She was a little puzzled. How could a woman with a shady background and such a disordered mind get to where she is today with the financial support of the Jin family
Even if she is a mistress, it is better than serving others. I really don't understand that woman's mind.
Although she thought about it, she didn't want to cause trouble, so when the corner of the housekeeper's clothes brushed past the wall, she quickly retracted her gaze and did her job according to the rules.
Murong Wan was also a cunning person. When she saw her behaved like this, she knew something was wrong and followed her lead.
"What are you doing? Why don't you pay your respects to Madam?"
A sharp and slightly childish voice was heard, and a woman in a crimson coat came over to look at everyone. Her eyes were as sharp as knives, piercing people with pain.
Qingwan knew that this person was not easy to fool.
There were people standing in a row under the corridor. Shen Qingwan could see clearly that the person who was talking was a half-grown child. No one knew whose child he was born to, but he was brought into the palace to be raised. How courageous!
Daliang has always had its own rules for slaves.
To put it bluntly, they are the property of their master, which means that they have no right to marry and have children without their master's consent. Bringing a child into the palace to raise him or her in private is a violation of palace rules.
But this person is quite protective, it seems that he is of high status.
Qingwan had never been in charge of the miscellaneous affairs in the palace before, and she didn't recognize the people in the imperial kitchen. In addition, with the suppression brought about by the empress, the few people she barely recognized before had disappeared. She guessed that they were eliminated.
She frowned.
Murong Wan, who was standing by, saw it clearly and thought that she was afraid, but she was not. Young Master Jin had taken care of everything for her. If she could curry favor with one or two eunuchs who bought food or the aunt in charge, she would gain benefits from both sides. Why should she be afraid of not having a good life in the future
She was just thinking about how to taunt Shen Qingwan later when the nanny over there glared at her face.
It turned out that she was too complacent and was picked out as a living target.
"He is a restless person. His eyes are full of murmurs and he doesn't know what he is thinking. He looks like he has bad intentions. If he serves the noble, how can he not get into trouble?"
She frowned, and all the new maids from the palace were very scared. Only Shen Qingwan had an ordinary face without any ripples, and she actually received the old nanny's praise.
"Well, this is good. Write it down for me. I will test it individually later."
The nanny imitated the knowledgeable scholars in the palace and did it very well.
Qingwan found it very funny, but she also knew that the palace was a place full of hypocrisy and affectation. There were some things that one could not say out loud even if one understood them, as this would annoy others.
Soon it was night, and she was not assigned to the same room with Murong Wan. Instead, she lived in a double room with another maid who was also praised by the nanny. This was considered a great honor.
Qingwan was very satisfied.
On the contrary, Murong Wan gritted her teeth in anger.
It was agreed that there would be a single room when she came in, not to mention that she didn't have one. She couldn't even live in the same room with Shen Qingwan, but had to live with four people. How could she not be angry
This old witch takes the money but doesn't do anything for it. It's really infuriating.
She didn't sleep well that night, and when she woke up the next day, her face looked a little tired.
Having been used to a life of luxury in a big house, I am always unable to adapt to the hard work of today.
She thought the palace was a place of enjoyment, but she didn't know the rules were so strict. She couldn't help but curse the damn man who sent her in.
On the other hand, Shen Qingwan didn't feel too exhausted at the moment because of the exercise she had done in the past few days.
The nanny wanted to test her alone today. Qingwan remembered clearly that almost all the questions that should have been asked yesterday had been asked, and the etiquette and behavior had been met. She didn't know what strict rules would be discussed today.
"You have all had breakfast, so I won't say much. What you need to learn today is how to identify ingredients so that you can contribute to the imperial kitchen in the future. These are the most basic things. You have all done chores on weekdays, so it shouldn't be difficult."
Shen Qingwan breathed a sigh of relief.
So that's it.
After entering the imperial kitchen, she saw no less than a hundred kinds of things placed in front of a long round table. Some were poor, some were rich, and some were not even often eaten by Shen Qingwan. Shen Qingwan was surprised that there were so many kinds of ingredients. She glanced at Murong Wan and saw that she looked unhappy.
Qingwan knew that she couldn't make a complete distinction.
She snorted in her heart.
These are what the nobles in the palace usually eat. Each one of them is countless times more expensive than what ordinary people eat on a daily basis. Some are delicacies that they will never be able to taste in their entire lives. How could she, a kept concubine, know about this
So what if you are delicate? You are just a frog in a well, thinking things are too simple.
Without looking at Murong Wan, Qingwan was waiting for the opportunity to show herself. If she got it, she might be valued by the housekeeper and have the opportunity to show herself in front of the nobles. If she could meet Sister Wu or Concubine Qi, that would be great.
People walked up one by one, but few made it past.
Most of them looked dejected.
When Murong Wan went up, she was obviously overwhelmed.
I gritted my teeth and said a few random words in the order that the man pointed out, and was then looked at in contempt and sent into the mud.
I only heard the maid coldly mockingly: "You thought you were some kind of celestial being, but you didn't even know these things. How dare you act so arrogantly in front of me?"
Murong Wan was extremely unconvinced, but she had no choice but to let the old woman scold her without even being able to raise her face.
When she got to Shen Qingwan, she turned around and glared at her fiercely, which made her confused.
The maid narrowed her eyes and suppressed her anger.
She saw that Shen Qingwan's walking posture was very graceful, like a senior palace maid who had been familiar with the palace rules for several years, or even better than the Empress's.
I couldn't help but feel strange.
It’s strange, what’s wrong with this woman
Even she felt something was wrong.
She couldn't help but ask, "Has anyone in your family ever worked in the palace?"
Shen Qingwan discovered the problem almost immediately. She answered slowly and respectfully, "Yes, Mammy, my mother was originally a maid who was released from the palace. Because of her bad circumstances, she had no choice but to sell me into the palace and give me two dollars for my brother to get married."
The grandma seemed to be reminded of the bad past in her heart and couldn't help being moved.
Looking at Shen Qingwan, her expression looked much better.
Fang said, "You come and identify it. I'll show it to you. Don't be anxious. Be serious."
The tone was unusually gentle, and even had a hint of instruction.
Shen Qingwan looked at the first ingredient she pointed at and said with a smile, "It's Qingwu. It's best for grilling fish and meat."
The nanny pointed again and she answered.
"It's mugwort and mulberry leaves. They can be used to repel mosquitoes and make cakes."
"It's rice wine, it's bear paw, one seasoning to remove the odor, one is a very precious ingredient."