The Virtuous Concubine

When Wan Liuhaniuniu saw Malu’s appearance, which was even more resolute and rough than when she first met him yesterday, she couldn’t help laughing - she was not sure at first, but now she understood that Malu was indeed hiding his true abilities.

But she had no intention of exposing Malu. After all, they entered the palace together and lived in the same room. What good would she gain if she exposed the incident? She would only be alienated and guarded against, and people would think she was a nagging villain.

But before she found out why Malu was hiding his true abilities, she would definitely keep her distance from Malu, otherwise she would be implicated if anything happened!

After making up her mind, she only chatted with Malu about superficial topics, until a nanny who looked unfriendly came over and called out the names - it seemed that this small election was completely over and the list of names was out.

Of course, these people couldn't start working right after they were selected. They still had to go through training! These people were taken to the palace, where the nurses gave them some tests, ranging from cleaning, dressing up, embroidery, reading, and so on.

Malu cleaned very seriously, but only received a qualified evaluation, after all, she had never done such work at home! Malu also deliberately appeared clumsy in the hair combing test and hurt Mama's hair. When asked if she knew how to write, Malu shook her head and said that she could only write her own name, so she was arranged to take the embroidery test.

She was very focused when she was embroidering, and although she didn't try her best, she was already firmly in first place. The official in charge of embroidery was very satisfied, thinking that although she didn't understand the aesthetics and norms of palace embroidery, she could see that she had a solid foundation and was clever, and she would become a great talent in the future.

So the female official circled her name and prepared to pay close attention to Malu, but the maid Liu, who was testing the cooking skills of the palace maids next to her, pulled her sleeve and whispered something to her.

This Madam Liu was the one that E-chan had arranged to take care of Malu. She only thought that when the time came, Malu would be assigned to her and taught for a while before being sent to the tea room of the Qianqing Palace. Unexpectedly, Malu was spotted by someone in advance! She was so scared that she quickly communicated with the female official.

As expected, the female official looked at Malu with a little regret and asked her to follow Madam Liu. Malu bowed steadily and made a bean flour cake under Madam Liu's observation, which was also called donkey rolls, and passed the test smoothly.

After they finished the test, they would go to have their heads shaved and take a bath. Mammy Liu only selected two people, one was Malu and the other was Dachun. There were also a few girls following the other mammies or female officials. These were the ones who performed well and would directly follow the mammies to learn and serve these palace maids with higher status.

The others were divided into groups of four, who attended unified training and were then assessed and assigned to various places. The first thing to do after the screening was to shave their heads and take a bath. Originally, everyone was supposed to take a bath together. Malu was worried that her disguise was not waterproof and would be exposed, when Aunt Liu instructed Malu and Dachun: "What are you doing standing there? You have no sense! Go and help fetch water."

The other maids following the maids had no choice but to follow Malu and Dachun to fetch water for the others. By the time they were done, one third of them had shaved bald. It was almost time to prepare lunch, and Malu Liu had to go back to the imperial kitchen, so she raised her eyebrows and scolded Malu and Dachun: "You are so slow! If you delay my work, I will beat you two to death!

Malu looked at the girls' bald heads and realized for the first time that there were so many different head shapes! Many of them cried because they couldn't bear to part with their hair and thought bald heads were ugly.

Nanny Liu wanted to go back to the imperial kitchen, but she was afraid that the two people didn't know the way and no one would take care of them, so she had to ask the steward for help. She first took the two people to her room to get them familiar with the way, then shaved their heads and took a bath in her own room.

The eunuch in charge took a look at Madam Liu and saw that she had just asked someone to help fetch water and had promised that the two maids would come over to be inspected and help with the cleaning after they were done. He waved his whisk to signal her to pass.

How could Malu not understand this? He looked at Aunt Liu with gratitude, lowered his head, carried the heavy bucket and followed Aunt Liu's small steps.

After they walked away, Aunt Liu smiled and said to Dachun and Malu: "Don't worry, everything has been arranged. Go take a shower and get your hair cut!"

Dachun and Malu then realized that they were related to each other and breathed a sigh of relief. Malu secretly glanced at Dachun, who didn't seem to be wearing any disguises. When the two of them helped each other fetch water to shave, Malu got closer and took a closer look and found that she had calluses on her hands from practicing martial arts!

Malu's heart almost jumped out of her throat. Could this Dachun be against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty? Is Liu Ma reliable? Malu was nervous but still calm on the surface. When she shaved her head, her snow-white scalp was exposed.

Dachun reminded her: "Your scalp is too white."

Malu nodded: "The hair blocks the sun, so it's white."

Dachun shook his head: "I just reminded you to remember to apply powder."

Malu then realized that Dachun had already seen through it. After all, martial artists have sharp eyes. But seeing that Dachun didn't take it seriously, she didn't say anything, but her flushed face showed that she was indeed not calm.

After everything was done, she and Dachun returned to the palace with the empty bucket. After Malu and Dachun were examined and confirmed to be qualified, Malu was assigned to help clean up the scattered hair on the floor, while Dachun went to clean up the bathing area.

They kept cleaning up until about 3 p.m., when Aunt Liu finally arrived. She signed her names and took them back. When they got to Aunt Liu's room, she motioned for them to sit down.

"Are you getting through today? Did anyone say anything?" Madam Liu looked at the two little girls with bald heads, and her tone was no longer as sharp as it was outside.

Malu and Dachun looked at each other, and Malu replied, "Nothing went wrong. Thank you for your help, Mama."

Madam Liu nodded: "I was entrusted by someone to take over the hot potato of you two. You two just happen to be together, you can cover each other, don't cause any trouble for me!"

Seeing that Malu and Dachun both agreed, Nanny Liu continued, "I will go and prepare dinner soon. You should stay here and get familiar with the place first. Tomorrow morning, you will all go to the palace to learn the palace rules. After you finish learning, come back and help me with some needlework. I will come back to take care of you after I am done with my work."

After that, he told them the layout of the house and the taboos here, and left after giving them all the instructions. Now only Malu and Dachun were left in the room, and Malu spoke up: "Thank you for your hard work today. If it weren't for your strong strength, we would definitely not be able to finish the work assigned to us."

Dachun understood what she meant and said quickly, "It's okay. I see you are very skillful. We can help each other in the future."

After the two reached a preliminary agreement to keep each other secret, they didn't say much, just chatting about what happened today. Not long after chatting, Dachun couldn't sit still and stood up to say that he wanted to clean up here first. Malu was actually very tired, but she still got up and cleaned with Dachun. She was also afraid that she would be late to learn the palace rules tomorrow and would not be able to finish the work ordered by Liu Mama when she came back.

The two were sweating profusely. Dachun looked up and smiled, "Your face is all bruised."