Former Emperor

Anime
Manga

Main
Notebook

Physical Characteristics

Gender

Male

Personal Information

Status

Deceased

Title

Former Emperor

Affiliation

Country of Li
- Inner Court
- Outer Court

Occupation

Emperor (Former)

Clan

Ka Clan

Relationships

Familial

Empress Regnant^† (Mother)
Unnamed older brothers^†
Anshi (Wife)
Lishu (Consort, later daughter-in-law)
Suirei's Mother^† (Daughter)
Emperor (Son)
Imperial Brother^† (Son)
Lingli (Granddaughter)
Crown Prince (Grandson)
Second Prince (Grandson)
Jinshi (Biological Grandson)
Suirei (Granddaughter)

The Former Emperor (先帝 (せんてい) , Sentei^?) of Li is a minor character in The Apothecary Diaries.

Appearance[]

The Former Emperor was said to have had the looks of an outstandingly beautiful maiden in his youth, much like his grandson Jinshi. but there was no trace of his beauty left in his old age.

Personality[]

The Former Emperor was a controversial and complex character. During his reign he was neither respected or liked by his subjects both for his incompetence and his attraction to young girls. The Former Emperor was said to be a foolish and cowardly figurehead.^[1] However this was the result of his mother browbeating him into submission in order to make him compliant as she ruled in his stead which left him with a intense fear of her. Due to fear of his overbearing mother, the Empress Regnant, he was terrified of adult women, he was even reduced to hysterics when an age appropriate consort touched his arm. As a result he could only talk properly to young girls which developed into a pedophilic attraction to them and not only took them as brides but was known for sexually assaulting numerous girls in the palace. His only healthy pleasure in life was painting, a hobby deemed unbefitting of a man of his position to the point that he hid his works.

At the same time, he was a somewhat tragic figure to the point that one of the victims of his pedophilia, the Empress Dowager Anshi, felt pity for him. Realizing that he was a simple man that had been forced into a role he did not want and was even more imprisoned than her.

He was not built to be a ruler, such that he knew, but was actually fine with that knowledge. However, after all his siblings died in a plague he was not only forced into a position he did not want, but spent his life with even less freedom then the courtesans. He was not allowed to to paint, or do anything he wanted, he had never been allowed to pursue his own interests and he was broken down by his mother until he was an unthinking puppet, so she could control him without issue, her method making him compliant was so brutal it left him so scared of adult women that he would break down in hysterics over the mere touch an adult woman and could only find comfort and feel safe with little girls.

While his actions were undeniably unforgivable, considering his circumstances, he is ultimately a tragic figure who spent his entire life in misery.

Abilities[]

Painting: The Former Emperor had a great talent for painting.

Background[]

Despite being the youngest son of his father, the Former Emperor ascended to the throne because his elder brothers died during a plague. He was an emperor in name only as he had neither the talent nor desire for the throne, so his mother effectively ran the country. His mother, a low ranking, powerless concubine, recognized her son could not handle the role of emperor and took charge and forcing him into the role of a puppet emperor. She kept him under her thumb by dominanating and brow-beating him into submission. As a result, he became so pathologically terrified of adult women to the point where he became hysterical at the mere touch of one that ended up developing an attraction to little girls, the only thing he could have any sort of power over. He was neither respected, nor liked to the point where he was actually universally reviled by the court and populace.

The Former Emperor sexually assaulted Taihou, a lady-in-waiting who served his consort Shenmei. He also assaulted several maidservants, including Shenlü.^[2] Taihou gave birth to his illegitimate daughter, who was banished from the Imperial Palace and adopted by a physician accused of being her biological father.^[3]

When Anshi's older half-sister became a middle consort, she touched his right arm and he started crying out of fear. Anshi, a 10-year-old lady-in-waiting, asked if he was okay, which caught his attention. He sexually assaulted her, and she became his empress after giving birth to a son. When she grew up, however, the Former Emperor became scared of her as well. After she saw him pursuing a little girl, she sexually assaulted him and became pregnant with the Imperial Brother.^[1]

After having sired a second heir against his will, the Former Emperor secluded himself into his mothers former room from the time when she was but a low ranking concubine, and he himself child, in order to continue painting in secrecy with only a mute servant as his attendant. He died soon after his mother, having been unknowingly poisoned by arsenic in his own painting materials. As a result, his corpse did not decompose a year after his death.^[1]