The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 11: The Painting of the Consorts

   The Story of Yanxi Palace《延禧攻略》Yanxi Gonglue

   The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 11: The Painting of the Consorts

   Clang!

   A wrist entwined with an emerald rosary swept to the right and a valuable white glazed vase of the Eight Immortals swept off the table, a tribute that only took three years to produce, shattering to a scrap in an instant.

   Concubine Jia entered the door to this scene and a few crumbs bounced to her feet, causing her to take a few steps back and say, with slight alarm, “Her Highness Noble Consort, what's with the tantrum?”

   The Chuxiu Palace was gloriously decorated, especially the antique shelf, which was filled with all kinds of gold, silver and jade objects, antiques and curiosities, including the jade pillow used by Xi Shi, the lute held by Wang Zhao Jun, the moon dangling pendant worn by Miao Cicada and the painted plate used by Miss Noble Consort Yang to hold lychees. Noble Consort Hui swept them unceremoniously to the ground, saying in a rage: “None of your business, go away, as far away as you can!

   Concubine Jia reluctantly exited the door, pulled the court maid outside and asked, “What is going on?”

   The court maid whispered: “You do not know; Noble Consort had just returned in good order but His Majesty gave a 《Concubine Ji Refusing the Emperor Carriage Painting》. Her Highness was furious when he saw it!”

   Concubine Jia, pondering for a moment, pushed in again and said with a smile, “Her Highness, I hear His Majesty has given you a 《Concubine Ji Refusing the Emperor Carriage Painting》? Congratulations!”

   “Argh what?” Noble Consort Hui was so angry that he turned blue and said, “Emperor Cheng of Han invited Ban Jieyu to ride with him but Ban Jieyu declined on the grounds that it was not polite, thus becoming a generation of virtuous Consort, this is his way of warning me what is a consort who knows her manners!”

   Concubine Jia said: “Her Highness, you're thinking wrong ...”

   “It's all about her!” Noble Consort Hui dropped another jade plate, then walked back and forth through the room with an agitated and indignant face saying, “Once in the palace, she is the high and mighty the Empress of the Qing Dynasty; she gets a thousand taels a year from the palace, I get four hundred taels less; the Changchun Palace uses gold, the  Chuxiu Palace is only worthy of silver; she uses the ceremonial drive and I use the ceremonial guard and even the festive rewards are much less for me! Well, I can put up with that but what about His Majesty! Just now I was standing there, a living person and His Majesty couldn't see her, his eyes were full of her. He is saying that I have overstepped my bounds by bullying his beloved the Empress by giving her this stupid picture!

   “Her Highness.” Concubine Jia bustled over and softened her voice to say, “You have misunderstood His Majesty.”

   “Oh?” Noble Consort Hui raised an eyebrow and looked at her askance and said, “You tell me instead, what did I misunderstand about His Majesty?”

   “His Majesty gave down more than this 《Concubine Ji Refusing the Emperor Carriage Painting》.” Concubine Jia said, “On the Zhongcui Palace it was 《Empress Hou Removing a Hairpin Painting》 and on the Qixiang Palace it was 《Empress Hou Removing a Hairpin Painting》, so even the Empress, a pair of 《the First Wife Lessons to the Child Painting》.

   Noble Consort Hui sniffed and said, “Did she get it too? 《the First Wife Lessons to the Child Painting》, what does that mean?”

   “In my opinion, it was only a whim of His Majesty's to give some portraits of the ancient and virtuous consorts to be emulated by the Consorts and Concubines of the harem.” Concubine Jia laughed and said, “Why are you angry about this?”

   Hearing that the Empress had also received a similar portrait, Noble Consort Hui's anger was immediately half gone and she sat down in her chair and the maid beside her hastily brought her a cup of tea. Jia said with a charming smile, “You have a natural mouth and you say all the things I like to hear.”

   Concubine Jia bowed her brow and said: “I am not talented and would like to share Her Highness'.”

   “Continue.” Noble Consort Hui instructed, “I don't believe His Majesty would say nothing, in your opinion, what is the meaning of His Majesty's action?”

   To live in the palace is to see more, hear more and think more. When Zhuzi above coughed, those below had to tell from that cough whether Zhuzi was thirsty or sick, whether to serve him tea or medicine and the emperor only gave a few paintings but it was enough for those who received them to ponder them until the morning.

   Concubine Jia thought for a moment and replied: “His Majesty gave a total of twelve paintings, which I suspect, taken together, represent the ideal of a perfect consort in his mind. For example, 《Consort Xu Verbal Admonishment》 is the wish that the Consorts and Concubines follow the example of Consort Xu Hui, who was brave enough to speak up when Tang Taizong made a mistake and 《Empress Cao Farming Lessons》 ...”

   “《Empress Cao Farming Lessons》? Noble Consort Hui laughed out loud at the name and the beaded hairpin on her head swayed and waved, saying, “Who is so unlucky as to receive this crap, His Majesty, is she to be sent to farming?

   “It is to hope that that person will be as simple and frugal as Miss Cao the Empress of Song Renzong in those days, who valued farming and mulberry.” Concubine Jia laughed and said, “That's nothing, I heard that someone else received 《Jieyu Fighting Bears 》.”

   “Ouch, my stomach!” Noble Consort Hui covered her stomach, leaned back and nearly fell out of her chair laughing and said, “Who is this again? Is His Majesty advising her to stop being a human and go up the mountain and become a blind bear?

   “Presumably it was hoped that she would be like the former Feng Jieyu, who protected Emperor Han Yuan with her life and kept him safe when he was in danger.” Concubine Jia explained.

   After explaining each of the twelve paintings, Noble Consort Hui rubbed her stomach and said thoughtfully, “So, His Majesty wants us consorts to be beautiful, filial, virtuous, simple and able to tear a tiger apart and catch a bear with our bare hands if necessary?”

   “Yes.” Concubine Jia laughed and said, “Her Highness is so clever, he gets it right.”

   Noble Consort Hui snorted a laugh, then leaned back in her chair with some amusement, looked up at the ceiling overhead and muttered, “Is this a woman, or is this a man of God?”

   Tonight, is destined to be a sleepless night.

   Some tossed and turned, others were worried and in the Yangxin Hall, the most honorable man in the world, also not yet asleep, was still grading his papers by candlelight.

   The side of his face, illuminated by candlelight, was gilded with a layer of warm gold, like a golden statue of a god in a temple, solemn and exalted and how many palace people would willingly give everything for just one look from him.

   “His Majesty...” Liyu, the Grand Eunuch who had served him for many years, approached, a tray in his hand and said, “Her Highness Empress has brought a snack, it is time for you to take a rest.”

   He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and said: “Has anything rare happened in the palace recently?

   “What would His Majesty like to hear?” Liyu laughed.

   “Anything.” Hongli said lazily, “What's interesting in the harem lately, tell me to clear my head.”

   The harem, though large, is actually small and there are only a few Zhuzi, the real number of palace maids and eunuchs.

   That's one of the reasons Hongli relied on him, with him, Hongli was aware of the state of the harem at all times.

   “If we're talking about the harem, you Xiaozhu guys are having a headache about the same thing these days.” Liyu laughed.

   “Oh?” Hongli said, without opening his eyes and with his hands clasped across his chest, “What is it?”

   “The source of the matter is the paintings you gave His Majesty ...” Liyu gave a brief description of the situation at Noble Consort Hui's side. If Noble Consort Hui had been here, she would have been chilled to the bone, because what had happened in her own palace had been repeated by Liyu in less than an hour. The descriptions were as general as they could be, “... This was the state of affairs at the Chuxiu Palace and Noble Consort Hui had lost her temper over the 《Concubine Ji Refusing the Emperor Carriage Painting》.

   “When does she not lose her temper?” Hongli said noncommittally, “Where are the others?”

   “Her Highness Consort Xian's side, her foremother came over and asked her to blow more pillow talk to you so that her Ama could move up the ladder, only to be dismissed by Her Highness Consort Xian on the grounds that the harem should not interfere with politics.” Liyu sighed and said, “When her foremother left in anger, Her Highness Consort Xian did not stop her but put up the painting you gave her and prayed with incense, chanting: First, I wish that you will be a thousand years old, second, I wish that my body will always be healthy, third, like the swallows on the beam, I wish that we will see each other all the time.”

   Hongli opened his eyes for a moment, then closed them again and said: “... Where's the Empress over there?”

   “Her Highness Empress doesn't seem to be in a good mood.” Liyu returned, “Although she said nothing, the two personal court maids under her hand secretly discussed it, saying that ...”

   Hongli urged impatiently, “What did he say?”

   “Say ... You are using this picture to remind Her Highness Empress that she should not keep declining because of what happened three years ago and be indifferent to everything.” Liyu said this and carefully looked at Hongli's face.

   Three years ago, the Second Prince from Her Highness Empress suddenly went.

   Her Highness Empress was almost devastated by this and only this year has she recovered a little. Although to outsiders, she and Hongli are still very much in love, Liyu knows that the two of them have developed some differences because of this incident.

   He saw Hongli's brow furrowed slightly, apparently unwilling to discuss the matter any further.

   Liyu then concluded the matter decisively, pretending to be astonished and saying: “His Majesty, may I venture to ask whether the twelve pictures of the palace are linked together, is that your wish for a consort?”

   Hongli shook his head gently, finished the remaining half of the iced sugar and snow pear soup in one go and then picked up his memo again, only somewhat absent mindedly, not as focused as before.

   When Liyu saw that his mind was not on the folding of the scroll, he had the courage to continue talking to him and he said with a shy face: “His Majesty, I am at least half a man and I have seen many women in the Forbidden City! I have seen many women in the Forbidden City!

   “I am seeing that they are too idle.” Hongli didn't raise his head, staring at the papers in his hand.

   Liyu froze at that and said, “Huh?”

   “Idleness, then, causes trouble.” Hongli smiled slightly, a slightly cunning smile that diluted the solemnity of his face, causing the statue of the god in the temple to fall to the mortal world and say, “I gave the harem a chart of palace training, enough for them to ponder for a while.”

   Even Liyu was dumbfounded for a moment before he muttered: “What's the use of thinking about it for a while?

   Hongli laughed and rolled the folders in his hands, tapped him affectionately on the forehead and said: “Because most of them are as stupid as you are and will only think I am reminding them to be virtuous and virtuous. Then, in order to conform to my unrestrained desire to be virtuous the Consorts and Concubines to please me, they are bound to live in peace for a few days and I will be quiet for a few days!”

   “Huh?” Liyu floundered and said, “His Majesty, you're fooling them!”

   The two Royal Guards outside the door looked at each other, wondering what His Majesty was laughing about.

  

   The Story of Yanxi Palace《延禧攻略》CHAPTERS