Xie Ruxian

The only child of the unfavored Imperial Prince Jin, Ruxian was idealistic and sensitive as a young boy growing up with Murong Youning. However, living under the iron-fisted rule of his grandfather, seeing the plight of the kingdom's people hardened his idealism into a relentless ambition to remedy the court's cruelty and indifference. In his tender teenage years, Ruxian resolved to fight for the throne.

• 170 cm
• Quite slender
• Generally appears unflappable but his mind is always turning
• Favors jewel tones and darker colors
• Keeps his hair simple despite his station
• Excels at archery and riding but decidedly mediocre as a fighter

• Outwardly always calm, cool, and collected, but actually a mess of frenetic energy and long-term plotting on the inside
• Clever in a way that's almost more of a curse than a boon
• A schemer with superb long-range vision; thorough and cunning
• Can smile and schmooze with the best of them, excellent at appearing sincere; sometimes he even actually is
• Masks upon masks upon masks; very few ever see his true self
• Mischievous and glib with those he's close to (approximately 3 people total)
• Bratty, spoiled, and demanding with Youning only
• Secretly, at the very deeply buried core of him, still that sensitive boy
• Still, ruthless as needed

• Riding
• Archery
• Calligraphy
• Playing guqin
• Painting
• Master at weiqi
• Schemes within schemes within schemes
• Almost preternatural predictive abilities

• Born to a gentle-tempered (read: politically irrelevant) Imperial prince and his primary consort who were very much in love; his father had two other concubines but did not favor them
• Grew up with Murong Youning as Prince Jin's residence was near the Murong estate
• Formed a fast friendship and deep bond with Youning which, in their teenage years, became romantic
• Immersed himself in long term planning while Youning was in military training, including choosing his future spouse
• Found himself at odds with Youning upon the latter's return
• A year or more's worth of turmoil in which both of them used every tactic available to undermine one another before a stormy and irrevocable reconciliation
• Has since been building his faction with both Youning and Fengyu's help

Murong Youning: First and only love. They go from close to estranged to hostile to even closer than before. Won't give the crown up for him, but wants to keep Youning with him

Li Fengyu: Princess Consort who is his partner in scheming and with whom he eventually has several children. They develop a real friendship in the course of their marriage

Xie Ruyu: Shady older cousin he eventually forms an alliance with

Contemporary: Son of a rich big business family, works at his own tech start-up

Idols: Classical dancer, big vocal

Showbiz: Well-known erhu player

Spies: Trained honeypot operative turned escaped fugitive

Xianxia: Immortal son of Heaven, true form is a phoenix

The Fox's Wife: A human who gave up his life to cure hulijing Murong Youning's illness and consequently dies an early death in every reincarnation since.