Lou Yun

Biodata

Background

Previous Life

Lou Yun was formerly Lou Fangyi, Great Jing’s youngest female emperor, in a world ruled by women. She won her realm on horseback and became the first sovereign to unify the foreign states, ending more than two hundred years of fragmentation. She eventually worked herself to death under the burden of official business 1 9 21.

She never took a consort or appointed an empress. After death, she spent three hundred years in the Underworld before being reborn; that prolonged stay left her soul laden with yin energy 43 44.

Rebirth in Great Yan

In her second life, Lou Yun was born into Great Yan’s imperial family as Lou Ze'an’s younger fraternal twin. Although the twins were different sexes, their faces were nearly identical and their voices sufficiently alike for her to impersonate him 1 3.

Determined not to repeat her exhausting former life, she concealed her abilities behind a reputation for frailty and illness. This also kept her mother’s faction from attracting excessive attention and discouraged aristocratic suitors. In secret, she developed an independent force rather than relying entirely on her maternal relatives 1 2 5.

She also slipped out of the palace in disguise whenever possible, both to escape its monotony and to seek a cure for the violent episodes that had followed her from her previous life 39.

Appearance

• Hair and eyes: Long black hair and dark, ink-black eyes; her eyes turn blood-red during severe episodes of madness 3 29 45.
• Resemblance to Lou Ze'an: Nearly identical facial features, almost the same voice, and the same height as her brother 1 3.
• Build: Close enough to Pei Qing in stature to wear his clothing, though her build is more slender 32.
• Usual public presentation: Masculine robes, a high ponytail, and a crown suitable for her assumed identity as Crown Prince 3 32.
• Undercover appearance: In Jiangling, she wears a plain silk-gauze dress and a woman’s hairstyle secured with a single wooden hairpin, without elaborate cosmetics 22.
• Bearing: Her commanding presence recalls Lou Qing in his prime and can frighten others even when she does not intend to intimidate them 1 5.

Personality

Lou Yun is proud, controlled, and accustomed to exercising authority. She dislikes ingratiating herself with others, even someone she loves, and considers fear a useful means of consolidating a dynasty. Her concern with control extends into her private emotions: when she first realizes how deeply Pei Qing unsettles her, she instinctively regards him as a threat she might need to eliminate 7 11 47.

Her apparent indifference does not prevent practical intervention. Rather than merely pitying Cui Rou, she exposes the larger conspiracy behind her suffering and persuades her to help save other victims. She allows Cui Rou to grieve without interrupting, despite explicitly rejecting the idea that she has time to sympathize with everyone 13.

With Pei Qing, she becomes teasing, indulgent, protective, and intensely possessive. She enjoys discovering his private reactions but does not want him to fear her. His sincerity can both provoke her most dangerous impulses and calm them, while his devotion to Great Yan draws her toward qualities she believes she lacked as a ruler 11 22 24 44.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship and Internal Energy

Lou Yun’s preferred weapon is the sword. Her concealed martial ability substantially exceeds Lou Ze'an’s and allows her to contend with powerful martial artists 1 2.

• Blocks Su Changqing’s internal-energy-infused saber strike with a dagger reinforced by her own internal energy 1.
• Fights through assassins alongside Pei Qing after receiving a longsword from him 2.
• Cuts bamboo with her fingers and internal energy, then uses a bamboo length as an improvised sword 19.
• Defeats Pei Qing after a half-day duel in which both use their full range of skills 19.
• Splits Jin Yu’s incoming arrow lengthwise using another arrow, demonstrating exceptionally profound internal energy 39.
• Repeatedly defeats Su Ren in sparring, earning his enthusiastic admiration 48.
• Finds Lou Ze'an’s Dragon Chant Spear awkward in close quarters and abandons it when its reach risks injuring allies 2.

Eerie Pacing Steps

Lou Yun recognizes A Zi’s rare Eerie Pacing Steps and later uses the same footwork against him 6 13.

• Evades A Zi’s hidden weapons, moves behind him, and holds one of his own weapons to his neck 13.
• Her execution appears more proficient than A Zi’s, although he considers whether her greater internal power explains the difference 13.
• Moves fast enough that Pei Qing struggles to keep up while pursuing her outside the capital 19.
• Claims to be self-taught when A Zi questions her training; the passages do not establish how she acquired the technique 13.

Command and Intelligence

Lou Yun combines experience from her former reign with a privately developed organization in Great Yan 1 5 16.

• Commands the returning army while posing as Lou Ze'an and continues drilling soldiers after taking on court duties 2 5.
• Controls Feather Pavilion, whose activities include commerce, intelligence, mercenary dealings, and shadow-guard protection 16.
• Maintains hidden guards loyal specifically to her rather than supplied by her maternal family 5.
• Uses Ying Liu as a disguised replacement when she leaves the capital 45.
• Investigates people close to Pei Qing thoroughly enough to surprise him with the reach of her information network 18.

Investigation and Infiltration

Lou Yun uses observation, records, interrogation, and disguise to expose crimes 4 13 25.

• Notices a witness’s recognition of Pei Qing and alarm at the Crown Prince’s residence, identifying an inconsistency worth investigating 4.
• Uncovers Cui Rou’s real identity and explains how officials engineered her family’s destruction 13.
• Reads patterns in a secret passage’s floor markings and helps navigate its lethal paired traps 17.
• Infiltrates Pleasant Breeze Courtyard as Ling'er, fabricating a background as the daughter of ruined cloth merchants 25.
• Identifies signs that a secluded hut held captives, including fresh blood, chains, and ropes 17.

Qin

Lou Yun is a trained qin player. While undercover, she performs well enough to impress Cui Hao and accompany the women’s rehearsal without difficulty; the assignment also spares her from dancing 25.

Imperial Aura and Yin Energy

Lou Yun possesses an unusually strong imperial destiny, though neither trait is presented as a ranked cultivation advancement 7 43.

• Pei Qing perceives her imperial aura as stronger than Lou Ze'an’s but suppressed by her lack of desire to contest the throne 7.
• A childhood divination reveals her destiny star shining brighter than Lou Qing’s. Pei Qing’s master stops him from probing further because of the danger 7.
• Her soul’s accumulated yin energy can emerge when she becomes angry or recalls the Underworld, frightening Bu’er and causing his gu worms to tremble 43.

Curse and Episodes of Madness

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Longsword from Pei Qing — Lent during the assassination attempt on the army’s return journey. Pei Qing deliberately leaves it with her in hopes that she will seek him out to return it 2 19.
• Dagger — Used to block Su Changqing’s saber and defend against assassins’ hidden weapons 1 2.
• Dragon Chant Spear — Lou Ze'an’s preferred weapon, briefly used to maintain her disguise before she switches to more suitable weapons 2.
• Jade pendant — An item she habitually wears; Su Changqing uses it to help verify her identity 2.
• Blue-jade thumb ring — Worn while she directs the investigation into the guarded witness 5.
• Feather Pavilion masks — Masks bearing raven-feather insignia and associated patterns. She lets Pei Qing wear the ornate white porcelain mask identified by her subordinate as the pavilion master’s token 16.

Relationships

• Pei Qing — Lover and investigative partner. Lou Yun initially mistakes his friendship with Lou Ze'an for a romance. Their mutual affection becomes clear after their duel, and they agree that once Great Yan is stable, he will belong to her alone. He later explicitly clarifies that Lou Ze'an is his friend, not his lover 2 19 20 35.
• Lou Ze'an — Elder twin brother whose disappearance prompts her impersonation. She orders a discreet search while protecting the fiction that he has returned victorious 1 2.
• Su Yun — Mother and trusted confidante who knows Lou Yun has concealed her abilities. She reluctantly accepts the impersonation plan despite fearing the dangers of court 1.
• Lou Qing — Father and reigning emperor. Before Lou Yun leaves for flood relief, he personally cautions her against letting concern for Pei Qing cloud her judgment and considers her a possible heir 50.
• Su Changqing — Maternal uncle and military ally. After recognizing her, he helps conceal Lou Ze'an’s disappearance and continues the search 1 2.
• Su Ren — Older cousin and sparring partner. He discovers her identity in Jiangling and becomes thoroughly impressed by her martial skill, though his bluntness frequently exasperates her 33 48.
• A Zi — Pei Qing’s protective associate. Initially wary of her, he tests her martial ability and loses; he also explains Pei Qing’s emotional vulnerabilities and asks her to care for him 12 13.
• Mo Chi — Explains the childhood abandonment behind Pei Qing’s distress, prompting Lou Yun to promise greater care 41.
• Bu’er — An old acquaintance who calls her A Xie and investigates her curse. His jealousy of Pei Qing and attempt to provoke the curse with drugs turn his assistance into a serious danger 41 43 44 45.
• Ying Yi, Shutang, and Ying Liu — Trusted subordinates handling protection, investigations, household matters, and concealment of her identity. Ying Yi repeatedly risks injury restraining her; Ying Liu serves as her double 5 39 45.
• Xie Wan / Wan'er — Protects Lou Yun during her undercover stay at Pleasant Breeze Courtyard and later asks her to obtain justice for the Lin family’s destruction of her household 25 26 28.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Replacing the Missing Crown Prince

Lou Yun persuades her mother to let her replace Lou Ze'an, reaches the military camp, and coordinates with Su Changqing. After surviving an assassination attempt with Pei Qing’s help, she leads the army back to the capital and performs the Crown Prince’s role at court and the victory banquet 1 2.

Li An Murder and Trafficking Investigation

Assigned to investigate alongside Pei Qing, she helps establish that Li An’s burned residence conceals a murder. Cui Rou’s testimony and the discovery of a trapped passage reveal links to the trafficking of women. Lou Yun confronts obstruction at the Court of Judicial Review and ultimately announces before the court that she has uncovered the truth behind Lord Li’s case 4 13 17 20 34.

Jiangling Infiltration

Lou Yun and Pei Qing travel under assumed identities to investigate the Lin family. She enters Pleasant Breeze Courtyard as Ling'er while Pei Qing infiltrates the prefect’s household as Ye Yun. Xie Wan’s account connects wrongful executions and manufactured family disasters to the women’s captivity. Following the investigation, the court punishes the minister of rites and more than twenty accomplices 21 22 25 28 34.

Examination Affairs and Pei Qing’s Injury

Lou Yun supports Pei Qing’s efforts to strengthen Great Yan’s supply of capable officials. During the examination-related conflicts, she rescues him after he is shot in the shoulder, then suffers another violent episode. Their subsequent estrangement ends when she explains her condition and learns why being left alone is especially painful for him 34 39 40 41.

Investigating the Curse

Bu’er’s arrival supplies a possible explanation for her lifelong madness. His reckless experiments culminate in a drug-induced attack, after which Pei Qing identifies suppressed desire as central to the curse. Lou Yun agrees to let him help her confront it, leading to their first intimate encounter, though she does not take the final step 43 44 45 46 47 48.

Jiangnan Flood Relief

After learning that the Huang River has breached its dikes, Lou Yun challenges Xu Lin over false drought reports and volunteers to lead relief efforts. A warning indicates that disaster funds have been embezzled and supplies are lacking. Her journey is slowed by persistent rain and repeated assassination attempts, ending in the available account with a mudslide blocking the road near Jiangnan 50.

Notable Quotes

“So I'm not a delicate flower raised in the palace. You needn't protect me so carefully at every turn.” 18

“Then it's settled. Once Great Yan is stable, you'll belong to me alone.” 20

“Back then, I thought you were an uncontrollable factor. I wanted to kill you.” 47