The Virtuous Concubine

Malu naturally understood immediately - the palace maids transferred from the Cining Palace would not be treated harshly by the people under Kangxi's lineage, but they would definitely not be reused. Bai Xia obviously did not have any connections, otherwise she would not have fallen to the point of being chosen by Aunt Shuyu to follow her.

Thinking of this, she used the favorability analyzer to check and found that Bai Xia's favorability towards her was currently 55, 5 points short of the most basic passing score, while Bai Fu's was even lower, at only 40 points.

She quickly asked the system: "Why is it so low?"

The system replied to her: "This is the normal value. We just met you. This is because you gave out 20 taels, so the value has increased!"

Malu couldn't help but feel choked with anger. She knew that people in the palace were indifferent, but when she met people with high values ​​like Madam Liu and Shu Yu, she inevitably raised her expectations.

In fact, these two people have reached such a high level because they have the E-ginseng or Hongyu as a restraint and bond, and they have been getting along with each other for about half a year.

However, she quickly adjusted her mindset, realizing that it takes time and shared experiences for people to get to know each other, and she wasn't a charmer, so she just had to take it slow!

At this time, Bai Xia was already a little nervous. Because she came from the Cining Palace, she had actually been on the bench for a long time. Malu's silence at this moment made her afraid that she would still be treated coldly as before. Fortunately, Malu smiled soon: "Oh my God, Aunt Shuyu picked a big shot for me. Anyone who can serve in the Cining Palace and be transferred to the Qianqing Palace must be a good person."

Bai Xia quickly said a few polite words and expressed his true feelings: "No, no! Thanks to the master for not despising me. I will definitely follow you in the future, and I hope you can give me more advice. At that time, I was only responsible for sweeping the courtyard in the Cining Palace. Later, a large number of people were replaced in the Qianqing Palace, and there was a shortage of manpower for a while, so..."

At this point, Bai Xia realized that she seemed to have said something she shouldn't have said, so she quickly stopped talking. Malu naturally understood, and she wrote down the information and decided to ask Aunt Shuyu and Ecan later, and then she pretended not to hear it and changed the subject: "So what are you responsible for after coming to the Qianqing Palace?"

Bai Xia was relieved: "I am responsible for watching over the stove and making tea. But Miss Liyu is very strict about this matter, and there is nothing to do on a daily basis. That's why Aunt Shuyu transferred me here to see if I can help with the tea room in the southeast."

Malu nodded: "I am in charge of the emperor's tea and snacks. I think you know my situation..." He lowered his voice here. Seeing that Bai Xia did not look envious or disgusted, he continued: "I will continue to be in charge of tea and snacks in the next period of time. I will go to the imperial kitchen to get some ingredients and make snacks. There is nothing particularly complicated to do. I am wronging you."

Bai Xia shook his head like a rattle: "How could it be! It is my blessing to be able to learn a little from you."

Malu teased her with a smile, seemingly unintentionally: "You are embarrassing me with your words. How can it be better than having you by the side of the Grand Empress Dowager?"

As the two chatted, Bai Xia relaxed and said frankly: "The Empress Dowager is very majestic, and everyone is in awe of her. It is inevitable that they are a little timid when doing things. It is better to be kind than the master."

When Ma Lu heard this, he knew that Xiaozhuang was probably very strict, so he wanted to ask her more questions: "Don't say this in front of others in the future, or they will misunderstand you. But doesn't the Empress Dowager worship Buddha every day? What are you afraid of?"

Bai Xia nodded, as if remembering something terrible: "Although the Empress Dowager worships Buddha, she is actually the Fighting Buddha... She doesn't even respond to the Emperor's orders. What's more, the people in the Cining Palace are replaced very frequently! Except for Su Malagu, the people are almost replaced like water."

Bai Xia said this just to show that she was not a pawn or spy of the Grand Empress Dowager. But in Malu's mind, this was naturally not the point. Whether she was a pawn or not was not a big deal for the time being. The important thing was that it meant that Xiaozhuang was either cruel and ruthless, not taking the lives of her servants seriously, or that she was active and still firmly controlled the harem.

The system interrupted: "Can't it be both?"

Ma Lu thought so too, and asked Bai Xia: "Then the emperor is not angry? It is said that the emperor's words are followed by laws. Is the Empress Dowager just going to give the emperor no face?"

Bai Xia hurriedly smiled and said, "How can someone of my rank know this? I just heard a few vague arguments while sweeping the courtyard. To be honest, the ladies in the harem are the ones I've seen more."

Malu seemed to be interested: "Hey, Bai Xia, tell me in detail." Then he took out a golden melon seed from the box and stuffed it into her hand: "You also know...sooner or later I will have to deal with all the ladies, tell me more."

Bai Xia refused twice, but seeing that Malu was determined to give it to her, she accepted the melon seeds and advised her: "Miss, if you want to know, I will tell you everything I know, but this is more revealing, why don't you go back first? I will stay by your side and tell you slowly."

Malu nodded, and Bai Xia walked in front with a lamp in hand, leading Malu back to bed. She tucked in the quilt for Malu and put away her embroidered shoes, then sat on the footstool beside the bed and whispered to Malu about the situation in the harem.

Half a year ago, Kangxi had just established the system of the harem, with one empress, one imperial concubine, two noble concubines, then four concubines and six imperial concubines, and an indefinite number of noble ladies, maids, and concubines. After Empress Hesheli passed away, Concubine Tong was in charge of the six palaces, and Concubine Nianhulu assisted.

Therefore, on the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month, Concubine Tong would lead the palace maids to the Cining Palace to pay respects to the Grand Empress Dowager, and then go to the Ningshou Palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager.

But the greetings were not peaceful. The Empress Dowager favored Khorchin concubines, but there were only two Mongolian concubines in the harem, one of whom was Huifei, the daughter of Khorchin Taiji Borjigit Ayushi, who died eight years ago. In terms of seniority, she was still the emperor's cousin.

Malu couldn't hold back when she heard this - Kangxi didn't even let his cousin go? She knew that this was a political marriage after all, and there were even closer blood relatives in the Qing Dynasty, but she had just been heartbroken, so she couldn't stand Kangxi.

Another concubine in the harem, Borjigit Changzai, had never been favored in the palace and lived only under the protection of the Grand Empress Dowager. Except for these two who could get some favor from the Grand Empress Dowager, all other concubines had been favored by the Grand Empress Dowager.

At this time, the former dynasty was busy with the Three Feudatories Rebellion, and the position of Queen was vacant. Concubine Tong and Concubine Niuhulu, as the two most likely candidates for Queen in the harem, were secretly competing with each other.

Then Bai Xia talked about some trivial daily matters, and Malu fell asleep while Bai Xia was chattering.

The next day, Malu felt refreshed. She asked Bai Fu to replace Bai Xia, who had worked hard all night, and took Bai Fu to inspect the southeast corner tea room, which she rarely visited.

The structure and furnishings of this tea room are actually similar, but there are fewer people. It is not often used on a daily basis. Only when the Qianqing Palace holds a big banquet or a large-scale sacrificial ceremony, the people from the two tea rooms will work together.

So Malu quickly got to know these people and asked them to continue working according to their original duties. He was only responsible for the tea and snacks. After reassuring everyone, Malu took Bai Fu to the imperial kitchen.

Along the way, Malu was actually observing Bai Fu, who had a very low favorability towards him. It must be said that the people in the palace are really good at acting. There is really no sign of abnormality on her face, but this 40-point favorability is really the lowest value Malu has ever seen.

Even the people in the tea room who I just met looked at this parachuted leader and none of them were less than 50!