Su Zhouyue

Biodata

Background / History

Su Zhouyue is the daughter of Su Huahan and Yu Ya and grew up in a military family. As a child, she wanted to learn everything—a trait she later recognizes in Tong Aning. During her years in army camps, she sparred with Wei Mingning and lost; she also once beat the future emperor. Her wartime experience included scouting and comforting civilians after cities were recaptured from enemies who had burned, killed, and plundered 2 7 10 20 38 40.

She initially took an interest in Tong Aobai because he was handsome, ambitious, and already heir to the marquisate. After their marriage, his mother repeatedly targeted her, and Su Zhouyue refused to submit. Tong Aobai eventually demanded a household division; when his parents resisted and brought a complaint against him, the emperor issued a decree ordering the separation 42.

Appearance

Su Zhouyue has gentle brows and eyes and is described through Tong Aning’s thoughts as beautiful as a heavenly fairy. Her delicate appearance contrasts with the martial vigor she displays when taking command 1 40.

• Early attire: A moon-white short jacket beneath a pale green gauze robe 1.
• Armed accessory: Carries a silver whip at her waist 55.
• Bearing: While leading the women rescued from Quiet Heart Temple, she resembles a general charging into battle despite wearing skirts and hair ornaments 40.

Personality

Su Zhouyue is affectionate but firm with her children. She feeds and comforts Tong Aning, smooths her hair, and readily softens when her daughter acts sweetly; dangerous behavior, however, earns immediate discipline. Her concern centers on keeping the family safe, whether that means restricting Aning’s activities after her fall or worrying that imperial favor will make her a target 1 2 9 44.

She is particularly uncompromising toward people who mistreat women. She supports Tong Siyan’s recovery of her dowry, urges Xiong Shuiyao to reject her husband’s attempt to take another wife, and refuses to let the Quiet Heart Temple survivors blame themselves for their captors’ crimes. She also accepts that being a wife and mother need not be Siyan’s chosen path 6 7 22 37 40.

Her sternness coexists with a mischievous appetite for gossip. She feigns dizziness to stop a carriage near an unfolding scandal and joins Tong Aobai in “breaking up” a family argument while deliberately exposing its underlying secret. She enjoys teasing her husband and children, but becomes genuinely distressed when they are endangered or must leave home 11 43 76 129 131.

Abilities & Skills

Hearing Tong Aning’s Thoughts

After Tong Aning falls into the water and awakens, Su Zhouyue and the rest of the immediate family can hear her inner voice, along with the childlike voice of her system. Su Zhouyue quickly realizes that the information can reveal hidden affairs and future dangers 1.

• Information gathering: Learns secrets through Aning’s exchanges with the system and acts without openly revealing her source 1 39 109.
• Observation: Notices that some people, including Cui Ming and Gu Zhenye, appear unable to hear the thoughts, prompting discussion with Tong Aobai about how listeners are selected 7.
• Initial restriction: Discovers that the family cannot speak of their ability to hear Aning’s thoughts 1.
• Later disclosure: Participates in the family’s eventual confession to Aning during New Year’s Eve games 135.

Martial Arts & Armed Combat

Su Zhouyue retains the fighting skills of her military upbringing and uses them to protect her family 9 55.

• Agility: Leaps onto a roof to rescue Tong Aning and Lou Yingyu, pulling them to safety and kicking away Lou Chang’s ladder 9.
• Close combat: Kicks Feng Bo’s wrist to disarm him before he can strike Tong Fengye, then pulls her son behind her 55.
• Whip use: Confronts Feng Bo with her silver whip and later lashes one of the aristocrats involved in hunting enslaved people 55 107.
• Defensive reactions: Cuts an incoming arrow in two with a dagger before it can hit Tong Aning 106.
• Known defeat: Admits that she lost her youthful sparring match against Wei Mingning 10.

Marksmanship & Scouting

Su Zhouyue describes herself as a former sharpshooter. On the battlefield, her keen perception and exceptional eyesight made her a reliable scout 40 106.

• Could see at night and frequently went ahead to scout routes 40.
• Earned the name “North Star” from both friendly and enemy forces because she guided the way 40.

Supporting Survivors

Her experience comforting civilians after military campaigns informs her treatment of the eleven women rescued from Quiet Heart Temple 40.

• Rejects victim-blaming and emphasizes the women’s competence and worth 40.
• Keeps Tong Fengye at a distance because the frightened women may not want men nearby 40.
• Encourages the survivors to beat their captors, believing that releasing their resentment will help them face what happened 40.
• Sends them home with direct instructions to bathe, rest, and eat well 40.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Silver whip — Carried at her waist and drawn when she confronts Feng Bo for threatening Tong Fengye 55.
• Dagger — Used to slice an arrow in half during a hunting outing 106.
• Additional whip — Kept at her natal family’s residence; she sends for it so Tong Aning can use it for self-defense 123.
• Protective talismans — Seeks one for Aning after the family begins hearing her thoughts, and later visits Ning’an Temple for talismans intended to help Tong Yibin 1 24.

Relationships

Family

• Tong Aobai — Husband. They share an affectionate, teasing marriage and cooperate closely in protecting their children. She cautions him against reckless bluntness at court without asking him to abandon his conscience 2 3 7 44.
• Tong Yibin — Eldest son. She seeks talismans after a disturbing experience leaves him unwell and relies on him to assemble the household’s men when the real Third Prince’s location is revealed 24 109.
• Tong Siyan — Eldest daughter and second child. Su Zhouyue backs her against the Cui family, supports her pursuit of business rather than conventional domestic life, and worries deeply when her safety is threatened 7 22 108.
• Tong Fengye — Son. Frequently the target of her scolding, but fiercely protected when Feng Bo threatens him. She supports his decision to join the army and becomes tearful on seeing his battlefield scars after his return 14 55 56 129.
• Tong Aning — Daughter. Su Zhouyue is both her affectionate refuge and a strict guardian. She arranges medical instruction for Aning and fears that her unusual gifts, public reputation, and entry into official life could endanger her 1 20 44 95.
• Tong Yi’an — Youngest daughter. Su Zhouyue dotes on her but worries about her lack of interest in poetry and books and her preference for playing or following Siyan 22 78 91.
• Mu Yao — Adopted daughter. Initially offers her shelter at Fengye’s request, then admires her determination to live independently and brings her into the family as her goddaughter 82.
• Su Huahan and Yu Ya — Parents. They warmly welcome Su Zhouyue, Tong Aobai, and the children during their New Year visit 75.
• Su Mingxing and Xiong Shuiyao — Elder brother and sister-in-law. Su Zhouyue condemns Mingxing’s conduct toward his wife and accompanies Shuiyao to confront the situation at the general’s residence 37 38.
• Peng Chunlan — Mother-in-law. Their longstanding hostility contributes to the division of the Tong household. Su Zhouyue remains wary of her visits and requests for favors 42.

Friends & Associates

• Wei Mingning — Longtime acquaintance and former army-camp sparring opponent; later Tong Aning’s godmother. Their familiarity includes teasing and frank discussion of martial ability 9 10 44.
• Xue Lin — Tong Aning’s eventual husband. Su Zhouyue remembers his desolation after his parents’ deaths, works with him during the Quiet Heart Temple rescue, and gradually recognizes Aning’s attachment to him 33 40 109 131.
• Feng Chu — Tong Fengye’s friend. She praises his prospects in front of Yang Rong, gives him a sealed letter for the army, and warns him to protect his mother’s dowry 14 56.
• The emperor — A childhood acquaintance whom she once beat. Despite this history, she remains cautious about imperial power and insists that a gift intended to safeguard Aning be secured against any future change of heart 7 54.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Notable Quotes

“I just want our whole family to be safe and well.” 2

“Don’t worry. As long as the marquis’s household stands, no one can dream of bullying you.”
— To Tong Siyan 7

“They were the ones who did wrong. What does it have to do with us? We manage every matter in our households, great and small. Even outside, we could carve out a place for ourselves.”
— To the women rescued from Quiet Heart Temple 40

Trivia

• She secretly drank the previous year’s peach blossom wine, then tried to deny knowing where it had gone 5.
• She knows that Aning came from another world and that her soul was already in her twenties, but still struggles with seeing her daughter stare at the Princess Royal’s male favorites 18.
• She jokingly suggests that Siyan could take male favorites or a live-in husband whom the family could remove if he became troublesome; Siyan prefers concentrating on her shops 22.
• Even as Tong Fengye’s mother, she has difficulty deciphering his handwriting in letters from the military camp 60.