Character	Zhao Se Se
Appearance	Goodbye My Princess
Media	Chinese Drama
Type	Obsessive
Love Interest	Li Cheng Yin

Zhao Se Se is the daughter of Officer Zhao and an important ally of Li Cheng Yin. She had always loved Li Cheng Yin since young, and would do anything to help him achieve his goal.

SPOILERS AND PERSONAL OPINION

Zhao Se Se is a dainty and elegant lady, who unfortunately is not well-liked by Yong Ning, the seventh princess of Li Dynasty. She is well-educated in etiquette and fine arts since young, and has the manners and appearance of an ideal lady of Li, ever prim and proper.

When she was younger, she was bullied and left in the wilds by her peers. Li Cheng Yin was the one to come and get her, and carried her back to safety. From then on, she had loved Li Cheng Yin dearly, and would vow to herself to only marry Li Cheng Yin in her lifetime.

When it seemed unlikely that Li Cheng Yin would become the crown prince of Li Dynasty, Zhao Se Se’s family strongly opposed to her intentions to marry Li Cheng Yin. They would rather send her to marry the second prince Li Cheng Ye, who was most likely to earn the title.

However, Se Se fiercely resisted her family, and went against their demands. Instead, she gave her all to convince them to switch sides and aid Li Cheng Yin instead, giving him the support of Zhao family so that he has greater influence in the palace.

Eventually, Se Se’s effort led to the success of Li Cheng Yin in becoming the crown prince. And as Li Cheng Yin promised, Se Se was appointed as his consort, thereafter residing in the palace.

The moment of their marriage marked Se Se’s tragedy. Little did she knew, Li Cheng Yin was already head over heels for Qu Xiao Feng, the ninth princess of Western Liang who was slated to be crown princess of Li since long ago. While Xiao Feng had a grand wedding ceremony, with all the Li officials celebrating their occasion, Se Se had to enter her new abode in the palace quietly, with only the servants to witness the moment. Both Xiao Feng’s and Se Se’s wedding with Li Cheng Yin was deliberately held on the same day to isolate Se Se. This was done by the queen, Li Cheng Yin’s mother, to make her understand her position in the palace.

Li Cheng Yin only married Se Se out of a sense of responsibility, as Se Se had given up too much to bring him to where he was. He also intentionally showered Se Se with attention, partly to appease Se Se, and partly to draw attention away from Xiao Feng so that any animosity from potential enemies would not be directed at her.

Sure enough, the queen was furious at Se Se, as she thought that Se Se had seduced Li Cheng Yin and would lead him astray. The queen would proceed to punish Se Se and isolate her, making her life in the palace a living hell. The naïve Se Se would then bear all of these treatments, believing that as long as Li Cheng Yin loves her, everything will be fine.

As the consort of the crown prince, she was no longer allowed to roam free. Her life now revolved around the prince, and she could only past time by herself in her abode, waiting for the time when Li Cheng Yin would finally come and visit her.

Later, she started to suspect that Li Cheng Yin may have loved Xiao Feng. To protect her own position, she purposely framed Xiao Feng to make it seem as if Xiao Feng had poisoned her. Unfortunately, Li Cheng Yin saw through her scheme, and started to realize Se Se may not be as innocent as she seems.

When a palace servant Xu Bao Lin was purposely sent in by the queen to become a part of Li Cheng Yin’s harem, Se Se was extremely upset. To make things worse, a false news was announced that Xu Bao Lin was pregnant with Li Cheng Yin’s child. Se Se was so broken-hearted that she could not retain her composure, and ended up weeping aloud in front of the queen, Li Cheng Yin, Xiao Feng, and many others in the public. She was in such a bad state that she had to be escorted back to her residence to rest after hearing the news.

To seek revenge and threaten Xu Bao Lin’s position in the palace, she orchestrated a scheme yet again. This time, she would frame Xu Bao Lin of trying to place a curse on her, by planting a voodoo doll in her residence. As anything supernatural was strictly forbidden in the palace, Xu Bao Lin would have committed a heavy crime if it was true. Li Cheng Yin pretended to go along with Se Se. But unfortunately, he had seen through her ploy yet again.

Se Se was also always incredibly jealous when it comes to Li Cheng Yin. She hated Xiao Feng to the core even though Xiao Feng had been nothing but nice to her. While appearing friendly and nice to Xiao Feng, she secretly wished for her to be gone. When Xiao Feng went missing once, she desperately hoped that Xiao Feng would never come back. Se Se also had the same attitude towards Xu Bao Lin.

Eventually, Se Se realized that the one Li Cheng Yin loved was Xiao Feng. Nevertheless, she refused to give up. When Xiao Feng attempted to leave the palace and return to Western Liang, Se Se volunteered to help smuggle Xiao Feng out of the palace, as she believed that there will only be a future for Li Cheng Yin and herself when Xiao Feng is gone.

Unfortunately, her plan backfired and Xiao Feng was caught and returned to the palace. In the heat of the moment, Li Cheng Yin lashed out at Se Se, and confessed that he had only been using her, and never loved her. Se Se had actually realized that already, but she was simply in denial. When the truth was laid out cruelly in front of her by Li Cheng Yin, she finally could not bottle her sorrows any longer. All of it came pouring out at once, and she lamented that all she had done and endured was for him, and yet her fate was so.

In the end, she went insane from all she had suffered and endured. In a daze, she remained in the abode with only her servant by her side, endlessly waiting for her husband, who would never step into her residence to visit her again.

I have no idea why many people thinks that Zhao Se Se is so vicious and evil. All I saw was a hopeful girl who entered the palace longing for happiness, only to be completely crushed by the one she loved most. Even if certain acts she committed was malicious, it was only because of the extremely cruelty she faced while in the palace, which forced her to become what she became. Even then, she never had the heart to kill anyone, only hoping that those who posted a threat to her would be suppressed or leave.

When Se Se suffered, I too felt bad for her. This was rarely the case for any second female lead I had seen. Se Se really did not deserve all the treatments she had received, not when she did nothing but gave the best to the man she loved. Once again, it can be seen just how much of a douchebag Li Cheng Yin was, to put down Se Se after fully exploiting her love and trust. Honestly, all the characters in the show were miserable, and Zhao Se Se was simply another victim of politics and the bastardly Li Cheng Yin.