Chapter 5: Shadow Puppets (Part 2)

Translator: Tygris
English proofreader: 247Reader

Luyun’s entire face seemed bloodless and as white as porcelain. It was as though she only had enough energy left to cry; her tears streamed down like a waterfall. After a long moment, she finally fell to her knees with a pu’tong. ^[1]A sound word that represents something or someone falling to the floor or into the water, etc. An object hitting some kind of surface. Pronounced somewhat like pooh-tone. Falling in front of Qingying, she cried loudly. “Elder Sister, Elder Sister! Save me! Mistress ordered people to take away Yongzhang! My Yongzhang, my Third Prince! He is but a few months old, yet Mistress ordered people to take him away!”

Qingying immediately understood. In front of the Empress Dowager, the Empress had mentioned that she already sent her own-born Second Prince to be brought up at a’ge’shuo. As such, the Third Prince, birthed by a low-ranking gege, would have even less reason to be brought up by his birth mother’s side.

Luyun had cried so much that her hair had fallen into shambles. The sweat and tears mixed and plastered on her jade-white cheeks looked as though they had been swept by a horizontal gust of wind. She prostrated on the floor, sobbing despairingly, “Elder Sister, I beg you. Please help me beg Mistress and convince her to return Yongzhang to me! Return Yongzhang to me!”

Qingying hurriedly reached out to support [Luyun], but, unexpectedly, Luyun had great strength, continuously kowtowing as though her life was on the line. “Elder Sister, I am a soft-spoken person. Mistress will not listen to me! But you are different. You are a Secondary Consort of noble birth. Back then, back at qiandi, Mistress was still willing to listen to some of your words. Can you please help me plead with her?!”

‘Back then’, ‘back then’ was so long ago. That had been balancing the privileges and constraints of each other’s statuses, not anything resembling sincerity.

Qingying gestured with her eyes. A’Ruo and Suoxin, one on each side, half-supported, half-dragged [Luyun] into a sitting position. Seeing that Luyun had cried herself hoarse and exhausted, though Qingying’s heart was sore, she could only advise her, “Yongzhang was indeed taken away on Mistress’s orders, but it was not Mistress who took away Yongzhang. It was the ancestral regulations that took away Yongzhang!” She paused for a moment. “This matter… The Empress Dowager is aware.”

Luyun was stunned. Her shoulders trembled. “Even if it is the ancestral regulations… but Yongzhang is still so young…” 

Qingying pressed down on [Luyun’s] shoulders, gently saying, “Yongzhang is indeed still young. But if you had given birth to Yongzhang inside the palace, he would have been taken away the moment he left the womb. At most, you would have been allowed to take a single glance at him.” Adjusting her volume, she continued quietly, “What is more, Mistress had already informed the Empress Dowager that the Second Prince that she birthed has already been sent to a’ge’shuo. She also does not dare go against the ancestral regulations.”

Luyun swayed and was about to fall over in a faint. Qingying hurriedly moved to support her, and harshly pinched Luyun on her tiger’s mouth. ^[2]虎口 (hǔ kǒu) refers to the acupoint located between the thumb and index finger on the back of the hand. Qingying had always had centimeter-long ^[3]寸 (cùn) is a unit of measurement defined as the width of a single finger. nails. The clamp of these nails did indeed wake Luyun up significantly, but tears continued to trail dumbly and fearfully down her face. 

A’Ruo hurriedly brought a mouthful of hot tea up to Luyun’s mouth, saying, “Little Mistress, do not be like this. This will surely badly scare our Little Mistress!”

Qingying held her in place, whispering comfortingly, “It is not a big deal for this current visage of yours to scare me badly. But if you disturbed the other personages in the palace, and were to be spread out by their mouths one after another, then what would you become? Even if you do not want face, the Third Prince still needs [face].” 

She lifted her chin, signaling Suoxin to retrieve a jade comb from her dressing table, and little by little helped [Luyun] comb her hair and put it up. “The moment we enter the palace, our actions no longer affect only ourselves. In the past, I was still confused and slow-witted. But as of now, I can be considered to have understood [the situation]. Your situation is still slightly better than mine: you still have a son. Unlike me. From the outside, I seem to be living well, but in actuality, I have nothing. Your Yongzhang is being raised in a’ge’shuo and is being taken care of by eight momos. On the first and fifteenth of every month, they will carry the child over for you to meet for a shichen. This is all to prevent the mother and son from becoming too close, and potentially the maternal clan interfering in politics in the future. This reality is unchangeable no matter who you beg. You can only endure on your own.”

Qingying’s hand touched Luyun’s cheeks. The powdered foundation was wet and sticky; the tears were scorching hot. Only when Luyun’s tears fell upon them did Qingying notice the coldness of her hands, which did not have even the slightest wisp of warmth. With these words, she was trying to convince Luyun, but she was also trying to convince herself. The situation was already thus: if no matter who you beg, the situation cannot change, then you can only endure on your own, can only grit your teeth and persevere.

She had read so many gongci ^[4]宫词 (gōng cí) are collections of ancient poems focusing on daily life in the imperial court. They often express the depressed and sad feelings of women in the palace. describing loneliness. But in the end, she only understood a small portion.

Luyun’s tears pitter-pattered, falling on her lapel and instantly disappearing. Her eyes were filled with tears, engulfed in sadness. “In the future, does that mean in the future, I can only be like this? The moment I give birth to a child, the child must leave me. Is that so?”

Qingying straightened Luyun’s hairstyle and selected a blue sapphire silver pearled flower hairpin, which perfectly brought out her typically quiet and gentle demeanor. Lifting her face, Qingying signaled Suoxin to hand over a freshly wrung hot towel, and helped Luyun to clean her face and redo her makeup. 

Turning to the side, Qingying sat down. Softly, she said, “Luyun, it does not matter how many children you have in the future. Only with these children can you rise in prominence, can you scheme for a stable position. 

“If you are really upset, then just think of one person: Grandfather Kangxi’s Consort De, the late Emperor’s birth mother, the Xiao’jing’ren Empress. When she birthed the late Emperor, she had a low status, and could only hand the late Emperor over to be raised by Tongjia Noble Consort. But later on, she birthed many children, and the last child she birthed, the Fourteenth Prince, was able to remain by her side. 

“Now, you, along with everyone else, have just entered the palace. It is inappropriate to hand [the child] to be raised by any one person. The best move is to send [the child] to be raised at a’ge’shuo. In the future, in the future when you are living steadily and smoothly, you can also raise your own child. Do you understand?”

Luyun sat in a daze, passively allowing the palace maids to finish fixing her make-up. Barely suppressing the tears coming from her eyes, which had grown red and swollen from crying, she tearfully asked, “Elder Sister, then what should I do?”

Qingying took over the silk handkerchief and wiped [Luyun’s] tears. “Endure. Endure until you have the qualifications to raise your own child. So, you cannot make any mistakes now, not even the tiniest bit.” 

She pulled on Luyun’s hand and stood up. “You now should dress up neatly and go to the Empress’s palace to express your gratitude. You should thank her for allowing a’ge’shuo to take care of the Third Prince for you. That you cried just now, that you had run to my palace, is because you were overwhelmed by sadness and for a moment lost your mind. Now you have understood: this is grace, and you have accepted this grace.”

Luyun bit her lip, shaking her head miserably and anxiously. “Elder Sister, I cannot say those words. I am afraid that the moment I begin speaking, I will break out in tears.”

Qingying comfortingly and gently placed her hand on Luyun’s thin shoulder, “Do not cry. Think about your future, the Third Prince’s future, and that of your future children. The tears you shed are for them; the tears you hold back are also for them.”

Luyun forcefully quelled her tears, nodded, and began walking towards the exit. The moonlight in the courtyard was dim, and the shadows of the trees seemed sparse and disorderly on the blue-green brick floor. ^[5]Example of 青砖地 (qīng zhuān dì).. Amidst the silence, there came the sound of branches rubbing against each other. The sound was delicate but dense, as though countless tiny insects gnawing at something, bringing excruciating pain to the eardrums. 

Qingying looked at Luyun’s shadow dragging on the ground, seeming as thin as the novel shadow puppets that she had gone to see with her momos when she was young. The paper figurines were tied up by their hands and feet, dancing happily; no one could tell that each and every movement was controlled by someone behind the scenes.

At this place and this time, what was the difference between those versus her and Luyun?

During this night, Langhua was not sleeping too deeply. The side hall where she temporarily stayed did not have the comforting old bed she was used to and lacked Yonglian’s familiar cries. No matter what she did, she was unable to sleep soundly. She flipped herself over, and Ruxin, the serving maid who had been sleeping on the ground beside her, heard her, lighting a candle and pouring a cup of soothing decoction ^[6]安神汤 (ān shén tāng) is a soup/tea made from Chinese herbal medicine that has a calming effect. The main function is to help relieve insomnia, calm the mind, and induce sleep. that she handed to Langhua. 

Considerately, she asked, “It is already the third geng ^[7]三更 (sān gēng) refers to the Time of Zhi, which is 11PM to 1AM. 更 (gēng) can be thought of as the night shichens, of which there are five, from 7PM to 5AM, two hours each. The idea is similar to that of the night watches described in the Old Testament. of the night. Why is Niangniang still unable to sleep peacefully?”

Langhua was still not sleepy, and she supported herself up. “The Second Prince is not by my side; my heart remains ill at ease.”

Ruxin stuffed a soft goose-feather pillow under [Langhua’s] waist as cushioning, gently persuading, “May Niangniang be at ease. This servant has already gone to check. The three princes are all at a’ge’shuo. Those servants and slaves are most dedicated to our Second Prince and are worried about the least bit of poor service. Those wet nurses provide good and abundant breast milk, and they take turns feeding the Second Prince. The momos also serve very carefully, not daring to show the slightest bit of neglect.”

Langhua sighed, nevertheless responding dispiritedly, “The ancestral regulations are there. I cannot visit often. You must pay attention in my stead.”

Ruxin hurriedly replied, “That is but of course. Our Second Prince is honored by the Heavens and valued by the Earth. ^[8]天尊地贵 is a fancy way of saying just how noble the Second Prince is. The other princes are not even worth as much as the mud on his toes. There is not a single person below who dares to not put in their whole effort.”

Chuckling lightly, she continued, “Today, the Third Prince has also been sent away from Su gege’s side. This servant is delighted. Why does Niangniang have to abide by the ancestral regulations, yet that pair of mother and child are able to stay together? This servant just cannot accept it.”

Langhua slowly sipped the dark-red soothing decoction from Ruxin’s hand, saying casually, “Nevermind her. She also appears pitiful. Having been so obviously overwhelmed with sadness, she still had to force herself to come to me and thank me for the grace. I heard that she ran crying to Ula Nara’s place, but [Ula Nara] did not dare to accompany her, and quickly sent née Su out.”

Ruxin happily said, “It should be so! This servant does not believe that Qing[ying] Consort has the ability to help her. She herself is already like a clay Buddha fording a river ^[9]泥菩萨过江 (ní pú sà guò jiāng) means that if one cannot even protect oneself, one will not be able to save others. The saying comes from the belief that the Buddha can save people from suffering, but clay statues of the Buddha will be damaged in water. and is in dire straits herself. Today during the noon meal, the Empress Dowager gave her an extreme lack of face.”

Langhua lightly smiled. “Née Ula Nara was originally the Secondary Consort that the Empress Dowager requested for the Emperor. She is also the niece of the Jing’ren Palace Empress. No matter what, I still need to concede to her by three parts. ^[10]i.e. 30% percent. 3 parts out of 10. Now that the Empress Dowager has shown her this type of attitude, the people within the Palace understand even more so [how to treat her].”

Ruxin raised the corners of her lips, full of triumph. “In the Palace, other than the Empress Dowager, Niangniang is the only other Mistress. How you want them to be is exactly how they must be. Just like those shadow puppets on the stage, they are all to be controlled by your hands.”

Langhua stroked the strands of loose black hair lying in front of her chest, and after a moment said, “Indeed, all must be controlled by my hands. Therefore, Ruxin, tomorrow you go to a’ge’shuo and command them to treat the Third Prince well: they must treat him even better and even more delicately than my Yonglian. He can eat as he pleases without restraint. Whether he is too cold or too hot must be attended to carefully. They must carefully cherish the Third Prince, and allow him to play as much as he wants and be as happy as he desires starting from his days in swaddling clothes. The child of our royal clan cannot withstand suffering: just pamper and spoil [him] for his entire lifetime.”

Though Ruxin did not understand their purpose, hearing how much weight Langhua had put into those words, she hurriedly acknowledged the order. Taking back the now-empty bowl of soothing decoction from Langhua’s hand, Ruxin once again lowered down the beaded curtains.

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