The old lady of Ningshou Palace said
Shujia lay half-dead for two days before slowly recovering. Mrs. Xiluo was worried; it was not good for her to have such a problem at such a young age. Because Shujia was "unwell," the aunts were idle. The second young lady rolled around in the house, clutching her stomach. The aunts, aware of this, offered a tonic recipe: black chicken soup.
Shujia smelled the aroma of chicken soup and opened the bowl. Black-bone chicken. Yes! This stuff is very good for women. When it was bombarded with TV commercials, wasn't one of them for "Black Chicken White Phoenix Pills"? It's just a little salt, with a little ginseng root, a few dates, and some goji berries. It's incredibly delicious. Shujia finished the whole bowl herself and still felt like she hadn't had enough.
Strongly request a second helping.
Considering that she had lost weight due to the pain, she requested permission. Xiluo Te ordered, "Prepare this for her regularly in the future." The black-bone chicken from the farm was first provided to Shujia. She had to have this soup a few days each month, and every other day.
The results were quite positive; Shujia's periods gradually became regular. Summer was approaching, and it was time to get her clothes tailored. Girls always grow rapidly after puberty, and their old clothes no longer fit them the following year. Silut bought her more jewelry, and the number of pieces kept increasing, until she had to add a small cabinet just to store it.
In the past few months, Shujia hadn't been summoned by the Empress Dowager for a "talk." She felt uneasy for several days, believing she had truly said something wrong. Xiluo Te was right; getting involved in such matters was a recipe for disaster. Although Shujia insisted that her presence would be considered dishonest by either the Crown Prince or the First Consort, she had no choice but to follow the standard approach.
After much fussing, it turned out to have nothing to do with her—the Imperial Noble Consort living in Chengqian Palace was the niece of Hua Shan's friend Tong Guogang, and Tong Jia's health was deteriorating. Xiluo Te had sent a sign to see her twice, but she couldn't explain what was wrong, only saying that she looked a little unwell.
Shujia quietly stuck out her tongue. This matter was temporarily over. In March, Kangxi returned from the south. Judging from the Empress Dowager's thinking, she was now surrounded by Kangxi and questioned him about his life.
With Kangxi's return, court affairs returned to their old rhythm: those who undermined him continued to be attacked, while those who praised him continued to be praised. Meanwhile, Prince An Yuele died, and Kangxi went to his home to cry again. If it weren't for this incident, Shujia would have almost forgotten about this person.
The three characters "Prince An" don't appear often, and they've become even rarer since Shujia was dismissed from her father's study. Her initial impression of them was that "Eighth Concubine is Prince An's granddaughter, of noble birth." But after learning her granddaughter's father was a death row inmate (with a reprieve) and her mother was born to a concubine, Shujia cast aside this notion of noble birth. She swore once again: if she could go back in time, she would follow the internet cable and hunt down the maids who had cleared her name.
Now that Prince An was dead, Shujia thought of this all over again... That future Eighth Consort, she wasn't even an adult yet, was she? She shook her head, forgetting it. What she had to do now was deal with the pile of things in front of her.
In front of her was a pile of cosmetics. There had already been a box of various combs, a dozen or so of different sizes, four or five combs for combing, and various hairpins. This time, there was an additional box, with five or six flat, square combs, four of somewhat odd shapes—narrow and long—and several small brushes. One of them looked more and more like a makeup brush for sweeping the face—it was round.
There were several porcelain boxes before me, some round, some oval, some shaped like a crabapple... all filled with cosmetics. Taking off the lids revealed rouge in several different colors. Next to it, a small silver box opened its lid, revealing small pieces of black solid matter and a small inkstone...
What is this used for? ! ! ! Do I need an inkstone to put on makeup?
Shujia was stunned. The aunts explained carefully: "This is an eyebrow inkstone..."
Eyebrows, are they really... 'painted'?
In addition, there are all kinds of unheard-of cosmetics, which are presented one by one. The ancients had a lot of makeup tools, but people can't appreciate them, which is purely due to the generation gap.
The fashion these days was to create a face as white as powder, lips as red as rouge, and eyebrows as fine as ink, making everyone look the same. Shujia was determined not to make her face look like a wall, so she insisted on experimenting, while also firmly protecting her eyebrows.
Modern women have at least some makeup skills, and even those who don't like makeup have some basic knowledge. Shujia's makeup skills were decent before she traveled through time, but now she's starting to learn on her own.
Xiluo Te hoped the aunts would teach her. The problem was that the aunts themselves didn't wear makeup, especially Wu and Zhou, one in Zhaoxiang Palace and the other in the Qianqing Palace. They didn't even need to wear makeup to help others. They only used a little makeup on festive occasions, and there was no need to go into too much detail.
The makeup these aunts had taught her was already light, but Shujia still wasn't satisfied. She went down to look for tweezers, and after several attempts, she finally found something that worked for her—her eyebrows. Her makeup kit came with a small razor, and with this and a pair of small scissors, she could finally do her own eyebrows.
Shujia's eyebrows were naturally quite dark and well-shaped, so they only needed a little trimming to look great. She carefully trimmed them bit by bit, never getting them too thin in one go. The final result was so beautiful that the aunts all said, "They look just like they were born naturally."
This is exactly the effect we want.
Then came the rouge and powder, mixing several shades. Due to limited conditions and skills, she'd only used pinks for now, slowly applying them to her face. Shujia still remembered the rouge made by Master Bao in Dream of the Red Chamber. She'd feigned forgetfulness, insisting she'd read it in a book and making her own. The aunts laughed and said, "Young lady, you know so much! That's how the finest rouge is made."
Shujia blushed and said, "That's right, art comes from life, and we are not country bumpkins."
After several attempts, Shujia finally regained her makeup skills, and her technique is quite high. To quote an advertising slogan: "They can't even tell I'm wearing powder." In short, it's nude makeup.
But the results weren't as good as expected. The reason: Shujia's chubby figure made her look cute, but still far from stunning. Pinching her belly, Shujia felt indignant. Back then, without health scales, people assumed a plump figure would indicate good fortune and fertility, so she hadn't paid any attention to her weight.
Losing weight is put on the agenda.
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As a lady of a rich family, it's impossible to get much exercise. Especially in this era, walking to greet people and strolling in the garden was already a lot of exercise. If you were more quiet, staying in your room reading and embroidering, people wouldn't think you were eccentric.
Shujia was so depressed. You are a girl, you can't run around in your own yard, right? The whole family will think you are stupid... Sitting at Xiluo's place
Guanyinbao came in wearing a small arrow-sleeved shirt, his face flushed. Xiluo asked, "Are you tired? Are you sweating? Let me see." She reached out and touched his forehead, quite satisfied. "Didn't you use cold water to wipe the sweat off?"
Shu Jiaqi asked, "Where have you been?" It was obvious that he had just finished exercising.
Guanyinbao answered honestly, "My father found a master, and I went to practice horseback riding and archery. Today I rode a horse and drew a bow for a while. The master said I was still young, and I needed to practice each skill until I was proficient in it. Then he took me out to ride a horse and draw the bow."
Shujia smiled and said, "Mother, I want to..."
A glare came over.
Riding horses, especially long-term ones, can cause bow legs. As someone from a nomadic family and married into another family, Xilut is well aware of this and firmly opposes it.
How did I end up with such a troublesome girl?!
Shujia was discouraged. Guanyinbao's smirking eyes made her suspect that this boy had traveled through time and space and had memories. He remembered that she taught him to write his name and deliberately teased him, and now he began to gloat over his misfortune.
Shujia finally won the right to exercise. Besides paying respects and taking a walk, she practiced archery for half an hour every day and rode horses with Guanyinbao. Shujia said to Xiluo, "Didn't the doctor say that I'm having a bit of a blood circulation problem? Just taking medicinal food is only a temporary solution. I need to get more active."
To convince Mr. Xiluo and prove that she wasn't being unreasonable, she used her connections to get two medical books. She then used her thesis writing skills—deciding on a topic, determining the purpose, and then finding evidence based on the conclusion—and successfully fooled Mr. Xiluo.
Mrs. Xiluo was extremely concerned about her daughter's health. Shuxian hadn't had any good news yet, and Mrs. Xiluo was already extremely anxious. She herself was a housewife, and she recalled her childhood, when society was relatively open and she seemed to have experienced similar movements. Contrary to her eldest daughter's lack of news, she hesitated for a moment before consulting a doctor.
The Siruts's excuse was concern for their eldest daughter (and indeed, concern, more to confirm the younger daughter's claims). They wondered if inactivity would affect fertility. Even the most skilled doctors, infertility is a complex problem, and they could only vaguely say that more exercise is good for the body, but with the caveat that excessive exercise isn't recommended for girls.
After the doctor left, everyone in the house praised the wife for being so kind to the eldest daughter. Xiluo asked Fu Hai's wife, "Does that make sense?" Of course it did. Fu Hai's wife replied, "Rural women work every day and still have children. Even in this family, servants and wives working as servants rarely fail to give birth." Xiluo made the decision and told Shuxian to move around more.
In the evening, he discussed the matter with Shi Wenbing. Shi Wenbing coughed and said, "That's true. It's getting hot, so tell her to stay in a farm outside the city and evacuate. Bring Guanyinbao and the master with her. Find her some suitable clothes to change into." Xiluo said: "You can ride a horse, but not for too long, otherwise her legs will look ugly."
The so-called appropriate clothing refers to riding clothes—men's. When they arrived at the farm, they would change into their clothes every morning when it was cool, go learn to ride, and then practice archery. Shi Wenzhuo was an official in Songjiang, where fine cloth was produced. During the New Year, a cartload of it was brought over, and Shujia had just the right amount to make clothes. They were durable, so she wouldn't have to worry too much if they got worn out.
Fu Dali, who was on his day off, was assigned as the riding instructor, choosing docile mares. By the time Fu Dali took over, Shujia was already able to canter on the horse. She wasn't too demanding about archery; just a physical education level was enough. It was incredible: before, I had to use fake exams as an excuse to skip physical education class, but now I have to use fake exams as an excuse to attend. The veteran homebody said it was incredibly stressful.
After Fu Dali returned to work, Shujia added jogging to her routine. She changed into flat cloth shoes and leisurely trotted around the racecourse. She wasn't afraid of embarrassment now that she had changed her outfit.
Shujia was still growing. Children at this stage are often like a piece of playdough being pulled at both ends, easily becoming thinner and taller. Three months later, she felt like she had been completely transformed. Shujia sighed at no longer having to use her portable swim ring and secretly resolved to keep it up! This started with her diet and progressed to her lifestyle habits.
She usually exercised in the mornings, then spent the rest of her time studying and sewing, never missing out on anything. During this time, she would write short notes and send them home to report her safety and keep in touch. Hua Shan and Shi Wenbing both wrote back, with Hua Shan lamenting, "I ran into Xu Yuanmeng's father while out. It seems learning horseback riding and archery is essential, even for a girl. A little knowledge is always helpful."
The combination of the two made the "developed" new technology seem quite impressive, both in line with the current trend for light makeup and yet also inconspicuous. In July, when the imperial edict promoted Shi Lin to Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Xiluo Te summoned her daughters back to discuss gifts—primarily for Shujia to present needlework to her great-aunt—Shujia had already become somewhat graceful and elegant.
Xiluotai was delighted with her daughter's newly created makeup. She secretly memorized some of the steps and decided to try it herself. She picked out a forehead scarf, a purse, socks, shoes, and other items from her daughter's needlework and packed them up as gifts for her great-uncle and great-aunt. Xiluotai said to Shujia, who was trying to figure out how to continue her physical education class at home, "Pick up tomorrow and we'll go see your aunt."
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What? Kangxi brought a beautiful woman back from Jiangnan?
Shujia's makeup skills were outstanding, and Xilute took her daughter to show off. She brought gifts from her family and went to Shi Wenying's house. Guan followed and sat in the main room. After the sisters-in-law exchanged greetings, Guan said, "Our second daughter is becoming more and more beautiful."
Xiluotai was very proud. From the moment she entered the room, she noticed Guan's eyes glancing at her daughter several times. Xiluotai glanced at her daughter with pride. Not bad, not bad. Although not a peerless beauty, she was quite calm and serene. She smiled and said, "She's grown up now. She looks good when she dresses up."
Guan praised him several times, and Xiluo was very happy. She also said that the fourth old master's promotion was a great honor for the family, and Guan was also very happy. The two discussed the gift. Guangdong and Guangxi are located in the south, where there is more rice than flour. Xiluo suggested getting more flour: "Although you are used to living in the south and have a good taste for rice, you are still a northerner after all, and you might want to eat some."
After a long discussion, a decision was made. Guan thanked Xiluo for the reminder, and the two began to gossip. Shujia, with her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart, acted like a lady, but her ears were perked up. Shi Wenying was a guard, so he naturally knew more gossip. For example, Kangxi brought back a beauty from Jiangnan...
Shujia opened her mouth wide: Is the TV series filmed by Uncle Zhang Guoli real?
Before she could finish her surprise, Shi Wenying's housekeeper's wife came running in to report, "Madam, there's a message from the palace saying that the Imperial Noble Consort is in trouble."
In the 28th year of the Kangxi reign, on the seventh month of autumn, Guimao, the imperial concubine Tong was enthroned as empress. On the Jiachen day, the empress died and was posthumously named Xiaoyi.
Everyone was a seasoned professional at handling the empress's funeral. From the process to the personnel arrangements, from the Ministry of Rites staff to the extras, everything was handled with ease. The funeral was quickly and smoothly concluded. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about the funeral. Xiluo Te was assigned to the palace as an extra, while the household was left to her daughter-in-law and daughter, and everything remained peaceful.
For the Shi family, the death of a queen had less impact than Kangxi's appointment of Shi Wenbing as the general of Fuzhou in September.
The family started packing up, and Xiluo Te paid her respects to the Empress Dowager before leaving. The Empress Dowager said, "I like your little girl very much, so don't take her with you."
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