“Since cefei is not happy to see He Lian Wei Rui enter the door, this business can be discussed”. He Lian Min Min stroked the gold nail guard with a smile on her face.
[1] 护甲 hùjiǎ - Chinese fingernail guard. In Ancient China, high-class members of the society wore nail guards to keep their long nails safe. (More info on footnotes below).
Mu Xi Yao listened to her frankness but focused more on her clothes.
This kind of ink-cyan palace attire was something she hadn’t seen before. Did the Shangyi [2] Bureau make a new design? As a rule, this year, there was the Principal Consort and two cefei in the Prince’s mansion and the quota for their new clothes had long been filled. How could they suddenly make an extra set?
[2] Shangyi - 尚衣, the 衣 means ‘clothes’ or ‘to dress / to wear / to put on (clothes)’. It’s the department in the Palace that takes care of dressing up the Royal Family.
“Does cefei think this Consort palace dress looks good?” He Lian Min Min got Mu Xi Yao’s assurance, and now she had the mind to gossip. “This is custom-made in the newly opened Nishang Pavilion [3] in Jingli. Not only is the fabric soft and harmonious, but the embroidery craftsmanship is also top-notch.” He Lian Min Min pulled up her wide sleeves and stretched her arms slightly forward, letting Mu Xi Yao see that the workmanship in the details was also extremely exquisite.
[3] Can’t be too sure of the translation, but let’s call it The Nishang Pavilion, it’s a shop for custom-made clothing.
 |
| #Pinterest. |
Mu Xi Yao looked at her carefully and frowned slightly. “This Nishang Pavilion actually customizes palace dresses in private?”
How could a private tailor shop ever accept orders for a palace dress? Can those eunuchs in the Shangyi Bureau watch the oil and water flow out? [4]
[4] 看油水往外流 kàn yóushuǐ wǎng wài liú - ‘Watch the oil and water flow out’, couldn’t find an actual definition, but I’m guessing the meaning it’s kinda like ‘watching the money slip by their hands’.
He Lian Min Min heard her doubts and slowly started the fan in her hand. “The Noble Consort [5] takes care of the affairs of the Six Palaces [6] with the backing of the Empress, but after all, she is too old to manage so many irrelevant affairs. Naturally, this errand was sent down and shared by the ladies. In addition to custom-made clothes, Shangyi Bureau takes orders separately, but it is not as novel in style or colors made outside, and it is always too formal.”
[5] 皇贵妃 huáng guìfēi - Meaning ‘Imperial Noble Consort’. It’s the highest Consort, she only has to bow to the Emperor and Empress. Kinda like the Cefei position.
[6] Six Western Palaces, together with Six Eastern Palaces, accommodated the emperor's wives and concubines. Six Palaces = all the Imperial Concubines of the Emperor.
 |
| The Forbidden City map. |
“This Nishang Pavilion was newly opened in Jingli by several Princesses [7] and County Lords [8] for a few days now. They each gave a share. And although it’s called a palace dress, it just looks like it, in fact, the visitor can only order it when they have an identity. The Noble Consort should have heard of it already, but this trivial matter involves several Princesses who just came out of the cabinet [9]. Naturally, she didn’t say much, just pretended she didn’t know.”
[7] 公主 gōngzhǔ - Princess. This could be the Princesses born by the Empress or the Concubines, there’s no distinction made in the raws.
[8] 郡主 jùnzhǔ - County Lord. (Wikipedia says: translated as “Princess of a Commandery” or “Princess of the Third Rank”. It was usually granted to the daughter of a qinwang. Also called heshuo gege (和碩格格) or qinwang gege (親王格格), lit. “lady of a prince of the blood”. Daughters of Qinwang also could be promoted to heshuo gongzhu or gulun gongzhu if they were adopted as emperor’s daughters.
[9] Means they just got out of the Palace, and opened their Mansion, this also means they’re newly married. They’re just kids messing around cuz they’re out of their parents house, lmao.
Mu Xi Yao raised her eyebrows, such a thing exists? Princesses join forces to earn small money? If the imitation of palace clothes could be this easy, Mu Xi Yao felt that Emperor Yuancheng would soon be able to smuggle this business away.
Noble Consort didn’t ask? Afraid it wasn’t because the matter was too trivial to take care of, but because she had a share. It’s not that she didn’t dare to take responsibility, she just had other ideas.
If Mu Xi Yao guessed correctly, the two Princesses from the Noble Consort should not be involved in this matter.
“This concubine once heard that there was a wealthy family. The elders are still alive, and the figure for public expenses was fixed. The younger son felt that the usual expenses were higher, so he bought an industry privately outside, and shipped the unused bamboo strips piled up at home out of the house to be processed into bamboo baskets and sold cheaply.”
He Lian Min Min felt that she had to pay great attention when talking to Mu Xi Yao. Before this woman had finished discussing one thing, she began to talk about another, not knowing what she had in mind.
“Although the price was cheap, how many were sold? Slowly, this small business picked up.”
Seeing He Lian Min Min’s indifference, Mu Xi Yao shook her head secretly in her heart. Seems like the vision is a bit worse, and she didn’t see things long-term. Always stuck in the backyard like this, scheming women back and forth, without caring about anything else, how could she be favoured by Zhong Zheng Lin?
“A little can always make a lot. The younger son had made a lot of money. When the other branches saw that the youngest was living a prosperous life, they’re naturally resentful. How could a businessman be funded by the family? Isn’t this not following the rules? So there is disharmony in the family. The parents knew about this, and they deducted their youngest son’s yearly money without saying a word. From then on, he would rather let the extra bamboo strips be mouldy and rot there than let people move it more.”
Emperor Yuancheng wasn’t simply the head of a wealthy family, and punishing individuals wasn’t a trivial matter such as deducting monthly money. Dare to break the regulations in the palace, if the public and private matters are mixed like this, if a copy of the dragon robe was produced in the future, could the Emperor really let it go?
“How does Principal Consort think that this family compares to this matter?” Mu Xi Yao would go mad if she didn’t understand.
So hurry up and stay as far away from the Nishang Pavilion as possible. Do you really want to get involved? Just wait for Emperor Yuancheng to find out, see how he will settle this matter. Zong Zheng Lin’s Principal Consort shouldn’t act so blindly, it will only make people laugh.
Mu Xi Yao felt very sad. She was the Principal Consort of the Mansion, if the Principal Consort is too shameless, their level will not rise. Emperor Yuancheng should check his sons’ backyards when he is free. If this is solved too slowly, it will obviously hinder the progress of the boss’s ascension, and wouldn’t her goal of being a favoured concubine take a longer time to achieve? This was absolutely not possible.
Mu Xi Yao felt that it was most difficult for her to control He Lian Min Min. It was not an easy job to carry her and support her from time to time! When the big boss married this woman, she had to watch over her like a nanny. Does this mean she needs to ask for more benefits for her painstaking efforts?
Today He Lian Min Min came to talk about He Lian Wei Rui but even if she didn’t speak, Mu Xi Yao couldn’t idly stand by. Although He Lian Min Min and her were never on the same side, and internal fighting was very annoying, but if the huge ship of the Prince’s Mansion sank as a whole, where should they fight! So this was a matter of proportion.
Although He Lian Min Min was a bit astute, most of the time she knew the bottom line. As for goodness or evil, Mu Xi Yao didn't bother to think about it. How many good women can there be in the harem? He Lian-shi only entered the door less than six months ago, if she had become shrewd in this short period of time, Zhong Zheng Lin would’ve long ago let her go to a sanitarium to recuperate for eight or ten years.
He Lian Min Min did look a bit better than the other option of He Lian Wei Rui, so she’ll just make do with it. Mu Xi Yao’s requirements were not high, as long as you don’t provoke her, for other women, He Lian Min Min, as the mistress of the house, can of course watch and deal with the rest of them.
Although Mu Xi Yao’s words were euphemistic, the meaning was clear. Especially that last question, He Lian Min Min immediately understood the intention in her words. When she thought about it like this, she immediately realised that her clothes were unsuitable.
Was this woman kindly reminding her? He Lian Min Min suddenly felt a lot better. No matter how talented Mu Xi Yao was, there were rules that bound her. Even if she didn’t like to have contact with the women in the Mansion, at a critical time, didn’t she still have to take care of the overall situation and work hard? Although the words used were simple, the mind was moved.
“The Nishang Pavilion is a few blocks away from the Mansion. From now on, it will be more convenient for the clothes of the various courtyards in the Mansion to be handed over to the Shangyi Bureau. After all, the clothes are ready-made with our measurements, so there is no need to bother each courtyard to measure again.” He Lian Min Min took a sip of the clear tea in front of her, and her tone of voice turned extremely natural.
Mu Xi Yao narrowed her eyes and smiled softly. “Yes, Principal Consort Zheng is very thoughtful.”
The two smiled at each other, showing a tacit understanding that they had never had before.
“What are you planning to do with He Lian Wei Rui business?” After so long, isn’t it time to reveal the crux of the matter?
He Lian Min Min put down the tea cup and wiped the corners of her lips with a silk handkerchief. Seeing Mu Xi Yao’s gentle smile, she finally said the thoughts she had kept hidden for a long time.
“Before Cefei’s confinement, I shall help stop the Fourth Princess from making trouble. Cefei only needs to stay in the house and wait for the delivery date while taking care of her body. In exchange, Cefei needs to help me come up with ideas when she is free to block He Lian Wei from entering the mansion. If the concubine is interested, I think it’s best to stop her idea of becoming a concubine”.
***
Relationship Diagram (by Sith Kazar)
▲ Footnotes
[1] 护甲 hùjiǎ - Chinese fingernail guard. Both men and women of the nobility in ancient China wore their nails long. Long nails were seen as a symbol of wealth as it meant they did not have to do manual labour. The length can be anywhere from 3cm to 15cm depending on how long the wearer wishes it to be.
Women usually have longer nails than men, so nail guards became an accessory worn both to protect the nails from breaking and to be decorative. They originate from the Ming dynasty and became popular in the Qing dynasty.
The fingernail guard would be worn as a single piece, or in pairs. They were worn by the elite of the Manchurian court ladies, of the latter part of the Qing dynasty (1644 – 1912). Late Qing rulers pursued a life of great luxury, and a lady took great care to emphasise her nails, for they were a sign of her ability to rely on her servants and to show she did not perform manual tasks. Usually they were worn on the little finger and the ring finger.
Nail guards could be worn on one hand only, or on both hands; the latter would signal the wearer’s higher status as it shows they do not need to use either of their hands.
It is known that the Dowager Empress Cixis nails were up to six inches long. In Chinese tradition fingernail guards had motifs and symbols such as the endless knot, symbolising a long and prosperous life, or bats and coins symbols of good luck and wealth, also various Buddhist symbols were incorporated.
An interesting post to continue reading here.
[2] Shangyi - 尚衣, the 衣 means ‘clothes’ or ‘to dress / to wear / to put on (clothes)’. It’s the department in the Palace that takes care of dressing up the Royal Family.
[3] Can’t be too sure of the translation, but let’s call it The Nishang Pavilion, it’s a shop for custom-made clothing.
[4] 看油水往外流 kàn yóushuǐ wǎng wài liú - ‘Watch the oil and water flow out’, couldn’t find an actual definition, but I’m guessing the meaning it’s kinda like ‘watching the money slip by their hands’.
[5] 皇贵妃 huáng guìfēi - Meaning ‘Imperial Noble Consort’. It’s the highest Consort, she only has to bow to the Emperor and Empress. Kinda like the Cefei position.
[6] Six Western Palaces, together with Six Eastern Palaces, accommodated the emperor's wives and concubines. Six Palaces = all the Imperial Concubines of the Emperor.
[7] 公主 gōngzhǔ - Princess. This could be the Princesses born by the Empress or the Concubines, there’s no distinction made in the raws.
[8] 郡主 jùnzhǔ - County Lord. (Wikipedia says: translated as “Princess of a Commandery” or “Princess of the Third Rank”. It was usually granted to the daughter of a qinwang. Also called heshuo gege (和碩格格) or qinwang gege (親王格格), lit. “lady of a prince of the blood”. Daughters of Qinwang also could be promoted to heshuo gongzhu or gulun gongzhu if they were adopted as emperor’s daughters.
“Since cefei is not happy to see He Lian Wei Rui enter the door, this business can be discussed”. He Lian Min Min stroked the gold nail guard with a smile on her face.
[1] 护甲 hùjiǎ - Chinese fingernail guard. In Ancient China, high-class members of the society wore nail guards to keep their long nails safe. (More info on footnotes below).
Mu Xi Yao listened to her frankness but focused more on her clothes.
This kind of ink-cyan palace attire was something she hadn’t seen before. Did the Shangyi [2] Bureau make a new design? As a rule, this year, there was the Principal Consort and two cefei in the Prince’s mansion and the quota for their new clothes had long been filled. How could they suddenly make an extra set?
[2] Shangyi - 尚衣, the 衣 means ‘clothes’ or ‘to dress / to wear / to put on (clothes)’. It’s the department in the Palace that takes care of dressing up the Royal Family.
“Does cefei think this Consort palace dress looks good?” He Lian Min Min got Mu Xi Yao’s assurance, and now she had the mind to gossip. “This is custom-made in the newly opened Nishang Pavilion [3] in Jingli. Not only is the fabric soft and harmonious, but the embroidery craftsmanship is also top-notch.” He Lian Min Min pulled up her wide sleeves and stretched her arms slightly forward, letting Mu Xi Yao see that the workmanship in the details was also extremely exquisite.
[3] Can’t be too sure of the translation, but let’s call it The Nishang Pavilion, it’s a shop for custom-made clothing.
|
| #Pinterest. |
Mu Xi Yao looked at her carefully and frowned slightly. “This Nishang Pavilion actually customizes palace dresses in private?”
How could a private tailor shop ever accept orders for a palace dress? Can those eunuchs in the Shangyi Bureau watch the oil and water flow out? [4]
[4] 看油水往外流 kàn yóushuǐ wǎng wài liú - ‘Watch the oil and water flow out’, couldn’t find an actual definition, but I’m guessing the meaning it’s kinda like ‘watching the money slip by their hands’.
He Lian Min Min heard her doubts and slowly started the fan in her hand. “The Noble Consort [5] takes care of the affairs of the Six Palaces [6] with the backing of the Empress, but after all, she is too old to manage so many irrelevant affairs. Naturally, this errand was sent down and shared by the ladies. In addition to custom-made clothes, Shangyi Bureau takes orders separately, but it is not as novel in style or colors made outside, and it is always too formal.”
[5] 皇贵妃 huáng guìfēi - Meaning ‘Imperial Noble Consort’. It’s the highest Consort, she only has to bow to the Emperor and Empress. Kinda like the Cefei position.
[6] Six Western Palaces, together with Six Eastern Palaces, accommodated the emperor's wives and concubines. Six Palaces = all the Imperial Concubines of the Emperor.
|
| The Forbidden City map. |
“This Nishang Pavilion was newly opened in Jingli by several Princesses [7] and County Lords [8] for a few days now. They each gave a share. And although it’s called a palace dress, it just looks like it, in fact, the visitor can only order it when they have an identity. The Noble Consort should have heard of it already, but this trivial matter involves several Princesses who just came out of the cabinet [9]. Naturally, she didn’t say much, just pretended she didn’t know.”
[7] 公主 gōngzhǔ - Princess. This could be the Princesses born by the Empress or the Concubines, there’s no distinction made in the raws.
[8] 郡主 jùnzhǔ - County Lord. (Wikipedia says: translated as “Princess of a Commandery” or “Princess of the Third Rank”. It was usually granted to the daughter of a qinwang. Also called heshuo gege (和碩格格) or qinwang gege (親王格格), lit. “lady of a prince of the blood”. Daughters of Qinwang also could be promoted to heshuo gongzhu or gulun gongzhu if they were adopted as emperor’s daughters.
[9] Means they just got out of the Palace, and opened their Mansion, this also means they’re newly married. They’re just kids messing around cuz they’re out of their parents house, lmao.
Mu Xi Yao raised her eyebrows, such a thing exists? Princesses join forces to earn small money? If the imitation of palace clothes could be this easy, Mu Xi Yao felt that Emperor Yuancheng would soon be able to smuggle this business away.
Noble Consort didn’t ask? Afraid it wasn’t because the matter was too trivial to take care of, but because she had a share. It’s not that she didn’t dare to take responsibility, she just had other ideas.
If Mu Xi Yao guessed correctly, the two Princesses from the Noble Consort should not be involved in this matter.
“This concubine once heard that there was a wealthy family. The elders are still alive, and the figure for public expenses was fixed. The younger son felt that the usual expenses were higher, so he bought an industry privately outside, and shipped the unused bamboo strips piled up at home out of the house to be processed into bamboo baskets and sold cheaply.”
He Lian Min Min felt that she had to pay great attention when talking to Mu Xi Yao. Before this woman had finished discussing one thing, she began to talk about another, not knowing what she had in mind.
“Although the price was cheap, how many were sold? Slowly, this small business picked up.”
Seeing He Lian Min Min’s indifference, Mu Xi Yao shook her head secretly in her heart. Seems like the vision is a bit worse, and she didn’t see things long-term. Always stuck in the backyard like this, scheming women back and forth, without caring about anything else, how could she be favoured by Zhong Zheng Lin?
“A little can always make a lot. The younger son had made a lot of money. When the other branches saw that the youngest was living a prosperous life, they’re naturally resentful. How could a businessman be funded by the family? Isn’t this not following the rules? So there is disharmony in the family. The parents knew about this, and they deducted their youngest son’s yearly money without saying a word. From then on, he would rather let the extra bamboo strips be mouldy and rot there than let people move it more.”
Emperor Yuancheng wasn’t simply the head of a wealthy family, and punishing individuals wasn’t a trivial matter such as deducting monthly money. Dare to break the regulations in the palace, if the public and private matters are mixed like this, if a copy of the dragon robe was produced in the future, could the Emperor really let it go?
“How does Principal Consort think that this family compares to this matter?” Mu Xi Yao would go mad if she didn’t understand.
So hurry up and stay as far away from the Nishang Pavilion as possible. Do you really want to get involved? Just wait for Emperor Yuancheng to find out, see how he will settle this matter. Zong Zheng Lin’s Principal Consort shouldn’t act so blindly, it will only make people laugh.
Mu Xi Yao felt very sad. She was the Principal Consort of the Mansion, if the Principal Consort is too shameless, their level will not rise. Emperor Yuancheng should check his sons’ backyards when he is free. If this is solved too slowly, it will obviously hinder the progress of the boss’s ascension, and wouldn’t her goal of being a favoured concubine take a longer time to achieve? This was absolutely not possible.
Mu Xi Yao felt that it was most difficult for her to control He Lian Min Min. It was not an easy job to carry her and support her from time to time! When the big boss married this woman, she had to watch over her like a nanny. Does this mean she needs to ask for more benefits for her painstaking efforts?
Today He Lian Min Min came to talk about He Lian Wei Rui but even if she didn’t speak, Mu Xi Yao couldn’t idly stand by. Although He Lian Min Min and her were never on the same side, and internal fighting was very annoying, but if the huge ship of the Prince’s Mansion sank as a whole, where should they fight! So this was a matter of proportion.
Although He Lian Min Min was a bit astute, most of the time she knew the bottom line. As for goodness or evil, Mu Xi Yao didn't bother to think about it. How many good women can there be in the harem? He Lian-shi only entered the door less than six months ago, if she had become shrewd in this short period of time, Zhong Zheng Lin would’ve long ago let her go to a sanitarium to recuperate for eight or ten years.
He Lian Min Min did look a bit better than the other option of He Lian Wei Rui, so she’ll just make do with it. Mu Xi Yao’s requirements were not high, as long as you don’t provoke her, for other women, He Lian Min Min, as the mistress of the house, can of course watch and deal with the rest of them.
Although Mu Xi Yao’s words were euphemistic, the meaning was clear. Especially that last question, He Lian Min Min immediately understood the intention in her words. When she thought about it like this, she immediately realised that her clothes were unsuitable.
Was this woman kindly reminding her? He Lian Min Min suddenly felt a lot better. No matter how talented Mu Xi Yao was, there were rules that bound her. Even if she didn’t like to have contact with the women in the Mansion, at a critical time, didn’t she still have to take care of the overall situation and work hard? Although the words used were simple, the mind was moved.
“The Nishang Pavilion is a few blocks away from the Mansion. From now on, it will be more convenient for the clothes of the various courtyards in the Mansion to be handed over to the Shangyi Bureau. After all, the clothes are ready-made with our measurements, so there is no need to bother each courtyard to measure again.” He Lian Min Min took a sip of the clear tea in front of her, and her tone of voice turned extremely natural.
Mu Xi Yao narrowed her eyes and smiled softly. “Yes, Principal Consort Zheng is very thoughtful.”
The two smiled at each other, showing a tacit understanding that they had never had before.
“What are you planning to do with He Lian Wei Rui business?” After so long, isn’t it time to reveal the crux of the matter?
He Lian Min Min put down the tea cup and wiped the corners of her lips with a silk handkerchief. Seeing Mu Xi Yao’s gentle smile, she finally said the thoughts she had kept hidden for a long time.
“Before Cefei’s confinement, I shall help stop the Fourth Princess from making trouble. Cefei only needs to stay in the house and wait for the delivery date while taking care of her body. In exchange, Cefei needs to help me come up with ideas when she is free to block He Lian Wei from entering the mansion. If the concubine is interested, I think it’s best to stop her idea of becoming a concubine”.
***
Relationship Diagram (by Sith Kazar)
▲ Footnotes
[1] 护甲 hùjiǎ - Chinese fingernail guard. Both men and women of the nobility in ancient China wore their nails long. Long nails were seen as a symbol of wealth as it meant they did not have to do manual labour. The length can be anywhere from 3cm to 15cm depending on how long the wearer wishes it to be.
Women usually have longer nails than men, so nail guards became an accessory worn both to protect the nails from breaking and to be decorative. They originate from the Ming dynasty and became popular in the Qing dynasty.
The fingernail guard would be worn as a single piece, or in pairs. They were worn by the elite of the Manchurian court ladies, of the latter part of the Qing dynasty (1644 – 1912). Late Qing rulers pursued a life of great luxury, and a lady took great care to emphasise her nails, for they were a sign of her ability to rely on her servants and to show she did not perform manual tasks. Usually they were worn on the little finger and the ring finger.
Nail guards could be worn on one hand only, or on both hands; the latter would signal the wearer’s higher status as it shows they do not need to use either of their hands.
It is known that the Dowager Empress Cixis nails were up to six inches long. In Chinese tradition fingernail guards had motifs and symbols such as the endless knot, symbolising a long and prosperous life, or bats and coins symbols of good luck and wealth, also various Buddhist symbols were incorporated.
An interesting post to continue reading here.
[2] Shangyi - 尚衣, the 衣 means ‘clothes’ or ‘to dress / to wear / to put on (clothes)’. It’s the department in the Palace that takes care of dressing up the Royal Family.
[3] Can’t be too sure of the translation, but let’s call it The Nishang Pavilion, it’s a shop for custom-made clothing.
[4] 看油水往外流 kàn yóushuǐ wǎng wài liú - ‘Watch the oil and water flow out’, couldn’t find an actual definition, but I’m guessing the meaning it’s kinda like ‘watching the money slip by their hands’.
[5] 皇贵妃 huáng guìfēi - Meaning ‘Imperial Noble Consort’. It’s the highest Consort, she only has to bow to the Emperor and Empress. Kinda like the Cefei position.
[6] Six Western Palaces, together with Six Eastern Palaces, accommodated the emperor's wives and concubines. Six Palaces = all the Imperial Concubines of the Emperor.
[7] 公主 gōngzhǔ - Princess. This could be the Princesses born by the Empress or the Concubines, there’s no distinction made in the raws.
[8] 郡主 jùnzhǔ - County Lord. (Wikipedia says: translated as “Princess of a Commandery” or “Princess of the Third Rank”. It was usually granted to the daughter of a qinwang. Also called heshuo gege (和碩格格) or qinwang gege (親王格格), lit. “lady of a prince of the blood”. Daughters of Qinwang also could be promoted to heshuo gongzhu or gulun gongzhu if they were adopted as emperor’s daughters.
