Consort Jing, Lin Xinyao [林訢瑤]

[Placeholder and additional links for notes on wuxia, use of honorifics, NiF, etc.]

NAME: Mira
AGE: 29
CONTACT: revermeil
Discord: revermeil#4953
CHARACTERS IN GAME: N/A


CHARACTER NAME: Consort Jing - [Jing-Ping/Jing-Fei] - She will go by "Lin Xinyang" in the game (reasoning below).
AGE: mid-to-late 50s
CANON Nirvana in Fire [Lang Ya Bang] 1 - The Lists of Langya (drama)
CANON POINT Post-canon/Pre-epilogue (Episode 54)

HISTORY: (does contain spoilers, though I tried to tone it down where possible. Please ask if anything needs to be clarified!)

Setting: Nirvana in Fire takes place in "Historical Fantasy China" - it is set to take place during the time of the short lived kingdom of "Liang" (502-557 AD), but there are anachronistic references made to later eras. Much of the setting is based on the actual history and culture of the time, as well as wuxia conventions (a long-standing genre centering around martial artists in ancient/pre-modern China), though the characters and events are purely fictional.

Character History : “Jing” was born as a commoner, was apprenticed to a doctor, and became a traveling female physician (which was not a highly regarded position at the time) at a relatively young age. During the course of her travels, she runs into some unspecified trouble, and is rescued by a very skilled young martial artist, who cheerfully introduces himself as a commoner, using an obvious pseudonym [the equivalent of calling yourself “Flower Rock Tree”]. This turns out to be a blatant lie - he is actually a nobleman from a prominent family with close connections to the Imperial Court, and the commander-general of an army of 70,000 men (the Chiyan army). He ends up bringing her to the capital city of the country, and essentially adopts her into the family.

Said family is very much intertwined with the family of the Emperor - not only was the man (Lin Xie) a very close friend of the Emperor himself, but his wife (Xiao Jinyang) was the Emperor's sister, and his own sister (Lin Yueyao) was a highly ranked consort to the Emperor and the mother of the apparent heir, Crown Prince Xiao Jingyu. However, ever since she had her baby, Yueyao had been poorly, and so the Lin family chose to send “Jing” into the palace as a doctor, attendant, and companion to her. During that time, she caught the Emperor's eye, soon had a son of her own, Xiao Jingyan, and was granted the title of "Jing" - as a palace concubine.

Things were peaceful for a while. The families remained close, and their respective children - Xiao Jingyan and the prodigy Lin Shu (Lin Xie and Xiao Jinyang's own son) - were raised together under the watchful eye of their older brother-cousin, the Crown Prince. There were still battles along the nation’s borders to be fought, and from a very young age, both Xiao Jingyan and Lin Shu took part; Jingyan in support of his father the Emperor and Lin Shu as one of the leading officers of the Chiyan army (the Young Marshal). To a certain extent, the entire Lin family protected the country with devotion and ferocity while the young Crown Prince studied principles of good governance. But people in the court started to murmur about the influence this one family had on the Emperor, and the Emperor, who was unfortunately susceptible to paranoia, began to believe that they might throw their influence behind the Crown Prince and depose him.

Things all came to a head with an elaborate conspiracy which resulted in the massacre and death of the entire Chiyan army (including Lin Xie and Lin Shu, father and son, who were declared to be traitors to the throne), the executions of many associated with the Lins and the Crown Prince, and the suicides of several people, including the Crown Prince, his mother (Lin Yueyao/Consort Chen), and the wife of the dead General Lin (Xiao Jinyang). Essentially, everyone important to Jing other than her son (Xiao Jingyan, who just happened to be away on business at the time) had been taken away from her in a short time. Rather than openly denounce the Emperor's actions and suffering the same fate, she chose to fade into the background to serve as support for her still-living son, who returns to the capital in some bewilderment at how his entire world had been turned upside-down.

Due to her background as a female physician and the lack of favor (or any attention at all, really) from the Emperor, both Jing and her son have been written off in comparison to the sons of other consorts and the Empress as candidates for the throne. Twelve years pass, and the country seems poised for destruction, due to constant political maneuvering and in-fighting, with very little regard for actually governing the country and its people. But at this point, the drama actually begins, and everything changes.

PERSONALITY: 'Jing' is actually a title or designation granted by the Emperor based on personality, as is generally traditional; the other consorts and concubines in the palace also have titles that (to varying degrees) have some correlation with their level of favor, ability, or some outstanding trait. In this case, Jing is particularly apt. It is actually the character 静, which translates to stillness, tranquility, and calmness. Despite the in-fighting, politics, and drama within the Inner Palace, her own lowly origins, and her traitorous connections to the families that were disgraced in the upheaval that precede the present day events of the drama, she has managed to maintain a quiet oasis, never drawing too much attention to herself and essentially fading strategically into the background for over a decade until circumstances change with the arrival of the main character.

Despite the implication of her title, she is by no means passive. While she mainly avoids direct confrontation, she still stands up for or supports the other consorts when they get caught up in the power struggles between the Empress and the most favored Noble Consort Yue, maintaining good relationships with most of them. When presented with evidence of a conspiracy (this occurs several times), she quietly makes plans to bring the relevant information to the attention of those outside the palace, despite having very few obvious resources at her disposal (in particular, there are very strict limitations on who can enter or leave the Palace based on rank). She is observant and unobtrusive, and even though she doesn't scheme or conspire openly, she takes careful note of people and events around her, often discovering things that would otherwise be hidden and putting that information to good use. Her deep understanding of the personalities of those around her (everyone from the Emperor himself to her personal attendants in the palace) enables her to sidestep apparent traps or ease worries and paranoid suspicions without seeming to have any ulterior motive.

This is especially important because she patently does have ulterior motives. She is deeply loyal to the memories of her friends and family who were framed and unjustly murdered, despite the fact that even mentioning them is considered deeply anathema due to the decisions passed down by the Emperor. In fact, these previous relationships and loyalties are a major part of the reason she (and by extension, her son) was not able to rise in status in accordance with her years in the palace, and chose to stay hidden in the background, never once resenting that situation. Once there was a hint that it might be possible to redress those wrongs and clear their names, she gave herself wholeheartedly to those plans, taking initiative to seek out information, influence the Emperor and events within the Palace, and support her son and the main character from the background. Over the course of the drama, she retains her outward quiet, calm disposition, but reveals an inner core of steel. She is described by one of the other characters as being "like a cotton ball", able to withstand and absorb any blow without being fundamentally damaged or changed. Despite mounting opposition from those in the palace as she slowly rises in status and influence, she refuses to rise to their taunting or blows, apparently submitting to their authority and unjust punishments without complaint, but somehow always managing to triumph in the end.

Of the relationships still in her life, the most important is her relationship to her son. Due to circumstances and social convention, she is very limited in her ability to see him, but always takes care of him as much as possible by making his favorite desserts for him and plying him with food on the occasions of his few visits. The two trust each other implicitly, though she still keeps certain things from him (often out of practicality rather than any particular reluctance), especially mysteries of her past. He is devoted to her, but does not always understand her thoroughly, and she is usually a few steps ahead of him.

CANON POWERS: Jing doesn't have any magical powers in the drama, just an uncanny intuition, skill with handicrafts and traditional Chinese medicine (which includes some level of surgery, acupuncture, herbal remedies, etc.), and a small measure of ability to protect herself/fend for herself while traveling.

OTHER:
Naming: I am taking Jing from a canon point at which she's received some closure in terms of her family. Being that this is a brand new environment and there is a long-standing Chinese tradition of changing names as needed at different stages in one's life, she'll be adopting the name "Lin Xinyao" (Lin from her adopted family, Xin for happiness, and Yao in solidarity with her sister who died), but since most people here are younger (at least outwardly) than she is, and there are social conventions against using her full name, she'll generally request that they refer to her as "Aunt/Auntie Jing" or “Big Sister Jing”.

Culture Note: More of a cautionary note; I am Chinese, but much of what I'll be doing in terms of conveying the culture that informs some of the character’s actions are 1) based on my own limited understanding/interpretation of general wuxia conventions, and 2) definitely not guaranteed historically accurate. There will be instances where I fudge things for convenience, just plain forget, or never knew about them in the first place, but I'll try to note where I'm unsure or taking liberties as much as possible. References and reference posts will be listed in the journal.



CRAU INFO: N/A.
MAGIC ABILITY:
I'd like for her to have the ability to hold small items in stasis; essentially to be able to "wrap" or "hold" something in a small pocket where time doesn't pass and they can be perfectly preserved. This can be limited either in terms of size and number (i.e. she can "hold" 10-15 items in containers of a certain size or shape) or in totality (i.e. she has the total equivalent of a small cabinet of space that she can "parcel" out as needed until she runs out - she can "free up" space, but the items inside will fall out and be subject to time again). She can “lend” these pockets to people, but only for a limited amount of time.
ANY WEAPONS/MAGICAL ITEMS?: None; she will only have mundane items (mainly medicines and supplies from home, jewelry, and clothes - lots of clothes).
ANY PETS?: None.


LINKED SAMPLE: https://acatalepsy-ooc.dreamwidth.org/335.html?thread=218447#cmt218447