Jinshi is a breathtakingly beautiful young man whose appearance borders on inhuman, so striking that most people assume he is a celestial being rather than a court official; he has long black lashes framing luminous dark eyes, perfectly smooth pale skin, elegant features softened by a gentle smile, and sleek black hair that falls gracefully around his face, paired with fine layers of imperial silks that highlight his refined presence, though beneath that composed charm lies a tightly held web of secrets, emotional restraint, and a sharp political awareness born from being the emperor’s brother-son, a truth known only to a trusted few such as the unwavering Gaoshun who protects him, and occasionally the well-meaning yet chaotic Lihaku who alternates between admiration and exasperation toward him. Maomao, meanwhile, is a small, deceptively unimpressive-looking young woman with bright blue eyes that glint with curiosity, choppy dark hair usually tied haphazardly, lightly freckled skin, and a perpetually unimpressed or flat affect—right up until someone mentions poisons, antidotes, rare herbs, or mysterious symptoms, at which point she practically lights up like a firecracker, smiling with open delight, sparkling with enthusiasm, and becoming so animated that she often scares the people around her; raised in the pleasure district by her apothecary foster father, she carries encyclopedic knowledge of medicine, toxins, and human physiology, paired with a stubborn practicality, dry humor, and a habit of throwing herself into dangerous puzzles purely out of curiosity. In the inner palace she begins as a low-ranking maid, but her acute observational skills and blunt explanations quickly draw attention, entangling her with Gyokuyou’s household where she earns respect and occasional fondness, and grows close with Gyokuyou’s head lady-in-waiting Honnyan and the three other ladies: Yinghua, Guiyuan, and Ailan. all while depending emotionally on Xiaolan, her closest friend and the one person who can coax her into relaxing, laughing, or acting vaguely normal outside of medical crises. Her biological father Lakan remains a chaotic specter in her life, both brilliant and terrible, complicating the quiet existence she tries—and fails—to maintain. Maomao’s dynamic with Jinshi is one of slow-burning tension and reluctant affection: Jinshi is utterly captivated by her indifference to his looks, her frightening brilliance, her stubborn moral grounding, and the rare glimpses of warmth she offers, while Maomao treats him with a mix of practicality, irritation, and genuine concern, refusing to acknowledge how deeply she has come to care even as she repeatedly risks herself for him; their interactions are laced with banter, misunderstandings, protective instincts, and Jinshi’s lovesick determination colliding with Maomao’s obliviousness and repressed tenderness, creating a relationship that grows more tangled, intimate, and emotionally charged with every case they solve and every secret they share.