Me and Empress Dowager Cixi

Chapter 56 The Queen Mother Likes to Eat Human Milk (2)
After more than 40 days, I received the hair dye from France.As soon as I received the items, I joyfully held these colorful bottles and went to find the Queen Mother. In front of the Queen Mother, I opened those exquisitely decorated boxes one by one.While taking those things out, I said to the queen mother: "My queen, there are very detailed instructions in it, teaching us how to use these hair dyes..." Before I could finish speaking, the queen mother said impatiently: "Westerners really like to be other people's teachers in everything. It's really unbearable to teach others even such a little thing." I immediately realized that I hadn't chosen the right words just now, so I hurriedly changed my words and said, "These The thing was invented by the French, and it might be better to use it according to the method they said, but it doesn't mean they are so smart." Seeing what I said, the Queen Mother's anger subsided a little.Seeing the smile on the queen mother's face, I went on to say: "Lafayette, let me translate the usage of these medicines now. First, you need to wash your hair first, and then dry them..." After listening to me After the narration, the queen mother decided to try it immediately, I never thought she would be so refreshing.

Immediately after the queen mother agreed, a large basin of hot water was called, and the barber was also called over.But when the barber came, the Queen Mother refused to let him do it, insisting that I wash it for her.After listening to the Queen Mother's instructions, I was immediately dumbfounded. I seldom even wash my own hair, let alone washing the Queen Mother's hair?This is really too difficult for me.I was deeply afraid that I would hurt the Queen Mother with my hands and feet, but since the Queen Mother ordered it like this, I can only bite the bullet and rush forward.

After a lot of effort, I finally helped the Queen Mother wash off the black medicine on her hair, and washed her scalp clean.After washing, I found a few dry towels to help her dry her hair.During this time, I tore off a lot of Queen Mother's hair, but Queen Mother was so anxious to try those dyes that she didn't notice the feeling on her head at all.The queen mother did not lose her temper, and waited quietly for her hair to dry.After her hair dries, I'm going to rub those medicines on.It was only at this time that I became a little worried. Thinking of what my father said, I felt that what he said was very correct. If these medicines are not effective, I really don’t know what kind of punishment I will face.But now I have no choice but to rub the hair dye on the Queen Mother's head.

I took the courage to open the cap of the hair dye, and when I looked inside, I was shocked: the stuff inside was like white water, how could something like this dye the Queen Mother's white hair black?I glanced at the manual that was thrown aside, it did say its curative effect, there should be nothing wrong with it.The queen mother was already waiting, and I didn't have much time to think, so I used a small brush dipped in the potion to wash the gray hair of the queen mother.No matter how miraculous a medicine is, it will not take effect immediately. While waiting for the medicine to take effect, I really experienced the feeling of living like a year, and I was ready to plead guilty to the Queen Mother if the medicine did not work.The queen mother is not as anxious as I am, she must also know that it will take a while to see the curative effect.

After a long time, the Queen Mother sat down in front of the mirror again.This potion did not disappoint the Queen Mother. Although many gray hairs had not turned black, the white hair had already turned gray. The most commendable thing was that the Queen Mother's scalp did not turn black.The Queen Mother was overjoyed and praised the potion repeatedly, and also praised my ability to handle affairs.That night I brushed the queen mother again, and when the queen woke up the next day, her black hair was floating on her chest, which was no different from the hair color of a woman in her 20s. "It is said that foreigners are extremely dexterous. I saw it today and it really lives up to its reputation. I really don't know how they made this thing. This kind of thing that looks like water is not uncomfortable at all when applied to the head, and it doesn't stain the scalp. , It's really great!" The queen mother was happy, and I was also very excited, so I don't have any worries.

After the Queen Mother's hair turned black, she praised me greatly in front of everyone.My father was very worried about my situation, and he was relieved to see that I was safe and sound.The Empress Dowager was still dissatisfied with the mere verbal praise, and specially ordered someone to give me a cheongsam she wore when she was young.That cheongsam is very beautiful, with many orchids embroidered on the pink base, it must have been made by Emperor Xianfeng for the Empress Dowager when she first entered the palace.The queen mother was given the title of "Lan Guifei", for which most of the costumes were embroidered with orchids.Later, the Empress Dowager monopolized the power, and other people in the palace did not embroider orchids on their clothes in order to avoid the taboo.When she got older, she couldn't wear the clothes she wore when she was young, so she picked one and gave it to me as a reward.Although I like that dress very much, I don't have the guts to wear it out, for fear that the Queen Mother will fall in love with it.I have always cherished that dress, and it is now 80 years old after careful calculation.Although so many years have passed, due to my good preservation and its excellent workmanship, it is still as bright as when it was first made, and the color is very bright.To this day, I still think, if I had a thicker skin then, I am afraid that the queen mother would have rewarded me with more precious things.

After her hair turned black, the queen mother talked with me about women's dressing. She said: "Nowadays, many women don't understand the true meaning of dressing. They just regard clothes as a set of things to show themselves. Whenever there is What kind of banquets or grand ceremonies, will they dress up beautifully, and they will never spend more time when they are alone on weekdays. Some people don’t even bother to comb their hair. These people obviously don’t care about themselves. Seriously. Our beauty is not only for others to see, but also for ourselves. When we are outside, we must pay attention to clothing, and we must also pay attention to it when we come back. When we are alone, I I don't relax myself at all. In my opinion, clothing is not just a set of things. If I often dress myself up beautifully, I will feel happier mentally, which is an indescribable joy. "

Her Majesty's views on clothing are quite reasonable, and I share them.When I dress well, I feel more confident.But having said that, we close our eyes and imagine that an old woman in her 70s who wears makeup all day is really disgusting.No matter how hard the queen mother tried, the wrinkles and age spots on her face all told people that she was no longer young, and those things could not be eliminated no matter what cosmetics were used.Even so, as long as there is enough sleep, or something happy, the queen mother is still very beautiful when viewed from the side, removing the wrinkles and scars on her face.From this point of view, the queen mother has indeed tried her best in her own make-up techniques.As for her tricks, I don't know much, so I can only briefly mention a few. If readers are interested, they can try it, and it may really have unexpected effects.

After dinner every day, the Queen Mother likes to tell us something, and the place is in the side hall of her bedroom.At that time, we would stand around the queen mother and listen to her lessons.The Empress Dowager always sits on a Panlong chair, randomly telling us anecdotes that happened today.The Empress Dowager spoke very strangely, except for the movement of her mouth, other parts of her face remained unchanged at all.At the beginning, I was very uncomfortable. I felt that speaking like that was not only inconvenient, but also made us uncomfortable to hear.After asking other female officials in private, I found out that it was because the queen mother had painted egg white on her face to cover up the wrinkles on her face.I never knew egg whites had this effect before.When the queen mother applied egg white, she did not apply it all over her face, but only applied it on the wrinkled areas.After applying it, she never stretched the facial muscles to prevent the egg white from losing its proper effect. Because of this, the Empress Dowager looked so awkward when she told us stories.The egg whites should be applied after dinner, and wait until half an hour before she goes to bed before washing off with soap and water.

Compared with other items, the queen mother's soap is not exquisite.She doesn't like the things bought from outside, and thinks those things are unsafe to use, so her soap is made by the eunuch in the palace.Like making rouge, those people used rose and jasmine juice as raw materials, and then mixed some oils in it, pressed it and sent it to the queen mother for use.Those soaps look very beautiful, the color is bright enough, and the fragrance is strong. The only drawback is that the stain removal ability is not strong, but the Queen Mother doesn't care about the stain removal ability. She has been using this soap for many years and thinks it is very good.When I came to the Queen Mother, I gave her some of the best French soaps, and she used them and said they were very good, but she just didn't like the smell.There are many kinds of scents of soap, and the Queen Mother and I have different tastes. What I like may not be liked by the Queen Mother, and vice versa.For me, the first thing to consider when choosing a soap is the ability to remove stains, and the second is the fragrance. To be honest, I think the fragrance is completely unnecessary, but I dare not say this to the Queen Mother.

Before going to sleep, besides washing off the egg whites on her face, one more thing the Queen Mother had to do was to apply another kind of juice.That kind of juice was specially made by the Queen Mother. It is said that the effect is very good. It can effectively restrain the facial muscles and prevent the wrinkles that have been soaked in egg white from growing.The raw materials and production process of that kind of juice are not too complicated, but the tools used are quite special. Now I will briefly talk about its method, and interested friends can try it.The set of utensils is very similar to the current distillation tools. There are three cylinders and several interconnected copper pipes. Those cylinders are also made of copper for the purpose of heating.Some water and alcohol were put in the first cylinder, and the bottom was heated with a less violent fire. The water and alcohol were heated to emit steam, and the steam ran into the second cylinder through a copper pipe.Some honeysuckle flowers were pre-placed in the second cylinder, and with the mixed steam flowing, the second cylinder was also heated.After a while, another steam emanated from the second cylinder, and this steam passed through another copper tube to the third cylinder.At this time, the steam in the third cylinder is already a mixture of floral fragrance, water and alcohol, which not only looks very clear, but also has a strong floral fragrance.After trial, the queen mother felt that it worked very well, so she developed the habit of using it every night.The last thing the queen mother does before going to bed every night is to wipe these mixed distilled water.

The next morning, as soon as the Queen Mother got out of bed, a little eunuch came in holding a jar of special fat oil, which was mixed with floral dew, so it smelled very fragrant.These oils not only remove the sap from last night's application, but also effectively relieve skin aging.The Queen Mother casually picked a small piece from the jar and rubbed it between her palms. After a short time, the fat melted.Her Majesty carefully applied the fat to her face, this time extensively, because the juice was also extensively applied last night.When painting the face, the Queen Mother won't let us do it, I'm afraid we can't do it well, or damage her facial muscles.After applying it, the queen mother had to wait for more than ten minutes to wash off the fat.

(End of this chapter)