As a virtuous wife, does it include tolerating his cousin, enduring his concubines, bearing his mother?

If you will not let me live freely, why would I let you live in satisfaction?

Did fate let women time-travel so she could learn the three morals and four virtues? [1]

Rather than act like a coward and live, it would be better to live in satisfaction and die.

[1] 三从四德: Three morals: obey the father in childhood, obey the husband in marriage and obey the son in widowhood. Four virtues: be moral, be proper in speech, have physical charm and skill in needlework.

There’s a lot of term in this chapter so they are all put at the end. Clicking on the number should take you down. Use the glossary (which is in alphabetic order) if you find it easier to look up the definitions that way.

______________________________________________

The early morning at Duan Wang Fu[1]was not different from any other day. In the kitchen, the servants moved to and fro without any hint of hurry. Ma pozi,[2] after delivering the required pastries to the neiyuan,[3] came back to the kitchen with a group of yahuan[4] but her face wasn’t looking very well.

“Hey, old sister, what’s wrong? Why does your face looks terrible?” Another pozi, wearing a dark buttoned jia’ao[5], handed a cup of tea over to the other woman and exclaimed in shock: “Didn’t you just go to the zhengyuan[6] to deliver the cheese, how come … …”

“Don’t even mention it. Wang fei[7] just woke up this morning. Rough labor servants like us couldn’t even enter the yard. We only saw one of wang fei’s attendants, Yin Liu guniang,[8]” When she spoke to that point, Ma pozi took a long swallow of tea, looked around at the surroundings and lowered her voice to whipser, “I saw that the expressions of the people of zhengyuan weren’t right, so I hurried back.”

Hearing this, the pozi who wore the lined jacket sighed. With an attitude composed half being a spectator and half pitying, she said: “They hadn’t even finished taking down the red canopies[9] hanging in the fu yet.”

Wang fei had just married into the fu for less than two months. After the wedding night, wang ye[10] hadn’t stepped a foot into the zhengyuan. In the last few days of sickness, wang ye had only sat for a period before leaving. No wonder the people of zhengyuan weren’t looking very well. She once had the luck to see wang fei. She had been dignified and her appearance had also been beautiful. She didn’t know which of those aspects wang ye didn’t like.

“Don’t say nonsense, I just saw one of Feng ce fei’s[11] yahuan come over.” Both of them knew the words that Ma pozi didn’t say. They stopped talking and went back to their duties.

In the zhengyuan, a host of yahuan carefully waited upon the wang fei in her morning ablutions. A piece of first-rate silk brushed over fingertips that were as thin as green onions before being set to the side.

There wasn’t a hint of anger on the face of Qu Qing Ju, unlike the past few days as her black silk flowing freely. She lazily took off her wrist a green jade bracelet before casually throwing it into a carved mahagony box: “This color is too old-fashioned.”

Upon hearing this, Jin Zhan paused slightly before waving her hand at the female attendants behind her. Several other boxes were brought before Qu Qing Ju. Inside, there were pairs of different bracelets. Gold-wrought, pearl-encrusted, jade, of all colors and none of them were ordinary.

Her gaze swept across the rows of bracelets. In the end, her final choice was an exquisitely carved blood-red jade bracelet that, when contrasted against the pale wrist, was unspeakably beautiful.

Seeing the situation, Jin Zhan’s expression slightly changed . In the past, wang fei had resented the phoenix-blood jade bangle[12] as being too garish and never worn it. Today, she had picked this jade at first glance. Thinking about the days since marrying into the wang fu, she felt bitterness in her heart. Before marriage, wang fei’s personality had been warm and gentle. This would have been a virtue, but in a marriage into the Imperial family, that personality was a handicap.

Noticing Jin Zhan’s expression, Qu Qing Ju smiled faintly. She stood and spread her arms to let the maids dress her in her handpicked wide-sleeved silk dress.[13] It was made from the highest quality of white brocade embroidered with Shu-style[14] red plum blossoms. When the cloth swayed, it was as though there were real plum blossoms swaying in the wind.

At the waist, there were a spice bag embroidered with a two blossoming lotus flowers on a single stem and a jade-beaded laozi.[15] The long soft hair was coiled up into a fei xian ji.[16] A vibrant red peach blossom was drawn on the brow. Eyebrows like willow leaves. Lips as red as cherries. Just a glimpse was enough to be unspeakably bewitching.

Pushing a luan bird[17] and cloud buyao[18] into her hair by herself, Qu Qing Ju slowly stood and enigmatically smiled as she looked out the winder, “This time should be the time to pay respects.”[19]

A few steps away from Jin Zhan was Mu Jin who, upon hearing this, forced a smile and said: “Wang fei, since you were ill the last few days, wang ye told the houyuan[20] so the qieshi[21] wouldn’t disturb your rest. “

“Oh,” Gently caressing the red-stranded jade earrings on her earlobes, Qu Qing Ju leisurely sat down and adjusted into a somewhat comfier position. She accepted the warm water that Yin Liu handed over to rinse her throat. Ptting the lid back on the cup before wiping the corner of her mouth, she said: “Since that is the case, send somebody to each yard to deliver the news that ben wang fei[22] has just recovered and has terribly missed all the ce fei and the shiqie.[23]”

The four da yahuan,[24]upon hearing this, exchanged glances between themselves. Even if they didn’t know the reason why wang fei’s personality upon waking had changed so much, they still obeyed and left.

Coming out of the main building, a slightly worried Jin Zhan said: “Wang fei doesn’t seem normal today since waking up, I don’t know why.”

“In this wang fu, everybody shows wang fei respect on the surface but in their private time, they all go currying favour with that ce fei in Xi Yuan.[25] Wang fei has been married for two months. Other than the first three days where wang ye stayed in zhengyuan, he’s spend all his time with other concubines. It’s humiliating for our wang fei.” Yin Liu said with creased brows and a quiet voice, “That Feng ce fei has such an attitude. She really thinks that she’s worth something. She’s just a qie[26].”

Yu Zan, hearing what Yin Liu was saying, looked around surreptitiously and after not finding anyone in the surroundings, came closer and said: “Don’t say too much. Even if wang ye favors[27] Feng ce fei, he still gives wang fei the respect she’s accorded. Don’t make trouble for wang fei.”

“This is called respect,” Yin Liu snorted. Thinking about her mistress’ warm and soft personality, she sighed in helplessness, “Whatever, Jin Zhan and I will go over to Feng and Jiang ce fei. The second-rank yahuans can go to the other shiqie.”

Mu Jin, who hadn’t spoken, nodded: “That’s very good. Bai Luo and Pu Er are enough to invite Luo shi[28] and Han shi.”

Among the yahuan in wang fei’s entourage, the first-ranked were named using flowers, the second using tea, the third and the heavy-labor yahuan had no guidelines. Mu Jin and the other three had followed wang fei from Chang De Gong Fu[29] so they naturally followed wang fei. But the wang fu was much more complicated. Before marriage, wang fei had been neglected by her stepmother and hadn’t learned how to manage a household. Consequently, it didn’t even take two months after entering this place that she had gotten ill.

Mu Jin had always been worried for wang fei but seeing that wang fei today had the desire to establish herself in the wang fu, she took a sigh of relief. She didn’t worry that wang fei would fight, she would only worry if wang fei still had the personality of mud.

Seeing that all the yahuan had retreated out, Qu Qing Ju stood and walked in front of a very large copper mirror. The craftsmanship was excellent. Even if it wasn’t as clear as the silvered-glass mirrors from before, it was still enough to distinguish a person’s appearance.

The girl in the mirror was only about sixteen or seventeen. Her appearance was very beautiful. If she had lived in the era she did before, she would have been just a beautiful and proud high school student. Combing through the memories in her head, Qu Qing Ju sighed. Her father didn’t care, her stepmother wasn’t compassionate, her husband didn’t have love and there was a crowd of troublesome qie. The original had had a soft personality. In this complicated wang fu, she had mysteriously gotten seriously ill and mysteriously became occupied by her, this woman who didn’t know what warmth was. It could be said that she had gotten no justice even in her death.

“Wang fei, the kitchen has delivered breakfast.” From the outside came a slightly thin male voice. It was probably one of the taijian[30] that had been assigned according to the Imperial protocols. In Qu Qing Ju’s memory, the original were not very close to these taijian, but was full of courtesy as they were appointed before wang ye had been titled and during the time he had been in charge of the Department of Household Affairs, dianzhongsheng.[31]

“Start service.” Playing with the strands dangling from the gold buyao, Qu Qing Ju turned to exit. Rui Xiang and Shu Kui, who had been waiting in the neighboring room, quickly opened the curtains, one person holding them aside while another came over to support her to welcome Qu Qing Ju out.

Both Rui Xiang and Shu Kui were originally from the wang fu. They understood that even though wang fei treated them with courtesy, but compared to Yin Liu, Mu Jin, Jin Zhan and Yu Zan, there was a difference in the amount of trust. The events that happened in the previous days would have magnified the difference. It was their luck that wang fei was weak, if she was just a bit stronger, they would have been thrown out. Who else would let them stay as first-rank yahuan?

Sitting down at a round pear-wood table carved with safflower, Qu Qing Ju’s eyes swept across the table. A goblet of wine-stewed pork shoulder, a bowl of swallow’s next porridge with strands of black chicken accompanied by a multitude of similar fatty sides. The only dish that looked light was a small dish of sautéed lettuce stems.

Waving away Shu Kui who had moved forward to serve her, Qu Qing Ju looked at the people bowing at the entrance with a smile on her face: “You are the ones that deliver food from the kitchen?”

“Wang fei, nucai[32] holds duties in the kitchen.” Those people didn’t why wang fei would ask such a question but they replied without any fear on their faces.

“Such a good wang fu’s kitchen,” Qu Qing Ju nonchalantly leaned back on her seat. Under the confused gazes of the others, her face darkened and then her hand swept the goblet of wine-stewed pig shoulder to the floor. Very quickly, the room became saturated with the smell of meat, “Take them away and beat them.”

Nobody managed to respond. They didn’t know why wang fei, who had a personality as soft as mud, would suddenly act up and so nobody moved for a time.

“What is it? This I, a wang fei, cannot command you now?” Qui Qing Ju’s large eyes narrowed. She stood and looked at the people in the room, “Or is it that you all feel that it is natural and proper for the kitchen to slight me?”

After being swept over by wang fei’s gaze, everybody shook and managed to respond. A few of the taijian and the stronger mamas[33] rushed to the forefront and acted as they were going to drag the kitchen servants away.

The servants that were dragged away didn’t dare struggle and only begged for mercy. One servant even yelled slander, proclaiming that what they had served wang fei was the best food from the kitchen.

Flashing a look at the servant shouting slander, Qu Qing Ju’s brow rose and she said quietyly: “What are you standing around for? Drag them down, administer the punishment here. I want to see you carry it out.”

Upon hearing this, a quick-witted taijian took out a handkerchief and stuffed it in that servant’s mouth. He immediately started to drag the person towards the yard, the strength in his not-so-considerable body wasn’t small.

Seeing the situation, the others followed and dragged the others down. A few clever servants set up a table and chair before spreading out refreshments while waiting for wang fei to come see the punishment.

“What is that taijan called? I see that he has some strength,” Qu Qing Ju asked Shu Kui who was supporting her as she stepped out.

“Answering wang fei, that little taijian is called Xiao Gao Zi,[34] he sweeps the yard.” Shu Kui’s voice held reverence that she wasn’t even aware of and even her movements were more subservient than in the past.

“It doesn’t look like he is very tall. Why don’t we change his name to Huang Yang, to be an interior taijian.” Qu Qing Ju smiled gently. When she walked out into the yard, the servants were already tied to the long benches and were under the long planks.

Sitting down on the prepared chair, Qu Qing Ju mentally counted to twenty. Then she slowly and calmly said: “Other than the one that talked back, stop on the other three.”

Looking at the three who endured their pain as they knelt and thanked her, Qu Qing Ju raised her cup and took a sip, “A lot of people here are likely very confused as to why I punished you.”

The heavy sound of flesh under blunt force rang in the ears of the three kneeling. They didn’t dare wipe the sweat on their foreheads as they kowtowed and said they didn’t dare.

“I’m a reasonable person, but it is just that you, as part of the kitchen, has become intolerable. I cannot do anything other than punish you.” Setting down the cup in her hand, Qu Qing Ju’s voice seemed slightly helpless.

Even if wang fei didn’t hold the favor of wang ye, she was still the wang fei that the Emperor had personally decreed marriage on. Did a kitchen dare act intolerably to her? Even though everyone present felt something wrong, nobody dared argue. Didn’t they see the person who had just been yelling slander was still getting a beating?

“Who in this wang fu doesn’t know that I’m ill, the taiyi[35] had previously ordered what I shouldn’t be eating. But look at what you have served every day?” Qu Qing Ju gave a small sigh, her face full of sadness, almost as though she was a bullied stalk of little cabbage.[36] “I know you are cannot be bothered to treat an ill wang fei. I felt the same too, death was an end. But since I’ve recovered, I want to have a good life. You purposefully deliver oily foods, is it in hopes that I would get ill and die earlier?” After finishing, she sighed in woe. If it wasn’t that somebody was still enduring a beating, her look would have made others feel pity.

The three servants started to kowtowing again, wanting to explain but didn’t dare to. They were afraid wang fei would say “disobedience against their zhuzi” and continue their beating.

Seeing that the kowtowing had gone on long enough, Qu Qing Ju waved her hand weakly as though she had been severely wounded emotionally, “That’s fine, you can stop now and all leave.” Finishing, she turned to Rui Xiang who was right behind her, “Give some ointment to them. These people must be essential in this fu, we can’t let them not attend to their vital duties.”

The four kneeling felt despair rise. Since wang fei said they were important and held vital duties, then tomorrow, even if they had to crawl, they had to be doing their jobs, unless they wanted to be thrown out of the fu. But they were servants that had signed a death contract, what good outcome would await them if they were thrown out?

Finished ordering everything, Qu Qing Ju slowly stood and turned to look at the ce fei and shiqie that had arrived at some unknown time. Her face made a surprised expression, “When did you all arrive? Since you are here now, then come in.”

Done speaking, she didn’t care to what their faces showed, she took Shu Kui’s hand and walked into her rooms.

______________________________________________

[1]端王府: 端王 is Duan Wang. Duan (端) means straight, upright; proper if it is used as an adjective. As a noun, it primarily means the beginning, end, or the limit. 王 can mean both a prince or a king. However, the highest power belongs to the emperor, not a 王. 府 is a compound, house or mansion. Fu (府) can only be labelled and called as such if it is bestowed as part of a position or inherited in the aristocracy. Families can be referred to using their actual surname or the name of their fu so it becomes the House of —–, similar to Western royalty. 端王府 is therefore the household and the mansion that was bestowed to Prince Duan when he received his title.

[2]婆子: literally old woman. There are three primary meanings: baggage – a despicable/pitiful woman, a wife, or an old female servant. Only the last meaning is relevant in this case. Po zi are usually lower ranked servants, used for common-labor or other tasks.

[3]内院: The “inner courtyard” where the women reside. It also refers to the interactions and social spaces of women. See more in the glossary on the fu.

[4] 丫鬟: servant girl, can also be called yatou (丫头). Equivalent to maids.

[5] 夹袄: lined jacket. Wide sleeves and a length to the waist. This style was common during the Ming and especially the Qing dynasties.

[6] 正院: The main building or the primary building. The residence of the wife. See more in the glossary on the fu.

[7] 王妃: the wife of a 王or prince. 妃, on its own, is one of the highest ranks of imperial concubine under the Empress.

[8] 姑娘: young lady, or young girl.

[9] 红帐子: the red canopy refers to both the decorations for the wedding, and also the bedroom canopy that covers the bed.

[10] 王爷: the pronoun to refer to a wang in normal conversation.

[11] 侧妃: ce(侧) means side. Ce fei refers to a “secondary wife”.

[12] 鸡血玉镯: the literal translation would be chicken blood (鸡血) jade bracelet/bangle(玉镯)but phoenix blood is another name for the type of stone.

[13] 罗裙: luo qun, silk dress.

[14] 蜀绣: the style of embroidery originated from Sichuan so it is also called chuan-style. It is one of the four primary styles of embroidery in China.

[15] 络子: laozi, it’s an ornament that’s usually made through knotting, such as the classic Chinese knot, to create various shapes.

[16] 飞仙髻: flying(飞)immortal(仙) knot/braid(髻)

[17]鸾鸟:mythical bird related to the phoenix

[18] 步摇:dangling hair ornament or literally step shake

[19] 请安: literally ask/request (请) safety/comfort(安). It is performed in the morning by all females of the family in the household to the eldest female, the mother of the highest ranking male member of the family, or in the absence of that, his wife. This includes daughters, concubines, sisters and if the family has not separated and the brothers live together, their wives would also go.

[20] 后院: back(后) courtyard(院). Another way of referring to the neiyuan, the main difference is that houyuan is more commonly used to refer specifically to the women who were concubines of assorted rank and social status.

[21] 妾侍 (qieshi): general term referring to all concubines

[22] 本王妃: this(本) wangfei(王妃). Ben (本) is used by a speaker to refer to themselves in the third person (illeism). This form of speaking is used for more formal occasions, usually when the speaker is part of a conversation among equals or as the highest ranking person in the room.

[23] 侍妾: shiqie. Lower in rank than ce fei but not the lowest in terms of rank among concubines.

[24] 大丫鬟: da for big(大) or first-rank. These are the highest ranked yahuan who have the most experience and spent the most time with the female they serve. According, they receive better treatment than other yahuan.

[25] 西园: literally the Western Park. It would be a set of rooms on the western side of the compound.

[26] 妾: qie.Shortened and very general name for concubine

[27] 宠爱: chong(宠) is to pamper/spoil/love. Ai(爱) is love. Chongai is a very different concept than love. It usually refers to the amount often a man has sexual congress with one of his concubines. The more nights they have, the more chong the concubines is said to have. Favor and affection are terms that are very similar to the concept of chongai.

[28]氏: shi means clan name. Women, upon marriage, are identified by their surname and it is very rare that their personal name is recorded. This is the case even for princesses. They would then be referred to as ––shi, to identify the family they came from.

[29] 昌德公府: Chang De(昌德) is the name associated with the title, meaning flourishing/prosperous (昌) virtue(德). Gong(公) means that it is a dukedom. 公府 is therefore the ducal compound.

[30] 太监: eunuchs, who were men that were castrated, are not the same as taijian as taijian refers to specific positions in the Imperial palace and government which were occupied by men that were castrated.

[31] 殿中省: department under the Chancellery, responsible for all aspects of the Emperor’s life.

[32] 奴才: literally meaning slave. It’s the illeism used by servants to refer to themselves when talking to those in rank above them.

[33] 嬷嬷: while it is pronounced mama, it refers to old female servants, and is used similarly to pozi.

[34] 小高子: xiao(小) is small, gaozi(高子) means tall.

[35] 太医 (taiyi): imperial physician. It is an official position.

[36] 小白菜: it means little cabbage. There is a song lyric where it is “little cabbage, from childhood, there was no dad or mom”. It is also the nickname of a woman in one of the major murder cases in 1872, nicknamed so as she wore a white shirt and green pants. She was childhood friends with a man who grew up to participate in the government exams and became a government official. However, she was a childhood bride and therefore had to marry into another family. When the two grew up, the man was accused of adultery with Little Cabbage and murdering her husband due to machinations of another official in revenge. After various ordeals and torture, the truth was revealed. However, the man’s body was ruined by the torture and couldn’t return to his position. He quickly died after and Little Cabbage became a nun.

To Be A Virtuous Wife Chapter Two “

I hope chapter one wasn’t too overwhelming. It gets much easier from here onwards.

Translator’s note: In the Manchus, it was true that secondary wives received a rank and were “legitimate” rather than a concubine. This carried forward as they established the Qing Dynasty but it was corroded to some degree by the Han culture over time. The dynasty that this novel is set in contains elements from the Ming and from the Qing court but those are cherry-picked. Only the “legitimate wife” or 正妻 (zhengqi) is referred to as a wife in this translation. All others would be qie or concubine.

______________________________________________

The ce fei and shiqie didn’t think that they would see a beautiful play of brute force once they stepped into the zhengyuan. They looked suspiciously at wang fei and then at the servants who were at their limits due to pain but didn’t dare show it in their twisted expressions. What had happened here?

Seeing that wang fei was walking into the room, the four didn’t care whether if it was respectful or not and followed. Only Feng ce fei, when she passed, ordered for the people get carried back. However, when she saw that no servant in the surroundings moved, her expression changed and she didn’t speak further.

At the front, Yin Liu and Jin Zhan lowered their heads as they guided the others along and held the curtains open for the four. From far away, they saw Mu Jin and Yu Zan coming over with meal boxes. They stopped walking and waited for the two to come close. Seeing that those two weren’t clear as to what had happened, the four exchanged glances and looked at the servants who had suddenly become more obedient in the yard before lifting the curtain to enter the rooms.

The rooms had already been cleaned. The smell of meat had been covered by burning fragrance. But Qui Qing Ju didn’t like the smell and couldn’t resist looking at the flying cane and golden beast brazier.

Rui Xiang went forward immediately to extinguish the incense, changing it for a fainter, less fragrant one. Seeing wang fei’s expression relax slightly, she breathed a sigh of relief as well.

“Look at how clever wang fei’s yahuan is. No wonder that even wang ye complimented your yahuan,” Feng ce fei said with a faint smile as she bowed slightly to Qu Qing Ju. She was laughing at the fact that a few days earlier, wang ye had taken one of Qu Qing Ju’s yahuan as a tongfang. [1] She dared to do so because of wang ye’s favour but no one else dared to follow.

Who knew that when she finished, Qu Qing Ju didn’t even spare a look at her, as though she, a living breathing person, didn’t even exist. The room settled into a heavy silence.

Holding Shu Kui’s hand as she sat, Qu Qing Ju saw Mu Jin and Yu Zan entering with the meal boxes. She spoke: “Serve it up.”

The boxes were opened. Various types of porridge were displayed out. A bowl of lotus and lily porridge, a goblet of Eight Treasures chicken soup, a few small vegetable dishes and desserts that were elegant yet light. Steam rose from each dish, just one glance was enough to see how much effort had been put in.

“It looks like there are at least some that have skill in the kitchen. Give those that cooked a reward of five taels[2] of silver each,” Qu Qing Ju held a fine ceramic spoon and took a taste of porridge. She looked at Han Qing He, who was standing to one side. She was one of the shiqie in the wang fu. Her status was very low but she was very good at being obedient. Even if she wasn’t very favoured, it wasn’t that she wasn’t favoured at all.

“I heard that wang ye said you were very good at service, so today, you can serve the food,” The porridge was passable and Qu Qing Ju’s mood seemed to have lightened. Seeing Han shi dawdling about, she wasn’t irritated but asked in a slow voice, “Oh, Han shiqie isn’t willing?”

“Nu[3] doesn’t dare,” Han shi’s face showed a hint of humiliation. But the person in front of her was wang fei. She was only a shiqie, and it was in the natural order that she was to serve wang fei. Even if she didn’t want to, did she dare do otherwise?

The other three looked in disbelief at Qu Qing Ju, who had lowered her head to drink porridge. Was wang fei crazy? Even though Han shiqie wasn’t very favoured but she had been with wang ye for a long time and was the one that had taught wang ye. Wang fei, a not favoured wang fei, really dared to order Han shiqie to serve her food.

Not caring what others were thinking, Qu Qing Ju blocked the chopstick of shepherd’s purse[4] and pheasant Han shi had picked up, “I don’t like this dish. Remember to not serve this one next time.”

Han shi’s expression changed slightly, the hand that held the chopsticks tightened but she didn’t argue. In the end, she only woodenly bowed: “May wang fei have mercy. Nu has served wang ye for a long time, and assumed that wang fei would like the same dishes as wang ye. Nu thought wrong.”

This was telling her, that she had seniority with wang ye? Qu Qing Ju smiled but didn’t speak, turning her gaze to a dish of lettuce stems and pig stomach.

Sometimes, silence was the greatest humiliation. Everybody could see that wang fei didn’t even look properly at Han shiqie, as though this woman wasn’t different from any other shiqie who had to hold curtains and serve food for the wife in other noble families.

Qu Qing Ju took a long time to use her morning meal. Feng ce fei and the others stood until their legs felt soft but they never received a word to sit, so they could only stand at one side, and look upon Qu Qing Ju elegantly ordering Han shiqie to serve her food.

“Is there something wang fei has called us here for?” Seeing Qu Qing Ju finally setting down her chopstick, the ce fei Feng Zi Jin couldn’t resist any longer. Her face still held a warm smile, “Or did wang fei call us here just for conversation?”

Qu Qing Ju took the tea that Jin Zan held to rinse and used rose and lemon water to wash her hands. The smooth cotton fabric wiped away the droplets on her fingertips. Qu Qing Ju finally looked at Feng Zi Jin: “I’ve always heard that Feng ce fei’s personality was as soft as water, but today I’ve seen that this rumor is true, your personality just as rushed and impatient as boiling water is.”

Standing to the right of Feng Zi Jin was ce fei Jiang Yong Xu, who upon hearing this, buried her head deeper to disguise the smile at the corner of her lips. This Feng Zi Jin always loved using a warm and friendly façade to evoke the pity of wang ye, but wang fei purposefully said the exact opposite. It could be seen that wang fei didn’t really have the personality of mud. It seems that this wang fei¸ who had just entered the wang fu, had her own way of doing things.

Seeing Qu Qing Ju laughing at her expense, Feng Zi Jin felt anger rise but the smile on her face became even warmer, “Wang fei is making a joke. Nu doesn’t deserve such compliments. Wang fei’s open mind and innocent heart is what nu and others admire.”

“What ben wang fei is like, the Emperor already stated very clearly when the marriage was bestowed,” Qu Qing Ju smiled as her gaze swept across Feng Zi Jin quickly, as though she was very surprise that a little qie dared to discuss the behaviour of a wife, “The Emperor’s words are golden, his eyes are of a dragon, his pupils of a phoenix, he naturally sees more clearly than anybody else in this world.”

Anything that Feng Zi Jin wanted to say was blocked by these words. What could she say? Wang fei had been handpicked personally by the Emperor. She was only a little qie, she couldn’t say a word against the Emperor. Even wang ye didn’t dare say anything about that.

As of the present, there were four imperial sons that had lived to adulthood. The Emperor was reaching his sixth decade. The struggle for the throne hadn’t floated to the surface but underneath, it was already storms and clouds. No imperial son would want to throw dirty water on himself.

Wang fei dared to say something as audacious as this, it was clearly using the situation to her advantage. She was clearly relying on the fact that wang ye couldn’t repudiate her, his wife.

Thinking back to the words on the imperial decree of marriage, something like naturally outstanding, virtuous and of good fortune. If the Emperor declared Qu Qing Ju was virtuous and of good fortune, who dared say otherwise?

Thinking there, the smile on Feng Zi Jin’s face froze and she made a full bow[5]: “Wang fei have mercy, nu spoke wrongly.”

“It is fine to say what ever in front of me, since once the door is closed, everybody is a member of Duan Wang Fu. But if you slip outside, if others say I cannot maintain discipline, it would be a minor matter, but if you shame Duan Wang Fu, it would be a different matter altogether,” Qu Qing Ju sighed lightly, “Technically, you have great seniority in this wang fu, I shouldn’t need to say more, it has wasted my words.”

“The fact that wang fei is concerned for us nu, it is our honor, it is not wasted.” Jiang Yong Yu, who had been standing silently by one side the entire time, came forward and performed a bow, “nu may have spent more time in this fu but is not as respected and valued as wang fei and not as knowledgeable. Wang fei’s attentions have taught nu.”

The other three didn’t think Jiang Yong Yu would lower herself to such a respectful attitude. They felt distain inside but on the outside, their faces all showed looks of agreement.

Feng Zi Jin looked once at Jiang Yong Yu. Inside she thought disdainfully, it was obvious that she wasn’t of high birth, that she would even curry favor with an unfavored wang fei.

Taking in all of the expressions, Qu Qing Ju held her chin in one hand on the carved wooden armrest, her right index finger tapping on the chair. Of the four women in front of her, Feng Zi Jin’s birth was the best, her father was a third-rank assistant minister of the Ministry of Works. Jiang Yong Yu’s father was only a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Works. The other two shiqie was of even lower-birth. Han Qing He’s father was only an eighth-rank official. It was only the fact that she taught Duan Wang on matters of adulthood that she was elevated to become a shiqie. The other silent and often ignored shiqie was Luo Yin Xiu. Her father was deceased and she had, along with her mother, depended on the support of her maternal uncle who was a seventh-rank official in the Department of Transportation.

Looking at the appearance, Feng Zi Jin was the most beautiful, followed by Jiang Yong Yu. Similar to her name, Han Qing He was very clean and Luo Yin Xiu’s appearance was just as unremarkable as her personality.

These four simple-looking women and a few unable-to-be-seen-publically tongfang were enough to cause the original to be majorly ill. It could be seen that they weren’t so simple after all.

“Naturally it would be good to remember,” Qu Qing Ju stood, holding Mu Jin’s hand as she started walking outside. The four, seeing her movements, obediently followed to the yard. The yard had been cleaned, not showing any signs that would allow an observer to find that an hour ago, there had been people undergoing a beating.

Squinting as she took a look at the sky, Qu Qing Ju then turned to look at the four women: “Today’s weather isn’t bad, accompany me on a walk. After so many days ill, I didn’t have the time to develop a relationship with you. We will remedy that bit by bit from now on.”

In any other fu, when the wife was sick, which concubine didn’t come to pay their respects? It was only the concubines in Duan Wang Fu that had the guts to only send presents but didn’t come in person. The original endured, but she didn’t have to continue.

Listening to wang fei’s warm voice saying words with a heavy undertone, Luo Yin Xiu, who had the least courage, couldn’t help but shudder. She had originally thought to pay respects daily but Feng ce fei didn’t do so. She was only an unfavored shiqie and couldn’t even say additional words, or walk an extra step. Now that wang fei wanted to settle old scores, Feng ce fei was fine with wang ye’s favor, but she had no such favor, what could she do now?

Jiang Yong Yu, after hearing this, stopped and then looked at FEng Zi Jin. She didn’t have wang ye’s favor but due to the fact she understood her position, her life in the wang fu could be considered not too good or too bad. Today, upon seeing wang fei, she peculiarly felt that wang fei had some element of power. The woman walking in front of her looked the same, but didn’t have that personality of mud. The beating of the servants in the morning had been wang fei making an example, otherwise she wouldn’t have made such a ruckus.

Any nobleman with no problems in their brain would always give the wife some measure of respect, especially somebody as intelligent as wang ye. In the past, wang fei had been soft and didn’t care to take up the issues and so nothing had happened. Now that wang fei wanted to bother with it, nothing would be smoothed over just because Feng Zi Jin was favoured.

Wang fei didn’t have the attention and love of her father and stepmother at home but she had an influential maternal family. Wang ye wasn’t a person without any ambition and naturally knew how to respect his wife.

She looked sympathetically at Feng Zi Jin who was walking in front of her once, then Jiang Yong Yu shifted her gaze away. She saw that a procession that was making their way towards them. At the very front was the master of this fu, Duan Qin Wang.[6]

__________________________________________

[1] 通房: lowest rank in concubine.

[2] 两 (liang): a tael. Approximately 50 grams. The conversion of silver to gold and to copper ratio would have varied across time.

[3] 奴(nu): way of referring to oneself as a servant, like “this servant”.

[4] 荠菜: shepherd’s purse. It is related to the mustard family and usually considered a weed.

[5] 万福(wan fu): literal meaning is ten thousand good fortune. This is the proper greeting between women, the right hand covering the left in a loose fist and performing a movement from the right side of the chest moving downwards and at the same time, bowing with the legs bent as though trying to sit down.

[6] 端亲王: before, he had always been referred to as Duan Wang (端王) but Duan Qin Wang is his proper rank. This is the highest level of prince. The only rank higher would be the Emperor.

Male lead finally here! The cast and glossary pages will kept getting updated as the chapters progress.

__________________________________________

From very far away, He Heng[1] had seen a procession of people in the garden but it had been too far to see everybody clearly. The woman at the very front, he didn’t see clearly, but from her movements, he could tell he was unfamiliar with her.

“Ming He, can you see who is it at the front?” He had just left the royal court, and didn’t want to spare the effort to deal with these women. After he spoke, he stopped in his steps, his expression of one who was fed up.

“Wang ye, this one sees that it seems to be a procession of Feng ce fei and Jiang ce fei,” Ming He opened his eyes wide for a look before quickly lowering his head. He might be an eunuch, but he didn’t dare to look straight at his master’s women.

“Then who is it at the front?” He Heng squinted his eyes to look at the woman at the very front, “Doesn’t look very familiar.”

Ming He quickly raised his head again. The woman walking at the very front had an extraordinary aura. He didn’t know what flowers were embroidered on that wide-sleeved silk dress but it seemed beautiful. For a while, he really didn’t recognize who it was. He spoke hesitantly: “Maybe it’s wang fei?”

Even Ming He himself didn’t believe what he said, but other than wang fei, what woman in this fu dared to walk in front of a ce fei?

Hearing Ming He mention wang fei, He Heng remembered that woman with a soft personality. Her father was the Duke of Chang De, her maternal uncle was the Xiang Qing Marquis and also Supreme Justice of the Court[2]. Her birth was not in any way ordinary but she was raised to have that kind of personality. No wonder when his mufei[3] chose Qu shi, nobody tried to interfere.

Qu Qing Ju saw from far away what the original in her memory had feared, Duan Wang. His appearance was that of a twenty-year old, tall and of good posture. He was wearing a white robe edged in black, with a white jade coronet[4]. The first impression one would get would be that of a giant among men, a dragon among humans. After they walked closer, she saw that there was a hint of a smile on Duan Wang’s face, but there was no mirth in his eyes.

Slightly bowing, Qu Qing Ju smiled and opened: “Wang ye has finished court, is there a need for nourishment?”

“Wang fei has recovered?” He Heng’s gaze landed on that porcelain wrist, the red of the phoenix blood rock contrasting with the pale skin so that the wrist looked as though it would break with a touch.

“Thanks to wang ye’s good fortune,” Qu Qing Ju smiled falsely, using a handkerchief to wipe at the inconspicuous sweat on her forehead, “it is just that my body is weak and the taiyi had already ordered me to a diet. Who knew that the kitchen servants would only pay lip service and send restricted and oily foods. I was so angry at the time, I pushed them with a bit of a beating.”

Jiang Yong Yu, hearing wang fei mention this incident to wang ye, couldn’t resist looking at wang ye. She saw that the other’s expression was normal, obviously not placing any importance on this type of matter.

It was true that He Heng didn’t care for this type of incident but he was a bit surprised that wang fei was actually able to order and carry out a punishment. Even though he held no good feelings towards wang fei, but it wasn’t that he would embarrass her in this type of situation: “To servants that won’t serve faithfully, it wouldn’t be a pity to throw them out.”

“Wang ye’s consideration is the great fortune of qie.” If wang ye’s personality was really what she hypothesized, he was a controlled and ambitious man. She lowered her eyes and face, not smiling at him any longer. In her past life, she was considered a successful manager. What type of man she hadn’t seen before? This wang ye wasn’t peerless in his beauty, she didn’t care that much.

He Heng saw that the other had no intentions of speaking further and turned to his other women. He saw that while Feng shi’s face had a smile, it seemed to hold traces of humiliation. He looked once at wang fei and saw she had lowered her head. At the end, he only nodded: “Since you have gotten better, it is beneficial for you to exercise outside.” Finishing, he left behind the crowd of women for his study.

After He Heng left, Qu Qing Ju turned to look at Feng Zi Jin, her eyes slightly narrowed. She reached out with her right hand to lift a fine and glowing chin, and used a tone softer than silk, “This face of Feng ce fei, the more you look, the more you fall in love.” Finishing, the thumb smoothed over the curve of the face until it felt Feng ce fei shudder before retreating. She used her handkerchief to scrub gently at her thumb and index finger, “That’s fine, I’m tired. You can all leave now.” Finishing, she held Jin Zhan’s hand and turned to leave.

Feng Zi Jin looked at the handkerchief that wang fei had thrown to the ground after she took three steps away and her face, which usually held a warm smile, froze in anger. This was a great humiliation. What made her even more angry was that she had felt fear under Qu Qing Ju’s gaze. What was Qu Qing Ju worth, how dumb and dull she was, that she dared treat her like this?!

At this moment she felt that the other three beside was having a laugh at her expense. She swept them, her face dark as she scolded: “What are you looking at, leave immediately!”

The two shiqie quickly took a bow before leaving, but Jiang Yong Yu, who was of the same rank as her, slowly opened her mouth and said: “Meimei[5] should return to your rooms early, I will leave first.” Finishing, she didn’t stay to look at Feng Zi Jin’s expression as she turned and walked away.

“Qu Qing Ju!” Feng Zi Jin, with a dark face, stomped a few time on the handkerchief on the ground before walking, full of rage, back to Xi Yuan.

“Wang fei, you really humiliated Feng ce fei today.” Jin Zhan felt satisfied yet worried, “If wang ye knew, and blamed you … …”

“There’s no need for worry,” Qu Qing Ju laughed lightly, her gaze looking towards the study, “wang ye isn’t the average person.” This type of man, he wouldn’t care about small things. As long as she, as his wang fei, didn’t do anything to damage the interests of Duan Wang, Duan Wang, at this point, would respect her, as his wang fei.

Even though Chang De Gong Fu didn’t care for her, but her jiujiu[6] was titled a marquis and was the Supreme Justice. Her jiumu’s[7] father was the Minster of Defense. The couple only had two sons and no daughters, and was very attentive to her, their niece. If it wasn’t for those two, how else would the original have protected her mother’s dowry?

Duan Wang might not need to depend on wang fei to accomplish things, but it was true he would never favor a qie over a wife to create conflict with those people. At this time, every imperial son was restless and Duan Wang wasn’t an unambitious person.

She wasn’t the type of person live in discomfort. If she really had to live in hardship and unpleasantness for her entire life, it would be better for her to just jump into a pond right now. As to how Duan Wang would treat her if he gained the throne? She was too lazy to think that much. Who knows what would happen in the future. Even if she was really virtuous and generous, it didn’t appear that this Duan Wang would like her very much.

Jin Zhan didn’t understand the meaning in wang fei’s words, but since wang fei didn’t explain, she didn’t dare ask. She, along with Mu Jin and the others, carefully walked wang fei back to zhengyuan and then saw the steward of the kitchen had been waiting for a long time.

The moment the kitchen steward saw them, he immediately came up and took a formal bow and rushed into a list of explanations and requests for mercy.

They were very misfortunate. In the past days, they had sent the same items to wang fei but nobody knew that wang fei would pick today to erupt. If it was only that, then it wouldn’t have been so major. But just now, even Ming He gonggong[8], who served by wang ye’s side came by to berate them. The original steward was discharged. He had originally been the assistant steward and managed to take advantage of the gap to become the steward. He didn’t dare overstep so he had come very early to zhengyuan to make his apologies.

Qu Qing Ju looked at this steward. He wasn’t very talk and looked very simple and honest. He did seem very obedient, but to become a steward in this wang fu, nobody was honest. She was weary of his apologies and said: “What the kitchen is like, I don’t care, but if in the future I find you are not attentive, you don’t need to kneel here.”

The steward nodded frantically and handed over a menu, saying that it was for wang fei to pick the dishes for today and tomorrow morning.

“In the past, you have always said that everything was according to protocol, so it isn’ possible to order.” Qu Qing Ju didn’t take the menu, only smiled at the steward.

Upon hearing this, the steward immediately said: “It was probably one of the messengers that said it wrong. It is true that wang fei’s food is mandated by the protocols, but it is possible to order dishes among the protocols.” Finishing, he started to castigate the messenger for being dumb and misunderstanding.

Qu Qing Ju didn’t want to hear any more wasteful talk and said: “Fine, I know you will be attentive. Yin Liu, give me the menu.”

On the menu once it reached her hand, there was all the ways of cooking, all kinds of dishes. She picked a few dishes that she liked and spoke: “In the morning, I don’t like using oily or heavy foods. The kitchen can cook like normal, if it meets my preferences, naturally there will be rewards.”

The steward felt a heavy weight. Who knew what things suited this wang fei’s appetite . His mouth kept repeating that wang fei was generous and compassionate and so on.

Sending away the kitchen steward, Yin Liu massaged Qu Qing Ju’s shoulders and said hatefully: “This pile of useless and spineless cowards.”

The pressure of Yin Liu’s massage was perfect. Qu Qing Ju leaned back comfortably on the recliner. Hearing Yin Liu’s remark, she smiled and said: “In this world, there are many people but they are all this way. It is not worth it to be angry over a small insignificant steward.”

Mu Jin came in carrying with a goblet of date and honey tea. Hearing what wang fei said, she laughed and said: “Wang fei is right, nubi [9]thinks that from now one, there wouldn’t be any more disobedient servants.”

Qu Qing Ju opened her eyes and sighed over those words: “In the past, I always thought the best of others but it is today that I have decided to use goodness to repay goodness, use evil to repay evil. That is the way to live in the Imperial Family.”

Mu Jin smiled and placed the teacup on the redwood table. She pulled a thin blanket over Qu Qing Ju: “If wang fei thinks like this, it is a good thing.” In all the first-rank yahuan, she was the oldest. In the beginning, when furen[10]had brought her and taken her into the fu, the little mistress had only been a year old. Now, the little mistress has become a wang fei and she was over two decades. She had said very early on that she didn’t wish to marry, her only desire to guard beside wang fei. Now that wang fei had changed, it was for the best.

Qu Qing Ju looked at Mu Jin and thought back to the meaning of the flower Mu Jin. Resolve. This name was appropriate for this woman in front of her. It was one of the good things the original had, this yahuan who always wanted the best for her.

Closing her eyes, Qu Qing Ju didn’t look at the sincere concern in the other’s eyes, “Mu Jin’s wish, I understand.”

Mu Jin’s eyes became red but she smiled and said: “Wang fei’s words are embarrassing nubi.” Finishing, she covered her face and left.

In the study, He Heng folded closed a missive and waited for it to dissolve in a bowl of water before saying to Ming He: “Don’t touch what’s happening in the south, da ge[11] and san di [12]is fighting very fiercely. It’s better for me to watch from the sidelines.”

Ming He nodded. He saw the pieces of the missive dissolved in the bowl and turned to a new topic: “Wang ye, the people in the kitchen have been reprimanded. The new steward seems to be a smart one, he already went to zhengyuan to ask for mercy.”

He Heng nodded and didn’t pay much attention, only saying: “Qu shi is ben wang’s di[13] wife. What she is due, she will receive.” Thinking back to Qu shi’s vibrant new appearance that was contrary to the past plain one, his brow moved slightly, “As to how wang fei does in the future, we will wait and see.”

Ming He nodded silently. This was between the zhuzi and the female zhuzi. He was a servant and naturally had no opinion. But he kept on sensing that today’s wang fei was different from before. It wasn’t just the change in wardrobe, even the gaze had changed. As the main steward of the fu, he had seen wang fei a few times before. He kept on feeling that wang fei seemed to have from … an unnoticeable gray bunny transformed to … a fierce female fox?

Recognizing he was guessing about his masters, Ming He buried his head deeper. Amitofo, he should be punished.

______________________________________________

[1] 贺珩 (He Heng): He is the surname, heng means the top gem that decorates a pendant, usually made of jade.

[2] 大理寺少卿: shaoqing(少卿) is the highest position in the Department of Justice (大理寺). Similar to the Chief Supreme Justice.

[3] 母妃: mother-consort or mother-concubine. Mother who is also an imperial consort. They cannot be simply referred to as mother because socially, the mother of the imperial sons is the Empress.

[4] 玉冠: the historical Chinese coronet, unlike European coronets that encircle the head, sit at the very top of the head and is secured by forming a bun of hair and pin.

[5] 妹妹: younger sister. All the women are “sisters” and the “age” is determined by first rank, and then seniority.

[6] 舅舅: maternal uncle

[7] 舅母: maternal uncle’s wife

[8] 公公: how to refer to a taijian.

[9] 奴婢: how a servant refers to herself. With bi(婢), the phrase is slave-servant, rather than just nu or servant.

[10] 夫人: the mistress/wife. In this case, Qu Qing Ju’s mother.

[11] 大哥: da(大) for big or eldest, ge(哥) is older brother

[12] 三弟: san(三) three or third, di(弟) younger brother

[13] 嫡: first and “legitimately” married to,