The Lonely City Closed

Chapter 11

She combed Miao Zhaorong's hair, then took out a jade crown and put it on her. Miao Zhaorong looked at herself closely in the mirror, her face showing delight, and asked her, "Does this crown have a name?"

Qiuhe nodded and said, "It is called Juxiangqiong."

"A good name," said Consort Miao. "This crown is plain in color and not too big, simple and exquisite. Unlike the ones that Lady Zhang usually wears, which are two or three feet long and wide. It's a wonder she doesn't find it tiring to wear them."

Qiu smiled but didn't reply. She examined Zhaorong's face in the mirror and said, "Today, Lady Miao's dress and crown are both plain in color. You could add a brightly colored flower ornament between her eyebrows."

Miao Zhaorong agreed, and she took out a thin rose-shaped face flower from the box and gently placed it between Zhaorong's eyebrows. Then she took out a makeup brush and filled it with color and gold.

As soon as the box was opened, the room was filled with fragrance. The princess smelled it, ran over, picked up a piece and played with it: "This flower smells so good."

Consort Miao also asked, "This tastes quite good. What's it made of?"

Qiuhe replied: "Use one ounce each of spikenard, sandalwood, tonka bean, and cloves, and one mace each of patchouli leaves, litharge, angelica, ink, and fennel. Grind them into a fine powder, mix with honey, pour into a rose mold, and remove after it dries. Then apply a layer of borneol and musk to the petals, and it is done."

The princess interjected, "Qiuhe, is this someone you recently transferred?"

"Yes," Qiuhe replied, adding, "I've tried it, and it doesn't harm the skin."

The princess walked up to her, grabbed her sleeve, and peered inside. Qiuhe, embarrassed, withdrew her hand and asked, "What is the princess looking at?"

The princess said, "You always try out the cosmetics you use on the ladies first, but your skin is so delicate and sensitive. Last time you tried the balm on Lady Yu, your wrist got red and swollen, and it took several days to heal. I want to see if it's swollen again this time."

Consort Miao asked with concern, "Did you hurt your skin again?"

"No, no." Qiu He covered her wrist with her sleeve and said, "Really, no. This time it was fine after just one try, and there was no redness or swelling."

The princess must have seen it clearly in that instant, so she didn't ask any more questions. She affectionately took Qiuhe's hand and said, "You stay here for a while, and after I finish my studies, we'll play the toss game together."

Seeing her hesitation, Consort Miao also advised, "Madam Yu hasn't been feeling well these past two days, so she probably won't be in the mood for dressing up. I'll have someone ask her for leave later. You can stay here today."

Qiuhe finally agreed, and Consort Miao sent someone to Consort Yu's place. A moment later, the palace maid who was to teach the princess arrived, and the princess went to her study, ordering Qiuhe and me to accompany her.

That day, the court lady taught the "Rules for Women" and the "National History." The princess seemed somewhat distracted, but Qiuhe looked very focused, clearly understanding what she was saying.

After the lesson ended, the princess immediately took Qiuhe's hand and ran back to the hall to play coin tossing again. But after only sitting down for a short while, a eunuch came in to report that the Emperor had arrived and was already outside the pavilion gate.

Everyone in the pavilion stood up and lined up on the left and right to greet the official.

This is the first time I have seen the current emperor up close. Before, I had only seen a glimpse of him on his high throne during ceremonies such as grand sacrifices and the investiture of emperors. He wore a crimson gauze robe, a crown that reached the heavens, and a white silk square collar. He sat upright, serious and unsmiling, leaving a vague impression on me, just like all portraits of emperors.

He was about thirty-four or thirty-five years old at the time. He was dressed casually that day, wearing a white wide-sleeved shirt with black trim on the collar, sleeves and hem, black boots, a soft gauze turban on his head, a five-colored sash around his waist, and a crane cloak on his outer garment. His eyebrows and eyes were clear and gentle, and his demeanor was elegant and refined, like that of a scholar.

The Emperor strolled in from the rear garden. As soon as he entered the pavilion, he told someone to stand up and immediately said he was thirsty, ordering hot water to be brought in quickly. Consort Miao personally brought the water, which the Emperor took and drank several cups in succession.

Seeing this, the princess asked in surprise, "Why didn't Father get some water to drink while he was outside? Now he's so thirsty."

The official said, “I looked back several times, but I couldn’t see the attendant in shackles. The prefect was there at the time. If I had pressed him for an answer, he would have made a big deal out of it and immediately arrested the person to make an example of him. So I simply endured the thirst and went home.”

Wang Zhaoming, the guard who accompanied the emperor, hurriedly blamed himself: "I saw Your Majesty looking back repeatedly, but I still did not understand Your Majesty's meaning. I deserve to die. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

The official smiled and waved his hand: "You are not me. How would you know if I didn't tell you? Let's not talk about this anymore, and don't tell Shouzhong in the future, lest the shackles be punished."

Upon hearing this, Consort Miao laughed and said, "Your Majesty has always been like this. Zhaoming told me that one morning Your Majesty told him that he couldn't sleep at night, felt hungry, and really wanted to eat roast mutton. Zhaoming asked why you didn't issue an edict to ask for it, but Your Majesty said, 'I've heard that if someone in the palace asks for something, it gets out of the palace and everyone tries to imitate it, and it becomes a trend. I'm worried that if I ask for roast mutton, from then on, the people of the country will slaughter a large number of sheep every night for supper, which would be a great harm to animals.' Alas, it is good to be kind to others and have compassion for the common people, but to be willing to endure thirst and hunger for this, it is quite strange for an emperor to do this."

The emperor smiled and said, "Being born into the imperial family, every action has the effect of setting an example for the world. We must think things through carefully and never act recklessly because of momentary desires. Sometimes, a seemingly insignificant matter might be done by an ordinary person, but if we do it, the result is often difficult to clean up."

After saying this, he asked the princess, "Huirou, have you remembered these words?"

The princess nodded vigorously, and the emperor smiled and turned to look at Zhaorong. He noticed the floral decoration between her eyebrows and casually praised, "The flowers on your face are quite nice today. They are painted delicately, and the fragrance is also wonderful."

Consort Miao smiled and said, "That's what I said too... It was made by Qiu and Xin."

"Oh, Qiuhe..." The Emperor looked at Qiuhe, who was standing to the side, smiled faintly, examined her briefly, and then asked the Princess, "Huirou, does Qiuhe have any new red marks on her wrist?"

The princess replied, "I've looked, no."

“Go and check behind her ears again,” the official gazed at Qiu He with tender eyes. “She must have applied it there this time.”

The princess went over to check and then smiled and said, "Father is right, Qiuhe has a red mark the size of a fingernail behind her right ear."

Qiuhe was already extremely embarrassed. He stepped back slightly, bowed his head deeply, and stammered, "Your Majesty, Qiuhe did not mean to..."

"No need to explain, I understand," the official said. "These spices are used in a lot, and it's rare to get them right the first time. You always try repeatedly... But now you have several girls under your command, so why are you still testing them on yourself?"

Qiuhe replied softly, "They are still young, it's never good to use spices on them."

Upon hearing this, the official laughed again: "How old are you yourself... are you even fourteen yet?"

Qiu He hesitated slightly, but could only answer truthfully: "Two months left."

The official nodded and said, "I'll tell Chu Shangfu later to send two maids who are sixteen or seventeen years old to serve you. Let them handle things like testing incense and medicine."

Qiuhe knelt down to express her gratitude, but did not accept the offer immediately: "Qiuhe thanks Your Majesty for your kindness. However, Qiuhe has a sensitive skin and is not good at handling fragrances and medicines, so she is the most suitable person to be the test subject. If Qiuhe can handle the fragrances and medicines, they will not harm the skin of you ladies. If someone else were to test the medicines, and their skin is better than yours, the slight toxicity of the fragrances and medicines would not show up on them. Wouldn't it be very inappropriate for you ladies to use them? I hope Your Majesty will rescind your order and let Qiuhe handle the testing of the medicines."

The emperor sighed, turned to Consort Miao and said with a smile, "What can we do? We can't help her even if we want to."

Consort Miao smiled and looked at Qiu He: "This child, it seems we have to ask the Emperor to transfer you out of the Bureau of Clothing and Apparel."

Qiu He hurriedly shook her head: "No, no, that's not what I meant..."

The Emperor and Consort Miao exchanged a smile, not wanting to continue the conversation, and instead said, "Get up quickly. I saw some copper coins on the table. Were you and Huirou tossing coins just now? Continue playing."

Qiuhe thanked the official again, got up to return the banquet, and the princess also went over and started tossing coins with her again.

Qiu He's hands were exceptionally nimble, her movements graceful and gentle. While the princess always made a loud clattering sound when throwing and catching the coins, she did not. Each time she threw and caught a coin, the sound was crisp and not harsh. Her slender hands fluttered like butterflies, and the heavy copper coins, under her manipulation, seemed as light as falling leaves, rising and falling with her gestures, dancing and swirling, making a series of monotonous and repetitive movements very beautiful.

The emperor sat to one side, gazing around casually. Occasionally, he would chat with Consort Miao for a few words, but his gaze would always drift back to the two girls tossing coins. He smiled, his eyes filled with tenderness and affection.