Fuyou

Lady Fuyou (芙蓉 (ふよう) , Fuyō^?) is a princess of Anan who became a consort of the Emperor against her will. She later left the Imperial Harem and was bestowed to her childhood sweetheart, a high-ranking military officer, for his merits. She is is a minor character in The Apothecary Diaries.

Appearance

Fuyou has silky and wavy dark hair with a strand framing her face, on the back of her head is a flower hair ornament, along with pink eyes (in the anime). She resembles a Linese person more than a typical Ananese. Maomao thinks that her beauty rivals the high consorts and might be the result of her love for her childhood sweetheart.^[2] Fuyou has a rather pale skin complexion. She wears a light pink flower earring with a tassel extending from it.

During the occasion where she dances, she lets her hair down which flows freely framing her face similar to a ghost. She wears a fully white outfit.

Abilities

Intelligence: Fuyou is quite clever, having thought up a scheme to keep the Emperor's attention away from her.

Dance: Fuyou's ability to dance rivals to that of the Princesses of the Verdigris House. She utilized those skills to climb the wall of the Inner Court, and was stunning enough for Maomao to compare her to a 'hibiscus under the stars'.^[3]

Background

Fuyou is the third daughter of the King of Anan, a vassal country of Li.^[2]. Wanting to please the Emperor, her family sent her to become a consort.

Believing that her childhood friend, a military officer, would eventually would come for her, Fuyou did everything in her power to turn away the Emperor's interest. She soon lost his favor by falling during a dance performance in front of him. Consequently, during the rest of her time as a consort, she was not visited by the Emperor and secluded herself within her quarters. As she was an accomplished dancer, it is likely that this was a voluntary mistake made to avoid the Emperor's attentions so as to preserve herself for her beloved.^[2]

Two years later, when Fuyou heard that she would be awarded to her friend because of his military merits, she began to dance on the walls of the Inner Court at night. She became the source of rumors about a dancing ghost. Maomao suspected that Fuyou's suspicious nighttime wandering was further insurance that the Emperor would not visit her right before she left, and that her dance was a prayer for her beloved to safely return from his military campaign in the east.^[2]

Fuyou and her husband later arrived back at Anan on the same trip as the Moon Prince, who congratulated them on her pregnancy.^[4]

Gallery

Fuyou's moonlight dance for her childhood friend.

Trivia

• Her name means cotton rose.

References