萧诗琴 : Xiāo Shī Qín : 螭 (Chī Wěn)

美在内心 : inner beauty

PERSONALITY TRAITS :　

▸ POSITIVE : adaptable, optimistic, forgiving, passionate, loyal
▸ NEUTRAL : sensitive, intelligent, strong-willed, honest
▸ NEGATIVE : opinionated, naive, vain, lazy, narrow-minded
▸ OTHER : Taurus, ESFP

PERSONALITY :　Alright, let's start positive. Because of her wealth and comfort, Shiqin has never really known the outside world, and she thinks that everything is happy and that everyone gets happy endings. This has led to her being extremely optimistic about, well, almost everything. Because of her optimism, Shiqin can adapt very quickly to most situations, believing that everything will end up well. She's also the forgiving type, which leads to her maintaining pretty good relationships with her friends and family. Shiqin's an emotional person, so with her, it's either love or hate, not much in between. She's also fiercely loyal to anyone she considers her friends and will stand up for them no matter whether they were right or wrong.

So even though Shiqin doesn't know much about the peasant life, she feels genuinely sorry for them and hopes they can have a better life. She often gives money or food to beggars when she goes out, and sometimes she even says a kind word to them ("I hope you can have a good meal today!" "Please buy your children some nice clothes!") but unbeknownst to her, the peasants and beggars often taken her words and actions as condescension. Of course, the daughter of a scholar can't be too dumb, even if women aren't allowed to read and write. Shiqin is a sweet-talker, and she can weave her words to her advantage in most situations. This doesn't always go her way, since a lot of practical people will see through her flowery words (like her best friend Meilin and Chiwen). 'Strong-willed' is just another way to say stubborn, because Shiqin, having grown up spoiled, must have things her way. Of course, sometimes this does work out in her favor, and she doesn't always throw tantrums, but it's certainly not a good trait to have; she's gotten into a lot of arguments with her servants and sometimes seems to lead Meilin around on a leash! Shiqin is also quite honest. It might seem weird that she can be both silvertongued and honest, but she'll act whichever way advantages her most. Honesty is a good thing in most cases, but sometimes Shiqin can be brutal, which can lead to tense relations.

Because she grew up in a bubble, Shiqin can sometimes have very strong opinions on things that she doesn't fully understand. When she voices those opinions, it almost always ends up against her (like if she complains that the beggars she gives money to are ungrateful, it ruins her reputation). She's also quite naive about the world, given that she's been sheltered her entire life. She just doesn't know how the world works, and she thinks that everything has a happy ending. On top of all this, she's vain and lazy. Given that she did grow up in a wealthy family, it's only natural for her to take care of her appearance and not do any work. Shiqin's only ever really known the values that her family accepts, so she doesn't really consider other people's values valid, leading her to be narrow-minded.

By now, you've probably realized that Shiqin can be pretty talkative. That being said, if she's talking about a topic that interests her (positively or negativel), she will never shut up. Obviously, this can be pretty annoying, especially when she has some really strong extreme opinions about said topic (aka being a ). A lot of said iness does actually stem from her naiveness, in that she doesn't understand how hard poor people have to work or that not everything can go her way. She can be pretty self-absorbed in this sense, and adding to that is how vain she tends to be. Shiqin knows she's pretty, intelligent, and all that, and instead of working to improve her negative traits, she capitalizes on her positive traits and becomes egotistical, in which she will make naive comments and never shut up ;)) (it all connects). Being from a wealthy family, Shiqin doesn't work and has never had to. That's why she doesn't actually try to do anything that she doesn't extremely want to do; she's pretty lazy and dismissive, and she literally will not do something that she doesn't want to do unless you drag her. Also, like I've mentioned before, Shiqin tends to voice her opinions, but she doesn't always respect other people's opinions. Maybe it's because she's so opinionated, maybe it's because she's used to everyone agreeing with her, but she tends to be very narrow-minded and unsupportive of other people's opinions and decisions (if they don't match up with hers). 

THE PAST :　Shiqin's father, 萧范 (Xiao Fan), had always been a scholar. He was born and raised in Hangzhou under the influential Xiao family and studied in the best schools in the city and eventually became a provincial-tier scholar. (I don't really know how to explain this, but basically 秀才 (xiu cai) were city-level scholars and 举人 (ju ren) were provincial-tier scholars. Provincial-tier scholars were highly regarded, and they made quite a bit of money). While studying to become a national scholar, Xiao Fan caught the eye of Provincial Magistrate Xu, who (being an extremely knowledgeable man himself) gave him private lessons. The two families lived close together and actually became family friends. Then, when Xiao Fan was in Nanjing, testing to become a national scholar, Provincial Magistrate Xu, a married man, became involved in a secret affair with Shiqin's mother, 李文君 (Li Wenjun), after which she became pregnant. Xiao Fan had no clue about this and thought the child was his, and so Shiqin was born.

Alright, backstory over. Shiqin was raised with Provincial Magistrate Xu's daughter, Meilin, who was born a few months after she was. She never got to see her father much since he was sickly and always studying (he didn't pass the national scholar test the first time, so he was studying to take it again). Her large family and servants, however, gave her more than enough attention, and when Shiqin was three, her sister 诗春 (Shi Chun) was born. When Shiqin was eight, her father began to distance himself from the entire family, even going as far as punishing Shiqin for doing nothing. She was really confused and hurt, but the servants told her not to worry and that he was just stressed from studying. That year, he took the national scholar test again and failed again. His temper began to worsen, but because he spent so much time in his room studying, Shiqin wasn't affected very much. In fact, her servants tried to shield her as much as they could.

When Shiqin was 11, her friend Meilin's father was arrested for embezzlement. He was jailed, and the Meilin and her mother were banished. Allegedly, Meilin's brother Haoxi had run away to join a gang, but he never reappeared and no one really knew what happened to him. A year later, after failing yet another national scholar test (it comes once every four years), Shiqin's father died. He had never been too great to Shiqin after she turned eight, but she missed him anyway because she remembered how kind and gentle he used to be. She blamed the national scholar test for taking her father away from her, but soon, she found out the true reason for his antagonistic actions.

After the funeral, Shiqin's mother told her that she was not her father's daughter. Shiqin was, in fact, the daughter of Meilin's father, making the two girls half-sisters. Shiqin was absolutely disgusted, both with her mother and with her best friend. This was precisely the reason why her own father had hated her so much, because she wasn't really his child. She had never really lacked love, but maybe, just maybe, if her real father had acknowledged and accepted her, she would have had just that much more love from her real parents (It's always really sad to have never been loved by a parent ;;;). Even though it wasn't Meilin's fault for anything, Shiqin found herself hating Meilin for the genuine love she'd always received from both her legitimate parents. Adding to this pain was that soon after confessing the truth, Shiqin's mother died as well, and Shiqin was left alone with her extended family and many servants.

Even though Shiqin's father despised his illegitimate daughter and unfaithful wife, he had kept the secret in order to preserve the reputation of his family (and himself, of course). Shiqin's mother, as well, kept the secret for both her sake, her family's, and her daughter's. She was afraid that the Xiao family would throw Shiqin out if they ever found out the truth. In any case, they never did find out, but Shiqin's father's will specified that no one but his wife could arrange Shiqin's marriage. Well, seeing as Shiqin's mother is dead too, the Xiao family was left in a predicament: they didn't want to disrespect the will, but they didn't want Shiqin to become an old maid either. The family argued for many years on this matter: half wanted to betroth Shiqin to a distant cousin anyway, and the others wanted Shiqin herself to choose. Eventually, Shiqin was called in for her opinion. By now, she was eighteen, and she didn't want to be spurned by society, so she agreed to marry a distant cousin. However, before the marriage could actually take place, news about the Dragon Brides came out, and Shiqin decided, naively and rebelliously, to apply. Part of her reasoning did come from honoring her father's will (because it would have been frowned upon if the Xiao family had gone through disobeying it), but the other part was that she hoped that becoming a Dragon Bride would give her the power to live the life she never could (otherwise: she wants to bring back her old life).

NOTE: FUTURE EVENTS: [marshybleep and I sort of have a plan for the future, if yall don't mind :"))] Unbeknownst to her, Meilin also applied (because it was part of the punishment for her father), and upon seeing her there, Shiqin was immediately filled with loathing. Meilin didn't know what was going on and was originally sad that her best friend hated her, but eventually she grew more and more annoyed with Shiqin that the two girls ended up hating each other. [Throughout the story, we'd like for the two characters to hate each other, which possibly leads to a rivalry between Dragon Princes as well! However, one day, they're bantering and Shiqin snaps and reveals the truth. After that, they talk things through and try to rebuild their relationship.] 

THE PRESENT :　Coming from a wealthy family, Shiqin doesn't have to do any work and can spend entire days doing absolutely nothing. She likes to sit in the gardens and talk with her maids, and sometimes she'll go outside to the open markets (in a carriage carried by servants). Her family argues over whether or not to marry her off, and Shiqin worries about being spurned by the public for being an old maid.

Finally, she does agree to marry a distant cousin. This cousin, however, lives far away in Wuhan, which means that marriage preparations will be hindered over the long distance. During this time, news about the Dragon Bride spreads, and despite her engagement, Shiqin applies and is accepted.

Due to her wealth and status (and the multitude of other rich and well-known girls applying), Shiqin simultaneously felt special and yet not. She didn't quite blend into the aloof rich crowd, but the more hopeful, easygoing poor crowd wouldn't accept her, and the self-conscious middle class turned away too! In this way, Shiqin was already pretty remarkable when she applied, having been completely without friends. In addition to that, she was very honest and open with the interviewer, and she didn't try to make herself sound better than she actually was (or even lie to achieve that!), which made quite a good impression on the interviewer (she presented herself realistically and admitted her flaws). Of course, a very big part of getting accepted is beauty, and Shiqin wasn't missing any of that (she knew it too). Plus, she had the upbringings of her wealthy life, which meant she was individualistic while still being polite (or at least, because girls were supposed to act a certain way, she could do that but still maintain her own character, if that makes sense). I think that was probably what pushed her to be chosen, since no one really wants a boring bride XD.

THE OCCUPATION :　N/A

TRIVIA :

Likes:
▸ well-manicured gardens (she loves to admire the plants and intricate patterns that the gardeners make)
▸ green tea (maybe it's intrinsic to Chinese ppl? Lol)
▸ springtime (she was born in the spring [technically] and enjoys the breeze)
▸ music (considering she was named after an instrument... She also finds it relaxing)
▸ calligraphy (her grandfather dabbled in it, and she loved watching him write before he died when she was seven)
▸ plum blossoms (no reason, they're just pretty)
▸ plums the fruit (again no reason, they're just good)

Dislikes:
▸ peaches (they remind her of her half-sister Meilin, which hurts her)
▸ rainy days (they're just way too gloomy for such an optimistic person)
▸ winter (she gets cold very easily, and the temperatures also make her bound feet hurt)
▸ gourds (being from a wealthy family, Shiqin can afford to be a bit picky about what she eats, and she just doesn't like the taste of gourds)
▸ horror (even back then, there were horror stories, and Shiqin has never been a fan)

Habits:
▸ pursing her lips when she's annoyed
▸ biting her top lip when thinking
▸ squeezing her eyes closed and screaming when scared
▸ twists her hands together when she's nervous
▸ smoothes her skirts out and looks at the ground when she's faced with an uncomfortable situation
▸ whenever she tells her maids to bring her the 红花油 (Hong Hua You) [Red Flower Oil; a very common oil used to alleviate rheumatistic pains], the maids wheel her away (again used to avoid uncomfortable situations; only her closest maids know this)

Hobbies:
▸ admiring flowers (she knows quite a few flowers types)
▸ identifying butterflies (again, she knows quite a few species)
▸ playing shiqin (obviously, she should know how to play the instrument for which she was named)
▸ talking with her maids (it's not like they have a lot to say, but she enjoys hearing the servant gossip)
▸ embroidering (her mother, before she married into the family, used to be an aspiring seamstress and taught her a few skills)

Fears:
▸ spiders (self-explanatory lol)
▸ isolation (she's always been surrounded by people, so she would break down if left completely alone)
▸ chaos (her life has been completely peaceful, and she would likely break down if thrown into tumult)
▸ chickens, pigs, cows... farm animals in general (most farm animals tend to be undisciplined, and when confronted with someone who can't stand... well... I suppose they could seem pretty scary)
▸ deep wells (first off, she can't swim and would drown; also, it's just scary looking down a well)

Quotes:
▸ 海阔凭鱼跃，天高任鸟飞 (the sea is wide which allows fish to leap; the sky is high which allows birds to fly) - she often repeats this famous quote (origins unknown) which bolsters her belief that everyone has a role to play in the world
▸ 他归他人，我归我 (he belong to himself, I belong to me) - it might be a bit selfish of her to say this, but Shiqin tends to not involve herself in outsider drama because she doesn't really care. Other people's troubles are their own problems, right? (I made this up myself so there's no origin :P)
 
Other:
▸ has absolute pitch (she can play songs solely by ear)
▸ has never been outside Hangzhou
▸ close with her servants (unlike the rest of her family)

永远守护 : always protect

RELATIONSHIPS :　
 

FAMILY :

▸ Father — 萧范 (Xiao Fan) (35 at death) / scholar / gentle, kind, impatient / 8/10 (before truth) and 3/10 (after truth)
Xiao Fan used to be a gentle scholar who was more than happy to show his daughter his books and writings. However, he was very sickly from stress and after he learned the truth about his daughter, he began to spurn her and his wife. As a result, Shiqin desperately lacks and craves paternal love.
*FC: Hu Ge

▸ Mother — 李文君 (Li Wenjun) (29 at death) / n/a / thoughtful, attentive, quiet / 8/10 (before truth), 2/10 (after), and 5/10 (in memory)
Shiqin had always loved her mother, her kindness, and her embroidery skills. Wenjun didn't speak much, but Shiqin talked enough for both of them. After Shiqin found out the truth, she was disgusted with her mother, who (in a very Arthur Dimmesdale way) died soon afterwards. Shiqin was nonetheless devastated, and as she grew up, she couldn't help but remember her mother's good and now views her mother as she is - a good person with many flaws.
*FC: Tiffany Tang (Tang Yan)

▸ Half-sister — 徐美琳 (Xu Meilin) (18) / weaver / practical, witty, indecisive / 9/10 (before) and 2/10 (after)
I'm putting Meilin in the family section because technically, she is family. Shiqin and Meilin were raised together and spent pretty much every waking moment together. They could literally sit around and do nothing all day and still have a good time. Of course, that changed pretty quickly when Meilin was banished and Shiqin found out the truth.
*FC: Lovelyz's Jisoo
 

FRIENDS :

▸ Maid — 小翠 (Xiao Cui) (22) / maid / patient, encouraging, diligent / 8/10
*Just a clarification that most servants' full names were not known

Xiao Cui is Shiqin's closest friend other than Meilin. She became Shiqin's personal maid after Shiqin's mother died, so Xiao Cui acts like an older sister to her. She's technically not supposed to get so close to her charge, but Shiqin needed support, and Xiao Cui just happened to be there. They go everywhere together (mostly because they have to), and Xiao Cui tells Shiqin about the lives of the poor.
*FC: SevenSense's Wu Yuanyuan

▸ Maid — 百灵 (Bai Ling) (25) / maid / trustworthy, irritable, honorable / 7/10
Bai Ling is the maid who takes care of Shiqin in Chiwen's house. She's a bit cranky but genuinely cares about Shiqin. She's very practical and disapproves of Shiqin's naive questions, yet she does her best to answer them anyway.
*FC: SevenSense's Xu Qiman
 

OTHER :

▸ Fiance — 韩彭程 (Han Pengcheng) (25) / merchant / kind, quiet, thoughtful / 5/10
Shiqin is neutral towards her fiance because she's only met him once. He seems to be a good person and she'd like to be friends with him, but it doesn't really matter because she's not marrying him anyway.
*FC: Yang Yang

▸ Actual father — 徐广霖 (Xu Guang Lin) (42) / 5/10
Shiqin and Meilin never saw him much since he was always busy at work, but Shiqin remembers him being a nice man who always had a few kinds words for the girls. Of course, her views of him are different from Meilin's views of him, and it's only natural that, after Shiqin found out that he was her real father, she would see him in both a positive and negative light (she could have had a better life if he'd acknowledged her as his daughter, but he didn't and she resents him for it).

*FC: Huang Bo

▸ Dragon Bride — 张黛玉 (Zhang Daiyu) (22) / ?/10
This app isn't actually up at the time I made this... so I can't really say anything haha. I would like the characters to get along, though, but that depends on their personalities.

▸ Dragon Bride — 吴美奇 (Wu Meiqi) (20) / 8/10
Meiqi and Shiqin are actually quite similar in personality, and being the brides of the two eldest princes, they see each other quite often. They quickly became friends, and Shiqin enjoys listening to Meiqi's stories. Meiqi often takes advantage of Shiqin's naivety to play practical jokes on her as well.

听天由命 : all up to fate

Tell us a little bit about yourself. :

▸ Hi! I'm Xiao Shiqin, and I am from the Xiao family of Hangzhou. I am 18, and I enjoy playing shiqin, for which I was named.

Do you have any disabilities or sicknesses we should we aware of? : 

▸ As you can see, my feet are bound. *laughs sheepishly* It prevents me from being able to walk, and I require serevants to carry me or otherwise wheel me in a specially-made chair.

How well do you take care of your physical appearance and your overall wellbeing? : 

▸ Quite well, I should think. My family is fairly well-off, which means I have had a lot of opportunities to take care of myself, both physically and mentally.

How mch do you know about the Dragon King and his Sons? How well educated are you on this matter? : 

▸ I am afraid that I know only that they protect our country from harm and bring us prosperity. *smiles apologetically* My family did not particularly want me educated on politics.

WHY are you volunteering to become a dragon bride? Are you aware of what you'll need to do, especially if you are chosen? : 

▸*pause* I want to... to take my chances, I suppose. *sigh* Despite being wealthy, I have no real power. I have also been very lonely since my parents' passing, and I seek security. I do not know what exactly I need to do. I realize that I will have to pass many tests, but that is the extent of my knowledge.

What makes you special enough to be chosen as a dragon bride?  : 

▸ *thoughtful* Well... I suppose something special about me is that I am quite versatile. I know I've grown up in a sheltered home, but I can adapt to many different situations quickly. I am also very loyal, so I will stay with my husband no matter what happens.

How Willing are you to please the one you are offered to? : 

▸ I will try my best, although I am not sure of the extent of his needs.

Have you been previously betrothed? Are you still pure? : 

▸ I am currently betrothed to a distant relative. However, I have only met him once and am still pure.

Alright, that should do it. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself? : 

▸ Actually, I have a request. I have seen poor beggars on the streets of Hangzhou, and you are aware that my family is wealthy. If I am chosen, my family will be given a substantial amount of money. If I am allowed, may I please request that the money be used to help the beggars on the streets? My family doesn't need the money, after all, and the poor seem to be suffering. That was my question. Thank you very much for listening to me.

Finally_Home : Maggie : 9

LAST WORDS :　You might have noticed that I collaborated with my friend marshybleep on this. I hope you don't mind! Also, I wanted to clarify that I never mentioned Shiqin's sister again. This is because, while Shiqin cared about her sister, Shichun didn't impact her life all too much. I'm also not quite sure how good my faceclaim is, so I can change her if you need me too. I'm so not familiar with Ming, so marshybleep and I had to do a lot of research to try to keep the background historically accurate XD I hope we got it right! Ooh, one last thing I would like to point out is that some of your chapter headers don't really make sense. I would like to offer a few suggestions, if you'd take them:

Plotlines: 龙族万岁 (Long live the dragon [tribe]) - alright if you put it into Korean context, 万岁 would be mansae, but shhh I didn't say anything
Cheatsheet: I actually don't read very much traditional so I am not sure what it says... but I'd like to suggest 勿忘我 (forget-me-not)
Plotline: this is good but it's a question, so I feel like it'd feel better with a question mark (this is me being picky XD)

I hope I didn't antagonize yall too much with that rip and I apologize in advance if there are places where my app and YouWillFly's app might be similiar ;;; there's only so much we can do about the personalities XD also brb crying because I saw this and my first thought was YESUNG?? but Yesung is already taken I cry XD

PASSWORD : 小虎队 - 蝴蝶飞呀

SCENE REQUESTS : 

▸ Chiwen gently telling Shiqin bedtime stories
▸ Shiqin and Meilin fighting
▸ Shiqin meeting her fiance that one time
▸ 孔明灯 (sky lanterns) (I'm a nerd lol)
▸ Shiqin and her servants having a gossip party

turn in : story : cheatsheet