Author: Ong Ah Hong

"Then why didn't Your Majesty let Lady Li become the queen? If Lady Li became the queen, wouldn't it mean that there would be nothing wrong with the queen, and the world would be at peace?"

The girls squeezed closer together, and the girl who started the conversation continued: "I heard that Empress Li killed many concubines and royal heirs in the palace, and also killed many palace maids and female officials..."

There was a "pop" sound, and someone slapped the window. The girls were so frightened that they trembled and heard a nanny's voice admonishing them: "Why don't you go to bed quickly? I want to kneel on the tiles this night.

Or do you want to hold the basin?"

The girl closest to the light quickly blew out the oil lamp and got into bed. The girls slept peacefully, and the room fell into silence.

Wang Yifu suddenly opened her eyes, and everything in front of her eyes was pitch black. She thought of her mother's face again, with purple-red bags under her eyes always hanging down, and she often shed tears in the wind.

She asked her mother why she was crying. Her mother knelt down and wanted to explain to her. She tried to speak but could not answer. In the end, she lowered her head and cried out of breath. She also failed to understand from her mother's mouth.

The reason for crying.

As soon as it started to dawn, someone knocked on the door in the courtyard to wake them up. Grandma Zhou led the two palace ladies into the house with two large bundles. The palace ladies put the bundles on the Kang and stood aside.

Aunt Zhou pointed to the baggage, "When you enter the imperial city, you are half a palace maid. The clothes here are spring palace clothes, two for each person. Someone will send you clothes when the season changes. Now change your clothes and follow me.

."

The clothes sent by the palace maids were nothing more than a white inner skirt and a pink narrow-sleeved jacket, both made of coarse cloth, and a chestnut brown belt. After wearing them, it was easy to move around.

The girls were taken to a large courtyard by Aunt Zhou, where many people had already gathered.

There are three rows of long tables in the center of the courtyard. There are about a dozen chopping boards placed on each row of tables. Next to the chopping boards are civil and military kitchen knives, several clay pots, a bamboo basket filled with eggplants, cucumbers and other vegetables and fruits, and a chicken.

.

"Each person has a chopping board, and everyone should find a place to stand."

After Grandma Zhou finished speaking, the girls swarmed forward to grab the seats in the first row. Wang Yifu had targeted the second row early in the morning and ran over to strike first.

Those girls in the first row who had not been grabbed, under the eyes of Grandma Zhou, only dared to push slightly and did not dare to use excessive force. In the end, those who could not be grabbed had to go to the back obediently.

When the morning light entered the yard, three more older women walked in. The first one was wearing a parrot green coat with flowers, a silver-gray horse-faced skirt, and a bun on her head.

Wearing an apricot blossom hairpin inlaid with gold and aquamarine.

The three of them walked in front of the girls, with a calm demeanor, which naturally made these girls dare not move.

Aunt Zhou introduced: "This is the director of the Neijiaofang, Aunt Chen, the largest official in our Neijiaofang.

Auntie turned out to be the female official of the Shangshi Bureau. In these years, the maids of the Shangshi Bureau were taught by Aunt Chen herself. You should listen carefully to Aunt Chen’s teachings. The remaining two are Aunt Xia and Aunt Feng.

The teacher who teaches you about food."

Grandma Chen's temples are already graying, and there are many wrinkles hanging around her eyes. Her face is friendly and kind, and her wrinkles become deeper when she smiles, but she is not stingy with her smile.

"I know you are all a little nervous when entering the palace. Every time I see a new girl entering the palace, I can always think of how I looked when I entered the palace many years ago. I was so nervous that I couldn't say my name was nervous."

The girls couldn't help but burst into laughter. They regained their composure after being glared at by Aunt Zhou for a few times.

"I have stayed in the imperial city for forty years and am now fifty-five years old. I used to be a female official in the Shangshi Bureau and was the largest official in the Shangshi Bureau. So I know the affairs of the Shangshi Bureau relatively well and am willing to come.

Here we teach you.

My requirements are rather strict. Anyone who violates the palace rules, has unclean hands and feet, or cannot learn the craftsmanship, I will not let her have the opportunity to enter the palace, do you understand?"

After everyone answered, they were both happy and afraid of this nanny who said every word. Of course, they were happy because she could make jokes, and she must not be the kind of person who always retaliates. But they were afraid because she was very demanding and she was just afraid that they would learn skills and work.

There is nothing lazy about it.

Grandma Chen got straight to the point and taught her first lesson, "There are many people in the palace. If one person opens his mouth, the Shangshi Bureau and the Yamen will definitely not be able to take care of everything.

Under normal circumstances, the eunuchs of the Shang Food Supervisor are responsible for the daily diet of the internal officials and maids, and even the female officials of the Six Bureaus and One Palace. The diet of the masters, princes, princesses, and the wet nurses of the emperors is responsible for the daily diet.

The Shangshi Bureau is specifically responsible for this.

The matter is of great importance. The first priority for the food court ladies is cleanliness. From today on, your hair must be tightly coiled on your head. There is a wide white cloth strip on the table for wrapping your hair, as well as a white cloth vest.

The skirt and two sleeves will be washed every day in the palace, so you must change them every day and keep them clean."

Everyone arranged their hair and tied their vest skirts according to Grandma Chen's instructions.

Grandma Chen walked to the center of the second row of tables, right in front of Wang Yifu. She called from left and right: "Everyone, come around."

The girls all gathered around. Nanny Chen turned back to grab the knife. When she looked up and saw Wang Yifu, she felt as if a lightning flash had struck her head and she was stunned.

This look was exactly the same as that one, and the afterimages of the old days suddenly came to my mind.

Seeing the strange behavior of Nanny Chen, Wang Yifu reminded: "Nanny?"

Grandma came back to her senses and asked with a smile: "What's your name?"

"My surname is Wang, and my name is Yifu. I think Yi is from Furong."

"You look somewhat similar to an old friend of mine. I was in a daze for a moment and lost my composure. I hope I didn't scare you."

"Thanks to grandma for caring, Eph was not frightened."

"Although you are similar to my old friend, I will not favor you. Here, everything depends on craftsmanship. Do you all understand?"

"clear."

Grandma Chen established her authority, took out the knife from the leather sheath, poured water from the large white porcelain basin on the side, poured it on the knife and wiped it, then picked up a chicken and a cucumber from the vegetable basket, and raised it

The voice said:

"This knife is called the civil and military knife. It is the main tool you use in the palace. There are twelve main knife methods for cooking: cutting, slicing, peeling, chopping, slashing, splitting, picking, beating, gouging, spinning, and scraping.

Carving.”

As she spoke, she demonstrated the knife skills. After a while, a chicken was perfectly deboned, and the chicken breast was cut into three shapes: slices, dices, and shreds. A cucumber was cut into three sections, peeled and patted, and there was also a piece of coir raincoat.

, a piece of carving.

"From today on, you will practice these twelve sword techniques until you are proficient. I will personally check them after one month.

Aunt Xia and Aunt Feng will refine your techniques in detail. In the future, when you get to the Shangshi Bureau, you will also have to start with small jobs such as chopping vegetables, so you must have a solid foundation in basic skills and start practicing."

The girls all returned to their seats, but Grandma Chen still stayed in front of Wang Yifu.
Chapter completed!