Chongfei Manual pt. 1

22

Liang Yurong: Wei Luo’s friend
Zhao Liuli: princess Tianji, Zhao Jie’s little sister
Mrs. Han: Wei Luo’s tutor on etiquette
Madam Qin: 4th madam, Wei Luo’s close aunt
Gao Qingyang: maternal cousin of Zhao Liuli
Wei Changhong: Wei Luo’s twin brother

*

When Liang Yurong and Wei Luo had come out, they had only taken along two old nurses, who were also entering the palace for the first time. Following this twisting and remote footpath inside the palace courtyard for some time, they had gotten completely lost. Wild Goose house was obviously in front of them, yet no matter how much they walked, they couldn’t reach it. They had passed by the same statue, returning to their original position.

Right now the palace maids and eunuchs were busy working, so no one came to this place. Even if they wanted to find a person to ask for directions, they couldn’t. The two nurses were just getting worried, their foreheads sweating, when some palace maids and nurses escorting a young lady dressed in brocade clothes, suddenly appeared before them and walked over.

Being able to walk anywhere in the palace, and also having such a huge escort, this young lady’s status was probably not simple. Secretly trying to figure out Zhao Liuli’s identity, the nurses retreated to the side, waiting for the opposite party to introduce themselves. Sure enough, a nurse with some seniority, wearing an ash blue court dress, asked: “Who are you? Why are you here? You’re still not greeting the princess.”

It turned out to be a princess.

The two old nurses hurriedly saluted, signaling with their eyes to Wei Luo and Liang Yurong, reminding them in a whisper: “Little miss, quickly make your greetings together with this servant.”

During this month, Wei Luo had learned plenty of court etiquette from Mrs. Han, so she smoothly followed along. After properly saluting, she calmly sized up Zhao Liuli. Emperor Chong Zhen had altogether eight princesses. The first five were already over ten years old, while the sixth and seventh were of a similar age – one seven, the other six years old. The sixth princess was Empress Chen’s child, and the seventh princess was Noble Consort Ning’s. She just didn’t know whether it was the sixth or seventh child in front of her.

As Wei Luo was sizing up Zhao Liuli, Zhao Liuli was also curiously looking at them.

She was cooped inside the palace all year round, mostly coming in contact with palace maids and nurses, their ages all bigger than hers. She rarely met young ladies of a similar age. Empress Chen didn’t allow her to approach her seventh younger sister Zhao Linlang. She was actually very lonely, staying in the palace by herself. Although mother Empress and big brother both loved her dearly, she still wanted to have her own playmate. Zhao Linlang had many playmates. Each time she went to the back garden, she could see her and several other little girls talking excitedly and making a commotion. While she could only look from afar and secretly envy them. In fact, Gao Qingyang was also alright, but she rarely entered the palace, and when she did occasionally visit, she didn’t seem all that willing to play with her. If her body was healthy, Zhao Liuli thought, if she wasn’t so ill, she could also be laughing and playing with the other little girls, and creating a disturbance.

Both sides were looking at each other for some time. Wei Luo noticed the opposite party was looking at them eagerly, as if she wanted to approach them but was too embarrassed to, and couldn’t help finding it amusing. Her eyes spun as she started thinking. Pointing at Wild Goose house behind herself, she asked: “Do you know how to get there? We want to go over there.”

Zhao Liuli pursed her lips and gently nodded.

The nurse nearby had received Empress Chen’s instructions. Seeing Wei Luo chatting with princess Tianji now, she didn’t stop them, but was rather happy to observe.