Smiling, Ying Zheng invited his mother to try the ointment in the white-jade jar.
“A-Mu, apply some Puji Five-Herb Ointment to your teeth and gums. It will ease the pain.”
“Puji Five-Herb Ointment?” Zhao Ji lowered her eyes to the white-jade jar. A pale-green silk cloth was tied around its mouth, bearing the words Puji Five-Herb Ointment. The green-jade jar, meanwhile, had a deep-crimson ribbon, at the end of which was written Taiping Eight-Herb Ointment.
“Ha! So an ointment made from five herbs is better than one made from eight? Can you eat this medicine?”
She muttered her objections, but her body was rather more honest than her mouth: she lay down and prepared to have an attendant apply the ointment.
“If a little is swallowed by accident while applying it or cleaning the teeth, it should do no harm. But it must not be taken orally.”
Zhao Ji laughed. “Another thing I cannot eat? It can be put inside the mouth, but it cannot be eaten?”
Ying Zheng’s expression grew solemn. “If swallowed as a medicine, this ointment may cause agonizing stomach pains. In severe cases, it may even cause internal bleeding.”
“Ah?! Then forget it!” Zhao Ji waved a hand carelessly. “Let my teeth have a taste of this powder and ointment, then, and we shall see whether they work. My son, go and rest. There is another banquet tomorrow…”
Her voice gradually trailed away.
Ying Zheng did not disturb her treatment. He took his leave.
After her son departed, Zhao Ji lay upon her couch. The instant the sticky black ointment touched her gums, a refreshing coolness spread through them, and the fiery torment within her mouth seemed to retreat in defeat.
As the ointment was spread, the maddening ache slowly ebbed away. Although she inadvertently swallowed a little and felt some discomfort in her throat, her entire body relaxed.
Whatever precious medicinal herbs had gone into this Six-Herb Ointment, they worked remarkably quickly!
Had Ying Yang been there, she would have explained that salt could kill bacteria, while chuanxiong, asarum, and the juices of mulberry, sophora, and willow contained substances capable of relieving pain, reducing inflammation, inhibiting bacteria, and alleviating swelling.
Willow branches and leaves, in particular, contained salicin. Once salicin entered the stomach, it could be converted into salicylic acid, a substance closely associated with the celebrated painkiller aspirin of later generations. Salicylic acid had many uses: easing pain, relieving rheumatic symptoms, and reducing fever. Yet it could also severely irritate the gastrointestinal tract, causing stomach pain, ulcers, and even gastric bleeding.
Ying Yang was no physician. She did not know which medicines might counteract the effects of salicylic acid; she could only prepare her tooth powders and pastes according to old prescriptions.
To guard against accidents, before handing the white-jade jar over to her father, she had even ordered several copies of the precautions to be written out. The instructions stressed that the tooth powder and toothpaste were not medicines, were intended for external application only, and must not be swallowed as a treatment.
This was a matter of establishing responsibility and keeping written proof—so that a pot of blame would not come flying out of nowhere and land on her head.
Of course, if some truly powerful person decided to make trouble for her, no amount of paperwork would save her.
The following morning, Zhao Ji awoke smiling.
Attendants opened the windows. Beneath the eaves outside, sparrows hopped and chirped merrily. Zhao Ji turned her face this way and that before her mirror.
“It truly does not hurt anymore!”
The attendant holding the mirror ventured a joke. “The renowned physician Bian Que, who once cured Zhao Jianzi and the Taizi of Guo, was originally of the Qin clan. Perhaps Fifth Gongzhu is Bian Que reborn!”
“Nonsense!” Zhao Ji scolded him with a laugh. “How could my granddaughter be the reincarnation of a man? If the ruler heard you say such a thing, he would certainly punish you!”
The attendant hastily begged forgiveness. “This humble servant spoke foolishly. May Taihou pardon me.”
Tenderly touching her cheek, now free of pain and discomfort, Zhao Ji fell into thought.
“Yangzi, my granddaughter…”
Could the child truly be a disciple of the immortals, blessed and protected by some deity in the heavens?
…
[Ding! One genuine favorable review received.]
[Current tasks: … Complete one journey (0/1); prepare one culinary creation (1/1); obtain ten genuine favorable reviews (1/10).]
Ying Yang spat out a mouthful of bitter, herb-flavored foam. After rinsing her mouth, she resumed her customary exercises for her little tongue. She gargled and burbled, apparently gazing vacantly at the beams overhead; in truth, she was taking the opportunity to read the System’s notifications.
…The System had actually counted tooth powder and toothpaste as a culinary creation?
As the person who had proposed such an utterly shameless interpretation in the first place, Ying Yang felt a tiny prick of conscience.
It lasted all of two seconds.
Then came the immense, magnificent, overwhelming joy of exploiting a loophole to complete a difficult task.
Heh heh.
Unfortunately, Ying Yang did not get to heh heh for long.
Zhao Ji had graciously summoned her.
Ying Yang felt a little of the excitement of meeting a famous historical figure, mixed with a measure of apprehension. Some of Zhao Ji’s exploits in the historical records were frankly bewildering. Ying Yang feared she might inadvertently tread on a land mine.
A vermilion carriage drawn by fine horses stopped at the gates of Ganquan Palace.
Half her anxiety immediately vanished. The reason was simple: several dozen women and a handful of children were already waiting outside the gates. A gathering of that size did wonders to dispel her nerves.
That made sense. Zhao Ji was the mother-in-law of the women in the royal harem. By propriety, they had to pay their respects to their elder, and the children had to greet their grandmother.
After alighting, Ying Yang seized the moment. With her back to the gates of Ganquan Palace, she raised two fingers in a victory sign.
The System informed her that taking a photograph at the entrance did not count.
She had barely finished bickering with it when a summons arrived from her own mother.
“Yangzi, come and pay your respects to Mi Furen and your elder brothers and sisters.”
At present, ten children of the royal household were still living. Older than Ying Yang were the eldest Gongzhu, Mengyuan; the eldest Gongzi, Fusu; the second Gongzi, Jianglü; and the third Gongzhu, Shuhua. Younger than her were the fourth Gongzi, Gao; the sixth Gongzhu, Dudu; the sixth Gongzi; the seventh Gongzhu; and the seventh Gongzi.
The seventh Gongzhu and seventh Gongzi had been born that very year. They were already more than a hundred days old and had been entered into the order of seniority, though they had not yet received personal names.
Nine of the children were present.
“Mu Taihou has already summoned Zhao Furen and Gongzi Jianglü to go ahead,” explained a woman in a dark azure-blue quju robe, standing at the head of the assembled women, in response to a consort’s puzzled inquiry.
Ying Yang could not help looking at her more closely.
This was Mi Furen, birth mother of the eldest Gongzi, Fusu.
In human imagination, qingming was another name for the celestial realm. Only a blue as lovely as the skies of an immortal paradise could be called the color of qingming. It possessed a beauty at once noble and serene, reminding Ying Yang of a brilliant cornflower-blue sapphire.
Mi Furen was tall and slender, with delicately beautiful features. Against her lustrous black hair, the deep-blue folds of her quju, and the glassy yellow borders of her sleeves, her already fair complexion seemed as warm and dignified as the finest white mutton-fat jade.
*Then why on earth was Fusu such a dark little boy?*
Ying Yang stared at the wheat-complexioned child beside Mi Furen, with his thick eyebrows and large eyes, and began to question everything she knew about the world.
Wasn’t Fusu supposed to be an elegant, gentle young gentleman?
And isn’t fair skin practically standard equipment for an elegant, gentle young gentleman? Could boys really transform so completely as they grew up?
Fusu mistook his younger sister’s persistent gaze for an overture of friendship and smiled at her.
Hahaha! He’s missing a front tooth!
Ying Yang promptly instructed the System to capture the footage. When Fusu was grown, she could release a compilation of his embarrassing childhood moments. It would surely draw enormous traffic.
And if she ever had the chance to record some youthful blackmail material on the First Emperor himself…
Heh heh heh…
An inscrutable smile appeared on Ying Yang’s face.
…
The procession of consorts was headed by two Furen, followed by the Meiren and Liangren, then those Bazi and Qizi who had borne children. The lower-ranking Changshi and Shaoshi held too humble a position to qualify for an audience with Taihou.
Ying Yang was growing a little bored.
Today was a grand occasion, and the adult consorts were all dressed in formal shenyi. Whether the robes had straight or curved hems, they constrained the wearer’s movements. One could not walk quickly in a shenyi, only proceed at a measured pace.
Moreover, the consorts wore ceremonial sashes and sets of ornaments at their waists. They could neither hurry nor allow their steps to fall out of rhythm. Otherwise, the jade pendants would clatter discordantly instead of producing their pleasing, measured chime—an embarrassment that might invite ridicule or even reprimand.
Children, however, were another matter.
They formed a little procession of their own behind the consorts and could be carried by their Baomu, wet nurses, or palace attendants.
Ying Yang had seldom been allowed outside. She asked the senior eunuch sent by Xia Furen how far it was from the palace gate to the main hall.
When she learned that it was only one li—roughly five hundred meters—she requested permission to walk.
A little exercise would do her good. Five hundred meters was hardly enough to leave her sweating and bedraggled. And if anyone scolded her, she would simply say that she had caused her grandmother worry during her illness, and wished to show her filial devotion by walking to the audience herself.
With the word filial piety on her side, no one could make too ugly a scene. At worst, her mother would nag her a little; she would not be genuinely angry.
The senior eunuch was persuaded.
Once on her feet, Ying Yang’s gaze began to wander away from the procession. She looked left and right, taking everything in.
In her previous life, she had visited the Forbidden City. Now, walking through Ganquan Palace, she found the experience no less fascinating. Two thousand years lay between these palaces, and there were many differences to discover.
They had just traversed the covered passage and were about to step onto the veranda when a small disturbance rippled through the company.
The senior eunuch and the others dropped to their knees.
Only belatedly did Ying Yang realize that almost everyone was staring at her.
*?*
Apart from her mother’s attendants and the younger children, who were too innocent and bewildered to understand, the gazes directed at her were anything but friendly.
Curiosity. Mockery. Contempt. Indifference. Displeasure. Disgust…
“Yangzi was previously unwell and has seldom been able to pay her respects to Mu Taihou,” her mother explained. “As this is a rare opportunity, she wished to walk there herself as a small expression of filial devotion.”
That’s my mother! We really are on the same wavelength!
Ying Yang gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up in her heart.
“Fifth Gongzhu is indeed filial. Very good.” At the head of the procession, Mi Furen inclined her head. “Fusu, come down.”
“As the eldest son, you ought to set an example.”
Xia Furen’s brows drew together faintly. By doing this, Mi Furen had put her cousin and Yangzi in an awkward position from which they could hardly retreat.
Before Xia Furen or Xia Xianshi could speak, Ji Meiren, standing at the right of the second row, interjected.
“Mengyuan, come down.”
“Make haste and heed Mi Furen’s instruction,” said Ji Meiren, the eldest Gongzhu’s birth mother, in a tone edged with insinuation. “There is a proper order between elder and younger. Your younger brothers and sisters have already descended. If you, their elder sister, still insist on being carried, will you not become a laughingstock?”
Now it was Mi Furen’s turn to frown.
Ji Meiren’s failure to read the situation irritated her, yet there was nothing incorrect in either her words or her actions.
The proper order of seniority had to be observed among siblings, whether brothers or sisters.
Then Mi Furen reconsidered. In any case, she was not the one who would look worst before the assembled company. She folded her hands within her sleeves and fell silent.
The third Gongzhu’s mother, Pu Qizi, had once been an attendant responsible for laying out the mats. Only because she had been fortunate enough to bear a child—and because her daughter had survived and grown—had she risen to the rank of Qizi.
Always timid and cautious, Pu Qizi grew flustered at finding herself caught in this battlefield of high-ranking consorts.
“Put me down,” commanded the third Gongzhu.
Young as she was, she knew her own mind.
Seeing that her daughter had made her decision, Pu Qizi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her with gratitude.
The third Gongzhu forced herself to raise her clasped hands in a formal salute.
“I should respect my elder brother above me and cherish my younger brothers and sisters below.”
Ying Yang had never imagined that something as trivial as getting down and walking could become the spark for a verbal contest among royal consorts.
For a moment, she was speechless.
So this is palace life? Sure enough: blades drawn at every turn, dragons and tigers locked in combat, and blood raining down in torrents.
“It has been so long since I last saw my brothers and sisters. Yangzi is truly delighted that we can all take a walk together today.”
To prove just how delighted she was, Ying Yang took the third Gongzhu by the hand, then trotted over to grasp the eldest Gongzhu’s hand. She gestured for the eldest Gongzhu to take Fusu’s.
“Gao, Dudu, and the two little A-Qi are still very young. They had not slept enough when they rose this morning, and they are still drowsy. It is better for them to be carried, lest they catch cold.”
Then she added with a playful smile, “Besides, the veranda is narrow. There is only room for the four of us little ones to walk abreast. If another joins us, I fear we shall all be squeezed off!”
Xia Xianshi and Xia Furen obligingly covered their mouths and laughed, gently chiding her as they helped smooth things over.
The other consorts promptly changed their expressions as well. Smiling and exchanging lighthearted remarks, they joined in praising the royal children for their filial affection and harmony.
It was as though the cold stares, sharp exchanges, and silent hostilities of a moment earlier had never existed.
Author’s Note
The Ganquan Palace of Qin is not the same palace as the Ganquan Palace of the Han dynasty~
I originally planned for Gongzi Gao to be older than the female protagonist, but Shuxiong (“younger paternal uncle–elder brother,” as a form of address) sounded far too strange, so I abandoned the idea.
A note on the eight ranks of the Qin royal harem as established for this novel:
1. Wanghou — The queen stands alone at the top. Since Zheng-ge has not appointed a queen, I will not go into further detail.
2. Furen — Three Furen correspond to the Three Gong and to the chancellor of the inner palace. Their standing is above that of Chehou (Liehou). Nominal annual salary: 10,000 shi (actual receipt: 4,200 shi). The very highest-ranking consorts.
3. Meiren — Correspond to the upper Jiupin, the Zhongqing rank of nobility (a reduced version of the Jiuqing), and enfeoffed Jun. Nominal annual salary: bi erqian shi (“comparable to 2,000 shi”; actual receipt: 1,200 shi). High-ranking consorts. Guannei Hou (Lunhou) ≤ Meiren < Chehou (Liehou).
4. Liangren — Correspond to the lower Jiupin and the Xiaqing noble rank. Nominal annual salary: 1,000 shi (actual receipt: 1,080 shi). High-ranking consorts, but below Guannei Hou (Lunhou).
5. Bazi — Correspond to the upper Shifu and the Wudafu noble rank. Nominal annual salary: 800 shi (actual receipt: 840 shi). Upper-middle-ranking consorts.
6. Qizi — Correspond to the lower Shifu and to the Gongcheng noble rank and above. Nominal annual salary: 700 shi (actual receipt: 720 shi). Lower-middle-ranking consorts.
7. Changshi — Correspond to the upper Yuqi and to ordinary county military commandants or assistant magistrates, with rank between Changli and Dafu. Nominal annual salary: 200–400 shi. Low-ranking consorts, half mistress and half servant.
8. Shaoshi — Correspond to the lower Yuqi and to minor officials paid by the dou. Nominal annual salary: around 100 shi. The lowest-ranking consorts, half mistress and half servant.
Translator’s Notes
– Puji / Taiping: Names used for the two medicinal preparations. Their labels identify the five-herb and eight-herb recipes, although Zhao Ji later thinks of a “six-herb” ointment; that discrepancy is present in the source.
– Bian Que, Zhao Jianzi, and the Taizi of Guo: Figures associated with traditional accounts of the celebrated physician Bian Que.
– Gongzhu, Gongzi, Furen, Meiren, Liangren, Bazi, Qizi: Royal and palace titles (See above author’s note about ranks in harem)
– Shenyi, quju, qingming: Respectively, a formal wrapped robe, its curved-hem style, and a poetic name for the azure heavens.
– Shi: In the Qin dynasty, one shi (石) of grain was approximately 30 kilograms (66 pounds) when used as a unit of weight.
However, shi could also refer to a unit of volume, equivalent to 10 dou (斗), or roughly 20 liters in Qin measurements. The actual weight would then depend on the grain:
The distinction matters because a shi used for official salaries or grain allocations may refer to a weight-based accounting unit, whereas a shi measured out in a granary may refer to volume.
– Dou
Its weight depended on the grain being measured:
Grain
Approximate weight of 1 dou
Millet
1.3–1.5 kg (2.9–3.3 lb)
Wheat
1.5–1.6 kg (3.3–3.5 lb)
Rice
1.5–1.7 kg (3.3–3.7 lb)
Qin measurement relationships:
1 shi (石) = 10 dou (斗)
1 dou (斗) = 10 sheng (升)
1 sheng (升) ≈ 200 mL
1 dou of millet ≈ 1.4 kg (3.1 lb) is a useful working approximation for reference in this novel.
– “Black history”: A modern Chinese expression for embarrassing or compromising incidents from someone’s past.