...
The branches and leaves of several mulberry trees in the yard were stretched out. Shen Wei held a golden hook for picking mulberry leaves in one hand and a small bamboo basket in the other, practicing picking mulberry leaves.
Cai Lian took the information she had investigated and came to report to Shen Wei: "Master, I have followed your instructions to find out the origins of the Nanchu envoy who broke into the imperial garden that night."
Chen Wei carried the small bamboo basket and returned to the pavilion.
Opening the letter handed to her by Cai Lian, Shen Wei read the message from the Southern Chu envoy at a glance.
The envoy from Southern Chu is called Lu Xiao. He is 30 years old and a young and promising official. He holds an important position in the Honglu Temple of Southern Chu and is considered the main decision-maker of this Southern Chu delegation.
Cai Lian even secretly sent someone to draw a portrait of Lu Xiao and asked the Nanchu merchants in Yanjing City to identify it. Those merchants were all sure that the person in the painting was Lu Xiao.
"It seems that he is really a pure Nan Chu official." Shen Wei read the collected information over and over again three times, and threw the information into the small copper stove.
The flames burned and several pieces of paper quickly turned to ashes.
Shen Wei thought about it for a while, but she still couldn't take it lightly. Chen Wei told Cai Lian: "Go and tell Deshun about the Nanchu envoys who broke into the imperial garden at night. Find a way to let the emperor know."
Cailian: "Okay."
Cai Lian left, and Shen Wei continued to pick mulberry leaves in the yard. Li Yuanjing is not stupid. If Shen Wei can sense the weirdness of the Nanchu envoy, then Li Yuanjing will certainly notice it as well.
Shen Wei doesn't need to worry, Li Yuanjing will take care of it.
Shen Wei never fights alone. Even if the sky falls, she has Li Yuanjing as a big tree to support her. If Li Yuanjing couldn't hold on, she had legs and could run by herself.
...
Time passes quietly and the breath of spring becomes stronger. The envoys from Southern Chu temporarily stationed in Yanjing City to discuss the details of border trade and product import and export with the officials of Qing Kingdom.
Since it involves national trade and commerce, every detail needs to be handled with caution, so the progress of the agreement is very slow.
Ten days later, Daqing Kingdom welcomed the two most important national ceremonies in spring - the Farming Ceremony and the Silkworm Ceremony.
The Ministry of Rites began to make arrangements, and according to past custom, the ceremony would be held on the same day at the imperial estate outside Yanjing. The officials of the Ministry of Rites were so busy that they didn't even have time to go home, and they worked day and night to prepare.
At daybreak, trumpets and drums sounded, and this majestic sound could be heard everywhere in the harem.
The desolate Kunning Palace was littered with dead branches and leaves.
There was smoke rising from the Buddhist hall. The queen, who was kneeling on a cushion and chanting sutras, suddenly opened her eyes. Her face was lifeless, she rolled her eyes, put down the scriptures in her hand, and slowly walked out of the Buddhist hall.
The queen leaned against the yellowed wooden pillar, pricked up her ears to listen to the solemn and solemn music, and then she realized, "Today is the ploughing ceremony and the silkworm ceremony..."
After staying in the cold Kunning Palace for a long time, the passage of time seemed to be particularly slow, and before I knew it, another spring had arrived.
In previous years, the Empress presided over the Silkworm Reception Ceremony.
This year, Shen Wei will presumably be the host.
The queen uttered a cold, sarcastic laugh, with a surge of bitterness in her heart. She staggered back to the Buddhist temple, knelt down on the cushion, and looked up at the compassionate statue of Bodhisattva with her cloudy eyes.
The queen clasped her hands together and said devoutly, "Buddha, please help me. Don't let that bitch Shen get too proud. It would be best if she loses the emperor's favor forever. May the children of that bitch Shen Wei die, and may the old thing the queen mother die too."
The Buddhist temple is quiet and the yard is overgrown with weeds.
The queen continued to pray in front of the Buddha like a madman who had lost her mind, hoping that God would bring down misfortune and drag Shen Wei into an abyss of no return.
...
The palace gates were opened, the guard of honor set off, and Shen Wei and Li Yuanjing rode in the royal carriage, moving along the royal palace road towards the imperial estate outside Yanjing.
Huangzhuang is not far away.
The fertile fields and mulberry forests had already been prepared. The so-called silkworm-raising ceremony and the farming ceremony were more like a grand performance given by the emperor to the heaven.
The royal carriage was moving smoothly, and inside the carriage, Shen Wei and Li Yuanjing were both wearing ordinary clothes. Shen Wei looked at Li Yuanjing's face and found that he seemed to be worried today, so she held his hand intimately: "Your Majesty, we are still some distance away from the imperial manor, please take a rest first."
Li Yuanjing has a handsome and calm face.
He said, "I am not sleepy."
Shen Wei looked at him suspiciously with her big eyes. Li Yuanjing smiled gently, caressing Shen Wei's round face lovingly, and said nothing more.
The imperial guards led the way, followed by civil and military officials, and the black and gold flag of the Qing Kingdom fluttered in the wind. The carriage soon arrived at the imperial farm outside Yanjing.
Shen Wei and Li Yuanjing parted ways, and Shen Wei, led by an official from the Ministry of Rites, walked towards the mulberry forest not far away. The area outside the mulberry forest had been cleared and dozens of tables and chairs were set up, and the ladies and officials were already waiting.
Shen Wei discovered that there were four more guards with swords behind her. She stopped and her eyes fell on the arm guards worn by the guards, which had a ferocious and majestic tiger pattern on them.
There are four tiger guards.
"Why are you following me if you are not going to protect the emperor?" Shen Wei asked.
One of the Tiger Guards saluted and said, "Reporting to the Imperial Concubine, we have been ordered to protect the Imperial Concubine closely."
Shen Wei was slightly surprised.
The silkworm-loving ceremony did not last long, and most of the participants were weak women. The ceremony was patrolled by imperial guards and city defense troops, so it was extremely safe. On the contrary, Li Yuanjing's personal ploughing ceremony was extremely complicated and time-consuming, so it stands to reason that that side needed to be more strictly guarded.
But Li Yuanjing actually sent four top-level tiger guards to protect Shen Wei.
Shen Wei frowned secretly, with a bad feeling in her heart.
When they arrived at the silkworm-raising ceremony, all the female relatives present stood up and bowed to greet the parents. Shen Wei glanced around and found that most of the concubines in the palace were there, only Liu Ruyan and Lu Xuan were absent.
Liu Ruyan has never liked crowds and refuses to travel.
Lu Xuan was too sick to even get out of bed, so she didn't attend.
It was a great honor to participate in the Silkworm Ceremony, so almost all the prominent ladies in Yanjing City were there, except for Tan Tai Rou, the wife of the Right Vice Minister of Rites.
Chen Wei summoned Princess Donglin and asked in a low voice, "Where is Tan Tairou?"
Princess Donglin said, "My Lady, Tan Tairou has caught a cold these days and cannot come to the silkworm ceremony. I secretly asked five or six imperial doctors to see her. She is not pretending to be sick, she is really sick - of course, it is also possible that she took some suspicious medicine and caused the false cold. I have left spies around the Yan Mansion to monitor Tan Tairou at all times."
Shen Wei was thoughtful.
Not long after the Southern Chu delegation came to Yanjing, Tan Tairou "fell ill". What a coincidence.
...
The sun is shining and the mulberry forest is full of green leaves. Chen Wei, wearing ordinary clothes, led the female relatives into the forest to pick mulberry leaves according to the procedure of the silkworm ceremony.
From beginning to end, Shen Wei remained highly alert, fearing that an arrow might come out from somewhere to kill her.
But until the silkworm ceremony was over, the surroundings were calm, with no assassins and no unusual phenomena.
The women in the family were enjoying themselves by going for an outing outside the mulberry forest and admiring the flowers. Shen Wei sat alone under the tent, drank half a bowl of soup to treat her hay fever, and asked Cai Lian, "When will the emperor's ploughing ceremony end?"
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