Lately, the imperial villa was a flurry of logistical upheaval. This wasn't due to anything particularly exciting in and of itself; His Majesty, in a fit of whimsicality that made the nostrils of his older and more conservative officials flare, had declared during morning court that the imperial entourage would be returning to the imperial city as he had grown tired of the life in the mountains.
It was still summer so naturally, this decision had been met with faint protests from those members of the nobility, who were less keen on joining the less privileged suffering in the stifling capital.
But the emperor's word was the law. And so it was that the eunuchs and the maids of the imperial villa were swept into a frenzy of packing and cleaning, just to ensure that their masters and mistresses would be on track for a timely departure and not incur the wrath of their very wayward liege.
(1) Qixi: A festival that has its origins all the way back in the Han Dynasty, celebrating the legend of the faerie weaver girl and the mortal cowherd, a pair of lovers separated by the Jade Emperor of heaven as immortals and humans were not meant to be together. Their determination to reunite was so strong that it moved the magpies to build a bridge in the sky for them to meet upon and the Jade Emperor was touched as well and permitted them to meet once a year on Qixi.
(2) Different concubine ranks could command different numbers of maids. They differ depending on dynasty but for the purposes of this novel, imperial concubines can have four, consorts six, noble consorts and imperial noble consorts eight, and the empress ten.
(3) Rites of Zhou: A Confucian classic detailing the rites of the Zhou Dynasty on the matters of coming of age, marriage, funerals, divine rituals, horsemanship, state matters etc. The exact date of its writing it unknown but placed some time during the Warring States era. Historians have found records detailing that, prior to the Zhou Dynasty, there was much stronger involvement of women in court politics and a matriarchal role in society. It was the Rites of Zhou that first removed much of that political power and limited female officials’ roles to the administrative running of the inner palace.
A/N: Thank you very much for reading and the comments, gifts, reviews, powerstones and golden tickets! <3