Chapter 34 Chapter 34

During the first few days when I entered the palace under the Queen Mother's order to serve as a female attendant, I naturally felt very restrained and awkward in all my daily activities; the most difficult thing was the problem of taking a bath.Because my sister and I have lived overseas for a long time, we have developed a habit of taking a bath every day; it is a pity that I did not ask my father to inquire about this level before entering the palace. Inconvenience.The two of us sisters took turns looking for a long time, but in the huge palace, we couldn't find a set of utensils for bathing. Maybe the maids and eunuchs have these things, but they are only used privately They dare not take what they use for themselves and give it to us. ——I have no choice but to endure it for the time being.But I always feel very puzzled in my heart. Could it be that those female officials who came before us didn't take a bath all year round?Or it can be said that the Yis all washed at home when they went home, so what about Longyu and Concubine Jin?Especially our queen mother, who always pays great attention to grooming Yi's appearance and changing Yi's clothes every day, presumably she will never be willing to let Yi and her body be alone as a place to hide filth, but At first I couldn't figure out how Yi's bathing problem was solved.

Now let me talk about how I solved it myself?Fortunately, the Empress Dowager gave us special preferential treatment. Although the female officials who went in first all lived together in a side hall behind the Empress Dowager's bedroom, six of them lived together for the sake of the Empress Dowager's convenience; but we went in At that time, the Empress Dowager knew that we definitely didn't want to live in such a crowded place, so not only did she designate two small rooms for us in the palace, but also in the Summer Palace, we also had separate residences.With this kind of convenience, we can buy our own bathing facilities as much as possible, but it is not very complete. I just sent a eunuch to my house to deliver the next letter; Someone brought us a wooden basin that looked a bit like a Western-style bathtub, and the wood used was very light, so it didn't take much effort to move it. We solved the problem of bathing for our sisters.

Secondly, let me tell us how the Queen Mother bathes. A few days later, one night, a female officer suddenly came to inform me that the Empress Dowager was going to take a bath again tonight——later I realized that the Empress Dowager was not only a person who never took a bath for many years, but also had to take a shower every few days. Taking a bath once is the same as the one thing that Yi must apply Jiziqing and Neidonghualu every night, it is a rigid article that will not change. ——It is my turn to be on duty today, so I must hurry up to serve. "But I have been here for a few days, but I can't see where the bathroom is?" I asked Yi. ,

"What? What are you talking about?" The female officer seemed to be astonished and asked me back: "Bathroom! What is a bathroom? I really can't understand what you said!" I was going to ask Yi for advice, but now Yi came to ask me for advice.So I tried my best to explain to Yi what the meaning of the bathroom is, but Yi still didn't understand it very well, because people at that time didn't pay attention to these things at all, and all they needed to take a bath was a wooden basin, and there was no need to build another bathroom, Yi Of course it's hard to understand.

"Since there is no bathroom equipment here, then," I thought my sister and I had to get a wooden basin for use as a last resort. Since the Queen Mother is such an honorable person and has lived in the palace for a long time, how could she not get one? What about the bathroom?Yin couldn't help asking again: "What kind of washing method does Lafayette have?" "If you want to ask this question, go and look at it yourself!" The female officer seemed impatient to talk to me, and immediately retorted: "After a while, you will have to go in to wait on me. What do you mean by being so anxious now? ? Anyway, you don’t need to worry about it!”

I gave Yi such a quick answer, and I didn't want to ask any more questions, so I waited patiently with this doubt. Every time after dinner, the queen mother always summoned us servants to sit in Yi's toilet and chat casually—of course it was always Yi's hometown who spoke, and we all just listened quietly. ——What you are talking about is nothing more than the various events that happened in the day, or the character of the ministers inside and outside the palace. It takes about an hour to talk about it, and then Yi is willing to go back to Yi's bedroom, and the others can disperse .This night, I knew that I had to wait for the Queen Mother to take a bath, so I respectfully followed Yi into the bedroom, and at the same time, four court ladies also walked in slowly with me; because I knew what to do that night What is it? I was very flustered. At first, I said that I was going to bathe Yi directly. After a while, I realized that it was the four maids who bathed Yi directly, but I just had to stand by and watch. Point and point.In fact, I have never been a deacon in any bathhouse, so how do I know how to guide them in this way?Fortunately, the Queen Mother didn't really want me to take care of Yi.No matter what happens to Yifeng, he likes to make up his own mind, directing others from east to west, how can he relax in this matter of bathing, and let the four maids wash and scrub Yihu randomly?So in fact, every time we are sent in to "serve" Yi to take a bath, we might as well say that we are sent in to "watch" Yi take a bath, which is more in line with the facts.

Firstly, two eunuchs carried in a large wooden basin, but this wooden basin was by no means the kind of wooden basin we usually see. Although it was made of wood inside, it was covered with a thick layer of wood. The silver skin, so it will always be very bright and brilliant.There is already half a basin of hot water in the basin.In addition to the tub, the eunuchs also brought many white towels.At that time, the Empress Dowager was already sitting on a low table, and the backrest of this low table could be removed or installed at any time, so that the maids could wash her back. As far as the towels used by the Empress Dowager take a bath, it can be seen that they are so extravagant!The four sides of the towels are buckled with yellow silk thread, forming a neat circle, and the middle is embroidered with silk thread of the same color to form a very delicate dragon; the bright yellow color, together with the white ground like snow, is really beautiful. How touching!I want to send these bath towels to some exposition for display, it is already a very exquisite handicraft!

When the Empress Dowager sat down on the low table, the four maids were already busy getting ready, so the Empress Dowager automatically took off her upper body clothes and exposed Yi's upper body.Although I have no intention of admiring Yi's jade body, since it has been revealed in front of me, I can't help but take a look at it. I am very surprised by this look, because I am the queen mother's age. I have known it for a long time. From my point of view, there must be no flesh paint on the body of such an old lady, and all I can see is a shriveled skin.Who knew that the Empress Dowager's body was definitely not like this!Yi's figure is still very beautiful, not too fat, not too thin, the flesh color is surprisingly tender, so white that there is no scar, and it looks very smooth.Such a body is usually only available to girls around the age of 20; unexpectedly, I saw it in an old lady at this moment. It is really a miracle!At that time, I couldn't help thinking secretly, if the face of the Empress Dowager could be made up to make her look younger, and together with Yi's white and delicate body, Yi could be firmly selected as the most beautiful woman in the palace.

Now that the empress dowager's face was fully revealed, the four ladies--all the eunuchs had withdrawn long after the silver tub had been brought in--had to get to work; On the Queen Mother's chest, one is behind, one is on the left, and one is on the right.The standing mentioned here is of course not standing upright, because the queen mother has already sat down, how can we stand and scrub her?So the Iraqis were not standing, but squatting; I was really standing, four or five steps away, and I was really excited like I was about to see some novel diorama. The first action of the four maids was to pick up a white towel embroidered with a yellow dragon and dip it into the tub, but they picked it up every time they went down, and it took about four or five minutes before they were taken out at the same time. .Wring it dry until there is no dripping water, then loosen it, and spread it on your palm. It is very quick to pick up the rose soap made in the palace, and the movement is very neat, as if it is used to it. same as the army.After the Yis finished wiping the soap, they all approached the Empress Dowager and began to formally start their hands; one wiped her chest, one wiped her back, and the two on the left and right scrubbed her lower flanks and arms.At that time, the Empress Dowager seemed to be very happy, she let her wipe off the restless parts, and chatted with me very excitedly and livelyly; because she was used to bathing in front of people like this, her face was so smeared. No coyness at all.I think I want to be forced to take a bath like this, so I would rather not be the empress dowager!

After the empress dowager's body and both arms were completely soaped, the first step of work was finished, and the four maids discarded the towels in their hands together, and picked up a new towel each, and put them in the same place first. Soak in warm water, then pick up and wring dry.This time, it was no longer soaped, and it was a bit wet. The procedure for this step was to wipe off the soap that had just been applied and the dirt that had been wiped off by the soap.So the wiping time is also longer.After this wipe is finished, there is a final dry wipe, and that is when four more towels have been dropped.

After three times of wiping, the Queen Mother's upper body is of course very clean, but it's not just that simple!As soon as the four maids put down the last towels, they hurriedly fetched a vat of warm winter flower dew, which was what the queen mother put on her face every night. Silk cotton, soaked in floral dew, spared no effort to smear it on the Queen Mother's body; the servants applied it all over, and then brought four clean towels, and patted her dry gently.What a troublesome thing this is! The work of scrubbing has been done for this step, of course it is exhausted; the second step is to get a set of clean pajamas and pants for the queen mother, first clean the pajamas and put them on for her, so that her body can be cleaned. The upper body will not catch cold.Then the Empress Dowager took off the underpants by herself, until she was bare to the toes, and the lower half of her body was completely exposed; then four more full-time working maids were signaled by the four maids inside to carry them into another bathtub. , this pot is usually made of wood and covered with silver skin. ——Although the appearance of these bathtubs is the same, there are codes on the bottom to distinguish their uses, and they must not be mistaken. (If she accidentally makes a mistake, the queen mother will never rest well.) —— Fill it with warm water and carry it up to the queen mother's feet before putting it down.The Empress Dowager dipped her feet into the basin together, and asked the four maids to follow the previous method to soap and change the towels for Yi until she applied the Nai Dong dew.I watched coldly from the side, and soon discovered that the four maids were indeed extremely skillful and agile in their operations. They knew how much strength they could use to wring those soaked towels until they were almost dry, and how much soap to rub on them. The towel is suitable, and how heavy and heavy it is to wipe off the dirt for the Empress Dowager, but Yi feels pain, and how to pat it so that it is easy to pat dry the dew; these kinds of things are obviously not familiar with overnight. Needless to say, it took a long time for us to study hard at the beginning!I don't think it would be considered an exaggerated flattery if they were regarded as professional craftsmen. After scrubbing the lower body, the queen mother immediately put on her pajama pants, and the bathing project was declared complete.But slow down, there is still one final step!The four maids had to pick up another set (four) of new towels to wipe the Queen Mother's fingers and face. From beginning to end, after all, I don't remember how many times I changed the new towels, but let me Let me tell you, there are ten maids in the palace who don’t do anything else all day long, and are there only to do things like starch and wash clothes for the Queen Mother. You can know that even if Elder Yi uses forty towels every time he takes a bath It's not impossible! As for the pajamas worn by the Empress Dowager, it can be said to be another lovely work of art, at least not as crude as all the other clothes of Yi.Originally, China was the originator of pajamas, although according to the current situation, pajamas have become a purely westernized thing.Since the towels used by the Empress Dowager are so exquisitely embroidered, the ones used for the lower body are pure white. ——Yi's pajamas are naturally more exquisite: the chest and back are embroidered with golden dragons, but these embroidery are not as dense as usual, so they don't protrude. The silk thread used was the softest one, whichever would not make the Empress Dowager feel uncomfortable while sleeping.The color of the Empress Dowager's pajamas is not very bright gray, which was chosen by Mrs. Yi herself; I don't know why, because the colors of Yi's other clothes are always very bright, why the pajamas are only light gray ? The four sleeves are embroidered with large peony flowers, red flowers and green leaves, very vividly embroidered.The biggest flowers are on the shoulders, and the branches and leaves are intertwined and go down to the cuffs.The two trouser legs of the pajama pants are also embroidered in the same way.Therefore, although the original color of this set of pajamas and pajamas is light gray, with these flowers embroidered on it, it is already very attractive!The queen mother is completely barefoot when she sleeps. Yi Ke said that she has never used sleeping shoes and soft socks. !Indeed, I daresay the Queen Mother looked remarkably younger in her pajamas.We can even imagine that even when Yi was fully asleep, Yi's appearance and clothing were still in the neatest and most perfect state. The pillows used on the empress dowager's kang are a very strange thing, and they have some historical relationship.It turns out that although Yihe looks very happy and proud on the outside, there is still a considerable fear hidden in Yi's heart, but Yi is trying his best to hide it and refuses to say it openly!What is this horror?It was because I was afraid that someone would buy some capable person to sneak into the palace to assassinate. This kind of terror was not caused for nothing. Once a person boldly sneaked into the Summer Palace, thinking that it would be harmful to the Empress Dowager. At that time, there was unavoidable commotion in the palace, and Elder Yi was not immune to a little bit of fright, but after countless soldiers searched hard, the assassin was finally caught by them, and he was punished that day, and the matter finally came to an end. It came to an end very quickly, but the Empress Dowager's courage was shattered from then on. Yi thought that although she was lucky enough to avoid disaster this time, how could she prevent it from happening again next time.So he was busy adding guards, and also modified the pillow that Yi used at night, that is, a hole the size of a silver circle was opened in the middle, and it went straight through, just like a small golf hole. When she sleeps, she puts one of her ears close to the opening of the hole; the hole is in the middle of the pillow, and once she sleeps on it, it is not difficult for her to stick to her left or right ear.I think this arrangement can enable me to hear all the nearby sounds more clearly.Because I didn't really believe it, I lay down on it and tried it myself once; (When the queen mother is not around, I have to secretly try all the things used by Fanyi.) Maybe I was affected by it. It may be controlled by a psychological effect, but my ears seem to feel that the hole in the pillow is somewhat equivalent to the effect of a loudspeaker, at least, it is not completely useless. Besides, the kang the Empress Dowager lay on was not very special, but the soft mattress underneath was thicker than ordinary; it had to be lined three times in winter, twice in spring and autumn, and once in summer. , because of fear of times.The silk blanket on the soft mattress is naturally embroidered extremely delicately, and it needs to be replaced every two or three days.In Yi's bedroom, except for summer, there is usually a heater, but it is more prosperous in winter, and weaker in spring and autumn.At night, after Yi went to bed, no matter what day, one of the eight female officials had to stay beside Yi's couch; and on the porch outside, no matter the weather, rain or shine, there would always be a group of eunuchs, motionless and silent. waiting. what!All these situations, although I think about it now, still seem to be the same as what I saw yesterday!What makes me doubt is why the empress dowager, who is famous all over the world, has power all over the world, and controls the life and death of tens of millions of people, is still a mortal human being in the final analysis!Yi also has to eat and wear clothes, just like ordinary people; Yi also has to take a bath—although the washing method is slightly different, the result of washing is not the same, just to remove the dirt on the body?All these are enough to prove that Yi is still just a woman! To go further: Yi's feelings are not different from ordinary people.Yi also generally likes to rest and take a bath; especially when taking a bath, when the four palace maids use extremely skilled techniques to scrub Yi's white and tender skin, Yi obviously feels quite pleasure. Although she never sang triumphantly, there was indeed a kind of trembling musical sound in Yi's voice; it was only because God gave Yi such a transcendent status, so that Yi could be at any time and anywhere. Dare not to ignore Yi's own dignity, and even lost the freedom to sing!Otherwise, I think Yi will definitely sing a song in the bathtub! Speaking of dignity, the Queen Mother naturally has Yi's dignity!Even when taking a bath, naked and naked in front of the five women, Yi's dignity remained unchanged; Zheng and Yi sat on the dragon chair every morning when they went to court, making many people stand up. Brilliant princes and ministers, batch after batch, kowtow to Yi respectfully and respectfully on the altar in front of the hall.No matter how rich and dignified Yi dressed, or how playful and thin she was dressed before going to bed, Yi's dignity was always fully maintained; from head to toe, there was not an inch that was not enough to represent a supreme empress dowager.However, before Dang Yi became the Empress Dowager, she was an ordinary woman after all. Readers have never forgotten the scene when Yi inspected the relics of the emperors in the ancient palace in Fengtian, right?Seeing Yi's infinite sadness when she saw the relics of Yi's husband, Xianfeng, and one of Yi's beloved sons, Tongzhi's toy (that is, the one with a pair of red eyes and a moving red tongue) Little White Rabbit) back to the inner bed, stroking the sorrow of the whole night, we can know that the Queen Mother is the same as us in terms of diet, daily life, and even emotional aspects; she just has a huge big heart compared with Mandarin people. Just political power.