TV-Series
Description
Lakan is a high-ranking tactician in the Li military and the head of the La Clan, a family known for its eccentricity and scholarly lineage. He is the biological father of Maomao, the protagonist, and the former lover and eventual husband of Fengxian, a famed courtesan. Born with prosopagnosia, or face blindness, Lakan perceives people as shogi or Go pieces rather than recognizing their faces. His uncle Luomen taught him to identify individuals by their voices, mannerisms, and roles, which he categorized like pieces on a game board based on their worth and actions. This method made him an exceptional strategist but also left him emotionally detached from most people. Only two individuals have ever appeared to him with real faces: Fengxian, the woman he loved, and Maomao, his daughter. This rare ability to see them makes those connections both precious and painful for him.
Lakan is widely regarded as a tactical genius whose intellect has shaped major military and political decisions. He is deeply perceptive and can identify talented individuals simply by observing them, which allows him to surround himself with highly capable subordinates. Rather than gathering evidence and drawing logical conclusions like Maomao, he excels at intuiting when something is wrong and acting on that instinct. He is highly skilled in strategy games such as Go and Shogi, and it is said that the only man who can defeat him at Go is the Emperor’s own instructor, though Lakan himself admits that Fengxian was better than him. Despite his lanky build, he also possesses deceptive physical strength. On one occasion, upon learning that Maomao had been kidnapped, he crushed a solid bamboo cup with his bare hands and threw a massive log into the heavy wooden gates of the palace. He is also known to be an extremely lightweight drinker, a weakness that Maomao and Jinshi occasionally exploit.
In court, Lakan is infamous as the sly fox, known for his cunning, mischief, and vengeful calculations. Many officials prefer to avoid him because of his unsettling demeanor and his tendency to treat people as mere pieces in a game. He speaks in riddles and provokes others with a cheerful yet unnerving attitude, earning him a reputation as an odd and unpredictable man. Beneath this bizarre exterior, however, lies a character deeply flawed in his ability to form genuine relationships. He often harms the people he cares about through his schemes or inaction, leaving him regretful but unable to express his feelings properly. When it comes to his daughter Maomao, he becomes an overly emotional and doting father. He proudly calls himself her father and becomes frantic whenever she is in danger or at the thought of her becoming romantically involved with Jinshi. His attempts to show love are often clumsy and overwhelming, frustrating Maomao, but his longing to connect with her is genuine.
Lakan’s past is marked by tragedy and misunderstanding. He fell in love with Fengxian after being invited to play Go with her as a jest, and she defeated him, sparking a mutual intellectual respect that grew into love. In hopes of escaping her life as a courtesan, Fengxian seduced Lakan and became pregnant, believing their child would lead to her freedom. Unbeknownst to her, Lakan was sent away by his family on a long military campaign and never received her letters. While he was absent, Fengxian gave birth to Maomao and was forced into lower-class work, eventually contracting syphilis, which destroyed her health and sanity. When Lakan returned years later, he was led to believe that Fengxian had died. Only much later, through a wager with Maomao, did he discover that she was still alive. He paid an enormous sum to redeem her from the Verdigris House and finally made her his wife, fulfilling the love and freedom that had eluded them for nearly two decades.
Throughout the story, Lakan occupies a complex role as both a brilliant strategist and a deeply flawed father figure. His character development centers on his efforts to redeem himself and build a relationship with a daughter who blames him for her mother’s suffering. His contempt for Jinshi stems from a protective fatherly instinct, and in moments of crisis, he is willing to put aside his pride and seek help from those he dislikes for Maomao’s sake. Despite his alienating manner and the harm he has caused, his actions reveal a genuine, if clumsy, desire to connect with the family he lost and to make amends for the past he could not control.
Lakan is widely regarded as a tactical genius whose intellect has shaped major military and political decisions. He is deeply perceptive and can identify talented individuals simply by observing them, which allows him to surround himself with highly capable subordinates. Rather than gathering evidence and drawing logical conclusions like Maomao, he excels at intuiting when something is wrong and acting on that instinct. He is highly skilled in strategy games such as Go and Shogi, and it is said that the only man who can defeat him at Go is the Emperor’s own instructor, though Lakan himself admits that Fengxian was better than him. Despite his lanky build, he also possesses deceptive physical strength. On one occasion, upon learning that Maomao had been kidnapped, he crushed a solid bamboo cup with his bare hands and threw a massive log into the heavy wooden gates of the palace. He is also known to be an extremely lightweight drinker, a weakness that Maomao and Jinshi occasionally exploit.
In court, Lakan is infamous as the sly fox, known for his cunning, mischief, and vengeful calculations. Many officials prefer to avoid him because of his unsettling demeanor and his tendency to treat people as mere pieces in a game. He speaks in riddles and provokes others with a cheerful yet unnerving attitude, earning him a reputation as an odd and unpredictable man. Beneath this bizarre exterior, however, lies a character deeply flawed in his ability to form genuine relationships. He often harms the people he cares about through his schemes or inaction, leaving him regretful but unable to express his feelings properly. When it comes to his daughter Maomao, he becomes an overly emotional and doting father. He proudly calls himself her father and becomes frantic whenever she is in danger or at the thought of her becoming romantically involved with Jinshi. His attempts to show love are often clumsy and overwhelming, frustrating Maomao, but his longing to connect with her is genuine.
Lakan’s past is marked by tragedy and misunderstanding. He fell in love with Fengxian after being invited to play Go with her as a jest, and she defeated him, sparking a mutual intellectual respect that grew into love. In hopes of escaping her life as a courtesan, Fengxian seduced Lakan and became pregnant, believing their child would lead to her freedom. Unbeknownst to her, Lakan was sent away by his family on a long military campaign and never received her letters. While he was absent, Fengxian gave birth to Maomao and was forced into lower-class work, eventually contracting syphilis, which destroyed her health and sanity. When Lakan returned years later, he was led to believe that Fengxian had died. Only much later, through a wager with Maomao, did he discover that she was still alive. He paid an enormous sum to redeem her from the Verdigris House and finally made her his wife, fulfilling the love and freedom that had eluded them for nearly two decades.
Throughout the story, Lakan occupies a complex role as both a brilliant strategist and a deeply flawed father figure. His character development centers on his efforts to redeem himself and build a relationship with a daughter who blames him for her mother’s suffering. His contempt for Jinshi stems from a protective fatherly instinct, and in moments of crisis, he is willing to put aside his pride and seek help from those he dislikes for Maomao’s sake. Despite his alienating manner and the harm he has caused, his actions reveal a genuine, if clumsy, desire to connect with the family he lost and to make amends for the past he could not control.