Chapter 1: Jiang Li (姜梨)
Notes:
I decided at the last minute to add accent marks to the pinyin. They aren't included in English-language fic/meta/what have you, but it seemed more comprehensive to have them just for reference. I've only given them for the character's name (not for more general terms like jiejie), and only once for each person. I wasn't able to determine the tone for the final character of Jiang Yuanxing's name; according to both dictionaries I checked, 兴 can be either xìng or xīng, and unfortunately I can't distinguish tones myself so idk how people are pronouncing it in the show when they say his name.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Jiāng Lí (姜梨), aka Jiāng Ruòyǔ (姜若雨), is the second child and second daughter of Jiang Yuanbai. She’s his only child with his first wife, Ye Zhenzhen.
[Title card caption: 姜若雨 字阿梨 [Jiang Ruoyu, Jiang Li].]
According to this title card, her courtesy name is A'Li (阿梨). This means that in this universe, people are given courtesy names in childhood rather than upon maturity. No one ever calls her or refers to her as Ruoyu that I noticed.
The name on her tombstone is Jiang Li.
She is 18 or thereabouts (she was sent away from the family 10 years ago at age 8) when she dies at the beginning of the series.
She was accused of fratricide and attempted matricide at age 8 when she was blamed for her stepmother's miscarriage.
Her maternal grandmother came to get her 13 years ago, so she was probably around 5 at the time.
Sometimes in the subs she’s referred to as the eldest daughter or the firstborn. For instance, when Ji Shuran says in episode 7 梨儿终究是我家嫡女, the Viki subs give "Li'er is the firstborn." Another example is in episode 5; someone in the crowd at Jiang Ruoyao's coming-of-age ceremony refers to Jiang Li as Jiang Yuanbai's 嫡长之女, which Viki translates as "eldest daughter". I think this is probably a mistranslation. The character 嫡, di, means "legal wife" or "child of legal wife" and also is one of the characters in the title of the novel The Double was based on, 嫡嫁千金 (Marriage of the Di Daughter). (The other relevant character in the above examples is 女, nü, meaning daughter.) She's not the eldest daughter, but she is the eldest legitimate daughter (born to a legal wife rather than a concubine). In episode 6, Jiang Li refers to herself as 嫡女, and that time it's translated as "legitimate daughter" (Jiang Ruoyao also refers to herself as the same thing in episode 26, and it's "legitimate daughter" there as well). In episodes 26 and 32, Jiang Li is referred to as 姜家的嫡娘子, translated as "legitimate daughter of the Jiang family".
As the second daughter of a noble family, she is referred to outside the family as Jiang-er'niangzi (姜二娘子, “Second Lady Jiang”). Family servants simply call her niangzi or er’niangzi (“My Lady” or “Miss Jiang”). (Note that Tong'er calls Jiang Li niangzi but tends to call Xue Fangfei jiejie (姐姐, older sister) when they're alone.)
Her younger sister Jiang Ruoyao and younger cousin Jiang Yu’e call her er'jie (二姐, older sister, second in the birth order; subs translate this as “Second Sister” or, more often, “Li” even though they’re not actually using her name at all). Her younger brother Jiang Bingji calls her jiejie; Jiang Ruoyao also sometimes calls her jiejie.
People in her family who are older than her call her A'Li (阿梨]) or Li'er (梨儿). A'Li, according to her title card, is her courtesy name, but "A" and "er" are also affectionate/familiar prefixes often used in families. Most people who call her one of these things (including Xue Fangfei, her paternal family, her mother, her mom’s friend Liu-furen) call her Li’er, while her maternal family (other than her mother) tends to call her A’Li.
Jiang Li’s paternal grandmother calls her Li’er, haizi (孩子, child), and er’yatou (二丫头, literally second girl). The latter two are generally given in the subs as Li or Li’er.
Her aunt (her father’s younger brother’s wife) calls her wo de hai zhinü (我的好侄女, “my dear niece”) at one point when she’s feeling particularly appreciative (episode 12).
Her older maternal cousin Ye Shijie calls her/refers to her as Jiang Li initially, then as they become closer starts calling her both Li’er and A’Li, though I noticed him using Li’er more often. He also calls her biaomei (表妹, younger female maternal cousin, maternal meaning you're related through your mother and/or her mother; in this case, Jiang Li’s mother is his father’s sister), as does her other maternal cousin, Ye Jia’er.
Her older paternal cousin Jiang Jingrui calls her Jiang Li. As they become closer, he starts calling her A’Li or Li’er.
Zhou Yanbang, her former fiancé, calls her Li’er in episode 13 when he thinks she came to meet him in secret (it’s actually Jiang Yu'e).
Her school friend Liu Xu calls her Jiang Li in the earlier episodes and A’Li as they become closer.
She refers to herself (that is, Xue Fangfei refers to Jiang Li and/or herself-as-Jiang-Li) as Li’er or A’Li.
Note that while some people in Jiang Li's family call her A'Li (阿梨), when Su-guogong calls (Xue Fangfei as) Jiang Li A'Li, the Chinese subs use 阿狸 (different li character). They are pronounced identically, but the latter is the way that Xue Fangfei’s given name, Xue Li, is written (薛狸).
Notes:
A note about maternal cousins and the biao prefix. There are four basic situations for first cousins: 1) your fathers are brothers, 2) your mothers are sisters, 3) your father is their mother's brother, or 4) your mother is their father's sister.
In English, your paternal cousins are those related to you through your father (situations 1 and 3), and your maternal cousins are those related through your mother (situations 2 and 4). Just because somebody is your maternal cousin doesn't mean you are their maternal cousin - that's only the case in situation 2, where you're both related through your mothers. So in English, it's not reciprocal; someone can be my maternal cousin without me also being their maternal cousin (i.e., situation 4; they are my maternal cousin but I am their paternal cousin).
The tang 堂 and biao 表 cousin prefixes work differently. Tang ("paternal") cousins are only those in situation 1, where you're both related through your fathers. All other cousins are biao ("maternal"), because at least one of the two siblings (your parent and your cousin's parent) is a mother, it doesn't matter which. This means that in Chinese the cousin prefixes do match, unlike in English; if I'm someone's biao cousin, they are also my biao cousin, and vice versa.
Ye Shijie and Ye Jia'er are Jiang Li's maternal cousins (her biaoge and biaojie respectively); their fathers are the brothers of Jiang Li's mother (situation 4 from Jiang Li's perspective). Jiang Li is the biaomei of Ye Shijie and Ye Jia'er, which is generally translated into English as "younger female maternal cousin", though since she is related to them through their fathers, in English we would call her their paternal cousin.
Chapter Text
Parents
Father
Jiāng Yuánbǎi (姜元柏) is the current head of the noble Jiang family and a high-ranking minister in the imperial court.
His title is Jiang-xiangguo 姜相国, translated as "Grand Chancellor" or "Secretariat Director", depending on the subs.
Xiangguo is a more general honorific that is used for some other ministers as well. His position more specifically seems to be zhongshuling (中书令, “Secretariat Director” or “Chief Secretary”) and taishi (太师, “Grand Preceptor”).
The emperor calls him (and at least some other officials) qing 卿. He also refers to him at least once as laoshi (老师, “teacher”) (in episode 22 when talking to Xiao Heng).
Servants call him zhujun (主君, translated as “my lord” in direct address and “master” in reference).
Jiang Li calls him fuqin (父亲, formal term for "father"). I don't think Xue-Fangfei-as-Jiang-Li ever calls him die (爹, less formal term for "father") at any point, but he refers to himself as diedie a couple times (in a flashback when she’s young and then again in episode 32 (both times, he’s telling her not to be afraid because diedie is here)).
Jiang Yue presumably called him diedie, because that’s what Xue Fangfei calls him when she’s pretending to be possessed.
His brothers call him da’ge (大哥, older brother, first in the birth order). His sister-in-law (Jiang Yuanping's wife) also calls him da'ge.
Jiang Jingrui and Jiang Yu’e call him da’bofu (大伯父, father’s older brother, first in the birth order, “Uncle”) or just bofu.
Hi wife Ji Shuran calls him fujun (夫君, husband).
Ye Shijie calls him Jiang-bofu (“Uncle Jiang”) a couple times in the late episodes (in episode 34 when they’re arranging the fake engagement and in episode 40 when talking to Xue Fangfei).
He and his brothers share a generation name (one shared character in the given name of each descendant of the same generation), 元, yuan. However, they don’t appear to have continued the tradition in the next generation, because Jiang Jingrui’s and Jiang Bingji’s names don’t share a character. At first I thought at least the girls’ names shared a character, because Jiang Li (whose given name is Ruoyu) and her sister Ruoyao both have 若, Ruo, but their older sister and their uncle’s daughter don’t have that character in their names.
Mother
Yè Zhēnzhēn (叶珍珍) was Jiang Li's mother.
[Title card caption: [叶珍珍 姜元柏原配夫人 [Ye Zhenzhen, Mr. Jiang first wife].]
She died when Jiang Li was a baby, at least six months after giving birth.
She was Jiang Yuanbai's furen (夫人), his official wife (as opposed to a concubine).
When Jiang Li talks about her, she refers to her as a’niang (阿娘, mother, e.g. episode 26 around 4:00) or shengmu (生母, birth mother, e.g. in episode 8 when talking to Jiang-lao’furen).
Xue Fangfei addresses her as Ye-furen in her head/when praying to her.
Her younger brother Ye Mingyu calls her Zhenzhen-jie (珍珍姐).
Stepmother
Jì Shūrán (季淑然) is Jiang Li's stepmother.
[Title card caption: 季淑然 [Ji Shuran].]
She is Jiang Yuanbai's current furen. Jiang Yuanbai married her after Ye Zhenzhen died.
She's over 30 and probably under 40 (her maid says she’s been with her since her birth, which was over 30 years ago).
She's the mother of Jiang Ruoyao and Jiang Bingji, who call her niang. Jiang Ruoyao sometimes calls her or refers to her as muqin (母亲, formal term for "mother").
She’s referred to as Jiang-furen (姜夫人, “Madam Jiang”) by those outside the family (women keep their own surname when they get married, but when honorifics are used, they're attached to the husband's surname). At one point (episode 29) she refers to herself as Jiang jia de zhumu (姜家的主母, “madam of the Jiang family”).
The letter the princess sends her in episode 25 around 10:00 is addressed to 姜宅季夫人, translated “Madam Ji of the Jiang family”.
Her husband and the servants call her furen.
Jiang Li calls her muqin. In flashbacks, like when she miscarries and when Jiang Li refuses to go home with her maternal grandmother, young Jiang Li calls her niang. She’s sometimes referred to as Jiang Li’s houmu (后母, stepmother).
Consort Li, her younger sister, calls her jiejie.
The Marquis of Ningyuan calls her xiangguo-furen (xiangguo being her husband’s court honorific).
Jiang Jingrui calls her da’bomu (大伯母, wife of da’bofu) and sometimes refers to her as Ji Shuran when talking about her to Jiang Li. Jiang Yu’e calls her bomu (“Auntie Shuran”).
Jiang Yuanping, her husband's younger brother, calls her saozi (嫂子, sister-in-law). Jiang Yuanxing, her husband's other younger brother, refers to her as da’sao (大嫂, “Eldest Sister-in-law”).
Before her marriage, as the eldest child/daughter of the Ji family, she was called Ji-da’niangzi.
In episode 29, after her crimes have been revealed, Xue Fangfei just calls her Ji shi (季氏, literally Ji family, translated as “Madam Ji”) when talking to Jiang-lao'furen. The eunuch delivering Consort Li’s request not to kill her also calls her Ji shi. This is also how Ji Shuran and Consort Li referred to Xue Fangfei in episode 12 when talking about her adultery (薛氏, Xue shi).
Paternal grandparents
Paternal grandmother
Jiang Yuanbai's mother is referred to as Jiāng-lǎo'fūrén (姜老夫人, "old Madam Jiang").
[Title card caption: 姜老夫人 [Madam Jiang].]
She was Jiang Yuanbai’s father's furen. Her husband also had at least one concubine.
Jiang Li and her siblings and paternal cousins call her zumu (祖母, father's mother, "Grandmother").
Her two biological sons and Jiang Yuanxing, her husband’s son from a concubine, call her muqin. Jiang Yuanxing’s wife also calls her muqin.
Members of her household, including servants and her daughters-in-law, refer to her as lao’furen (“Old Madam”). Her daughter-in-law Ji Shuran also addresses her as lao’furen (translated as “Madam Jiang”).
Paternal grandfather
Jiang Yuanbai's father, who's deceased, never appears on screen but is referred to a few times.
Tong’er refers to him as Jiāng-lǎo’tàigōng (姜老太公, “Old Master Jiang”).
Jiang Li refers to him as zufu (祖父, “Grandfather”).
His widow refers to him as taigong (太公, grandfather, “Old Master Jiang”) (when talking to Zhang-popo in the context of Jiang Li, and again in episode 27). She addresses him as lao’Jiang at one point (episode 38).
Paternal aunts and uncles
Jiāng Yuánpíng (姜元平) is Jiang Yuanbai's younger brother from the same mother and father.
[Title card caption: 姜元平 [Jiang Yuanping]. Tong'er voiceover calls him "Yuanbai's brother. The first wife's son".]
Jiang Li calls him er'shu (二叔, father’s younger brother, second in the birth order; “ Second Uncle Jiang”).
His son Jiang Jingrui calls him die (爹, "Father").
Jiang Yuanping’s wife's surname is Lú (卢).
[Title card caption: 卢氏 [The Lu Family]. Tong'er voiceover says "Lu is the daughter of Chengwu Official".]
Jiang Li calls her er'shumu (二叔母, wife of er'shu; “Second Auntie Lu”). Interestingly, all the tumblr guides I’ve seen say the wife of your father’s younger brother would be shenmu, not shumu, but she is clearly saying shu according to the subs, and shumu is in the dictionary.
Her husband Jiang Yuanping calls her furen (translated as "My Lady" or "my dear").
Her son Jiang Jingrui calls her niang ("Mother").
Jiāng Yuánxing (姜元兴) is Jiang Yuanbai's younger half-brother; they have the same dad, but his mom was the dad's concubine.
[Title card caption: 姜元兴 [Jiang Yuanxing]. Tong'er voiceover says "He's not valued by the Jiang family".]
Jiang Li calls him san'shu (三叔, father’s younger brother, third in the birth order; “Third Uncle Jiang”).
His daughter Jiang Yu’e calls him die and fuqin.
His eldest brother Jiang Yuanbai calls him Yuanxing and refers to him as Yuanxing and san’di (third younger brother).
He calls himself (and other people call him) shuzi (庶子, bastard, translated as “concubine’s son”) (for instance in episode 13).
A servant (Zhao Ke in episode 38) calls him 主家 (zhu jia, which Viki translates as “Master”).
There’s at least one instance in which he’s referred to outside the family as Jiang jia lao'san (姜家老三, “Third Master Jiang”) (Zhao Ke in episode 39 to Xiao Heng).
Jiang Yuanxing’s wife's surname is Yáng (杨).
[Title card caption: 杨氏 [The Yang Family]. Tong'er voiceover says "Yang is the daughter of Xuande Official".]
Jiang Lu calls her san'shumu (三叔母, wife of san'shu; “Third Auntie Yang”).
Her husband Jiang Yuanxing calls her gunainai (姑奶奶, aunt, translated as “my dear”) in episode 13.
Her daughter Jiang Yu’e calls her niang and muqin.
Her husband’s older brother refers to her as san’mei (三妹, third younger sister; in context, he’s talking about both her and her husband and says “san’di san’mei”, translated as “Yuanxing and his wife”).
Siblings
Older sister
Jiāng Yuè (姜月) is Jiang Yuanbai’s oldest child and Jiang Li’s older sister. She was born to a maid (so, not the furen). This means that while she is the oldest child, she's not the oldest "legitimate" child.
[Title card caption: 姜月 [Jiang Yue]]
She’s not directly mentioned until episode 26.
She’s referred to as Jiang-da’niangzi (姜大娘子, first young lady of the Jiang family) in a flashback in episode 27.
She was 8 when she was killed (in episode 28). Jiang Li and Jiang Ruoyao had been born by this time.
Younger sister
Jiāng Ruòyáo (姜若瑶) is Ji Shuran's oldest child, Jiang Li's younger sister, and the third child and third daughter of Jiang Yuanbai.
[Title card caption: 姜若瑶 [Jiang Ruoyao].]
She can't be much younger than Jiang Li, possibly two years younger at most would be my guess? They don't ever specify her age. She has a coming of age ceremony in one of the early episodes. When Ye-lao'furen came to pick Jiang Li up 13 years ago, Ruoyao is referred to, so she’s been born by then, but we don't know how old she was at that time.
Her parents call her Yao’er.
Her older sister Jiang Li calls her san'mei (三妹, literally "third younger sister", which refers to her position in the birth order as the third daughter of the Jiang family, rather than meaning that she's the third youngest of Jiang Li's younger sisters (Jiang Li only has one younger sister), translated as “Third Sister”).
Her younger paternal cousin Jiang Yu’e calls her san’jie (三姐, older sister, third in the birth order, translated as “Third Sister”).
Her paternal grandmother calls her Ruoyao and san’yatou (三丫头, literally "third girl").
Those outside the family call her Jiang-san'niangzi (姜三娘子, “Third Lady Jiang”). Family servants call her niangzi or san’niangzi.
Younger brother
Jiāng Bǐngjí (姜丙吉) is Ji Shuran's second child, Jiang Li's younger brother, and the fourth child and only son of Jiang Yuanbai.
[Title card caption: 姜丙吉 [Jiang Bingji].]
He was born after Ji Shuran’s miscarriage (source: he refers to the fetus as gege (哥哥, older brother), meaning it would have been born before him). This also means he’s less than 10 years old, since the miscarriage/Jiang Li’s exile was 10 years ago.
Jiang Li doesn't have a lot of interaction with him, but in his intro she calls him didi (弟弟, little brother).
His parents call him Bingji and his paternal grandmother calls him Bingji or xiao’Bingji (小, xiao, is a diminutive meaning "young" or "small").
Family servants call him xiao'gongzi (小公子, "Young Master").
Paternal cousins
Jiāng Jǐngruì (姜景睿) is Jiang Yuanping's son.
[Title card caption: 姜景睿 [Jiang Jingrui].]
Xue Fangfei calls him tangxiong (堂兄, older paternal male cousin, i.e., son of father’s brother, older than her) the first time they meet, which causes him to accuse her of not being Jiang Li because it's too formal. Jiang Yu’e also calls him tangxiong.
Jiang Li’s childhood nickname for him was xiao'Ruirui (小睿睿), which we only see Xue-Fangfei-as-Jiang-Li use twice (once when they first meet and once in episode 25). In the present she mostly calls him Jiang Jingrui.
His parents call him Rui’er.
Liu Xu refers to him as Jiang Li’s gege (哥哥, older brother). He refers to himself as gege when telling Jiang Li to listen to him in episode 7.
Those outside the family call him Jiang-gongzi (姜公子, “Mr. Jiang”). Tong’er calls him da’langjun (大郎君, “Young Master”) in episode 14.
Jiāng Yù'é (姜玉娥) is Jiang Yuanxing's daughter.
[Title card caption: 姜玉娥 [Jiang Yu'e].]
She has a lower position in the family because her dad's mom was not the furen but a concubine.
Her parents call her nü’er (女儿, daughter) and Yu’e.
Her paternal grandmother refers to her as si’yatou (四丫头, literally "fourth girl") and Yu’e.
She and Jiang Li refer to each other (and others refer to them) as sisters (Jiang Li calls her si'mei (四妹, younger sister, fourth in the birth order, “Fourth Sister”) and she calls Jiang Li er'jie and jiejie), but they're actually cousins; their dads are brothers.
Jiang Jingrui also calls her si’mei.
As the fourth daughter of the Jiang family (though again, not the fourth daughter of Jiang Yuanbei; she's the fourth girl born to the previous generation of Jiang sons), I think prior to her marriage she would be addressed by those outside the family as Jiang-si’niangzi (姜四娘子, “Fourth Lady Jiang”), but I can't remember if we see any examples of this.
After she gets married, servants call her furen or niangzi.
Jiang family servants
Tóng’ér (桐儿) is Jiang Li’s maid.
[Title card caption: 桐儿 [Tong]]
Tong’er’s gravestone, which is displayed in episode 40 at 26:20, reads 桐兒之碑, the last two characters of which are also on Jiang Li’s tombstone (碑 means monument and 之 is functioning as a particle). The first character is her surname, 桐 Tong. The second character, 兒, is I believe the traditional version of the character 儿, er (儿 is a simplified Chinese character).
Sūn-māma (孙妈妈, “senior maidservant Sun” or “Madam Sun”) is Ji Shuran’s maid.
[Title card caption: 孙妈妈 [Madam Sun]]
Ji Shuran calls her Jindai (锦黛) at least once (episode 24). Perhaps this is her given name?
Zhāng-pópó (张婆婆, “maidservant Zhang”) is Jiang-lao’furen’s maid.
Jīnhuā (金花) is Jiang Ruoyao’s maid.
Hú-yíniáng (胡姨娘, Aunt Hu) is Jiang Yuanbai's concubine and Jiang Yue's mother. Yiniang is sometimes translated as concubine instead of aunt (e.g., when it's someone other than Jiang Li talking about her).
Notes:
I wasn't sure whether to list Hu-yiniang under parents or servants. She's not technically Jiang Li's parent or stepparent, and she was originally a maid for the family. But she doesn't really seem to be currently a servant either. Her status is complicated by the fact that she's locked away and believed to be insane. Her relationship with Jiang Li (and with the entire household) would be different if Jiang Yue had lived, I think.
Chapter 3: Ye family (叶家)
Notes:
Jiang Li's mother Ye Zhenzhen is included in the previous chapter because she married into the Jiang family.
Chapter Text
Maternal grandparents
Maternal grandmother
Ye Zhenzhen’s mother is referred to as Yè-lǎo’fūrén (叶老夫人, “Old Madam Ye” or “Old Mrs. Ye”).
[Title card caption: 叶老夫人 [Old Mrs. Ye].]
Jiang Li calls her wai’zumu (外祖母, mother’s mother, “Grandmother”).
Ye Jia’er calls her zumu (祖母, father's mother, "Grandmother").
Her son Ye Mingxuan refers to her as lao’furen and calls her muqin.
Her son Ye Mingyu calls her and refers to her as niang.
Her daughter-in-law refers to her as lao’taitai (老太太, literally “old lady”, translated as “Old Madam”).
Maternal aunts and uncles
Ye Zhenzhen's oldest brother, who is deceased, is mentioned, though not by name. He is Ye Shijie's father.
Since his brothers share the first character in their names (明, ming), it seems like they might have a generation name, so his name might also begin with that character.
His younger brother Ye Mingyu refers to him and his wife as da’ge da’sao (大哥大嫂, oldest brother and wife of oldest brother, translated as “my brother and his wife”) in episode 17.
Yè Míngxuān (叶明轩) is Ye Zhenzhen's brother, the second oldest son in the family.
[Title card caption: 叶明轩 [Ye Mingxuan].]
Ye Mingxuan’s older brother (Ye Shijie’s dad) and father are dead, making him the current head of the family.
Jiang Li calls him er'jiu (二舅, mother’s brother, second in the birth order, translated as “Second Uncle”).
It’s unclear if he’s Ye Zhenzhen’s older or younger brother. It's impossible to tell from what Jiang Li calls him, because the term for a mother’s brother is the same whether the brother is older or younger than the mother (舅, jiu). I don’t think there are any flashbacks in which Ye Zhenzhen talks to or about him. And we can infer that the birth order terms used for the men in this family do not include the women, because we know Ye Mingyu, who is referred to as third uncle and so must be the third son, actually must be the fourth child overall (assuming there aren’t any other Ye daughters), because Ye Zhenzhen calls him younger brother, which means he has three older siblings (the two sons who are older than him, plus Ye Zhenzhen). So we know that Ye Mingxuan is second in the birth order of sons specifically, but he could have one or more older sisters as well.
His wife calls him er’lang (二郎; er is “two” or “second” and lang is “young man” or “husband” (the “second” refers to his position in the birth order, not to him being her second husband; presumably he’s the only husband she's had); translated as “Mingxuan”).
His daughter Ye Jia’er calls him die.
His younger brother Ye Mingyu calls him er’ge (二哥, second older brother, translated as “Mingxuan”).
Ye Shijie refers to him as er'shu (二叔, father’s younger brother, second in the birth order).
Family servants and the clerk in the family shop refer to him as zhuren (主人, “Master Ye”).
Ye Mingxuan's wife’s surname is Zhuó (卓).
[Title card caption: 卓氏 [Madam Zhuo].]
Jiang Li calls her er’jiumu (二舅母, wife of er’jiu, translated as “Second Aunt”) and jiumu.
Her husband calls her furen (夫人, translated as “my dear” or “darling”).
Family servants call her furen (夫人, “Madam”) or er’furen.
Governor Tong calls her furen (夫人, “Madam”).
Her husband’s younger brother Ye Mingyu refers to her as er’sao (二嫂, second older brother’s wife).
Her daughter Ye Jia’er calls her niang.
Yè Míngyù (叶明煜) is Ye Zhenzhen's younger brother, the third oldest son in the family.
[Title card caption: 叶明煜 [Yu Mingyu].]
Jiang Li calls him san'jiu (三舅, mother’s brother, third in the birth order, translated as “Third Uncle”).
In his flashback of Ye Zhenzhen getting married, she calls him san’di (三弟, third younger brother, meaning younger brother who’s the third son; it doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s the third of her younger brothers. She does have three brothers, but it’s possible one or both of the other two are older than her; see above).
His older brother Ye Mingxuan calls him san’di (三弟, third younger brother, translated as “Mingyu”) and Ye-lao’san (叶老三, lao as in old, san as in three; translated as “Mingyu”) when he’s being annoying.
His older brother’s wife calls him san’di.
His mother calls him erzi (儿子, son).
Ye Jia’er calls him san’shu (三叔, father’s younger brother, third in the birth order).
Jiang Jingrui calls him san’jiu (e.g., in episode 21). Jiang Jingrui is not actually related to him, but san’jiu is what Jiang Jingrui’s paternal cousin Jiang Li calls him.
The clerk in his family’s store calls him san’lang (三郎, “Third Master”).
Official Zhu calls him Ye-lao’ban (叶老板).
Maternal cousins
Yè Shèngxuān (叶圣宣), courtesy name Shìjié (世杰), is the son of the oldest (now deceased) son of the previous generation of the Ye family.
[Title card caption: 叶圣宣 字世杰 [Ye Shengxuan, namely Shijie].]
Jiang Li calls him biaoge (表哥, older male maternal cousin) and refers to him as Ye-biaoge. At one point after they know each other very well, he refers to himself as Jiang Li’s gege, and she calls him ge. Jiang Jingrui refers to him as Jiang Li’s biaoxiong (表兄, another term for an older male maternal cousin) at least once (in episode 7).
Jiang Yuanbai says that Jiang Li and Ye Shijie are around the same age and refers to them as xiongmei (兄妹, brother and sister), which Viki translates as “cousins”.
Jiang Jingrui calls him Shijie, or (similar to how he calls Ye Mingyu san'jiu because that's what Jiang Li calls him) Ye-biaoge or just biaoge (表哥).
Ye Jia’er calls him tangge (堂哥, older male paternal cousin, translated as “Shijie”).
His aunt, Ye Mingxuan’s wife, refers to him as Shijie. So does his uncle Jiang Yuanbai (his father’s sister’s husband).
A family servant calls him da’langjun (大郎君) in episode 11, translated by Viki as “Young Master”.
Social inferiors or peers who are being polite call him Ye-gongzi (叶公子) or Ye-langjun (叶郎君), both translated as “Mr. Ye”.
Liu Xu calls him Ye-langjun in episode 14. Some other students call him Ye-xiong (叶兄, brother Ye) in episode 13.
After he’s appointed a position in court, a palace servant calls him Ye-yuanwai (叶员外) in episode 13, translated by Viki as “Mr. Ye”. Ji Shuran also calls him Ye-yuanwai, translated as “Official Ye”, in episode 21.
Yè Jiā’ér (叶嘉儿) is Ye Mingxuan's daughter.
[Title card caption: 叶嘉儿 [Ye Jia’er].]
Jiang Li calls her/refers to her as biaojie (表姐, term for an older female cousin when you’re related through one or both of your mothers), Jia’er-biaojie (嘉儿表姐), or Jia’er-jie (嘉儿姐; the “er” is part of her given name, rather than the “er” meaning “second”).
Her parents and her uncle Ye Mingyu call her Jia’er.
The clerk in the family store calls her Jia’er-niangzi (嘉儿娘子). This is also what Tong’er calls her.
Family servant A’Fu calls her Jia’er-jie in episode 22. Other family servants call her niangzi.
Ye family servants and employees
Lǐ-māma (李妈妈, “Madam Li”) is Ye-furen’s maid.
Ā’Fú (阿福) is a servant in Ye Mingxuan’s household. He's probably a young adult.
Ā’Shùn (阿顺) is Ye Mingyu’s servant. He looks older than A'Fu.
The clerk at the family shop is called Qián-zhǎngguì (钱掌柜, shopkeeper Qian, “Mr. Qian”).

DigitalMagpie on Chapter 3 Sun 02 Feb 2025 05:25AM UTC
Comment Actions
coquelicoq on Chapter 3 Sun 09 Feb 2025 06:14AM UTC
Comment Actions
DigitalMagpie on Chapter 3 Sun 09 Feb 2025 04:45PM UTC
Comment Actions
Teaotter on Chapter 3 Fri 07 Feb 2025 07:17AM UTC
Comment Actions
coquelicoq on Chapter 3 Sun 09 Feb 2025 06:13AM UTC
Comment Actions
darrus on Chapter 3 Wed 20 Aug 2025 01:47PM UTC
Comment Actions