The Lonely City Closed

Chapter 17

The Empress nodded and summoned Ren Shouzhong. Before the Empress could speak again, Ren Shouzhong had already given an order to have the two beauties dragged out.

A moment later, Mr. Zhang, the head of the Inner East Gate, sent a eunuch to report that the two women had left the palace. Wang Zhaoming then returned to Chongzheng Hall to report. After waiting for a while, the Emperor slowly returned, his expression sorrowful and his eyes still wet with tears.

(to be continued)

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) When we met again, I had already taken notice. 14. Si Shi

Chapter word count: 4379 Update time: 08-09-13 15:35

14. Si Shi (司饰)

The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the "Bathing in Orchids Festival," falls on May 5th. From May 1st and the day before the festival, peaches, willows, sunflowers, cattail leaves, and mugwort can be bought everywhere on the streets of Tokyo. On the day of the festival, every household displays these items at their doorsteps, offering them along with zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), five-colored water dumplings, tea, and wine. Mugwort is also woven into human or tiger shapes and nailed to the door to ward off evil spirits. People of all social classes feast and enjoy these gifts.

The same was true in the palace. Mugwort figures and tigers were hung at the gates of all the pavilions. Perilla, calamus, and papaya were also taken, chopped into a paste, mixed with fragrant herbs, and wrapped in a plum-red box. Together with mugwort flowers, silver drum-shaped flowers, intricately painted fans, fragrant candies, rice dumplings, and white dumplings, they were listed as offerings for the Dragon Boat Festival.

In addition, the inner court carved a statue of the Celestial Master riding a tiger from calamus or pith and placed it in the palace. Five-colored calamus was hung around it on the left and right, and a hundred insects were carved and placed on it. It was surrounded by sunflowers, pomegranates, mugwort leaves and flowers, making it colorful and as big as the mountain lanterns made for the Lantern Festival.

That day, the palace was bustling with activity. The eunuchs changed into summer robes and gauze gowns, while the palace maids wore elaborate floral headdresses. They carried gifts bestowed by the Emperor and Empress upon various officials, ministers, and members of the imperial clan: colorful threads, delicate gold-inlaid flowers, silver drums, candied fruits, exquisite rice dumplings, prayer wheels and amulets made of five-colored beads, imperial calligraphy fans depicting sunflowers and pomegranates, artemisia tigers, and bolts of gauze. The crowds thronged through the palace gardens and pavilions. In the rear garden, sunflowers and pomegranates vied for attention, and gardenias and artemisia competed for fragrance. Imperial relatives summoned to the palace played polo and willow-shooting games, while palace women played pitch-pot and grass-fighting games—a scene of peace and prosperity.

On this day, I met Zhao Zongshi, the commander of the thirteenth militia. He was also a boy of fourteen or fifteen, gentle and quiet, a little shy. He didn't talk much when he met his elders, usually answering only when asked a question. He was also very reserved in front of the Empress, seemingly a little afraid of her. He was better when he met Consort Miao, because he had been taken care of by her when he was young in the palace. The princess liked him very much. As soon as she saw him, she called him "Thirteenth Brother" repeatedly and ran over to ask him all sorts of questions. He was also very happy to see the princess, and he seemed much more relaxed when he spoke.

Perhaps out of affection for the princess, the thirteenth militia were also very friendly to her attendants. In the afternoon, he played a game called "pill-throwing" with several members of the imperial family. After counting for a while, they realized one person was missing, so he looked at me, who was serving beside him, and asked, "Come and play with us."

I was a little nervous and said I didn't know how, but he didn't mind at all. He pulled me in and said, "I'll teach you."

Pidan (a type of polo game) has only recently become popular in Kyoto. To play, a ball base is drawn on an open field with varying terrain. A certain number of holes are dug at intervals of several tens to hundreds of steps from the ball's nest. Players take turns using wooden sticks with spoon-shaped tips to hit the large agate ball, which is about the size of a chicken egg. The player who hits the ball into the nest the fewest times wins.

At first, I didn't understand the techniques. I either chose the wrong bat or the angle of my swing was wrong, and the ball was hit all over the place, sometimes far and sometimes near, but never into the cradle. But the 13th training group was very patient, explaining things to me slowly and even showing me how to do it. Eventually, I gradually got the hang of it and was able to play with some difficulty.

Among the noble ladies who entered the palace that day was another adopted daughter of the Empress, Tao Tao, the great-granddaughter of the famous general Gao Qiong and the daughter of the Empress's elder sister. Gao Tao was selected by the Empress to enter the palace as a child and raised in the Forbidden City alongside the Thirteenth Regiment Commander. At that time, everyone in the palace called the Thirteenth Regiment Commander "the Emperor's son" and Gao Tao "the Empress's daughter." Because they were the same age and got along well, both the Emperor and Empress intended to match them up. The current Emperor would often point to Gao Tao and tease the Thirteenth Regiment Commander, saying, "Can the Empress's daughter be your bride?" Later, due to the birth of Prince Yu, the Thirteenth Regiment Commander was sent back to the Prince of Runan's residence, and Gao Tao also left the palace to return to her family. It was then that the Empress adopted Miss Fan.

When the Thirteenth Regiment and I were playing polo, Miss Gao and the Princess sat to one side watching, their eyes always fixed on the Thirteenth Regiment. Sometimes the Thirteenth Regiment would also sneak a glance at her, and if their eyes met, they would quickly turn their heads away as if suddenly burned, their faces blushing, but the corners of their lips would be slightly upturned.

During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the court was on leave. The current emperor was in the rear garden chatting with his relatives when he suddenly heard from a eunuch that several remonstrating officials were requesting an audience, as they had important matters to report. Although the current emperor was not very pleased, he still changed into an ochre-yellow dragon robe, a flat-topped turban, and tied a red belt with rhinoceros horn and gold jade rings, and went to Chongzheng Hall to meet them.

They had been gone for a long time and still hadn't returned. As dusk approached and the banquet was about to begin, the Empress summoned several young concubines and ordered them to wait at the Emperor's bedchamber, Funing Palace. If they saw the Emperor return to change his clothes, they were to escort him to the rear garden for his banquet.

Upon hearing the Empress's instructions, the princess volunteered to go to the Funing Palace to wait for her father. The Empress agreed and allowed her to go with several ladies.

I went with the princess. After waiting for a while in the Funing Palace, I saw the Emperor rush back, his forehead covered in sweat. As he walked, he ordered a eunuch in the palace, "Quickly go and invite Li Sishi over."

The Bureau of Imperial Clothing was divided into four departments: the Department of Imperial Seals, the Department of Clothing, the Department of Ornaments, and the Department of Armor. Each department was headed by two female officials. One of the female officials in charge of the Department of Ornaments was surnamed Li. She was skilled in combing hair using guiding techniques and was also quite beautiful. She was known as the "Hair-Combing Lady." She often combed the emperor's hair and was extremely favored by the emperor.

Summoned by the Emperor, Li Sishi quickly came over and began to comb his hair. The concubines and attendants waited on either side, and the princess also watched from the sidelines.

During this time, the princess asked the emperor, "Father, why are you combing your hair at this time?"

The Emperor sighed and said, “Just now, several officials were lecturing me on grand principles. I wanted to leave early, so I smiled and said to them, ‘I understand your opinions, and we will discuss them again later.’ But as soon as I turned around, before I could even take a step, an official grabbed my sleeve and said repeatedly, ‘Your Majesty must listen to our advice…’ I tried to pull my sleeve away, but he wouldn’t let go, so I had no choice but to go back to my seat and listen to them finish. Unfortunately, one of them had a very strong body odor, and it was such a hot day… it made my head ache, my ears burn, and my scalp tingle. So I had to comb my hair to clear my head.”

The concubines all burst into laughter upon hearing this, and asked in unison, "Then why did they offer their advice? What is it that is so long and takes so long to finish?"

The official did not answer, but only said, "It's nothing, you don't need to know."

A sharp-eyed woman noticed a document in the official's sleeve. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, she swiftly pulled it out and said with a smile, "Their words must be written here. Your Majesty, please let us take a look."

The other ladies also stepped forward to snatch the edict, laughing and joking, all wanting to be the first to open it and read it. The Emperor initially wanted to stop them, but he was still combing his hair, which was in Li Sishi's hands, so he couldn't move it and could only shake his head and sigh.

The ladies argued and fought, none of them getting to see it first. Finally, the one who drew the document called out, "Alright, alright, stop fighting over it. Let's invite the princess to read it aloud, and everyone can listen."

Everyone thought it was a good idea, so they handed the document to the princess.

The princess took it, opened it, and began to read aloud, counting each word carefully: "Your Majesty, I have heard that Your Majesty, due to the frequent disasters, has issued an edict seeking honest advice..."

The official smiled wryly and said, "They say that this year's rains have caused disasters, and there has been an earthquake in the country recently, which is a punishment for the excess of Yin... Just read the last few lines directly."

The princess nodded, skipped the middle section, and read the most important sentences at the end: "Among the palace women, are there not too many who are merely confined? I hope that those who are useless will be selected and released to go out, so as to eliminate the overabundance of women."

Upon hearing this, the concubines in the hall fell silent, clearly not expecting that the matter discussed by the censors would concern them. Anxiety flickered in their eyes as they tentatively stole glances at the Emperor, fearing that the slightest misstep would render them "useless" in the memorials.

The Emperor remained silent, offering no words of comfort. The princess's eyes darted between her father and the concubines, a mixture of curiosity and bewilderment in her gaze; her thoughtful expression made her quite endearing.

A moment later, a soft laugh broke the silence: "If Your Majesty expelled a few of these officials who talk nonsense, wouldn't it be much quieter?"

These words came from Li Si. Under the astonished gazes of the women, she casually brushed back the emperor's long hair and slowly said, "Nowadays, wealthy people in the capital, once they have a few strings of cash, want to take in more concubines. Even if the emperor has some concubines, how can he allow his officials to criticize him? With two offices and two systems, each household has singers and dancers. If their official positions are slightly satisfactory, they often add more. When the emperor's foundation is reduced to only one or two people, they say that the yin is too strong and should be reduced, which only allows these people to live a life of pleasure!"

Some of the concubines probably wanted to agree with her, but they all knew that the Emperor always treated remonstrating officials well. However, Li Sishi's words were aimed directly at the officials, so they dared not speak rashly and carefully observed the Emperor's expression.

The emperor sat upright, his gaze fixed on the mirror before him, staring calmly at Li Sishi. His eyes were expressionless, making it impossible to discern his thoughts. He remained silent until his hair was combed.

Li Sishi, oblivious to anything amiss, took a turban and put it on the Emperor. Standing behind him, he lazily glanced at the Emperor's handsome face in the mirror with his phoenix eyes and asked, "Does Your Majesty really intend to do as they say?"

The emperor replied, "How dare we disobey the advice of the censors and remonstrators?"

Li Si smiled again, casually tidying up her dressing table as she said, "If you really want to reduce the number of palace servants, please make me the first one."

She naturally had no intention of leaving the palace. Her words were merely a way of showing contempt for the opinions of the censors and remonstrators, relying on her favor with the emperor.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor abruptly stood up and coldly ordered, "Please have the Palace Attendant bring the palace registers to the rear garden."

After saying this, he turned and went inside to change his clothes, leaving the concubines looking at each other in bewilderment.

When they arrived at the rear garden, the Empress ordered a banquet to begin, but the Emperor indicated that it should be postponed. He first had the Palace Attendant present the list of palace officials, which he then personally marked with his own hand. After a long while, he issued an edict: "Thirty people, starting with Lady Li, the Palace Attendant, are to be released from the palace."

After the imperial decree was issued, the Empress invited the Emperor to take his seat again, but he did not respond. Instead, he asked, "Have they left the palace?"

The Empress sighed and then ordered Ren Shouzhong to immediately send the thirty people out of the palace. Only after the Inner East Gate Guard reported that all the palace women had left the palace did the Emperor take his seat for a meal.

After this incident, the laughter and conversation at the table became somewhat hesitant, and no one dared to ask any questions.