CHARACTERS
MAIN CHARACTERS
GU FUZHOU 顾扶洲: Surname Gu, given name Fuzhou. Titled “great general.” Nicknamed the “war god” of the Great Yu Empire.
LIN QINGYU 林清羽: Surname Lin, given name Qingyu. Aspiring physician. Extremely skilled in medicine.
✦ ✦ ✦
ROYAL COURT
THE EMPEROR 皇上: The unnamed ruler of the Great Yu Empire.
EMPRESS WEN 温皇后: Empress of the Great Yu Empire.
NOBLE CONSORT CHEN 陈贵妃: Beloved concubine of the emperor. Mother of Crown Prince Xiao Cheng.
XIAO CHENG 萧琤: Son of Noble Consort Chen. Crown prince of Great Yu.
XIAO LI 萧璃: Sixth prince of Great Yu.
XIAO JIE 萧玠: Fourth prince of Great Yu.
XI RONG 奚容: Steward of Xiao Jie.
XUE YING 薛英: Trusted eunuch of the emperor.
YUAN YIN 袁寅: Steward of Gu Fuzhou.
DUKE WU 武国公: Most respected warrior of the previous emperor’s rule.
✦ ✦ ✦
DEPARTMENT OF IMPERIAL PHYSICIANS
LIN RUSHAN 林汝善: Lin Qingyu’s father. Head imperial physician.
CHU ZHENGDE 褚正德: Lin Qingyu’s superior. Deputy head imperial physician.
✦ ✦ ✦
MISCELLANEOUS
HUANTONG 欢瞳/HUALU 花露: Servants of Lin Qingyu.
MARQUESS OF NAN’AN 南安侯: Patriarch of the Lu family. Father of Lin Qingyu’s late husband, Lu Wancheng.
LADY PAN 潘氏: Concubine in the marquess of Nan’an’s household.
LIN QINGHE 林清鹤: Younger brother of Lin Qingyu.
GENERAL WU ZHAN 吴战: A military official serving in Great Yu’s army. Nicknamed “Lao-san.”
DEPUTY GENERAL ZHAO MINGWEI 赵明威: A military official serving in Great Yu’s army. His title is sometimes informally shortened to “General.”
PRINCESS JINGCHUN 静淳郡主: Maid from Great Yu who married into the North Kingdom.
SHEN HUAISHI 沈淮识: Shadow guard of Xiao Cheng.
XU JUNYUAN 徐君愿/“HALF-IMMORTAL XU” 徐半仙: Imperial preceptor of Great Yu.
ZHANG SHIQUAN 张世全: Accountant from Duke Wen’s residence.
ZHU YONGXIN 朱永新: Butcher living in hiding.
✦ ✦ ✦
LOCATIONS
IMPERIAL PALACE
QINZHENG HALL 勤政殿: The venue where morning court is held. Contains the emperor’s quarters.
JINYANG PALACE 晋阳园: Side palace outside of the capital. Sixth Prince Xiao Li’s residence.
✦ ✦ ✦
ELSEWHERE
CHANGSHENG TEMPLE 长生寺: The most revered temple in Great Yu. Xu Junyuan practices here.
✦ ✦ ✦
INSTITUTIONS
IMPERIAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE 太医署: Where aspiring imperial physicians train.
DEPARTMENT OF IMPERIAL PHYSICIANS 太医院: Where imperial physicians work. They treat members of the royal family, including the emperor.
HEAD IMPERIAL PHYSICIAN 院判: Fifth-rank official. Oversees the department.
DEPUTY HEAD IMPERIAL PHYSICIAN 副院判: Deputy to head imperial physician.
COURT PHYSICIAN 御医: In charge of treating the emperor.
MEDICAL SECRETARY 吏目: Sixth-rank official. Oversees administrative tasks.
IMPERIAL PHYSICIAN 太医/医官: Department’s lowest rank.
TIANJI GUARD 天机营: Group of shadow guards working for the emperor.
TIANYU SECT 天狱门: Secret counterpart of the Tianji Guard.
✦ ✦ ✦
NAME GUIDE
Diminutives, Nicknames, and Name Tags
LAO-: Prefix meaning “old.” Usually added to a surname. Used in informal contexts to indicate familiarity.
-DAGE: Suffix meaning “big brother” or “older brother.”
XIAO-: Prefix meaning “little” or “younger.” Can be added before names or titles for juniors. Often used in an affectionate and familiar context.
-ER: “Child.” Affectionate suffix.
A-: Friendly diminutive. Always a prefix. Usually for monosyllabic names, or one syllable out of a disyllabic name.
Family
-GEGE: Older brother or older male. Can be used as an affectionate address.
-XIONG: Can refer to older brother or male friend. More respectful and distant than -gege.
Other
-GONGZI: Young man from an affluent household.