Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace (Arc1 Chp8 Pt2)
Chapter 8: Status [Section One] (Part 2)
Translator: Tygris
English proofreader: 247Reader
Everyone who remained kneeling on the ground kowtowed. “Congratulations to Consort Xian Niangniang. Wishing Niangniang ten-thousand blessings.”
Ruyi said, “Bengong is tired. Later, after A’Ruo gives you all your reward money, you can pack up everything and carry it to Yan’xi Palace.”
[Suo]xin quickly followed behind Ruyi as she entered the palace.
Taking a deep breath, Ruyi calmed herself. She asked, “Is there news from [Xi]yue Consort’s side?”
[Suo]xin replied in a low voice, “The news has just been received. [Xi]yue consort was created Noble Consort Hui. [1]慧 means smart and wise. Per the Emperor’s verbal decree, the Noble Consort’s relatives are to be removed from the ranks of baoyi [2]Refers to either the bondservants or those of the same household of the Manchu, except that the servants of those of the Manchu Upper Three Banners had their own household registrations and were associated with Manchu Banners. and to be listed under the Manchu Banners as if they had been among them from the beginning. The entire clan has been raised to be part of the Bordered Yellow Banner [3]The Bordered Yellow Banner was the highest ranking banner and under the direct command of the Emperor. and granted the clan surname Gao’jia. The Noble Consort has also moved to Xian’fu Palace.”
Ruyi gave a cold snort, feeling even more troubled. “Xian’fu Palace? Is this not the meaning of fortune and blessings gathering together?”
[Suo]xin softly advised, “Niangniang, do not feel troubled! Though Yan’xi Palace is remote, it… it…” [Suo]xin wanted to comfort Ruyi, but she also felt that the Emperor had displayed a great disparity in showing his favor. She could not find an angle from which to begin consoling Ruyi.
Ruyi shook her head. “Yan’xi Palace is remote, but the place is not deserted. It is located next to a corridor used often by palace servants; that path is often noisy and chaotic. Additionally, the palace has not been repaired for a full thirty years – since the 25th year of [Emperor Emeritus] Kanxi’s reign. This residence remains the most rundown across all of the Six Palaces.” Ruyi was uneasy. “Could the Empress Dowager and the Emperor truly despise me this much?”
[Suo]xin said, “The Emperor and Niangniang have many years of affection together. That cannot be the case. Even with regards to the Empress Dowager… did the Empress Dowager not say that she would not blame Niangniang?”
Ruyi’s heart was in turmoil. “Those were just words. One fears they were said only for the sake of speaking them.
“Never mind, now that it has come to this, it is not as if I can fight for anything.
“Pack up all the belongings and move to Yan’xi Palace.”
By the time they had finished moving into Yan’xi Palace, the sky had long turned dark. What was fortunate was that even though Yan’xi Palace was near a highly trafficked corridor used by the palace eunuchs and maids, it was quite quiet when the main gates were shut. And though the palace was not newly renovated, when entering the palace there were the front and back halls each with five rooms in addition to the east and west halls each with three rooms, so it could still be considered spacious. Ruyi had long been someone who enjoyed the quiet. After a careful cleaning and dusting by the palace servants, the place seemed simple but not crude.
Ruyi looked around the central area of Yan’xi Palace, commenting appreciatively, “You all were very thorough in cleaning. Overall, this place is not that bad.”
A’Ruo pouted, “Niangniang is so easily satisfied. Of the six eastern and western palaces, which is not better than Yan’xi Palace? This servant sees that Cheng’qian Palace and Yi’kun Palace are both the best of the best. Not only are the views beautiful, but they are also located close to the Emperor’s Yang’xin Palace. Living here, who knows how often the Emperor will visit.”
Ruyi glanced at her, then only proceeded to gaze at the carvings on the beams with a sigh.
[Suo]xin smiled and pulled at A’Ruo. “Dear guniang. [4]One of the many ways to say ‘girl’ in Chinese. The term used could vary based on closeness, status, situation, etc. In this scenario, Suoxin is addressing someone who is ranked about the same as her and is not actually of noble birth/is not actually a master. Her tone here is appeasing and trying to cater to A’Ruo/trying to stop A’Ruo from continuing to speak of this. If the Emperor wishes to come, then he will not despise the road for being long. If he does not desire to visit, then even living in the surrounding rooms [5]围房 (wei fang) refers to the place where concubines wash and change clothes before serving the emperor. Most likely refers to the east or west wings of Yang’xin Hall. Character by character, this can be translated as ‘surrounding rooms’ or ‘nearby rooms’. of Yang’xin Hall would not help.”
A’Ruo was just about to retort when Ruyi calmly spoke. “Willingness to come will not be impacted by distance. Having a stomach full of thoughts does not mean that the thoughts need to be surfaced to the mouth. A’Ruo, do you agree?”
A’Ruo appeared disheartened, diffidently replying, “Luckily, after Niangniang moved in, the Emperor still bestowed many rewards to supplement the decorations in the palace. The Emperor holds Niangniang inside his heart.” [6]Meaning that the Emperor cares about Ruyi, i.e. has a place in his heart.
Ruyi nodded. “The Emperor is staying over at Chang’chun Palace tonight. Let us also retire early. Who knows if we can sleep soundly and easily tonight after having moved to a new place.”
[Suo]xin’s eyes turned. [7]Meaning that she came up with a thought or remembered something. Similar to a lightbulb going off. In cartoons, this is sometimes depicted as the pupils rolling along the edge of the eye socket from left to top to right or vice versa. This is not the same as rolling her eyes. Fun fact: in Chinese, rolling one’s eyes is to ‘flip one’s eyes to show the whites’, i.e. describing the action of rolling the eye from bottom to top. With a smile, she said, “This servant was concerned that Niangniang would not be able to sleep soundly after moving to a new place, and has already lit calming incense within the sleeping chamber.”
Ruyi nodded appreciatively. A’Ruo could only quietly pout. She dropped her hands and moved to stand further back.
The group of three, master and servants, were just about to head towards the sleeping chamber when the young eunuch guarding outside came in to report. “Reporting to Niangniang, First Class Attendant Hai has come to pay respects to Niangniang.”
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Another great translation, thank you so much! I really appreciate the translator notes – it is always great to understand the meaning. I didn’t know the word for a miss guniang had the same word as niangniang. What does the ‘niang’ mean? Thanks and keep up the great work! <3
Hello! Thank you for the comment and the question!! I never thought about this before, but I looked it up and it’s very interesting. (Disclaimer – the research may not be very comprehensive because I only referenced the Baidu page: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A8%98/6142)
The character 娘 (niáng) that we use today was originally two characters: 娘 (niáng) and 孃 (niáng).
娘 (niáng) originally was only used in reference to young girls.
孃 (niáng) was the character used in reference to mothers and women of an older generation (so like, people of your parents generation or women who are married) as a respectful term.
During the Tang Dynasty, the two words began to be used interchangeably, likely due to the same pronunciation and the related meanings. So, 娘 began to have both the meaning of “a young girl” and of “a respectful term for women of an older generation”.
By the time the modern Chinese dictionary was being compiled, 孃 was recognized as an alternate written form of 娘.