Xu Xi

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Modern Life and Transmigration

Before transmigrating, Xu Xi studied industrial design, specializing in mechanical design. She was academically accomplished, attractive, and from a well-off family—circumstances that contributed to her confidence and independence 31 41.

Five days before the opening chapter, a car accident brought her into A Happy Life in Ancient Times as a supporting character sharing her name. She retained the original owner’s memories and was accompanied by a malfunctioning system intent on securing her happiness through artistic accomplishment 1 11.

The Original Xu Xi

The original owner grew up in town as the only daughter of the poor scholar Xu Yongzeng and his wife, Lady Lin. Her father earned money writing letters, while her mother embroidered. Both parents cherished her, and her father taught her to read and write 1 11 36.

Her father died when she was thirteen, and her mother followed within months. Her uncle Xu Yongyi and aunt Madam Xie then took her into their countryside home. They preserved her parents’ house for her eventual dowry rather than claiming it for themselves 1 4.

In the novel’s original course, returning to her birth family led to humiliation and increasing insecurity. Her birth mother eventually married her to a notorious wastrel. After the Marquis of Suiping’s Residence lost its property for supporting the wrong side in the succession struggle, her husband’s family divorced and expelled her. She died of cold and hunger in the snow 1 8.

Resisting the Marquis’s Household

Knowing this future, the transmigrated Xu Xi refused to accompany Steward Liu and Matron Ruan merely because they claimed she was the household’s missing daughter. She demanded evidence and rejected the system’s insistence that following the original route with better artistic skills would solve her problems 1 3.

To prevent the servants from carrying her away by force, she staged an attempt to hang herself. The public scene made coercion a threat to the marquis’s reputation, forcing the party to withdraw 4 5.

Lady Wei’s subsequent visit complicated the dispute: she insisted that Xu Xue, not Xu Xi, was her daughter. Xu Xi defended Xu Xue and refused to let either girl leave without conclusive proof. Xu Xue’s close resemblance to Madam Xie eventually undermined Lady Wei’s claim 21 23 25 28.

Securing Academy Admission

Xu Xi sought admission to the Women’s Academy as protection against the Zhao household’s authority. She expected its connection to Grand Princess Shangde to give her leverage, while formal study would also provide an explanation for knowledge acquired in modern life 9 10.

She coached Xu Xue on interview conduct and recognized that the entrance process tested character as well as learning. During a staged lost-purse incident, she questioned a supposed owner who could not identify the contents, escaped the woman’s threats with Xu Xue, and handed the purse to the examiners 11 13 14.

Both girls passed. Xu Xi chose to live in the county seat rather than board and began investigating ways to improve the Xu family’s finances 29 30 31.

Returning on Negotiated Terms

The household’s investigation identified a small red mole behind the missing child’s right ear. Matron Ruan verified Xu Xi’s mole, and an official document containing the wet nurse’s confession supplied further proof 32 33.

Xu Xi agreed to return only after raising three conditions: she would attend the academy, maintain contact with the Xu family, and retain her existing household registration during her studies. Her academy application identified her as Xu Xi of the Xu family, making that registration an additional safeguard 32 33.

Lady Zhu personally escorted her to the residence. Unlike the original owner’s humiliating reception, Xu Xi received a formal welcome and valuable gifts. The old madam renamed her Zhao Ruxi and placed her fifth among the sisters 38 41 44 45.

Her return did not end the conflict with Lady Wei. Xu Xi deliberately provoked a confrontation to escape her mother’s control and assess whether her assigned servants would protect her. They intervened against Lady Wei’s attendants, passing Xu Xi’s first test; Lady Wei then called for reinforcements 50.

Appearance

• Build and complexion: Tall and slender, with snow-white skin and a delicate upbringing 1 21.
• Face: A small, melon-seed-shaped face, lively slightly upturned eyes, a high straight nose, and full rosy lips 21.
• Bearing: Scholarly, composed, and self-assured; her confident manner accentuates her striking looks 1 41.
• Identifying mark: A small, slightly raised red mole behind her right ear, normally concealed by her hair 32.
• Family resemblance: She looks unlike Lady Wei and Zhao Yuanliang, but shares her eldest uncle Zhao Yuanxun’s facial shape, bright eyes, and tall figure 28 47.
• Clothing preferences: Favors simple, elegant clothing and cooler colors. For her return, she wears a pink jacket and purplish-red skirt with cloud-pattern embroidery, declining makeup 40.

Personality

Xu Xi is confident, outspoken, and unwilling to surrender control of her life for noble status. She considers self-respect, judgment, and the ability to resist mistreatment more important than merely becoming accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Her refusal to flatter the Zhao household is deliberate: she wants her boundaries understood before entering it 1 3 29.

Her independence is tempered by practical caution. She recognizes that the marquis’s household could threaten the Xu family, seeks institutional backing through the academy, and negotiates rather than relying on defiance alone. She is also willing to act—staging distress or adopting a girlish manner—when a performance serves her aims 4 5 10 25 33.

She remains genuinely attached to the Xu family and refuses to discard them after gaining wealth and status. Her affection extends to helping them earn money and encouraging Xu Xue’s writing and Xu Chongwen’s studies. At the same time, concealing her transmigration requires exhausting attention to how much her behavior changes 10 29 35 37 38 41.

Abilities & Skills

Strategic Judgment and Negotiation

Xu Xi uses foresight, evidence, and competing authorities to protect her freedom 10 32 33.

• Demands proof of parentage before accepting the Zhao household’s claims 23 28.
• Uses academy admission and existing identity documents as leverage when negotiating her return 33.
• Exploits public scrutiny to make forcibly removing her costly to the household’s reputation 4 5.
• Tests her servants through a confrontation rather than assuming their loyalty 50.

Academic and Examination Skills

Her modern education and inherited memories help her navigate the academy’s selection process 11 15.

• Applies modern interview principles when coaching Xu Xue on composure, politeness, and attention to instructions 11.
• Recognizes observation and judgment tests within the lost-purse scenario 13.
• Writes brush-script and classical Chinese using the original owner’s memories, though her calligraphy is only reasonably neat 15.
• Answers the character-focused examination honestly, preferring rejection to admission into an institution whose principles conflict with hers 15.

Industrial and Jewelry Design

Her industrial-design training provides a potential source of income 31.

• Specializes in mechanical design but is also comfortable with product design 31.
• Draws on her familiarity with modern master jewelers to develop designs more novel than local offerings 31.
• Investigates custom-design pricing and leaves drawings with Xu Xue to take to a silver shop 31 37.

Food Business Planning

Xu Xi develops a cold-dish business around her chili oil and advises the family on pricing, preparation, and customer trust 35 37.

• Proposes vegetable and meat dishes sold through stalls and restaurants 35.
• Accepts 20% of the profits, declining Xu Yongyi’s offer of 40% 35.
• Suggests additional spices and experiments with dried shrimp and shiitake mushroom powder 35.
• Insists on clean premises and equipment, small batches, and never selling spoiled food 37 38.

Storytelling Guidance

Although she does not write novels herself, Xu Xi has read many modern web novels and uses that experience to encourage Xu Xue’s storytelling 37.

• Recognizes commercial promise in Xu Xue’s existing stories 37.
• Offers imaginative ideas and encourages sustained practice toward writing saleable storybooks 36 37.

System Access

The system communicates inside Xu Xi’s head and provides notifications and a virtual shop 1 5.

• Awards Wisdom Points for artistic practice; better work is supposed to earn more points per page 6.
• Offers a Beauty Pill for 10,000 points and discusses other possible rewards 6.
• Xu Xi bargains the quoted Agility Pill price down from 30,000 to 20,000 points, but does not purchase it 6.
• Its plot knowledge is incomplete: it cannot explain Lady Wei’s unexpected attempt to claim Xu Xue 21.

Equipment / Items

• Journey outfit and jewelry — Lady Zhu provides a silk outfit; Matron Ruan dresses her with a jade hairpin, beaded flowers, pearl earrings, and jade bangles 40.
• Gold-and-jade hair ornaments — A valuable welcome gift from the old madam, drawing attention because Xu Xi belongs to the second branch 44.
• Jeweled collar ornament — Lady Wei’s gift, made with gold-mounted jade, chi dragons, pearls, jewels, and coral pendants 45.
• Jade bracelets and hairpin — Gifts from Lady Su 45.
• Four treasures of the study — Zhao Yuanxun gives her a finely crafted set he won with a poem at a literary gathering, hoping she will succeed at the academy 47.
• Jade ornament — A greeting gift from Zhao Yuanliang 47.

Relationships

Xu Family

• Xu Yongzeng and Lady Lin — The original owner’s deceased adoptive parents. They cherished and educated her before their deaths left her dependent on her uncle’s household 1 11 36.
• Xu Yongyi — Adoptive uncle and business partner. He supports her schooling, preserves her property interests, and promises a substantial dowry 4 9 35.
• Madam Xie — Adoptive aunt and trusted protector. She affirms that Xu Xi remains family regardless of blood ties and supports her refusal to be forced away 3 4 5.
• Xu Xue — Adoptive cousin whom Xu Xi regards as a sister. They enter the academy together; Xu Xi protects her during the identity dispute and encourages her writing 10 23 31 37.
• Xu Chongwen — Adoptive cousin who treats her as his younger sister. Xu Xi urges him to pursue examination success so he can help protect both girls 37 38.

Zhao Household

• Zhao Yuanliang — Recognized birth father and second master of the residence. He questions the identity dispute but ultimately receives Xu Xi as his daughter 23 33 47.
• Lady Wei — Recognized birth mother. She rejects Xu Xi’s identity, tries to claim Xu Xue, and later orders servants to strike Xu Xi 21 23 50.
• Zhao Jing’an — Her slightly older twin brother. He accompanies her to meet the men of the household and asks about her upbringing and academy admission 42 44 47.
• Zhao Ruyu — The girl raised in Xu Xi’s place and the original novel’s heroine. Ruyu is reborn and suspects Xu Xi has also returned from another life; Xu Xi does not know this and intends to keep her distance from the heroine 2 9 45 49.
• Lady Zhu — Eldest aunt and Marchioness of Suiping. She personally fetches Xu Xi, supports continued contact with the Xu family, and explains the Zhao household’s relationships 38 39 42.
• Zhao Yuanxun — Eldest uncle, whom Xu Xi strongly resembles. He welcomes her kindly and encourages her studies 47.
• The old madam — Welcomes her warmly, gives her valuable ornaments, and renames her Zhao Ruxi 44 45.

Attendants and System

• Matron Ruan — Initially frustrated by Xu Xi’s refusal to return, she comes to respect her resolve and judgment. She verifies the identifying mole and relays Xu Xi’s conditions 3 32 33.
• Matron Yuan, Qingfeng, Yicui, Dianjiang, and Old Woman Yu — Assigned attendants. Their intervention against Lady Wei’s servants passes Xu Xi’s first loyalty test, though she intends to keep observing them 47 50.
• Wisdom Leads You to a Happy Life (Partially Impaired) System — An argumentative companion whose prescribed path Xu Xi repeatedly rejects. She bargains with it, silences its celebrations, and persuades it to accept her own approach 1 6 15 41.

Notable Quotes

“If I follow the same old road, go into the residence and get bullied, then get married off to some scumbag they pick at random, unable to beat them or resist them, unable to control my own fate, what's the point of doing it all over again?” 3

“Either way, I won't live at their beck and call.” 29