Rushing to the Cining Palace again

In the spring of the 26th year of the Kangxi reign, Shuxian married with a beaming smile, thanks in no small part to Wendu's persuasion. The day before her wedding, Shujia ran to see her, unable to contain her tears, her eyes reddening. They embraced and wept. Shujia didn't know why she was crying, but she felt a sense of unease. Finally, she sobbed until she hiccupped, and only then did they stop crying.

The nanny at the side was extremely anxious: "What should we do about your swollen eyes?" Shuxian patted her face and said, "It's okay, just sleep for a night and it will be fine tomorrow." How could she sleep?

When Xiluo brought Wendu over, she didn't complain. Wendu, especially, was newly married, and she probably still remembered crying the night before her wedding. It's also called applying eye cream. The four of them were talking together. Xiluo couldn't help but babble, "Being at your husband's house is different from being at your own. Nanny has already told you the proper etiquette. Remember to smile wherever you are. The aunts have taught you how to behave..."

Until you say you are tired and drink tea.

Wendu said to Xiluote, "Mother, you're tired. Why don't you go and rest? You'll still be in charge tomorrow. I'll stay here with my sister and talk to her for a while. I'm afraid she's feeling uneasy."

Xiluo Te said, "That's fine. You can talk to her. Hey, are all the things ready? Let me take a look at the wedding gown."

Everyone: ...

It's said that it's auspicious for the bride to cry before getting into the sedan chair. Shujia had originally thought it was difficult to cry on such a happy occasion, but in this situation, she couldn't help but hug her husband and burst into tears again. The bridesmaid panicked: "Hurry up, wipe your face and put on some makeup."

Fu Dali and Qingde personally escorted their sister to her wedding, amidst the blast of firecrackers. Shujia couldn't see her off, so she watched helplessly as the bridesmaid helped Shuxian away. Turning back, she saw another person, even more miserable than she, clinging to the doorframe with both hands. It was Concubine Zhang.

Shujia was not impressed with her concubine. At this moment, she was just a mother who couldn't speak seriously even after her daughter got married. She walked over to her and whispered, "Big sister is back to live with Yue'er. If you have anything to give her or anything to tell her, think about it now." Concubine Zhang was startled and nodded several times.

After the bride's escort left, the Shi family began to clean up. Shuxian's original courtyard was still reserved for her. Xiluo Te's intention was to lock it up after she had lived there for a month. Newly married daughters were brought back to stay for a day or two every one or two months, still living in their original courtyard. After all, the family was not large at the moment, so there was plenty of space.

When she returned to live in Duiyue, Shuxian looked rosy and seemed to be doing well, so Shujia felt relieved. After struggling for several years, she finally found a home, which was a perfect ending. Xiluo Te also asked, "Are my husband's family easy to get along with? At that time, I thought their family was quite harmonious."

Shuxian said softly, "They are all very good." Xiluo said to her, "Your room is still reserved for you, you can live there. Go and talk to your sister-in-law and sister." Shuxian took her leave. Xiluo called the maid Zhenzhu and others who came with her as a dowry to question them. When she learned that she had indeed not been abused, she raised the corners of her mouth.

Shuxian came over to meet Wendu and Shujia. Wendu had been standing at Xiluo's place for the whole morning and was finally able to sit down and rest. She took a sip of tea. What Wendu was concerned about was: "Does their family have a concubine?" Shuxian nodded.

Shujia jumped up. Damn it! How did the family choose?! Wendu pressed her sister-in-law down: "What did you say?" Shuxian was startled by Shujia: "What's wrong with you?" Shujia bared her teeth: "Nothing!" Wendu was blaming her sister-in-law in her heart, but she wanted to think of a way to make up for this interruption. After thinking for a while, she said: "What are you so anxious about? Is your brother-in-law easy to get along with?"

Shuxian said, "He told me everything." It turned out that just two days after her brother-in-law got married, he handed over all the affairs of the room to Shuxian, and even confessed his own dark history.

This is a big black-bellied man! Could Shuxian really sell his concubine? Shuxian was very satisfied. Being the mistress of the house, she did these things. Which man with a family and a business under his command is not like this?

Over there, brother-in-law Jiang was being tried by three judges. Hua Shan smiled like a fox, Shi Wenbing had a straight face and looked like a tiger, Fu Dali and Qingde were cosplaying as the father and grandfather respectively, which made the new son-in-law's hair stand on end.

Having seen enough, Hua Shan began to speak: "Have you taken leave today? What did the Ministry say?" He looked like a truly benevolent grandfather. For a moment, Jiang's husband thought he'd just entered the animal kingdom, but then his father-in-law slowly said, "Your Minister of Personnel, Li Shangshu, was formerly the Governor of Zhejiang. I know him; he's a good man." Then, using the tone he would use for his nephew, a mixture of concern and authority, he began to lecture his son-in-law.

The poor son-in-law listened and took notes, thinking to himself, "No wonder the Shi family has been able to maintain such a high status. They are not partisan, not arrogant, and treat people kindly. It is really rare."

He had no idea that when he was gone, the family's true colors would be revealed. Hua Shan stretched lazily: "I'm relieved at last. The dowry was worth it."

Shi Wenbing said to Fu Dali, "I didn't want your elder sister to get married so early, but I didn't know that the Fulun family was hinting at wanting their son to marry Shuxian."

Fulun, Mingzhu's staunch confidant. Mingzhu's party, Mingzhu naturally ranked first. Yu Guozhu and Mingzhu were so close that they could wear the same pants, and Fulun could occupy the other leg. Too dangerous! I'd rather bury my daughter alive than give her to their family! To avoid a falling out, I had to marry my daughter off early. Otherwise, I'd have to wait a while longer to choose someone from a slightly higher-class family.

The other day, the Emperor had the Crown Prince lecture the ministers again, and he didn't even hold court at the Qianqing Gate. The warning was clear enough, yet they still made a scene! You're courting death, but we don't want to be the ones to blame.

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Shuxian had no idea what her husband was thinking, but returning to her familiar surroundings, she felt much more relaxed. The gifts began to be distributed again. The public gifts were the ones already listed as filial gifts, while others included some personal gifts. Shujia only saw a pair of her own purses, which were said to contain spices sent by one of Jiang's subordinates. There was also a pair of small boxes containing hairpins and rings, also very delicate, with one ear pick being particularly exquisite.

Wendu's estimate was similar.

Gifts can't be opened in front of others; that's rude. I went back to the house, looked through them, and was told to put them away. Then I noticed my aunts weren't looking too happy.

Aunts Zheng and Wang were here to look after the girls, but there were no other places for them, so where would they live? Xiluo waved her hand. "They were here to look after the girls anyway. Now that the eldest girl was going to be an aunt, they could all look after the second girl." The second girl was old enough, and her wet nurse and nanny could go home and collect their pensions.

When Shuxian came back, she wanted to meet the aunts, talk, give them some gifts, and so on, so the aunts went with her. Then the scene where the second girl jumped up when she heard that her brother-in-law had a concubine fell into the aunt's eyes from beginning to end.

After Shujia finished looking at the things Shuxian gave her and told them to put them away, the aunts looked at each other and began to lecture Shujia. They started by asking her indirectly: "Are you happy to see the older girl?"

Of course she was happy, but Shujia didn't understand why. She only heard the aunts say, "Miss, are you worried about the eldest daughter?" Then they explained the rules of the game in this era: it was normal for the eldest brother-in-law to have a concubine, and if he handed the concubine over to the eldest daughter, he was obviously a man who knew the rules, so there was no need to worry.

Finally, he changed the subject: "Even if there really is something, it's useless for you to be so anxious. Girl, you must be steady. No matter what news you hear, don't lose your composure. No matter how anxious you are, if you don't calm down and think about it, it will be of no use."

Shujia: ...Okay, they are right.

From then on, the aunts kept a closer eye on her. Aunt Wu and Aunt Zhou, who had previously accompanied Shujia, seemed to feel that Shujia's gaffe made them appear less than professional in front of Zheng and Wang, and so they became even more dedicated. Shujia realized that showing her emotions like this was unacceptable in this environment. She had been here for ten years, but she had been influenced by the thoughts of twenty years before her time travel, so the traces of her past life were inevitably deeper. These thoughts were dangerous in this environment, and Shujia secretly reminded herself to pretend!

The aunts were very impressed with Shujia's ability to correct her mistakes. After some discussion, they suggested to Mrs. Xiluo that they change the girl into a double-bottomed dress. In two years, she would be eligible for the imperial examination. Even if she didn't, she would be old enough to start wearing the clothes of an older girl.

This reminded Xiluo Te that she had to put the order of flower pot bottoms, jewelry, makeup tools, rouge and powder on the agenda. Xiluo Te also discovered that the aunts were good at needlework and asked them to teach Shujia needlework.

Shujia licked a newly lost tooth. She hadn't even finished her new teeth yet, and she was already preparing all this. She said to Xiluo, "Mother, didn't my elder sister start preparing these things the year before she ran for the election? Am I not starting this a little early?" She had been thinking about not getting accepted, so she wasn't very dedicated to the preparations. Her only concern now was whether she could get the small kitchen as soon as possible.

Xiluo Te glared at her. "I wanted to prepare earlier when your sister was here, but we were still in Hangzhou then. Your father hadn't settled everything yet, and we were so far from the capital, how could we have had the time? I'm regretting it now that I'm late! Now that we're in the capital, and your aunts are excellent teachers, even Heaven would be inconsolable if we don't prepare sooner. You better be obedient."

Shujia grumbled and obediently followed the needlework. Xiluo Te asked her to start picking out jewelry again. Shujia said, "Isn't it too early? Why not buy some for my sister-in-law?" She's barely finished elementary school, isn't it? Is it okay to start preparing now? Besides, hairstyles these days aren't that complicated; they only require a few hairpins.

Xiluo said, "I know my limits when it comes to your sister-in-law. Last time, she made jewelry with me, and this time I'm talking about you." She looked her up and down. "Hmm, not bad, a very lovable little girl." She then asked the aunts about Shujia's needlework. Aunt Wu said, "The girl's flowers are very beautiful, and the stitching on her purse is very fine."

Shujia thought to herself, "I've been doing this every day for years. If I can't make this little thing well, I'll be competing with the idiots in Kangxi's family for intelligence." Xiluo Te said, "Aunt, if she can do it, teach her a few other things."

Shujia had always assumed they were just learning to embroider purses and handkerchiefs, a few flowers, and that the rest was handled by skilled needleworkers. But you see, in a family like that, how could a girl make her own clothes? What else was there to learn?

Yes, there are, such as shoes and socks. These days, socks are made of silk and the workmanship is very fine. According to my aunts, "The white silk socks of the noble ladies in the palace are all embroidered with flowers." What a lie! There are embroidered socks, and they are not afraid of rubbing the feet!

Then came the shoemaking, with all sorts of designs and embroidered patterns. The aunts were incredibly quick and precise. Shujia was envious, but skill is acquired through practice, and the aunts must have endured countless hardships. When asked, they would simply claim that their predecessors had taught them. The exact nature of this teaching, Shujia thought, was still open to question.

I started making socks. I measured myself, then cut out the pattern. It wasn't difficult. I sewed a pair of white silk socks and embroidered them on the tubes. I chose lotus flowers, depending on the season. After a few days of work, I tried them on. They were the perfect size, though there were some areas where the stitching wasn't done properly, making them a bit uncomfortable.

With experience, she began making socks for others, honoring the Sirut family. After receiving positive feedback, the entire family, from top to bottom, began receiving socks made by Shujia. Back then, socks were mostly made of cloth, with no elasticity; they were simply cut and sewn together. To prevent them from falling off, the socks were quite long. Thin summer and autumn socks had laces, while winter socks gave Shujia the illusion that she was actually making boots. Men's socks, in particular, looked like boots.

Hua Shan tried his granddaughter's handicraft and was quite satisfied with it, and Shi Wenbing also felt relieved. Fu Dali returned the favor with a new book, and Qingde simply avoided his aunt and sent a katydid instead.

Shujia gave the first pair of shoes she practiced with to Guanyinbao.

It was just a simple children's shoe. Shujia was afraid that it would squeeze his feet, so she enlarged it by half an inch. As a result, when she finished it, Guanyinbao was able to wear it just right. Children at that time grew very fast, and Shujia's craftsmanship was not very skilled. By the time she finished it, the weather had turned cooler, and Guanyinbao's feet had grown a little. It was time for him to wear thick socks.

Shujia also put a lot of effort into making them, doing everything herself, from color matching to embroidery. While she was skilled at the uppers, she wasn't as skilled at the soles. The best shoes with layered soles, of course, require several layers of cloth, stacked and glued together, then tightly stitched with coarse linen. Shujia had the inclination but not the energy, so she asked her aunts to do the work.

Finally, she attached the upper to the sole, a feat she considered her own. Fortunately, the shoe pattern had been accurately traced, and the two shoes looked perfectly matched. Shujia thanked the aunts for their help.

Aunt Zhou said, "This is also the young lady's skill. We are just helping her. But the young lady is very thoughtful and knows how to handle things. It's very good."

Shujia secretly took note of this sentence. Aunt Zhou was only talking about needlework this time, but she had been reminded so many times by them that she took everything they said as having a deeper meaning and then absorbed and digested it.

Guanyinbao put on his new shoes. To be honest, they were a little worse than those made by needlework, but Shujia thought that children like bright and lively colors, so she matched them with bright red and embroidered animals instead of flowers. Guanyinbao loved them very much. He sat on the edge of the kang, raised his two fat feet, dangled them back and forth, and bumped them against each other, then giggled.

As soon as he was happy, he tolerated Shujia's pinching of his fat arm and even climbed up to his sister generously, rubbing his head in Shujia's arms like a little monkey. But... this is a fat monkey.

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A major event in the 26th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign was the marriage of the eldest prince to his legitimate wife. Kerkun was considered a colleague, and the Shi family also prepared a modest gift to send him, and Shi Wenbing attended the wedding banquet.

Qingde served in the Imperial Guard, a unit used for the prince's wedding. He loved to watch the action, so he figured out a way to join in. After returning, he even said he'd never do it again—it was said he didn't see any of the excitement. "I thought it was different from the imperial processions, but this time, there would be some excitement around the eldest prince's wedding, too. Who knew..."

When the emperor goes on tour, there are many people on duty, and there are also people on duty. Of course, you can take a break when you are not on duty. This time, he is marrying a concubine in the capital, so how can there be many idle positions for you to play with?

Shujia thought to herself, Kangxi is being overly critical again. On the one hand, he's establishing a crown prince, and on the other hand, he's marrying off the eldest prince to expand his power. He's desperately hoping the two fighting cocks can get along peacefully. He's really screwed!

Girl, don't worry about Kangxi, you have new homework to do.

Shujia's full set of clothes was delivered shortly after the eldest prince's wedding. When she saw the flower-pot shoes, Shujia began to shudder. She couldn't even wear high heels properly. She sat on a chair, changed into the flower-pot shoes, and with the strength of her legs, she stood up with the help of Lulu's hand.

Huh?

Quite stable.

The aunts watched with smiles. Shujia was a little lost, and tried to take two steps. Her feet felt heavy, but she still showed no signs of falling. Aunt Zheng covered her mouth and smiled, saying, "This isn't difficult. Back then, when Dezhuer first wore these flower pot soles, he could walk fairly well in less than a quarter of an hour."

Concubine De was originally a palace maid, and for ease of work, palace maids were not allowed to wear flats. And yes, no matter what, even if you don't fall while walking, they're still not as light and convenient as flat shoes.

Then they practiced walking and bowing in clogged heels. After all, wearing clogged heels was a little different from wearing flat embroidered shoes, and many movements required retraining. After half a day, Shujia felt her ankles starting to burn and her calves were a little sore.

Aunt Wu asked her to boil some hot water to soak her feet, and asked the maids to massage Shujia's legs.

The next day I still felt sore and only walked for a short while. I changed into pajamas and slippers before going to bed that night and found them incredibly comfortable.

Her shoes were heavy, so her steps were slightly different. Shujia walked with the notebook and the plate on her shoulder. When she felt she was ready, she put on her cheongsam and her flower-pot bottoms and stood in front of Xiluo. Guanyinbao was playing with a cloth tiger, and when he saw her, he pulled the tiger's ears and wrinkled them: "Sister, you've grown taller..."

Shujia: ...

Fudali and Qingde returned home that evening to report to the Xiluo family and saw Shujia in her new attire. Fudali was fine, simply smiling and saying, "You look a bit better now." Qingde, who must have inherited Huashan's mouth, swung Shujia's braid back and forth, "Wow, little girl, you've grown taller," he said, twisting her left and right and examining her feet. "Hey, take a few steps and let me see if you walk like a duck."

This bastard has such a mean mouth. If one day he gets beaten up with a sack on the road and the murderer can't be found, it must be because he caused so much trouble with his mouth.

This training was timely. In September, the Empress Dowager, with nothing else to do, invited people into the palace to play. There were a bunch of young girls, and aside from the already married Irgen Jueluo, there were quite a few familiar faces. Shujia sat next to Peng Chun's daughter.

The Grand Empress Dowager asked everyone a series of questions, with the Empress Dowager occasionally interjecting a few words before falling silent. In the Empress Dowager's presence, out of consideration for her, Chinese was rarely used, mostly in Manchu, with those who knew Mongolian also speaking a few words—Mongolian was a minority language, after all, and even among the Bannermen, many more knew Chinese than Mongolian.

Even so, the topic of conversation failed to pique the Empress Dowager's interest. According to Shujia's analysis, the Empress Dowager was one of those people who "consistently maintains her pure nature." In other words, after all these years in the palace, she hasn't grown in her wits, her nature hasn't changed at all, her understanding hasn't improved, and her hobbies haven't changed much... That's the kind of person she is.

As the years pass, the influence of Han culture grows, and the enjoyment of various pleasures increases, some people begin to admire elegance, and their topics of conversation become increasingly refined, to show their sophistication. This is perfectly normal. For example, if you used to use a coal stove and now have an induction cooker, when you bring up the rather unrefined topic of cooking, you might say, "Just set the induction cooker to the porridge setting," but she won't know what that is. If she becomes even more indifferent and doesn't ask, won't she become less and less interested in you?

Dong E was quite cultured and discerning, a rare example of comprehensiveness. She even smiled back at the Grand Empress Dowager as she replied. The topic of conversation wasn't poetry or songs, but rather operas accessible to ordinary people. The phrase "confinement" applied to the Bannermen was perfectly accurate: caged and imprisoned, some never ventured beyond their native habitat. To relieve boredom, men could raise birds and katydids, while women would sew and gossip. One of their shared pastimes was watching opera. This evolved into a highly skilled amateur opera.

The play was packed with stories, like a modern homebody reading online novels—the perfect way to pass the time. The stories were simple, and the old lady was enjoying the fun; it was a perfectly chosen topic. The Grand Empress Dowager and Su Malagu listened with rapt interest, but the Empress Dowager... remained completely bored.

Many plays these days are written by intellectuals. No matter how simple the plot or how well-known the story is, it is still confusing to some people with a low level of Chinese proficiency - such as the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager was not outstanding to begin with. She was an ordinary person in terms of her own conditions. Apart from her status, she was probably just an old lady who gathered together on a small stool in the evening to chat. She couldn't even do such a difficult job as a neighborhood committee auntie.

But it's so rare that Shujia likes such an old lady! Even in a high position, she still has so many characteristics of the working class. She and Shujia, this pseudo-loli aristocrat, are so compatible. In this palace, meeting someone who can talk to you without thinking is so damn cool!

Of course, there is also a possibility that she is a black-hearted person to the core, disguising herself with a simple appearance, and has been disguising herself until now - it has been thirty years... Shujia would rather believe that this person is truly simple, and then she will be truly simple to her.

Seeing Shujia wearing the flower pot bottoms, the Empress Dowager was happy: "The little girl has grown up."

Shujia noticed that the Empress Dowager didn't look particularly well. She could still speak, but she looked a little tired. The Empress Dowager first asked Shujia, "I heard that your sister is engaged to someone else?" Shujia answered honestly, "It happened this spring. I'm really reluctant to let her go."

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "I think that girl is a good girl. Whoever gets her is lucky." She then asked Shujia what she was doing recently. Shujia replied, "I'm learning needlework and making a pair of shoes for my brother."

The Empress Dowager was quite fond of Shujia. Most of the bannermen in Beijing were bilingual, Manchu and Chinese, and even fewer spoke Mongolian. Finally finding a place where she could speak, she interrupted and asked how old her brother was. Shujia replied, "He was born at the end of the 22nd year of the Kangxi reign. He's five years old now."

They were supposed to be playing, but in reality, they were just accompanying the old lady. They started by talking, and then the Grand Empress Dowager actually wanted to show everyone the garden. The Empress Dowager was delighted; she didn't mind just sitting there, but when she wasn't interested in most people talking, she might as well go out and relax. The Cining Palace's garden was in front of the palace, and the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager carried the children, so the girls had to walk.

Dragging the bottom of the flower pot, Shujia's enthusiasm for the unopened areas of the Forbidden City, which she had been looking forward to, began to wane. Walking through the aisles was actually quite tiring.

The people in the palace were governed by various rules, and the same was true for the flowers and plants within. Any that dared to poke their heads out would be snipped off with a pair of scissors. This was Shujia's feeling: look at these flowers, they could definitely stand inspection at any time. She thought this in her heart, and she also pricked up her ears to listen to the Empress Dowager say, "This flower is blooming beautifully," and then everyone would say in unison, "Yes, yes, the colors are so bright!"

While I was admiring the flowers, the emperor came to pay his respects.

"Okay, let's go back." Most of the girls were wearing lingerie, and they were all gone. Arriving at the Cining Palace, they discovered that not only had the emperor come, but he had also brought the crown prince. The girls gathered in a corner, huddled together, and knelt. Shujia lowered her head, glanced around, leaned to the side, and obediently followed suit. Fortunately, the Cining Palace was carpeted.

Listening to the voices of Kangxi and the Crown Prince paying their respects, Shujia was struck by a sense of unease. This Crown Prince wasn't a good person. His voice was quite pleasant, with the clear, youthful clarity of youth, a touch of respect for elders, and a touch of confidence and willfulness. It was as if he was simply showing affection for his great-grandmother and grandmother, not for the Grand Empress Dowager or Empress Dowager.

Even if he had a nice voice, he was still not a good person. The censors said he was a scumbag: greedy, lustful, extravagant, philanthropic, irresponsible, indifferent to both sexes, and even had affairs with his father's concubine and all sorts of handsome men...

Oh, what's his name? Those two words are taboo. Shujia was sweating profusely. These days, the so-called master is a creature whose name is like a sensitive word. If you call him by his name, you'll definitely be punished, and in more serious cases, you'll be severely punished. Even if you are in the banner, you should be careful with your words.

Oh, now I remember. This guy's name is Yinreng. He's always called the Crown Prince, but no one mentions his real name. Shujia doesn't care about that, so it's normal for her to not remember it. The question is: shouldn't this guy be in class right now? Why is he here now?