In the palace, while there is a fixed number of clothes for palace maids and eunuchs, there are inevitably times of wear and shortage. Though mended clothes can barely be worn, wearing patched clothes in the palace is a serious offense. Therefore, when clothes are torn, the servants must purchase new ones from the Clothing Bureau with their own money.
The fabrics for palace maids' clothes are also hierarchical. The fabric for the close First-class Palace Maids of masters is the best; followed by that for the Second-class and Third-class Palace Maids, and then servant maids. Bai Ruoyun is the Steward Aunt, so her clothes are supposed to be better than those of a First-class Palace Maid according to protocol.
Each year, Bai Ruoyun buys clothes of a Third-class Palace Maid for Qiushuang and Qiuyi, and this year was no exception. It was not because Bai Ruoyun was stingy, but because Violence Room slaves are at the lowest rank and are not allowed to wear new clothes at all.
