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Young Master少爷

shàoye

The arrogant heir of a rich clan or sect, existing chiefly to underestimate the protagonist and be humbled; one of the genre's most durable stock characters.

"Young master" (shaoye, gongzi, or shao zhu depending on flavor) is shorthand for a whole behavioral package: silk robes, a squad of servants, contempt for the poor protagonist, and a powerful elder who will later demand justice for his beaten heir. The phrase "do you know who my father is?" is the trope's international calling card.

The young master exists as fuel for face-slapping: his public humiliation is the payoff the structure builds toward, and his clan's retaliation escalates the next arc. Parody-minded donghua such as The Daily Life of the Immortal King and Scissor Seven get comic mileage from playing the archetype against expectations.

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