The Virtuous Concubine

When Malu heard this, she realized that she had put too much powder on her face. She quickly wiped it off with a handkerchief and said, "I will gradually use less powder starting tomorrow."

Dachun did not respond, but continued to work. The two worked quickly, sweeping and wiping the whole house, and it was very clean. The two changed into clean clothes, and Dachun took the clothes to wash, while Malu sat upright on the bed, facing the light from the window, preparing to embroider a dragon flower.

When Aunt Liu came back and saw the tidy house, Dachun who was hanging clothes and Malu who was busy embroidering, she was happy - she was really afraid that these people would send a scumbag to her for her to serve!

She took food for three people, called the two little girls to come over, and explained to them the rules of dining in the palace while they ate.

The food in the palace was managed by the Imperial Household Department and the Guanglu Temple, which included the Imperial Kitchen, the Imperial Tea Kitchen, the Longevity Kitchen, etc. The princes and guards each had their own special kitchens that hosted palace banquets and daily meals.

Madam Liu was the head of the imperial kitchen, responsible for dim sum. Above her were the Shangshen, the Deputy Shangshen, the Shangshenzheng, etc., and below her were several kitchen servants and the cooks. This made Dachun dizzy, but Malu was familiar with it because he was taught by Ecan every day.

When she heard Aunt Liu introduce herself, she realized that Aunt Liu was Ecan's subordinate. She thought that it was better to be a relative of someone related to her. She had never experienced this in modern times, but she could feel it in the Qing Dynasty.

After explaining these details, Madam Liu began to talk about how people eat in the palace. There are two meals a day, breakfast at 8 am and dinner at 2 pm. In addition to the main meals, there are also many snacks and wine and tea.

Because they follow Madam Liu, these two people will most likely serve their master as palace maids or work in various kitchens after passing an assessment. Only the particularly outstanding ones can become independent female officials after a few years.

Today is their first day in the palace, so it is Madam Liu who leads the meal. Starting tomorrow, Dachun and Malu will go to the mess hall of the palace maids and eunuchs to get their meals. The time is not restricted, because the palace maids and eunuchs have to take turns on duty, so the mess hall is always open.

Malu and Dachun wrote down these things, put away the dishes, and then followed Liu Mama out to find the way. When they came back, it was already very late, and the three of them went to bed with their own thoughts.

The following days were uneventful. As a top candidate carefully cultivated by E-chan for ten years, Malu could handle study and errands with ease. Although the sweeping and furnishings were only average, his embroidery, writing, reading, and palace etiquette were outstanding.

Every day, Malu only had to worry about whether her disguise would be exposed and whether she would not be too conspicuous. Especially in terms of writing and reading. As long as they were in the palace as reserve ladies-in-waiting or from a high-class family, they would be able to read and write. After entering the palace, they would have to study every day and then take exams. Only those who performed well would have the chance to become ladies-in-waiting.

With the help of the system, Malu is now qualified to pass the imperial examination. But she must control her performance, otherwise she will be assigned to a place other than E-chan's imperial kitchen or Hongyu's imperial tea room, and it will be very difficult for her to see the emperor again and make a name for herself.

If she followed her original path, she would have to go to Concubine Tong's palace to be a uterine maid for a while, and finally be pushed onto the dragon bed to bear a child. But Malu thought it was better not to separate mother and child, and she would definitely raise her own child! So she made up her mind to go to the Qianqing Palace from the beginning, even if it was a little slower and more difficult for her to make it on her own.

Malu's palace maid's daily life was very fulfilling. In the morning, she and Dachun attended classes with all the palace maids and then took exams. In the afternoon, they helped Madam Liu with work or did some embroidery. In the evening, Madam Liu would give them private lessons and talk about things in the palace. If Madam Liu was very busy, she would learn by following the system.

Except that she could not practice the flute and Xiao, and had to do many things by herself, this life was no different from that in Wuya Mansion. After Malu saw that the people around her were familiar with her, she gradually reduced the degree of disguise, applied less powder to disguise her skin color every week, and under the pretext of learning to dress up, she gradually reduced the rigid contouring, eyebrow and eye shadow, etc.

When others saw this, they thought that the feng shui in the palace was good for her. She gradually grew up and became better and better at dressing up. Malu's reputation for being beautiful, diligent and honest also spread.

Pretty and hardworking are easy to say, Malu is speechless and helpless about others' evaluation of her being "honest". She just has too many things to learn every day and has no time to care about him, okay! Moreover, she has different values ​​from these people. Every time Malu hears those feudal remarks, she gets angry to death, so she tries not to talk too deeply with these people.

Compared to those who are always jumping up and down and trying to be superior, Malu's silence and steadiness are "honest". Time passed like flowing water, and Malu became more and more familiar with the environment in the palace.

She looked at the red walls, yellow tiles and the corner of blue sky exposed by the eaves and sighed. This task was too long, so long that sometimes she couldn't tell whether she was Malu or Liu Yuan. Did the life she was Liu Yuan really exist?

Every time at this time, she would chat with the system, and the system became an anchor for her - Liu Yuan was real, and what she saw, learned, and was about to experience were all done for Malu.

The system comforted her: "Although you don't know it, I can see your progress increasing every day. Especially today!"

Ma Lu understood that it was probably because Aunt Hongyu's apprentice was going to take her to the tea room to work today, so her progress increased significantly. As expected, as soon as she arrived at the palace, she saw Aunt Liu and another strange woman looking at her with a smile. This strange woman was Shu Yu, Aunt Hongyu's apprentice, who later took over her position.

Shu Yu was also a middle-aged woman who looked very kind. Although she was only decent in appearance, her complexion was as white as jade, and she had a faint scent of tea on her body. Palace maids and female officials were not allowed to use perfume, and it was probably because they had been dealing with tea for a long time that the smell was stained on their bodies.

Malu greeted him, and Aunt Liu took her hand and said to Shu Yu, "This girl is a good one, smart and down-to-earth! She has a rare personality, and I can't bear to let her go. If you really need someone, I won't let her go."

Shu Yu joked, "That can't be helped. It's all for the Emperor's errand. You have to give up your love reluctantly. What I need is a person who can make snacks. She has to know how to make snacks, but she can't be too worldly. Now she is the only one who is suitable."

Malu smiled sweetly: "So Mammy called me here to send me away."

Aunt Liu tapped her forehead and said affectionately, "Good girl, this is your chance. You can't be like us old ladies, working by the stove all day, cutting bones and meat. Just follow Aunt Shuyu today! Aunt Shuyu will take good care of you in the tea room."

Ma Lu nodded, walked up to Aunt Shu Yu and bowed. Shu Yu didn't stay any longer, asked her to pack her things and then followed her to the palace and the accounting department to update the roster. From today on, she was assigned to the imperial tea room as a third-class maid.

The other girls were very envious when they saw Malu being taken away by Shuyu. Although the third-class palace maid was not high-ranking and only worked as an assistant in the tea room, this job was easy and elegant! It was also close to the emperor and there was no danger. It was a good position with high pay and little work, and everyone wanted to get it.

But they also knew that Malu's grandfather was the head of the imperial kitchen, and that Malu himself was also very talented, so it was normal for him to be assigned to this position after half a year. They could only express envy and feel jealous for a while.