When Medicine Officer Ru entered, Hu Shanwei was clutching a spittoon and retching violently.
Haitang looked terrified: she had only heard of people having their brains kicked and damaged before, but Hu Siyan’s condition made it look like she had been kicked pregnant!
Hu Shanwei vomited everything in her stomach until only clear water remained, yet she still felt nauseous. Medicine Officer Ru said calmly, “This is what happens when the brain suffers a heavy blow. You must protect your skull from now on. I examined the female assassin’s corpse – her body was flexible and strong, clearly someone who had practiced martial arts for years. With one kick, she could shatter a brick, let alone your mortal flesh.”
Hu Shanwei dry-heaved and said, “I usually only practice some ornamental exercises for fitness. I never thought that as a court lady official, I’d need to practice Golden Bell Shield and Iron Cloth Shirt for self-defense.”
Some people who get their brains kicked suffer memory loss, dementia, or madness. Seeing that Hu Shanwei was lucid and could still joke around, Medicine Officer Ru breathed a sigh of relief. “Eat some rice porridge to settle your stomach. Dry heaving is bad for your stomach. The swelling and bruising on your forehead will fade in half a month, but the scars on your back cannot be eliminated – they’ll stay with you for life.”
Hu Shanwei said, “It doesn’t matter. I can’t see them myself anyway.”
Medicine Officer Ru examined the wounds on Hu Shanwei’s forehead and back, took her pulse, and rewrote her prescription: “Since your fever has broken, don’t take the strong medicine that Imperial Physician Tan prescribed. I’ll change your prescription.”
Haitang saw Medicine Officer Ru off and brought a bowl of rice porridge. Hu Shanwei felt waves of nausea but ate like taking medicine. Haitang said timidly, “Hu Siyan is still so young. In the future, you should ask Medicine Officer Ru for scar-fading ointment to apply to the scars on your back.”
Hu Shanwei sighed, “Getting my life back is already extremely fortunate. Scars and such are minor matters – it doesn’t matter. I can’t see them anyway, and what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over.”
Haitang was still young and somewhat anxious: “Hu Siyan can’t see them, but in the future that person…”
Seeing Haitang hesitate to speak, Hu Shanwei put down her spoon. “What is it?”
Haitang said, “When Hu Siyan had a high fever and was unconscious, this servant stayed by your side the whole time. Hu Siyan talked in your sleep, crying for your parents, and frequently called out someone’s name.”
“Who?” Hu Shanwei actually had a vague guess about who it was.
Haitang lowered her head and mumbled, “Mu Chun, Lord Mu.”
Outside the palace, Hu Shanwei was an “old maid” who couldn’t get married, but inside the palace, as a Sixth Rank female official, Hu Shanwei was really too young. Compared to Palace Supervisor Cao and Court Lady Cui, who had passed their prime years, no one questioned their commitment to lifelong celibacy, but Hu Shanwei’s life seemed to still hold many possibilities.
Hu Shanwei leaned over her bed toward the spittoon and vomited again, expelling the rice porridge she had just eaten exactly as it went in.
Finally, Hu Shanwei said, “Don’t overthink it. Lord Mu and I are… close friends. Every time I encounter danger, he always appears to lend me a helping hand. Therefore, when I was attacked by the silkworm room assassin, it’s not strange that I would dream of him.”
Haitang said, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
Hey hey, don’t say it like that – you heard the explanation… Clearly, Hu Shanwei’s explanation hadn’t fooled Haitang.
But the more she explained, the more guilty she seemed, so Hu Shanwei simply stopped explaining.
When Hu Shanwei woke up, Mao Qiang, who had the most well-informed sources, immediately rushed over to interrogate her.
To reduce the pain when vomiting, Hu Shanwei drank rice soup so thin you couldn’t see a single grain of rice, with her forehead wrapped in several layers of white gauze.
Mao Qiang moved an embroidered stool and sat beside the sickbed. “At a time like this, you can still eat. Aren’t you worried about your future and your life?”
“Courage is gradually developed through practice.” Hu Shanwei calmly drank her rice soup. “Because of Consort Chengmu Sun’s funeral arrangements, I nearly had my eyes gouged out. I walk on the knife’s edge daily – I’m used to it. When facing difficulties, I don’t panic. I can honestly say I’ve done my best within my duties. The rest is beyond my control. If I’m to blame, blame it on bad luck, but who can explain luck clearly?”
Mao Qiang thought to himself: Well, well, if you don’t see someone for three days, you should look at them with new eyes. The little woman who entered the palace barefoot and hunched over has gradually grown into a female official who remains calm in the face of crisis.
Actually, Hu Shanwei’s confidence was half pretense and half derived entirely from Empress Ma.
No one was wearing mourning clothes, which meant Empress Ma had escaped disaster. Empress Ma was a kind person who would never kill innocents indiscriminately.
Although Hu Shanwei didn’t know what punishment she would receive for the silkworm mother turning into an assassin, judging from the expressions of Haitang and Medicine Officer Ru, she had apparently escaped disaster as well.
Therefore, facing Mao Qiang, Hu Shanwei wouldn’t show any weakness. She knew she absolutely couldn’t appear guilty and give Mao Qiang any ammunition against her.
Indeed, seeing Hu Shanwei so calm and confident, Mao Qiang’s attitude toward her became somewhat gentler. “Now, I need you to carefully recall the past, starting from when you met the silkworm mother – what you did, what you said, no matter how minute the detail, explain everything clearly.”
As Hu Shanwei recalled, two Embroidered Uniform Guard clerks recorded everything nearby. When she finished, Mao Qiang handed her the thick testimony. “Read it yourself to see if there are any errors or omissions, then sign and seal it.”
Hu Shanwei complied and pressed her fingerprint, then asked, “Lord Mao, how is the investigation into this assassin proceeding?”
Mao Qiang had been frantically busy recently. “The imperial prison is overflowing with people – it’s even livelier than during the Hu Weiyong treason case. But the assassin was extremely cunning and deeply hidden. According to our investigation, there were no accomplices nearby. More than three former palace servants from Prince Han’s mansion have identified the silkworm mother as a maid and bodyguard of Prince Han’s consort, Yang. But her every move among the common people was impeccable – outsiders couldn’t detect anything. The silkworm ceremony was the only opportunity for outsiders to approach the Empress. I estimate she had been planning to assassinate Empress Ma for some time.”
“Once she was selected as a silkworm mother candidate by Jiangning County for recommendation to the capital, she voluntarily gave up. But after the court awarded her a chastity memorial arch, she volunteered to represent Jiangning County’s silkworm mother selection.”
Hu Shanwei suddenly understood: “She was waiting for the best opportunity – either not be selected at all, or once she participated, she was determined to win.”
Mao Qiang nodded. “This person was like a hibernating venomous snake – once an opportunity arose, she would launch a fatal strike. This is the last time the silkworm ceremony will be held in the suburbs. Starting next year, the silkworm ceremony will be moved inside the palace, and the silkworm mother will be selected from the Palace Bureau of Works – female officials of high moral character who are skilled in sericulture.”
This was naturally at Emperor Hongwu’s direction, to completely eliminate hidden dangers. Who knows how many more “silkworm mothers” were lurking, waiting to strike?
“No accomplices, acting alone?” Hu Shanwei pondered for a moment and asked, “One person hibernating for nearly ten years just for this one strike?”
Mao Qiang felt his profession was being questioned and retorted, “What? Do you think if the silkworm mother really had accomplices, and people who were closely associated with her took a trip through the imperial prison, there would be anything I, Mao Qiang, couldn’t investigate?”
Hu Shanwei said, “I’m a female official beside Her Majesty the Empress. Her Majesty has been extremely good to me and taught me many principles. Without Her Majesty the Empress, I believe many people would have died. Let me say something that could cost me my head – if the Empress were forced to commit suicide, I would certainly find every way possible to avenge her.”
Mao Qiang clenched his fists tightly. “How dare you! You dare curse the Empress!”
Hu Shanwei was no longer afraid of Mao Qiang. Continuing to put herself in the assassin silkworm mother’s place, she said, “So while I openly make a living raising silkworms, I secretly haven’t abandoned my martial arts skills, always preparing for revenge. But as a mere woman, having finally established myself among the common people, since I’ve decided to dedicate the rest of my life to revenge, why not find an opportunity to assassinate the Emperor who destroyed the Han Kingdom back then, or simply assassinate Hu Mei who betrayed his former master, or go to Goryeo to welcome the former heir apparent – why must I assassinate the Empress, who doesn’t interfere in government affairs? I heard clearly what the silkworm mother said at the time: ‘Destroyed my Great Han! Killed my Han King! Seized my queen mother!’ Forgive my directness, but these three charges don’t refer to Her Majesty the Empress – they clearly refer to His Majesty the Emperor.”
The bolder Hu Shanwei became in her speech, but Mao Qiang didn’t stop her and seemed lost in thought.
“Since my enemy is the Emperor, killing his first wife, the Empress he has always respected, and causing him to lose his beloved would certainly deal the Emperor a severe blow. But for the Emperor, what is most important? It’s the realm and the nation. He can remarry an empress, even select a consort to elevate, but the realm cannot be lost. Or, he could kill such a person – not only achieving revenge but also stirring up internal imperial family strife, killing two birds with one stone.” Hu Shanwei dipped her finger in the now-cold rice soup and wrote the two characters “Crown Prince.”
Hu Shanwei pointed to the two characters on the table. “He is the foundation of the state. Once the foundation is lost, there are many adult brothers, and with no legitimate heir, what chaos would this bring to the realm? Apart from appearing once during the silkworm ceremony, the Empress stays in the rear palace year-round, but he is different – he frequently goes on disaster relief missions and visits orphans and widows among the common people, enjoying an excellent reputation. Assassinating him would be easier than assassinating the Empress.”
Crown Prince Zhu Biao frequently toured and provided disaster relief, earning a reputation for benevolence and virtue among the people.
Hu Shanwei smoothed away the characters with her palm. “Of course, this is just my suspicion. The silkworm mother went to great lengths for revenge but chose to assassinate Empress Ma. I personally think there’s something fishy here.”
Before the assassination, the silkworm mother had said, “Demon woman! Destroyed my Great Han! Killed my Han King! Seized my queen mother! You deserve death!”
Mao Qiang thought this was the silkworm mother’s way of revealing her origins and desire for revenge for the Han regime. His investigative focus was on the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s habitual methods of torture, forced confessions, and exhaustive searches for suspicious points.
But Hu Shanwei felt grateful to Empress Ma for her guidance, so she looked at the problem from a different angle than Mao Qiang. Thanks to Empress Ma’s instruction, Hu Shanwei knew that Emperor Hongwu valued the realm and nation above all else, and hoped his sons could get along peacefully, unite in friendship, and together protect the Ming realm, combining family and state in his governing approach.
Hu Shanwei felt that Empress Ma was truly like an exemplary empress from books, genuinely fulfilling her responsibilities as the nation’s mother – benevolent, reasonable, not acting on personal emotions, risking the danger of “the harem must not interfere in politics” to carefully advise and prevent Emperor Hongwu from killing people in rage, saving whoever she could. She accompanied Emperor Hongwu, this volatile fire-breathing dragon, keeping her own stress and grievances to herself, never sharing them with outsiders. Such a good empress – why must she be killed?
Although Hu Shanwei’s expression was already quite tactful, Mao Qiang, the intelligence chief, still caught her implication: “You mean… the silkworm mother wasn’t seeking revenge for Great Han – her goal was simply to kill the Empress?”
“Yes. To judge a person, don’t just listen to what they say, but also look at what they do.” Hu Shanwei said, “The three charges ‘Destroyed my Great Han! Killed my Han King! Seized my queen mother!’ not only don’t apply to the Empress, but the charge ‘seized my queen mother’ doesn’t hold water at all. Consort Dading was Prince Han’s concubine, Prince Han’s consort was Yang – how could it be Consort Dading’s turn to be queen mother? Moreover, the silkworm mother herself was a personal female bodyguard who served as a maid beside Prince Han’s consort Yang. How could she possibly consider Consort Dading as queen mother? This would be an insult to her former mistress Yang. For example, as a court female official, I only follow the Empress’s instructions. The other consorts in the Eastern and Western Six Palaces, regardless of their rank or favor, what concern are they of mine?”
Mao Qiang slapped the table and said, “Just assuming your doubts are correct – the assassin’s target was only Her Majesty the Empress, and what the assassin said before the assassination, full of holes, was just a smokescreen to cover her real motive. So now the question is: why did the assassin have to kill Her Majesty the Empress? Who is the mastermind behind this?”
Hu Shanwei said, “The assassin is dead and gone – we can’t ask her for the truth. Lord Mao might as well work backwards: if Her Majesty the Empress had died, who would be the ultimate big winner?”
Author’s Note: Sherlock Hu Shanwei and Watson Mao