The Virtuous Concubine

Malu had been learning embroidery for the whole morning and was tired, so she fell asleep quickly. When she woke up from her nap and rinsed her mouth, she saw that it was still bright in the sky, so she decided to go see her grandfather, Ecan.

Ecan lived in the main house, which was also clean and simple, without any decoration except for the calligraphy and paintings on the wall. The only things on display in the hall were the rewards bestowed by the emperor.

As soon as Malu saw Ecan, he rushed over and called him grandpa sweetly according to his memory. Ecan loved this little granddaughter who grew up in front of him very much. He caught the little firecracker girl and turned her around. After weighing Malu, he asked Malu with a smile: "Malu, why did you come at this time today?"

Malu pretended to be shy and took out a handkerchief and handed it to Ecan: "Malu learned needlework from Nanny Chen today, and embroidered a handkerchief for grandpa."

When Ecan saw the handkerchief, he smiled even more happily - you couldn't tell what was embroidered on the handkerchief at all, there were only a few horizontal and vertical embroidery threads and some holes left over from trying the needle and then removing the threads.

It's good for a child to have such a heart! E-chan happily spread out the handkerchief and looked at it again and again. He was extremely satisfied. He carefully put it in his arms and touched Malu's head: "Grandfather is very happy! Our Malu has grown up!"

Malu smiled and said, "Being good to Grandfather is what Malu should do. But Malu has two things I want to ask Grandfather. Can Grandfather help Malu?"

E-chan nodded: "Go ahead."

Malu said bluntly: "Malu wants to embroider words and patterns, but Malu can't read, and doesn't know how to draw, so he can't draw patterns well. Grandfather, can you find someone to teach me?"

When Ecan heard this, he couldn't help but take another look at his granddaughter, and then said, "There are not many people among us Manchu bannermen who can read and paint."

Malu looked up at Ecan with a touch of cruelty in her innocence: "Why don't we just find a southern barbarian? Southern barbarians are cheap!"

This "Southern Barbarians" is a derogatory term used by northerners to refer to Han people living south of the Yangtze River. The status of Han people in the Qing Dynasty was originally low. Even though the southern part of China was a land of plenty and the influence of southern scholars was gradually increasing, some people in the Central Plains still looked down on people from these places, and this concept was particularly strong in the Qing Dynasty.

E-Chan thought about it and couldn't help but feel a little moved, but he still asked Malu: "Malu, these are not easy to learn."

Malu lowered her head and said softly, "I know that learning these things costs a lot. That's why Malu wants to learn embroidery well. In the future, Malu will be selected to enter the palace, and she must have a skill to gain a foothold in the palace."

E Can asked again: "Why do you have to learn calligraphy and painting? There are many women who can embroider, but not many who can paint and write. You don't need to be literate to be a palace maid. Only those who want to be a female official can be selected in this area. Do you want to stay in the palace and be a female official for the rest of your life?"

Malu heard this and felt that she was worthy of being in charge of the imperial kitchen. This was a perfect statement and she could not fool him at all. So she looked up at E Can and asked slowly, "Does Xiao Xuan have only two options to enter the palace, to be a palace maid or a female official?"

E-chan was a little surprised to hear this. A six-year-old girl wanted to be a queen? Who taught her? Was it Sai and Li?

Thinking of this, Ecan was a little angry. He could understand Sai and Li's partiality, but what did they want to do by instigating a six-year-old child like this?

E Can shook his head: "You are too young to know what the situation is like in the palace. You are tempted by others' talk about wealth and honor, but you don't know that place is very hard."

Malu also knew that he was only six years old, so he could only slowly convince Ecan: "Malu is not doing this for his own wealth, but for the wealth of his family and the wealth of the Uya clan. Doesn't your grandfather know what your father is like and what your brother is like?"

"Now we have grandfather's connections and prestige to support us, but what about the future? Now we advocate the unity of Manchu and Han people. Studying Chinese studies will not offend anyone. Instead, it is support and compliance with the emperor. After Malu finishes her studies, she will enter the palace. At worst, she will be a female official in the palace. At least she can help the Uya family when she is in her forties or fifties like my grandfather did."

What Malu didn't say was that if he succeeded, he would be extremely rich and have a hereditary title.

After hearing this well-reasoned analysis, E-Chan felt even more moved. It wasn't that he was trying to incite her, it was just that this child was only six years old! At the age of six, his thinking was so meticulous and thoughtful. If he was trained well for ten years, would he be able to achieve something?

The time when the former Empress Xiaoxian, also known as Consort Dong E, was the most favored concubine in the harem was still vivid in everyone's memory. As the chief steward of the imperial kitchen, E'can of course knew that the late emperor had a common language with Dong E because he was fond of Chinese studies.

Although I don't expect such a fate to happen, it's still possible that if my child is proficient in Chinese studies, he can get more love, right?

But E-chan was still an experienced person and thought that this matter needed to be carefully planned. So he angrily said, "Nonsense! Do you still need a little girl like you to take care of the family affairs? Don't tell this to anyone else."

Malu knew there was something going on when he heard it, and quickly agreed: "Yes, yes, this is indeed something I can only discuss with my grandfather."

Ecan was relieved at this and said to Malu, "You want to learn painting and calligraphy, it's not a big deal. If a child is eager to learn, all adults will support him. What will happen in the future depends on fate. How many people are well-read but still frustrated? A skill can only allow you to have enough food and clothing. If you are too greedy, you will only make mistakes and end up in ruin!"

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Malu immediately expressed his gratitude. E-chan nodded in satisfaction and said, "Then I will take you to buy official slaves. The chances of picking out those who can read and write are higher. You just need to study embroidery well and stop talking nonsense. Do you hear me?"

Malu smiled: "Grandfather is still good to me! I will never say anything nonsense. What would you like to eat today? Malu will make it for you!"

Ecan's serious expression suddenly relaxed: "You are not even as tall as the stove, what can you do?"

Malu explained: "I will do what I can first, and then I will learn cooking from my grandfather. I will not let my grandfather's unique skills be lost!"

E-Chan smiled and shook his head: "You, didn't you say you wanted to learn calligraphy and painting? Why are you going into the kitchen again?"

Malu thought that these were not a problem at all. She could just learn to cook a dish every day, since she would eat it every day anyway. So her schedule was almost set.

After paying respects in the morning, she practiced embroidery while it was still light. In the evening, she went to see Ecan and learned cooking from him. If the finished product was delicious, she would occasionally send it to Saiheli or Weiwu.

Since she hadn't found a good calligraphy and painting master yet, she took the enlightenment books that Bai Qi didn't use and read them herself. She didn't use ink or paper, but just used Bai Qi's unused pen, dipped it in water and practiced calligraphy on a wooden board.

She also wanted to find Bai Qi and ask him to teach her the parts she didn't understand, but unfortunately Sai and Li felt that this would delay Bai Qi's studies and talked to her about it in private.

Malu gave up completely. Ecan knew she was in a difficult situation, but he wanted to see how long she could hold on, so he didn't interfere. In fact, if Ecan hadn't made the decision, Malu wouldn't even be able to get the books that Baiqi didn't need. Sai and Li were only willing to give her some small things.

After Malu finished learning the Three Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, and Thousand Character Classic, her embroidery began to show results. It was easy to embroider simple flowers, plants, insects, and fish, and small items such as handkerchiefs and sachets could also be made very delicate. In addition, she came from the modern era and had some aesthetic sense and ingenuity. On her days off, she took Chen Mama to sell and saved six taels of silver.

Don't underestimate these few taels of silver. At this time, the annual living expenses of a family of five are only 40 taels of silver. Nanny Chen was amazed at the effect. The price-setting and negotiation skills that the young lady taught her were really useful!