Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace (Arc1 Chp8 Pt4)
Chapter 8: Status [Section One] (Part 4)
Translator: Tygris
English proofreader: 247Reader
The paper windows of the study in Yang’xin Hall were layered so densely that not a single breath of wind could enter. All that could be seen were the shadows of the trees outside the hall against the window bars, like a sparse, light ink painting.
The Emperor’s head was lowered to review memorials.
Wang Qin quietly placed some tea on the table and ground some ink for the Emperor. Then, he whispered, “Your Majesty has been reviewing memorials for an hour. Have some tea and take a break.”
The Emperor hummed in response, not even raising his head. Wang Qin spoke again, “Your Majesty, Official Zhang Tingyu [1]May contain spoilers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Tingyu is here. He is currently waiting outside the hall.”
The Emperor stopped the movement of his brush and said in a sonorous voice, “Quickly invite him in.”
When Wang Qin heard this, he knew that the Emperor treated Zhang Tingyu as one close to him, so he hurriedly and respectfully invited Zhang Tingyu in.
As soon as Zhang Tingyu entered the hall, he bowed from a distance and gave an upright salute. “This humble servant greets the Emperor.”
The Emperor smiled. “Wang Qin, quickly help Official Zhang up. He is granted a seat.”
Wang Qin helped Zhang Tingyu up. Li Yu, the deputy general manager of the Yang’xin Hall, had already moved a pearwood chair over. Only then did Zhang Tingyu dare to sit down.
The Emperor said with concern and care, “Tingyu, your age is already over that of huajia [2]This means that he is over 60 years old. 花甲 (huā jiǎ) is a term from the ancient Chinese calendar, which has a cycle of 60 years. and you are a veteran official who has served in three courts. [3]Meaning that he has served under three Emperors. You are an official left to Zhen per the last order of the late Emperor. You do not need to perform such formalities in front of me.”
Zhang Tingyu’s face was full of humility and respect. “Your Majesty has shown great kindness, but this humble servant dare not lose the courtesy of a minister. The late Emperor valued me, so this humble servant must serve you diligently and dares not disappoint the late Emperor’s trust.”
The Emperor nodded. “Why have you entered the palace at this time to see Zhen?”
Zhang Tingyu bent his body and said, “It is a great honor for the Emperor to confer the title of Noble Consort Hui and to raise her clan’s banner. This humble servant just came back from the residence of Grand Secretary Gao Bin, of Noble Consort Hui’s maternal clan, after drinking a celebratory toast.”
The Emperor made an “Oh” sound and then calmly said, “This is the honor of Noble Consort Hui and the Gao clan. Even you visited to give your congratulations, so it is likely all the officials in the court will go.”
Zhang Tingyu did not pretend to consider his answer. “The Emperor’s grace is vast and mighty. The Gao Mansion is overwhelmed with guests.” Zhang Tingyu looked at the Emperor’s expression and said carefully, “Originally, O’er’tai [4]Like Zhang Tingyu, O’er’tai was an official left to Qianlong by the late Emperor. See more details here but there may be spoilers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ortai. joked with me that so many people might trample the threshold of the Gao Mansion to bits. It must be that Grand Secretary Gao is thoughtful and knowledgeable, so early this morning, he ordered people to replace the threshold with red sandalwood.”
The Emperor smiled slightly, seemingly unconcerned. “Although red sandalwood is precious, it is not a rare thing.”
Zhang Tingyu’s smile became even broader. “This humble servant thought likewise. But today, when chatting with Official Lang, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he said that there had been a shortage of red sandalwood in the past two years.
“The two Guangs [5]两广 (liǎng guǎng) is the collective name of Guangdong and Guangxi. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liangguang and Yunnan have produced no red sandalwood. Only small countries in Nanyang [6]From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, China’s coastal areas were divided into the South and North Oceans. The provinces of Jiangsu , Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong to the south of Shandong were called Nanyang. This also includes countries and regions in Southeast Asia such as Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. have presented some red sandalwood.
“Shipping across the ocean would cost no less than ten thousand gold. What is even more rare is that the red sandalwood used in the residence of Grand Secretary Gao does not absorb water. Grand Secretary Gao is very proud of it and invited all the officials to appreciate it. This official was also very impressed.”
The Emperor smiled and took a sip of tea, then called Wang Qin over and said, “Zhen remembers that the red sandalwood used in Gao Bin’s mansion…” The Emperor seemed to be recalling something and took a glance at Wang Qin.
Wang Qin was stunned. Before he could react, the young eunuch Li Yu, who was serving in the corner of the hall, grabbed the opportunity to say, “Your Majesty, the red sandalwood used in Official Gao’s house was bestowed by the Emperor a few days ago. Because there were many things to do, the Emperor asked Eunuch Wang to do it, and Eunuch Wang asked me to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to complete the matter.”
Wang Qin came back to his senses and hurriedly slapped himself on the head. “Your Majesty, look at this servant’s poor memory, actually forgetting about this matter.” Wang Qin quickly knelt down and said, “Begging Your Majesty for forgiveness.”
The Emperor did not look at him, only saying, “You have just entered the palace to carry out duties, and there are many tasks left by the late Emperor. It is normal to have forgotten some matters. Get up.”
Wang Qin breathed a sigh of relief, quickly thanked the Emperor for his grace, and got up, wiping away the cold sweat on his forehead.
Zhang Tingyu smiled and said, “It turns out to have been an imperial bestowment. This is a great grace, and naturally, all officials should celebrate together.”
He thought for a moment, “The Empress has been crowned, but this official has not yet paid my respects to Her Majesty. My heart is ashamed. [This official] hopes that when all officials come to offer congratulations during the New Year, [this official] can personally pay respects to the Empress.”
The Emperor responded, “What is difficult about that? When the time comes, Zhen will allow you to pay respects to the Empress in person.”
Zhang Tingyu once again bent his body into a bow. “This official thanks the Emperor for his grace. The Empress was the Primary Consort personally bestowed upon the Emperor by the late Emperor. She was born into a famous official family, noble for generations. The Fucha family is one of the eight major surnames in Manchuria and has made many contributions to the Qing Dynasty. This official admires the Empress’ kindness and generosity, and her outstanding talents and virtues. It is [this official’s] greatest honor to be allowed by the Emperor to personally pay respects to the Empress.”
The Emperor’s expression turned somewhat serious. “Zhen understands what you mean. The Empress is the Mistress of the Imperial Harem and holds the Phoenix Seal. Zhen naturally respects and loves the Empress and will not be partial to others due to favor.”
Zhang Tingyu said solemnly, “This official has heard that the former Ming Dynasty’s harem was in chaos, and saw repeated incidents of favored concubines commiting crimes, which led to the loss of discipline in the harem and affected the stability of the court. Your Majesty is wise, and this humble servant is very appreciative.”
Zhang Tingyu looked at the thick stack of memorials on the Emperor’s desk and said with concern, “When the late Emperor was here, he was diligent in government affairs and reviewed memorials for no less than seven shichen [7]Each shichen is equivalent to two hours. every day. Your Majesty has inherited the late Emperor’s style. Although government affairs are important, please take good care of the Emperor’s dragon physique and do not hurt the body.”
The Emperor’s expression showed some gratitude. “Tingyu is both Zhen’s subject and teacher. In the future, Zhen’s princes will also need you to be their teacher and to teach them well.”
Zhang Tingyu was extremely terrified. “This humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your kindness. It is getting late, so this humble servant will take leave now.”
The Emperor said, “Li Yu, escort Official Zhang out properly.”
Li Yu hurriedly followed Zhang Tingyu out.
There was still a faint smile hanging around the corner of the Emperor’s curled lips, looking very gentle, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He took the brush and dipped it in ink, saying, “Wang Qin, you are the Chief Eunuch in front of Zhen. You have to take care of everything clearly, no matter how big or small. There will always be omissions. For some matters, you can hand them off to Li Yu.”
Wang Qin felt a chill in his heart, and his knees became weak. He could only support himself and say, “This servant obeys the order.”
The Emperor buried his head in the memorial and said, “Go out. You do not need to be in front of Zhen anymore.”
Wang Qin retreated quietly with extremely light footsteps, for fear of disturbing the Emperor again. Only after leaving Yang’xin Hall did he realize that the back of his neck was covered with cold sweat. His feet went soft and he fell down in a seat on the white marble steps.
The young eunuch at the door hurriedly came over and said, “Chief Eunuch, please get up. The stones are cold in the autumn night. If you catch a chill, you will suffer.”
Wang Qin shook off the eunuch’s hand and saw from afar Li Yu, coming back from escorting Zhang Tingyu. He angrily scolded the young eunuch, “You bastard, to dare to act so cleverly in front of me!”
Before he finished speaking, the Emperor’s voice came from inside, “Head to Changchun Palace.”
Wang Qin stood up and shouted loudly with all the strength in his throat, “The Emperor is heading out—”
Thanks so much for another great chapter! I’m not sure if I understand correctly the part about the red sandalwood. Is this scene there just to show that Wang Qin forgot something and Li Yu was quicker to respond, to show that there is tension and power struggle between them? Or is there something more to it, like that an imperial gift is used as a threshold, symbolically “walking over” the emperor’s gift which would be disrespectful? Thanks 🙂
Thank you for the comment and question!!
I think there’s multiple aspects to this part.
Between Wang Qin and Li Yu, they are both trying to show their best side to the Emperor because that would mean more trust and more responsibilities and therefore more power and better treatment from the rest of the palace. That the Emperor chose Li Yu to send out an important official and scolded Wang Qin also shows that, here, he was pleased with Li Yu and not with Wang Qin.
With regards to Gao Bin, it is mostly that he was able to use a material as precious as red sandalwood as the threshold instead of using it for something else less likely to wear out (like idk decoration or something). I guess there was worry that he was being bribed by someone with such precious material? Maybe Zhang Tingyu is worried that the Gao clan would become arrogant due to the Emperor’s favor? Anyway, he then learned that the red sandalwood wood was a gift from the Emperor so he wasn’t as worried.
Oooh, I see, now I undrestand. Thanks so much for your response! 🙂