10. CHAPTER TEN
THE YOUNG EMPRESS
I THOUGHT of so many things while I was riding
in my chair. It was a glorious day. I felt
sorry for Her Majesty, for she was very quiet
that day. Generally she was happy, and made
everyone laugh with her. I thought about the
branches of willow, too, but could not understand
the meaning. I came out of the hall while Her
Majesty was dining with the Emperor, and found
the Young Empress sitting in a small room
on the left side of the courtyard, with several
Court ladies. When they saw me they made
signs for me to go there. I found them all drinking
tea, and the Young Empress said to me,
"I am sure you must be tired and hungry. Come
and sit near me and have a cup of tea.''
I thanked her and sat down beside her and we
talked of what we saw on the roads and how we
had enjoyed our long ride. She said: "We have
still an hour's ride before we reach the Forbidden
City.'' She also talked about the ceremony
we had performed that morning and said that
we must all pray earnestly for rain. I could
not wait any longer, so I asked her what those
branches of willow meant. She smiled and told
me that willow could bring water, as the Buddhist
religion believes, and that it was an old custom
of the Court wearing willow leaves, when praying
for rain. She also told me that we must perform
the same ceremony every morning until the
rain came.
We heard Her Majesty talking in the courtyard,
and knew that she had finished her
luncheon, so we went in with the Young Empress,
and ate what was left, as usual. I found
the food very nice indeed, although it seemed
rather funny without having meat. We came
out into the courtyard and saw that Her Majesty
was walking up and down. She said to us:
"My legs are so stiff, riding in the chair. I must
walk a little before we leave here. Are you all
tired?'' We told her that we were not tired, so
she ordered us to walk with her. It looked very
funny to see us walking round and round, Her
Majesty in front, and we following her. Her
Majesty turned and smiled at us, and said:
"We are just like horses taking their rounds at
a stable.'' It reminded me of a circus. Li Lien
Ying came and knelt down, and said that it
was time for Her Majesty to depart, in order
to reach the Forbidden City at the lucky hour
she had selected, so we left Wan Shou Si. All
the chairs went very fast, and after an hour's ride
we came near the Palace Gate. We followed
the Emperor's chair, taking a shorter route, and
noticed the gate was wide open. His Majesty,
the Emperor, and the Young Empress' chairs
went in, but we had to alight and walk in.
There were small chairs waiting for us. (As I
explained before these little chairs were carried
by eunuchs, with a rope across their
shoulders.) We came to the courtyard of the
Audience Hall where the Emperor and the Empress
were waiting for us. As usual His
Majesty knelt in front. Behind him was the
Young Empress, and we knelt in a row behind
her, waiting to welcome Her Majesty to her
Palace. She went to her room where the eunuchs
had placed everything in order long before her
arrival. We held the ceremony that afternoon
and evening. After Her Majesty had retired
we came back to our rooms and found that everything
was in order, our eunuchs had made up our
beds already. It was very nice to have them, for
we could not do our own work at all. I was
so tired and my limbs were stiff. I immediately
went to sleep and did not realize how long I had
slept until I heard someone knocking at my window.
I got up and pulled the blind away. I
noticed that the sky looked dull and thought it
was clouded. I felt happy, and thought it might
rain, and so relieve Her Majesty. I got dressed
in great haste, but much to my disappointment
I saw the sunshine on the opposite windows.
The Palace in the Forbidden City was so old,
and built in such a queer way. The courtyards
were small, and the verandas very broad. All
the rooms were dark. No electric light. We
had to use candle light. One could not see the
sky except by going into the courtyard and looking
up. I found that I had risen before the sun
was up, and I was not quite awake yet, and
thought the sky was clouded. I went to Her
Majesty's own Palace and found the Young Empress
already there. She was always the first
and always looked so tidy I often wondered how
early she had to get up. She told me that I was
not late, although Her Majesty was awake but
not up yet. I went into her bedroom and made
my usual morning courtesy to her. The first
thing she asked me was about the weather. I
had to tell her the truth — that there was no sign
of rain. Her Majesty got up, dressed, and had
her breakfast as usual, and told us there would
be no audience that morning. The Emperor
went to the Temple, sacrificing, and there was
nothing important to attend to. We prayed for
three days in succession, but no rain came. I
found that Her Majesty was truly discouraged,
and ordered each of us to pray twenty times a
day. We marked a spot with vermilion powder
and a little water on big yellow sheets of paper
each time we prayed.
On the sixth day of the fourth moon the sky
was clouded. I ran to Her Majesty's bedroom
that morning to tell her the news, but found that
someone had told her already. She smiled, and
said to me: "You are not the first one to give me
the good news. I know everyone of you wanted
to be the first to tell me. I feel very tired today,
and wish to lie down a little longer. You
can go, and I will send for you when I am
ready to get up.'' When I went to search for
the Young Empress I found all the Court ladies
there also. They all asked me if I had noticed
the rain. We came out of the waitingroom and
found that the courtyard was wet, and after a
while it rained very fast. Her Majesty got up,
and we prayed as usual. Fortunately the rain
did not stop, but came pouring down all that day.
Her Majesty played solitaire with the dominoes,
and I stood at the back of her chair watching
her. I saw that the Young Empress and
all the girls were standing on the veranda. Her
Majesty saw them, too, and said to me: "Go
and tell them to wait in the waitingroom. Can't
they see that the veranda is wet?'' I went to
them, but before I had the opportunity of telling
them anything the Young Empress told me that
the waitingroom was wet, and that the water had
gone in. As I said before, this building was
very old, and there were no drains at all. Her
Majesty's own Palace was high; it had twelve
steps, while our waitingroom, which was on the
left side of her Palace, was built right on the
ground, with no raised foundation at all. While
I was talking on the veranda just for a few minutes,
I got quite wet. Her Majesty knocked at
her glass window and told us to go in. Now I
must explain that none of us, not even the Young
Empress could enter Her Majesty's Palace
without her orders except we had work to do
there, or were on duty. Her Majesty was very
happy that day. She laughed and said that we
looked as if we had just been pulled out of the
lake. The Young Empress had on a pale blue
gown, and the red tassel on her headdress was
dripping red water all over her gown. She
smiled and said to us: "Look at those girls; their
gowns are all spoiled.'' While we were talking,
Her Majesty gave us orders for us to change our
clothes.
After they had gone, I went back to Her
Majesty. She looked at me and said: "You are
wet also, only your clothes do not show.'' I had
on a cashmere dress which was made very plain.
She touched my arm and said: "How wet you
are. You had better change, and put on a thick
dress. I think foreign clothes must be very
uncomfortable; the waist is too small and it seems
to me out of proportion to the rest of the body.
I am sure that you will look much prettier in our
Manchu gown. I want you to change and put
your Parisian clothes away as souvenirs. I only
wanted to know how foreign ladies dressed and
now I have seen enough. The Dragon Boat
Festival will be here next month and I will make
some pretty gowns for you.'' I thanked her by
kowtowing to the ground and told her that I
would be only too pleased to change into Manchu
clothes, but having lived so many years abroad,
and having always worn foreign clothes, I had
not had any made. We were planning to
change into Manchu gowns before coming to
the Court, but we had received orders that Lao
Tsu Tsung wished to see us in foreign clothes.
I was very glad when I received that order as
there were several reasons why I wanted to wear
Manchu gowns. First, the Court ladies at the
beginning treated us as outsiders. Secondly, I
knew that Her Majesty did not like them, and
besides, we were very uncomfortable living at
the Palace in Peking, and made up our minds
that we must wear Manchu clothes, which were
made for it. We had so much work to do, and
having to stand most of the time one absolutely
needed loose garments. Her Majesty ordered
one of the eunuchs to bring one of her dresses for
me to try on, so I went back to my own room,
and took off my wet clothes and changed. I
tried on her gown, but it was too loose for me.
The length was quite all right and so were the
sleeves. Her Majesty told one of the eunuch
writers to write down my measurements in order
to have a gown made for me, and said she was
sure it would fit me. She did the same
thing for my mother and sister, and ordered our
gowns to be made at once. I knew she was
pleased, as she told me what color would suit
me the best. She said that I should always
wear pink and pale blue, for they suited, and
were her favorite colors, too. She also talked
about our headdress, and ordered some made
the same as worn by the other Court ladies. She
said to me: "I know you can wear my shoes, for
I tried yours on the first day you came, don't you
remember? I must select a lucky day for you to
become a Manchu once more,'' she said this with a
smile, "and no more foreign clothes after that.''
She took her special book for lucky days and
hours, and studied it a little while, then she said
the eighteenth of that month was the best. Li
Lien Ying, the head eunuch knew how to please
Her Majesty, and said he would give orders to
have everything ready for us at that time. Her
Majesty told us the way we must have our hair
dressed, and what kind of flowers we should wear,
in fact she was very happy arranging to make
us into Manchus. A short while after she dismissed
us for the day. It rained for three days
without stopping. The last day the Emperor
came back, and all ceremonies ceased. Her
Majesty never liked to stay in the Forbidden
City, and I was not a bit surprised, as I hated
the place. We had to use candles to dress by,
in the morning, as the rooms were in absolute
darkness even in the middle of the afternoon.
It rained so much that finally Her Majesty said
she would return to the Summer Palace the next
day, whether it was raining or not, and we were
all very glad to go.
We returned to the Summer Palace on the
seventh. It was a dull day, but no rain. We
packed everything in just the same way we had
done when we came, and stopped at Wan Shou
Si and had our luncheon. That day we commenced
to eat meat again. I noticed that Her
Majesty enjoyed her meal very much. She
asked me if I liked the food without meat, and I
told her that everything was nicely done and that
I enjoyed the food very much, although without
meat. She told me that she could not eat that
kind of food and enjoy it, and that if it were not
necessary to make sacrifice she would not have
abstained.
The first garden party of the year was given
by the Empress Dowager to the ladies of the
Diplomatic Corps, in the fourth moon. This
year Her Majesty desired to deviate a little from
previous custom, and issued orders that stalls
should be arranged in the garden, on a similar
principal to a bazaar, on which were to be displayed
curios, embroidered work, flowers, etc.,
etc. These were to be given as presents to the
guests. The guests were: Mrs. Conger, wife
of the American Minister, Mrs. Williams, wife
of Chinese Secretary of the American Legation,
Madame and Mademoiselle de Carcer, wife and
daughter of the Spanish Minister, Madame
Uchida, wife of the Japanese Minister, and a few
ladies of the Japanese Legation, Madame Almeida,
wife of the Portuguese Charge d' Affaires,
Madame Cannes, wife of the Secretary of the
French Legation, the wives of several French
Officers, Lady Susan Townley, wife of the First
Secretary of the British Legation, two ladies
from the German Legation, wives of German Officers,
and wives of a few Customs Officials. On
this occasion Her Majesty selected a most beautiful
gown of peacock blue, embroidered all over
with phœnix. The embroidery was raised and
each phœnix had a string of pearls two inches
long sewed into its mouth. Whenever Her Majesty
stirred, these strings of tiny pearls moved
forwards and backwards and it made a very
pretty effect. Of course, she wore her jade phœnix
on her hair as usual and shoes and handkerchief
embroidered with the same pattern. My
mother wore a lavender silk gown, trimmed with
silver braid, her hat was of the same shade with
plumes to match. My sister and myself wore
pale blue Chinese silk gowns with insertion and
medallions of Irish crochet and trimmed with
tiny velvet bands. We wore blue hats with large
pink roses. All the Court ladies dressed in their
most picturesque gowns and it was a very pretty
sight to see the procession walking to the Audience
Hall.
Her Majesty was in her happiest mood that
morning and said to us: "I wonder how I would
look in foreign clothes; my waist is very small,
but wearing this kind of loose gown it would not
show. I don't think I would need to squeeze
myself so tight, either, but I don't think there
is anything in the world prettier than our Manchu
gowns.''
First the guests were received in audience by
Their Majesties. They were accompanied by
the Doyen, Baron Czikann, Minister for Austria,
and an interpreter from each Legation. On
entering the Audience Hall all the guests stood
in line and the Doyen presented a short address
to Their Majesties. This was translated to
Prince Ching, who, in turn, communicated it to
the Emperor. The Emperor made a suitable
reply in Chinese which was translated by the
Doyen's interpreter. Then the Doyen mounted
the steps of the dais and shook hands with Their
Majesties, the rest of the guests being presented
in turn. I was standing at the right hand of the
Empress Dowager and as each guest came forward,
called out their names, and the Legation
which they represented. Her Majesty had a few
words for everyone, and when she saw a new
face she would ask how long they had been in
China; whether they liked it, etc., etc. All these
conversations I interpreted for Her Majesty.
As the guests finished paying their respects they
passed along and remained standing in the Hall
until everybody had been presented.
The interpreters, who did not take part in this
ceremony but had remained standing in the Hall
until it was over, were then conducted by Prince
Ching to another part of the Palace, where
refreshments were provided for them. After they
had gone out Their Majesties descended from
the dais and mixed with the guests.
The formal ceremony now being concluded,
chairs were brought in and everybody made themselves
comfortable. Tea was brought in by the
eunuchs and after a few minutes' conversation,
we all adjourned to the refreshment room, with
the exception of the Empress Dowager, the
Emperor, the Young Empress and the Secondary
wife. In the absence of Her Majesty, the
Imperial Princess (The Empress Dowager's
adopted daughter) officiated as hostess, Mrs.
Conger sitting at her right and Madame de Carcer,
wife of the Spanish Minister, on her left.
The food was all Chinese, but knives and forks
were provided for the use of the guests. During
the luncheon the Imperial Princess stood up and
spoke a few words of welcome, which I translated
into English and French. After the luncheon
was over we adjourned to the garden where
Their Majesties were awaiting us. A brass
band was playing European airs.
Her Majesty led the way around the gardens,
passing the various stalls on the way, where the
ladies would stop and admire the different articles,
which were later presented to them as souvenirs
of the occasion. On arriving at a teahouse
which had been erected in the gardens, everybody
rested and partook of tea. Their Majesties then
wished everybody good-bye and the guests were
then conducted to their chairs and took their departure.
As usual, we reported to Her Majesty everything
that had taken place and how the guests
had enjoyed themselves. She said: "How is it
that these foreign ladies have such large feet?
Their shoes are like boats and the funny way they
walk I cannot say I admire. I haven't yet seen
one foreigner with pretty hands. Although they
have white skins, their faces are covered with
white hair. Do you think they are beautiful?'' I
replied that I had seen some American beauties
when I was abroad. Her Majesty said: "No
matter how beautiful they are they have ugly
eyes. I can't bear that blue color, they remind
me of a cat.'' After a few more remarks, she
ordered us to retire, saying that we must be
tired. We were rather used up and glad of an
opportunity to rest, so made our courtesies and
retired.
We had been at the Palace more than two
months, and I had had no opportunity to see my
father at all, who was quite ill at that time. We
did not know whether we could ask leave of absence
from the Court. I received letters from my
father every day, telling me to have courage, and
to do my duty. My mother asked the Young
Empress if it would be correct to ask Her Majesty
for permission to go home for a day or two.
The Young Empress told us that it would be
quite all right to do that, but she thought it would
be better if we could wait until after the eighth,
for there would be a feast on that day. The
eighth day of the fourth moon every year is the
ceremony of eating green peas. According to
the Buddhist religion there is a hereafter which
divides or grades, according to the life that is
lived on earth, that is to say, those who live good
lives go to Heaven when they die and those who
are bad go to a bad place to suffer. On this
occasion Her Majesty sent to the people she
liked, each a plate containing eight peas, and we
had to eat them. The Young Empress told me
that if I presented a plate of peas to Her Majesty
it would please her, which I did. This
meant: "May we meet in the hereafter'' (Chi
Yuen Dou). Her Majesty was very happy that
day. We went to the west side of the lake and
had our luncheon there. Her Majesty talked to
us about the first day we came to the Court, and
then said to mother: "I wonder if Yü Keng is
any better. When will he be able to come to
the Court? I haven't seen him since he returned
from France.'' (My father had asked three
months leave of absence from the Court on account
of his poor health.) My mother answered
and said that he was feeling better, but that his
legs were still very weak, and he could not walk
much. Her Majesty then said to us: "Oh, I
have forgotten to tell you that if you wish to go
home, you can ask permission. I have been so
busy lately, and forgot to remind you.'' We
thanked her and told her that we would like to go
home and see how my father was, so she gave
orders that we should leave the Court the next
day. Then she asked me how long I would like
to stay at home, and of course I knew the custom,
and told her that I was waiting for her
orders: "Would two or three days be enough?''
We told her that it suited us beautifully. I
was so surprised when she mentioned it to us,
and wondered if anyone had told her of our
intentions, or if Her Majesty was a mind
reader.
When she retired that afternoon I went to
see the Young Empress, who was always very
nice and kind, and asked me to sit near her.
Her eunuch brought me a cup of tea. Her
rooms were furnished exactly the same as Her
Majesty's, but everything looked extremely
dainty, and showed very good taste. We
talked about the life at the Palace for a long
time, and she told me that she was very fond of
us, and so was Her Majesty. I told her that
Her Majesty had mentioned to us about going
home for two or three days and that I was surprised
to see how thoughtful she was. She said
that someone had reminded Her Majesty to let
us go home, for we had been at the Court for
more than two months. I found out afterwards
that it was the head eunuch Li who had heard
that we were anxious to go. The Young Empress
said to me: "I want to teach you to be
wise, that is, you are ordered to leave the Court
to-morrow, but Her Majesty did not mention
any particular hour. You must not talk about
it to anyone, and don't show that you are excited
to go home. Don't dress as if you are
going out to-morrow, but be natural and do
your work as if you don't care about going at
all. Don't you remind her, in case she forgets
to tell you to go, and come back on the second
day, which is the custom. It will show that
you are anxious to see Her Majesty, so you
come back one day earlier than the appointed
time.'' I was so happy to get this information
and asked her if it would be all right to bring
Her Majesty some presents when we returned
to the Court. She said that was just the proper
thing to do. The next day we did the same
work, and went to the Audience Hall with Her
Majesty, as usual. After the audience was
over Her Majesty ordered her luncheon to be
served at the country teahouse. This teahouse
was built in country style, and right on top of
her peony mountain, with bamboo and straw,
and all the furniture was made of bamboo also.
They were beautifully made, and the frames of
the windows were carved into a line of characters
— Shou (long life), and butterflies, with pink
silk curtain hangings. At the rear of this exquisite
little building was a bamboo shade, with
railings all around, hung with red silk lanterns.
The seats were built against the railings, so that
one could sit on them comfortably. This was
supposed to be used by the Court ladies as their
waitingroom. We played dice with Her Majesty
when luncheon was over. We played a
very long time, and I won the game that day.
Her Majesty laughed and said to me: "You have
luck to-day. I think you are so happy to go
home that your fairies have helped you to win the
game.'' As I mentioned before, this game was
called "Eight Fairies Going across the Sea.'' "I
think it is time for you to go now.'' While saying
this she turned and asked one of the eunuchs
what the time was, and he answered that it was
half-past two. We kowtowed to Her Majesty,
and stood waiting for more orders. Then she
said: "I am sorry to see you go although I know
you are coming back within two or three days.
I know I shall miss you.'' To my mother she
said: "Tell Yü Keng to take care of his health
and get well soon. I have ordered four eunuchs
to accompany you, and am sending some of my
own rice for him.'' We had to kowtow again in
thanking Her Majesty for her kindness and
finally she said: "Nemen tzowba'' (you can go
now).
We withdrew, and found the Young Empress
on the veranda. We courtesied to her, and said
good-bye to the Court ladies and came to our
rooms to get ready to start. Our eunuchs were
very good, and had everything packed up ready
for us. We gave ten taels to each of our eunuchs,
for that was the custom, and gave four
taels to each chair bearer of the Palace. When
we arrived at the Palace Gate our own chairs
were waiting for us. We said good-bye to our
eunuchs. Strange to say they seemed attached
to us and told us to come back soon. The four
eunuchs ordered by Her Majesty to see us home
were there, and as soon as we got into our chairs
I saw them riding on horseback beside us. It
seemed to me just like a dream the two months
I had spent at the Court, and I must say I felt
very sorry to leave Her Majesty, but at the same
time I wanted very much to see my father. We
got home after a two hours' ride, and found him
looking much better, and one can imagine how
happy he was to see us. The four eunuchs came
into our parlor, and placed the yellow bag of
rice on the table. My father thanked Her
Majesty by kowtowing to the ground. We gave
these eunuchs each a little present, and they
departed.
I told my father about my life at the Palace,
and how very kind Her Majesty was to me. He
asked me if I could influence Her Majesty to
reform some day, and hoped he would live to see
it. Somehow or other I had the idea that I could
and promised him that I would try my best.
Her Majesty sent two eunuchs to see us the
next morning, and also sent us food and fruits.
They told us that Her Majesty missed us, and
had told them to ask if we missed her. We told
these eunuchs that we were returning to the Court
the next day. We stayed at home only two days
and a great many people came to see us, and
kept us busy all the time. My father suggested
that we should start from the house at about
3:00 A. M., so as to get to the Summer Palace
before Her Majesty was up. We left our house
at 3:00 A. M. in total darkness, just like we had
two months before. What a change. I thought
I was the happiest girl in the world. I was told
by many people, especially by the Young Empress,
that Her Majesty was extremely fond of
me. I had also heard that she did not care for
young people at all. Although I was happy, I
noticed that some of the Court ladies did not
like me, and they made me uncomfortable on
many occasions by not telling me just the way
Her Majesty wanted the work to be done. They
smiled to each other whenever Her Majesty was
saying to my mother that she liked me, and that
I was always careful in doing anything that
pleased her. I knew I was going to see those
people again. However, I made up my mind
to fight my battles alone. I only wished to be
useful to Her Majesty, and would not take any
notice of them.
It was a little after five o'clock when we
reached the Summer Palace. Our own eunuchs
were very happy to see us again and told us that
Her Majesty was not up yet and that we had
time to go to our rooms, where they had some
breakfast prepared for us. We went to see the
Young Empress first, and found she was ready
to go to Her Majesty's Palace. She was also
very glad to see us, and told us that our Manchu
costumes were all ready, and that she had seen
them and they were perfectly lovely. We were
very hungry, and enjoyed our breakfast immensely.
After that we went to see Her Majesty.
She was awake, so we went into her bedroom.
We greeted her the same way that we did
every morning, and kowtowed to her and thanked
her for all the things she had sent us while we
were at home. She sat up on the bed, smiled,
and said: "Are you glad to come back? I know
everyone who comes to me and stays for a while
does not like to go away from here any more. I
am glad to see you (to my mother). How is Yü
Keng?'' My mother told her that my father
was much better. She asked us what we did for
those two days, staying at home. She also
wanted to know whether we still remembered
which day she had chosen for us to change into
our Manchu costume. We told her we knew the
date, and were looking forward to it. The
eunuchs brought in three large yellow trays, full
of beautiful gowns, shoes, white silk socks,
handkerchiefs, bags for nuts, in fact the whole set,
including the gu'un dzan (Manchu headdress).
We kowtowed to her, and told her we were very
much pleased with everything she had given
us. Her Majesty told the eunuchs to bring
everything out for us to see. She said to us:
"You see I give you one full official dress, one set
of Chao Chu (amber heads), two embroidered
gowns, four ordinary gowns for everyday wear,
and two gowns for Chi Chen wear (the anniversary
of the death of an Emperor or Empress),
one sky blue, the other mauve, with very little
trimming. I also have a lot of underwear for
you.'' I was excited and told Her Majesty that
I would like to commence to dress up at once.
She smiled, and said: "You must wait until the
day comes, the lucky day I have selected for you.
You must try to fix your hair first, which is the
most difficult thing to do. Ask the Young
Empress to teach you.'' Although she told me
to wait, I knew she was pleased to see that I
showed so much enthusiasm. She asked me the
first day when we came to the Court why my
hair was so curly. I showed her that I curled
it with paper, and she teased me ever afterwards.
She also said that I could not pull my hair
straight in time to wear Manchu clothes, that
everyone would laugh at me, and how ugly I
would look. That night one Court lady came
over to me while I was sitting on the veranda
and said: "I wonder if you will look nice in
Manchu dress?'' I told her I only wanted to
look natural. "You have lived so many years
abroad we consider you are a foreigner to us.''
I told her that as long as Her Majesty considered
I was one of her own, I would be satisfied
and that she need not worry herself about me. I
knew they were jealous of us, so I went in search
of the Young Empress and left this girl alone.
We were talking with the Young Empress in the
waitingroom, and this girl came in and sat near
me, smiling to herself most of the time. One of
the servant girls was fixing some fresh flowers
for Her Majesty. She looked at her and asked
her why she was smiling. The Young Empress
saw, and asked her the same question. She
would not answer, but kept on smiling all the
time. At this moment a eunuch came and said
that Her Majesty wanted me. I afterwards
tried to find out what she had told the Young
Empress but could not. Several days passed
very quietly. Her Majesty was happy, and so
was I. One day the Young Empress reminded
us that we should make all preparations in order
to be able to dress ourselves properly on the
eighteenth, as the time was getting short — only
two days left. That night, after Her Majesty
had retired, I went to my own room and fixed
my headdress on and went to see the Young
Empress. She said that I looked very nice, and
that she was sure Her Majesty would like me
better in Manchu costume. I told her that I
used to wear Manchu dress when I was a little
girl, before we went to Europe, and of course I
knew how to put it on. I also told her that I
could not understand why these girls looked
upon me as a foreigner. She said that they only
showed their ignorance, and that they were
jealous of me and I should not pay any attention
to them at all.