Gyokuyou

Gyokuyou is a recurring character in the The Apothecary Diaries series. The holder of the title of "Precious Consort" ("Honored Consort" in Square Enix translation) and was resident in the Jade Pavilion, Gyokuyou is one of the Emperor of Li's favored High Consorts and the mother of First Princess Lingli. After giving birth to the First Prince, she was taken in as the Empress by the Emperor and relocated to the Royal Palace. Gyokuyou has long red hair that is tied back save for a thick strand framing the right side of her face and jade-green eyes. Although she is not as voluptuous as her rivals in the Imperial Harem, her foreign heritage gives her an exotic appeal. Fitting of her red hair, Gyokuyou's elemental motif among the High Consorts is fire, and thus she is generally seen in red attire. Gyokuyou has a majestic personality worthy of an Empress. With her genuinely kind, cautious, wise, capable and politically savvy personality, she quickly becomes the Emperor's favorite. She is considerate towards her subordinates and refrains from being too ostentatious. She is a protective and loving mother who cares for the future of her children, as shown with Lingli. While she is aware of the politics of the rear palace and able to navigate them deftly, she sometimes shows hints of a mischievous side and can be somewhat of a troublemaker and drama seeker; she often teases her attendants about their love lives, especially Maomao. Gyokuyou is shown to be an exceptionally talented concubine; she is well aware that her role is to sexually satisfy the emperor and bear his children, and she takes the task on with enthusiasm, often showing excitement at ways to spice things up and keep things from getting boring. She is shown to have a pragmatic view of her relationship with the emperor and is well aware that she must "share" him with the other concubines. As a result, she doesn't harbor any romantic ideations of her arranged marriage, which is why she doesn't bat an eye at him asking Maomao to look into Lihua in her presence and is excited about to get a break when the emperor began to visit Lihua more often than her after Maomao gave her some advice. That said, she does show envy towards Fuyou's marriage to her childhood friend, who genuinely loves her and is solely devoted to her.