When Hu Shuren gave birth to the princess and died from difficult labor, Empress Ma chose Li Xianfei, who occupied the main position of Changchun Palace in the Western Six Palaces, to raise the little princess.
Li Xianfei was gentle and refined, steady and low-key. Her character and conduct were completely opposite to the arrogant and domineering Hu Shuren. However, she wasn’t merely compliant – among all the main positions in the Eastern and Western Six Palaces who had borne children, only Li Xianfei had never been pregnant, yet she could still firmly hold the title of Virtuous Consort, showing she was truly “virtuous.”
Precisely because Li Xianfei had never had children but possessed both virtue and intelligence, Empress Ma arranged for her to raise the little princess. First, this would elevate the little princess’s status and ensure devoted care. Second, Li Xianfei indeed needed to raise a child to secure her position.
Hearing Empress Ma’s decree, Li Xianfei was overjoyed, as if struck by a pie falling from heaven. Now in her thirties, she had given up hope of pregnancy. With the little princess brought to her Changchun Palace straight from the womb to be raised under her name, she could nurture her until they were as close as if she’d borne her herself.
Li Xianfei knelt in gratitude. “Your sister will not disappoint the Empress’s trust and will raise the little princess well.”
Empress Ma looked up. “Rise. From today forward, you are the little princess’s mother. This will be recorded in the imperial genealogy. I have already ordered that no one in the palace may mention Hu Shuren’s name again. She is your child. Those who violate this order will be executed.”
“Your sister understands.” Li Xianfei agreed, then said, “Your sister dares to ask – if Prince Chu, whom Hu Shuren bore, comes to Changchun Palace to see the little princess, how should your sister respond?”
Prince Chu Zhu Zhen ranked sixth among the imperial princes. When Hu Mei offered his daughter Hu Shuren to Emperor Hongwu, her devastating beauty earned considerable favor, and she soon became pregnant.
When Hu Shuren gave birth to Prince Chu, Emperor Hongwu was campaigning in Wuchang, Hubei. Upon hearing the joyful news, Emperor Hongwu was very pleased and said, “When the child grows up, I shall enfeoff him with Chu territory.”
This meant that when his son matured, he would be granted Chu lands, as Wuchang was the ancient capital of the Chu state.
Prince Chu was naturally intelligent and began his education at age three. Last year, in the twelfth year of Hongwu, Prince Chu accompanied Crown Prince Zhu Biao to Wenhua Hall to hear Confucian ministers lecture on classics and history.
Early this summer, Emperor Hongwu ordered Crown Prince Zhu Biao and Prince Chu along with several other princes to go to the central capital Fengyang to pay respects at the imperial ancestral tombs, ensuring the descendants wouldn’t forget the Zhu family’s roots. Each time they returned to Fengyang for worship, they had to reside there for a period.
So when the Hu Mei Palace Disturbance case erupted, Marquis Linchuan’s mansion was exterminated along with three clans, and the noble consort was demoted to commoner status, Prince Chu Zhu Zhen, who was in Fengyang and had half Hu family blood, had no time to react before his maternal family was annihilated.
Of course, even if Prince Chu had been in the capital, he couldn’t have changed this outcome.
Now that Hu Shuren was dead, His Majesty had summoned Prince Chu back to the capital to bury his birth mother. Prince Chu would surely enter the palace to see his younger sister.
Li Xianfei dared not make decisions independently and looked only to Empress Ma for guidance.
Empress Ma paused and said, “Prince Chu has been a sensible child since young. I will explain to him. Raised under your name, the little princess is still his sister. If he wants to see his sister, you can arrange it. Besides, Prince Chu is now of age to select a consort. In the next two years, he must leave the palace to establish his princely mansion and move out. The time for the siblings to meet won’t be long. Following natural order and human relationships, let’s fulfill their wishes.”
Li Xianfei said, “Yes, your sister understands. The Empress is merciful.”
Empress Ma said, “Raising a child is not easy. Your worrying and hardworking days have just begun. According to palace rules, the princess must have her third-day bathing ceremony three days hence, and at the full month, there will be a naming and hair-cutting ceremony for the little princess. Your Changchun Palace must prepare well.”
Li Xianfei immediately felt invisible burdens on her shoulders. “Yes, your sister will arrange it immediately.”
Li Xianfei took her leave but didn’t immediately depart Kunning Palace. Instead, she went to the side hall to find Cao Shanggong of the Shang Gong Bureau.
The Shang Gong Bureau assisted the Empress in managing all inner palace affairs. Cao Shanggong was Empress Ma’s right hand and had an office in a side hall west of Kunning Palace. Female officials wearing black gauze caps came and went busily.
Outside the office, four or five female officials queued to report matters to Cao Shanggong. Seeing Li Xianfei arrive, they made way and bowed. “Please, Virtuous Consort.”
Li Xianfei smiled, courteously nodding in return, and joked, “I have urgent business and must cut in line today. I’ll host a banquet another day to apologize to everyone.”
Li Xianfei occupied the main position of Changchun Palace and now also raised the little princess, clearly enjoying the Empress’s deep trust. The female officials hastily said, “We dare not! We congratulate the Virtuous Consort.”
Li Xianfei laughed, “All of you must come drink celebratory wine at the little princess’s third-day bathing ceremony. I won’t invite each of you individually.”
Reaching the doorway, Li Xianfei seemed to remember something, turning back with a smile. “When you add to the bathing basin and give bathing money, you mustn’t be stingy!”
The female officials all laughed. “Naturally.”
The little princess was born motherless, so Li Xianfei wanted a lively, impressive scene to dispel the bad luck.
Li Xianfei entered the office where several ice basins provided coolness. Several female officials in the inner room were calculating accounts on abacuses – click-clack-click. At month’s end, thousands in the inner palace had to receive salaries, making things especially busy.
Cao Shanggong looked up from ledgers piled like mountains on her desk, still holding a brush. “Virtuous Consort, forgive this servant’s rudeness in not greeting you at the door. I’m truly too busy.”
Li Xianfei’s face was full of smiles. “No matter. Today I come to ask a favor. For the little princess’s full-month hair-cutting ceremony, we need a female official to hold her while ceremonially cutting her hair. I would like to request Cao Shanggong to cut the little princess’s hair.”
According to the “Ming Code,” when an imperial daughter was born and reached full month, an “inner lady” (meaning female official) of reverent and cautious character would ceremonially cut the imperial daughter’s hair.
As Li Xianfei spoke, Cao Shanggong’s brush moved like a swimming dragon, writing furiously without a moment’s rest. Hearing this, her brush strokes paused slightly before continuing. “Speaking of reverent and cautious, among palace female officials, that would be Palace Administrator Fan of the Palace Administration Office. Even the Empress chose her to compile books educating inner palace consorts and imperial relatives. The Virtuous Consort has chosen the wrong person.”
That Cao Shanggong and Palace Administrator Fan didn’t get along was an open secret known throughout the inner palace.
Li Xianfei smiled. “The Shang Gong Bureau is the head of the six bureaus. I most admire Cao Shanggong’s intelligence and efficiency, your decisive and vigorous style in assisting the Empress to manage the inner palace so orderly. I feel that for the little princess’s hair-cutting ceremony, it must be Cao Shanggong.”
Everyone loves to hear praise. Li Xianfei spoke sincerely, making Cao Shanggong beam with joy. “Since the Virtuous Consort shows such favor, this servant will presume to serve as the little princess’s hair-cutting person.”
Li Xianfei produced a jade paperweight like flowing clear spring water. “I know Cao Shanggong never lacks fine things. This is a small token of my regard – please don’t disdain it.”
The jade paperweight’s translucent quality seemed ready to flow onto white paper – truly eye-catching and beautiful. Cao Shanggong was delighted inwardly but said, “The Virtuous Consort is too kind.”
Though she spoke thus, she didn’t refuse, clearly loving it. This gift struck Cao Shanggong’s heart. A female official at her level had grown indifferent to jewelry and money. Li Xianfei’s focus on scholarly implements hit Cao Shanggong’s “vital spot” precisely.
With one opening, Cao Shanggong agreed.
No one carries a jade paperweight casually.
When Empress Ma summoned Li Xianfei to Kunning Palace, she had guessed the little princess would probably be given to her to raise. To walk steadily in the inner palace required chess-like thinking – each move required predicting the next three moves and preparing accordingly to ensure complete success.
As the main occupant of Changchun Palace, Li Xianfei had attended over ten imperial daughters’ hair-cutting ceremonies and generally knew the process. The hair-cutting person had to be a respectable palace female official. Who could be more respectable than Cao Shanggong?
Li Xianfei had fantasized countless times about bearing a child and having all consorts from the Eastern and Western Six Palaces come observe the child’s third-day bathing ceremony, hear the child’s lusty cries, and see the envy or jealousy in their eyes.
Now, the opportunity had finally come.
Li Xianfei went to Yanxi Palace to adopt the little princess. Palace servants reported her every move, including requesting Cao Shanggong as hair-cutter, to Empress Ma.
Empress Ma smiled dismissively. “Seems I chose correctly. Li Xianfei is indeed a careful and thorough person. Go tell Li Xianfei that the little princess’s wet nurses were all previously chosen by Hu Shuren. Now that the little princess is raised in Changchun Palace, whether wet nurses or nannies, Li Xianfei will personally select them – whether keeping the original people or choosing new ones, she decides herself.”
Li Xianfei was good, just too virtuous, too perfect, too well-liked, never making mistakes, more virtuous than Empress Ma herself. How could this be acceptable?
Better give her some work to do. Once a woman becomes a mother, with her spirit highly tense day and night, she’s no longer perfect.
Three days later came the little princess’s third-day bathing ceremony. Similar to common folk bathing ceremonies, Emperor Hongwu as the father wore ordinary clothes that day to worship ancestors at Fengxian Hall, with offerings of incense silk, preserved meat paste, and fruit wine.
That day, when officials attended court, they wore celebratory robes to show congratulations. Emperor Hongwu distributed the sacrificial fruit wine and preserved meat to his subjects to express ruler-minister shared joy.
This was the court’s third-day bathing ceremony. In the inner palace, Emperor Hongwu had early bestowed bathing money. The main occupants of the Eastern and Western Six Palaces brought lower-ranking consorts to Changchun Palace. Central Palace Empress Ma arrived last, with the Eastern and Western Six Palaces forming queues outside to welcome the Empress.
Empress Ma declared them at ease, leading the Eastern and Western Six Palaces to observe the bathing ceremony and bestowing gifts of gold, silver, and colored silk.
After the bathing, a three-day feast began with nine musical performances. The Emperor and Empress attended the banquet, and all consorts from the Eastern and Western Six Palaces came to celebrate.
That day, all palace maids, eunuchs, and female officials wore uniform “Ten Thousand Longevity Children” brocade robes. The inner palace atmosphere was festive and harmonious.
In this atmosphere, who could see that three days ago Yanxi Palace had undergone tremendous change and the tragic extermination of Hu Shuren’s maternal family’s three clans?
This harmonious inner palace seemed never to have had a woman named Noble Consort Hu. No matter how domineering and arrogant she had been in life, once she fell, imperial power would forcibly erase her overnight, leaving not even a trace.
Only one person – Female Official Jiang Quan – kept her in memory. According to palace rules, all court servants must wear gorgeous “Ten Thousand Longevity Children” brocade on bathing day. Jiang Quan was no exception. She was the little princess’s maternal grandmother – only the Empress and Hu Shanwei knew this, not even Prince Chu Zhu Zhen.
Jiang Quan could only wear coarse hemp white cloth mourning clothes under the “Ten Thousand Longevity Children” brocade to commemorate her daughter. Due to her back injury, she didn’t help at the little princess’s three-day feast but sat alone in her room from sunrise to sunset. At night she listened to the banquet’s drum and music sounds – according to palace custom, the three-day feast must continue until the third watch of night to express blessings for the little princess’s longevity.
Thump, thump, thump. Someone knocked at the door.
Jiang Quan opened it to find Hu Shanwei carrying a food box. Opening the box, there was no food inside but a gleaming copper basin.
Jiang Quan felt bewildered, thinking Medical Officer Ru said Hu Shanwei had suffered shock and soul-loss syndrome. Was she mad? Bringing over a copper basin?
Hu Shanwei set the copper basin on the table. “This is the copper basin used for the little princess’s bathing ceremony today. I managed to get it for you. Keep it as a memento. Take good care of yourself while recuperating. You must personally attend the little princess’s full-month hair-cutting ceremony.”