Zhao Huiluan

Biodata

Background / History

Previous Life

Zhao Huiluan grew up as the favored daughter of the Yongzhao Emperor. In the forty-third year of his reign, his sudden death brought her younger brother to the throne. Barely a month later, the Prince of Jin rebelled, and she fell from an exalted grand princess to a prisoner. Wen Hong obtained the imperial seal from her brother under the pretense of arranging their escape, then used it to welcome the rebels into Yan Capital 1.

Xichun died shielding the siblings from Jin’s soldiers. Zhao Huiluan endured imprisonment and humiliation, while her brother was confined and became gravely ill. Wen Nihe, whom she had once treated affectionately, abused her after her downfall and mocked her dying brother 1 2 18.

Yunsong, the Marquis of Annan, exchanged his military merits for permission to marry her, giving her the protection of his household. He also arranged treatment for her brother and repeatedly escorted her home after her visits. Their marriage remained nominal; Zhao Huiluan had long harbored unspoken feelings for Rong An 17 32.

Unable to save her brother or strike down the new emperor, Zhao Huiluan slit her own throat. Yunsong broke through the surrounding Brocade Guards and caught her as she took her life 1 32.

Rebirth and Her Mother’s Death

Zhao Huiluan returned to the thirty-fourth year of Yongzhao’s reign, nine years before the rebellion, in her seven-year-old body. Hoping to warn her father about the Prince of Jin, she instead overheard him discussing the decision to “kill the mother, keep the child” on the day her mother died in childbirth. Wen Hong praised the decision as a means of limiting the military power of the empress’s Zhang relatives 1 3.

The discovery destroyed her trust in her father’s affection. Nevertheless, imperial favor was her only immediate protection, so she concealed her knowledge and played the grieving, dependent child. Her deliberate appeal to the emperor’s guilt brought forward the edict naming Zhao Jin’ang crown prince and granting her the title Zhenning and residence in Jade Balance Palace 1 2.

At her mother’s coffin, she vowed to protect her brother and remove the obstacles threatening his future 3.

Saving Marquis Jingwu’s Residence

Knowing that her grandfather and uncle faced political ruin, Zhao Huiluan publicly acted distant toward her maternal relatives. She emphasized the distinction between sovereign and subject and claimed that only her father and brother were her closest family, reassuring the emperor rather than openly challenging his suspicions 3 4.

Privately, she used a jade pendant found among her mother’s belongings to enlist Tao Xuanzhi. At her instruction, he reported an auspicious southern general’s star and a dimming northern one. The emperor subsequently withheld action on impeachment memorials against Marquis Jingwu’s Residence 4 5 9.

Consort Jing’s advice during a Go game—“Sacrifice the chariot to save the general; sever the tail to survive”—helped Zhao Huiluan settle on a compromise. She asked to retain Zhang Yunchi in Yan Capital as her archery instructor, disguising the arrangement as a childish desire to make him her follower. When news of a northern invasion arrived, Zhang Tai and Zhang Yong were allowed to return to the frontier, while Zhang Yunchi remained behind 6 9 10.

Years later, Zhang Yunchi explicitly thanked her for saving his father, grandfather, and household, acknowledging the danger he had been too young to understand 34.

Building an Independent Faction

Zhao Huiluan initially refused Xiao Qinglan’s request to become her trusted aide, judging his connection to a convicted official and his conflict with Wen Hong too dangerous. After he rescued Zhao Jin’ang from a palace fire and suffered severe burns, she arranged for him to enter the Eastern Depot 15.

Through Xiao Qinglan, she investigated the interests behind Between Water and Clouds and the backgrounds of promising examination graduates. She concluded that a princess’s authority alone could not change her fate: she needed people at court capable of resisting the Wen faction, the Grand Secretariat, and even members of her own family 15 16.

Rong An became central to that plan. Zhao Huiluan intervened in the marriage discussion surrounding him and Wen Nihe, obtaining an ambiguous promise from the emperor to revisit her own marriage prospects in two years. She later explained that a direct refusal of Wen Nihe would have exposed Rong An to retaliation from the Wen family 20 23.

Rong An and the Imperial College

Zhao Huiluan persuaded her father to let her attend the crown prince’s lessons, partly to see Rong An. Her interest did not spare her discipline: he struck her palm three times when she failed to complete her assigned copying 22 23.

When officials who impeached Wen Hong were imprisoned, she warned Rong An that his teacher, Xie Shangxiu, would be implicated. She ordered Xiao Qinglan to protect the endangered households and personally visited Xie in the Imperial Prison. Her attempt to dissuade him from submitting a blood-written memorial failed, but his willingness to expose corruption at the cost of his life left a lasting impression on her 25 26 43.

She subsequently persuaded the emperor to admit women from prominent families to the Imperial College alongside her. Although she initially struggled with its early mornings and strict routine, her work improved enough for Rong An to present one of her essays to the emperor 27 28 46 47.

At the college, she offered to help Rong An enter the Grand Secretariat in exchange for his support in ensuring Zhao Jin’ang’s eventual succession. After clarifying that she was not proposing rebellion, she sealed their alliance with a handclasp 35.

Missing Girls and the Wen–Shen Marriage

During the missing-girls investigation, Zhao Huiluan supplied her late mother’s pendant to Zhang Yunchi and later ordered a search for a criminal’s parents, whose safety had been used to silence him. Recognizing Daoist Xuanyi from her previous life, she connected the disappearances to pills made from virgin girls’ menstrual blood and offered to the emperor. She warned Rong An to stop investigating, fearing reprisals against him and the women involved 38 40 41.

Despite her hatred of Wen Hong, she befriended his grandson Wen Yan and helped him pursue Shen Zhiyao. She advised him to become class prefect, arranged a private meeting, and eventually secured Shen Zhiyao’s agreement to marry him. Before the Wen household investigated the bride, she warned Shen Zhiyun to make Shen Zhiyao’s stated background more convincing 31 34 43.

Departure for Jiangnan

Wen Yan’s decision to undertake practical government service prompted Zhao Huiluan to seek experience beyond the capital. She told Rong An that she wanted to learn about ordinary life and administration, while intending to take advantage of the arrangements Wen Hong made for his grandson 46.

Before the emperor, she presented the journey differently: she asked to visit Jiangnan for pleasure and specifically requested no official appointment. On the seventeenth day of the eighth month, she departed Yan Capital with Nianxia and Fudong 49.

Appearance

• At seven: Has a delicate profile compared to powdered jade and a pretty porcelain doll 9.
• At thirteen: Slender and graceful, with a rounded face, dark mountain-like brows, red lips, white teeth, and large, bright almond eyes 11 22.
• Hair: Dark, described falling over her shoulders 22.
• Bearing: Often wears a languid expression or a bright, mischievous smile; Wen Nihe considers her beauty striking enough to eclipse the surrounding spring scenery 18 22.

Personality

Zhao Huiluan deliberately cultivates the image of a spoiled, willful princess. She pouts, flatters her father, and turns apparent childish whims into political requests. Her supposed dislike of Zhang Yunchi conceals an arrangement that protects his family, while her public dependence on imperial affection hides deep distrust 1 3 9 10.

Her brother’s safety is her strongest motivation. She is tender toward him but also teases him relentlessly, dodging his attempts to hold her hand and cheating just enough at rock-paper-scissors to keep winning. His danger can overwhelm her judgment: after the palace fire, she momentarily considers the emperor’s order to beat his attendants to death justified 15 47.

The betrayals of her previous life make her cautious about intimacy. Even while pursuing Rong An, she considers shared interests more dependable than affection and refuses to entrust her future solely to romance. Her treatment of Xiao Qinglan also shows a calculating side: she initially rejects him as a liability and later reminds him that she can both elevate and ruin him 15 16 34.

She remains playful and pleasure-loving, enjoying food, wine, matchmaking, and watching other people’s romantic encounters. She is also able to distinguish individuals from their families, defending Wen Yan with the observation that no one chooses the family into which they are born 30 31 34.

Abilities & Skills

Memories of Her Previous Life

• Anticipates threats including the Prince of Jin’s rebellion, the prosecution of her maternal relatives, and the case against Xie Shangxiu 1 9 25.
• Recognizes people and practices she previously encountered, including Rong An and Daoist Xuanyi’s pills 13 41.
• Limit: Her knowledge is incomplete. Xiao Qinglan’s account of Rong An’s childhood surprises her, and she must still obtain current intelligence through others 5 16.

Political Strategy and Persuasion

• Uses her father’s guilt, affection, suspicion of powerful in-laws, and desire to appear wise to secure concessions 1 9 27.
• Works through intermediaries such as Tao Xuanzhi and Xiao Qinglan rather than exposing her intentions directly 4 5 15.
• Recruits allies through reciprocal interests, most explicitly offering Rong An advancement in exchange for protecting the succession 35.

Scholarship, Drawing, and Go

• Plays Go independently and recognizes the strategic implications of Consort Jing’s advice 6.
• Draws a portrait of Rong An that he takes and keeps 23.
• Progresses from avoiding reading and calligraphy to producing an essay praised by the emperor; Rong An reports that she excels in most subjects 22 46 47.

Archery

• Trains under Zhang Yunchi for six years 10 11.
• Can perform the shooting sequence smoothly, but her accuracy remains poor: Zhang Yunchi says she misses nine times out of ten 11.
• Her bodyguards’ martial ability should not be confused with her own; Nianxia and Fudong provide protection she cannot supply through archery 11 14.

Equipment / Items

• Concealed-weapon gold hairpin — Commissioned through Xiao Qinglan; contains five poisoned silver needles as fine as ox hairs. Its most effective distance is about five paces, with limited range and awkward use at close quarters 16.
• Gem-set bow — Used during lessons with Zhang Yunchi 11.
• Jade pendant from the empress’s belongings — Presented to Tao Xuanzhi when requesting his assistance 4.
• Late mother’s pendant — Entrusted to Zhang Yunchi during the missing-girls investigation; Zhao Huiluan insists on its intact return and checks it for damage afterward 38 40.
• Rong An’s poem — Kept as treasured handwriting, prompting teasing from Shen Zhiyun 21 22.
• Taihu rock — A gift from Xiao Qinglan, installed beside her pond after she casually remarked that the garden lacked one 15.

Relationships

• Zhao Jin’ang — Younger brother and crown prince. Protecting his life and securing his succession are her central goals; he openly adores and defends her 3 11 35 47.
• Yongzhao Emperor — Father and immediate source of protection. She maintains an affectionate façade after learning of his role in her mother’s death 1 2.
• The empress — Deceased mother. Zhao Huiluan mourns her deeply and makes her promise to protect Jin’ang before her coffin 3.
• Zhang Tai — Maternal grandfather, Marquis Jingwu. His grief and affection contrast with the coolness she performs to reassure the emperor 3 4.
• Zhang Yong — Maternal uncle. Saving him from imprisonment is a major objective of her earliest interventions 3 9 10.
• Zhang Yunchi — Older cousin, archery instructor, and study companion. Their quarrels develop into mutual trust; he eventually recognizes her sacrifices for his family 9 22 34.
• Rong An — Longstanding love interest, teacher, and political ally. Her admiration survives his strict discipline, but their formal alliance rests on shared interests 17 23 35.
• Yunsong, Marquis of Annan — Husband in name and protector in her previous life. He sacrificed military rewards to shelter her and helped her dying brother 17 32.
• Xichun — Trusted maid inherited from her mother, five years her senior. Her death protecting the siblings in the previous life makes their reunion especially emotional 2.
• Xiao Qinglan — Rescued eunuch and eventual trusted operative. His rescue of Jin’ang changes her willingness to support him 6 15.
• Consort Jing — Caregiver to the infant crown prince and a source of guidance. Her Go advice helps Zhao Huiluan resolve the Zhang family’s predicament 2 6.
• Shen Zhiyun — Childhood friend and college roommate. Zhao Huiluan renews their closeness after remembering their estrangement and Shen Zhiyun’s death in the previous life 18 28.
• Wen Yan — Friend, drinking companion, and beneficiary of her matchmaking. She treats him separately from the Wen relatives she despises 30 31 43.
• Wen Hong — Political enemy implicated in her mother’s death and the betrayal of her brother. She seeks enough independent influence to resist his faction 1 16.
• Wen Nihe — Former companion turned enemy. Remembering her cruelty after the rebellion, Zhao Huiluan refuses to accept an evasive apology for her present-life offenses 18.

Notable Quotes

“Mother, don’t worry. I’ll protect my younger brother and see him grow up safe and sound. I’ll do everything in my power to clear the obstacles from his path. I swear I’ll keep him safe this time.” 3

“But who can choose the family they are born into?” 31

“I do not mean to defy my sovereign and stir up rebellion. But the affairs of the world are fickle, as are people’s hearts. Today I am a princess, exalted above all; tomorrow I may be a prisoner beneath the steps, reviled by everyone.” 35