98.

• Escapes Zhang after their first intimate encounter by jumping into a lake 2.
• Bypasses guarded city entrances through water routes leading toward the National Preceptor’s Residence 98.

Planning and Deception

He combines knowledge of the original novel with information gathered by his own people, while recognizing that the book leaves major political activities unexplained 29 53.

• Uses rumors, disguises, and body doubles to hide his movements 4 14 98.
• Exploits rivalries among the princes, including encouraging Xie Shiqing to compete with Xie Wangqiu 65.
• Prepares properties, concealed wealth, overseas assets, and alternative livelihoods for an eventual escape 7 23 76.
• Bluffs Xie Wangqiu with harmless painting pigment disguised as a dangerous poison 112.

Cooking and Agricultural Preparation

• Makes chili-based food that wins Zhang Lanhe’s approval 23.
• Sends people overseas to obtain chili peppers and other crops, including high-yield grain seeds cultivated in experimental fields 23.
• Supplies innovations later recognized as far ahead of their time 130.

Shared Life and Death

Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe voluntarily establish an irreversible bond linking their fates 97.

• Allows them to feel each other’s emotions and heartbeat 97.
• Opens a connection through which Xie Huizhou can call to Zhang’s imprisoned true body and locate it underground 109.
• Does not make him physically equivalent to Zhang; he remains human and can still be exhausted or overpowered 111.

Equipment / Items

• Formation-breaking sword — Retrieved with Taoist Priest Lu; cuts through the chains imprisoning Zhang Lanhe and breaks the Dragon-Trapping Formation 96 109 112.
• Little White Snake — Zhang’s silver-snake avatar, given to Xie Huizhou as an apparent pet. Often coils around his wrist and protects him from threats 34 35 49.
• Luminous Pearl — A palm-sized pearl used to illuminate the Underground Palace 111.
• Painting-pigment pouch — Used as an improvised distraction against Xie Wangqiu 112.
• Shadow Guard disguise — Enables him to exchange places with a stand-in during the Spring Hunt 14.
• Porcelain bottle of grave soil — Fang Yuanke collects earth from their parents’ graves for him before his departure 118.

Relationships

• Zhang Lanhe — Initially a feared villain associated with his destined death; later his tutor, protector, lover, and Shared Life and Death partner. Xie Huizhou ultimately frees his chained true body 1 23 97 112.
• Fang Yuanke — His biological elder brother. Though initially wary of Fang’s hidden ambitions, Xie Huizhou becomes his secret ally; Fang helps him fake his death 53 56 130.
• Zhou Yanqing — The original novel’s protagonist and Xie Huizhou’s grateful beneficiary. Xie Huizhou enjoys following his romance with Fang Yuanke 2 3 44 121.
• Li Xu — Childhood best friend, amateur medical caretaker, and bookshop contact for his artwork. Consistently supports him despite his unpopularity 3 65 125 127.
• Shadow Guards — Loyal retainers left to him by Consort Yu. He discovers them accidentally after breaking a cup, their summoning signal, and repeatedly instructs them to flee rather than die needlessly 9 14 19.
• The emperor — Raises him as a despised son and denies him proper medical attention. The Fourth Prince reveals that the emperor has long doubted his paternity 1 3 49.
• Xie Tingchun — The Eighth Prince and a persistent enemy who attempts to have him assassinated before personally trying to kill him 11 45.
• Xie Wangqiu — The Fourth Prince and later emperor; attempts to dominate or kill him and prevent Zhang Lanhe’s release 107 110 111.
• Wuzi — A Northern Border prince whose repeated attempts to claim him as a consort lead to open combat 57 80 92.
• Former Marquis of Anping and his wife — His biological parents, whose absence and deaths remain a source of grief and misplaced guilt 118 130.

Legacy

• Historical record: Later generations initially believe that Xie Huizhou and Fang Yuanke were enemies and that Xie Huizhou died after defeat. Deciphered letters expose their brotherhood, cooperation, and the staged death 130.
• Artistic reputation: His surviving paintings become museum-held national treasures, and he remains an exceptionally revered master thousands of years later 131.
• Research value: His erotic paintings preserve evidence about contemporary culture and court conspiracies, remaining objects of study long after his lifetime 131.

Alternate Timeline: The Whole Family Reunited

• Xie Huizhou finds himself in a world where his parents are alive and he is raised as the cherished younger son of the Anping Marquis household. His mother, Shen Yuxiang, has recurring nightmares resembling his suffering in the main timeline 134.
• Without needing to conceal his martial ability, he wins the Spring Hunt by killing a tiger with multiple arrows and sends it home to make his mother a fur blanket 135.
• He willingly leaves the hunt with Zhang Lanhe. Rumors of abduction provoke his father’s protest at court, forcing Xie Huizhou to publicly affirm that he went voluntarily 135.
• The emperor grants their marriage, and Zhang agrees to marry into the Anping household. They remain devoted for decades and celebrate later family reunions together 135 136.

Notable Quotes

“When faced with difficulties, I’d rather confront them and overcome them.” 30

“Who cares if it’s despicable, as long as it works? I’m just a painter of Spring Palace Paintings. I’ve never been a gentleman.” 112

“Even the ruler of heaven himself couldn’t stop me from freeing the Imperial Preceptor today! That includes you!” 111