"The servant will first explain the key points to pay attention to, and after the servant finishes, the young ladies can raise any unclear or overlooked points," Nanny Ye paused, her face beaming with a smile, "Look at this mouth of mine, the young ladies are all outstanding individuals, how could you not understand such simple tasks?"
A high hat weighed on everyone's heads.
Actually, everyone felt that listening just once wouldn't be enough to understand, but with Nanny Ye saying so, they began to doubt themselves—could it really be that everyone else can remember? Forget it, let's wait and see if others have any questions.
Perhaps, it's really simple!
Just as the concubines were thinking this, Nanny Ye continued, "There are special chopsticks for serving the Emperor, and the use of these chopsticks has fifteen taboos; violating any one of them will lead to punishment."
Upon hearing about the fifteen taboos, the concubines looked anxious.
Yun Jiao thought this was just the beginning; the spoon's taboos hadn't been discussed yet, and the Imperial Kitchen's knife skills, while excellent, made it difficult to pick up dishes without getting sauce on them.
After Nanny Ye, without a pause, covered a long list of points as long as a stick of incense burns, she asked with a smile, "Is there anything the young ladies didn't quite understand?"
The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Since the young ladies understood, let's put it into practice."
In the room, there were two square tables, each set with the same soups and dishes.
Nanny Ye divided the nine concubines into two groups, her sharp eyes watching closely to spot even the slightest mistake and immediately pointing it out.
But who would go first?
Everyone's attention turned to Consort Ji, as she was the only consort present, who was expected to lead by example in all matters. Consort Ji, knowing that refusal was useless, stepped forward with a calm face.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
"Servant Consort Yun seems composed, she must be very confident, why not let her go first?"
Attendant Lady Zhang suddenly said.
Hearing this, Yun Jiao looked at her and replied, "If we are going by rank, I don't mind going first; I just want to know if sister intends to offer the rank of Attendant Lady to me as well?"
"How can that be?"
"Yeah, how can that be?"
Facing Yun Jiao's comeback, Attendant Lady Zhang blushed; she hadn't expected this particularly quiet, seemingly docile and timid little Servant Consort to dare to talk back.
"Why so slow?"
Seeing the delay, Nanny Ye turned her head and pointed out Yun Jiao's name, "Young Lady Yun, please go ahead."
The previously blushing Attendant Lady Zhang immediately showed a hint of joy.
Nanny Ye made the demonstration first, serving dishes and soup with fluid motions, even with dishes heavy in sauce, she managed to not spill a drop, her spoon and chopsticks never touched the bowl's rim, showcasing serene elegance.
"Would the two young ladies please proceed, beginning with Miss Ji."
Yun Jiao and Consort Ji stepped forward, following Nanny Ye's sequence in serving dishes.
All eyes were on the two of them.
Some hoped to see their mistakes, while others aimed to learn from them.
As the carefully trained daughter of the Ji Family, Consort Ji indeed had some skills; she quickly steadied herself, prioritizing stability over speed, unlike Nanny Ye, and except for accidentally crushing a piece of tofu, she smoothly completed the process.
Nanny Ye nodded, "The young lady did well, but next time, please be quicker; we can't serve the Emperor cold dishes."
Consort Ji modestly nodded in acceptance of the advice.
"Young Lady Yun, it's your turn."
Yun Jiao took the chopsticks steadily.
In the palace, serving was not an easy task; the chopsticks used for serving were heavier than the red gold inlaid chopsticks used by concubines, already a test for delicate ladies.
Although Yun Jiao had replayed this six times, serving wasn't a skill learned in a day or two.
Only three out of ten times could she succeed.
Yet she just needed to make those three attempts.
Under everyone's gaze, she calmly—with a flick of her chopsticks, launched an egg into the air.
Numerous eyes followed the egg's trajectory, and before it hit the ground, Yun Jiao decisively reset the moment!
The egg was back in her hand.
This time she succeeded, calmly placing the egg onto a colorful porcelain saucer.
The others stared at Yun Jiao in shock.
Originally, they thought Consort Ji's performance was impressive, but to their surprise, Servant Consort Yun was even more skilled and graceful, effortlessly reaching perfection.
"Please, Nanny, give your guidance."
After completing everything, Yun Jiao put down her chopsticks with a smile.
Nanny Ye was so taken aback that she couldn't find any fault to point out.
Although she was just a newly-entered Servant Consort and was serving the Emperor for the first time... Nanny Ye quietly noted this and decided to report it to the Empress.
This is because the current Emperor has a preference for quick-learning clever people.
If Servant Consort Yun catches the Emperor's eye, she might win his favor even more than Consort Ji.
Nanny Ye's mind was racing, and seeing her silent, Yun Jiao stepped back a few steps and returned to the end of the line.
"Miss Zhang, it's your turn."
Nanny Ye snapped back to reality and called out Attendant Lady Zhang's name.
Seeing the ease with which Nanny Ye and the two before her managed things, many people, including Attendant Lady Zhang, harbored a fluke mentality, thinking it might not be as difficult as imagined? However, as soon as Attendant Lady Zhang received the chopsticks, she secretly lamented—they were too heavy!
She could hardly hold them steadily, let alone use them to pick up the soft, tender tofu.
Having been unprepared psychologically, her face didn't show it, but her mind was already in disarray.
After breaking the tofu for the third time, Attendant Lady Zhang's face turned red.
"You must hold the chopsticks steadily, without panic, but without applying brute force. Making a mess of the dishes in front of the Emperor is a big taboo, Miss, you have to remember that."
Attendant Lady Zhang lowered her head, her eyes gradually reddening.
The only consolation was that if even she found it difficult, others would likely fare no better.
Unexpectedly, the following concubines didn't do very well either, but when they took the chopsticks, their expressions remained calm, not at all frightened by the unusual weight. Some even showed a look of relief. While dining, Attendant Lady Zhang pulled aside another concubine and asked, "The chopsticks that Nanny gave us were incredibly heavy, weren't you surprised?"
"It's all thanks to Servant Consort Yun!" Attendant Lady He laughed and said, "I saw how well she did, and even Nanny couldn't find fault with her, so I asked her for tips on what to watch out for when serving dishes, and Servant Consort Yun generously shared. She's indeed quiet and doesn't like to join in the fun, but she's really a good person."
The other concubines chimed in agreement.
In their descriptions, Yun Jiao was a "born genius" who didn't pride herself on this, but was instead very humble and likable.
"Why didn't she tell me?"
Attendant Lady Zhang said angrily.
"You were the second one up; how could she tell you? If you're going to blame Servant Consort Yun for that, it's really unreasonable."
Facing Attendant Lady He's retort, Attendant Lady Zhang thought for a moment and said, "She could've pulled me aside to tell me the important parts, at least that would've been fair."
Attendant Lady He looked at her repeatedly, not only not giving in to her words but shaking her head and saying: "I think it's not that you wanted to ask Servant Consort Yun for advice, but you'd rather she hadn't helped any of us, so we'd all embarrass ourselves, which would please you!"
He Shujin, being straightforward, slashed through Attendant Lady Zhang's pretense with her words.
Attendant Lady Zhang's face fell: "I think she's deliberately targeting me, trying to act as a good person in front of you, but might actually harm you later."
"No need for Attendant Lady Zhang to worry about that."
Their voices weren't loud, but they didn't avoid people either.
The other concubines heard and spread the word.
Those who had benefited from Yun Jiao's guidance thought Attendant Lady Zhang was not someone to associate with and hurried to warn Yun Jiao.
"Is this really the case?"
Having seen the same scene seven times, Yun Jiao tried to feign surprise but gave up due to her poor acting: "Never mind, let her be. It's enough that you know I mean no harm."
One of the benefits of repeating events was that it greatly improved her mindset.
What's there to be angry about?
If she really couldn't stand it, she'd just go over and give them a couple of punches, and then relapse to regain her peace of mind.
Yun Jiao's appearance was the most broadly appealing kind of "good looking," with a small, plump, and fair face, skin whiter and more flawless than jade—neither glamorous and enchanting nor cold and aloof, but a beauty that appealed to all ages and genders. She was petite, the smallest among this batch of concubines, which further aroused the protective instincts of others.
Now seeing her so indifferent, the concubines who had been helped by Yun Jiao all genuinely pitied her.
"This wasn't your responsibility!"
"Exactly, Sister Yun is too kind."
"Luckily Sister Yun wasn't assigned to the same room as Attendant Lady Zhang, or she'd be bullied to death, wouldn't she?"
Yun Jiao thought for a moment: "I'm not too soft to be bullied either. If she sought trouble with me directly, I wouldn't let her have her way."
With the advantage of reversing events, she would never suffer a loss.
"How did Sister Yun cultivate such a kind heart?"
"Seen too much, grown accustomed to it."
The others understood, thinking that Servant Consort Yun must have suffered many hardships at home, thus becoming accustomed to it.
Little did they know, Yun Jiao was referring to the habit of returning to the past.
However, in the Yan Chi Palace, there was someone not accustomed.
On the thirteenth of June in the second year of Taichu, Xie Zhixing was trapped in that day a total of twelve times.
On the twelfth time seeing the reviewed memorials revert to their original state, this emperor, known for his emulation of the legacy of the Empress of filial piety, diligence, benevolence, and majesty, finally had a breakdown.