CH 34

Thanks to Wynnfield for the eighth review in NU of this novel. I’m really glad that my translation helped others get to know and read this amazing work. The epigraph I put didn’t come with the original, but I simply remembered these poetry lines while translating a certain bit. Later in the chapter you may understand why.

Now, in today’s chapter, we get to know the mysterious Gorolo shi (郭絡羅氏 guōluòluó shì), the eighth brother’s Fu Jin. Her name was never recorded, but she was infamous for being violent and jealous, we can’t be sure this was true, but what’s true is that Yinsi’s fault became her dishonor:

Yinsi only recorded two concubines in the genealogy, these women were originally tongfang, meaning, maids. One gave birth to his heir, and the other gave birth to his only daughter. He had another concubine who gave birth to a daughter, but since the child died, the woman also lost her title. 

I use the word “record” to remind the public that this didn’t mean he didn’t have other women, but that he simply didn’t record them in the genealogy. I said that Yinsi’s fault became his wife’s: since he only had two concubines (in name), and two children, his wife bore the reputation of being jealous, perhaps people suspected she killed his other children.

As always, I put a long footnote for her. Enjoy! —Bambi.

For easier reading, I made a glossary for Kangxi’s Consort’s Ranks:

Imperial Noble Consort Min (Zhang Jia shi. 13th brother). In history, she only became this high in rank posthumously in Yongzheng’s reign, but the author modified her status. 

Imperial Noble Consort (Wang shi. 15th, 16th, 18th brothers) 

Noble Consort Jin (Tong Jia shi. 4th brother’s little aunt). 

Noble Consort (In chap. 33 Kangxi named an older concubine as a Noble Consort, but the author didn’t write her clan, so we don’t know who she is).

Consort Hui (1st brother)

Consort Rong  (3rd brother)

Consort De (4th, 14th brothers)

Consort Yi (5th, 9th, 11th brothers)

Consort Cheng (Dai Jia shi. 7th brother)

Deep in my heart, your name is engraved, and I long for you. 

You set fire to my heart. 

In my heart, you ignited the inextinguishable flame of love. 

Kim Woo-jin, Korean playwright. From Hymn Of Death (2018)

After Dai Jia shi was promoted to Consort, Yinyou’s status visibly rose. At least when the ninth brother saw him, he would no longer be so obviously disrespectful.

Yinyou was sometimes bewildered. How could a proud person like the ninth brother form a party with the eighth brother? Was it because the eighth brother had a particularly friendly smile? He looked at himself in the mirror. His face was not too ugly compared to the brothers, was it?

“Master, there is news that the emperor will point out the daughter of Prince An’s son-in-law1Gorolo shi (1680-1726) She died at the age of 46 years old, there’s a rumor the Yongzheng Emperor ordered her to be set on fire and let her burn to ashes. This can’t be proven true or false. She and Yinsi were engaged in the 31st year of Kangxi (1692), married in the 37th year of Kangxi (1698), and divorced in the 4th year of Yongzheng (1726). In comparison to Yinsi who had a low status among the princes as the son born of a slave, his wife was too powerful. Her great-grandfather was Abatai, the seventh son of Nurhachi, Nurhachi was the person who “laid the groundwork for the Qing conquest of the Ming by his descendants, who founded the Qing dynasty in 1636”, so although Abatai did not amount to much, his father had him covered for life. Abatai’s fourth son was her grandfather, Prince An of the First Rank, he was quite a celebrity in front of Kangxi since he made great contributions during the Revolt of the Three Feudatories. Prince An’s seventh daughter married Mingshan of the Gorolo clan and gave birth to the 8th Fu Jin. Her father, Ming Shang was the great-great-grandson of Gorolo Yang Shu, a founding minister of the Qing Dynasty. His Gorolo clan had a tradition of marrying women related to Nurhachi (his mother was Abatai’s third daughter), and that’s why he married the seventh daughter of the great-great-grandson of Nurhachi, Prince An, as a wife. Later, Mingshan was executed for gambling and 8th Fu Jin’s mother died of depression, so the 8th Fu Jin was raised at the knees of her grandfather, Prince An, and grew spoiled. To put it more simply: Nurhachi (Great great grandfather) → Abatai (Great grandfather) → Prince An (Grandfather) → Mingshan (Father, or ‘the son-in-law of Prince An’). She can be said to be closely related to the Imperial Family. “She received a good education since she was a child, and also had an arrogant and domineering personality”. (…) “With the help of the Guo Luoluo family, the eighth elder brother became more powerful in the imperial court. However, the combination of strong women and weak men had disadvantages. Kangxi once said: Yinsi is under the control of his wife… he has let her be jealous and do evil, so Yinsi has not given birth to a child so far.”(Sources 1, 2, 3) to the eighth brother. It is said that Consort Yi2Consort Yi belongs to the Gorolo family and gave birth to the 5th, 9th, and 11th brothers. The ninth brother was part of the eighth brother’s faction, (the one who cut Yinzhen’s little dog tail and mocked Yinyou for being lame). As we can see, this was a marriage elaborated by Yinsi himself. Taking into account his humble status, and the eighth Fu Jin’s grand lineage, it can be seen this marriage really favors him.  facilitated this matter.” Fu Duo handed the hot tea to Yinyou, faintly worried about his Master, but as a slave, he didn’t dare to overstep his identity.

“Ming Shang’s daughter?” Yinyou raised his eyebrows, took a sip of tea, and slowly replied, “These things have nothing to do with us. You change clothes for Master, and I will go to the fourth brother’s house for a stroll.”

“Aye,” Fu Duo knew that his Master didn’t care about these things, so he could only secretly sigh while dressing his Master.

After leaving the palace gate, Yinyou felt relaxed all over. Now that he didn’t have to go to Wuyizhai every day, it was much more convenient to get in and out of the palace. In fact, Yinyou was more interested in the Ministry of Works3工部 gōngbù: The Ministry of Works or Industry “(…) was in charge of government construction projects, hiring of artisans and laborers for temporary service, manufacturing government equipment, the maintenance of roads and canals, standardisation of weights and measures, and the gathering of resources from the countryside.” (Wikipedia)., but recalling the eldest brother gradually rising prestige and then his ruthless repression by Huang Ama, he knew he had to follow Kangxi’s wishes and keep his thoughts well hidden.

Sitting in the sedan chair, Yinyou squinted his eyes and dozed off. Thinking of the recent movements of the eighth brother and the eldest brother together, he couldn’t help rubbing his eyebrows. Since the eldest brother suffered a loss two years ago4A reminder that Yinyou was beaten by the eldest brother in the 32nd year of Kangxi, and now it’s the 34th year of Kangxi, two years have passed, and he should be around 14-15 years old in our Western calendar., he no longer caused him any trouble, at least on the bright side. As for Consort Hui, since Kangxi wanted to suppress the momentum of the eldest brother, he rarely went to Consort Hui. Now his E’niang was more favored than Consort Hui, so Consort Hui would not go and find trouble with Consort Cheng.

Zhang Jia shi body had been weak in recent years5Zhang Jia shi is the 13th brother’s E’niang. Her title is Imperial Noble Consort Min, in earlier chapters, she has been said to be very favored by Kangxi. Currently, she has the highest rank in the harem, she should be the Empress de facto, or the one calling the shots, but since she’s sick, she can’t manage. (In history she only became a Consort when she died, and she became an Imperial Noble Consort in Yongzheng’s reign.). Although she was an Imperial Noble Consort, she rarely intervened in the affairs of the harem. It was Noble Consort Jin, Consort Yi, Consort De, and Consort Rong who were really in charge. His E’niang kept to her own and only spoke when it was necessary, which saved a lot of trouble. 

Now that his E’niang had an unambiguous position, they encountered less trouble.

Secretly, though, Yinyou felt both happy and uneasy. If history really turned a corner, did it mean that there were variables in the future? Thinking of this, his eyes became somber. He had been with Yinzhen for more than ten years, and he naturally understood how suitable Yinzhen was for that position.

The eldest brother was heroic but didn’t have much brains. The Crown Prince was very talented and had some ability to govern the country, but he still didn’t have enough understanding of the people’s livelihood. The third brother wasn’t even an option. The eighth brother had a lot of scheming, but he lacked majesty. He could be a capable minister, but he may not be a great monarch. These past years, Yinzhen had done a good job in the Ministry of Revenue and carried the common people in his heart. Such a person was the most suitable person for that position.

Unconsciously stroking the white jade thumb ring that Yinzhen had given to him, Yinyou pondered for a long while. He opened the window screen on the sedan chair and stared at the prosperous scenery. Although he now belonged to the imperial family, he once was a commoner who lived and worked in peace. It was because of this previous life that he understood what a low-level commoner wanted.

The sedan chair stopped suddenly, and Yinyou put down the window screen, “What’s the matter?”

“Master, there is a carriage in front of us blocking the way. The other party’s servant asked us to get out of the way,” there was a hint of displeasure in Fu Duo’s voice.

Yinyou frowned slightly. If he was not a prince, it didn’t matter if he let the other person go, but as a member of the royal family, he must still preserve his dignity. “Go and ask which family the other party is from.”

After a while, Fu Duo replied, but this time the anger in his voice was even more obvious, “Back to the Master, the other party asked if we have… dog eyes.6I’m guessing because the person felt that their status and identity were too evident, so where do they have their eyes, can’t they see, feeling.”

“Oh,” Yinyou’s tone rose, causing Fu Duo outside the sedan chair to shake slightly. “It seems that the Master should bring more people next time we come out,” Yinyou opened the curtain of the sedan chair, walked out, and looked at the other party’s carriage.

Taking two steps forward, he spoke in a friendly tone, “I don’t know which noble family is so magnificent. If I’ve offended you, please forgive me.”

“If you know you have offended me, why don’t you get out of the way for this lady?!7姑奶奶 gūnǎinai. (Brassy self-reference used by a woman in an altercation) I; me; this lady here / (coll.) form of address for an unmarried girl or woman, expressing affection or reproach” A crisp female voice came from the carriage, “Who are you, dare to block this lady’s carriage?!”

This was indeed a great Manchurian lady, Yinyou thought when he heard the words, “It turned out to be a girl, then you should go first.” After speaking, he turned to the driver and the guard behind him, and said, “Let this lady go first.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a whip flew out of the sedan chair. Yinyou was taken aback and dodged, but before he could evade, the opponent’s horse was startled, and raising his front hoof, he struck Yinyou. Immediately, the surroundings became a mess.

Yinyou’s expression sank. Although it was not good to embarrass a good family’s daughter, it was too much to trouble the common people. With a gesture from him, the two guards behind quickly stepped forward to control the frightened horse, and the scene was instantly contained.

“Fu Duo, give the street vendors who suffered damage some silver taels,” Yinyou glanced at the stalls that had been trampled by horses with a frown, but after all, he didn’t say much, and just turned around to get back on his sedan chair.

“Stop, who wants you to handle this matter?” A woman dressed in pink jumped from the carriage. She was about fifteen years old, with bright eyes and white teeth, but her haughty temperament made Yinyou’s appreciation for her suddenly vanish.

“This young lady, I’m unaware of what could be the problem?” Yinyou felt that his shoulder was aching. He remembered he was actually kicked by the horse. Before, he had thought that ancient women should be soft-tempered, and this was his first time seeing such an outrageous woman. It really opened his eyes.

“My Gorolo family doesn’t need anyone else to help compensate. Next time you speak out, I’ll shred your skin!” The girl asked someone to throw an ingot of silver to each stall, then threw a glance at Yinyou and sauntered right into the carriage.

Gorolo’s family… Yinyou suddenly sympathized with the eighth brother. Wasn’t this the famous eighth Fu Jin in history? He rubbed his faintly painful shoulder, “Come on, let’s go to the fourth brother’s mansion, Master’s shoulder hurts to death.”

Hearing this, Fu Duo became worried, and helped Yinyou into the sedan chair, “Master, is there anything wrong with your shoulder?”

“It’s okay, just go to the fourth brother’s mansion to get some medicated wine8 Botany Library: “Medicated wines are also called tonic wines. These are agreeable way to take strengthening and tonic herbs to increase vitality and improve digestion. These are made by steeping tonic herbs, such as Chinese angelica, or bitter herbs such as southernwood, in red or white wine for several weeks”. to wipe it,” Yinyou put down the curtain of the sedan chair, “Come on, let’s go.”

He didn’t want to meet any unruly women anymore, one had injured his left shoulder, and he didn’t want another to injure his right shoulder.

This Gorolo shi was so arrogant, it can be seen she had the capital to do this. After all, it was impossible for him to have an unsightly fight with Ming Shang because of this trivial matter. His eyes dropped slightly. Although this woman was arrogant, she still remembered to compensate others. He just didn’t know how she offended the Yongzheng emperor, it was said that she was actually set on fire, and her ashes were scattered9There is this paragraph in «Records of Yongxian/永憲錄», a book that recorded several major historical events that took place in the seven years from the 61st year of Kangxi (AD 1722) to the 6th of Yongzheng (AD 1728), such as Yinzhen’s “seizure of the throne” and several incidents after he came to the throne. Although it’s a chronicle, its nature was equal to miscellaneous history: “The Holy One has issued a decree: Yunsi’s wife is not a good woman, and Yunsi is too afraid of his wife. Yunsi’s wife is violent and unkind, she doesn’t respect her husband and insults him, and although her maiden family was punished, she did not behave but instigated her husband, creating even more chaos. The first time, she was sent to her maiden’s house, she was not fearful, but angry. This hateful character can’t be tolerated in prosperous times. She made Yunsi’s concubine kill herself. To make justice to the innocent, her bones’ ashes will be scattered, and her funeral rites will be those of the common people.” .

When Yinzhen went to meet Yinyou, he found him groaning in pain. He quickly stepped forward and said, “What’s the matter with you?”

“Fourth brother, don’t worry, ah,” Yinyou rubbed his shoulders and said, “Do you have medicated wine in your house? Get some for me to wipe. I didn’t know there was such a woman in this world.”

Hearing the word woman, Yinzhen’s eyes dimmed slightly, “Did you molest a good girl and got beaten up?”

Hearing this, Yinyou’s eyes widened, “Fourth brother, don’t joke around. My shoulder hurts to death. Meeting such a woman when I was simply walking on the street, I’m already unlucky enough.”

Yinzhen’s face looked better, “You come with me.”

Leading him to his courtyard, Yinzhen looked at the person who began to untie his clothes at his own initiative. Yinzhen fetched the medicated wine and walked to the couch to sit down next to Yinyou, “Don’t move, I’ll do it.”

Yinyou was content to be served and not do anything, so he let Yinzhen untie the rest of his clothes for him. His left shoulder was exposed, with a large piece of black and blue skin on it. 

Yinzhen said very seriously, “The injury looks grave, call the doctor.”

“Don’t,” Yinyou breathed, “The one I met today is Ming Shang’s daughter. If this matter becomes a big deal, I’m afraid it will be a bit troublesome. Besides, the other party is a girl, if this matter is spread out, it will not be good for her reputation.”

“The girl from the Gorolo family?” Yinzhen poured some medicated wine into his palm, “You bear with it.” His hand gently rubbed the smooth skin on Yinyou’s shoulder.

Yinzhen’s hand was covered with calluses because of years of practicing martial arts. Yinyou felt both sore and itchy, and he unconsciously put his head against Yinzhen’s neck socket, “Fourth brother, you can use some strength, I’m not afraid of pain.”

Yinyou put the medicine bottle on the side and stretched out his other hand to grasp Yinyou’s waist, “Then I will increase my strength.”

He rubbed hard, and Yinyou actually continued to lean into his arms, getting even closer. Slowly rubbing and pressing, even where there was no blackness or redness,Yinzhen’s fingertips seemed to pass by inadvertently, and the touch of his hands seemed to ignite a fire inside him, making his heart burn.

“Hiss,” Yinyou almost let out two big droplets of tears. Seeing this, Yinzhen relaxed the force of his hands, but even after finishing the treatment, Yinyou felt that he had no strength all over his body and completely laid on Yinzhen’s shoulder, “Such a woman, whoever marries her into the family will be restless all day.”

Yinzhen carefully dressed him with one hand, without removing his palm on Yinyou’s waist, “What kind of woman does the seventh brother like?” As he asked this question, his fingertips jerked slightly.

Yinyou thought for a while, “I don’t know. Besides, it doesn’t matter whether I like her or not because it’s not up to me but to Huang Ama.” His warm breath gently hit Yinzhen’s neck, disturbing the other party’s calm heart without him knowing.

The movements of Yinzhen’s hands paused, and he smiled bitterly, “Yes, Huang Ama will bestow you a marriage sooner or later.” The person he loves, sooner or later, will not need his protection but will hold another woman in his arms, completely belonging to her.

He was reluctant to let Yinyou go. He quietly allowed the other party to lean on him, and he selfishly didn’t want to remind the other party how unruly this behavior was.

“Fourth brother, I heard that Huang Ama was going to point Gorolo shi to the eighth brother,” Yinyou hesitated, but he still continued speaking, “The Gorolo’s family…”

“I know,” Yinzhen interrupted him gently, “It’s okay.” What’s more, such a woman, how could she not bring trouble to the eighth brother? No matter how powerful her mother’s family was, how much could she change?

The old eighth played his abacus too loudly, perhaps even ruining this good calculation. In fact, until the final step, nobody would know the final outcome10Basically, that even if the 8th brother plotted to marry a high-ranking woman like Gorolo shi, he might have shot himself in the foot, instead of helping, she might even hinder him. According to the history, she in fact didn’t help him much, as she gave him the fame of a cowardly man, scared of his own wife. (Now I’m not saying this is the truth, but what I’m saying is that this is what was recorded, and who records history? The winners, like the Yongzheng Emperor. There are many opinions regarding Yinsi’s true faults, some even say they were made up by Yinzhen.).

Yinyou yawned and sat up straight, “Fourth brother, I haven’t had lunch yet.”

The warmth in his arms was gone, and Yinzhen felt a little regretful, “Me too, let’s eat together.”

He ordered the meal to be served, and the two of them ate in the inner room together. Outside the palace, there were not so many rules, and their meal was very comfortable.

After finishing, Yinyou and Yinzhen came to the study room. Letting the servants go down, Yinyou took a sip of tea and looked for some interesting books in Yinzhen’s study room to read. 

Every time he went to the fourth brother’s mansion, he had never seen Yinzhen’s advisors and officials11幕僚 mùliáo: aides and advisors of top officials. These people are the ministers who supported the princes, gave advice, or were subordinate to them. When the princes reached the throne, these people would become the new emperor’s cabinet, or be placed in strategic positions. What’s important is their loyalty and abilities. , and he was happy not to meet with these people. Sitting in a Taishi armchair12 China Daily: “The Tiashi (the prince’s teacher) Armchair. (…) It was a symbol of its master’s status and identity then”. , Yinyou lazily flipped through the book in his hand, which articulated the strategies and successes in previous battles.

It seemed that the battle between the Qing Empire and Galdan was about to begin. Yinyou squinted his eyes and turned his head to look at Yinzhen, and after Galdan, the Nine Lord’s War13A prolonged struggle between various princes emerged during the Kangxi Emperor’s reign over who should inherit the throne – the Nine Lords’ War (九子奪嫡) from Wikipedia. came.

You may see it more clearly in Imgur.