The Head Maid

CHAPTER 3

11

　　

Just after the Lunar New Year, the matter of the young miss's marriage proposal was brought up.

 

But the young miss seemed to have recovered from her crying fit the previous night, returning to her days of pampered indulgence and daily pleasures.

 

Today, the young general unusually took the initiative to ask to take the young miss out for a horseback ride, and she was very excited.

 

The young miss put on her red riding attire early, tying her long black hair into a high ponytail. A bright red plum blossom was painted on her full, smooth forehead. Her clear almond-shaped eyes, with slightly upturned corners, were bright and radiant, yet possessed a heroic spirit befitting a general's daughter.

 

The young miss rode a black steed, easily making its hooves fly into the air, making me tremble with fear.

 

But the young miss, galloping on horseback, kept smiling. A white rabbit fur collar accentuated her excited, slightly flushed cheeks. Her rosy lips exhaled misty breath as she shouted my name, “Xǐ'er, look how amazing I am!”

　　

“Of course, Miss is amazing! Miss is the most amazing person in the world!” I quickly ran over, holding the hand warmer, to give it to the young miss.

 

But the young miss showed no intention of dismounting. She gestured for me to get her bow and arrow, then looked at the young general. “Come on, let's have a contest.”

 

Before the young general could respond, a man on a tall horse spoke up, “Miss Shen, I'd like to challenge you to a contest.”

 

“Alright, I'll set the rules,” the young miss said, pointing to a tree a hundred meters away. “We'll each have someone stand under the tree and place a fruit on their head. Three arrows each. Whoever hits the most wins.”

 

Holding the young miss's bow, I quickly said, “Miss, I want to be the one to hold the apples!”

 

The young miss took the bow but refused me. “Go somewhere cool and stay out of my way. Don't bother me.”

 

How is that bothering her? But since the young miss didn't want me to, I didn't dare say anything more.

 

The young general comforted me from the side, “She just doesn't want you to get hurt.”

　　

Instead of responding, I picked the largest and reddest apple from a pile and quickly handed it to the guard who would be holding it.

 

Seeing me rushing around, the young general seemed amused and asked, “You're really afraid your young miss will lose this competition.”

 

I said, “I'm afraid that if she loses this, she'll lose everything.”

 

The young general raised an eyebrow and looked at the two people preparing in the distance. “I thought you were just an ignorant little maid.”

 

“I wish I were still young and could be ignorant, but it's too late,” I replied. I could tell that the man who suddenly appeared in the arena was probably the Prince Cheng the Master had mentioned, and the young miss undoubtedly guessed that today was a pre-arranged scheme.

 

But at the same time, I felt a pang of regret. “If I had known, I would have dressed the young miss up beautifully. We just got some new dresses a few days ago.”

　　

But the young general said, “That's good. That's the real Shen Zhīlán.”

 

The young miss, on her galloping steed, drew her bow and released three arrows, all hitting the target.

 

I clapped along with everyone else, thinking that it was now a tie with Prince Cheng, and that was fine.

 

Prince Cheng praised the young miss, “Miss Shen truly lives up to her reputation as a general's daughter. Her horsemanship and archery skills surpass many men.”

 

The young miss smiled and replied, “You flatter me. It's simply because I've been taught by my father and older brother since childhood.”

 

The competition should have ended, but Prince Cheng looked at me and said, “May I borrow Miss Shen's maid?”

 

Although it was a question, Prince Cheng threw a green plum at me directly. I quickly caught it with both hands.

 

Prince Cheng smiled and suggested, “The two of us will shoot the green plum on her head. Whoever hits it wins today's contest.”

　　

I looked at the young miss in confusion.

 

Upon hearing this, the young miss immediately got angry. She threw her quiver to the ground and said, “I'm tired. I want to go back and rest. Consider this contest won by you.”

 

The young general quickly scolded her, “Zhīlán, you mustn't throw a tantrum.”

 

He turned to Prince Cheng and said helplessly, “Your Highness Prince Cheng, my sister seems to be really tired. If we've offended you today, please forgive us.”

 

The young miss let out a cold huff and turned to leave, while I quickly picked up her quiver and followed her.

 

“Trying to intimidate me? He dares!” The tea set in the carriage was thrown out haphazardly.

 

I stood outside the carriage, not daring to make a sound.

 

The young general looked at the mess on the ground and then at Prince Cheng, saying helplessly, “Your Highness, please excuse us. Zhīlán has indeed been spoiled.”

 

However, Prince Cheng waved his hand and ordered someone to bring two sets of tea sets from his carriage. He personally handed them into the carriage, and then they were smashed to pieces by the young lady.

 

Prince Cheng said, “If Miss Shen hasn't calmed down yet, would it be alright if I send some porcelain vases to your residence later?”

 

The young miss, hearing this, replied in a muffled voice, “That's not necessary. Don't send them today and collect them tomorrow; I don't want any trouble coming back to me.”

　　

“I was abrupt earlier. I apologize to Miss Shen,” Prince Cheng said, standing under the carriage, his hand covering his mouth as he chuckled.

 

With a ‘whoosh,’ the carriage curtain was lifted. The young miss's cheeks were slightly flushed from her previous anger, but her temper always came and went quickly. In my opinion, her anger had subsided, but she was still putting on an act, saying, “Alright, it wasn't a big deal.”

 

Prince Cheng extended his hand, smiling. “Miss Shen, would you be willing to let me make amends? The red plum blossoms ahead are in full bloom.”

 

“Then I'll reluctantly go and take a look!” she replied.

12

　　

The young miss's wedding was set for September 20th. It was an auspicious date calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory.

 

The Madam, feeling uneasy, secretly sent someone to the palace to inquire. The messenger returned with this message: “Madam, rest assured, their birth charts are extremely auspicious.”

 

But how could a mother be at ease when marrying off her daughter? She also consulted a fortune teller from the jiāng hú (the martial arts world), but she could only provide the young miss's birthdate and time of birth, as the birth information of Prince Cheng, a royal offspring, was always kept secret.

 

The fortune teller said the young miss had a naturally auspicious fate, destined for a life of endless wealth and glory.

 

The Madam was delighted and rewarded the fortune teller with silver before sending him away. But privately, she said, “Since she was born from my womb, she already has an auspicious fate.”

 

The Madam still saw it clearly.

 

For the young miss's wedding, the whole household was busy, and even I, who was usually the most idle, was too busy to even sit down and have a drink of water.

 

“Xǐ'er, come here!” the young miss called me into her inner room.

 

As soon as I entered, I saw the wedding quilt spread on the bed. Red satin embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water.

I praised it repeatedly, “As expected of a Suzhou embroiderer. Look at this…” I suddenly couldn't remember the name of these colorful ducks.

　　

“Mandarin ducks,” the young miss said, smiling and tapping my head.

 

“Right, right, mandarin ducks! These mandarin ducks look like they're alive!”

 

The young miss continued, “Mother specially went to the temple to ask for a marriage charm and had it sewn in. Let's have you do these few stitches!”

 

I was a little surprised. Except in wealthy households, the wedding quilt is usually made by the mother and her daughters together.

 

Of course, I might be overthinking it. The young miss probably doesn't know these folk customs; it's just that there are no idle maidservants in the household.

 

The young miss added, “Don't rush, take your time.”

 

Although Master said the young miss didn't have to marry if she didn't want to, she still chose to become Prince Cheng's cefei (side consort).

 

The young miss said that what she had already achieved was beyond the reach of ordinary people in their entire lives. If she were to be sentimental about matters of love, it would be too greedy.

13

　　

On September 20th, as her personal maid, I had to follow the bridal sedan chair, accompanying the wedding procession with its gongs and drums, all the way from the south of the city to the north. According to custom, the young miss could only have a six-palanquin sedan chair, so the family specially commissioned one. It was larger than the usual eight-palanquin sedan, requiring six strong men to carry it. Even though it wasn't an eight-palanquin sedan, its extravagance was still enviable.

 

About halfway through the procession, I felt a strange unease and looked back. To my surprise, I found two more people had joined behind the six sedan chairs. It gave me quite a fright!

 

Although this was strange, it didn't affect the wedding procession, and having an eight-palanquin sedan chair meant a formal marriage – which I was very happy about!

 

The ceremony for a cèfēi wasn't as grand as that for a main wife; the bowing ceremony was omitted. However, since the bride was the legitimate daughter of a general's family, the Prince Cheng's residence still sent out invitations and held a banquet to entertain numerous nobles and dignitaries.

 

After Prince Cheng led the young miss out of the sedan chair at the side gate, he simply gave a few instructions to the maidservants in the room and went directly to entertain the guests. Only I was left to attend to the young miss.

　　

I couldn't help but whisper to the young miss, “Miss, it's an eight-palanquin sedan chair!”

 

The young miss, with her veil still on, sat quietly without speaking. After a long while, she softly replied, “Hmm.”

 

Several hours passed, and as darkness fell, Prince Cheng finally arrived.

 

He came over and lifted her veil. The matchmaker offered auspicious words and poured wine for the new couple. After they drank the nuptial wine, the ceremony was considered complete.

 

The matchmaker scattered peanuts and dried longans on the bed, repeatedly saying, “May you soon have a precious son,” before winking at everyone to leave.

 

As I was walking towards the door with a few maidservants from the Prince's residence, I suddenly stopped and shouted in a loud, clear voice, “Husband and wife bow to each other! Let's send them to the bridal chamber!”

 

The young miss was startled at first, then looked at me, covering her mouth and laughing uncontrollably. The young Prince, whose face was always impassive, showed a look of astonishment.

 

The matchmaker hadn't expected this from me, and she quickly pulled me away and closed the door.

 

A few steps later, we heard Prince Cheng let out an ‘ouch,’ and the young miss in the room laughed even harder.

 

The next day, when we went to attend to the new couple's morning routine, Prince Cheng was standing in the room, but the young miss was lazily leaning against the bed. When Li Mámā saw this, she frowned and said, “Why isn't the consort getting up to attend to His Highness's washing and dressing?”

　　

The young miss was just about to reluctantly get up when Prince Cheng said, “No need, just let the maidservant do it.”

 

Prince Cheng told the young miss that there weren't many rules in his residence, and after breakfast, she should go with him to the palace to visit his mother. In the afternoon, when he had some free time, they would pay a visit to Lady Zhao. He said she didn't need to worry about anything else, and then he left for the front hall.

 

The young miss agreed to everything. Seeing that Prince Cheng had left, she beckoned me closer.

 

Then, the young miss pulled me to sit on the bed and, giggling, whispered in my ear:

 

“You forgot the needle on the bed, and it pricked the Prince's bottom!”

________________

Glossary Entry: Cèfēi (侧妃)

Chinese: 侧妃

Pinyin: cèfēi

Literal Meaning: ‘Side consort’ or ‘secondary consort’.

Type: Secondary wife (formal title)

Rank/Status:

Higher than a cèshì (侧室; informal concubine)

Lower than a Wángfēi (王妃; primary wife)

Holds a formal title, unlike concubines.

Typically resides in her own quarters, with servants.

Marriage Rights:

Cannot marry through the main ceremonial wedding (正婚 zhènghūn) like the primary wife.

Enters the household through a simplified ceremony, often entering via the side door (cèmén 侧门), symbolizing lower status.

Children's Status:

Children have higher status than those of concubines.

May be considered for inheritance, but still ranked below children of the primary wife.

Typical Spouse:

Usually a prince or high-ranking noble who is permitted multiple wives under traditional hierarchical customs.

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Can a cèfēi have a wedding like the primary wife?

No — a cèfēi cannot have a wedding equal to that of the primary wife. In traditional customs:

Only the Wángfēi (王妃) could be married with full honors via the main gate, using formal ancestral rites and ceremonial processions.

The cèfēi would enter through the side door (侧门) with a lesser ceremony, reflecting her lower status.

This difference is symbolic of the household hierarchy, where even wives had ranks.

So yes, even though a cèfēi is above a concubine, she still doesn't enjoy the full ceremonial privileges of the primary wife.

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