A Magic Steeped in Poison

Luo Lian is a detailed, round but static character who befriends Ning on the first day of the competition. She is a shennong-tu, an apprentice to a registered shennong-shi, and has also entered the competition at the palace. She is from a rural province, Hallah, and many therefore assume her to be an ill-educated peasant. However, she is in fact the daughter of a high-ranking diplomat. She grew up in the palace and was once friends with the princess when the two were children. She therefore knows much about the nobles and intricate court politics at play. She befriends Ning on the first day of the competition.

Lian is cheerful, trusting, and bright. Though she is not as outspoken as Ning, she has a mischievous streak that leads her to visit the kitchens and befriend various servants against the express wishes of her father and the head of the servants, Steward Yang. She helps Ning without reservation, proving her loyalty in a way that is counter to the fraught politics and corruption that dominate the court. She is not as magically powerful as Ning but is a skilled shennong-tu who specializes in healing and strengthening bodies. This skill is crucial in saving the princess’s handmaiden Ruyi: a feat that earns the princess’s support in the competition.

Li Kang is the 19-year-old adopted son of the Banished Prince, Li Yuan. (Li Yuan is the emperor’s brother, who was banished 10 years ago following a failed coup attempt.) Li Kang is the second major character of the novel and serves as the love interest for the protagonist, Ning. He initially gives his name as “Bo,” and he is also called Xu Kang by the Chancellor, presumably to denote that he is adopted rather than being a “true” member of the Li family. Many characters have differing opinions about Kang’s motives, desires, and trustworthiness. He is also secretive and speaks in vague terms about his plans, causing Ning to doubt whether she can trust him. She changes her mind about this matter several times in the novel.

According to Kang, he wishes only to protect the people of Luzhou, also called the Emerald Isles, where his mother’s family originates and where his father was banished 10 years ago. He claims that he is not aware of his father’s plots and assassination attempts, and he says that his interest in Ning is genuine. However, several major plot twists in the novel, including his betrothal to the Princess Ying-Zhen and the sudden arrival of his father in the capital city, cast doubt on all of his claims.

Kang is an accomplished fighter who possesses adept skills in spying and subterfuge. In his private moments with Ning, he appears earnest and charming, taking on an outsider’s role similar to Ning’s, which gives him a sense of loneliness and alienation. His struggles throughout the novel demonstrate The Tension between Personal Desires and Social Obligations.

Li Ying-Zhen, the Princess Regent of Daxi and the daughter of the emperor, is a significant secondary character of the novel. Her actions and machinations in the background directly influence the plot and many of Ning’s struggles. Zhen is beautiful and elegant, always dressed in elaborate robes and jewelry. She appears at various moments to be either cold, calculating, and perfectly in control, or emotional, compassionate, and uncertain. Ning is not privy to most of Zhen’s plans or motives, and although the narrative initially implies that the princess may untrustworthy and dangerous, Ning’s understanding of the princess shifts to a more favorable stance in the second half of the novel.

Zhen reveals a depth of feeling both for her country and for those specifically in her care. She is especially close with her handmaiden, Ruyi. The loyalty and care between the two suggests a romantic relationship, though this matter is not explicitly discussed. Zhen claims that she wishes only to be a good ruler for her people: one who will protect them from bureaucratic overreach and the cruelty of those who abuse their power. By the novel’s conclusion, Ning decides to trust Zhen and to help her to fight against the Banish Prince’s second attempted coup.

Ruyi is Princess Ying-Zhen’s handmaiden and personal bodyguard. Though she is plot-important through her connection to Zhen, she is a tertiary character who appears only intermittently in the novel. She comes from a family that has served the royal family for generations, and she is trained in a secret form of martial arts. She is unwaveringly loyal to Zhen.

Ruyi is also the Shadow, whom Ning initially believes to be responsible for the poisoned tea around the kingdom. However, she was sent by Zhen to discover the source of the poisoning. Ruyi is discovered on one such mission and gravely wounded by a poisoned arrow, which she survives with the help of Ning and Lian. She is strong, short-tempered, and stoic.

Steward Yang, another tertiary character, is an older woman who manages the servant staff in the palace. She is also grandmother to Qing’er, a young boy who assists in the kitchens. Yang is respected and feared by the staff, who do not wish to anger her. Though she appears cold and hard, she is also honorable and caring. She fears for her daughter, who worked in the emperor’s private wing of the palace and has not been seen in several months. She also knew and respected Ning’s mother, Wu Yiting. For Yiting’s sake, she helps Ning several times in the novel. She is highly knowledgeable about the political intrigue in the court, though she tries to stay above it. In the novel’s climax, her kindness to Ning puts her and her family in danger, as the Chancellor banishes her family and sentences her to death. At the conclusion of the novel, her fate remains unclear.