The little lady in the dining room

Chapter 163 Primary Election

Seven Palaces.

The dark night shrouded the sky above the palace, and under the night were scattered courtyards.The warm yellow light diffuses gently everywhere, and the place where the light beam is slightly longer seems to be covered with a misty yellow mist.

In Yi Liangyuan's bedroom, the maidservants were busy packing their luggage.Both Qiwang and Yi Liangyuan were in the outhouse, but Yi Liangyuan was also busy.

She wiped the multi-treasure stand in front of her every now and then, and occasionally glanced at someone who looked pleasing to the eye, so she casually ordered people to pretend to take it into the palace together, and she just regarded the seven kings behind her as nothing.

After a while, the Seven Kings finally couldn't bear it anymore, and sighed: "Ah Xin, don't be angry."

Yi's hand paused: "Isn't Your Highness angry with my concubine?"

One sentence choked the Seven Kings so much that they couldn't speak.

Yi Shi continued to pack the things in front of him.In fact, the multi-treasure rack is very clean, and someone wipes it every day, so there is no need for her to do it here herself.She just wanted to find an excuse not to look back at him, and she was filled with grievance and anger.

Because of their daughter, the two had a big fight at noon.A moment later, an imperial decree came from the palace, asking her to go to the Shangyi Bureau to pick someone for the imperial court.

I don't know what the emperor means, and I don't know whether it is good or bad.Yi thought angrily, if he really got picked on something wrong in the palace and let His Majesty vent his anger, he still has the Chu family.

Gritting her silver teeth secretly, Yi Shi glanced at a small ivory stove, opened her mouth and asked the servants to put it on again, suddenly a ring was around her waist!
"..." Yi stopped his hands and held his breath, but he didn't look back.

"I was wrong." Xie Han hugged her, sighed for a moment, then said, "You go to the palace and take care of yourself. Go and see Sydney first when you have time. Brother Ruuohuang is really upset and wants to pick on you, isn't it?" , she is willing to speak and it is always useful."

His warm breath and words poured into his ears together, and Yi's nose was sore: "I said I would not let His Highness force His Majesty not to listen to the Empress Dowager's affairs, and I asked His Highness to personally ask Xiao Zhuo to seal His Highness, but I also refused." ...Your Highness refuses to pay it back, even if you give me a promise, I won't beg my parents to go!"

Xie Yuzhuo is almost half a year old and has not yet been appointed.She had told him several times, but he kept silent every time she mentioned it.She had no choice but to think that she could ask her parents to mention it. From the current point of view, perhaps this move made His Majesty feel that he had a grudge.

Yi felt very remorseful as she thought about it, and burst into tears: "If your majesty is really upset and wants to take it out on me, your majesty should stop arguing. It is also inappropriate for me to do this. Your majesty will obey your majesty when the time comes." It’s soft, Ace and Xiaozhuo are still young.”

"Ah Xin..." Xie Han hugged her tightly and hesitated for a while before saying, "Don't worry, if something happens, someone will come and tell me right away. I'll go and ask Xiao Zhuo to seal it in a few days. Apologize to the emperor face to face."

In the end, it was his stubbornness that was his fault. For several months, he hadn't taken the initiative to see Brother Huang.He held his breath in his heart, but when he thought about it carefully, he didn't seem to be complaining about the emperor's brother's refusal to see his mother for the last time.

He was just in a panic and didn't know what to do.He wanted to see the emperor's brother and live a good life, but it was very difficult. After all, he watched his mother's empress die unwillingly; but he couldn't blame the emperor's brother because of this, the emperor's brother What kind of things he has experienced before, he can still see it with his own eyes even if he can't empathize with it, even if he feels that Brother Huang is a bit cruel, he is not qualified to accuse him of being wrong.

After all, if the same thing happened to him, he didn't know what he would do.

Therefore, in the past few months, although his mother has gone, Xie Han is still caught in the middle as before, feeling that what he does is wrong and what he does is wrong.A conscience split in two was dangling back and forth before his eyes, making him feel ashamed of whichever side he leaned on.

He had no choice but to avoid it like this, sealing himself in the mansion, neither thinking about the affairs of the queen mother nor going to see the emperor brother.But I didn't expect that in the end, Brother Huang misunderstood.

The Imperial Palace, Shangshi Bureau.

From the dawn, the up and down of the Shangshi Bureau seemed extraordinarily solemn.Everyone is still busy with their own work, but their expressions are a little more nervous and less joking.

After breakfast was ready, everyone gathered in the empty front yard and stood neatly according to their positions.Those who were on duty at night and were supposed to go to rest did not return to their rooms at this time, they all nodded and waited in the courtyard.

A moment later, the door of Shangshi Bureau opened.

The heads of the court ladies were lowered a bit, and some young and courageous ones would secretly raise their eyes and see a woman wearing a white top and bottom green breast-length skirt in front of several court ladies and eunuchs. , the flower hairpins on the sideburns are crystal grape green, obviously because the filial piety period has not passed and they are dressed in plain clothes.

In the past three years, everyone in the palace has been like this. After a hundred days of filial piety, the sackcloth has faded, but the red and pink ones are still invisible. Replaced with a plain apricot color.The one in front of her is dressed in plain clothes and has a pair of light pink tourmaline bead earrings hanging on her earlobes, which shows that she is not just an ordinary person.

The original Zou Shangshi has become a teaching nun, and the one who welcomes him now is Fang Shi who has just been promoted from secretary to Shangshi.Mrs. Fang leaned back and said "Madam Wanan", and the other party replied "Congratulations to the promotion of the female officer", and then they entered the main hall together.

The female officials above Dianshan all followed in together, and the rest of the courtyard were younger, and the whispering gradually sounded.

The young maids who had just entered the palace at the beginning of the year were all eight or nine years old. Standing on the side next to the door, dozens of people were chirping.

One said: "That's Mrs. Ruan! My sister Shi Shi told me that they entered the palace in the same year, but Mrs. Ruan is really lucky!"

The other tilted his head curiously: "Then she has just reached the age where she can be a female historian, so she decides to choose someone for the imperial dining room, won't it go wrong?"

"I heard that before she got lucky, she was already a 'female official' personally appointed by His Majesty, and her cooking skills should not be bad." The little girl who was talking looked into the main hall and said, "I don't know What does the Imperial Palace look like? My sisters have been very nervous recently, making me want to go."

They talked non-stop, and the ladies who were older than them couldn't calm down.In the end, it was the female historians standing near the main hall who couldn't listen anymore, so they came over with a straight face and trained them one by one, and ordered a few loudest ones to kneel under the wall as an example, and the courtyard became quiet. .

In the main hall, the female officer of the Dianji presented the roster of Shangshi Bureau to Sydney. The four thick books were heavy in her hands.

Xue Liqiang looked at Fang Shangshi calmly, nodded and said: "Thank you, lady, I will go back to take a closer look tonight, and ask the lady to send me a diary, so that the diary can tell me about the Shangshi Bureau. "

Fang Shi nodded in response, and Xue Li said that she would find a day to say hello to the former Zou Shangshi, Fang Shi laughed and said that today she would take the time to inform her.Afterwards, Xue Li got up first, and everyone immediately left their seats. After saluting each other, they sent her out together, and someone took her to the residence arranged for her by Shangshi Bureau.

I felt it all the way in Sydney - it seemed like a world away!

She has always felt that she has not been here for a long time since she left Shangshi Bureau, and all the scenes of learning cooking skills here when she was a child are still vivid in her mind.When I entered the door today, I realized—oh my God, the twelve or thirteen-year-old maid is already so much younger than her!My God, the little palace maid who just entered the palace this year is not much older than the A Yao who calls her mother!Oh my god, the maids who entered the palace together back then are all at least from the sixth rank of Dianshi now!
She also met a few court ladies who were the same age as Cui Wan—in fact, they were all old enough to be released from the palace, and the ones I can still see now are those who voluntarily stayed and planned to become teaching nuns.Everyone feels close and distant at the same time. It seems that there is a lot to say, but it seems that there is nothing to say.

When they arrived at the residence with Xueli, Chen Qi, who was still acquainted in the past, came in with snacks, and everyone ate and talked at the same time, and it was a little easier.

Chen Qi said: "I heard that Zixian is going to marry Master Wei of the imperial guard? You don't know, when the two of you show up like this, the little maids below will be hard to control. There are always whimsical people who want to climb high. We punish each of them severely every now and then to be able to suppress it.”

"...Sorry, sorry!" Xue Li hurriedly apologized in embarrassment.The court ladies are like this, they can see a noble person from time to time in the palace, but everyone knows that it is not their turn to marry - but if there is a successful one, it will be different, young girls will inevitably love to have dreams, It's very normal to have fantasies.

Everyone exchanged a few greetings, during which someone wanted to express that the accommodation arranged for her by the Shangshi Bureau was a bit shabby, so she should not be offended.Sydney hurriedly said how could it be, I also came from Shangshi Bureau, and I can’t dislike Shangshi Bureau anywhere!
After chatting for a while, the others resigned and let her rest.Dou Sha came in to change her tea, seeing that Xue Li was still looking around, she asked, "What do you need, my lady?"

"Hey..." Xueli sighed and shook her head, "It's nothing, I just said that I was put in the court ladies' courtyard, and now this place is still in accordance with the regulations of the secretary. You go tell Fugui One word, don't let them block people, if anyone comes to ask for an interview, please reply directly, and I will see you if I can."

She understands all the twists and turns of a court lady when she is promoted to the throne. Many of them do not use skills to overwhelm others, but talk about relationships.It was because of this that she accidentally bumped into the small courtyard of the Imperial Guard back then. She originally intended to give gifts to the female officials of the Huanyi Bureau!

The well-connected ones are relaxed, and the unconnected ones are devastated.Xue Li knew that this was an unwritten rule in the palace, but this time she did not intend to follow this rule—after all, she was picking someone for the imperial court, and the emperor also said: "Let this matter be entrusted to you, and you are the 'rule'."

She intends to block the way of contacts with both soft and hard methods.On the one hand, it is to open the door of oneself, so that everyone can see that the most direct "connection" is here, so don't beat around the bush; People who come over to give good words are not allowed to agree indiscriminately-this kind of "helping" layer by layer is the most annoying, and each layer with nine bends and eighteen bends at the bottom has benefits, so let the top one be kept in the dark. Bar?
Arranging this step with a bit of "awe-inspiring righteousness", Sydney looked through the roster for a while and then had lunch. After taking a nap, she was ready to try the dishes in the evening.

This is not a human job...

Sydney thought about it and tears welled up in her eyelashes.Because the Royal Dining Room only needs to pick 300 people at most, and the Shangshi Bureau has more than [-] people, so the selection process is not as beautiful as she imagined!
What she thought at the beginning was that everyone cooks a dish for her to taste, and she thinks "hey, this is delicious" and it can set people down!

It wasn't until she heard Fang Shangshi's arrangement in the main hall just now... that she painfully remembered the steps of the female officials tasting dishes in the Shangshi Bureau in the past.

These two days are just the first round.

Not counting the 72 new maids who entered the palace, among the remaining more than 200 people, the female historians and Dianji all cook the same kind of dishes, the Dianshi and Xuanshi cook the same kind, and the regular servants, respectful envoys, and long envoys cook the same kind.And because it's just the primary selection, the three dishes are very basic and homely!
Sydney has seen the menu, and the three dishes are stir-fried, namely fried shredded pork with chives, fried pork with fungus, and braised tofu.

Sydney made a calculation, and there are 80 people in total for the regular servants, respectful envoys, and chief envoys, and she wants to eat tofu for 80 people...

Can this taste be tasted at the end? !
Fortunately, when it came time to really taste it, it wasn't that difficult to find out.

Stir-fried shredded pork with chives and fried pork with fungus were on the next day, and after she drank tea with a group of high-ranking ladies in the main hall with trepidation, the braised tofu was brought in.

Just like her back then, the maids lined up neatly, each with a small case beside them, in addition to being able to put dishes, they also prepared clean porcelain spoons and chopsticks.

The delicacies pay attention to "full color, fragrance and taste". If the color is not good enough, you don't have to taste it!

After tasting the six people in the first row, Sydney suddenly realized why Fang Shangshi chose this braised tofu.

Although the northern tofu used in this dish is not as tender and smooth as the southern tofu, the tofu is still delicate.If you are not careful when stir-frying, the neatly cut tofu cubes will be broken by the spatula or the corners will be incomplete.This can be avoided as much as possible for the older female officials, but for the younger third-class court ladies, the amount of smashing is enough to distinguish whether they are meticulous in their work and whether they have practiced enough.

When she arrived at the third row, Xueli saw that every piece of tofu was intact, and there was no tofu residue in the soup. She was startled: "How did you do that?"

"There must be no inconspicuous things in the imperial meal. The slaves picked out the broken bits." The little maid in front of her was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and she was a little nervous when she answered. She looked at Xueli's expression, and offered her a porcelain spoon.

Xueli took a sip and asked her, "What's your name? What's your position? Who taught you?"

The little palace maid was overjoyed, and blessed her body: "The slave girl Qin Ruoliu, from the eighth-rank chief envoy, works under Yuenu Shi."

Sydney nodded lightly, and Wei Xi, the diary next to her, memorized the names of the diary pointed out by the food bureau, and she went to taste the next one.

Tasting all the way down the mood is somewhat complicated.Not only do they know, but she also knows that if they can go to the imperial dining room, their future will be different in the future, and now she is deciding their future based on her own preferences, it is inevitable that she is a little... not confident enough!

"Why are you slicing this?" She stopped again, and the shoulders of the maid in front of her trembled: "The servant girl thinks that it is not convenient to scoop up the cut pieces, and will be drawn back and forth on the plate, and the sliced ​​ones will be easier. .”

Sydney laughed and said, "But the sliced ​​ones are easier to smash?"

The maid's complexion tightened.

"It's okay, it's a good idea." Xueli smiled easily, and then took a taste of it with a porcelain spoon, and also asked for the name, signaling Dianji to register.

Out of more than 50 courses, more than [-] were directly screened out because of poor quality. After the maids withdrew, the ladies asked her if she had any additional instructions, such as tasting but not satisfied, or thinking it was okay. Put it directly in the imperial dining room.

Xueli breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that Qin Ruoliu is also screened out. For the others, we can choose later."

The female officials were all startled and looked at each other, but no one said much, so the two dictionaries were marked on the roster according to her wishes.

That night, when the female officer went to the residence of the maids to read the roster, Xue Li happened to be walking in the yard.

Through a courtyard wall, she couldn't see the people over there, and could only hear the clear sound of relief after each name was read.She laughed when she heard it. At the critical moment of promotion, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the female officials came to read the roster, and she did the same...

But at the end of the day, I borrowed him to pave the way...

I hate it, I gave her a few tribute pears and even borrowed Wei Chen's hand to hide it from her. At the palace banquet, she praised her stewed pears with rock sugar and kept her without telling her the truth...

Xueli smirked as she thought about it, and kicked the stones on the ground with her feet, and suddenly there was a scream in the room behind her!
Xue Li hurried in to check, and when she looked up, she saw Dou Sha covering her mouth against the wall.Following her gaze, the suitcase brought from Jiugeyuan was opened, and a little girl's lower body was inside, while the upper body was drooping along the edge and listless.

"...A Yao?!" Xue Li carried her out and put her on the couch in astonishment, "Why are you here?!"

Ayao pursed her mouth and looked unhappy: "Mother, why did you come back! I hid in the box for a long time! I wanted to scare you, but I couldn't bear it anymore after hiding, so I had to come out by myself..."

...and then scare the bean paste?
Xueli became even more frightened when she thought about it carefully, and hurriedly asked to the end—it would be too dangerous for her to shrink in the box since she left Jiugeyuan!Maybe it will suffocate to death!

Fortunately, A Yao shook his head and said no.She said that she came after her later, and she asked someone where Shangshi Bureau was if she didn't know her, but the first person who asked brought her here.

Xueli was relieved while bluffing her: "What if no one tells you and you lose it!"

"No way!" A Yao looked at her with bright eyes, "I haven't left the palace yet, isn't the palace our home? Am I not the Emperor Ji?"

It makes sense, if Di Ji asks directions in the palace, who would dare not tell her!

Then Ah Yao took the initiative to "confess" again. She said that her father told her that her mother might have to stay in Shangshi Bureau for half a month before going back. Out.Because she wanted to scare her, after entering Shangshi Bureau, she seriously warned everyone who saw her and asked them not to speak out!
A Yao, who has always been obedient, suddenly became weird, and she was still thinking clearly, Xue Li was about to kneel down for her...

A Yao leaned over and squeezed into her arms: "Mother, the emperor won't come, right? Then mother will hug me to sleep at night!"

"..." Xueli raised her eyebrows, "No way, the maids around you will be anxious if you sneak out! Although Qingxi heard that Han left the palace, Kumquat and the others, as well as sour plum and ebony, would also be worried about you. You have to go back obediently."

Ah Yao frowned, and after a moment of silence, she raised her face: "No! Mother just ask Dou Sha to tell them! I want to stay with Mother!"

Sydney: "..."

Well, hang on.A Yao has always been very sensible, and there are only a handful of times when she is unreasonable. This time, the "unreasonable" is only because of kissing her, and it is not good for her to force her to scold her back.

Seeing Ayao who nodded in Sydney made me happy!Lie down on the couch with a sigh of relief, swaying all over the place, the hem of the skirt was spread out in a big spread.

Seeing her like this, Xueli also thought it was cute, so she couldn't help but leaned over and kissed her for a long time, and then asked her: "What do you want to eat? This is Shangshi Bureau, you can eat whatever you want."

"I've already eaten, mother, please rest!" A Yao put her arms around her neck and told her to lie down, Xue Li smiled, and said to her: "Mother, go wash up first, you wait for a while."

A Yao nodded and said "OK", Xueli got up and straightened her dress, Yangyin told Dousha and the others to prepare water.

After a while, Brown Tang came in with water, and Sydney tested the temperature of the water. Just as she was about to splash a handful on her face, Fugui said at the door, "My lady."

"Huh?" Xueli poured the water back and turned her head.

Fugui's words were light: "A female historian came and insisted on seeing his wife. I said they would not leave after the lady rested."

Xue Li saw that his expression was wrong, and he also knew most of the people in the female history position, so she asked him, "Which female history?"

Fugui bowed coldly, and was about to answer when a female voice rang out behind him...

The voice was clear and respectful: "It's getting late, I've disturbed my lady's rest, my lady forgive me."

(End of this chapter)