From the morning when the sun rose, we were busy until noon. The east side courtyard was finally tidied up according to Ji Ling's aesthetics and preferences.
In fact, although the east and west side courtyards of Jingyang Palace are different in size, their specifications and layout are basically the same. There are also small ponds in the courtyard. In addition, there are two ginkgo trees, and a courtyard surrounding the main house.
The corridor is surrounded by hand, and the outer eaves of the corridor are decorated with carved patterns. Although it is only early spring, I can already imagine that by summer, everything will be green.
Ji Ling asked Xiao Fenzi and Xiao Dazi to tie a cradle between two ginkgo trees. It was said to be a cradle, but in fact it was almost a simple swing that could bear the weight of an adult. The fixed ropes at both ends were specially tied high.
Some people sit on it so that their feet are hanging off the ground, and they can swing around. There are trees on top of it, so they don't get the sun, which is very comfortable.
Although two months passed after the Hai Guiren incident, Mao Bi still ordered people to clean the east side courtyard frequently. If there was any damage, it should be repaired in time. Therefore, although the east side courtyard was idle, there was no dirt or dust.
This inadvertently saved Ji Ling a lot of things.
After lunch, Ji Ling saw that all the slaves were exhausted, so he ordered everyone to have a rest.
The sun at noon in early spring is the most nourishing, not scorching, but very gentle. Xiao Fenzi and Xiao Dazi fell asleep leaning on the corridor, while Qixi and Bixue also lay on the table in the main room and took a nap.
Ji Ling asked Qixi to go to the palace maid's room and have a good sleep, but she refused to do anything.
The master was kind and treated them well enough, but she couldn't go any further.
As a slave, it is a luxury to not be on duty at night and sleep through the whole night, let alone take a nap.
Ji Ling saw that she didn't want to, so she didn't force it. She went to sleep on the chaise longue in the main room, because after cleaning up for a day, it was inevitable that she would be disgraced, and she didn't want to just lie down on the brand new and clean sheets that had just been changed.
The whole side yard was quiet. Ji Ling slept until dusk. When he got up, he saw that the slaves had woken up long ago. Sure enough, everyone's energy had recovered a lot. The red sun outside the window was already setting in the west. The afterglow was long.
It spread all over the room. Qixi turned her back to herself and was making toilet paper.
The toilet paper in the Qing Dynasty was all processed by the palace maids. They got the soft white tissue paper from the warehouse, first cut a large piece of paper, then lightly sprayed it with a little water, then gently ran it twice with a copper iron, and then
Cut it into long strips, put a damp cloth on it, and run a hot iron over the paper several times. The paper made in this way is light, soft, white and dense, and is no worse than modern paper towels.
When Ji Ling first crossed over, he still hated using this toilet paper, but later he was conquered.
Qixi just took a sip of water and sprayed a fine mist on the tissue. When she heard that Ji Ling had woken up, she quickly got up and came over, smiling and saying: "Chang Zai, Xiao Fenzi and the others have prepared the water, slave."
I'll wait for you to wash yourself and feel refreshed."
Ji Ling thought to herself: This is the beauty of Qixi. She is honest and kind, and will never take the credit from other slaves just because she is Ji Ling's personal maid.
For example, just now, she could clearly have said, "The servants have prepared the water," or "The servants have ordered them to prepare the water," but she just said, "Xiao Fenzi and the others have prepared the water."
She couldn't help but think of the workplace before she time traveled, where people like Qixi were no longer common.
Because there is a small kitchen in the east side yard, the work of boiling water can be carried out directly in the kitchen, and there is no need to go far to borrow a firewood shed. Xiao Fenzi and Xiao Dazi carried a lot of firewood and burned it when Ji Ling was sleeping just now.
Two large wooden barrels of hot water were tied to hooks and carried into the main room.
Qixi sprinkled the dried flower petals stored in the bucket last fall. Although the petals were collected last fall, due to timely drying and proper storage, the color, fragrance and flavor were all preserved. When exposed to hot water, the dried petals slowly spread out.
The colors gradually became brighter and the fragrance filled the whole room.
Qixi helped Ji Ling take a comfortable hot bath. Ji Ling still remembered that when she had just traveled through time, the palace maid had to help her take a bath, and she was still very embarrassed. She didn't expect that the environment can change people so quickly.
She has almost gotten used to the life of a rice worm, where clothes come to her and food comes to her to open her mouth.
There are actually a lot of treasures in the house on the east side of the courtyard, but some of them are luxurious but of no use. In order to make the space as open as possible, Ji Ling asked his servants to cover the unused furniture with coarse cloth and tie it with ropes to prevent dust.
, and then moved into the warehouse.
In addition to the necessary furnishings, there is a small squat, which can be used as a place to put your feet and shoes, and can also be used for sleeping.
Ji Ling saw that the texture was not bad, and thought that Qixi usually slept on the mat when he was on duty at night. Although the temperature was not as low as in winter, sleeping on the ground all the time was not good, so he stayed and asked Qixi to scrub it.
After a while, a soft mattress was put on it to serve as a small bed.
When it was time to hold the lantern, Su Peisheng led the people over and delivered a bunch of rewards. In addition to two extremely exquisite and compact red sandalwood eight-treasure stools, there was also a pile of neatly stacked fabrics, all of which were fine tributes from Suzhou.
Some of the brocades look plain and elegant in color. When you get closer, you can see that the patterns on them are radiant and glowing, even in the dark. It is a kind of extremely restrained beauty.
There are also four boxes of jewelry, all of which are in light colors, such as goose yellow, azure, light blue, and cherry pink. The designs are mostly delicate and elegant, with little ostentation.
Su Peisheng not only sent clothes, jewelry and furniture, but also brought two embroiderers, both from Suzhou. Although they spoke in Mandarin when they came to greet him, they could not hide the softness of Wu Nong's soft words.
It turned out that these two embroiderers came specifically to help Ji Ling tailor clothes. Although Su Peisheng had a smile on his face, he didn't show much humility. He just said clearly: "Ji Changzai, look at these fabrics. If they are
If you like something, the embroiderer can help you tailor it. If you don't like the colors, I can go to the warehouse to get them again."
Ji Ling shook his head repeatedly and said with a smile: "No need, no need, these colors are very beautiful! I like them very much. Thanks to you, Eunuch Su will make this trip for me personally!" Su Peisheng repeatedly said that he did not dare.
The two embroiderers came forward and asked Ji Ling to go to the back room to get measured. Ji Ling raised his arms and listened to them reporting the measurements, then said: "It's better to make the clothes a little wider. Wearing a wider dress will make you look slimmer."
, Qixi was supporting her by the side. When she heard this, she smiled and said: "Chang Zai, other ladies would like to make their waists as narrow as possible!".
She saw the embroiderer holding a piece of snow-green fabric and lining it under Ji Ling's cheek for comparison. She then reached into the fabric box to get another piece of water-red fabric and said, "Chang Zai, this color is beautiful!", she said.
At this point, the words stopped.
At the touch of his hand, Qixi felt that there was a bag under the stack of box fabrics, which contained some cold and hard things.
