Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Wait, who is he talking about?
The work of the Qianqing Palace has always been the most important job in the entire Forbidden City.
The outer circle is made up of maids like Li Shuyao, who wander around the periphery and can be ordered to do anything by anyone. In addition to their hard work, they are also characterized by their high turnover rate, with a new batch of maids being replaced almost every three months.
To put it in modern terms, it is like an outsourcing company.
The palace maids and eunuchs serving in the inner circle are the ones with formal and regular positions, and are the most coveted goals of all the palace maids and eunuchs.
Aunt Jia Ya had previously assigned Li Shuyao to guard the warehouse because of her relationship with Guo Luoluo Qingyao, and she had a little intention of promoting her. She didn't really want to use Li Shuyao to achieve any goals, but just wanted to use Li Shuyao as a springboard to build some good relations with Guo Luoluo Qingyao.
But I never thought that Li Shuyao's luck could be so great.
But within a few days, he had surpassed her and got a decent job in the tea room of the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Although the title of "Tea Maid" sounds ordinary, it is considered a proper female official. In the previous dynasty, it was a position with a certain rank. Although there is no strict rank definition in the current dynasty, it has always been a position that all the palace maids in the Qianqing Palace are eager to get because of its free access to the imperial study and the closest contact with the emperor.
It just happened to fall on Li Shuyao's head.
At this moment, Aunt Jia's mood was indescribably complicated. She had prepared herself mentally for a long time before coming to inform Li Shuyao.
When he spoke, his attitude was gentle and kind, a rare sight in a century. The corners of his mouth did not dare to drop for even half a minute. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes piled up layer upon layer because of the forced smile on his face, and his voice was even more hoarse and a little scary.
Li Shuyao was so frightened by her that her face turned pale and her fingers almost tore her sleeves.
Her voice trembled: "Mammy, Mammy, could you please speak to me as you used to?"
"What are you talking about, kid?" Aunt Jia's voice was still very hoarse.
Li Shu was silent. She felt a chill on her back, her head was dizzy, her big eyes blinked, and she couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.
Aunt Jia: "..."
She was silent for a moment, then suddenly straightened the corners of her mouth, returning to her usual expressionless state.
Li Shuyao finally relaxed, and after letting out a sigh, she patted her chest and said, "Madam, you really scared me to death just now."
"Bah, you want to die by mentioning that word in this palace?" Aunt Jia raised her hand to hit her, but thinking that she would soon go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to serve, she held her hand in the air for a while before finally letting it go.
Li Shuyao saw all her movements, chuckled, and boldly came over to ask Jia Mama coquettishly, "Excuse me, Mama, have you ever seen the emperor before?"
Aunt Jia nodded and said, "I have seen him from a distance a few times in the past."
Li Shuyao said "Oh", knowing that she couldn't get anything out of her, and felt a little disappointed.
Nanny Jia glanced at her and said, "If you want to know about the emperor's temperament, why don't you ask Nanny Rong?"
Li Shuyao was frightened by her words and shuddered again, "Ah? W-why?"
Aunt Jia: "I heard that Aunt Rong used to be good friends with Aunt Ling."
Aunt Ling, who is this?
Li Shuyao tilted her head in confusion, the tassels of the velvet flower hairpin on her hair swayed on her cheeks, highlighting her cute and naive appearance.
Seeing her like this, Aunt Jiaya didn't know what she was thinking. Her eyes softened a little and she started to talk more. "You've been in the Palace of Heavenly Purity for a year, and you don't even know who Aunt Ling is?"
Li Shuyao bit her lip guiltily.
Aunt Jia sighed and lowered her voice to remind: "The Crown Prince's wet nurse is Aunt Ling."
She whispered in Li Shuyao's ear and quickly put some distance between them.
Li Shuyao suddenly realized, "Oh..."
She remembered.
Immediately, she knelt down and saluted Aunt Jia with a smile on her face, "I know everything, thank you for telling me, Aunt." After a pause, she continued, "I will never forget your kindness in helping me!"
She was born with a good-looking appearance, with a bright and well-proportioned aura. Her big watery eyes were often rippling, clear and gentle. When she looked at people with a sincere expression, it was easy for people to feel good about her and want to get close to her.
Aunt Jia moved her fingers, listened to her words carefully, and her expression became more amiable.
…
After Aunt Jia left, Li Shuyao went to the warehouse with a pounding heart.
She treated Madam Rong almost more respectfully than Madam Jia. She bent her knees slightly to Madam Jia, but she wanted to kneel down and kowtow to Madam Rong.
When she finally finished obtaining the scriptures and returned to her house, her heart was filled with joy at having survived the ordeal.
However, before she could rest for a moment, she was soon met with waves of surprised questions from other palace maids.
Fortunately, Nanny Jia arrived in time and drove away the palace maids who were blocking her door and refused to leave. Li Shuyao then had time to pack up the jewelry and clothes left by the original owner. She packed two large bags full and handed them to the young eunuch sent by the Qianqing Palace to take them to the new "dormitory".
He got up early the next morning and followed Aunt Jia, with his head lowered, walking obediently through one corridor after another, climbing one step after another, and finally stopped in front of an empty courtyard.
A feminine and clear male voice sounded, "Is it her?"
Aunt Jia Ya quickly smiled and said, "In reply to Eunuch Liang, this is Li Shuyao."
"Well, it seems that he is a well-behaved person. Raise your head and take a look."
Aunt Jia pushed Li Shuyao.
Li Shuyao remembered Rong Mama's instructions and just raised her chin, her eyes still looking straight down at the ground.
When Liang Jiugong saw her movements, he felt even more satisfied. But when he saw the appearance of the little palace maid in front of him clearly, even though he was so calm, he couldn't help but let out a "hiss" in his heart.
She is so beautiful.
With a bit of surprise and novelty, Liang Jiugong thought in his heart with amusement, wondering what kind of mentality the person who recommended her to come to the Palace of Purity had. Was she really not afraid that the Emperor would take a fancy to her?
Such thoughts flashed through my mind so quickly that they left no ripples.
Liang Jiugong waved his whisk and quickly regained his composure. He glanced at Aunt Jia and said, "Now that the person is here, you can leave."
Aunt Jia quickly took her leave.
Only Li Shuyao and Liang Jiugong were left in the courtyard.
Li Shuyao quietly clutched the hem of her clothes, feeling very nervous.
Liang Jiugong observed her little movements calmly, then looked up at the sky and realized that it was almost time for His Majesty to leave the court. He waved his hand and signaled to his disciple, "Take her and settle her down first. When I have some free time this afternoon, bring her back to report."
"Yes, Master." The young eunuch bowed and replied.
Liang Jiugong quickly turned around and left.
Li Shuyao did not dare to relax at all, and still kept her chin up and her eyes looking at the floor.
The young eunuch who was left behind by Liang Jiugong sent his master away and quickly returned to her side, saying softly: "Miss Li, the master is gone, you can do whatever you want."
Li Shuyao finally loosened her "wounded" hem, and her tense shoulders relaxed slightly, but she didn't dare to relax completely. She smiled at the young eunuch and said, "May I ask your name, sir?"
"I don't deserve it. You can just call me 'Xiaoquanzi', young lady. Please follow me this way."
"Quan? Is it the Quan that means everything, or the Quan that means spring water?" Li Shuyao asked as they walked.
The young eunuch politely replied, "The spring of spring water."
Li Shuyao nodded, then suddenly realized something and slowly widened her eyes, "Quanshui, can the eunuch read?"
The young eunuch nodded and said with a smile, "I learned a little from my master."
"That's amazing!" Li Shuyao praised sincerely.
Xiaoquanzi could tell the envy in her voice was genuine, and couldn't help but turn her head to look at her. She quickly turned her head back, feeling a little happy, and her tone became a little more lively, "The girl is the most powerful."
Being personally called by the master to work in the tea room, isn’t that amazing?
Li Shuyao had no idea what he meant, but when she heard him praising her, the smile on her face suddenly brightened. Her clear black eyes were filled with a translucent color, and her fair cheeks were rosy. She looked a little complacent, yet a little shy.
As the two were talking, they arrived at Li Shuyao's new "dormitory" in the blink of an eye.
The bundles that were sent over yesterday have been separated and placed in their proper places.
After Li Shuyao entered the room, she looked around and found that this room was larger than the one she had lived in before. It was divided into an outer room and an inner room. There was a round table and four round benches in the outer room, and against the wall was a row of treasure racks and a row of drawers.
The outer and inner rooms were separated by a screen. Going past the screen, against the inner wall, was a wooden bed covered with light green bedding. To the left of the bed was a small wardrobe, and to the right was a dressing table and a chair. Apart from this, there was a wooden stand in the corner holding a copper basin, and no other furniture.
Li Shuyao walked in and out and looked around. She didn't find another bed and was a little surprised. She asked Xiaoquanzi, "I live alone?"
Xiaoquanzi smiled and nodded, "Yes."
Li Shuyao couldn't help but ask again, "Are all the maids in the Qianqing Palace treated this way?"
This is much better than the environment in the palace maids' quarters, and is only slightly worse than Qingyao's. This made Li Shuyao unable to help but doubt whether she had made a mistake.
When Xiaoquanzi heard her ask this, the smile on her face froze, and after a moment she replied, "Not everyone is like this. It's mainly because you are going to serve the emperor. If you were to take on other tasks, you wouldn't be treated like this."
Li Shuyao then revealed an expression of sudden enlightenment and said "Oh" in a long tone.
Koizumi hurriedly told her some details about the handover, and finally asked her to have a good rest, and he would come back in the afternoon to take her to see the master.
Just as he was about to leave, Li Shuyao suddenly stopped him, "Excuse me, Master Xiaoquanzi, who is my direct subordinate... that is, who is the nanny who manages me in the Qianqing Palace?"
Madam Rong told her yesterday that there were four maids in charge of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, three of whom were difficult to get along with, and only one maid named Lin was relatively easy to talk to.
That's why Li Shuyao knelt on the bed with her hands clasped together and prayed for more than half an hour before going to bed yesterday, insisting that it was this Nanny Lin who came to take her.
She doesn't want to...
Before she could finish her thought, Xiaoquanzi in front of her smiled and said, "Oh, that's what you're asking, girl. Don't worry, you're the one the master has personally asked for, so naturally the master will come and take care of you!"
Oh, I hope it’s not those three maids.
Wait, who is he talking about?
Liang Jiugong? ?
Is he the Liang Jiugong who was the chief steward of the Palace of Heavenly Purity and stayed by Kangxi's side for decades?
Li Shuyao's pupils trembled violently.
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