At dusk, the mist is rising.

The city walls are majestic, and the blood-colored corridor made of vermilion is towering in front, narrow and endless. The heavy pressure rushed towards him, squeezing between the heart and lungs, making people breathless. The cornices are barbed, and the hard ice that hangs down is crystal clear, but through the warm sunset, it oozes the coldness of the forest. Snow, white as clotted fat, translucent and dazzling.

A team of palace maids and eunuchs walked silently, only the snow that had time to melt under their feet creaked.

The palace gate is deep and magnificent. In the blink of an eye, the figure was swallowed up, and only the white snow was boundless, covering the vast ground of the Forbidden City.

Wu Liang, the chief eunuch of the fourteenth yamen (equivalent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs), was assisted by a python satin embroidered brocade robe with brocade sleeves, sitting in the hall, holding a high-grade red robe, and sipping slowly. The huge celebrant was silent, only the crisp sound of Wu Liangfu's cup lid hitting the teacup sounded, and it reverberated one after another.

"Manager Wu, these are personally selected by Mama Li from the new palace maids, they are all neat and clever girls, Mama means that the queen mother is divided into four or five people according to the convention, but the imperial concubine is ......" The little eunuch Zhou Cheng presented a list of twenty palace maids, kneeling respectfully at the head, her tender white face bloomed with a flattering smile, and she relayed the words of Xin Zhiku's master Li Yingrong word for word.

"The miscellaneous family knows it," Wu Liangfu pinched the lotus finger, took the roster from the little eunuch in front of him, and casually swept the palace maids kneeling under his eyes, the shrill voice was mixed with the sound of colliding porcelain taps, which was particularly harsh, "Seeing that the New Year is about to pass, Mama Li is a discerning person, knowing that the miscellaneous family has to worry about these palace maids and eunuchs, she will share the worries of the miscellaneous family, much more considerate than Cai Wanyun, who has eyes above the top, she remembers this love." ”

Zhou Cheng was overjoyed and hurriedly kowtowed, "Where is the chief manager, Mama Li said, Manager Wu is a person who does things for the emperor, and we slaves can solve problems for President Wu, which is a great blessing, how dare you take a love word!" I hope that you can work less hard! ”

"The miscellaneous family does things for the emperor, how dare you say anything about hard work," Wu Liangfu bowed to the sky, "The emperor can afford the miscellaneous family, and it is the fate of the miscellaneous family." Wu Liangfu's eyes swept over Zhou Cheng, who was kneeling on the ground, and showed a meaningful smile, "You kid can speak, what's your name?" Where to serve? ”

Zhou Cheng kowtowed more and more deeply, and replied respectfully, "That is also a good means to keep the heart of the emperor and his old man." The little one is not talented Zhou Cheng, the little eunuch of the celebrant supervisor, today I am fortunate to be entrusted by Mama Li, and I have come to see the chief steward on behalf of her old man, and I can see the chief steward, which is really a blessing for several generations of slaves! ”

"Hehehe~" Wu Liangfu was comfortable when he heard this, and stood up half-supported by the little eunuch standing next to him, a wrinkle appeared on his cheeks as white as flour, and he walked in front of Zhou Cheng with his fingers, "What a sensible boy." The people under Li Yingrong have the same eyesight as her, work hard, follow Mama Li, and you won't lose it! ”

"Thank you, Mr. Xie!"

Zhou Cheng was so overjoyed that he almost pressed his face on the cold ground. It took him a lot of effort to get the opportunity from Xiao Fengzi to bring the palace maid to meet Wu Liangfu, the eunuch in charge of the Inner Servant Province. These scenes and words were engraved in his heart early on, and he practiced silently in his heart over and over again, and finally had the opportunity to say it to Wu Liangfu, whether Zhou Cheng can raise his head in this life depends on this opportunity.

"You go back first, wait for the miscellaneous family to subdivide the details, set the palace maids, and then let people hand them over to Mama Li." Wu Liangfu is rarely in a good mood, willing to say a few more words, Zhou Cheng naturally saw it, his heart was pounding more and more, it seems that he is in his eyes, as long as he flatters him more in the future, there will be more opportunities for promotion and reuse!

"Slaves obey!"

When Zhou Cheng raised his head again, the palace maids and the great eunuch Wu Liangfu behind him had disappeared. The celebrant was suddenly empty again. Zhou Cheng raised his head, the fine beads of sweat on his forehead were shining, and he couldn't hide his excited smile.

Xinzheku.

The palace maids waited eagerly, and finally waited for the little eunuch Zhou Cheng to come out of the room of Li Yingrong, the manager of the Xinzhi Treasury, and hurriedly came up, "Father-in-law Zhou, is there any good news?" ”

The palace maid has quietly stuffed ten taels of silver, "Who are the princesses and concubines who are assigned to them this time?" ”

Zhou Chengpi didn't smile, and glanced at everyone proudly, "Naturally, blessed are you who go where you should go." It's not blessed-" Wen Lan slanted at the periphery out of the corner of his eyes, "I can only do miscellaneous work in this Xinzhiku for the rest of my life." ”

Yichun tugged at Wen Lan's sleeve, "You didn't give him this?" Motioning to the money bag in her hand.

Wen Lan smiled bitterly.

"You haven't found your money yet?" Yichun looked pityful, "The monthly money and reward money in the past two years...... It's all gone? ”

Wen Lan was helpless and couldn't help sighing. After all, she is not the deity of this body, how can she know where this little palace maid hid the money. She had almost rummaged through the mulberry branches, her own dwelling, and she had not seen a single shadow.

Yichun sighed, "Now that the green warbler is gone, otherwise she might still know." Mulberry Branch, you might as well ask Mama to call the shots for you, maybe it was really stolen? ”

"Well, if you let Mama know, you will definitely blame me for being careless. It's hard to say whether the money can be recovered, but I made a bad impression on her. ”

Yichun glanced at her and didn't speak. But he squeezed in front of Zhou Cheng and stuffed some silver, "Father-in-law Zhou, I hope you will help me more." ”

"Well said, well said."

The palace maids didn't dare to stay longer, so they handed over the words and sent money, and they dispersed.

Wen Lan was in a daze, his expression focused. This kind of skillful skill can be described as extremely difficult for Wen Lan. If it weren't for the green warbler's bothering to teach, I'm afraid that she would still not be able to distinguish the needle and needle eye to this day.

Inexplicably, she became a palace maid, and her life was trembling like walking on thin ice. She is cautious in her words and deeds, lest she be scolded by her grandmother if she makes a mistake. Mama teaches mercilessly, it is a way to make people feel pain without leaving traces on their bodies. In this harem of the Qing Dynasty, the palace maids are all born in Shangsanqi, and they all have good looks. In Xinzheku, the palace maids are punished for making mistakes, and they usually do not get slapped like the eunuchs of the Inner Servant Province, and the grandmother does not hurt the palace maid's face and skin on her body, so that one day maybe this palace maid will be in someone's eyes. Face is the capital of the palace maid. And because they are flag people, everyone has the same identity when they leave this palace, so the grandmothers rarely scold, but they are ruthless in their reprimands.

Wen Lan has not been trained in the end, and although she is cautious in her words and deeds, there are still many improprieties in her manners. For example, when sleeping, you can only lie on your side, you can't eat fast, you must speak softly, and you must always keep a smile on your face - it has to be the kind of smile that comes from the heart and makes people feel happy at first sight, but if you force your face to laugh, you have to eat a stuffy stick - that is, a thick cloth is wrapped around the stick, and a stick can shake people's internal organs without leaving too heavy marks, and the scars will disappear in three or five days. It's just that the internal injury will take ten days and a half months to alleviate it. The rules of the Xinzheku Palace are strict, and the palace maid is never allowed to go out of the palace without permission for half a step, and stepping out of the palace gate is death. Wen Lan thought, I don't know how others can survive by jumping around. Luckily, though, the green warbler walked out.

Wen Lan looked at the gate of the palace of the Xinzhiku, with a smile on his face, but he sighed in his heart.

Out of this library of Xin, it is unknown whether it is a blessing or a curse.