Chapter Six: The Clothes-Snatching Incident

Translator: 247reader

TLC: Tygris

Seeing Chu Yi happy, Lady Yan was also happy. She smiled and said, “Hurry up and eat.”

It was warm in the main courtyard, and the porridge in the white porcelain bowl was steaming,  making it cozy and comfortable. The fruit plate and snacks on the side table gave off a refreshing fruity aroma.

The furniture was clean and bright, and maids waited on them with their heads bowed. It was barely dawn and the room was dark, with candles still lit.

Chu Yi sat next to Lady Yan, looking particularly well-behaved and likable.

Originally, Chu Yi had wanted to bring up this matter when paying her respects, because it was very possible that Lady Yan would not keep her for the meal.

Later, she had thought it over again. In the past few days, she had received gifts from the main courtyard and had gone to the Yong’an Marquis Mansion with Lady Lin. If she talked about opening up her small kitchen in front of Chu Xin and the others, even if their courtyards already had small kitchens, they would still think that she was showing off.

Chu Yi didn’t want to stand out, so it was best to say it now.

The meal lasted for about half an hour. Lady Yan did not ask Chu Yi about what had happened at the banquet, but instead inquired about her preferences in food and clothing. “We’re going to rush to make spring clothes soon. Tell the head embroideress what styles you prefer.”

Although they didn’t have a mother-daughter relationship, Lady Yan always felt closer after speaking like this. “Xiachan has been moved to the small kitchen. I’ll pick out another maid for you. You can take a look when the time comes. If you’re satisfied, you can take her home.”

Chu Yi said, “Thank you for your concern, Mother.”

With nothing else to say, she ate with peace of mind.

On the other side, Concubine Zhao and her group were still on their way back to their courtyards.

The ground was a little wet today, whether from dew or rain.

Inside and outside the main courtyard were two completely different worlds. Chu Xin’s face had turned pale from the cold. She said, “Third Elder Sister is so lucky. She’s had breakfast in the main courtyard several times in a row.”

Concubine Zhao frowned slightly. “We just left the main courtyard, and you’re already speaking without restraint.”

Chu Xin was furious. “What I said is the truth! I don’t know what she said, but even someone as shameless as her was able to stay in Mother’s courtyard for breakfast.”

Concubine Zhao looked around, then breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that no one was paying attention. “Who leaves and who stays is up to Madam. What are you doing, talking like this here? Go back to your courtyard.”

Concubine Zhao had given birth to a son and a daughter. There had been one previous pregnancy, but it had come to nothing. Raising two children to adulthood was already difficult enough. When she was young, she had battled for favor, but now she just hoped for her children to be safe and happy.

The First and Second Misses had just gotten into trouble. It was now the turn of her son, the Third Young Master, to discuss marriage. If the Third Miss could help turn the situation around, it would naturally be a good thing. But those little aspects and bits of favor were not worth fighting over.

But Chu Xin was like herself in her youth. No matter what was said to her, it was useless. They didn’t live in the same courtyard, so Concubine Zhao couldn’t control her.

Chu Xin was twelve years old this year, only one year younger than Chu Yi. But she was born earlier in the year, so the difference between their ages was actually only a bit less than half a year.

The two of them were of similar stature. Before, Chu Xin had felt that there was no need for comparison between them. She could beat Chu Yi in everything and had even felt pity for her.

But now, seeing Chu Yi staying in the main courtyard, with Father and Mother always asking questions and showing concern, how could she not be anxious?

It had been one thing with Eldest Sister or Second Elder Sister, who were legitimate children, but who did Chu Yi think she was?

Chu Xin was unhappy. “All Concubine-mother knows how to do is speak like this – you don’t care about anything else.”。

Concubine Zhao thought, What’s the point in worrying over a motherless child?

They were from the same household. If Chu Yi married well, it would benefit them.

She warned her further, “If you do something bad and delay your elder brother’s marriage, I will punish you.”

At this crucial point, as marriage was being discussed, much gossip and many rumors were floating about outside. Chu Yuanhao, the Third Young Master, was a shu son and was ranked below the Eldest Young Master. Even if his marriage talks were truly affected by what had happened to Second Miss, Concubine Zhao would have nowhere to complain.

Over the years, she had grown to see clearly that the Duke would favor his concubines when he was in a good mood, but when he was unhappy, he didn’t even remember who was who.

The Madam had her natal family to rely on. As long as the Eldest Young Master lived, the Duke would never do something like/that could be seen as favoring a concubine over his wife.

Chu Yi had no idea that she could be resented over something like this.

After dinner, she went back to Yixia Pavilion and handed over all the matters of the small kitchen to Liuxia and Nanny Li. She became a hands-off boss and didn’t have to worry about anything. She just laid on the couch, reading a book, drinking tea, and eating snacks.

However, dried fruits could cause internal heat, so Chu Yi didn’t dare to snack too much. She took an afternoon nap, and not long after she woke up, a maid from the embroidery room arrived.

She was only in her early teens, and she grew taller year after year. The outfits that had been made for her last year could no longer be worn this year.

Even if she did not grow much, fashions changed every year. It would not be good for the daughters of the Duke’s Mansion to be laughed at for going out in unfashionable clothes, so new outfits had to be made every year.

Chu Yi had been here for a year, and in all four seasons, she had received good clothes. There had never been a problem such as one person monopolizing bright fabrics while another was left with dark-colored fabric. This was all thanks to her di mother’s good management.

However, today, because Lady Yan had given specific instructions, the maid asked Chu Yi about her preferences and gave her a few patterns to choose from.

Chu Yi naturally liked gorgeous things, but as a shu daughter, she couldn’t be too ostentatious. “Turquoise, aqua, and moon white are all good. The patterns don’t need to be too ornate, just these few are good enough. I like lilacs, so such a floral pattern would be the best.”

The maid noted everything down, took her measurements, and left.

Nanny Li went to see her off, and slipped her a bag of money so that the clothes would look better.

After seeing the maid off, she was still very happy, feeling that the main courtyard valued Chu Yi. “We’ve received almost as many things in the past few days as we have in the past few years combined.”

Hearing this, Chu Yi didn’t feel very happy. Instead, a warning bell rang in her heart.

Not long after she had arrived, Chu Jin had been sent to the household temple. From the servants’ sighs, she knew that Chu Jin had been favored in the past. Her food, clothing, and daily necessities were undoubtedly the best, with all the finest things being sent to Jinqiu Courtyard.

Her eldest sister had lived up to these fineries. She became famous, with talent even comparable to that of a princess.

But as far as Chu Yi was concerned, a tree that stood out in the forest would be destroyed by the wind. Being in the spotlight meant becoming a target. She didn’t want to become like Chu Jin, and Lady Yan probably didn’t want her to replace Chu Jin either.

Chu Yi thought for a moment and said, “Call all the maids in the courtyard over here. I have something to say.”

Nanny Li was very happy and went off cheerfully in response. Soon, the courtyard maids stood in the main hall in two rows.

Yixia Pavilion had two maids each of first, second, and third rank, and four lesser maids who were in charge of guarding the courtyard gate and cleaning and washing clothes. Now that Xiachan had gone to the small kitchen, they were lacking one second-ranked maid, and someone would be arriving in two days to fill the position.

From this perspective, there were quite a few people in Yixia Pavilion; just the servants numbered eleven.

Their combined monthly salary was almost ten taels. If it weren’t covered by the main household budget, Chu Yi really couldn’t have afforded to pay this amount.

Chu Yi sat upright. She said calmly, “You’ve all noticed over these past few days that I’m highly valued by my parents. As the old saying goes, when one person prospers, everyone else prospers. But I also hope you can understand the principle that ‘when one prospers, all prosper; when one suffers, all suffer’. Be careful with your words when you’re outside. Don’t say anything you shouldn’t, and don’t brag to others about what rewards your mistress has received or whom your mistress has met.”

Chu Yi’s basin of cold water extinguished Nanny Li’s joy. She thought that the young lady must have thought of these things because of her own prior words. For a moment, she didn’t know what to do.

She was extremely frightened and hesitated over whether to kneel down and apologize to Chu Yi.

“Nanny Li.”

Seeing Nanny Li’s pale lips, Chu Yi called out again, “Nanny Li.”

Nanny Li quickly bowed and asked, “What are your orders, Miss?”

Chu Yi said, “There’s a box in the cabinet. Bring it over here. Nanny Li, Liuxia, and Yunxia, take a hairpin, and the rest of you, take earrings.”

This was the box of silver jewelry that Lady Yan had given her. She had sold some of it and kept the rest to reward her servants.

Although plain silver, each looked good and was a valuable item for a maid.

After the stick came the carrot. Everyone felt their hearts settle and said in unison, “Thank you for the reward, Miss. We will definitely keep your words in mind.”

Chu Yi nodded and said, “You may go.”

Nanny Li urged everyone to leave. Just as she was about to speak, Chu Yi waved her hand and said, “Nanny, change this out for a pot of chrysanthemum tea.”

Chrysanthemum tea could reduce internal heat. This meant that she could eat more dried fruits.

Chu Yi returned to the house and read a book in front of the window of the outer room. While staying in the mansion, it was always useful to read more books. Even if she was going to get married in the future, she couldn’t just sit around waiting for marriage.

Over the past few days, the sky had cleared and the weather had been growing warmer. Chu Yi had already changed out of her thickest clothes. Now, she wore only a quilted jacket underneath. She would wait a few days until her spring garments were ready, and then she could change clothes completely.

She sighed softly. Spring had truly come.

–

There were quite a few maids in the embroidery room, and they were only busy at the beginning of each season, when they had to rush to make clothes for the various courtyards. The rest of their time was relatively leisurely, as, after all, the maids didn’t need different clothes every year.

However, there were many maids and also many masters. There were nearly twenty masters in the mansion. Each of them needed four sets of clothes, which added up to several dozen sets. Not to mention, some materials needed to be embroidered with patterns, so it was not a simple matter of cutting, tailoring, and sewing.

So, although all the masters were masters, there were still those who were a priority, and those who were not.

The main courtyard’s clothes were always provided first, followed by the Eldest Young Master, and then the favoured children and concubines. But this time, because Lady Yan had asked the embroidery room manager to ask for Chu Yi’s preferences, Chu Yi’s clothes were ranked second.

The work for the main courtyard came first, then the work for Chu Yi and the Eldest Young Master. It wouldn’t delay anything to do both at the same time.

This time, Chu Yi’s clothes were made particularly delicately. The inner garments were embroidered with white cloud patterns, while the outer garments were much more exquisite. The collar and cuffs were made of the same material, but the inner and outer garments were different, and even the decorative sashes and pibo shawls ^[1]Pibo (披帛) shawls or scarves are an element of traditional Chinese hanfu, popularized during the Sui and Tang dynasties. were extraordinary.

There were two sets of clothes, specially embroidered with fresh lilac patterns in pink and purple silk threads. Small pink and purple flowers on emerald green branches bloomed on the hems and cuffs of the dresses.^[2]The original text simply uses Qún (裙), which is the generic word for a long skirt that could be worn at chest or waist height depending on the era. Variants include the pleated Ming dynasty Mamianqun, or Horse-face Skirt, and the chest-height Tang dynasty Qixiong ruqun. I’m uncertain which era the fashions in the novel are based on, but I’m translating Qun as “dress” here.

After three days, Chu Yi’s four outfits were ready.

As they had been made according to Chu Yi’s preferences, with the addition of numerous embroidered patterns, the plain and quiet colors suddenly became a little more lively.

The underskirts were pleated, with a pattern of clouds and water on one side, and the sashes and pibo shawls were brightly colored. Each set of well-matched clothes was neatly placed on a wooden pallet. After one more check, they could be sent to Yixia Pavilion.

The weather had been hot over the past few days, and Chu Xin couldn’t stand it, so she asked a maid to urge the embroidery room so that she could change into spring clothes shortly.

The maid left quickly and came back quickly, carrying four sets of clothes. Chu Xin looked at them. Although they were nice-looking, they were very different from the brightly colored clothes which she usually wore.

Chu Xin frowned and asked, “Why are these so plain?”

The maid peeked up at Chu Xin and said, “Those people in the embroidery room are too particular. Seeing that the Third Miss is favored, they made her clothes first. But my Miss is in a hurry to wear new clothes, so I took them back.”

Chu Xin’s hands still rested on the fabric as a gleam flashed in her eyes. “That’s perfect! Third Elder Sister has gotten a bargain. My clothes will be prettier. She wouldn’t want the clothes that I have already mistakenly worn, would she? You did a good job.”

The fine clothes made by the embroidery room had all been washed and ironed already and could be worn immediately.

Chu Xin and Chu Yi were of similar stature, so the clothes fit well. However, Chu Xin was used to wearing bright colors, so she felt uncomfortable in these.

But as long as Chu Yi felt more uncomfortable, she would be happy.

Chu Xin asked, “By the way, has Third Younger Sister been out lately?”

It had been very easy to find a maid to keep an eye on Yixia Pavilion.

Chu Xin had gone out just two days ago. It couldn’t be that Chu Yi wouldn’t come out at all, could it?

The maid shook her head and said, “The Third Miss only goes to walk in the garden in the evenings.”

Chu Xin looked up at the sky. “It’s sunset. It’s been warm these past few days, so it might be nice to go for a walk in the garden.”

The gardens in the Duke’s Mansion were exquisite and beautiful. In the garden, apricot flowers were in full bloom, pink and white.

Tender grass sprouted new buds, shaking in the wind, but if a late spring cold snap hit, they would all freeze.

Chu Yi felt a bit like a small blade of grass, warm in spring and cold in autumn. Her spring clothes hadn’t arrived yet, so she needed to suffocate in thick clothes for a few more days.

These days, she remained in her courtyard. She would greet Lady Yan in the morning and have breakfast in the main courtyard. She wouldn’t go out again unless her di mother told her to. In the evening, she would stroll around the small garden and then stop by the main courtyard for the evening greetings along the way.

But Chu Yi didn’t feel that her days were wasted. Peaceful and stable was the best kind of life.

The garden was exquisite and beautiful, and it was particularly soothing to look at. As Chu Yi walked, Yunxia whispered behind her, “Miss, is that the Fourth Miss?”

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