Inside the Palace: The Daily Life of the Emperor and Empress Through the Eyes of a Palace Maid
Head maid Ruyi:
Having served in the palace for twenty years, this was the first time I had ever seen an emperor and empress like this.
When His Majesty is reviewing memorials, if the Empress is not by his side, he always asks, "Where has the Empress gone?"
Once, when the Empress was researching new dishes at the Imperial Kitchen, His Majesty found her in the kitchen, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and said, "Has my imperial chef stolen your cooking skills again?"
The cooks were so frightened that they all knelt on the ground.
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Chunlan, an embroiderer in the Imperial Clothing Bureau:
The empress's clothes always wore out first on the left sleeve.
At first I didn’t understand, but later I learned that the Empress was used to using her left arm as a pillow when reviewing memorials, and His Majesty would often put a robe on her in the middle of the night.
The most interesting thing is that the embroidery pattern for each new dress was personally selected by His Majesty. The dress with the begonia pattern last month was said to be because His Majesty remembered that the Empress loved the begonias in the courtyard when she was at Ganye Temple.
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The Imperial Physician's apprentice is safe and sound.
His Majesty is an expert at feigning illness!
One time, not wanting to take his medicine, he hid behind the Empress.
The Empress saw through his deception at a glance, but said, "If Your Majesty drinks the medicine, I will play a game of chess with you."
His Majesty immediately took the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
It was only later that we learned that the Empress had deliberately given way to the three sons.
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Imperial Bodyguard Zhao Hu:
On the day the Tibetan envoys visited, His Majesty drank a few extra cups of wine at the banquet.
He stumbled slightly as he left his seat, and the Empress immediately reached out to support him.
His Majesty took the opportunity to whisper something in the Empress's ear, and the Empress's face immediately turned as red as a peach blossom.
The next day we heard that His Majesty had said, "I was drunk because the Empress is too beautiful."
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The palace maid Qiaogu, who was in charge of the imperial kitchen:
When the Empress makes new desserts, she always makes sure His Majesty tastes them first.
Once, after making plum blossom pastries, His Majesty took a bite and suddenly exclaimed, "They're even sweeter than the plum blossom cakes from Ganye Temple that day!"
Only then did we realize that His Majesty used to bring snacks for the Empress.
Nowadays, the imperial kitchen staff are all learning to place a plum blossom on the side of the dessert plates, which was specially ordered by His Majesty.
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The fragrance of ink from the Hanlin Academy pageboy:
When His Majesty practices calligraphy, His Majesty often reads through memorials to the emperor.
Once, while His Majesty was writing, he suddenly put down his pen and massaged the Empress's wrist.
As I was grinding ink, I heard His Majesty say, "These memorials can be reviewed tomorrow."
The Empress smiled and replied, "If Your Majesty had kept fewer snacks, I could have rested earlier."
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Old Zhou, the gardener from the landscaping company:
His Majesty ordered us to plant crabapple trees all over the area outside the Xuanzheng Hall, saying that when the Empress is tired from reviewing memorials, she can see them as soon as she looks up.
The strangest thing is that there is a crabapple tree that never blooms, and His Majesty won't let anyone move it.
Later, I heard from Aunt Ruyi that it was the offspring of the crabapple tree that the Empress leaned against when the Emperor and the Empress first met.
——
These casual conversations among the palace maids were later compiled by Shangguan Wan'er into a book titled "Daily Life of the Sun and Moon".
Di Renjie happened to see it and wrote a note on the title page: "Only with deep affection between the emperor and empress can a prosperous era be established."
Princess Taiping loved hearing these stories and would always pester the palace servants to tell them to her again and again.
Perhaps in her heart, the love between her father and mother was the most touching legend in the world.
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