When Ru Siyao came in, Hu Shanwei was holding the spittoon and vomiting violently.
Haitang was horrified: I had only heard that someone's brain was damaged by a kick before, but Hu Siyan looked like she was pregnant from the kick!
Hu Shanwei vomited everything in his stomach until only water remained, but he was still nauseous. Ru Siyao said calmly, "This is what happens when your brain is hit hard. You must protect your skull in the future. I performed an autopsy on the female assassin. Her body was flexible and strong. She must have practiced martial arts for a long time. A brick could be shattered with the force of her kick, let alone a mortal like you."
Hu Shanwei retched and said, "I usually only practice some fancy moves to strengthen my body, but I didn't expect that a palace lady would have to practice the Golden Bell Cover and Iron Cloth Shirt for self-defense."
Some people get their brains damaged by a kick, and suffer from amnesia, dementia, or insanity. Seeing that Hu Shanwei was conscious and could still joke, Ru Siyao breathed a sigh of relief. "Eat some rice porridge to fill your stomach. Dry heaving is bad for your stomach. The swelling and bruises on your forehead will go away in half a month, but the scar on your back cannot be removed. It will stay with you forever."
Hu Shanwei said: "It's okay, I can't see it anyway."
Doctor Ru examined the wounds on Hu Shanwei's forehead and back, felt his pulse, and rewrote the prescription: "Since the fever has subsided, don't take the strong medicine prescribed by Doctor Tan. I'll change the medicine for you."
Haitang sent Ru Siyao away and brought a bowl of rice porridge. Hu Shanwei felt nauseous and ate like he was taking medicine. Haitang said timidly, "Hu Siyan is still so young. You should ask Ru Siyao to mix a scar-lightening ointment and apply it on the scar on your back."
Hu Shanwei sighed, "I am lucky to be alive again. Scars are nothing. It doesn't matter. I can't see them anyway. Out of sight, out of mind."
Haitang is still young after all, and she is a little anxious: "Hu Siyan can't see, but who in the future..."
Seeing Haitang hesitate to speak, Hu Shanwei put down the spoon and asked, "What's the matter?"
Haitang said: "Hu Siyan had a high fever and was unconscious. I was the one who stayed by his side the whole time. Hu Siyan talked in his sleep, crying for his parents, and he often called out a certain name."
"Who?" Hu Shanwei actually had a vague guess as to who it was.
Haitang lowered her head and whispered, "Master Mu Chunmu."
Outside, Hu Shanwei was an "old maid" who could not get married, but in the palace, Hu Shanwei was too young to be a sixth-rank female official. Compared with women like Cao Shanggong and Cui Shangyi who had passed their prime, no one questioned their determination to remain single for life, but Hu Shanwei's life seemed to have many possibilities.
Hu Shanwei leaned over the couch and vomited into the spittoon again, vomiting out the same rice porridge he had just eaten.
Finally, Hu Shanwei said, "Don't think too much. Lord Mu and I are... close friends. Whenever I'm in trouble, he always appears and lends a helping hand. So, it's not surprising that I dreamed of him when I was attacked by assassins in the silkworm room."
Haitang said: "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Hey, hey, don’t say that. Have you heard the explanation? Obviously, Hu Shanwei’s words failed to fool Haitang.
But the more she explained, the more guilty she seemed, so Hu Shanwei simply stopped explaining.
Hu Shanwei woke up. Mao Xiang was the most informed person, so he rushed over immediately and interrogated Hu Shanwei.
In order to alleviate the pain of vomiting, Hu Shanwei drank rice soup without a single grain of rice in it and wrapped his forehead with several layers of white gauze.
Mao Xiang moved an embroidered cushion and sat next to the bed. "It's already this time, and you can still eat. Aren't you worried about your future and your life?"
"Courage is acquired through practice." Hu Shanwei drank the rice soup slowly and methodically. "Because of the funeral specifications for Concubine Chengmu Sun, I almost had my eyes gouged out. I'm used to walking on the edge of a knife all day long. I'm not afraid of anything. I think I've done my best within the scope of my duties. The rest is beyond my control. If you want to blame someone, just blame bad luck. But who can tell the truth about luck?"
Mao Xiang thought to himself: Oh, when you haven't seen a man for three days, you should look at him with new eyes. The little woman who entered the palace barefoot, with a hunched back, has gradually grown into a female official who is not afraid of anything.
In fact, half of Hu Shanwei's confidence was fake, and the other half came entirely from Queen Ma.
No one wore mourning clothes, which meant that Empress Ma had escaped the disaster. Empress Ma was a kind person and would never kill innocent people.
Although Hu Shanwei didn't know what kind of punishment she would receive for turning into an assassin, judging from the expressions of Haitang and Ru Siyao, she should have escaped.
Therefore, Hu Shanwei would not show any fear when facing Mao Xiang. She knew that she must not show any guilt or be caught by Mao Xiang.
Sure enough, seeing Hu Shanwei so calm and confident, Mao Xiang softened his attitude towards her. "Now, I need you to recall the past carefully. From the moment you met the silkworm mother, what did you do and what you said, no matter how big or small, tell me clearly one by one."
As Hu Shanwei recalled her experiences, two Jinyiwei clerks wrote down her experiences. When she finished, Mao Xiang handed her the thick confession and said, "Read it yourself to see if there are any mistakes or omissions, and then sign your name."
Hu Shanwei did as he was told, pressed his fingerprints, and asked, "Master Mao, how is the investigation of this assassin going?"
Mao Xiang has been very busy lately. "The imperial prison is overcrowded, even busier than the time when Hu Weiyong was involved in a treason case. But the assassin is very cunning and hides very deeply. According to investigation, there are no accomplices around. More than three former palace servants of the Han Palace have identified the silkworm mother as the maidservant bodyguard of Han Wangfei Yang. But her every move among the people is impeccable and cannot be detected by outsiders. The Silkworm Ceremony is the only opportunity for outsiders to get close to the queen. I guess she has been planning to assassinate Queen Ma for a long time."
"Once she was selected as a candidate for silkworm mother by Jiangning County and recommended to go to the capital, but she voluntarily gave up. However, after the court issued her a chastity memorial arch, she volunteered to represent Jiangning County in the selection of silkworm mothers."
Hu Shanwei suddenly realized: "She is waiting for the best opportunity. If she is not selected, she will definitely win once she participates in the election."
Mao Xiang nodded, "This person is like a dormant poisonous snake. Once he gets a chance, he will launch a fatal attack. This is the last time the Silkworm Care Ceremony will be held in the suburbs. Starting next year, the Silkworm Care Ceremony will be moved to the palace. The Silkworm Mother will select female officials with high moral character and good at raising silkworms from the Shanggong Bureau to take the position."
This was naturally the instruction of Emperor Hongwu, to completely eliminate the hidden dangers. One can only know a person's face but not his heart. God knows how many "silkworm mothers" are lurking, waiting for an opportunity to strike
"No accomplices, alone?" Hu Shanwei pondered for a moment and asked, "A person lay dormant for nearly ten years, just for this one attack?"
Mao Xiang felt that his profession was being questioned, and asked back: "Why? Do you think that if the Silkworm Mother really has accomplices, and those who are close to her have been in the imperial prison, there is nothing that I, Mao Xiang, can't find out?"
Hu Shanwei said: "I am a female official beside the Queen. The Queen is very kind to me and has taught me many truths. If it weren't for the Queen, I believe many people would have died. If the Queen is forced to commit suicide, I will do everything I can to avenge her."
Mao Xiang clenched his fists, "How dare you! How dare you curse the queen!"
Hu Shanwei was no longer afraid of Mao Xiang, and continued to put himself in the shoes of the assassin, Canmu, and said, "So I raise silkworms for a living on the surface, but secretly I have not given up my martial arts skills and have always been preparing for revenge. But I am a woman, and it is not easy for me to gain a foothold among the people. Since I have decided to spend the rest of my life in revenge, why don't I find a chance to assassinate the emperor who destroyed the Han Dynasty, or simply assassinate Hu Mei who betrayed the old master, or go to Goryeo to welcome the old prince? Why must I assassinate the queen who does not interfere in government affairs? I heard clearly what Canmu said at that time, 'Destroy my Han Dynasty! Kill my King of Han! Seize my mother!' Excuse me, these three charges should not be about the queen, but the emperor."
Hu Shanwei became bolder and bolder in her words, but Mao Xiang did not stop her and seemed to be thinking about something.
"Since my enemy is the emperor, killing his first wife, the queen whom he has always respected, and losing his beloved will certainly be a serious blow to the emperor. However, what is the most important thing for the emperor? It is the country and the people. The queen can be remarried, or even another concubine can be chosen, but the country cannot be lost. Alternatively, killing such a person can not only take revenge, but also stir up disputes within the royal family, killing two birds with one stone." Hu Shanwei dipped his finger in the already cooled rice soup and wrote the word "Prince".
Hu Shanwei pointed at the two characters on the table, "He is the head of the nation. Once the head of the nation is lost, with so many grown brothers and no legitimate prince, how much chaos will this bring to the country? Except for the silkworm ceremony, the queen stays in the harem all year round, but he is different. He often goes to provide disaster relief and visit the orphans and widows. He has a very good reputation. It is easier to assassinate him than the queen."
Crown Prince Zhu Biao often went on tours and provided disaster relief, and was known among the people for his virtue and benevolence.
Hu Shanwei smoothed the writing with his palm. "Of course, this is just my suspicion. Silkworm Mother tried so hard to seek revenge, but she chose the method of assassinating Queen Ma. I personally think there is something fishy here."
The words that Silkworm Mother said before the assassination were "Witch! Destroy my Han Dynasty! Kill my Han King! Take away my mother! You deserve to be killed!"
Mao Xiang thought that this was Silkworm Mother's way of showing her origins and revenge for the Han regime, so he focused his investigation on the Jinyiwei's customary torture of extracting confessions and digging deep into the ground to look for suspicious points.
However, Hu Shanwei had a feeling of gratitude towards Empress Ma, and her perspective on the issue was different from Mao Xiang's. Thanks to Empress Ma's advice, Hu Shanwei knew that Emperor Hongwu valued the country the most, and hoped that his sons could live in peace, unite and love, and jointly protect the Ming Dynasty, and the ruling method of integrating family and country into one.
Hu Shanwei felt that Empress Ma was simply a model of a virtuous empress in the book. She really fulfilled her responsibilities as the mother of a country. She was kind, reasonable, and did not act according to her personal likes and dislikes. She risked the danger of "the harem was not allowed to interfere in politics" and racked her brains to make suggestions to stop Emperor Hongwu from killing people in anger. She was willing to save as many people as possible. She accompanied Emperor Hongwu, a tyrannical dragon that could breathe fire at any time, and never told outsiders about her pressure and grievances. Why did he have to kill such a good empress
Although Hu Shanwei's expression was very tactful, the spy chief Mao Xiang still heard her hidden meaning: "You mean... Silkworm Mother is not seeking revenge for the Han Dynasty, her goal is just to kill the Queen?"
"Well. To judge a person, don't just listen to what she says, but also look at what she does." Hu Shanwei said, "The three charges of 'destroying the Han Dynasty! Killing the King of Han! Seizing my mother' are not only unsuitable for the Queen, but the charge of 'seizing my mother' is totally untenable. Concubine Da Ding is the concubine of the King of Han, and the Princess of Han is Yang. It is not the turn of Concubine Da Ding to be the mother of the country. Moreover, Canmu is a personal female guard of the Princess of Han, Yang, as a maid. How could she regard Concubine Da Ding as the mother of the country? This is simply an insult to the former master Yang. For example, as a palace lady, I only listen to the Queen's orders. What does the other concubines in the six palaces of the East and West have to do with me, no matter what their status is or whether they are favored or not?"
Mao Xiang slapped the table and said, "Let's assume that your doubts are correct, and the assassin's target is only the Empress. The flawed words the assassin said before the assassination were just a cover-up to conceal her true motive. So now the question is, why did the assassin have to kill the Empress? Who is the mastermind behind this?"
Hu Shanwei said: "The assassin is dead, so we can't ask her the truth. Lord Mao, why don't you do the opposite? If the queen is dead, who will be the final winner?"
Author's words: Sherlock Holmes and Watson
Chapter 3: Chunchun is away, I miss him.
So, do you still remember Chunchun's calligraphy? I have written this article many times, and now it's time to test your memory. The first reader to give the correct answer will receive a 100-point bonus.