XVI. A Prince's Manor
Two months after becoming married, Zhu Ying writes to her elder sister who lives far away and takes her on a letter tour of Rong Wang Fu.
Alternatively, the author fell down a rabbit hole of looking at maps and photos of Prince Gong Mansion and decided to draw up a layout of Rong Wang Fu and needed a way to write about it for worldbuilding™ purposes.
Note: You should probably read this on my AO3 account because you can actually include links and pictures on AO3.
My dearest Eldest Sister,
You must forgive me for taking so long to answer to your last letter, considering you know well what has been keeping me busy this last few months. I have now been two months married into Rong Wang Fu, and only today did I have the time to sit down to write to you.
I had thought that if I did not express any concerns about this bestowed marriage in my last letter, you might truly believe I did not mind it, but it seems that you know me too well, and my silence only made you more concerned. To own the truth, I was quite unhappy when Ah Ma told me that Huang Shang was considering bestowing this marriage. You know it is not a marriage I would have chosen for myself, but I think the reason it seemed even more dreadful to me was the fact that once the marriage was bestowed, I would have no choice of whether to say yes or no. Perhaps, if some other family had come to our father with a marriage proposal, in the truest sense, and I felt that I could say no if I wished, I might have had an easier time saying yes.
All of this rambling is to say that I now must relieve you of any worries that I am still in low spirits over this marriage. I assure you that I am quite at peace with it, now. To say how this peace came about is too long a story for this letter and I hope I will be able to tell you about it in person when you and Brother-in-law visit Beijing for Ah Ma's birthday. Nevertheless, now that I am here, I am determined to make the best of this situation. Be at peace, dear sister, that I have no intention of wallowing in self-pity and wasting away in this mansion.
These couple months have gone by in a blur, with so many new things to get used to. I tell you because I know you will wish to know, that Wang Ye is every bit the gentleman as Ah Ma and Brother report from their interactions with him in court. He was about as desirous for this marriage as I had been, to give you an idea of the situation. How I came to such sure knowledge of this is part of that same too long story that I will tell you when we meet in person, but I must say, it is quite a relief for both of us to be on the same emotional page. It has allowed us to be honest with each other, and come to an agreement that we will proceed with this marriage in mutual respect. Indeed, he has been very solicitous and very kind. You must not fear that I will be ill-treated here.
I suppose my relationships with the other two Ce Fujin are more complicated. It is so strange to come into a household and be put on a position higher than those that had already been there. Their hesitance towards me is understandable in this light but I honestly hope that over time, we will find a way to co-exist peacefully. I am not sure if true friendship is possible with Zhi Fujin, since she rightly feels that I have stolen the position she should occupy.
Yan Fujin, too, started off acting rather uncomfortable around me, but I suspect that this guardedness is against her nature. In any case, Qing Ge Ge, Lao Fo Ye's ward if you do not remember, told me soon after the wedding that Yan Fujin is a warm, generous and loyal friend to those she likes and those who treat her in the same spirit. Over the time that I have been here, I have seen enough of her in unguarded moments, with Wang Ye, with her children, with Ming Zhu Ge Ge, and even with her close servants, to believe that Qing Ge Ge's words were not conflated by her own affections for Yan Fujin. She really does seem like the kind of person I would very gladly be friends with. She is naturally of cheerful humour, I believe, and with a disposition that I can already tell I enormously like. When she laughs, her eyes light up and I doubt many can resist laughing with her. Wang Ye, at least, does always look happier when she is around. I can only imagine how captivating she must be when he met her when they were younger and so it really is very easy to understand why Wang Ye loves her so. I would have been captivated by her too.
I know what that sounds like just now, but I assure you, I do not intend to fall in love with Yan Fujin[1]. That is a kind of complication I would be a simpleton to introduce into my household if I could help it, and I hope I have grown past the days where my heart runs away with me. It would be fruitless for me to regard her with anything more than just friendship, for Wang Ye's love for her is very much returned. I think she is starting to be more assured than when I first came that I have no intention of competing with her for Wang Ye's heart and has these past few days occasionally sought me out herself. I hope with a little more time, we will truly become friends, so that we can at least have some good company in this enormous mansion. A good relationship between us would probably make Wang Ye feel more at peace too, if he could see that I value the woman he loves, though that is not at all my reason for wanting to become friends with her (even if no doubt it would help my dealings with Wang Ye).
I have met Wang Ye's children, or rather they have been presented to me. The two boys are still in swaddles, but the little princess curtsied very adorably to me. Perhaps she is too little to understand or the child cannot but help be affectionate, but I think it reflects well on how Yan Fujin is raising her that she did not seem to fear or wish to avoid me, and how she seems very fond of both her brothers, even Er Ah Ge who was recently born to Zhi Fujin.
The tasks of acquainting myself with the household and its management is proving to be challenging, not because there is any problem but because the household is so large, despite the number of masters and mistresses are few. Running the manor has been a rewarding experience so far nonetheless. Mother and you have taught me well, and I suppose I will not shame you. Apparently, when Yan Fujin first married in, she wanted very little to do with the household management; in fact, she told me herself that she finds the tasks that accompanies that responsibility tear-inducingly boring. This kind of dereliction of duty, as some would call it, is not something you would think many women would readily admit to, but she says it so easily. I really don't believe it is laziness, either, and she is sincere when she says it just bores her. I have seen her, in the last half month, throwing herself into the task of renovating a shelter for poor people in the city with great enthusiasm and passion. I think if she wanted to learn to manage a prince's manor, she could do it, since she does seem to have ideas of what it takes to run a crowded household. It's intriguing that she finds the same kinds of tasks around a prince's manor so uninteresting.
It is not as if Wang Ye really lacks for capable people around him, so he had always been pleased enough to leave the household management to the steward eunuchs, with oversight from the two personally attending him and an occasional spot check from Wang Ye himself. I suspect Zhi Fujin would have preferred that Wang Ye gave over the responsibilities to her when she entered the household. But Zhi Fujin is the kind of woman whose heart is a deep dark lake. Outwardly, she is always beyond reproach, but it is difficult to really gauge what she is really feeling. She really is different from Yan Fujin in that respect. It is clear to me that Wang Ye has been so used to Yan Fujin's artlessness that he finds Zhi Fujin's more reticent nature difficult to trust. While it's obvious that Wang Ye probably followed orders when he took Zhi Fujin into the household, I wonder if there is other, deeper history at play here for the lack of warmth between them. The politeness when they are together is much too pointed for it to be just simple indifference on his part. After all, he is indifferent to me, but there is a chilliness between him and Zhi Fujin (reluctantly born on her part, that is clear) that does not seem to extend to his interactions with me. But I suppose I cannot speculate – either time will provide answers, or it will not. Either way, she is here, I do not intend to make an enemy of her, either. Lao Fo Ye is rather fond of her, and it is never wise to offend the Dowager Empress.
Regardless, Wang Ye didn't hesitate to hand me the keys to the coffers, so to speak, though perhaps it had been easier to deny a Ce Fujin the household responsibilities than a Di Fujin decreed by the emperor. But he did not act uneasy or seemed suspicious when he introduced me to the manor's steward eunuchs, and went out of his way to stress that they should be accommodating to me and do everything in their power to assist me. Since, he had only asked if I had everything I need and were getting on well, and did not question me when I said I had things under control. Of course, the eunuchs are probably reporting back to him of our interactions, but whatever they have been saying must at least not disturb him because he has simply left me to it. You were right, Jiejie, when you said that there is something rewarding about knowing that someone values your intellect and abilities enough to put into your hands the responsibility of running such an enormous household without interference or micromanagement. I have every intention of assuring Wang Ye that he was not wrong to trust me.
Because I know Brother-in-law so loves talks of architecture and you love all manners of flowers and trees and plants, I will attempt to describe to you the layout of Rong Wang Fu. I have been here long enough that I think I have at least seen all the places in the manor. The manor is about a ke's[2] ride from the palace, and like the imperial palace, the manor's main gate faces south. It follows the three-pathway structure, with the main, east and west pathways running the length of the compound. After passing through the main gate, the first and second gates, is Xin An Dian. It is obviously not quite as imposing as Tai He Dian, but up close, it is rather intimidating looking nevertheless. Remember how we used to talk about the way that the green roof tiles[3] of the manors of princes always looked so beautiful, glinting like emeralds in the sun? They do look a little more ordinary up close, just a very little. The colour is more vividly green up close, which is very pretty indeed, and they are very shiny, but not quite as glittering in the sunlight as viewed from far away. Xin An Dian is of course the official seat of Rong Qin Wang and contains the throne room. The hall is only used for official ceremonies during major events and important festival, which is just as well because it is so huge that it needs to be filled by many people to look the part. A single person looks rather silly walking around it, I think. Behind Xin An Dian is Jia Le Tang, which is used to conduct less formal ceremonies and shamanistic rituals. It also contains the shrine room. And these are the two central halls of the outer courtyard.
When he is not in the palace, Wang Ye usually conducts his business and receives guests on official business in his study in Zhao Fu Xuan, one of the side courtyards to the east of the manor. Then Wang Ye also has rooms in Cong Dao Tang behind it, but he actually spends little time there. In any case, Cong Dao Tang is just a short walk into the first eastern pavilion in the inner courtyard, Qing Yun Shi, where Yan Fujin and her children lives.
To the west of the outer courtyard is Kang He Zhai. It is now a library and, along with Bao Guang Shi, the other pavilion in the western outer courtyard, is also used to entertain Wang Ye's guests. However, Kang He Zhai is likely to be transformed into a schoolroom for the young princes when they are older.
The formal receiving hall of the manor is actually Shan An Tang, the first main hall in the centre of the inner courtyard. But I am told it is only during great festivals that banquets are conducted and guests are entertained here. Behind Shan An Tang is the smaller Ning Le Tang, which is less grand but therefore a warmer place to receive guests on a daily basis. In a side building, there is a nice little stage where theatre and opera performances can be performed.
I spend most of my time in my own courtyard, Yao Yue Xuan, of course, which is next to Yan Fujin's Qing Yu Shi and has direct access to the garden on the north side of the manor compound. The main building of Yao Yue Xuan is five bays wide, and is of course far grander accommodations than I have ever known. There is a large maidenhair tree in the courtyard which I am told provides good shade in the summer. I wonder how long this tree has been around; it must be ancient. I am grateful the manor, when it was built, was built around the tree rather than it being cut down. It is a beautiful tree, with leaves all golden now and those that had fallen lay a thick carpet on the ground. Nan Er Ge Ge likes throwing the leaves up into the air and watch them fall.
I wonder, when arranging accommodations for Zhi Fujin and Yan Fujin, whether Wang Ye consciously chose to place them on opposite sides of the manor. Zhi Fujin's Hong Luo Zhai is on the west side of the inner courtyard. I have not asked Zhi Fujin whether she feels isolated there, because it seemed rather insensitive, but I have made it as clear as possible, I think, that I welcome her company should she wish to spend time with me – well, I have made it clear to both Zhi Fujin and Yan Fujin, actually. So far, Zhi Fujin seems more reluctant to take up that offer than Yan Fujin, but there is the issue of her probably resentment that I mentioned earlier. Also Zhi Fujin recently gave birth to Er Ah Ge, and she is exceedingly attached to the child, so she spends much time in her courtyard with him. She does not lack for views, though, since the pavilion derives its name from the maple tree in its yard, I believe. I admit it rivals even my maidenhair in beauty how in the height of autumn.
Aside from Jiu Zhu and Su Feng who accompanied me, there are now two other maids directly serving me, and a handful of eunuchs. They all seem hardworking and pleasant enough, though I suspect they are still at the stage where they are all on best behaviours to impress me. I hope I shall not encounter any trouble serious enough for me to have to seek Jiejie's advice in the future. Apparently, it is the dictate of the palace that maids assigned to work in the manors of princes are renamed, with all those recruited during the same year sharing a character in their new names. This must be a way for the Imperial Household Department to keep track of them, because servants sent outside the palace must be harder to track. In any case, my new maids both have Xiang as the second character of their names: Ding Xiang and Ru Xiang[4]. Wang Ye told me when I asked that servants who accompanied the ladies of the house from prior to entering the manor are permitted to keep their names. He did ask, though, why Jiu Zhu is still called Jiu Zhu[5] when the second character of her name is the same sound as the first in mine. I thought for a moment he might wish to change her name, though when he asked, he sounded so invested in the answer that I knew not why he would care about a naming taboo of my name if I myself do not. It turned out he was just curious and was satisfied when I explained. It is rather strange though, when I thought about it later. Other manor masters would probably insist in changing her name, if for nothing but to avoid such things being gossiped about which might affect their reputations.
Anyway, my courtyard is rather serene these days, but I suppose one should not wish for chaos. By comparison, though, Yan Fujin's Qing Yun Shi is more lively, with Nan Er Ge Ge and Da Ah Ge around. Yan Fujin also loathes staying still and indoors, so when she isn't practicing swordplay and shooting, she is visiting her friends or Ming Zhu Ge Ge. I've heard some of her friends run a restaurant in town. Ming Zhu Ge Ge comes here often enough as well. Everything I've been taught tells me I should object to the fact that she spends more time outside the manor far more often than a lady of her position should, but then Wang Ye does not seem to mind at all. In any case, if he takes umbrage at it, given their relationship, it is perhaps much wiser if I leave him to deal with it himself. There is actually little offensive about her behaviour, after all, and her liveliness is likely even why Wang Ye likes her.
There is another pavilion in the western courtyard, called Ting Yu Ge, which now stands empty. I doubt Wang Ye is in any hurry to fill it. But I am told by the stewards that due to the way the trees are planted in that courtyard, the rain makes a very pleasant musical sound on the leaves, which is how the pavilion got its name. I suppose I might venture out there the next time it rains to see if this is true.
Since I came to the manor in late summer, I seem to have missed the garden at its most beautiful. There is a large cluster of what I am assured in summer will be the most beautiful peonies of all colours. When you are here in the capital, you must come visit and we can sit in the nearby Mu Dan Tai and enjoy the peonies along with the best tea and osmanthus cakes that Rong Wang Fu can offer. You know I am in charge of the manor's spendings now, and I trust Wang Ye will not begrudge me a few blocks of top quality pu'er.
In the garden, there is also a lovely walking gallery called Fu Lu Ting that in spring must offer a lovely view of the other flowers of the garden as well as the Jade Lake. The roof of the gallery is painted with motifs of bats and deers[6] to herald good fortune. Jade Lake is large enough for a floating terrace to have been built in the middle, connected to the bank by a bridge. It would be a nice place to just sit, relax and feed the army of koi under the water's depth. I hope come spring the ducks will come and perhaps even some swans. There is also a lotus pond on the other side of the garden, and I am eager to see it in its prime as well. How fragrant it must be there in summer.
Oh, but I have not told you of the most beautiful scenery of Rong Wang Fu's garden yet. There is a large grove of plum trees that occupies a large area of the garden. They have just finished harvesting the fruits when I came into the manor, which are now being kept in the cool cellars. They are deliciously juicy and just the right balance of sweet and tart. But of course I am eager to see the blossoms, which should be budding soon. There is a two-story tower in the middle of the grove, which, true to its name Ying Mei Lou, would be the ideal place to sit and admire the blossoms. How beautiful it must look to be in tucked in with a few braziers glowing to enjoy the sight of red blossoms on white snow.
There, I hope I have left you with a beautiful enough mental image, that you will hasten your journey to the capital so that I can see you again. Until then, my fondest greetings to your husband and children. Tell them that Auntie has many delightful playthings at her new home, and see if they won't nag you to bring them to visit me sooner.
Zhu Ying
[1] This is the first mention of the vague idea I have that Zhu Ying is bisexual and will eventually be in a relationship with her maid Jiu Zhu
[2] A ke is ~fifteen minutes. I was going to say a quarter of an hour but that's internally confusing to me because when I write stories set in ancient China, I usually say hour when I actually mean sichen, which is actually two hours. So if I had said quarter of an hour, I was confusing myself as to whether I mean 15 minutes or 30 minutes. Anyway, the manor is about 4km from the palace which Google tells me would have taken 15 minutes on horseback at a trot.
[3] using green roof tiles was a privilege only for prince's manors in the Qing dynasty (and the palace as well I think)
[4] this is the naming pattern for the maids in Legend of Ruyi. In that drama, all of Qianlong's wives from when he was a prince had a maid named - Xin, collectively the Eight Xin. I find this idea fascinating but the explanation for it is more or less made up by me.
[5] I actually haven't decided what actual characters make up Jiu Zhu's name but the idea is that the Zhu in Jiu Zhu is the same sound as the Zhu in Zhu Ying. Jiu Zhu is the daughter of Zhu Ying's wetnurse and is a month older than Zhu Ying. Obviously Zhu Ying's father had no idea what the daughter of the wetnurse was called when he named his daughter. When it was realised that the daughter of the wetnurse shared a sound in her name with Zhu Ying, which was taboo in the days, the convention would have been Jiu Zhu's name would be changed. But then Zhu Ying's mother decided to not make Jiu Zhu's mother change her name as a favour, considering the woman was breastfeeding Zhu Ying and so essentially raising her anyway. That's the backstory behind this comment, but of course Zhu Ying would not have needed to explain this to her sister. This backstory also has no relevance whatsoever to anything but it's a detail that I know for some reason.
[6] Bat in Chinese is fu and deer is lu, homonyms with words for fortune: fu and lu.