In order to avoid meeting the officers and soldiers on the road, the Taoist priest with a grimace could only abandon the official road and take the mountain road. Emperor Xiaowu's Jingning Mausoleum is located at the southern foot of Yanshan Mountain forty miles southwest of Jinling City, about fifty miles away. The two walked in the mountains, eating dry food while walking in the rain. By midday, they could already see Niubi Mountain, the majestic main peak of Yanshan Mountain in the clouds and mist.
There is a cluster of shadowy buildings at the foot of Niubi Mountain, where is the Jingning Mausoleum of Emperor Xiaowu Liu Jun. According to the information given by Liu Xiuyou, King of Shanyang, there are nearly a hundred mausoleum guards patrolling the surrounding area in two shifts every day. , a row of houses not far outside the mausoleum area is where these spiritual guards live and change their defenses.
However, there are not only a hundred guards guarding the Jingning Mausoleum. There are also more than a dozen palace maids who guard Liu Jun's body in the mausoleum area. The palace maids actually do not refer to the servants and maids in the palace. It was Liu Jun's concubines who fell out of favor or had no heirs during his lifetime.
The system of maids guarding mausoleums came from the Liu Song Dynasty and was based on the Han system. It can be regarded as a substitute for the abolition of the system of human burial. Since the beginning of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu, the minister at that time, presented a memorial to Liu Che, saying in the memorial: "All the salt and iron belong to the people; get rid of the slaves and maidservants, and eliminate the power of killing. We should reduce the tax and reduce the corvee, so as to broaden the people's strength. Then we can govern well." "This memorial advocated the elimination of the power of exclusive killing, which meant the abolition of the vulgar custom of burying people alive.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che finally adopted this suggestion, and the human burial system that had been popular for more than a thousand years was abolished. Otherwise, these disgraced concubines would have only one end after the emperor's death, which was to drink poisonous wine and sleep on the tomb.
Later, at the end of the Han Dynasty, there were fewer and fewer wise emperors, and this system of burying concubines and concubines was picked up again. However, due to the reputation of Emperor Wu, it was modified and the system of maids guarding mausoleums was formed.
Compared with the system of burying alive people, the only difference between the system of guarding the mausoleum and the maids is that they die early and die later, and it is even more unethical. After the emperor's death, these disgraced concubines who were guarding the mourners had to live in the cemetery. Their daily task was to serve the emperor. Of course, the emperor they wanted to serve was already lying in the underground palace, but even so, they still had to follow the emperor's daily routine during his lifetime. Get used to completing this set of procedures.
Regarding the daily work of the palace maids guarding the mausoleum, there are detailed records in the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Sacrifice" compiled by Fan Ye, a famous writer and historian of the Liu Song Dynasty. It said that the palace maids must wash their pillows and wash their hands every day. , Chen Yanju.
This means that the maids guarding the mausoleum still have to make the bed early every day, prepare toiletries, and even prepare meals as the emperor did when he was alive. After doing this, they have to go to the main hall to pray for the emperor. If the late emperor still has some For other hobbies, such as singing and dancing performances, these maids must dance at the time when the emperor used to watch them most. They can dance early or late, and they cannot disrupt the emperor's "schedule".
In addition, the palace maids had to cry every day. After crying, those with good voices would sing and those with good literary talent would compose poems to praise the emperor's merits and express their grief, in time for monthly sacrifices and seasonal festivals. Even the sacrifices and annual sacrifices are hard work. In short, there are many complicated chores. The most important thing is to live in the mausoleum all day long. The feeling is really no better than death.
The two grim-faced Taoist priests want to enter the emperor's underground palace. The most troublesome thing is not the tomb guards, because these tomb guards basically patrol the periphery of the mausoleum area. Only occasionally someone comes in to supervise the work of the tomb maids. The real trouble is the tomb maids. , Liu Xiuyou didn’t know exactly where these people lived, but he thought they were not far from Xiangdian, and they might even live in Xiangdian. Therefore, if he wanted to enter the underground palace quietly, he had to think of some means to do it. These are the palace ladies.
The grim-faced Taoist stopped on the mountainside, pointed to the high wall of the cemetery in the distance and said: "The cemetery is so large, it shouldn't be difficult for you and me to climb over the wall at night, but there are more than a dozen women living near the underground palace. Those are poor people, and it would be unkind to kill them. I think we can only wait until the rain is at its heaviest before digging holes, so as to cover up the sound of shovels breaking through the soil at night."
"What? Why are there girls here?" Luo Laoqi asked doubtfully.
"That day when Li Tianwen talked about this matter in Prince Shanyang's Mansion, your damn left ear went crazy and you didn't even remember it at all. If I expect you to remember something, it's better to wait for the Lord of Hell to tell me in person. ”
"Hey hey hey, Taoist Priest can't use Sajia's consumption brain to do these things, but why did Taoist Priest suddenly become kind-hearted? Since these girls are in the way, it won't be over if they just waste some time and have to make do with it. They took action when the rain broke out."
The Taoist priest with a grimace shook his head and replied: "You and I are not sure that we can deal with more than ten people in a short time. If a few escape or howl a few times, their whereabouts will be exposed. Besides, these girls They are all miserable people, living in the imperial mausoleum and suffering every day, unable to escape, and can only wait for birth, old age, illness and death, so why not let him go, and it will be a good thing for both of us. "
"If you let her go now, won't they still be dead when the underground palace is stolen? And when the rain comes, won't they all be flooded if they try to steal the cave?"
"Hiss!" the Taoist priest with a grimace said angrily: "You said that the more brainless you are, the more you like to use your brain. It's hard for me to find some psychological comfort for myself. Grandma, you keep singing the opposite tune. They died after the underground palace was stolen. What does it matter to us if he doesn't die? Liu Ziye killed him, not us, otherwise he would have been taken away and you could keep him? Don't worry about the burglary cave. I've already made the calculations. When the time comes, we'll fight sideways. One foot, then straight down is enough. How can a living person be choked to death by urinating?"
"Speaking of being suffocated to death, the Sa family actually met someone before..."
"Shut up! The man who was suffocated by urine has been telling you over and over again for several years. Can you let him be safely reborn?"
Luo Laoqi grinned, swallowed his words, and then asked: "When will we take action, Taoist Priest?"
The Taoist priest with a grimace looked at the sky and saw that the clouds were still dense and threatening to fall. The rain might not stop for several days, but there was no guarantee that Liu Chuyu would be buried on that day, so it was not appropriate to delay the matter for too long, so he said: "I think it's better to do it tonight, since it's raining anyway, so I'll just wear these clothes and take the hair Qiu seal!"
