Emperor Xuanzhao

Biodata

Background / History

As a child, Xuanzhao was mischievous and frequently disrupted palace life. At five, he secretly drank medicine after a young imperial physician described it as “immortal water.” It was actually a laxative, which took effect while he was reciting his lessons before the late emperor. The system later identifies the physician as Director Han 34.

Xuanzhao came to power after a fierce succession struggle involving nine princes. He inherited a kingdom weakened by the late emperor’s indulgence, an exhausted treasury, and widespread hardship. After ascending the throne, he reduced corvée labor, accepted remonstrance, and improved livelihoods, helping the Mo Kingdom rapidly regain strength 3.

His family life was marked by the deaths of two daughters. The Eldest Princess, born to the late empress while Xuanzhao was still a prince, drowned at three. He and the late empress remained deeply grief-stricken until her next pregnancy three years later. The Second Princess, Consort Xi’s daughter, subsequently died after being deliberately fed peanuts despite her fatal allergy; Xuanzhao initially believed her wet nurse alone was responsible 4 5.

Appearance

• Imperial dress: Wears bright yellow dragon robes 7 50.
• Features: Has thin lips and dark eyes 16 22.
• Bearing: His gaze and voice convey authority even without an overt display of anger 50.

Personality

Xuanzhao is diligent and attentive to the welfare of his subjects. Shen Yuxi judges him a capable ruler who works hard and loves his people, while his response to Qingzhou’s epidemic demonstrates his refusal to abandon a stricken population. He particularly detests officials who use their position to oppress commoners 3 11 16.

His concern for good government coexists with severe, sometimes indiscriminate punishment. After discovering Princess Ping’an’s parentage, he orders her death alongside her mother’s and refuses to see her. He later condemns Zhao Panggua’s entire family as well as the corrupt magistrate himself 9 31.

Although proud of his dignity, Xuanzhao tolerates Shen Yuxi’s irreverent thoughts because he values both her service and the system’s information. Praise visibly delights him, while revelations about his private life leave him mortified. He also develops a playful streak around his workload, deciding that his sons should share the burden of reviewing memorials rather than letting him toil alone 3 18 32.

Abilities & Skills

Hearing Shen Yuxi and the System

• Can hear Shen Yuxi’s inner voice and her conversations with the system while she remains unaware that he is listening 3 4.
• Uses their disclosures to assess officials, uncover concealed crimes, and learn about threats to the imperial family 3 11 19.
• Conceals his reactions to avoid alerting Shen Yuxi, even continuing court business after learning of Noble Consort Wei’s affair 5.
• Has no demonstrated control over the system; its medical scans, prescriptions, and other resources belong to Shen Yuxi’s system rather than to him 4 16 20.

Governance and Political Judgment

• Administrative reform: Reduced corvée obligations and accepted criticism after taking the throne 3.
• Use of specialists: Assigns criminal investigations to Lu Song and requires the Imperial Medical Academy to test Shen Yuxi’s epidemic prescription 11 17.
• Pragmatic consultation: Asks a junior official for her opinion on war and peace, then adopts her argument when he finds it persuasive 12.
• Strategic caution: Recognizes that a capable ruler of Ruo Qiang could eventually threaten the Mo Kingdom, even if initially compliant 49.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Appointment of Shen Yuxi

• Rewards Shen Yuxi for saving Mo Xuanchen and helping expose the person behind the attack on him. Despite fierce opposition from his ministers, he makes her the dynasty’s first female court official 1 3.
• Gives her an assisting role under the court historian rather than a powerful office. A major purpose of the appointment is to use her conversations with the system to evaluate his ministers 3.
• Orders custom official robes suited to a young woman, instructing the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau to make them more exquisite and less formal 1.
• Recognizes that her disclosures encourage officials to investigate wrongdoing within their own households. When Eunuch Yang warns that this also makes her a target, Xuanzhao considers arranging additional secret protection 14.

Noble Consort Wei’s Exposure

Peace with Ruo Qiang

• Initially finds it difficult to choose between accepting Ruo Qiang’s surrender and continuing the war after its attacks on Mo Xuanchen 11 12.
• Accepts Shen Yuxi’s argument that further warfare would cost lives, strain the treasury, and expose the kingdom to other threats. Orders Crown Prince Mo Jingyu to secure all agreed reparations 12.
• Later assigns Mo Jingyu to receive Ruo Qiang’s envoys. On learning about the capable but disfavored eldest prince, Qiang Tu, Xuanzhao privately prefers that Ruo Qiang’s succession struggle weaken the kingdom rather than produce a strong rival sovereign 49.

Qingzhou Epidemic

• Orders silver, rice, and medicinal herbs sent to Qingzhou, dispatches ten imperial physicians, offers rewards for medical assistance and a cure, and prohibits departures from the infected region 16.
• Sends Shen Yuxi’s prescription for testing and promises to grant her one request if it proves effective 16 17.
• Learns through the system that stolen relief supplies and inflated food and medicine prices have worsened the disaster. The revelation that a county magistrate possesses wealth equivalent to half a year’s treasury tax revenue enrages him 22.
• Authorizes Shen Yuxi and Mo Xuanchen’s mission, providing an escort of five thousand imperial guards despite his reluctance to let his son enter the epidemic zone 23.
• Recalls them as the epidemic subsides. After Zhao Panggua is brought to the capital, orders his execution by a thousand cuts and condemns his family to enslavement, imprisonment, and execution after autumn 31.

The Empress Dowager’s Poisoning

• Hears the system identify Consort Xuan as the person poisoning the empress dowager in revenge for a miscarriage 19.
• Trusts Shen Yuxi’s diagnosis and treatment, silencing Consort Xuan when she questions the cure 20.
• Rewards Shen Yuxi with gold, silver, jewels, antiques, paintings, and calligraphy after the poison is neutralized 20.

Succession and the Spring Examinations

• Begins giving Mo Xuanchen responsibilities in state affairs, including sharing unfinished memorials with the crown prince. Eunuch Yang understands the crown prince’s exposed position as a shield for Mo Xuanchen, whom Xuanzhao ultimately intends to place on the throne 32.
• Appoints Shen Yuxi as an examination examiner because her system can identify cheating, overruling her objections about inexperience and arranging Ministry of Rites assistance 34.
• Presides over the palace examination and asks candidates to address current affairs honestly. By this point, he has grown so accustomed to Shen Yuxi’s presence that her absence makes him uneasy 50.

Relationships

• Shen Yuxi — Valued official and Mo Xuanchen’s lifesaver. Xuanzhao enjoys her liveliness, tolerates her private criticism, and hopes she will become romantically involved with his fourth son 3 14 32.
• Mo Xuanchen — Fourth son and favored prince. Xuanzhao worries for his safety, recognizes his stubbornness, and increasingly entrusts him with government work 14 23 32.
• Mo Jingyu — Crown prince. Receives diplomatic assignments and shares the emperor’s administrative workload, though Eunuch Yang believes his position also draws danger away from Mo Xuanchen 12 32 49.
• Late Empress — Shared his grief over their eldest daughter’s death; mother of Mo Xuanchen. Both she and the Eldest Princess remain deeply painful subjects for him 4 35.
• Empress Dowager — His mother. Her poisoning provokes his anger, and her recovery brings him considerable relief 18 19 20.
• Princess Ping’an / Third Princess — Once his most cherished child after Mo Xuanchen. He chose her title, meaning “peace and safety,” after losing his first two daughters; he later orders her death upon discovering she is not his biological child 4 8 9.
• Noble Consort Wei — Formerly trusted consort whose affair and involvement in the Second Princess’s murder destroy his affection for her 4 8.
• Grand Tutor Wei — Former teacher and veteran official. Xuanzhao acknowledges his service but becomes distrustful of his family after the scandal 9 11.
• Eunuch Yang — Chief eunuch and close attendant. Discusses court developments, Shen Yuxi’s safety, and Mo Xuanchen’s romantic interest with him 14 32.

Notable Quotes

“My mind is as clear as a polished mirror. They're simply afraid the little girl will eat melon while they're absent and they'll miss the excitement. They're even more afraid she'll dig up their melons.” 14

“Today's palace examination will address current affairs. Express your own views and answer according to the facts. There is no need for fear.” 50

Trivia

• Adopts Shen Yuxi’s expression “eat melon” as a term for listening to gossip 14.
• After an embarrassing sexual failure, seeks a portion of the empress dowager’s thousand-year-old ginseng to restore his vigor; the system exposes his motive in front of his mother and the empress 18.
• The system’s examination describes him as healthy enough to live to one hundred. He welcomes the reassurance, although he does not pursue immortality practices 4.