Jiang Zhaoyi promoted Shuang'er, and Shuang'er's food, clothing, housing and transportation all improved.
As night fell, Xing'er sat under a tree, fanning herself with a bamboo fan, to cool off. Two palace maids came to her with baskets.
"Sister Xing'er, let's go pick some flower petals."
"Does Empress Zhaoyi want to take a flower petal bath?" Shuang'er stood up impatiently.
"It's not Empress Zhaoyi who wants to take a flower petal bath, it's Sister Shuang'er who wants to take a flower petal bath."
Xing'er's suppressed anger reached its peak at this moment. Her face turned red, she couldn't catch her breath, and began to cough violently.
"Sister Xing'er, if you're not feeling well, forget it. We can just go."
Xing'er's eyes narrowed, and a vicious plan brewed in her mind.
Shuang'er is proud of her beauty, but she ruined her appearance and showed off. It was late at night and she had already changed shifts, but they still asked her to pick flower petals.
How could she be worthy of taking a flower petal bath? No matter how she washes, the slave nature in her body can never be washed away. She is still a slave. How can she have the face to act like a master?
Xing'er pushed open the door, turned and entered the utility room, reached out and pressed on the wall. A small hole appeared on the wall, and a bag of medicine powder was placed in the hole.
Xing'er carefully scooped half a spoonful with a leaf and put it into her purse. When no one was around, Xing'er secretly sprinkled the powder into Shuang'er's dressing box.
After Shuang'er came back, she noticed at a glance that the things on the dressing table were inconsistent with where she had placed them, and guessed that Xing'er had moved her dressing table without permission.
Xing'er pretended to be nonchalant. Shuang'er picked up a box of rouge and smiled gently: "Sister Xing'er, I'll give you a box of rouge."
Xing'er had just added some ingredients to Rouge, so she refused to take it. She said, "Keep it for yourself."
"I don't need it. Since my sister won't accept it, I'll give it to the Concubine Zhaoyi."
Jiang Yuan had not enough rouge of her own to use, so how could she be willing to use the palace maid's rouge? Xing'er had a guilty conscience and was worried that Jiang Yuan's face would ulcerate and get into big trouble after using the rouge, so she hurried to stop her.
"Keep it for yourself. Her Majesty's rouge is different from ours."
"Oh, really? How can it be different? It just so happens that the Queen also gave me a box of rouge. Why don't you take the trouble to let me verify it?"
Shuang'er opened two boxes of rouge at the same time and was about to apply them on her face.
Xing'er felt uneasy and refused to let her apply it.
"Could it be that someone added something to my rouge? Oh my, this is not good. I have to ask the imperial physician to check it out."
Shuang'er pretended to walk out, and Xing'er said with a determined look, "I told you to put it on, so go ahead."
Shuang'er was holding the rouge and thinking about where to apply it, and Xing'er was on pins and needles.
"Empress Zhaoyi is taking me to the Cherry Banquet hosted by the Empress Dowager tomorrow. She has told me to dress nicely and has arranged for me to present a gift to the Emperor."
Rouge was swept onto Xing'er's face layer by layer, and Xing'er looked like a stone statue.
"Sister Xing'er, starting tomorrow I will no longer be a slave. I have finally made it."
Shuang'er just wanted to play a trick on Xing'er. She didn't deliberately put rouge on her face to disfigure her. Instead, she pretended to be careless and spilled the rouge. The rouge powder spilled on the back of Xing'er's hand. Xing'er felt pain and quickly put her hand in the basin of water.
Shuang'er looked regretful, "Tsk tsk, it turns out my rouge is broken and caused Sister Xing'er to be injured. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, it's just a minor injury."
Xing'er said it was okay, but then she put laxative in Shuang'er's tea.
Shuang'er knew that there was laxative in the tea, but she still deliberately took a small sip.
Shuang'er hardly slept the whole night. She kept running around the cleaning room, blowing out the lights and lighting them, deliberately making it impossible for everyone to sleep.
The next day, Shuang'er couldn't get up and looked as haggard as ever. Jiang Yuan took one look at her, her eyes filled with disappointment, and so she took Xing'er to attend the cherry party.
The cherry trees in the Cining Palace were planted by Empress Dowager Hengle herself. The picked cherries are bright in color, large and plump. They can be chilled in a white porcelain bowl with ice cubes to relieve heat and fatigue.
Everyone sat down in order. Tables and chairs were arranged properly in the courtyard, and various cakes and flowers were placed on the tables.
Cherries have thin skins and taste best when eaten fresh. All the cherries at tonight's banquet were freshly picked.
As soon as the cherries leave the branches, they are like flowers out of water. The color of the skin changes from bright red to dark red, and the round fruits gradually become soft. It is best to pick and eat them right away.
There are many ways to eat cherries. The first is to squeeze the juice, the second is to mix it with buttermilk, the third is to sprinkle it with sugar, and the fourth, which is the simplest one, is to feed it directly into your mouth without adding any auxiliary ingredients.
Qi Yuer was picking cherries with a basket. There were only a few cherries left in the basket, and the ground was covered with fruit pits.
Mei Qingqing also carried a basket. Xi Jiaorong pointed to the reddest bunch of cherries on the tree and begged her to help pick them. Chuchu offered to move the ladder. Mei Qingqing stepped lightly, stretched her body like a wild goose, and landed steadily on the top of the tree.
"Miss Chuchu, there's no need to bother. The cherry tree is low and I can reach it."
Xi Jiaorong took the cherry branch from Mei Qingqing. The branch was full of red cherries, which looked very pleasing.
Qi Yuer reached out and picked one, "So sweet."
"Mei Fei, do you see the tallest bunch? Quickly use your Qinggong skills to fly up and help me pick it."
Mei Qingqing smiled faintly. She had been practicing Qinggong diligently since she was young. Could it be that she wanted to climb the tree to pick cherries?
Qi Yu'er looked expectant, and her little appearance became more and more pitiful, so Concubine Mei agreed to her request.
Gu Yinwei was picking cherries with scissors, Gu Yingxia was busy cracking melon seeds, and Concubine Zhen came to remind everyone.
"That's enough cherries. The party is about to start. Let's get out of here."
Everyone left the backyard and walked towards the main hall. There were a total of fifteen cherry trees planted in Gu Yingwei's backyard, and many of them had not been picked yet. Qi Yuer was still not satisfied and hurriedly fed the cherries in her hand into her mouth.
Gu Yinwei had just sat down when Zhu Bifeng hurried over after finishing his government affairs.
He gave Gu Yinwei a hand-cranked fan with a pile of ice cubes at the bottom of the fan. The palace maid gently shook the fan, and the temperature in the room immediately dropped a lot.
The cool breeze gradually dissipates the heat from my body.
The concubines took out the gifts they brought. Qi Yuer gave a set of tableware, and Mei Fei gave a set of chess manuals.
Jiang Yuan made a gesture and Xing'er came forward holding the gift box.
There was a bunch of jade bracelets inside. Xing'er knelt on the ground, holding the jade bracelets properly.
Gu Yinwei ordered Chuchu to bring the gift, and Bian Tao came to Gu Yinwei and said, "Queen Mother, please look carefully at the clothes she is wearing."
Xing'er's clothes were altered from Jiang Zhaoyi's old clothes, and the fabric used for Jiang Zhaoyi's old clothes was given by Concubine Xian.
Gu Yingxia was so angry that her nose was crooked. If she was not satisfied with the fabric, she could have put it away in the bottom of the box, but she gave it to the palace maid to wear.
"Xing'er, bring the jade bracelet over here for me to see."
Xing Er was undecided and looked back at Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "You don't have to be so petty. Listen to Concubine Xian's words."
Xing'er held the jade bracelet and knelt down at Gu Yingxia's feet: "Xian Taifei, please."
Gu Yingxia picked up the jade bracelet with two fingers and held it up to look at it.
"Oh, why is the jade bracelet cracked?"
Zhu Bifeng motioned Shuangxi to take it and look at it. Shuangxi held up the candlestick and took a closer look. "The cracks on the bracelet were caused by someone knocking it hard."
Sun Shurong pouted: "What a bummer."
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