Lian Rui quickly led the eunuchs to the Imperial Household Department to move the water jars. With the silver to pave the way, everything was settled.
After everything was done, Lian Rui came back to report.
Having just talked about the ‘things’ in the Lingxue Pavilion, the most important thing was still the ‘people’.
“I’ve inquired a bit. I’ve learned that Xiao Guizi and Xiao Yuanzi used to be in the palace of Liu Guiren of the late Emperor. After Liu Guiren passed away, they returned to the Imperial Household Department and are now assigned to the Lingxue Pavilion. Dan Li and Lu Ju are new maids who entered the palace last year. They’re relatively young and have only been learning the rules for a year.”
It is unlucky to have a deceased master. Xiao Guizi and Xiao Yuanzi had been in the Imperial Household Department for several years, but no one wanted them.
New palace maids are prone to making mistakes, so high-ranking concubines are not willing to choose them.
Therefore, the palace servants left for the concubines of lower rank were either newcomers or had some taboos, which made it seem that there was nothing wrong with their origins.
Lian Rui continued to report.
“Xiao Guizi is a greedy person. He even tried to get information about your family background from me. He’s really obsessed with money. Xiao Yuanzi, on the other hand, is honest and works without complaint. I’ll assign them to guard the outer courtyard.”
“Dan Li is good at combing hair and will help you wash and dress. Lu Ju will serve tea. The two of them serve in the inner room.”
“Now, there is really no other way but to use these people. I will keep a close eye on them and ask about their past later to make sure there are no hidden dangers!”
Ning Wanyin looked at her and nodded in appreciation, “You’ve done well.”
Lian Rui puffed out her chest proudly. After following the young lady for so many years, she had learned some basic skills.
…
The next day, Ning Wanyin wore an emerald, double-breasted, waist-cinching dress with a lotus pattern. Her raven-shaped bun was adorned with two or three jade hairpins.
“Guiren, you are so beautiful, but with such simple attire, I’m afraid you won’t stand out.” Dan Li failed to fully demonstrate her abilities.
Ning Wanyin smiled faintly, “I’m not going to pay my respects to His Majesty, so there’s no need to stand out.”
As soon as she emerged from the right hall, Ning Wanyin saw Tang Miaoling waiting at the main palace gate, waiting for her to pay their respects together.
“Cousin, Empress Yuanxiao has passed away, and now Shu Fei is in charge of the palace. Let’s first go to Shu Fei’s Jingxi Palace to pay our respects, and then go to Cining Palace together to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager.”
Tang Miaoling tried her best to show her friendliness and smiled brightly.
Since she was chosen to enter the palace, a nanny was sent to give her a brief introductory lecture on etiquette.
The concubines of the Great Yan Dynasty are required to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress daily.
According to the rules, the Empress leads the other concubines in paying their respects to the Empress Dowager; the concubines are not allowed to go without permission.
Now that there is no Empress, the responsibility of leading the charge falls on Shu Fei.
The concubines were supposed to gather at Jingxi Palace and then go to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager together. There was no rule of paying their respects to Shu Fei every day.
“Okay.” Ning Wanyin nodded slightly.
His Majesty’s first wife, Empress Yuanxiao, passed away a few months before His Majesty ascended the throne. Before His Majesty had the chance to remarry, the late Emperor passed away.
Therefore, now that the palace was without a master, the Emperor appointed Shu Fei to exercise the power of the empress and take charge of the six palaces.
Shu Fei was a concubine before the Emperor ascended the throne and gave birth to the Eldest Prince. This was the only prince in the harem, and his position was secure.
*****
The author has something to say:
The rank system:
- Huáng Hòu/Empress
- Huáng guìfēi/Imperial Noble Consort
- Four Consorts (Gui Fei/Noble Consort, Shu Fei/Pure Consort, De Fei/Virtuous Consort, Xian Fei/Worthy Consort)
- Fei
- Pin
- Zhaoyi
- Jieyu
- Meiren
- Guiren
- Baolin
- Xuanshi
*****
Translator’s Comment:
Although a bit different, you can refer to the Qing Dynasty’s imperial rank below to know the general knowledge of imperial concubines in the harem.
Translator’s Encyclopedia
Qing Dynasty’s Imperial Rank
The Qing dynasty system was one of the simplest systems in Chinese history. Officially, there were eight ranks:
- Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)
- Imperial Noble Consort (皇貴妃; huáng guìfēi)
- Noble Consort (貴妃; guìfēi)
- Consort (妃; fēi)
- Concubine (嬪; pín)
- Noble Lady (貴人; guìrén)
- First Class Attendant (常在; chángzài)
- Second Class Attendant (答應; dāyìng)
There was no fixed number of holders for the three lowest ranks.
Lady-in-waiting (官女子; guānnǘzǐ) was typically used to refer to the palace maids who had been liked by the emperor and kept them at his side, attending to him but without a formal/proper title. It was not part of the official ranking.
The system is solid, but the number of imperial consorts an emperor actually had during the Qing dynasty is subject to wild variations. The Kangxi Emperor holds the record for having the most imperial consorts with 79, while the Guangxu Emperor holds the record for having the fewest, with one empress, his cousin, the Empress of Yeha Nara Clan, and 2 consorts who are sisters, Consort Zhen and Consort Jin—a total of 3 imperial consorts.
There were limits placed on how many imperial consorts could hold the ranks of Pin and above. An emperor could have 1 empress, 1 imperial noble consort, 2 noble consorts, 4 consorts, and 6 concubines at a time. The ranks of noble lady, first class attendant, and second class attendant were unlimited.
An imperial woman who had attained the rank of Pin and above would be given a residence in the main seat of one of the palaces in the inner court of the Forbidden City and become its mistress (主位, zhǔwèi). When being addressed by lower-ranked imperial concubines and servants, she would have to be called ‘Your Imperial Highness’ (娘娘; Níangníang). All people were expected to use deprecating self-titles when addressing higher-ranked people, and imperial consorts were no different. While those imperial women whose ranks of noble lady, first class attendant, and second class attendant can only live in the side halls of the palace.
The empress was the only legal wife of the emperor, while his other women were considered imperial concubines. The empress’s children were called legitimate heirs (嫡子, dízǐ), and they had a higher chance of inheriting the throne, while the children of the other imperial consorts were referred to as imperial concubine children (庶子, shùzǐ).
An emperor would be careful when promoting an imperial consort to the rank of Imperial Noble Consort because this rank was considered a deputy empress (副后; fùhòu). As such, the promotions mostly happened when an imperial consort (usually a noble consort) was hopelessly ill and the emperor wanted to console her (it was believed that a promotion was a blessing and could aid in dispelling the sickness), or when the empress needed someone to assist her in managing the inner court, or when the empress was dead and someone else was needed to manage the inner court.
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152