Xiu'er

Biodata

Background / History

Childhood and the Tang Household

At ten, Xiu'er secretly went to the slave market hoping to sell herself for five taels. Amid the crowd of children seeking buyers, she fell and was hurt, but continued trying to attract someone’s attention. No one would buy her, even for three taels 372.

Tang Mingfan later cleared her father’s name, securing justice for Xiu'er and her mother but leaving them penniless. They could not find work because they were outsiders without guarantors and would not sell themselves. Xiu'er eventually brought her mother to wait outside the Tang residence. After they helped during one of Tang Zhuyun’s distressed outbursts while she was pregnant with Linlin, Tang Mingfan allowed them to stay 372.

Xiu'er remained loyal through the original Tang Zhuyun’s reckless behavior. When the transmigrated Tang Zhuyun awoke beside the unconscious Prince of Jin, Xiu'er helped her leave the room and attempt to escape the locked courtyard 1 154.

Service to Tang Zhuyun

Xiu'er’s duties expanded beyond personal attendance to errands, childcare, and household organization. When Tang Zhuyun visited the Xue family, she left Xiu'er in charge of preparations for Tang Yuan’s third-day bathing feast, explicitly praising her competence 227.

Her service also exposed her to political schemes. Officials seized her while she was delivering Tang Zhuyun’s kidney-tonifying medicine to Qingfeng, intending to accuse her mistress of selling improper medicine to a brothel. The Prince of Jin countered by claiming that the medicine was for his own use 104.

Xiu'er actively supported Tang Zhuyun’s authority in the prince’s household. She relayed the demand for one hundred strong guards to Song Jingyang, confronted Qiao Qiao over taking Yanran’s kite, and later helped arrange a staged compromising scene involving Qiao Qiao and the prince 130 322 344.

Courtship and Marriage

During her courtship with Song Jingyang, Xiu'er assessed his mother, Nanny Jing, rather than assuming marriage required unconditional obedience. She initially said she would tolerate difficulties for his sake but would end the relationship if they became unbearable. Nanny Jing’s consideration for Old Madam He helped persuade her that they could live together 302 305.

When Song Jingyang was to become Qingzhou’s regional commander, Xiu'er considered giving him up rather than leaving Tang Zhuyun during a dangerous period. She explained to Nanxing that the Tang family had given her and her mother a home when they had nowhere else to go. Although heartbroken, she refused to seek a final intimate encounter that might wrong his future wife 371 372 373.

The separation she contemplated did not become permanent. Song Jingyang challenged her decision, and they discussed marriage and children. By the time he departed for Qingzhou, they had married; he left her behind because she wished to remain with Tang Zhuyun and he feared she would suffer there 378 379 401 417.

Motherhood and Caregiving

Tang Zhuyun confirmed Xiu'er’s first pregnancy shortly after her marriage. Initially hoping for a son, Xiu'er later said that a safe, healthy baby mattered more than whether it was a boy or girl 417 435 439.

She gave birth to a daughter at the hour of the rat. At Xiu'er’s request, Linlin named the baby Song Shu; the heir’s consort supplied her little name, Guagua. Xiu'er also nursed Wuxian while Tang Zhuyun struggled to produce enough milk for Wuji 598.

Her bond with Tang Zhuyun’s children became a major responsibility. When Tang Zhuyun prepared to leave the border city, she insisted that Xiu'er remain because Wuxian could not do without her. Tang Zhuyun later described her as the person she trusted most to raise the children if anything happened to her 728 730.

Xiu'er returned to the capital with Song Jingyang and the children while pregnant again. Her second labor began with little warning and progressed far faster than she expected 838 840 944.

Helping Baoxuan

On the journey to the capital, Xiu'er encountered a widowed woman who could no longer support her adopted daughter, Baoxuan. Remembering her own family’s hardship, Xiu'er gave the woman fifty taels. She declined to take the girl into her household because she could not risk bringing a concealed threat near Tang Zhuyun 839.

Baoxuan and her adoptive mother later sought her out in the capital. They reported that others had taken the money through threats and inducements, and that one of the woman’s sons had died protecting Baoxuan. Xiu'er received them, stopped them from repeatedly kneeling, and asked them to explain what had happened 868.

Final Years and Death

In later life, Xiu'er assured Guagua that she would not reject a prospective husband because of humble origins, reminding her that Song Jingyang himself had once been a guard 978.

The day after her eighty-eighth birthday, Xiu'er became bedridden. Still clear-minded, she expressed gratitude for her life, urged Tang Zhuyun to care for herself, and hoped they could meet again after death. Three days later, she died smiling in Song Jingyang’s arms. He refused to leave her and died beside her that night 980.

At her wake, Tang Zhuyun recalled their years together. A sudden gust opened the door, prompting her to call, “Xiu'er, is that you?” The scene leaves Xiu'er’s possible return unconfirmed 980.

Appearance

• Build: Petite, with a palm-sized face; her small stature contrasts with Song Jingyang’s tall frame 838.
• Clothing: Wears a thick fox-fur cloak with white trim during her second pregnancy, joking that it makes her look like “a quail with no neck” 838.
• Old age: Has sparse white hair by the end of her life 980.

Personality

Xiu'er’s loyalty is rooted in gratitude rather than ignorance of her mistress’s faults. She remembers the original Tang Zhuyun’s disruptive behavior but considers the Tang household the refuge that saved her and her mother. Even while contemplating marriage, she insists that she and Tang Zhuyun will always remain of one mind 302 372.

Outspoken and sharp-tongued, she challenges people far above her station when Tang Zhuyun’s interests are involved. She scolds the Prince of Jin for expecting his wife to clear away a meal, rejects Qiao Jiao’s belated attempt at peacemaking, and refuses to become submissive simply because she now lives in the prince’s residence 283 322.

Her early panic and credulity coexist with growing discernment. She initially mistakes Tang Zhuyun’s sale of belongings for preparations to elope and later attacks a supposed ghost with a cheap peachwood sword. Yet she eventually deduces the prince’s imperial ambitions from his and Song Jingyang’s behavior, while acknowledging that her insight comes from close observation rather than exceptional cleverness 4 131 333.

Xiu'er values reciprocity and practical kindness. She accepts that living with relatives brings disagreements, but judges Nanny Jing chiefly by her good intentions. Her experience of poverty also makes her sympathetic to families who lose their breadwinner, though she remains cautious about endangering Tang Zhuyun 305 839.

Abilities & Skills

Household Management and Personal Attendance

Xiu'er handles both intimate daily care and larger household arrangements 227 333.

• Organizes preparations for gatherings and coordinates advance notice of family visits 227 285.
• Cooks, cleans, keeps meals warm, and arranges food for household members 164 227 283.
• Regularly combs Tang Zhuyun’s hair, aiming for one hundred strokes morning and night 333.
• Directs servants and delivers warnings against scheming within the residence 518 539 708.

Sewing and Embroidery

Xiu'er works quickly enough to complete three similar skirts while Tang Zhuyun believes she is still making the first 283.

• Distinguishes the skirts with embroidered lotus flowers in successive stages: budding, opening, and full bloom 283.
• Also prepares intimate clothing that she jokingly calls Tang Zhuyun’s “battle robe” 332.

Information Gathering and Deduction

Tang Zhuyun relies on Xiu'er to collect information and recount events accurately 220 302.

• Vividly reenacts conversations and encounters for the family 220.
• Investigates Nanny Jing’s history and passes on her warning about Nanny Rong 302.
• Uses servants and social contacts to investigate local customs and household affairs 496 515.
• Recognizes Qiao Jiao despite her identical appearance to Qiao Qiao 348.
• Deduces the Prince of Jin’s political ambitions and later assesses his regional alliances 333 438.
• Identifies Tang Mingfan’s quarters as a place where a harmful object might escape Meng Yulan’s scrutiny because of family propriety 923.

Childcare and Protection

Xiu'er becomes a trusted caregiver to both her own children and Tang Zhuyun’s 598 730 840.

• Throws pellet drums at a man attempting to seize Yanran; his apparent collapse frightens her, but the passage does not establish that she killed him 254.
• Understands Wuxian’s particular demands well enough that Tang Zhuyun considers her indispensable to him 728.
• Remains ready to defend Tang Zhuyun with improvised objects, including an ornamental vase during an assassination threat 442.
• Limit: Her boxing is poorly coordinated, and her fighting is explicitly contrasted with Xue Lie’s effective martial skills 46 287.

Equipment / Items

• Peachwood sword: A battered sword bought for ten copper coins, used against what she believes is the Prince of Jin’s ghost. She later demands a refund when she thinks it has failed 131 133.
• Gold bracelets: A pair given to her by Nanny Jing 302.
• Jewelry from Song Jingyang: Includes jade of sufficiently good quality that she dismisses Cui Xiaoqiu’s gift to Yanran as inferior 357 376.
• Carp lantern: A Lantern Festival gift purchased through Yanran with money Song Jingyang sent; Xiu'er writes to thank him and wish for his safety 496.
• Pearl curtain: One of numerous gifts Song Jingyang sends around Guagua’s birth; Xiu'er later proposes giving it as a present 615.

Relationships

• Tang Zhuyun — Mistress, confidante, and lifelong companion. Tang Zhuyun treats her as someone with whom she keeps no secrets and ultimately calls her the most important person in her life 508 730 980.
• Song Jingyang — Husband. Their relationship survives Xiu'er’s contemplated withdrawal and his posting to Qingzhou; he remains beside her through her final illness and dies the same night she does 373 401 980.
• Old Madam He — Mother. Xiu'er respects her wishes to remain with the Tang family rather than move into a house offered by Nanny Jing 305.
• Tang Mingfan — Benefactor who clears her father’s name and later gives Xiu'er and her mother a place in his household 372.
• Nanny Jing — Mother-in-law. Xiu'er responds to her consideration with a willingness to care for her and later worries about her safety while she attends Concubine Yu 305 540.
• Nanxing — Close friend and confidante. They discuss difficult romantic decisions, comfort each other, and pursue different ways of helping Tang Zhuyun during the prince’s imprisonment 371 372 373.
• Qin Sang — Friend whom Xiu'er encourages to move on from her unfulfilled love for Tang Mingfan; Qin Sang cries in her arms 237.
• Yanran — Young mistress whom she protects, teases, and advises. Her concern about the Cui household later gives way to support for Cui Xiaoqiu as Yanran’s prospective husband 254 470 681 840.
• Wuxian — Child she nurses and helps raise; particularly dependent on her understanding and care 598 728 840.

Notable Quotes

“Whether we're family remains to be seen, doesn't it? But you and I will surely be of one mind forever.” 302

“Your Highness, as long as someone has a good heart, what do the other things matter?” 305

“I won't disgust his future wife. Why should women make things difficult for other women?” 373

“I'm only worried about you... You must be kinder to yourself.” 980

Trivia

• Her father chose her name. Although she complains that “Xiu'er” is so common that several people might answer to it in the street, she refuses to change it out of regard for her parents 487.
• Emperor Wen jokes that she is the only person he has ever feared and expects that, in another life, she will again stand beside Tang Zhuyun and obstruct him 980.