Steward Zhou caught the overpowering sour stench of sweat coming from her and, resigned, led her to the fabric storeroom. He opened several trunks of ready-made clothing and picked out two black guard robes.
Seeing how well stocked the Prince's Residence storeroom was, Huo Qilang figured she might as well take whatever benefits were on offer. She said ingratiatingly, "Sorry for the trouble, Steward. Could you give me another set or two of inner garments to change into?"
Steward Zhou said, "Inner garments are made by one's own family. As a rule, we don't issue them. Back in Chang'an, the maids in the residence could help with the sewing. In those days, His Highness's everyday clothes were supplied by the Court Wardrobe Bureau and the Weaving and Dyeing Office. Now that we've come to this godforsaken backwater, the princess consort and her maids have to sew day and night just to keep him clothed. How could they have any time left to make clothes for anyone else?"
Huo Qilang pointed to an open trunk. "Those look like inner garments to me."
He had opened quite a few trunks while searching for suitable clothes. One was filled with brand-new colored satin garments that looked like women's clothing at first glance, but a closer look revealed that they were all men's inner garments. Dyed fabric cost many times more than undyed cloth. Ordinary people could only bear to use natural hemp-colored fabric for their inner garments; even if they had a little money, they spent it on their outer clothing. Who would have thought the Prince's Residence was wealthy enough to use colored fabric even for underwear?
Steward Zhou's face darkened. "His Highness has worn those. They should all have been disposed of and burned, but preparations for the funeral have kept