The next day, Chu Qi got up early, did a set of morning radio gymnastics in the west room to loosen up her muscles, and then went to the public kitchen to get breakfast.
The chief eunuch had to follow the emperor's favorite eunuch Li to do some work today. He got up earlier than the chickens, got up at the hour of Yin in the middle of the night, washed up, and went to the public kitchen to get some porridge and pickles.
Chu Qi went to the public kitchen and was about to get some porridge, but the eunuch in charge of serving food pulled her to the back kitchen and pointed at the big yellow steamed buns and a pile of peanuts on the table and said:
"Xiao Wuzi, this is Eunuch An's breakfast ration. He didn't have time to eat it, so he asked me to leave it for you."
The chief eunuch's daily meal rations were different from those of ordinary eunuchs. The rhubarb buns were made of flour ground from fine grains, and the peanuts were fried until crisp and fragrant. They were crunchy when you bite them, and were no worse than food like pork that was served with meals.
The chief eunuch also had two meals a day, but the food he ate was more filling than that of ordinary eunuchs.
The original owner only enjoyed that kind of treatment after he hooked up with a favorite concubine in his later years.
Now Chu Qi had hypnotized Eunuch An early on, and unexpectedly, in just one month, he transformed from a low-ranking eunuch into a eunuch who could eat delicious food every day.
Chu Qi had some conscience and did not take all of them. She only took one and half a plate of peanuts, and left half of the peanuts and a big rhubarb bun for Eunuch An.
After all, the body is the basis of hypnosis. If Eunuch An is no longer able to do so, Chu Qi will not be able to find someone who is so easy to hypnotize and who holds a high position of power in the harem for a while.
After eating and drinking, Chu Qi took the cleaning tools and prepared to go on duty. Eunuch An promised that he would find an opportunity to let her become an ordinary eunuch in a few days. Then she could follow Eunuch An and would not have to go through the hard work of cleaning every day.
In fact, in her opinion, sweeping the floor was not a big deal. There was almost no one following her every day, so she could be lazy if she wanted to. Following Eunuch An, she might not have so much free time.
Chu Qi went to work full of energy, and when he arrived at the place, he deliberately removed some of the blood from his face, making his cheeks look pale and sick.
The Qi-gathering technique produced by this system, when mastered in the later stages, can even achieve a state of suspended animation, allowing the body's essence and blood to be stored in the tendons and bones, thus achieving a state of stiff death.
Hong Xing went to get breakfast in the morning.
Although the concubine had a low position, she was the emperor's woman after all and would not go hungry. Therefore, she had food portions for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the breakfast was simpler than lunch.
Staple foods such as porridge, steamed buns, stir-fried side dishes and pastries are also in fixed quantities and are usually served one hour after breakfast.
Hong Xing went to the imperial kitchen to get cakes on time. Perhaps the people who had been making things difficult for her had already made things difficult for her enough, and they stopped deliberately saying anything that would hurt Hong Xing's feelings in the past few days.
But the pastries were still pitifully small, with only two plates, but they were finely made and an adult man could finish one in two or three bites.
Because the three meals a day were reduced in size, Hong Xing was very persistent in getting cakes and pastries as snacks and came on time every day.
Shi Qian sat on the soft couch in the Yanghe Palace, with the exquisitely carved window wide open, allowing her to take in the entire scenery outside.
The scenery of the courtyard outside the Yanghe Hall is very simple. There is only a half-dead old tree and no ornamental flowers. Instead, there are overgrown weeds. Normally, it is all thanks to Hong Xing who weeds when she has free time to maintain the cleanliness of the Yanghe Hall.
To put it nicely, this is the residence I agreed to when I was in Chuxiu Palace. To put it bluntly, it is actually no different from the Cold Palace.
Chuxiu Palace was originally built at the place farthest away from Qianqing Palace. There were few palace servants taking care of this area, and the scenery was among the most ordinary in the entire imperial palace. Even when the emperor was at his leisure, he would never think of visiting Chuxiu Palace.
The emperor doesn't come, and he doesn't remember to come. He can't remember Shi Dan even when he flips the cards. Shi Dan's living here is no different from the cold palace.
Shi Qiang was startled when she saw a lonely gray bird appearing on the old tree outside the window. The Forbidden City is cold in winter, and there is no coldest weather, only colder ones. Birds usually migrate early to the warm south to spend the winter.
Why is there a bird left here?
The lonely bird reminded Shi Qian of herself who was alone in the palace. Her heart was moved and she began to pay secret attention to the birds outside.
Hong Xing came back with the cakes and noticed that her mistress was staring blankly at the window. She passed by the window and whispered, "Miss, what are you looking at?"
"Shh, I'm watching it." Shi Qian placed her slender index finger on her lips, signaling Hong Xing to speak in a low voice, for fear of scaring the gray bird away.
Hong Xing also whispered, "My lady, we got today's cakes back. I don't know who stole a piece of it, so it's not complete anymore."
She looked at the piece of cake that had been stolen and said angrily.
In fact, being cheated on was a common occurrence, and she was often upset and always felt sullen for a while.
Aren't the most basic things in life food, clothing, housing and transportation? Hong Xing and her mistress were trapped in the deep palace and could not see the emperor. Their housing and transportation were also confined to the small Chuxiu Palace. Half of the joy of life depended on eating.
But this little expectation was treated harshly by the imperial kitchen, so Hong Xing must be very angry.
"Leave the missing one here, and give this one to Xiao Wuzi."
Shi Qian was not fussy about details and took the pastries directly from the window.
"good."
Although Hong Xing was angry, she didn't say much. She wondered in her mind where Chu Qi would be on duty at this time of day, and carefully protected the pastries in her hand as she went to look for him.
Chu Qi pretended to be flattered and took the food that Shi promised to deliver as promised. She wolfed it down in front of Hong Xing, looking like she was starving.
Hong Xing was a little reluctant at first, but when she saw Xiao Wuzi starving like a ghost, she immediately understood why Shi Dan felt sorry for Xiao Wuzi's hunger. She said, "Don't worry, have some tea."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
