After studying, it was the time for having breakfast. Following the habit of Machu, emperors of Qing Dynasty usually had two formal meals a day: breakfast (7:00 - 9:00) and dinner (13:00 - 15:00). They might have a snack time at night, and if they wanted something to eat, they could ask at any time.

At the meal time, the eunuch would place all dishes on the table in advance. For the sake of emperor's security, when dishes were served, the emperor could not eat immediately. Firstly, the eunuch would took a small silver plate and inserted it into each dishes several times. It was claimed that if poison were present, the silver plate would change color. Then the eunuch would have a bite of all dishes to make double confirmation. Only after that, the emperor would officially started to enjoy his meal. In addition, the eunuch was supposed to prevent the emperor from constantly eating the same dish, because if someone knew the emperor's preference, they might poison in that dish.