The Empress Dowager Cixi has been criticized in modern history. The most direct reason is her absurd rule in the dynasty. However, there is one thing. As the saying goes, "Everyone has the love of beauty." As a woman, the Empress Dowager Cixi also has the nature to love beauty.

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"Yu Xiang Piao Miao Lu" records: "The old Queen Mother cherishes herself very much and spends a lot of time taking care of herself every day. This also makes the Queen Mother look like a young girl at the age of 70, without any aura of twilight years."

How did the Empress Dowager Cixi take care of herself?

The eunuchs and ladies-in-waiting all had their own memories. Some said that Cixi liked to eat pearl powder, some said that Cixi often bathed with potions, and some said that Cixi took "Yurong Powder" prepared by the imperial doctor all year round, which made her skin supple and long, and her hair black.

The author of "Yu Xiang Piao Miao Lu" is Yu Deling, also known as Princess Deling at the time. She personally went to the palace to accompany Cixi for two years. Some of Cixi's living habits were also recorded one by one by her.

Princess De Ling mentioned that the Empress Dowager Cixi loved "flowers" most in her life. She liked to stare at the flowers of any plant for a long time. Because of this, the Empress Dowager's imperial garden was also full of flowers of various colors.

Not all the flowers in the imperial garden are for viewing. Empress Dowager Cixi also ordered people to sort and pick them and place them in specialized institutions for processing.

Some readers will definitely say that Cixi must want to take a flower petal bath. In fact, this is not the case. These flowers are very useful. They can not only bathe, but also make tea and even eat.

The Empress Dowager Cixi was very particular about drinking tea, and she was equally familiar with the taste and efficacy of various teas.

When Cixi tasted tea, the eunuchs needed to change the tea leaves according to the time. In the morning, the eunuchs needed to serve honeysuckle tea to cheer up the spirit with its fragrance.

At noon, the Empress Dowager Cixi needed to drink rose tea before lunch to increase her appetite.

Before going to bed, the eunuchs would offer a cup of jasmine tea to soothe the Empress Dowager Cixi and help her sleep.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Empress Dowager Cixi's tea tasting skills are absolutely master-level, which also shows that she has a strong concept of pleasure.

In addition, Cixi has always had the habit of eating flowers. There are two main types of flowers used for food, one is lotus and the other is chrysanthemum.

The Empress Dowager Cixi's affection for the lotus is obvious. In an old photo, the Empress Dowager Cixi is still pretending to be Guanyin in the lotus pond. Therefore, in her opinion, the lotus should have a "fairy spirit".

Lafayette has a hobby of eating lotus. He must use lotus with dew in the morning as raw material, and all the dew on the flower must be collected together.

The lotus flowers picked by the eunuchs were brought to the royal dining room. The royal chefs wrapped the petals in chicken fat and flour, then fried them in a pot until golden and crispy, and placed them on a plate for Lafayette to eat at his leisure.

When Empress Dowager Cixi ate lotus petals, she even drank dew, euphemistically calling it "eating flowers and drinking dew."

Chrysanthemum is sweet and slightly bitter, but Empress Dowager Cixi still loves to eat chrysanthemum. The way of eating chrysanthemum is very special, and it is usually used as an essential ingredient in hot pot.

The Empress Dowager Cixi loved chicken hot pot the most. The soup in the hot pot was fresh soup made from hundreds of chickens. After pouring the fresh soup into the hot pot, the eunuchs would add a few chrysanthemums to it. Then Ci Xi

You can smell the fragrance of chrysanthemums while eating chicken slices cooked in a hot pot.

Princess De Ling once had the honor to enjoy chrysanthemum hot pot with Empress Cixi. She said frankly: "This hot pot is the most delicious food I have ever eaten in my life.".

Flowers have always been a symbol of beauty in human consciousness. In the history of the East and the West, there have been records of edible plant flowers.

According to modern science, flowers are rich in vitamins and amino acids, which help the body absorb a lot of nutrients.

From this point of view, the health regimen of the Empress Dowager Cixi can be regarded as a "scientific health regimen". No wonder she has an ageless appearance.