Cixi was ready to get up at 3 o'clock and didn't go to court until 8 o'clock in the morning. What is she doing in the middle?
In the early Qing Dynasty, the court term was called "conscription", which was the highest form for the emperor or empress dowager to summon military ministers, princes, university students and government officials. The time is from 7: 00 to 8: 00 in the morning, about an hour or two.
At night, in the bedroom of Empress Dowager Cixi, only maids sit on the floor, two feet away from the bed. Two maids are working the night shift outside, and two maids are at the door, outside the bamboo curtain in summer and inside the cotton curtain in winter. Every day around midnight, as soon as Empress Dowager Cixi sat up from the bed, the ladies-in-waiting who were sleeping in the bedroom would kowtow or kneel down and deliberately call out "lucky ancestors". The two ladies-in-waiting on night shift at the door got the signal before they dared to start letting other ladies-in-waiting into the bedroom threshold. The maid-in-waiting on duty at night and the maid-in-waiting on duty that day went to the dormitory and knelt down, and then did their respective duties. When the curtain of Empress Dowager Cixi's bedroom was raised by half curtain, it implied that people could enter the bedroom.
The first thing Empress Dowager Cixi did when she got up: soak her hands and wash her face.
In the morning, it was the maid-in-waiting who first entered the bedroom, folded the quilt for Cixi, and then wrapped Empress Dowager Cixi's hand in a hot towel with a silver basin and soaked it for a long time. You need to change two or three pots of water to make the back of your hand and joints easier This is one of the fitness methods of Empress Dowager Cixi. Then wash your face or apply hot compress to reduce wrinkles.
The second thing: dress up. The waitress gently closes your temple and applies some powder and rouge. Rouge and powder were developed by Empress Dowager Cixi herself. In Chapter 32 of Empress Dowager Cixi's Dressing Table, De Ling mentioned the methods of powder making and rouge making by Empress Dowager Cixi, especially rouge making.
The third thing: comb your hair.
Empress Dowager Cixi didn't like the servant to see her unkempt face, so she handed over the eunuch who combed her hair after washing her face and makeup.
Empress Dowager Cixi had a famous eunuch, Liu Desheng, who combed her hair. Maid-in-waiting Liu pulled open the curtain of the palace door to comb her hair. Liu, a walk-on eunuch, came in with a bundle on his head. Please kneel on your knees to the throne, please take the baggage off your head and the maid-in-waiting will take it. Then she shouted: "Lucky Lafayette, I invite you to Wan 'an! The maid-in-waiting answered for Cixi in the bedroom, "Liu Desheng, come in! So Liu Tezhun, who combed her hair, entered Cixi's bedroom. Because eunuchs are not allowed to enter the queen mother's bedroom
The fourth thing: go out of the bedroom and smoke.
When the maid-in-waiting combed Cixi's hair, she had asked the treasurer and the two maids-in-waiting of the maid-in-waiting to pack up the things on the bed and leave the bedroom. Only the maid-in-waiting who combs her hair stood by with a comb box. The maids in charge of clothes in the dressing room outside have prepared clothes, shoes and socks to wait. After the Empress Dowager Cixi combed her hair, she repainted her eyebrows, brushed her sideburns, and painted it with powder to wipe red. Wear shoes and socks well, but also look at whether the shoes and socks are straight or not, because there is a line in the middle of the soft stockings to align the shoes.
Empress Dowager Cixi's socks are disposable. No matter how exquisite the socks are, each pair is only worn once and never twice, so you should wear a new pair of socks every day. No matter how skilled an embroiderer is, it takes seven or eight days to embroider a pair, plus shopping, raw materials, craftsman accommodation and bare socks. Empress Dowager Cixi needs more than ten thousand taels of silver a year.
Empress Dowager Cixi got dressed and went to the first room. As soon as the maid-in-waiting opened the curtains of the bedroom, eunuchs such as Li and Cui Yugui outside the porch got the signal and knelt on the steps under the dripping eaves and shouted, "Lucky Lafayette!" Therefore, Empress Dowager Cixi received them and sometimes went to the middle seat to formally accept their audience.
The fifth thing: eat breakfast. After coming out, you usually smoke two pipes of hookah before drinking tea.
Empress dowager cixi used to drink human milk and milk, and the Qing palace still retains the habit of the northeast people. Drinking milk should be tea, called milk tea. Milk tea is not provided by the Royal Teahouse, but by a small tea stove in Palace of Gathered Elegance. It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi also drinks a bowl of tremella soup every morning, which is also supplied by a small tea stove in Palace of Gathered Elegance. It is said that eating tremella soup often can keep the face from aging, which is also one of the maintenance methods of Empress Dowager Cixi. At the same time, longevity canteen should respect breakfast. There are all kinds of porridge, such as almond tea, fresh soybean milk and other tea soup, as well as more than 20 kinds of breakfast, such as cakes, inby, fried dumplings and other cakes, assorted bean products, braised duck liver, braised chicken breast and other halogen products.
Sixth thing: start driving.
After breakfast, Empress Dowager Cixi rinsed her mouth, took a sip of tea, smoked a pipe of cigarettes, and then went into the dressing room. Put on lotus-soled pearl phoenix shoes, double-headed rockhopper, pearls on both sides, seasonal palace flowers and Cai Feng gown. Then it was Li's turn to conduct. The sedan chair was carried to the door of Palace of Gathered Elegance, and the Queen Mother got on the sedan chair. Li Cui Yugui, the great eunuch, was holding a hookah and a green-headed sign (named List), clutching the sedan chair pole, surrounded by bodyguards, crowding round. Go to hall of mental cultivation at ordinary times, summon the government and go to the Qing Palace.