Everyone around her had left, so the empress dowager couldn't have been unaware of this, but she didn't say anything. She did want to see what the girl was doing. After all, she was in her palace and couldn't cause any trouble.
As soon as the aunt put the medicine plaster on the empress dowager, she felt a cool sensation and the pain in her eyes, which were a little sore and swollen, was soon relieved. The empress dowager couldn't help but reach out to touch it, "What is this?" It felt very comfortable to wear and didn't cause any problem.
"Her Majesty, the fourth Miss Wenren was worried that your eyes would be tired and uncomfortable, so she made this specially for you. The imperial doctors all said it was a good thing." The aunt explained with a smile, "This patch will last for three or four hours."
"It's really a good thing." The Queen Mother's eyes fell on Xiaocao, "You are a thoughtful girl."
"I just wanted to make your eyes less tired. Although this patch can last for three or four hours, I still suggest that you don't use your eyes for too long at a time. It's best to rest for half an hour at most. Also, if you sit for too long, your waist and back will feel uncomfortable, which is not good for your health." Xiaocao spoke without thinking.
The Queen Mother looked at Xiaocao for a moment and said, "You are quite bold, girl. No one around me dares to say that."
Xiao Cao's heart couldn't help but tighten slightly. Before entering the palace, she was told to talk less and do less. Now she realized that she did a lot and talked a lot. "It's my fault for talking too much. Please forgive me, Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother suddenly laughed and said, "You meant well. How can I blame you for this?"
"Empress Dowager, you don't know, but this girl has just this problem. She can't help but say something if anyone doesn't take care of her body. She was like this when she first met me. Her mother told me that since she came back home, she has said everything she has seen and known, from the old to the young. This is just her personality." The old concubine spoke at the right time.
Xiaocao lowered his head, and was a little speechless. There was nothing he could do. It was an occupational disease and he was used to it. Sometimes he would blurt out words without even thinking.
"She is a kind-hearted doctor. Okay, I won't read it anymore. Otherwise, I'm worried that this girl will be watching and will be anxious. If she is obsessed with it, it will make the old concubine wait in vain. Why don't you accompany me for a walk outside? I want to keep this girl. After I finish reading the book, you can leave the palace in the afternoon."
The old concubine nodded in agreement readily.
The Concubine Xian, who had really become invisible, looked unhappy, but she did not dare to show it in front of the Queen Mother, and she could not stay any longer. Taking advantage of this moment, she spoke abruptly and awkwardly, "Queen Mother, I still have some palace affairs to deal with, so I will go back first."
"The virtuous concubine is still here? Okay, go ahead." The empress dowager waved her hand, seeming a little perfunctory.
She is a living person here, and you have forgotten her feelings? Concubine Xian almost couldn't hold back her expression, "I will take my leave."
After the virtuous concubine left, the mother and daughter of the Ming family naturally hurriedly followed suit to take their leave. Knowing that the virtuous concubine was ignored, they naturally felt even more uncomfortable. They had wanted to leave a long time ago, but they did not dare to speak up.
Xiaocao accidentally saw the girl leaving, and she looked at him meaningfully, which made him feel completely puzzled.
However, Xiaocao also sensed that the Queen Mother deliberately ignored people, but she didn't know who was being treated this way, or why. Of course, this had nothing to do with Xiaocao, and she almost forgot about it the moment she turned around.
The Queen Mother touched her temple and said, "Are there any more? Send two to the Emperor as well."
"Replying to the Queen Mother, there are still eight prescriptions. Fourth Miss Wenren has taught the prescription to the imperial physician before. You can get it from the Imperial Hospital at any time when you need it in the future." Aunt said.
"Well, this girl is really a good one. - Leave two for me, and send the rest to the emperor."
"only."
When taking a walk, the grass will naturally follow. The garden in the Empress Dowager's palace is now full of colorful flowers and is well maintained. Occasionally, you can see a few bees and butterflies. Of course, it's not just beautiful things, there are also mosquitoes, which are quite annoying. Although when you are indoors, you can burn various incense to repel mosquitoes, and the palace people also use other methods to eliminate the surrounding mosquitoes every day, but it is impossible to completely get rid of them. When people are outside, they still have to apply some special powder on their bodies to avoid mosquitoes. It's just that not everyone likes that thing, and the Empress Dowager is one of them.
It’s not that there are no other aromatherapy sachets, but these things usually have some smell, and there is none that the empress dowager likes, so when she goes out, she has to have the palace maids fan her.
The old concubine also thought of this at this time, so she said to Xiaocao, "Xuan girl, you are knowledgeable, do you have any good mosquito repellent that is suitable for the queen mother to use?"
Xiao Cao took off the sachet from her waist and said, "Queen Mother, how do you like the smell of this? It can not only repel small insects and moths, but also larger ones such as scorpions, centipedes, and snakes. It has a good effect. It can also be used deep in the mountains and forests."
The Queen Mother took it, brought it closer, and asked, "It smells very light, and it's more like a flower scent, with a hint of medicine, but it doesn't make people feel uncomfortable. "This smell is indeed good."
"If the Queen Mother doesn't mind, then use it first. Because it contains herbs, one or two of them need to be prepared on the spot. It takes some time to prepare, so it can't be made immediately. I'll leave the recipe with you later. According to the recipe, people around the Queen Mother can also make it. It's relatively simple. This sachet can be used for three to five days. However, the effective range of this sachet is probably only four or five feet, so it's more suitable to wear it on your body, but not so suitable to put it in the house."
"That's enough." The Queen Mother didn't show any dislike at all.
The palace maid hurriedly put it on her.
Sure enough, the Queen Mother was not bothered by mosquitoes at all afterwards. Even though it was because of the daily care and the time when mosquitoes were not really rampant yet, the fact that she did not feel it at all showed that it was indeed effective.
Xiaocao had lunch with the old concubine and the queen mother. The food sent to the queen mother was naturally to please her. Emperor Xuanren did not care about himself, but also wanted to make his mother happy. Therefore, compared with the "imperial banquet" Xiaocao had heard about, the taste was quite good. However, at this time, he could not eat as much as he wanted.
"The food here, the Empress Dowager, is good, but not easy to get. Xuan girl, eat more." The old concubine said.
The Queen Mother was slightly surprised, then she understood something and said with a smile, "I like what the old concubine said. Give this girl more dishes and let her try them all. Girl, you have been to many places and I think you have eaten a lot of local delicacies. Compare them and see how they taste."
The Queen Mother was quite frugal, so there were more than 30 dishes, and just one or two bites of each was enough to fill Xiaocao up. Besides, Xiaocao was not very good at hiding her emotions, and if there were some dishes she particularly liked, she would squint her eyes slightly and look as if she was enjoying the food. The palace maids were also very smart, and would often pick some more for her, so in the end, Xiaocao was really full.
The queen mother smiled, put down her chopsticks, and wiped her mouth, "This girl has a good appetite, unlike other girls, who are all cat food. Seeing someone with a good appetite, I can eat more myself."
Even so, Xiaocao couldn't help blushing a little.
"Being able to eat is a blessing." The old concubine also agreed with a faint smile.
To help digest the food, the Queen Mother and the old concubine went for a nap. Xiao Cao took this opportunity to teach the palace maids how to make mosquito repellent sachets. Although there would be no mistakes if they followed the recipe, it would still be more reassuring to see them go through it step by step.
After the Empress Dowager and the others woke up from their nap, they continued reading. This time, the old concubine also read along.
Worried that Xiaocao might be bored, the Queen Mother found some books for her to read and would call her when she needed them.
In fact, everything Xiaocao wrote was easy to understand, and there were very few things that were incomprehensible. It was not that he did not understand every time the Empress Dowager asked questions, but most of the time his thoughts were a little divergent, and he thought of other things.
When the Queen Mother finished reading the book, it was almost six o'clock in the afternoon, which was not considered early at all.
Although she rested several times in the middle, such a long time was still a great burden on the Queen Mother's body. Xiao Cao took the initiative to loosen her muscles and tendons. After that, the Queen Mother really felt a lot more relaxed. Fortunately, the old concubine did not do the same as her.
It was only after it was over that Xiaocao realized that she might have overstepped her authority, as there must be someone who was proficient in massage around the empress dowager.
The Queen Mother smiled and took her hand, saying to a maid who was not too young, "She is better than you in cooking. Find some time tomorrow to go to Wenren and learn from her."
"Yes. I will definitely study hard. But it seems quite complicated to me just now, and I am afraid I will not be able to learn it in a short time. Miss, please don't despise me for being clumsy." The girl smiled with her eyebrows curved, and was very friendly.
"In fact, there are rules. Once you master the rules, it is similar to general massage techniques and is not difficult to learn."
"Then I feel relieved." The palace maid deliberately patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
Made everyone laugh.
"It's really late now, and I won't keep you for dinner, otherwise the palace gates will be locked." Without special circumstances, people from outside the palace would not easily stay overnight, and the empress dowager would not easily make an exception.
So the old concubine took Xiaocao and said goodbye.
As soon as they left, the empress dowager left a parenting manual for herself and sent another copy to the Imperial Medical Service, asking the people there to take a good look. It turned out that the best medical practitioners in the Qi Dynasty were not even as good as a little girl.
-Of course, this may be a bit serious, but it also means that the Queen Mother is indeed somewhat dissatisfied with them. Why didn’t they think of writing such a book
The remaining eight books were given to the concubines in the harem whose children were still young, so that they would study hard and not be so alarmed every other day about problems here and there, even though they were all very small matters.
Since it was given by the Empress Dowager, they were naturally very grateful and valued it very much. After reading it, they really benefited a lot and felt that it was worthy of being a book valued by the Empress Dowager. Naturally, they would think of their own family members for such a good thing, so they immediately had it copied and sent it out of the palace, and they also specifically mentioned the Empress Dowager.
In this way, this parenting manual spread at an extraordinary speed. When it reached people who had close relations with the Wen family, they discovered that the parenting manual obtained from the Wen family was actually praised by the Empress Dowager, so they naturally paid more attention to it.
—Under the imperial power, the people in the palace are the real weather vanes.
Because they knew that this was also written by Xiaocao, the importance of the gynecological manual was raised to a new level, which also accelerated its private dissemination. No one knew who started it, but they put these two books into the dowry of their daughters for the first time, so that later, like the fire avoidance map, they became indispensable items in the bottom of the box.
This is a story for later.
After leaving the palace, Xiaocao found that the Queen Mother had already given Xiaocao rewards, which were now piled on the old concubine's carriage. There were quite a lot of them, and the carriage took up half of it. Xiaocao wondered if the Queen Mother was playing by her own rules. She usually gave rewards in person, so that people would thank her.
The old concubine looked accustomed to it and was not surprised. "It's a reward from the Queen Mother. Just keep it, Xuan girl. Compared with your two books, it's nothing. Let's go. I'll take you back directly."
"Old Concubine Dowager, how can this be possible?" Xiaocao quickly refused.
"I have the final say on what is possible and what is not." The old concubine did not give Xiaocao any chance to refuse.
The grass is most helpless against this.
In the carriage, Xiao Cao began to reflect on herself, "Old Concubine, did I go too far in the palace today?"
"It's okay. You are just like that. You are not trying to curry favor with others, and you haven't violated any taboos. The Queen Mother knows everything clearly. So, you don't need to think too much, Xuan. In fact, you performed very well today. The Queen Mother likes you too. Just live your life as usual in the future."
The old concubine discovered early on that Xiaocao was the kind of person who valued a person's health more than his or her status. Whether facing her or the queen mother, she treated him more like an ordinary old man. Because of this, she was less restrained, more considerate and patient, and even tolerant beyond belief. This was not intentional, but a result of long-term habit.
I believe the Queen Mother can also see that this experience is quite novel, both for her and the Queen Mother, and it doesn't feel bad. They are in awe of this girl, so they will unconsciously like her a little more.
When they returned to the Wen family, Han learned that it was the old concubine who sent her daughter back, and hurried over, "Old concubine, how can you do this..."
The old concubine waved her hand, "What you want to say has already been said by the girl Xuan, so there is no need to say it again. The Queen Mother has given a reward, it is in the carriage, you can ask someone to move it down."
Han was helpless and could only ask people to move things quickly so as not to waste the old concubine's time.
"Don't worry, the Queen Mother has said that your girl Xuan is a good and kind child. It is rare for her to remain true to herself."