The Virtuous Concubine

Malu is very good at following the rules. In addition, during the past few months when Aunt Shuyu taught her how to serve tea, she would also quietly practice in her room how to look dignified in people's eyes, how to look charming in people's eyes, and other small details. She would let the system record her screen and comment on it, and then repeatedly ponder and modify her every move.

In the fourth month after coming to the tea room, she not only made three or four very popular improved dim sum, which increased the number of times Kangxi ate dim sum, but also began to become a substitute for the tea-serving aunt.

Sometimes the aunt on duty felt unwell and was absent from work, and Aunt Shuyu would directly order Malu to fill in. Although she was at the end of the team serving tea to the ministers, she had gained experience from it.

It was very, very hot today, and the heat made people feel upset in the morning. The sunlight was very strong, and the air seemed to be distorted by the heat waves, forming visible ripples. Aunt Shu Yu looked around again and again, and chatted with the eunuchs to inquire about the situation in the court and the harem. After confirming that no one would disturb the emperor today, she quietly called Malu.

She told Malu to be the "Xue Mei Niang" again, but she needed to change her name. After finishing, she should clean herself up and remember to dress up, but she was not allowed to go beyond the rules. Malu looked at Aunt Shu Yu's meaningful eyes, bowed and left.

Malu's heart was pounding at this moment. She asked the system: "Is it what I think? Is Aunt Shuyu helping me?"

The system analyzed the existing data for a while before answering her: "Yes, today is a good opportunity. The progress bar has increased."

Malu took a deep breath, like a student about to take a big exam. After ten years of hard work, maybe today is the chance! She whipped the cream skillfully and made a few colorful snow meringues, then placed them on a lotus leaf plate with glutinous rice paper.

Malu looked at the finished product and the remaining cream on the plate, and couldn't help but have an idea. She took out the ice cubes in the ice jar, cut them into small pieces, spread them under the snow meringue, and then kept them in the ice jar. When the time came, the snow meringue would be served with a cool and refrigerated taste. Then she found a few handkerchiefs and soaked them with cream, then put them away and went back to wash and put on makeup.

Palace maids are not allowed to wear makeup, so she tries to look natural. Malu has practiced this makeup many times, and she also puts together daily materials, most of which are made from pure natural ingredients used in making snacks.

At first, Malu only used the most basic charcoal pencil to draw a few strokes within the original eyebrow outline to increase the color. Then she lit a candle, used the candle flame to heat a hairpin to curl her eyelashes, and then drew an eyeliner along the root of the eyelashes to make her eyes look brighter and more energetic.

This operation is actually very dangerous. If her eyes tear or become oily, the charcoal pencil will be as big as a panda! So she specially used very finely ground rice powder as loose powder to control it. After trying it, it can last for about four or five hours. She definitely doesn't need to spend so much time in front of the emperor.

Then there were some rouge papers and rouge powder, which were pigments she squeezed from pomegranates, cherries, grapes and other fruits. They could be smudged on the face or mouth with a little water. She didn't dare to be too ostentatious today, so she could only add more water to make the color very light, and apply it on her mouth and cheeks.

After cleaning up all this, she wiped herself with water and used rice powder to fluff up her hair. Fortunately, she had taken a shower yesterday, otherwise, with the amount of hair Malu had, all the rice powder she used today wouldn't be enough. She shook out her hair, combed it again, and deliberately made it fluffy, so that it looked very natural.

After all the work on her face, it was enough to make her look pure and natural without any trace of decoration. So Malu only wore the headdress that was allowed for a palace maid, which was a few light blue tongcao flowers and a small silver hairpin with a gilded vine butterfly pattern. This hairpin was not worth much, and it looked light and thin, but after it was pinned into her hair, it was very agile, and when she walked, it was like a butterfly spreading its wings and about to fly.

Seeing that there was still some time, Malu quickly used a handkerchief soaked in butter to wipe the exposed parts of her hands and neck, which made her frown. She really liked to feel fresh, so she took a new handkerchief and dipped the last bit of rice powder on it to apply on her hands and neck, and it finally felt much better.

Now she not only has a beautiful face without makeup, but her hair and clothes also emphasize the feeling of elegance and casualness. There is also a faint fragrance of milk on her body, which may be caused by working in the kitchen for too long.

After finishing all this, Malu checked her whole body one last time, took a few deep breaths to encourage herself, and then walked slowly to the corner of the tea room to get the snacks she had prepared to find Aunt Shuyu.

Not long after arriving there, Aunt Shuyu called Malu's name: "Why are you here so late? Come on, come on, help fill in the vacancy today, stand at the end, and give me some refreshments."

The others were busy, and only one or two noticed that Malu seemed unusually beautiful today. But seeing that she was still dressed as plainly as usual, it was not a good time to ask. Malu obediently lowered her head and followed the tea-serving maid in front of her, holding the teapot steadily, and asked the system with a little surprise in her heart.

"What's going on? I thought I would be asked to serve tea to the emperor."

The system didn't know either. It had been preparing with Malu and was also very nervous, so it didn't pay attention to Aunt Shuyu's situation. It could only comfort Malu: "Wouldn't it be too conspicuous to let you go first? Maybe Aunt Shuyu has her own arrangements."

Malu thought about it and thought, if it doesn't work this time, there will be next time, just treat it as a drill! Thinking of this, she calmed down and followed the palace maid in front of her who was serving tea.

Arriving at the South Study Room in the southwest corner of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, everything was normal. Aunt Shu Yu served tea to the emperor first, and the maid behind her added some tea for the guests, so that the emperor would not have no tea to drink when he summoned a minister to discuss the matter. Before it was Ma Lu's turn to add more tea, he heard the voice of a young but already quite majestic man at the top: "I have never seen this, what is this?"

Malu's heart tightened, but he didn't dare to look at the emperor, as this was disrespectful. As soon as the emperor spoke, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to bow respectfully towards the emperor, waiting for his instructions.

I only heard Aunt Shu Yu say softly, "This is a snack invented by the maids in the tea room. It's called 'Da Fu'. If the emperor is interested, it would be a great blessing for everyone in the tea room to try one."

Then there was silence. Malu thought the emperor was eating snacks. He thought the emperor had good manners as he ate without making any noise. Just as he was thinking about this and that, he heard the emperor speak again: "Great! The name is also festive. We can make this more often in the future. The purple one is grapes, and the yellow one is?"

Kangxi was truly amazed. He took a sip and tasted the delicate, sweet taste with a hint of coolness. The refreshing fruity aroma dispelled all the heat of the day.

Aunt Shu Yu bowed and said to the emperor, "I dare to ask the little palace maid to explain a few things to your majesty. I know tea, but cooking is really too difficult for me."

Kangxi laughed: "Shu Yu, you have served the emperor for so many years, but this is the first time I see you exposing your shortcomings. Spread the word!"

Malu quickly placed the tea set on the table beside her, took small steps forward, and kowtowed to Shu Yu: "Your servant Wuya Malu greets His Majesty."