shibunari

Hey! :) So, I've been working on making English subs for a historical Cdrama (set in the mid 1700s/early Qianlong era), Take Care, Your Highness (it's an old Hong Kong series from the 80s -- probably not something I can exactly recommend unless you're already into old TVB shows, but I did enjoy it and decided to make a project of subtitling it while watching it last summer). I've got all 20 episodes done now, except for a few places where I either still can't understand the Chinese or am not sure how best to translate a historical term. So, some questions! I'd be grateful if anyone can help. :)

(I've included the Mandarin subtitles for most of my questions below, so there's no need to know Cantonese. And I've also converted everything to simplified characters — but you can scroll down and click the spoiler cut at the bottom to see the same post with traditional characters.)

( General translation questions )
( Historical terms and titles )
( Literary stuff )
( A couple of Cantonese questions )

And, since I can't really read simplified and can't guarantee that everything got converted correctly above:

Click here for the same questions, but with traditional characters instead of simplified.

Some general translation questions:

What does "你真是吃了大蒜了" mean? In context, it seems like the speaker is saying something like "you've really lost your mind," but I've tried googling and can't find any reference for the meaning of "eating a garlic." (The Cantonese is the same, "你真係食大蒜喇.") [Possibly solved -- maybe a Cantonese phrase meaning someone is boastful??]
~~"你把我的頭都給問大了" – Is this like "You're making my head spin [with all these questions]"?~~ [solved!]
Speaking about a scroll on a table, someone says "我有一次不小心掀了一下." Does this mean he casually/carelessly picked it up? Or opened it? (The Cantonese sounds like "我有一次唔覺意[挈?]咗一下.") [solved!]
The context for this one is that Character A is being hired as the nursemaid of a (kidnapped) baby, and wants to know if she'll be living in the same room with the baby. She asks"我是不是跟他住一間房？" and is told (by the guy who hired her, who is also trying to sleep with her) "不一定。有時候也許會換到其他房子。" My question is, is there any way to know whether the answer means "sometimes the baby might be put in another room" or "sometimes you might be moved to another room"? [solved!]
For this question I'm mostly wondering how the grammar works in the last part of this sentence: "朝中文武百官，人人得而誅之." Google Translate says this means "All civil and military officials in the court have the right to execute him," which makes sense in context (so I assume it's correct), but I don't understand how 得而誅之 translates to "have the right to execute [him]." Does this follow some kind of idiomatic/literary grammar construction? [solved!]
Context for this one is the Emperor saying he's already taken precautions against an enemy; he says he's arranged everything, and as soon as his enemy makes any move, "朕就可以仁至義盡." I'm not sure how to understand 仁至義盡 here, as it seems to mean showing kindness/benevolence? Is the phrase being used sarcastically? [solved!]

Some questions about historical terms or phrases:
Is there an established/common way to translate 國丈 (a term for the Emperor's father-in-law/the father of the Empress)? I'm not really sure what to do with it as a term of direct address...
~~Similar question: how should I translate 總管 as a title, e.g. when people address 王總管? "Steward Wang"?~~ [solved, I think! per forestofglory's link, it looks like "Supervisor-in-Chief" is the usual translation, though this is long and will be a pain to put into subtitles... XD]
And another: how should I translate 嫡妃 (meaning the legitimate/primary/first wife)? In context, the Crown Prince is offering to marry a woman and make her his 嫡妃, so my guess would be "Crown Princess"?
Two terms with第 that I'm not sure how to translate: 太史第 and 上書第. It seems 太史 can mean Court Astronomer, Imperial Historian , or Grand Scribe, so is 太史第 like "The Grand Scribe's Residence" or maybe "The Grand Scribe's Office"?? And is 上書第, like... "The Memorial Scribe's Manor"? "The Memorials Office"??
I think I've got this, but I just want to check my translation: "戶部侍郎兼軍機處行走" → "Vice-Minister of Revenue and a member of the Grand Council" (I can't find any dictionary references for 行走 meaning "member," but Google Translate gives this meaning, and it seems to make sense in context).
Can I translate "三條胡同" as "Third Street"? Context is someone saying they're not sure where a certain house is located ("不知是在三條胡同那兒").
In one scene, the Emperor orders for his son to be taken back to "溫寢宮." This term seems to refer to the residence/quarters of the Emperor, so since it's the Emperor himself speaking, can I translate it as something like "take him back to my palace"?
Does "紫玉樓" refer to a specific place and/or is it some kind of metaphor? It's mentioned in two different scenes. From context, my best guess is that it refers to the residence of the Prince Consort (駙馬爺), but I can't find any confirmation of this. In one scene, the Princess (the Prince Consort's wife) is visiting her father-in-law's villa, and he says "請把這兒當作紫玉樓一樣" (Cantonese: "請當呢度係紫玉樓一樣"), and his sentiment seems likely to be "make yourself at home." In another scene, the same Princess is offered a villa to live in, but declines, asking"住在這兒和住在紫玉樓有什麼分別呢？" i.e. "what's the difference between living here and living in 紫玉樓?" But I can't tell if 紫玉樓 refers to her actual home or if it has some broader/metaphorical meaning.
Is there (or historically was there) a river called 多羅大河? A general says "我軍已經進入多羅大河," but I can't seem to find any reference for a "Duoluo River." Am I missing something, or is this a fictional river name the writers invented?
I suspect the writers just screwed this up, but it baffles me so I've got to ask about it. In one scene, Qianlong has a map that was drawn by the Kangxi Emperor. On the map is written "康熙甲子手御筆" (which, as far as I can tell, should mean the map was drawn in 1684, the only Jiazi year that happened in Kangxi's lifetime). After reading these words aloud, Qianlong comments, "這是皇阿爺十幾歲時劃的" (Cantonese: "係皇阿爺十幾歲嗰陣時劃嘅"), which should mean Kangxi (Qianlong's grandfather) drew the map when he was in his teens... but this makes no sense? Kangxi would have been 30 in 1684. A few minutes later, Qianlong comments that it's been sixty-some years since the map was drawn, which should mean the map was drawn sometime between 1665-1675 (because the present-day setting has to be 1735, as Qianlong is about to take the throne). Is there some possible way "康熙甲子" could refer to a year between 1665-1675? Or did the writers just throw "康熙甲子" into the script because it sounded cool/historical, with no regard for what year it actually referred to??

Literary questions
There's a scene where one of the characters (an irreverent teenager who is abusing his tutor by writing poetry on him with a brush) quotes from the poem 愛蓮說, but changes the lines slightly. The original poem says "牡丹之愛，宜乎眾矣," but he changes the words to "牡丹之愛宜『平稟』矣"). I can't understand the meaning of the changed line. Any help on how to translate this??
A woman sends her lover a breakup letter, and also returns to him a broken jade pendant that was his gift to her. Her letter opens with the line "玉碎珠還." This doesn't seem to be a common phrase in itself, but there seem to be several similar common phrases (玉碎珠沉, 珠沉玉碎, 玉碎珠沒), and per Google they usually refer to something beautiful irreparably lost, especially a woman who has died. What I don't understand is how to interpret 還 in this version. "The jade is broken, the pearls are returned"? Or does 還 have some other meaning I'm missing?

A couple of questions specifically about Cantonese terms
The context here is a guy who is being invited to share a meal with some people he holds a grudge against; he declines and says what sounds like "費事食完之後背脊骨落" or maybe "費事食完老子有背脊骨落." The Mandarin subs say "免得吃了以後反胃," which is quite different, but I have no idea what "背脊骨落" means (assuming I'm even hearing it right)...
I don't even know how to transcribe this one. XD A girl (who has just gone out shopping at some street stalls with the Emperor) tells her husband "我同皇上去咗[騎騎嘰?]" — I'm pretty sure the first two syllables are ke4 ke4 (probably 騎騎?), the third could be gi/git/ki/kit? Seems like a high or mid tone? The girl's husband seems confused by the term, but she doesn't really explain what it means when he asks. (The Mandarin subs just say "我跟皇上去逛街".)