When sunlight penetrated through the bamboo-rafted roof, casting streams of light into the room, a buzz of activity arose throughout the entire dyehouse. The various sounds seemed to herald the beginning of the Tang people’s new life in Nanzhao.
The reed curtain was lifted as several women wearing Nanzhao attire entered. Seeing that Ji Yingying was already awake, the elderly woman who led them spoke directly: “Yang Ji-shi, I am surnamed Zhuo and I oversee all the women in the dyehouse.
The Supervisor has assigned you to prepare two hundred jin of dye. The materials are all in the mixing room. Until your foot injury heals, you will be assigned a servant to assist you. Since you’re new here, you can ask Ajin or me if you have any questions.”
A robust woman around forty years old approached the bamboo couch with a wooden basin, saying softly, “Ajin will help you freshen up.”
Ji Yingying nodded, “Matron Zhuo, once I’m ready, I’ll ask Ajin to carry me to the mixing room.”
Her lack of protest pleased Matron Zhuo immensely. “We don’t mistreat skilled craftspeople. There are two meals daily – go collect your food when you hear the bell. The Supervisor specifically instructed that you must prepare two hundred jin of dye before you can eat today.”
“Thank you for informing me, Matron.” Ji Yingying watched as Matron Zhuo left, then took the towel Ajin had wrung out to wipe her face and hands. Once ready, she had Ajin carry her outside.
The penetrating sunlight illuminated the busy dyehouse as Ji Yingying looked around curiously. From Ajin, she learned this was just one of several dyehouses housing Tang craftspeople, with about five to six hundred people. The artisans who arrived two days ago were assigned housing by household and registered. They were then divided based on their skills into different categories: material preparation, mixing, dyeing, washing, and so forth. Most Tang people became craftworkers. Those who didn’t know dyeing were assigned to washing or became assistants to the craftspeople.
The mixing room was built with stone and wood, spacious and clean, divided into several large compartments. When Ji Yingying entered, she caught the strong scent of dyes.
Ajin set her down on a chair and stood honestly beside her.
The newly made oak table was exceptionally large and had been cleaned white with lye water. Ji Yingying touched the wooden table before her, noticing others already mixing in different compartments. Her stomach growled embarrassingly. At last night’s palace banquet, she hadn’t even gotten a sip of water. Ji Yingying instructed Ajin, “Go ask the official in charge of the mixing room what dye I need to prepare.”
Ajin quietly complied and went to a separately partitioned room at the end. After a while, she hurried back, anxiously telling Ji Yingying, “The official said it should have blue and yellow, yet neither blue nor yellow. The color of nature’s sorrow. This servant doesn’t understand.”
Ji Yingying smiled. So they wanted to test her based on Sheng Fengze’s words? She instructed Ajin, “Get one hundred jin of indigo cakes, twenty jin of dried locust pods, thirty jin of oak leaves, and fifty jin of gamboge. Also, find some laborers for the heavy work.”
Soon the materials arrived, but no workers came. Ajin ran another errand and returned, explaining awkwardly, “The official says you must do it yourself.”
Am I supposed to risk my arms too? Ji Yingying said slowly, “Sorry to make you run back and forth. Please go one last time. Tell the official this is the mixing room, not the preparation room.”
“Yes!” Ajin was quite diligent and went again.
Three or four men walked out of the room, led by someone in his fifties who approached Ji Yingying with anger: “Don’t you understand what I said? You’re just a captured slave, yet you dare demand workers!”
[Content continues in next part due to length…]
Ji Yingying picked up an indigo cake and began explaining while writing on the clean table: “Steam the locust pods for a quarter-hour. Add oak leaves and boil for half an hour, mash into a paste, and filter out impurities in water. Boil the gamboge in a hundred jin of water, and filter impurities. Twenty jin of indigo per vat, water seven parts full. First, add the locust pod and oak leaf juice, stir for a quarter hour, divide the gamboge water into five portions, and add while stirring. This will yield five vats of dye, totaling two hundred jin of the mixture.”
After writing, she looked up, “Sir, please find workers to do this. I’ve completed my task for today.”
“How dare you!” The mixing room supervisor was so angry his whiskers quivered as he pointed at Ji Yingying, “Who’s in charge here, you or me?”
“I’m only in charge of mixing formulas, I never said I would personally make the dye. Is this the preparation room or the mixing room? Perhaps I’m in the wrong place?”
He was rendered speechless. Though he had wanted to please the White King by making things difficult for Ji Yingying, her questions left him unable to respond. In his frustration, he shouted, “For disobeying orders, give her five lashes!”
If not for strict orders from above not to seriously harm anyone, he would have given this impudent woman far more than five lashes.
Ajin immediately fell to her knees: “Sir, Matron Zhuo specifically assigned me to assist my mistress due to her foot injury. You cannot beat her.”
Matron Zhuo only managed the women in the dyehouse and had no authority over dyehouse operations. The supervisor ignored Ajin and shouted while pointing at Ji Yingying: “Drag her out!”
“What’s going on here? The new Deputy Director of the Textile Bureau has arrived!” A group of people reached the mixing room door just in time to witness the conflict.
Ji Yingying looked over, her face tensing.
“Yingying!” Zhao Xiuyuan left his escorts behind and rushed over. He had changed into Nanzhao’s official robes and looked radiant. Reaching Ji Yingying, he excitedly rubbed his hands, “I heard early this morning that the White King sent you to this dyehouse, so I came right away. They haven’t mistreated you, have they?”
“Sir, please forgive this humble servant as my foot injury hasn’t healed. Could you have these materials sent to the preparation room? I’ll follow your instructions to prepare the dye personally. Ajin, carry me to the preparation room.” Ji Yingying ignored him and addressed the supervisor with a fawning smile.
“How’s your foot injury? How could they make you do such work?” Zhao Xiuyuan asked anxiously before turning to scold the supervisor, “Are mixing and preparation the same thing? Do you know how many formulas she could devise in the time it takes to prepare dyes?”
The mixing room supervisor was left speechless but, dissatisfied with a Tang person wielding official authority before him, retorted: “If she won’t make it herself, how can she mix the color I want? Tell me, do you know what color this official requires? You speak of blue and yellow, but I need something with blue and yellow, yet neither blue nor yellow. The color of nature’s sorrow.”
Zhao Xiuyuan had used dyes but didn’t know their preparation, so he became confused: “Why not simply state which dye you want? What do you mean by neither blue nor yellow…”
Ji Yingying interrupted him again: “Having blue and yellow means using indigo and yellow dye. Neither blue nor yellow means green. Nature’s sorrow means bitter. Blue and yellow combined make green. Deep green with aged yellow-indigo mixed with gamboge makes bitter green. Is that correct, Sir?”
The elderly supervisor was stunned, then snorted, muttering, “So you guessed it.”
“Yingying, you’re amazing. I knew no color could stump you.” Zhao Xiuyuan exclaimed in sudden understanding, praising her.
“If you need me to prepare it, I’ll go now. If you’re satisfied, just have someone follow this formula.” Ji Yingying said flatly.
The elder snorted again and called someone to prepare the dye according to the formula written on the table.
Ji Yingying called to Ajin: “I’ve finished today’s work, carry me back and then go get food.”
“You haven’t eaten yet? And you’re injured!” Zhao Xiuyuan became agitated and reached for her.
An indigo cake flew toward his face. Zhao Xiuyuan instinctively dodged, the cake grazing his face and leaving a mark.
“Zhao Xiuyuan!” Ji Yingying suddenly raised her voice, glaring at him, “You’re like a fly, do you understand? Your presence makes me sick, do you comprehend?”
“I saved your life! I risked death by stepping forward in the royal court to take responsibility. In that entire hall, besides me, who else would stand up for you? Yingying, don’t you understand my feelings for you? Aren’t you moved at all?”
“Ha!” Ji Yingying truly admired his audacity. She narrowed her eyes and spoke word by word: “I saw with my own eyes how you, like a dog, led Chi Kuang into the Ji household. You killed my mother, my brother, my sister-in-law, and Matron Ji! My poor sister-in-law went into premature labor, and my nephew didn’t even live a day. How dare you still call my name, how dare you speak of remembering your life-saving grace? I only regret that I cannot kill you now!”