The little lady in the dining room

Chapter 54 Thanks
Standing in front of the red wall, Xue Li took a deep breath and made great determination before stepping in.

Since I came to the Imperial Dining Room, I haven't been to the harem much—I still had the opportunity to pass by when I was in the Shangshi Bureau, but even the chance to pass by the Imperial Dining Room was rare.

She even had an illusion that Zichen Palace was so far away from the harem.But in fact, there is only such a palace wall. Behind the palace wall is a narrow and solemn palace road. After walking for a while, you will first see the Changqiu Palace, and after passing the Changqiu Palace, it is the residence of the concubines.

When Sydney arrived at Roujia Palace, a young lady of the same age came out to meet her, and introduced her to a palace as she passed by.Xue Li just listened quietly, and looked up occasionally, the last time she came back to Roujia Palace was in Laba last year, that day Concubine Hui hosted a banquet to invite Liugong to celebrate the festival, and they sent a lot of people from Shangshi Bureau to help.

I can't remember most of the day's events at this moment, and there is almost only one impression left: I am so busy.

There was only one thing that left a deep impression on her, that is, when the emperor passed by, she, and all the younger maids, didn't realize it, and were terrified when they came back to see the ceremony.

——At that time, she didn't know that Commander-in-Chief was the emperor!
Sydney recalled this feeling of embarrassment.Before she knew it, she had already walked in front of the Qingxin Hall, and the little maid who brought her back stepped aside and bowed: "Sister, please."

Xue Li thanked her, and gave her a small piece of broken silver. As soon as she took a step, a big maid from the palace came out to welcome her.

"Female officer." Xueli returned Yifu, "The slave is Ruan Xueli from the imperial dining room, who came to thank Mrs. Hui."

Lan Xin looked at her and said with a smile, "Come in."

Xue Li followed her in. The main hall was large but empty, with four maids guarding it, and there was no movement at all.

Lan Xin took her to the side hall, let her sit, and noticed the food box in her hand: "This is..."

Xue Li hurriedly took the food box over and said nervously, "I made the snack that Madam Dao likes."

Lan Xin pondered for a while, told her as usual "I'll go in and report", and then went into the hall.

Concubine Hui was leaning on the couch, flipping through the account book in her hand.Another big court lady, Yue Xin, half-knelt beside the couch and beat her legs. Lan Xin stopped when she was three or five steps away from the couch, and said steadily: "Mr. Ruan is here, waiting in the side hall. She is wearing Wearing a colored skirt, wearing a pair of combs given by the madam. She looks cute, and the slave looks at Concubine Bi Li..."

Concubine Hui cut off her words with a glance, Lan Xin knew she had slipped her words, and immediately lowered her eyes.

Concubine Hui didn't reprimand her, but said slowly: "I have made it clear to everyone that I shouldn't think too much about it, and I don't think too much about it. But before His Majesty summoned her to the couch, she is just a little maid. "

Long days are boring, there are many people in the palace from concubines to palace people who like to gossip.Everyone would take it for fun to say a casual rumor, but if the rumor spreads too much, there will be big troubles.

Lan Xin complied with her promise, and went forward to put the food box in her hand on the table beside the couch, she opened it and said, "She said she made Madam's favorite dessert."

A plate of radish cake and a plate of sweet bean paste were brought out, and she stepped back to the side, bent her knees, and went to open the low cabinet next to her.

Concubine Hui frowned: "What are you doing?"

"Is it something brought by an outsider? This servant will test it." Lan Xin took the silver needle and stepped forward, but before she got close, Concubine Hui stretched out her hand to signal to stop.

Concubine Hui's eyes were fixed on the plate of radish cake, her face was as plain as ever: "Should we inspect the things in the imperial dining room?"

Xueli was bored waiting outside, and the rules kept her from moving around, not even looking around.

After a while, Lan Xin came out and told her that Mrs. Concubine Hui was resting and asked her to wait.

She had no choice but to obediently obediently, after Lan Xin left again, another court lady came in and brought her tea and snacks.

One of the plates was crab shell yellow.

This thing is difficult to say, but the ingredients almost taste wrong. There are not many people in Shangshi Bureau who can achieve "special alignment", and they are all high-ranking and senior female officials. They are not very familiar with them.

So this not-so-special snack has become something she rarely eats, and she can only think about it occasionally when she thinks of this taste.

Now that such a dish is at hand, Sydney can tell it is well done at a glance!

The crisp layer is bright and golden, really like a crab shell.Each sesame oil is shiny, and each one is full.As long as it is left like this, the strong salty and fragrant stuffing smell will come out. After smelling it for a while, Sydney feels like water... I am hungry.

She was trying to look very presentable!After thinking about it, don't drink tea or eat!

But... But this is all here, and since Concubine Hui is resting, she doesn't know how long she will have to wait, what if she has to wait until very late?
He secretly glanced at the plate of crab shell yellow, they were all the size of a bite, which was convenient.

then eat it...

She happily took one and put it in her mouth. After biting into it, it was still warm.

The crispy skin peeled off layer by layer in the mouth, and the mixed aroma of fresh meat, crab powder and scallion oil burst out all at once, lingering on the tip of the tongue for a long time.

Eat Sydney full of comfort!

When Gong'e went into the bedroom to report the conversation, Concubine Hui was sipping tea, her complexion froze as she listened, and she felt a slight choke of tea in her throat.

"What?" She frowned, slightly startled, "Has she had a snack?"

"Yes..." Na Gong'e was also a little awkward when she said that, "When the servant came over, I had already eaten three pieces of crab shell yolk, one piece of mung bean cake, and half a cup of tea."

... so rare.

Concubine Hui, who is familiar with etiquette, was a little overwhelmed at first hearing this.For a long time, it has been an unwritten rule that when a low-ranking person visits a high-ranking one, they will not be distracted, and at most they will drink a sip of tea.

She doesn't know how this rule came about, but in short, the current harem also does this.Counting it down, only Concubine Shu and Li Concubine would eat a small piece of it while waiting to see her - this was to appear close to her, and to separate herself from the low-ranking concubines.

But it's just such a small piece, and it means something.Taste slowly, talk, and boast a few words to the maids around you to create harmony.

——But Ruan Shi, she is really eating!

But we can’t say she’s wrong. Serving tea and snacks is the best way to treat guests. If the “guest” eats it, can the “host” rush forward and say that you shouldn’t eat it?
No.

Concubine Hui managed to clear her mind, but she was still a little dazed when she spoke: "Go and watch, if it's not enough... then serve her another plate."

Never allow guests to empty their plates.

Then, the atmosphere in the entire Qingxin Hall became a little strange.

The maid who just went in to report the message first went to the small kitchen to pass the message and add some snacks.After a while, it was brought to Sydney, and the four maids waiting in the outer hall all looked astonished: I haven't seen any snacks for those waiting.

But Sydney couldn't see their expressions, so she didn't know about it!So eat a piece when you are hungry, eat a piece when you are bored, and eat a piece if you have no taste in your mouth...

After sitting for an hour, Lan Xin came out again, and said to her apologetically, "Miss, don't wait any longer. Madam is not in good spirits and doesn't want to see people. I brought your thanks. Madam understands."

Lan Xin said to sweep the case, she ate one plate and two of eight crab shell yolks, one plate and one of four mung bean cakes, okay...

After saying this, she planned to go back and return to her life. Thinking about the next rules, this girl will definitely not count, so she just replied "Mr. Ruan has kowtowed, and she has already resigned". It's not a big deal anyway.

Before turning around, Xue Li stood up first, straightened her dress, and bowed down to the bedroom in a straight manner.

Lan Xin: "..."

Do you understand the rules? !
Zichen Palace.

When the emperor heard that Sydney was back, he immediately asked someone to "invite" her over.Although he felt that Concubine Hui would not do anything that he shouldn't do, he was still a little worried and felt that he had to ask in person—mainly because when Xueli couldn't react, she couldn't react at all, in case she did something wrong , She probably hasn't realized it yet, so she has to ask quickly.

If something really happened, he had to make amends.

When Xue Li entered the palace, the emperor pointed to the round stool beside her for her to sit on, and then asked her questions sentence by sentence, and she answered them sentence by sentence.

In retrospect, Sydney still finds it strange, is this considered Xie En?She went to Qingxin Hall and said four sentences in total: "Lady, the servant is Ruan Xueli from the imperial dining room", "I made Mrs. Dao's favorite snack", "Good lady, the servant and so on", "Thank you, lady, The slaves leave."

Then I sat there for over an hour, kowtowed and came out. I didn't even see Concubine Hui. Is this a thank you...?
Xie Zhao was relieved after listening.It's right not to talk too much, if Concubine Hui really called her in to have a good chat, then something is really wrong.

He smiled: "Are you hungry? The side hall has prepared food for you."

Xueli shook her head: "The servant has eaten in Roujia Palace."

"...?!" Xie Zhao was startled suddenly, sizing her up, "Did Concubine Hui keep you for dinner?"

"No, but there are desserts and tea." She is now full of crab shell yellow, which is very full!
Xie Zhao looked at her in astonishment, and after a while, he finally uttered a word: "Oh..."

Sydney saw some clues, her bright eyes widened, and there was a questioning in her eyes.

"It's okay, let's go back." Xie Zhao rested his forehead and looked at the memorial in front of him, rubbing his temples without showing any traces, feeling a little confused in his mind.

"Did the maidservant do something wrong?" Xue Li asked tremblingly, her eyes trembling slightly, and she really couldn't think of anything wrong in her heart.

Xie Zhaohao hesitated for a while, but finally did not tell her the whole story.

I ate everything, and I couldn't make her spit it out even if I told her, and I had to scare her.If she doesn't understand these unwritten rules of the harem, she will not understand it, it doesn't hurt.

"It's nothing, I was thinking about other things." He seemed to take another memorial casually, flipped through two pages, and frowned suddenly.

(End of this chapter)