The mother silkworm has great skills. As soon as ant-sized silkworms hatch, their mission is to eat. Newly born silkworms cannot gnaw on mulberry leaves, so the mother silkworm brings ten women to cut the mulberry leaves into small pieces and feed them. After four or five days, the silkworms seem to be full and cannot eat anymore.
Hu Shanwei used to be a copyist and had never raised silkworms. When he saw the silkworms were not moving, he thought they were sick. The mother explained, "Silkworms eat without sleep for four or five days, so their bodies grow fast. The old shells are no longer useful, so they need to hibernate, shed their shells, and grow new ones."
Hu Shanwei understood immediately that the silkworm sheds its shell just like people get promoted. After a period of time, people grow and transform, and if the original official position is not suitable for them, they will change it, just like the silkworm changes its shell and continues to grow.
The mother silkworms and the silkworm wives take turns to live in the silkworm house and be on duty day and night, adding fresh mulberry leaves and taking good care of the silkworms. When the silkworms have changed their shells three times, shed their furry black color, and slowly grown into a fat and white appearance, the silkworm-parenting ceremony begins.
Unlike the grand court meeting in the harem, the silkworm ceremony is that the ladies of the inner and outer courts first go to the silkworm platform in the east suburbs and are arranged in order of rank according to their status and imperial edicts.
Married princesses, princesses and other ladies in the palace were at the front. Except for Princess Huaiqing who was pregnant, the other five princesses were all there. Last year, the Princess of Yan had followed the Prince of Yan to Beiping. Currently, the oldest princess in the capital was Princess Feng of Zhou, and next to her stood the Princess of Chu.
This group of women were led by the female official Jiang Quan. The Silkworm Ceremony was a major ritual, and the female officials in the Shangyi Bureau were not enough, so Cui Shangyi asked Jiang Quan from the Shangbao Bureau to help. Jiang Quan was now the female official in charge of the seals of the emperor and empress, and was a female official trusted by the emperor and empress. Cui Shangyi knew how to use people, and it was perfect for her to use Jiang Quan to lead this group of noble women.
Princess Chu and Jiang Quan were talking about the little princess's interesting stories. Jiang Quan said with a smile, "The princess hasn't been to the palace for a few days, and the little princess has spoken. Her name is Li
"Mother Concubine Shufei, Concubine Li Shufei was very happy. She taught the little princess to call father the emperor and mother the queen. She learned it in less than a day. Yesterday, the queen was in good spirits and asked me to take the little princess to Kunning Palace to play for an afternoon and listen to the little princess call mother the queen."
Princess Chu was overjoyed when she heard this. "After the silkworm ceremony, the prince and I will go to the palace and listen to the little princess calling me brother and sister-in-law."
The Princess of Chu was the sister-in-law of the little princess. After the prince got married, he moved out of the palace and moved into the palace. It was not so convenient for him to enter the palace again. Because his mother, Hu Shuren, died in an unclear way, the three clans of the Hu family were implicated overnight. The Prince of Chu, Zhu Zhen, did not dare to investigate further. He was worried about his sister. After getting married, he often asked the Princess of Chu to visit her in the palace. Therefore, the Princess of Chu and Jiang Quan were very familiar with each other.
The most prominent among the ladies outside the court is still Lady Lan, the wife of Duke Zheng. Recently, the Ming Dynasty has been on a southern expedition, and Lady Lan's brother, Marquis Yongchang Lan Yu, has been receiving frequent reports of success. Lady Lan is so proud and arrogant. Lady Feng, the wife of Duke Zheng, is obviously much younger than her mother-in-law, but she is not as imposing as Lady Lan. It seems that there has been another mother-in-law and daughter-in-law fight in the harem recently.
All the ladies of the imperial court and above of the fourth rank in the capital were present, wearing formal formal attire according to their rank and heavy 翟冠.
The princesses and other women of high rank, as well as the wife of Duke of Zheng, Lan, the wife of Duke of Zheng, Feng, the wife of Marquis of Xiping, Geng, and other women of the second rank and above, stood on the two-foot-six-inch altar, while the rest of the women of high rank waited at the foot of the altar.
Because the eastern suburbs were remote, this group of ladies arrived in their respective carriages before dawn and stood facing north and south, waiting for Empress Ma.
In the harem, at the fourth watch, when the sky was just beginning to brighten, Empress Ma, in her regular clothes, left the palace through Xihua Gate, accompanied by a procession of ceremonial guards, female musicians, and imperial guards, all heading for the eastern suburbs.
When they arrived at the Silkworm Festival, all the ladies bowed four times to welcome Empress Ma's carriage. Lady Cao held the basket in front of the carriage, while Empress Ma went to the Jufu Palace to rest for a while and changed into her sacrificial dress.
Let’s start with the mulberry picking ceremony.
Empress Ma went up to the Mulberry Picking Platform and stood facing east. The ladies of rank 2 and above also took their places on the Mulberry Picking Platform. The other ladies of rank 2 and below stood near the mulberry trees below the platform.
Cao Shang Gong knelt down and handed over the hook, Cui Shang Yi knelt down and handed over the bamboo basket, and Empress Ma took the hook and the bamboo basket to pick mulberry leaves, symbolically picking three mulberry branches.
The mulberry picking ceremony was over. Under the guidance of Lady Cao, Empress Ma sat down at the ceremonial gate of the south gate of the mulberry picking platform and watched the ladies picking mulberry. Lady Cui stayed where she was and guided the ladies to start picking mulberry with hook baskets.
Wearing seven or eight layers of formal gowns, wearing a 翟冠 that weighs more than ten kilograms, and using hooks to pick mulberry leaves, the ladies of this generation were very good at "fighting". They were also happy to participate in the mulberry picking ceremony. After all, it was their honor to follow Empress Ma in picking mulberry leaves.
Sharp hooks hang on the mulberry branches, one after another.
Ladies above the rank of duke pick five mulberry leaves.
The wives of marquises and those below the rank of emperor shall collect mulberry leaves in nine articles.
The higher the status, the less they pick.
When the collection was finished, the lady handed the baskets of mulberry branches to the palace maids beside her. The palace maids gathered the mulberry branches in the baskets together, and Song Shanggong, who was in charge of needlework in the Shanggong Bureau, handed the mulberry leaves to the mother silkworms.
The silkworm mother led ten silkworm women to cut mulberry leaves and put them into baskets, which were then distributed to the ladies inside and outside the court. The silkworm mother carried the baskets to distribute them to Empress Ma, who led her to sprinkle the leaves on the silkworms as feed.
Empress Ma was the first to enter the silkworm room. She had fed silkworms and worked on weaving before, so she skillfully scattered a handful of mulberry leaves. The silkworm mother reached out to the basket, grabbed the second handful of mulberry leaves and handed them to Empress Ma.
Suddenly, something unexpected happened. This time, what the silkworm mother grabbed was not the fresh green mulberry leaves, but a knife that was shining coldly for cutting mulberry leaves!
The silkworm mother stabbed at Empress Ma's throat while shouting, "Witch! You want to destroy the Han Dynasty! Kill the King of Han! Take away my mother! You deserve to be killed!"
The accident happened too quickly and no one had time to react. Empress Ma had experienced war in her early years. She had once defended a city with women and children. After the city was broken, she carried the young prince on her back, stole a horse and escaped. These hardships made Empress Ma react a little faster than anyone else.
When the blade was heading towards her throat, Empress Ma retreated repeatedly and pulled off the heavy phoenix crown on her head and smashed it at the Silkworm Mother.
The silkworm mother ducked to avoid the jeweled crown, and the first stab of the knife missed the vital throat and went to the chest.
The Silkworm Mother drew her sword swiftly, and it was obvious that she was a trained assassin. She was about to stab Empress Ma in the throat again, but Hu Shanwei ran over, picked up the bamboo basket filled with mulberry leaves, put the basket over the Silkworm Mother's head, and grasped the edge of the bamboo basket with both hands, pulling the basket and her head backwards.
The silkworm mother's vision was obstructed and she was framed by Hu Shan. She fell backwards and missed the second knife.
"There is an assassin! Help!" Lady Cao pulled Empress Ma out of the silkworm room. Jinyiwei commander Mao Xiang ordered his men to protect Empress Ma and retreat. The ladies who were waiting in line outside to enter the silkworm room to feed the silkworms quickly followed suit and fled. The guards rushed over and shot arrows into the room.
Jiang Quan was outside guiding the ladies to evacuate. When he saw the guards drawing their bows and shooting arrows, he shouted, "Don't shoot! Hu Siyan is still inside!"
How could a female official be more important than killing an assassin!
No one listened to Jiang Quan's shouts. The first round of arrows swarmed through the doors and windows of the silkworm house like locusts.
Jiang Quan's heart sank. She ignored her duty at the moment, went against the current, ran over and shouted: "The assassin in the silkworm room is just a silkworm mother! Any grown man among you can break in and subdue her! Why shoot innocent people!"
The guards didn't believe it. "How do you know there aren't other assassins hiding in the silkworm room? If these assassins rush out, can you be held responsible for anything that happens? Shoot again!"
The guards bent their bows and were about to start the second round of shooting when Ji Gang, a captain of the Imperial Guard, rode over on horseback, "Wait a minute!"
Ji Gang lifted his long legs and dismounted, and asked Jiang Quan: "Are you sure there is only one female assassin?"
Jiang Quan nodded, "In order to protect Queen Ma's safety, the silkworm room was searched thoroughly before. There is no way anyone else is there."
Ji Gang drew out his embroidered spring sword and said to the guards, "I'll go in first and take a look. You surround the silkworm room. Anyone who comes out of it, unless it's me or Hu Siyan, will be captured first and then killed!"
Ji Gang walked towards the silkworm room.
Time goes back to half a quarter of an hour ago.
Hu Shan put a bib over the silkworm mother's head and pulled her back, knocking her down. The silkworm mother was obviously a well-trained assassin. She shrank her neck and turned over, and immediately stood up. She ignored Hu Shanwei behind her and rushed out with the silkworm knife in her hand, intending to continue assassinating Queen Ma.
Hu Shanwei simply pushed down the frame that held the bamboo sieves in the silkworm room. With a crash, the frame flew straight toward the door. The silkworm mother dodged sideways, and the bamboo sieves covered with silkworms rolled out of the door like wheels, and the frame blocked the door.
The second frame sent by the Ministry of Industry was very solid. After it fell to the ground, the structure was still there, blocking the way like a spider web.
The silkworm mother kept the assassination mission in mind and still ignored Hu Shanwei who was making trouble behind her. She bent down and crawled out from the gap in the frame.
How could Hu Shanwei let her run away? The silkworm mother had a knife in her hand, so she didn't dare to force it. She had to pick up the bamboo sieves on the ground and throw them at the door frame, trying to create more obstacles for the silkworm mother to crawl.
But the bamboo sieve was too light to be of much use.
Seeing that the mother silkworm was about to crawl out, Hu Shanwei had no choice but to run over, grab the mother silkworm's left leg, and pull it in with all his strength!
The silkworm mother was furious. She turned over and kicked Hu Shanwei on the head with her right foot, "Get out!"
Hu Shanwei was hit head-on, her head felt heavy and her skull hurt as if it was going to burst. Her hands lost strength and she fell backwards, rolling to the corner of the window. She held her head and was about to pull the silkworm mother's legs again when suddenly there was a sound of breaking air and dense arrows like dark clouds shot in from the door and windows!
Hu Shanwei quickly hugged his head, shrank into the corner, and did not move.
The silkworm mother wanted to retreat, but the spider-web-like frame that fell to the ground trapped her. Like a dragonfly stuck in a spider web, she crawled backwards to return to the silkworm room to hide, but when she was halfway up, she was overwhelmed by arrows.
So, when Ji Gang came in with the Embroidered Spring Knife, he was blocked by the fallen frame at the door. He saw the silkworm mother was like a hedgehog, with dozens of arrows stuck in her body, motionless and dead. In the blind corner of the wall under the window sill, Hu Shanwei was holding his head like a turtle, with his body curled up into a ball.
"Hu Siyan? Hu Shanwei? Shanwei!" Ji Gang shouted. The frame blocked the door, so he crouched and crawled inside. Fortunately, he had a thin waist and long legs, and his body was as flexible as a water snake. He successfully drilled through the spider-web-like frame and crawled to Hu Shanwei's side.
Hu Shanwei's head was tucked under his knees, his back slightly arched, protecting his body like a tortoise shell. His back was grazed by stray arrows, tearing his clothes and leaving streaks of blood, which were particularly eye-catching against his snow-white skin.
Fortunately, it was only a superficial wound. Hu Shanwei accidentally hid in the blind spot behind the window sill, which was the only safe place in the silkworm room.
"Shanwei?" Ji Gang took off his Feiyu suit and covered the scars on her back.
Hu Shanwei screamed and bounced back violently, hitting his back against the wall. He cried in pain. After feeling the pain and seeing Ji Gang and the silkworm room full of arrows, Hu Shanwei realized that he was not shot to death and had saved his life.
"Where's the assassin?" Hu Shanwei asked. She had been kicked hard on the forehead by the silkworm mother, and it was now swollen into a big lump, much like the birthday god in the New Year picture.
"It's dead." Ji Gang pointed at the silkworm mother trapped in the frame at the door.
Hu Shanwei asked again: "Where is the Queen?"
Ji Gang said, "Master Mao escorted you to the palace where you are recuperating. I think the stab wound was not in a vital part, so you should be fine."
As Ji Gang spoke, he climbed back into the frame, pushed aside the body of the hedgehog silkworm mother, and took out the knife for cutting mulberry leaves. "This knife is not sharp, fortunately it is only used to cut leaves."
Ji Gang leaned his head out of the window, "The assassin is dead! Hu Siyan is injured, call the doctor!"
Hearing that Hu Shanwei was not dead, Jiang Quan outside breathed a sigh of relief. Shanwei was really lucky!
Everyone cut the frame blocking the door and carried the assassin Canmu out. Hu Shanwei walked out with the support of Ji Gang and also went to the palace.
In the palace, famous doctors from the Imperial Hospital, including Ru Siyao and Tan Taiyi, treated Empress Ma's injuries. The assassin's knife had stuck between her ribs, and Empress Ma survived, but the skin and flesh on her chest were turned inside out and had to be sewn up with needle and thread, a total of seven stitches, which was very horrifying.
Queen Ma drank the pain-relieving Ma Fei San and fell into a deep sleep.
Ru Siyao and Doctor Tan washed their hands. The little palace maid Haitang handed them a dry towel obediently. "Can you two go see Hu Siyan?"
Hu Shanwei was lying on the bed, and the female doctor was cleaning the arrow wounds on her back.
When Doctor Tan saw that it was an arrow wound, his face changed and he said, "Bring all those arrows here so I can see the arrowheads."
Ru Siyao was puzzled, and Doctor Tan said, "Some arrowheads are poisoned, and some are mixed with copper. The copper rust seeps into the blood and is very dangerous. Some people may only have minor injuries, but in fact they are already dead."
Ji Gang ordered his men to collect all the arrows from the silkworm room. Doctor Tan smelled the arrowheads with his nose, and Ru Siyao looked for those with blood. One arrow was covered with rust.
Doctor Tan increased the dosage of the decoctions and external application powders given to Hu Shanwei, and also used strong drugs.
That night, Hu Shanwei and Empress Ma both had a high fever. Empress Ma's body was burning hot, but her hands and feet were cold. Hu Shanwei had a high fever and was sweating, and his bedding was soaked several times. Ru Siyao and Tan Taiyi ran back and forth to check on his condition, and they didn't sleep all night.
The author has something to say: The update time is a little late these two days because the kindergarten is on winter vacation... Zhou, who once looked forward to the winter vacation, has become a parent who hopes that the winter vacation will end soon.
Zhou adjusted his rhythm and made three rules with E Ji: try not to disturb me when I am typing, so I will definitely update earlier tomorrow. I say hello to everyone, good night, my babies!
I will give out 100 red envelopes tonight to appease everyone, and congratulate reader hana for receiving a big red envelope of 100 points!
№1 User: hana Comment: "Hu Shanwei" Score: 2 Published: 2019-01-17 23:17:56 Reviewed chapter: 87
c