Chapter 20 Top-Tier Ox-Horse Sacred Body Cultivation Manual Hahaha, let's take out a loan...

She had just received instructions to serve tea to the Emperor that evening, but after lunch, A-Zhu was sent back, told only to prepare well.

A-Zhu: ......? ? ?

It's just serving tea... what else needs to be prepared?

Moreover, even if we were to prepare properly, shouldn't we have let her cram at the last minute in the tea room?

Completely bewildered, A-Zhu muttered to himself as he returned to the side room, only to find everyone else already there.

Green Sleeves and Cloud Pearl looked somewhat dazed, while Huichun remained relatively calm. She walked towards Azhu and said, "Azhu, the old man from the small kitchen just brought over some hot water, saying that Aunt Qin instructed him to do so..."

Following Huichun's words, Azhu looked towards the corner of the wall and saw a large bathtub standing there, with steam rising from it.

Besides the usual simple washing, palace maids also had a place to bathe and cleanse themselves, but that place was more like a large pool, and they could go there to wash themselves when they were not on duty.

Such single-person bathtubs were generally used by concubines of lower rank.

Seeing that everyone in the room was looking at her, Ah Zhu, who had been stunned for a moment, quickly realized what was happening and shared the good news with them with a big smile.

"I'm doing a good job in the tea room these days."

"Aunt Nianqin just instructed me to prepare to serve tea in the palace tonight..."

As soon as A-Zhu said this, the room fell silent for a moment.

Although she knew that A-Zhu was going down a different path than them, and that the ambitious A-Zhu would fly towards the "branch"... Green Sleeve didn't expect this day to come so soon. She lowered her head, clenched her sleeves, and remained silent.

Yunzhu, however, looked somewhat confused. She knew that serving tea to her master was a good thing and an important task, but no matter how important it was, there was no reason to subject a palace maid to such a grueling castration.

But looking at the expressions of Green Sleeve and Huichun, and then at Azhu's radiant and cheerful appearance... Yunzhu, who was about to say something, suddenly realized what was happening. Her scalp tingled, and in her astonishment, she let out a short cry: "Ah!"

——!

All eyes in the room turned to Yunzhu.

At this moment, Yunzhu's face turned bright red, as if she had thought of something.

She stammered to A-Zhu, "Ah, A-Zhu...you, you, you, congratulations, congratulations!"

Ah Zhu loved it when people congratulated her.

After all, this usually means good things are coming soon, so she nodded with a smile.

Seeing Ah Zhu's generous and open demeanor, his overjoyed and satisfied expression, Green Sleeve slowly released her grip on her sleeve. She looked at Ah Zhu and gave him a relieved smile: "Ah Zhu, congratulations on getting what you wanted."

"Congratulations..." Huichun, who was also offering her congratulations, paused for a moment, and then added, "Be careful in everything you do."

Ah Zhu nodded repeatedly, her cheerful demeanor practically screaming "Congratulations!"

Knowing that today was Ah Zhu's "big day," the other three didn't linger. After carefully closing the windows, they went out to do their errands together, leaving the west room to Ah Zhu.

Seeing that there was no one else in the room, Ah Zhu curiously circled the bathtub twice before taking off her clothes and getting in.

Ever since she was given the nickname "Black Charcoal Ball" in the inner palace, what A-Zhu heard most often was that the nobles in the palace were all of noble character and could not stand dirty things.

Ah Zhu, who was openly and secretly mocked as "dirty stuff," tried every possible method, but to little avail.

If it weren't for the kind-hearted Mingxia...

A-Zhu leaned against the bathtub, lost in thought for a moment, wondering if Mingxia's cold was getting better and which palace she had been assigned to.

When the "sex scandal" was at its peak in the Yeting Palace, Azhu had a persistent fever and was delirious and unaware of anything.

Once she felt a little better, she heard that many people in the inner palace had caught a cold, and the nannies were keeping them in check to prevent them from spreading the illness to others.

Later... could Mingxia, whose face was ruined, just stand by and watch that bastard Azhu be so smug in front of her?

Naturally, she would avoid her whenever possible, not giving Ah Zhu any chance to laugh at her.

The rules in Kunning Palace are even stricter. New palace maids like Azhu are watched by countless eyes, so they dare not go out and move around at will.

Even Ah Zhu's long-cherished wish to send some better agarwood to Consort Feng in the Cold Palace had to be put on hold for the time being.

At this moment, the steam from the hot water made Ah Zhu's face flush red.

It's wonderful to enjoy a hot bath all by yourself without having to squeeze into a pool with other people.

But as she washed, Ah Zhu's expression suddenly changed as she thought of something—could it be that she would have to wash before each time she entered the palace to serve tea?!

How much silver will this cost?

A-Zhu, who was leaning against the bathtub, sat up abruptly and started counting on her fingers. As she counted, her expression changed from solemn to heartbroken.

Waaah, if it weren't for the reward money, that would be almost all of my allowance!

Feeling so distressed that she was short of breath and dizzy, Ah Zhu wanted to scream for help.

She clung to the bathtub, took several deep breaths, and finally gritted her teeth, desperately trying to convince herself—this money should still be spent!

What a great honor it is to be able to serve one's master.

If you displease your master by not bathing and cleaning yourself, losing this job would be the real problem.

"Ah Zhu, Ah Zhu, you're destined to be a sixth-rank official in the Imperial Household Department. You... you can't be so useless..."

Look, look, of all the rules that the headmistresses and Steward Sun in the inner palace have been repeatedly taught, only A-Zhu, this "top-tier ox-and-horse body" who "works on loan," has truly listened to.

What are the palace maids supposed to do in this palace?

Naturally, they were expected to serve the noblemen.

If everyone wanted to climb into the emperor's bed and live a life of wealth and privilege, wouldn't the palace be in chaos?

Therefore, the first rule is to resolutely extinguish this thought of theirs!

Ah Zhu was someone that Granny Sun had carefully controlled and had put a lot of effort into disciplining.

After nearly a decade of brainwashing-style teaching, Ah Zhu truly had no intention of overstepping his bounds.

But the palace never forbade palace maids from having the idea of ​​becoming female officials—if you wanted to be a female official, you had to do your best to perform well.

"A-Zhu, try a little harder, put in a little more effort. As long as you serve him well, the master will see it..."

As Ah Zhu leaned against the bathtub, talking to herself, she gradually stopped caring about the money. Instead, her face flushed and she began to feel lightheaded again.

The affirmation of his "unwavering loyalty" and the subsequent taste of its sweetness were truly wonderful for Ah Zhu... He didn't get out of the hot water until it was almost cold.

She put on her clothes while muttering about loyalty.

In this palace, after the palace maids bathed and cleansed themselves, the most difficult thing to deal with was their long hair.

A-Zhu's hair was exceptionally beautiful, jet black and glossy, thick and abundant. When she was still in the Imperial Palace, the nanny said that A-Zhu was weak because everything she ate nourished her hair.

So tired of her long hair, Ah Zhu didn't care about anything else and just kept drying it. She wanted to be lazy, but if she went out to dry her hair with wet hair, she would probably get sick again.

After finally getting everything sorted out, A-Zhu hurriedly went to the tea room.

The tea room was unusually quiet at this moment, with only the gurgling sound of the spring water boiling on the small red clay stove.

Seeing Ah Zhu walk in with her head held high, many people secretly glanced at her with mixed expressions, their hearts filled with a thousand different feelings.

Ah Zhu, who had important business to attend to, naturally didn't care about other people's expressions and just waited obediently in the tea room for the summons.

They waited until almost dinner time, when Eunuch Chen was the first to arrive at Kunning Palace.

"This servant greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty have good fortune and happiness."

"Get up."

Empress Wang gestured to dismiss Eunuch Chen's formalities, and before he could speak, she smiled and asked, "Is His Majesty busy with state affairs again?"

Eunuch Chen: ......

Look at you, why bother explaining it all outright?

After choking on his own breath, Eunuch Chen finally managed a forced smile and explained to Empress Wang in a very tactful manner—

His Majesty is busy with state affairs, and there are indeed important matters to attend to at court. Please have your meal first, Your Majesty. He will proceed to Kunning Palace only after he has finished dealing with state affairs.

"I understand."

This time, Empress Wang was not angry at all; in fact, she even had a smile that left Eunuch Chen somewhat puzzled.

"Eunuch Chen, please go back and serve His Majesty. I will wait for His Majesty here in Kunning Palace."

Hmm—something's not right.

When Eunuch Chen emerged from Kunning Palace, his expression remained unchanged, but his heart was pounding.

Their Empress, in ordinary times, is quite dignified, possessing the air of a noblewoman from a prominent family and the dignity of a mother to the nation.

But when they face their emperor... they always seem to be straining to prove something, and when they open their mouths, their words are filled with a force that seems to want to choke someone to death.

Having learned so much from Eunuch Chen over the years, he was somewhat baffled today.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he hadn't heard anything about the Eastern Palace or Guangyang Palace recently.

Hey, it's rare to see something interesting happening at Kunning Palace.

Eunuch Chen glanced at the sky, then smiled and quickened his pace toward Hanyuan Hall.

He shouldn't guess anymore; he'll follow the Emperor and see for himself what his Empress is really up to.

A note from the author:

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The others looked at A-Zhu, who was about to "rise to prominence and become a phoenix": "Congratulations, congratulations."

Clutching her purse with a heart full of heartache, Ah Zhu forced a smile: "Hahaha, same to you, same to you."