Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Four Days of the Palace Maid

Wanxia and Shanhu live in the same room, while Zhaolu and Daimao live in the same room. As second-class maids, Wanxia is closer to Shanhu, while Zhaolu often hangs out with Daimao. Second-class maids are more like assistants to the first-class maids, and follow the first-class maids after completing their duties.

The head palace maid takes orders directly from her master. Any instructions from the master, no matter how big or small, will go through the head palace maid, who will either do it directly or distribute it to the people below.

In addition, Du Jieyu was accompanied by a consul eunuch, an inner palace eunuch, and two outer palace eunuchs, who were mostly used to run errands and do things that were inconvenient for the palace maids to do.

Du Jieyu lived in the west wing hall of Jingyang Palace, but this west wing hall also had a formal name, called Zhiyun Hall.

In Zhiyun Palace, Concubine Du is currently taking a nap, Coral and Daimao are guarding outside the bedroom, Wanxia is preparing tea in the tea room, and Chaolu is preparing snacks for Concubine Du to eat in the afternoon.

When Shen Qingqing was looking for Wanxia, ​​she was staring at the teapot, slightly distracted.

Thinking that I would be able to leave the palace soon, I felt a little nervous.

"Sister Wanxia, ​​please give me the fan. I will watch the fire for you." Shen Qingqing walked to Wanxia and raised her hand to the side where Wanxia was holding the fan.

Seeing that it was her, Wanxia handed her the fan. Shen Qingqing squatted beside the stove and gently fanned the charcoal fire. Seeing this, Wanxia asked her, "Yesterday I saw that you were not feeling well. Why are you on duty today?"

"I had a headache and a fever. I took some medicine and sweated it out and it was all right. My sister knows me. I can't stay in the house. I come out to work to stretch my muscles."

Wanxia nodded: "At your age, you are full of energy and in good health, which is great."

Shen Qingqing was selected to enter the palace after His Majesty ascended the throne. She was a native of the capital. She was eleven years old when she first entered the palace. Now, two years have passed, and she is only thirteen years old, fourteen years old in age. She is still a growing bud, so even if she eats a lot, she does not look obese, but rather exceptionally thin and slender.

Shen Qingqing pursed her lips and smiled, then flattered Wanxia a few words, which made her smile.

Seeing this, Shen Qingqing explained her purpose: "I heard that His Majesty has granted my sister permission to leave the palace?"

Wanxia smiled and said, "Yes, it happened in the past few days."

Shen Qingqing said seriously, "I was wondering why I saw flowers blooming on the branches this morning. It turns out that sister is in good luck. People are in high spirits when they are happy. I would like to congratulate sister first. Time is tight and I don't have time to prepare gifts. I can only give you some common things as gifts. I hope sister will be happy in the future and find a husband of her dreams."

Shen Qingqing's gentle voice was like honey that penetrated into Wanxia's heart. Two blushes appeared on her face, her eyes were filled with spring water, and she glared at Shen Qingqing.

Shen Qingqing was not annoyed by being glared at, but looked at her with a smile.

Wanxia is only seventeen years old this year and has a beautiful appearance. Her brother has become a new noble due to his achievements, and she serves as a concubine. It is obvious that she will have a bright future after leaving the palace.

Shen Qingqing talked about her most secret thoughts.

How could she not be happy about being able to leave the palace? But precisely because leaving the palace was a foregone conclusion, Jieyu could use this as an opportunity to throw a tantrum with His Majesty and tell His Majesty that they were a deep bond between master and servant. No matter how happy Wanxia was, she had to endure it, and not show it in front of her master, otherwise Jieyu would appear to be a bad person, and the play would not go on well.

Shen Qingqing stuffed the handkerchief containing silver and some precious jewelry into Wanxia's hand and continued, "Although I know that sister Wanxia has a brother who loves you and will not lack these in the future, this is a token of my sister's love, and you must accept it. Besides, you have taken good care of me in Zhiyun Palace."

Wanxia has a quiet personality. She doesn't like to take the lead and doesn't like to bully others. Shen Qingqing never criticizes her when she does work for her.

In this palace, not being too harsh is a form of care.

Wanxia stretched out her index finger and tapped Shen Qingqing's forehead: "You." It seemed particularly intimate.

While Shen Qingqing was talking, she also watched the fire carefully, not letting it be too big or too small. She saw the sunset and kept it in her mind, which gave Shen Qingqing an impression of stability.

She also didn't want the person she personally chose to be worse than her.

Shen Qingqing didn't know that Wanxia had already chosen her. She was just happy that the money had been given. If Wanxia didn't accept the gift, she would have a headache. Now that half of it has been decided, the other half is up to her to do her best and leave to fate. It all depends on what Sister Wanxia likes.

If Wanxia doesn't like her, she can find a way out later.

Wanxia thought that it was time for Jieyu to get up, so she began to brew tea smoothly. Shen Qingqing quietly learned from her on the side, but her gaze was not obvious. If you didn't look closely, you would think she was still watching the fire seriously.

After brewing the tea, Wanxia told Shen Qingqing: "The master won't need me in the afternoon, so come find me then. I like talking to you."

Shen Qingqing was delighted and nodded solemnly: "I understand, I will keep it in mind."

As she bid farewell to the sunset, Shen Qingqing clenched her fist into her palm, her eyes sparkling.

-

Wanxia entered the palace, pushed aside the bead curtain and entered the bedroom. Seeing Du Jieyu leaning on Daimao with an unhappy look on her face and pressing her head, she knew that she had just woken up and was in a bad mood. So she bowed quietly, took the tea from the tray and put it on the coffee table beside the bed.

After Daimao calmed down Concubine Du's temper, Shanhu came forward to help her dress, wash her face and rinse her mouth. Then Concubine Du sat on the low stool in front of the dressing table and Chaolu combed a beautiful bun for her. At the same time, she took the warm tea that was handed to her and slowly drank two sips. Then she put it down. Then Wanxia came forward and started to put on makeup.

When the whole process was over, the four palace maids all breathed a sigh of relief, even Hawksbill Turtle was no exception.

Du Jieyu was in a good mood after her nap, or maybe it was because she met the emperor in the imperial garden yesterday, and the emperor gave her face in front of several concubines, which made her in a good mood for the next few days.

It was a pity that the emperor was supposed to come to her palace yesterday, but he was held back by political affairs and didn't come...

Thinking about this, Concubine Du asked Daimao, "Does the emperor really think the soup I sent to the Palace of Heavenly Purity this morning is good?"

Daimao had to repeat what she had told Jieyu in the morning: "Of course, I personally brought Liu Shun to deliver the ginseng chicken soup to the Qianqing Palace. The eunuch Wang beside His Majesty took the soup in. After the emperor had it, he said it was good and then came out to tell me. As soon as I heard it, I knew that His Majesty was talking to the master, so I came back and told you everything."

"As for the person from Mingyue Pavilion Gao Meiren's palace who went to deliver the soup, Eunuch Wang took the soup but let her go directly."

"If the emperor didn't miss you, how could he say it was so good? Although this is about the soup, I think he is really praising you."

Du Jieyu straightened her neck and a satisfied smile appeared on her lips.

She fiddled with the treasures in her hands, her tone sank, and she said with pride: "The emperor's favor towards me is naturally not comparable to that of other bitches. Doesn't Lady Gao consider herself noble? Why did she come to the emperor to serve soup?"

Then, Daimao started to use this topic to put down Lady Gao and praise Du Jieyu, praising her so much that she felt so comfortable that she took off the bracelet on her wrist and gave it to Daimao.

Shanhu was not surprised by this. At the beginning, she would have advised Concubine Du, but after being scolded several times and Concubine Du becoming more and more displeased with her, she could only keep silent and do her job well.

She originally thought that the bad-tempered Concubine Du would soon lose the emperor's favor, but after seeing how Concubine Du behaved coquettishly and tactfully in front of the emperor, how could she not know the two faces of her master.

And Du Jieyu's favor lasted for two years.

The emperor did not go to the harem very often every month, but among these few times, Concubine Du accounted for at least half, which showed how much the emperor favored her.

Moreover, when the emperor was still a prince, he had just married two concubines when the previous emperor passed away. After ascending the throne, the emperor did not choose one of the two concubines to be the queen, nor did he marry another noble lady to be the queen. As a result, the queen's throne is now vacant and the concubines do not need to pay their respects. Gradually, Du Jieyu, who was not discouraged by anyone, not only devoted herself to the emperor, but also developed a bad temper.

No one can suppress her except Your Majesty.

To Shanhu, the master who had just entered the palace and was arrogant and childish was so pleasing to her.

No one knows what Coral is thinking.

Du Jieyu had already asked Wanxia: "Wanxia, ​​before you leave the palace, have you thought about who will take your place? If not, I will ask the emperor to give me a servant."

Wanxia: "My Lord, I have already chosen a candidate. It is Shen Qingqing, the third-class maid in the master's palace. She is steady and skillful. I will send her to you after I teach her. If you are not satisfied, you can ask the emperor to give you another maid."

Du Jieyu: "Then you should teach her well."

She was not familiar with Shen Qingqing's name, and had completely forgotten that she had punished Shen Qingqing. This was because she had punished her servants so many times that she had forgotten it at all.

Wanxia said yes, and Du Jieyu waved her hand and let her leave.

-

Shen Qingqing and Wanxia met. Time was tight and the task was heavy. Wanxia first asked Shen Qingqing what she was going to do.

Shen Qingqing answered one by one.

Wanxia thought: "Since you are good at putting on makeup, why don't you try it on my face? If you pass, you can learn how to make tea from me directly."

Shen Qingqing obediently agreed and prepared rouge, powder, eyebrow pencil and other ancient cosmetics. The first step was to wipe off Wanxia's original makeup to reveal her delicate face. Only then did she intuitively realize that Wanxia deliberately painted herself to be calm so that she could convince others.

She painted the sunset in a brighter direction according to Du Jieyu's preference, but she did not blindly pursue brightness. Instead, she emphasized the tenderness and girlishness.

So you appear to be lacking in majesty, so even if you act tough, others will just think you are just being coquettish.

After finishing the painting, Shen Qingqing handed the bronze mirror to Wanxia. Although the bronze mirror was not as clear as a mirror made by silver coating on glass, the clarity of a well-mirror was not bad.

Wanxia was startled when she looked at herself in the mirror. A fresh and lively breath of a young girl came to her face, as if she had not stayed in the palace for seven years, but more like a girl who was pampered at home.

It doesn't look like her, but it seems to be her original appearance.

Shen Qingqing was very satisfied with the makeup she put on Wanxia, ​​which immediately improved her appearance.

“Does it look good?”

Wanxia stroked her face, pursed her lips and looked at the person in the mirror: "It looks good."

Shen Qingqing has a good foundation in makeup, and Wanxia taught her some of Du Jieyu's favorite makeup: "Du Jieyu wants a different makeup every day. If you are not sure, ask Shanhu for advice."

"Also, I have a beauty recipe here that Concubine Jieyu is used to using and it is also effective. I will give it to you today as well."

Shen Qingqing didn't expect there would be such a surprise. Wanxia could be said to have taught her everything she knew. She was a little confused as she thought about Sister Wanxia's intention.

But Wanxia didn't want anything and prepared to start teaching Shen Qingqing how to make tea.

Shen Qingqing's thoughts gradually became clear. She grabbed Wanxia's wrist and knelt down in front of her: "I have an unwelcome request... Sister has taught Qingqing so much, Qingqing has no way to repay you, I want to take Sister as my master."

Wanxia naturally liked this little girl: "What should you call me now?"

Shen Qingqing was very clever: "Master!"