Shen Yuxi

Biodata

Background / History

Before transmigrating, Shen Yuxi worked a nine-to-five office job on Blue Star. After securing a three-million deal despite pressure from her boss and coworkers, she expected a substantial bonus and commission. Instead, she opened her eyes in another world as the favored youngest daughter of the Minister of Rites 1 26.

Her new family provided the comfortable life she had wanted: affectionate parents and siblings, financial security, and little need to work. Her family had heard her thoughts and her conversations with the system since her birth. Fearing that outsiders would regard her as a monster, they restricted her movements outside the residence 1.

A few days before her first court session, she slipped out and saved the injured Fourth Prince, Mo Xuanchen. Emperor Xuanzhao subsequently appointed her to court. She viewed the appointment as an unwelcome return to working life and only agreed to attend after the system promised her a steady supply of court gossip 1 3.

Appearance

Shen Yuxi has a radiant, attractive face and large, expressive eyes. At Duke Dingguo’s banquet, even young ladies irritated by the system’s praise privately acknowledged her beauty 2 43.

• Hair: Ink-black 28.
• Eyes: Large and watery, making it difficult for her family to remain angry with her 2.
• Skin: Described as porcelain-white in the steam of her bath 28.
• Clothing: Her first official robes were custom-made by the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau on Emperor Xuanzhao’s orders 1.

Personality

Shen Yuxi prizes leisure, good food, sleep, and financial security over prestige. She would rather receive money than a promotion, and she enjoys watching her savings grow even without spending them. She explicitly connects this attachment to money with the insecurity of her previous working life 1 23 26.

Her outward obedience often contrasts with her irreverent inner commentary. She complains about imperial authority, mocks officials, trades insults with the system, and treats court disputes as entertainment. She is also mischievous: as a child, she mixed sand into her father’s porridge after he refused her candy 2 7 12.

Despite her reluctance to work, she takes suffering seriously. She opposes unnecessary warfare because soldiers and civilians have families, condemns the late emperor’s destruction of an infected village, and purchases medicine to help Qingzhou. Her concern for Wanxue likewise leads her to seek evidence of betrayal rather than act on gossip alone 12 16 31.

She is affectionate toward her family but unforgiving toward deliberate attacks. When Shangguan Niao attempts to destroy her reputation, Shen Yuxi turns the scheme against her without expressing guilt 31 46.

Abilities & Skills

Omniscient Encyclopedia System

• Hidden information: The system supplies identities, private histories, concealed crimes, political intelligence, and warnings about possible future dangers 10 25 39 49 50.
• Practical guidance: It directs her to concealed objects, including the key to Zhao Panggua’s hidden chamber 25.
• Medical explanations: It interprets prescriptions and identifies the likely cause of an examination candidate’s collapse 21 37.
• User control: Shen Yuxi can block the system in a “little black room.” She does so when it interferes with sleep and routinely blocks it while bathing or using the privy 21 28.
• Performance rewards: Their extensive gossip-gathering increases the system’s energy and performance, earning it recognition and a reward from headquarters 42.

Audible Inner Voice

• Involuntary disclosure: Other people can hear Shen Yuxi’s thoughts and her conversations with the system even when she does not speak aloud 1 3.
• Lack of awareness: She does not realize that her supposed private conversations are exposing secrets to the people around her 5 33 43.
• Imperial secrecy: Emperor Xuanzhao forbids discussion of her inner voice under penalty of execution, prompting listeners to conceal their reactions 21.
• Observed protection: When Chen Shisong tries to reveal what he has heard, he experiences severe pain and vomits blood before completing his statement 39.

System Shop and Storage

• Purchases: Shen Yuxi can exchange points for items, including prescriptions and antidotes 16 20.
• Storage space: Purchased items can appear in her personal space, as demonstrated by the antidote bottle and Mystic Fire Ring 20 43.
• Documented costs: The Qingzhou epidemic prescription costs 70,000 points; the antidote selected for the Empress Dowager costs 8,000 points 16 20.

System-Assisted Medicine

• Epidemic treatment: She provides the prescription used to combat Qingzhou’s epidemic 16 31 33.
• Poison diagnosis: After learning of Consort Xuan’s actions, she takes the Empress Dowager’s pulse, confirms poisoning, and offers treatment 19 20.
• Technical consultation: She repeats the system’s explanations of ingredients and dosages to Imperial Physicians Han and Tang 21.
• Limit: Her medical reputation exceeds her demonstrated independent knowledge; while the physicians praise her explanation, she privately feels like a fraud 21.

Administration and Counsel

• Policy advice: Her argument for peace with Ruo Qiang considers disaster relief, military expenditure, neighboring threats, and the lives of ordinary people 12.
• Examination oversight: As chief examiner, she addresses candidates, checks sealed papers, patrols examination cells, and responds to medical emergencies 37.
• Writing: She calls writing her specialty when volunteering to assist the recording historian, though her immediate motive is to obtain a seat 5.

Mystic Fire Ring

• Acquisition: The system gives her the ring, and she immediately puts it on 43.
• Fire manipulation: According to the system, it lets the wearer harness fire spirits and control flames by will 43.
• Offensive range: Its described applications include close-range attacks, ranged strikes, and a rain of fire covering several zhang 43.
• Properties: Its flames are described as burning flesh, bones, and meridians; ordinary water cannot extinguish them 43.
• Demonstrated use: The supplied passages show her studying the ring, not deploying its advertised attacks in battle 43.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Mystic Fire Ring — An antique crimson ring with flowing flame patterns; her documented fire-based weapon 43.
• Ice-grade jadeite bangle — A valuable gift from the Empress Dowager, originally bestowed on her by the late emperor. It bears entwining lotus patterns 18.
• White porcelain antidote bottle — Purchased from the system shop while preparing to treat the Empress Dowager 20.
• Perfume — Sprayed on Shangguan Niao and the man in the side hall during Shen Yuxi’s reversal of the banquet trap; Shangguan Niao becomes compliant after being sprayed 46.
• Imperial reward — Receives 1,000 taels of gold and 100 mu of fertile land for her Qingzhou contributions 33.

Relationships

• Omniscient Encyclopedia System — Constant companion and information source. Their relationship mixes teasing, arguments, affection, and cooperation; Shen Yuxi can punish it by temporarily blocking communication 1 21 47.
• Shen Lang / Minister Shen — Her father and fellow court official. He indulges her but repeatedly struggles to make her attend court and behave appropriately; she admires his devotion to her mother 1 9 11 34.
• Madam Shen — Her protective mother. She scolds Shen Yuxi over her conduct and dangerous decisions while preparing favorite foods and travel provisions for her 7 23 32.
• Shen Shiyan — Her eldest brother. He teases her, worries about her safety, and helps care for her without resenting the attention she receives 7 23 32.
• Shen Tinglan — Her second sister. Protective and attentive, she watches over Shen Yuxi at social gatherings and remains composed during the banquet incident 23 42 46.
• Liuying — Her maid since childhood, responsible for helping her dress and caring for her when she falls asleep exhausted 1 23 36.
• Mo Xuanchen — The Fourth Prince whose life she saves. He thanks her with gifts, secretly arranges protection, and accompanies her to Qingzhou. She initially wants only a useful connection; she later acknowledges admiration without romantic love, although his smile subsequently makes her blush 6 9 18 23 35.
• Emperor Xuanzhao — Appoints her despite ministerial opposition, accepts her policy advice, and protects her unusual behavior at court. He also considers matching her with Mo Xuanchen 1 12 13 17.
• Empress Dowager — Welcomes her warmly, gives her a treasured bangle, and explicitly trusts her to treat the poisoning 18 20.
• Imperial Physician Han — Evaluates her epidemic prescription and seeks her help understanding its medical reasoning 16 21.
• Chancellor Xue — Initially leads opposition to her appointment because she is a woman, but later supports her continued presence at court 17 33.
• Grand Tutor Wei — Resents her exposure of Noble Consort Wei and objects to her advancement. His hostility causes her father and Mo Xuanchen to take protective measures 5 9 10 17.
• Wanxue — A mistreated wife whose circumstances move Shen Yuxi to investigate Chen Shisong’s betrayal and gather evidence 30 31 39.
• Shangguan Niao — An antagonist whose secrets Shen Yuxi exposes. Their conflict culminates in Shangguan Niao’s failed attempt to ruin her reputation 41 43 46 47.
• Xue Min — Chancellor Xue’s granddaughter, who approaches her at the birthday banquet and praises her public achievements 42.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Appointment and Early Court Scandals

• Shen Yuxi attempts to avoid her first court session by claiming illness and requesting six months to a year of leave. Her father warns that a false illness could implicate the entire family 1.
• Officials initially oppose her appointment, then discover that they can hear her conversations with the system 3.
• Her discussions expose Noble Consort Wei’s affair, the Third Princess’s parentage, and the murder of the Second Princess. Emperor Xuanzhao investigates and orders poisoned wine for Noble Consort Wei and the Third Princess 4 5 9.
• When asked about Ruo Qiang’s peace offer, she argues against prolonging the war. The emperor accepts peace while requiring full reparations 12.

Qingzhou Epidemic and Palace Poisoning

• She purchases an epidemic prescription and presents it as something a divine physician gave her in a dream, allowing the Imperial Medical Academy to examine it 16.
• Emperor Xuanzhao promises her one request within his power if the prescription resolves the epidemic 17.
• During her visit to the Empress Dowager, the system reveals Consort Xuan’s slow poisoning. Shen Yuxi confirms the condition and buys an antidote 19 20.
• She later explains the epidemic prescription to the imperial physicians with the system’s assistance 21.

Qingzhou Mission

• Shen Yuxi volunteers to travel to Qingzhou, with the magistrate’s concealed wealth strengthening her interest in the assignment. Mo Xuanchen accompanies her alongside physicians and 5,000 imperial guards 22 23.
• Following the system’s directions, she retrieves a hidden key and exposes Zhao Panggua’s bribery, land seizures, and secret treasury 25 26.
• She learns that influential people are diverting epidemic medicine and identifies Mo Xuanchen as the person with sufficient authority to stop them 27.
• She rejects the need to sacrifice Little Douzi for his rare epidemic-resistant antibody because an effective prescription is already available 30.
• After the epidemic subsides, she returns to the capital and receives gold and farmland for saving lives and exposing the magistrate 31 33.

Spring Examinations

• After preparation at the Ministry of Rites, Shen Yuxi serves as chief examiner. She encourages anxious candidates to rest and promises impartial, merit-based assessment 35 36 37.
• The system reveals that Chen Shisong and Shangguan Niao plotted Wanxue’s murder. Following Chen’s collapse, Shen Yuxi orders him guarded and prevents him from continuing the examination 39.

Duke Dingguo’s Birthday Banquet

• Her inner conversation exposes Shangguan Niao’s responsibility for Shangguan Qing’s disfigurement to the assembled guests 43.
• Shangguan Niao arranges a side-hall trap intended to destroy Shen Yuxi’s chastity and reputation. Shen Yuxi avoids the trap and turns its participants against its organizer 44 46.
• After the guests discover Shangguan Niao with the man, Duke Dingguo rejects her accusations against Shen Yuxi and orders punishment and removal from the capital 47.

Ruo Qiang Envoy and Lu Song’s Danger

• Shen Yuxi and the system discuss Qiang Tu’s political ability and the Ruo Qiang succession struggle. She suggests that the Mo Kingdom might win him over 49.
• Choosing Lu Song as her next gossip subject reveals an assassination plot: a wealthy couple has hired a killer to obtain his corpse for a ghost marriage with their daughter 49 50.

Notable Quotes

“I finally escaped the nine-to-five life of a corporate slave. All I want is to be a pampered rice weevil, quietly eating and waiting to die.” 1

“If His Majesty really wants to reward me, he should give me gold, silver, and jewels instead. Nothing is as tangible as money.” 23

“I’m a workhorse, and His Majesty is just a slightly higher-grade workhorse.” 48