Shangguan Niao

Biodata

Background / History

Family and resentment

Shangguan Niao grew up in Duke Dingguo's household, where her father favored his legitimate elder daughter, Shangguan Qing. Qing treated Niao generously, sharing desirable possessions and indulging her temper. Niao interpreted this kindness as condescending charity and resented her sister's status, beauty, and place within the family 41 43.

Her jealousy extended to household servants. According to the System, she arranged for maids she considered attractive to be sold off and kept only plain-looking attendants near her 41.

The Flower Festival attack

Several years before her exposure, Niao asked Qing to accompany her to the Flower Festival, claiming she wanted support while confessing her feelings to a man. She deliberately led Qing into a secluded alley, where beggars she had hired attacked them. Qing tried to protect her younger sister; the attackers tore Niao's clothes and deeply slashed Qing's face before an elderly passerby drove them away with a shovel 43 44.

Niao paid the beggars with silver smeared with arsenic, and they subsequently died of poisoning. A thief stole the silver, preventing Duke Dingguo from tracing the poison's source. His decision to avoid a public investigation to protect his daughters' reputations further hindered discovery of the plot 44.

Niao then fabricated rumors that Qing had been disfigured for interfering in another woman's marriage or had injured herself. While Qing suffered under these accusations, Niao posed as a supportive sister and encouraged her to endure. Even years later, seeing Qing's scar privately delighted her 42 44.

Appearance

• Complexion and build: Fair skin, a slender waist, and slender fingers described as jade-like 35.
• Dress: Wears lavish clothing during her private meetings with Chen Shisong 35.
• Mannerisms: Uses flirtatious glances and intimate gestures with Chen; raises her chin and adopts a haughty manner when asserting her rank 35 41.
• Later disfigurement: Her father has her face slashed after learning what she did to Qing; the resulting wounds are not described in detail 47.

Personality

Niao's jealousy centers on beauty and affection. She cannot tolerate women she considers prettier than herself, and her father's attention to Qing intensifies her resentment. Rather than recognizing Qing's sincere concern, she treats her sister's generosity as humiliation 41 43.

She is status-conscious and verbally aggressive. During her carriage confrontation with Shen Yuxi, she invokes her position as Duke Dingguo's second daughter and mocks the Shen family's supposedly shabby carriage. Her confidence collapses when she hears Shen Yuxi and the System discussing secrets she believed impossible to uncover 40 41.

Her concern for consequences does not consistently extend to her victims. She initially objects to Chen Shisong's plan to murder Wanxue, but ultimately agrees to remain silent while refusing direct involvement. When confronted by her father, she falsely claims she knew neither that Chen was married nor that he intended to kill his wife 39 41.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Relationship with Chen Shisong

Niao knowingly becomes involved with the married scholar Chen Shisong. His appearance, education, and flattering speech win her affection, while he privately regards her family connections as a route to advancement 31 36.

She promises to introduce him to her father at the duke's birthday celebration, believing a strong examination result will improve his reception. Chen, in turn, promises to divorce Wanxue after the spring examinations and marry Niao with an elaborate wedding procession 36.

On the night before the examinations, Chen discusses killing Wanxue instead. Niao initially resists, then accepts his argument that it will remove an obstacle to their marriage. She agrees not to expose him but refuses to assist with the killing itself 39.

The attempt fails because Wanxue refuses to leave home with Chen's accomplice, Gao Kai, and later stays with her natal family. Chen is arrested after the examinations. The Court of Judicial Review does not charge Niao: it lacks evidence against her, and the available account distinguishes her knowledge and silence from direct participation 39 40.

Confrontation with Shen Yuxi

While traveling to challenge Chen's arrest, Niao encounters Shen Yuxi's carriage in a narrow alley and demands that it give way. Her insults prompt the System to uncover her treatment of attractive servants and her responsibility for Qing's disfigurement 40 41.

Niao can hear Shen Yuxi's inner voice and the System despite seeing neither speaker move their mouth. Terrified that they know her secret, she abandons the confrontation and returns home 41.

She asks her father to save Chen, but he refuses and rebukes her for concealing a threat to Wanxue's life. He warns that further wrongdoing will result in expulsion and the severing of their father-daughter relationship. Qing nevertheless follows Niao to comfort her, unaware of her sister's role in the attack 41 42.

Birthday banquet scheme and downfall

Fearing that Shen Yuxi will expose her, Niao tries unsuccessfully to have the Shen family excluded from her father's birthday banquet. She then feigns illness and remains in her courtyard, missing the public revelation of the Flower Festival plot. Qing learns the truth and faints 42 43 44 45.

Niao's attempt to ruin Shen Yuxi proceeds through a bribed maid:

• The maid spills tea on Shen Yuxi and offers to escort her somewhere to change.
• A naked man waits in the side hall, where Niao intends to trap Shen Yuxi.
• Niao orders the maid to summon witnesses and spread the claim that Shen Yuxi is meeting a man there 44 46.

Warned by the System, Shen Yuxi uses Be Obedient Perfume to control the maid and lure Niao to the hall. She then sprays Niao and the waiting man, compelling Niao to enter. The assembled guests discover the two in a sexual encounter while under the perfume's influence 45 46.

Niao accuses Shen Yuxi of spraying her with something that caused her to lose consciousness and memory. Her father rejects her explanation. The man then identifies her as the Second Miss and asks for the reward she promised, exposing her connection to the original setup 47.

After dismissing the guests, Duke Dingguo has Niao's face slashed in retaliation for Qing's disfigurement. He orders Niao and her mother to leave for their hometown once she heals and declares that he never wants to see them again. Despite this decision, he spends the following night sleepless and distressed over his daughter's conduct 47 48.

Relationships

• Duke Dingguo — Father. His preference for Qing fuels Niao's resentment; repeated wrongdoing ultimately leads him to order her punishment and removal from the household 41 43 47.
• Shangguan Qing — Legitimate elder sister and victim of Niao's Flower Festival plot. Qing sincerely loves and defends her until the truth is revealed 41 42 43 44.
• Chen Shisong — Married lover who promises to make Niao his wife while privately pursuing her family's influence 31 36.
• Wanxue — Chen's wife. Niao knows about the marriage and agrees to conceal Chen's plan to murder her, though she refuses direct assistance 31 39.
• Shen Yuxi — Target of Niao's reputation-destroying scheme; discovers her secrets through the System and turns the side-hall trap against her 41 44 46.
• Mother — Unnamed concubine of Duke Dingguo; ordered to accompany Niao back to their hometown 36 47.