Ji Yang

Biodata

Background / History

Service to Prince Huai

Ji Yang has served beside Chu Huaiyin for over a decade by his first appearance. He is among the few people permitted to enter Prince Huai’s study, where he tidies the desk and checks for written instructions. His familiarity with his master does not mean he can always decipher his intentions 5.

His first investigation concerns “Zhang Zhou,” the false name Meng Zhou gave Chu Huaiyin. After checking all eleven people in the capital with that name, Ji Yang finds no match. Chu Huaiyin ends the investigation, but Ji Yang discovers a thick stack of paper covered with an idiom meaning “to deceive and falsify” and realizes that the name itself advertised the deception 5.

Ji Yang also helps carry out Chu Huaiyin’s promise to watch over the Jiang Clan. When Jiang Xin gambles away the family residence, Ji Yang immediately sends someone to redeem it before accompanying his master to the scene 5.

Protecting Meng Zhou

During Meng Huaihan’s drugging scheme, Ji Yang arranges for Imperial Physician Wang to attend Meng Zhou. After an ill-judged offer to find women for Chu Huaiyin, he recognizes his master’s intentions, carries the physician away, and moves the hidden guards farther from the room 10.

He subsequently relays orders for Ying Jiu to protect Meng Zhou more closely and prevent him from taking risks. His responsibilities also extend to delivering food and arranging the preparation of Chu Huaiyin’s prized Snow Spot fish for Meng Zhou 11 13 17.

Mount Chongling Operation

On Chu Huaiyin’s orders, Ji Yang leads troops to Mount Chongling. The operation uncovers seven excavated caves containing weapons, rebels, and villagers forced into labor. The villagers are rescued and sent home, undermining the legend that supernatural “ghost soldiers” had taken them 19 20 22.

When conspirators use a storm and supernatural tricks to try to rescue the prisoners, Ji Yang remembers Meng Zhou’s instructions, chooses a single route, and fights his way through. He returns to the capital with carts of prisoners and confiscated goods, leaving half his troops behind to secure the operation’s gains 22.

Qianyang Lake and Meng Zhou’s Presumed Death

When Meng Zhou disappears from a clothing shop, Ji Yang warns that a conspicuous search could alert the second prince’s faction and expose Chu Huaiyin’s strength prematurely. He nevertheless follows orders to guard all four city gates under the pretext of searching for weapons, and is relieved when Meng Zhou returns 22 23.

After the Qianyang Lake explosion, Ji Yang investigates the release of the Liu Family’s crocodiles. He reports that a traitor assisted the release and that the dead shipowner’s supposed younger brother resembled the fugitive Liu Residence adviser 24.

Now newly appointed commander of the Imperial Guard, Ji Yang personally inspects a mutilated body believed to be Meng Zhou’s before reporting its discovery to Chu Huaiyin. He urges his master not to view the remains and conveys the conclusion that the victim drowned 25.

Service Under Emperor Qining

After Chu Huaiyin ascends the throne, Ji Yang raises the danger that enemies might exploit Jiang Yi’s grief over Meng Zhou to turn the general against the emperor. Chu Huaiyin responds by affirming his trust in Jiang Yi 26.

While arranging security at the eastern gate for Jiang Yi’s return, Ji Yang encounters Meng Zhou disguised as Guan Jiasheng. He initially cries out Meng Zhou’s name, but the visitor’s different voice and manner leave him uncertain. He agrees to report “Guan Jiasheng’s” arrival to the emperor 28 29.

His later duties include questioning Meng Fushan in prison and accompanying another search for Meng Zhou. By this period, his official appointment prevents him from following Chu Huaiyin throughout the day as he once did 39 42 48.

Personality

Ji Yang is loyal without being entirely unquestioning. He voices practical objections when Chu Huaiyin’s concern for Meng Zhou threatens a political operation, and he raises uncomfortable questions about the risks surrounding Jiang Yi’s military authority 22 26. Chu Huaiyin permits him to dispense with elaborate formalities and speak directly when no outsiders are present 25.

He is also openly curious about his master’s romantic life. His delighted expression after Chu Huaiyin and Meng Zhou spend the night together earns him a threat of reassignment to drilling troops at Liang Mountain. Even after learning to recognize Meng Zhou’s importance, he continues to be astonished by Chu Huaiyin’s indulgence 11 15 23.

His humor can be cutting. While enforcing Meng Huaihan and Wang Dafu’s punishment, he enjoys their reaction to the confiscation of their property and deliberately reminds Wang Dafu that Meng Zhou saved him from poisoning—while suggesting he should distrust his own wife 25.

Abilities & Skills

Military Command

Ji Yang commands troops in field operations and urban security assignments 20 22.

• Leads the encirclement of Mount Chongling and the rescue of its captive laborers 22.
• Transports prisoners and seized goods while leaving a garrison behind 22.
• Deploys soldiers to all four capital gates during the search for Meng Zhou 22 23.

Investigation and Interrogation

He conducts inquiries for Chu Huaiyin and reports evidence connecting apparently separate incidents 5 24.

• Checks every capital resident named Zhang Zhou during his initial investigation 5.
• Investigates the crocodile release, an internal traitor, and the shipowner’s connection to the fugitive adviser 24.
• Presses Meng Fushan to disclose what he knows, warning that the evidence has made him a disposable pawn 42.

Combat and Mobility

Ji Yang can fight through armed resistance and move quickly across obstacles 5 22 23.

• Enters Chu Huaiyin’s study by vaulting through a window 5.
• Fights his way along a chosen route during the attempted rescue of the Chongling rebels 22.
• Leaps down from a teahouse to intercept Shen Baiqing 23.
• Carries a sword while patrolling the eastern gate 28.

Relationships

• Chu Huaiyin — Master and sovereign. More than a decade of service gives Ji Yang unusual access to him, including permission to speak without ceremonial preliminaries in private 5 25.
• Meng Zhou — Protected associate and the frequent subject of Ji Yang’s errands. Meng Zhou addresses him as “Brother Ji”; Ji Yang gradually recognizes that his master’s treatment of him goes far beyond ordinary patronage 15 17 23.
• Ying Jiu — Shadow guard to whom Ji Yang relays Chu Huaiyin’s instructions concerning Meng Zhou’s safety 11.
• Jiang Yi — General whose return Ji Yang helps prepare. Ji Yang admires his endurance and character, while worrying that others might exploit his family loyalties 26 28.

Trivia

• Despite sharing the surname Ji, he explicitly has no connection to Hanlin Academician Ji’s household. The Four Books and Five Classics make him sleepy 23.
• After watching Chu Huaiyin soothe Meng Zhou with a thumb ring, he privately resolves to buy a solid-gold one to coax his own future wife 23.
• On learning that Chu Huaiyin and Meng Zhou have grown closer, he imagines paying for the capital’s longest string of firecrackers at the Matchmaker God’s temple 39.