Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace (Arc1 Chp12 Pt3)
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Chapter 12: Ruiji [Section One] (Part 3)
Translator: Tygris
English proofreader: 247Reader
It was a clear morning, and the concubines and consorts gathered bright and early in the Empress’s Palace in an uncommonly orderly manner, as though they had all made an appointment [to come at the same time]. Within a moment, the hall was filled with orioles and swallows [1]莺莺燕燕 (yīng yīng yàn yàn) refers to the light/scenery of spring, but can also refer to numerous concubines or prostitutes / beautiful women. surrounded by pearls and jades. [2]So the raws say 珠翠萦绕 (zhū cuì yíng rào), which I am pretty sure is the same thing as 珠围翠绕 (zhū wéi cuì rào), which describes women with gorgeous makeup. The scent of powder and rouge covered even the scent of the fumigating incense.
The Empress was still dressing up inside and had not yet appeared. The concubines and consorts were whittling away the time by drinking tea and chirping away. [3]This is a reference to the previous metaphor describing them as orioles and swallows. It was quite lively.
Noble Lady Yi could not help but say, “Last night was full of cold, wailing wind. Younger Sister is uncertain if she is the one who heard wrongly, but there seemed to be the sound of the Fengluan Chunen carriage passing by?”
Noble Lady Jia made a cold, derisive sound. She adjusted a gilded cicada-shaped hairpin that was dangling diagonally on her temple. The drooping red crystal tassel delicately touched her evenly powdered forehead and swayed as she spoke, reflecting red stars into the listeners’ eyes. Leisurely, Noble Lady Jia said, “It was not that you, Noble Lady Yi, heard wrongly, but that no one’s ears are that poor. The bluestone road had been swept and was covered in a layer of ice. The wheels of the carriage were as loud as thunder; who could fail to hear it?”
Hailan could not stop herself from speaking. “Elder Sisters only heard the sound. On the way back from Bao’hua Hall, this concubine saw the Fengluan Chunen carriage passing by on the long street, carrying someone inside.”
Now, even Concubine Chun, who had been taciturn and joyless recently, expressed her surprise. She asked, “I clearly remember that the Emperor did not flip any [green-headed] cards yesterday night. Who could the Fengluan Chunen carriage have picked up?” Saying thus, she cast her eyes towards Noble Consort Hui, who was currently peeling a kumquat, and continued doubtfully, “Could it be that the Emperor was thinking of Noble Consort Hui, and called her over despite not flipping the [green-headed] cards?”
Noble Consort Hui’s fingers, as delicate as green onions, slowly peeled a single kumquat and ate it. She gave a cold laugh. “How would Bengong know who was in the carriage? This kind of secretive and illicit matter… in any case, it was not Bengong.”
Ruyi held a teacup and was using the lid to slowly remove the foam atop the tea. She said faintly, “No matter who it was, if everyone is so curious, why not call Wang Qin over to ask? There is no reason that even he would not know.”
Noble Consort Hui glanced sideways and gave a dainty laugh. “This kind of idea — only Consort Xian dares to say it, and only Consort Xian dares to do it. Why not just trouble Younger Sister Consort Xian to summon Wang Qin and ask?”
Ruyi only stared at her teacup, her gaze not even moving the slightest towards Noble Consort Hui. “Whoever is curious should go ask. If a golden hairpin falls into a well, even if no one sees it, people will rush to scoop it out — how could they bear to let it remain buried?”
Noble Lady Jia took a silk handkerchief and pressed at the powder on the corners of her nose, smiling. “That is true. No matter how great the treasure, one fears that it cannot remain hidden. We can just wait and see.”
As everyone was speaking, they heard the sound of jade and jewelry and a gust of fresh scent came from inside. Everyone understood that the Empress was coming out, and quickly moved to soundlessly stand up and respectfully welcome the Empress as she walked out.
The Empress was holding Suxin’s hand, her pace steady and peaceful, carrying with her a sense of calm which stabilized the minds and mood of the hall. The Empress sat down upon the chair in the middle, and ordered all to be seated before tranquilly asking, “Just now, Younger Sisters were conversing enthusiastically, one sentence after another. What exciting matter has so interested Younger Sisters?”
Everyone gazed at one another, and in the end, it was Noble Lady Jia who could not keep her calm and was the first to speak out. “We concubines were merely joking around, saying that last night the Emperor did not flip the [green-headed] cards, yet, for some unknown reason, the Fengluan Chunen carriage was travelling the long streets.”
The Empress smiled faintly. Her smile was like sunlight on a snow-covered plain, flickering gently before the chilly snowy light blocked all traces of warmth. “What other reason could there be? It can only be that we sisters are fortunate, and have a new younger sister to accompany us.”
“A new younger sister?” Noble Lady Jia suppressed her shock and astonishment, and barely managed to pull together a smile. “Empress means that….”
“These past consecutive days have been chilly. Bengong passed the order that you all do not need to come pay your respects so early, and so you all do not yet know. Just before you all arrived, the Emperor had already had the Palace Supervisory Department pass along the verbal order that née Bai of Nanfu is to be created Second Class Attendant [4]See: Imperial Chinese harem system – Wikipedia Mei. [5]玫 (méi) means rose. Bengong has already allocated Yong’he Palace for her to reside in.”
Noble Consort Hui clenched the handkerchief in her hands, and whispered uncontrollably, “Nanfu? Is that not—”
Though Ruyi’s heart was also full of immense surprise, she was able to contain it and only exchanged a glance with Hailan. Secretly, she thought, No wonder the fragrance was so heavy. Indeed, it turned out to be such a jade-like beauty.
The Empress seemed calm and unsurprised. She only raised her eyelids to take a look at Noble Consort Hui. “By reason, Noble Consort Hui should have seen [her] before. Supposedly, she is a musician who plays the pipa.”
Noble Consort Hui frowned gently, and she thought carefully. Yesterday, amongst all of the musicians, there was only one whose brows were the most exquisite. Thinking to and fro, there could be no other person. She clenched her teeth and said forbearingly, “There was one who was playing a phoenix-headed pipa. The Emperor even complained that it was not well-played…”
Concubine Chun gave a melancholy sigh. “It matters not whether the pipa was played well or poorly, as long as the Emperor is happy.”
Anyone else listening to these words would not take any particular notice of them. But when these words landed in Xiyue’s ears, even though the speaker had no intentions, it felt as if her heart was getting cut out, one knife stroke after another, slicing into her until blood uncontrollably bubbled up in her throat. She tightened her death grip on a kumquat. Not until she felt the cool juice wetting and staining her hand did she notice that she had lost her composure. She hurriedly took a sip of tea to gloss over the situation.
Noble Lady Jia’s willow brows rose, unconsciously bringing out a few points of aggressiveness. “A Nanfu musician. What kind of background is that? Not even as honorable as a palace maid. Even when a palace maid is promoted, she would still have to go step by step, starting from a nameless Lady in Waiting. [6]See: Imperial Chinese harem system – Wikipedia. The paragraph after all the ranks. She somehow managed to become a Second Class Attendant after just a single night.”
The Empress said kindly, “Though a musician is not as honorable a background as a palace maid, it is still much better than that of a lowly Xinzheku [7]辛者库 (xīn zhě kù) historically refers to one of the categories of baoyi (See: Booi Aha – Wikipedia – “half-company servants”), but commonly in novels and other fictional works, Xinzheku is described as consisting of criminal slaves. Like other baoyi, Xinzheku was also split into the upper three banners and the lower five banners, serving the Emperor versus the various Princes. Xinzheku servants did menial and manual labor across almost all areas. While there were criminal slaves in Xinzheku, they were but a small portion. For further reading, you can try translating this Baidu page into English: 辛者库_百度百科 slave.
“Was Kangxi Emperor’s Consort Liang [8]Birth mother of Kangxi’s 8th son. See: Yunsi – Wikipedia not from Xinzheku? She still gave birth to a prince and was created a Consort, enjoying a lifetime of glory and favor.
“And it is also because musicians are not palace maids that the Emperor bestowing exceptional grace could not be considered to violate precedent.”
The center of Noble Lady Jia’s brows furrowed, and she flicked her handkerchief in disgust. “What kind of lowly background is that of a musician? In the coming days, sitting on equal footing with us, will she chat about which dramas in Nanfu are most interesting, or will she discuss which of her musician outfits is the most seductive while playing the pipa? We already have a First Class Attendant Hai who talks about silk threads and embroidery, and now comes an even better one.”
Hailan heard herself mentioned, but she remained silent, not daring to speak.
The Empress’s visage darkened, beginning to resemble the august atmosphere of falling autumn leaves. “That is enough!”
Noble Lady Jia was frightened and did not say anything more.
The Empress gentled her tone and continued, “No matter what, Second Class Attendant Mei is the first concubine the Emperor has taken after ascending the throne. As long as the Emperor likes [her], no one is allowed to say even a single sentence of gossip. Bengong only has one thing to say: Only when the Six Palaces are in harmony will there be prosperity in offspring. If anyone dares to be jealous or to scheme against one another, Bengong will certainly not tolerate her!”
Everyone respectfully agreed. Within but a moment, the atmosphere had become somewhat oppressive.
Unexpectedly, it was Concubine Chun who spoke out bravely. “Empress Niangniang, this concubine has a presumptuous request. It truly is…”
The Empress mildly said, “What is it? There is no problem with just stating the request.”
Concubine Chun hesitated for some moments, but still continued. “Niangniang, the wind blew all last night. Listening to the wind, this concubine was full of fear. This concubine’s Third Prince is still in his swaddling clothes, and naturally is afraid of cold and chills. This concubine, anxious at heart, hopes for Empress Niangniang‘s permission to be granted the chance to go to a’ge’suo today to spend some time with the Third Prince.”
The Empress did not respond for a moment, only taking in a mouthful of tea, before giving a slight smile. “Today is already the fifteenth. You are permitted to visit the Third Prince. Per the ancestral regulations, half a shichen is enough to express your mother-and-son affections.”
Noble Consort Hui smiled as she spoke. “Is that not the case? Other than Empress Niangniang, the consorts and concubines of the Imperial Harem are permitted to visit [their children in] a’ge’suo on the first and fifteenth of every month. No visit may exceed half a shichen.
“Empress Niangniang often goes to visit the various princes and princesses. Bengong has also gone once. The Third Prince’s care and treatment were even better than that of the Second Prince and Third Princess born of the Empress. Even then, Empress Niangniang still admonished that the Third Prince was young and fragile, and that everything must be taken care of with the utmost consideration.
“With such protection from Empress Niangniang, what is there for you, Concubine Chun, to be unsatisfied about? Could it be that if you spent more time together, your Third Prince would no longer be cold during the winter?”
Concubine Chun was made speechless by her sermon, and could only lower her eyes dimly.
The Empress smiled generously. “That is enough. Bengong knows that you are concerned about your son. It is just that as far as matters regarding a’ge’suo are concerned, you may lay your worries at rest. If you think of your son all day long, how can you properly serve the Emperor?”
