Lakan. || Leader of the La clan.

TRIVIAL

Lakan drinks very little. Maomao and Jinshi take advantage of this several times throughout the story. Lakan's monocle has no real use and is just an affectation that does not help his vision.

BACKGROUND

Lakan's childhood wasn't the best. His parents considered him unruly, and his father abandoned his mother for his concubine. Lakan's mother spiraled out of control, and Lakan spent much of his childhood alone, playing strategy games, which suited him perfectly. His father named another son as heir, and his uncle, Luomen, was a more valuable mentor than his father. As a young military officer, he had a secret obsession with a virginal courtesan (Fengxian), cold, icy, and intellectually brilliant, one of the few people in the world who could match him in games of strategy. She mirrored his aversion to people and physical connection, as well as his desire to spend all his time gambling. But she was a rising star at the brothel, and eventually he could not afford to visit her more than a few times a year. Fengxian made a calculated move to seduce him, during which they both felt they would rather be gambling. Her plan was to bear his child, which would lower her value and allow him to buy her, so they could spend their days gambling and enjoying each other's intellect. Fengxian miscalculated, however, as Lakan was posted to a distant post for three years and received none of her correspondence. In his absence, she gave birth to their daughter, Maomao, and was forced to serve the poorest clients, which gave her syphilis, which devastated her mind and body. When Lakan returned, having achieved considerable fame and fortune, he longed to find her again. But Fengxian was the daughter of the madam of the Verdigris House, who hid her away and prevented him from taking Maomao. Lakan continued to visit the Verdigris House over the years, usually to play with Meimei (who had been Fengxian's servant, and whom Lakan taught to play) and to try to get closer to Maomao. Maomao found Lakan strange and unpleasant, and refused to acknowledge him or accompany him. Still, Lakan relied on the care of his beloved uncle, Luomen, to ensure that

SKILLS

Perception: He is extremely perceptive and able to identify talented people and their abilities just by observing them. Thanks to this, he is able to hire competent people to be his subordinates. Gut instinct: Rather than gathering evidence and drawing logical conclusions, Lakan excels at sensing when things are wrong or not and taking action accordingly. Strategy: As a strategist, he is highly skilled in both military strategy and board games. His specialties are Go and Shogi (or Xiangqi); it is said that the only man capable of defeating him at Go is the Emperor's Go instructor, although he claimed that Fengxian was better than him at Go. [ 3 ] Prosopagnosia: Lakan can only perceive the faces of Fengxian and Maomao; the familiar ones take the form of shogi pieces (or Xiangqi pieces in the manga and anime), while the unfamiliar ones look like Go stones. For example, he sees Jinshi as an advisor piece, while Gaoshun is an elephant/bishop piece (the gold general with the promoted silver one).

PERSONALITY

Like many members of the La Clan, Lakan is famous for his eccentricity. He is a tactical genius who specializes in Go and Shogi, but is incompetent at virtually everything else; due to his ability to choose highly skilled subordinates, he himself seems to indulge in idleness and gossip. He is considered a "henjin" or "strange person," and many find him disturbing and uncomfortable. He is approaching 40 and has never publicly shown attraction to women (or men), has never married, and has adopted his nephew as his heir. He often speaks in riddles and layers of provocation, while remaining jovial and carefree. He views others as Go or chess pieces to be manipulated. This is literal, as he has had face-blindness since birth. His uncle, Luomen, advised him to instead recognize people using other means, such as their voices and features, leading him to associate people with game pieces based on their value and actions. This translated into his ability to be an exceptional strategist. MaoMao and his mother are the only people who seem to have faces to him. Since his intelligence and face-blindness have kept him isolated from most people, he has little defense when emotions or real connections are involved and those he truly cares about are harmed by his scheming or inaction. He is also terrible and clumsy at fostering real connections with people, even when he wants to. He adores Maomao, whom he wants to turn into a loving father, and is strongly opposed to allowing her to marry Jinshi. Politically, Lakan is known as the "cunning fox"; known for being unpleasant, meddling, vengeful, and calculating. The popular sentiment in the Imperial Court is that one should have as little to do with him as possible.

APPEARANCE

Lakan is a middle-aged man with dark hair and very small, slanted blue eyes, a trait he inherited from his daughter. He wears the typical clothing of a civil servant, although he shows little concern for his appearance and appears disheveled. He also wears a monocle over his right eye. He is not described as the pinnacle of beauty, but is generally very attractive due to his intelligence.