Imperial City, south side, Duanmen.
In front of the tall tower, there is an open square, starting from Duanmen in the north and ending at Tianjin Bridge in the south. It is wide enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.
At this moment, the square was crowded with people.
In front of the city gate, many Jinwu guards with golden helmets and golden armor were holding guns to maintain order.
On top of the city tower, the Queen, Princess Lanling, and the civil and military personnel of the Manchu Dynasty were all present.
Including Qian Zhongshu who had never sown kapok, as well as some ministers who followed the prince.
As the initiator, Su Xian is naturally indispensable.
Luo Xiu Niang also followed, timidly following Su Xian, holding a fluffy package tightly in her hand.
"Su Aiqing, everyone has arrived, and the people below the tower are also waiting. It's time to reveal the secret, right? What is the use of kapok?"
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No., Luo Xiu Niang's head is a little dizzy, and she always feels unreal.
"Don't be afraid."
Su Xian gently patted her stiff shoulder, smiled brightly, and then replied to the Queen on her behalf: "Your Majesty, you are so complimentary. I, my humble wife, cannot bear it."
Only then did Luo Xiu Niang react and hurriedly bowed behind Su Xian.
But she didn't dare to speak.
"Give me the baggage first."
Su Xian turned around, took the bundle from her hand, and then unwrapped it in front of everyone.
Luo Xiu Niang suddenly realized that what she just said "give me something" was referring to this baggage... She couldn't help but secretly cursed herself for being useless, because she almost ruined her husband's important event because of her nervousness!
The Queen, Lan Ling, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, etc. couldn't help but widen their eyes when they saw this.
If the Queen hadn't been present, they would have gathered around to take a closer look.
In this way, in full view of everyone, Su Xian opened the bundle a small crack, but not completely.
He reached into it with one hand and seemed to grab it lightly. Then he pulled out his hand and everyone looked at it intently. It turned out that Su Xian was holding a ball of snow-white floc in his hand.
"Please see, Your Majesty, this is cotton, picked from the mature flowers of Kapok."
The Queen and her ministers came closer and nodded: "Yes, it is indeed made of kapok flowers. Su Aiqing, could it be that this thing is of great use?"
"Your Majesty is wise."
Su Xian stuffed the handful of cotton back into the bag and continued to fumble inside without taking his hand out, saying:
"After the cotton is picked, it undergoes a series of treatments to obtain clean, usable cotton that is as white as snow and as light as a feather."
As he spoke, his hands fumbled among the bundles.
It seems that I caught something.
While slowly dragging it out, he said: "By treating clean cotton and using special methods, you can get two rare things."
"What is it?" The queen stared closely at Su Xian's hand. If she hadn't taken her identity into consideration, she would have wanted to pull out Su Xian's hand and take a closer look.
"Cotton thread and cotton cloth!"
Su Xian finally took out two things from the baggage.
Everyone looked closely and saw a white thread on Su Xian's hand. It was very thin. This should be the so-called cotton thread.
There is also a small piece of cloth, also white. This should be the so-called cotton cloth.
The queen finally couldn't help it, walked to Su Xian, picked up the cotton thread and cotton cloth and looked at them carefully.
She is also a woman, and she used to work with cloth and needlework. Although she has not done any embroidery work herself in recent years, her previous skills have not been lost.
She lightly touched the piece of cotton, and her eyes immediately lit up. It was soft, skin-friendly, and had a different texture than silk! ….
Princess Lanling, the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs, etc. also took the cotton thread and cotton cloth and observed it carefully.
But except for Lan Ling, how could those civil and military ministers know this? Finally, they came to a simple conclusion-this cotton cloth is quite strong!
"Your Majesty, the biggest feature of this cotton is that it is skin-friendly. It is suitable for making underwear. It is close-fitting and warm, does not irritate the skin, and is not easy to wrinkle."
Su Xian said, pulled out another coat from the baggage, and said with a smile:
"Please see, Your Majesty, this coat is made of cotton cloth, cotton thread, and cotton batting."
"This jacket is divided into three layers. The inner lining is cotton. Since cotton is not easy to weave at this stage, the most common burlap is used as the outer material."
"The two layers of fabric are filled with a large amount of clean cotton batting. Your Majesty can touch it. It is thick and soft."
The Queen took the coat and touched it gently. It was indeed very soft and fluffy, which made her exclaim: "How can there be such loose and soft clothes in the world?!"
The Queen sits on the entire country, what kind of rare treasures has she not seen?
But this jacket made her scream in surprise, because she had never seen it before.
In this era, there were indeed no clothes like later generations’ cotton-padded jackets and down jackets filled with cotton wool, duck down, or goose down.
If people want to keep warm in the cold winter, they just wear more clothes, but whether they are linen or silk, the thermal insulation effect is not ideal.
A coat made of animal fur is nice, but ordinary people don’t even think about that kind of thing...
Princess Lanling, civil and military officials, etc. also gathered around.
They originally wanted to take the coat from the Queen's hands and observe it carefully, but the Queen loved it so much that she didn't give them a chance. The civil and military ministers could only stare.
Only Princess Lanling did not need to avoid suspicion. She walked up to the Queen and touched and kneaded the cotton-padded jacket together.
"Your Majesty, this cotton-padded jacket is not only soft, but its biggest function is to keep warm! For example, this jacket, alone, is enough to withstand the coldest winter. At most, it can be worn with a close-fitting lining underneath."
Su Xian said again.
When the Queen heard this, she was startled again, her eyes suddenly lit up, she hurriedly walked up to Su Xian and stared into Su Xian's eyes: "Do you really mean what Su Aiqing said?!"
As soon as she asked the question, the Queen remembered that she had put her hand into the sleeve of the coat just now, and she felt very warm at that time.
This undoubtedly increases the credibility of the warmth function.
As a queen, she naturally understands that people in the world work hard all their lives and want nothing more than "food and clothing".
The word "warmth" in "food and clothing" refers to wearing warm clothes, but the average person in the world can only afford clothes made of linen, which is the least warm.
In such a large Liang Dynasty, it was actually quite normal for hundreds of people to freeze to death in winter. The Queen could see relevant memorials every year.
But there was nothing she could do.
The weather in winter is too cold, linen doesn’t keep you warm, and silk and satin won’t keep you warm if you wear too little, but it would be nice if ordinary people could wear clothes made of linen...
Now, with this kind of cotton-padded jacket, a person can withstand the cold winter with just one piece, and then there will be no more hunger in the world!
"Of course it's true!"
Su Xian met the Queen's eager gaze and gave an affirmative reply. ….
The Queen, Lan Ling, and most of the civil and military ministers were overjoyed. They all knew what this meant.
However, Qian Zhongshu was looking at him in a strange tone: "The cotton wool is not a piece of iron. The holes in the middle are so big that air will leak. This cotton-padded jacket cannot keep you warm at all!"
When the Queen and others heard this, the expressions of ecstasy on their faces suddenly froze.
Yes!
They have seen cotton wool with their own eyes. Although it is fluffy and soft, it is empty inside. Can this thing really keep warm?
Su Xian glanced sideways at Qian Zhongshu, ignored him, took the coat directly from the Queen's hand, and asked the ministers:
"Everyone, the weather is quite cold now, so you can wear this kind of cotton-padded jacket. Do you want to try it on? You won't know whether it can keep you warm or not until you try it."
After Su Xian finished speaking, Princess Lanling and some ministers were eager to give it a try.
However, they were still a step too late. The Queen had already snatched back the cotton-padded jacket and announced loudly, "I'm here!"
…
Duanmen is not just a gate.
There is also a city tower above it, which can also be called a gate tower. There are also many rooms in the gate tower.
The queen took the cotton-padded jacket, led Nangong Wan'er and other female officials into the gatehouse, and randomly picked a room to use as a "fitting room."
There are many palace maids, eunuchs, and Jinwu guards with golden helmets guarding the outside to prevent outsiders from intruding.
Outside the gatehouse, Su Xian and others were waiting silently.
However, a quarter of an hour passed, and there was no movement in the gatehouse.
Not to mention Princess Lanling and the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs, even Su Xian couldn't help but wonder, what on earth is the Queen doing inside? Why haven't you come out yet?
Upon seeing this, Qian Zhongshu and others gradually became proud. Although they did not say anything, their eyes and facial expressions did not hide their ridicule towards Su Xian.
Under the tower, above the square.
The people who had been waiting patiently for a long time gradually heard about the situation on the tower.
"It's just a trial, it happened in the blink of an eye, but Your Majesty actually stayed there for a quarter of an hour. What does this mean?" Those people with ulterior motives started to set the pace again:
"Presumably, after the Queen put on the so-called cotton-padded jacket, she found that it was not warm at all and was not even as warm as coarse linen clothes. The Queen was very disappointed with this."
"However, we can't damage the prince's golden face, so... the queen is inside trying to figure out how to wipe the prince's butt!"
People don't bother to pay attention to these sounds.
They are all waiting and looking forward to it. When Su Xian's cotton-padded jacket is proven to be able to keep warm, it won't be too late to cause trouble for these scum!
On top of the city tower.
Su Xian became more and more unsettled. He looked back at Luo Xiu Niang and asked, "Xiu Niang, did you really do what I told you to do? There won't be any mistakes, right?"
Although Luo Xiu Niang was timid, she was very confident when it came to this kind of thing. She met Su Xian's questioning gaze and nodded: "My husband, please rest assured. I can guarantee that there is nothing wrong with that cotton-padded jacket."
"That's good."
Su Xian was indeed relieved.
He turned around and looked at the gate tower heavily guarded by Jinwu Guards, hoping that the Queen would come out soon.
…
After a while, someone finally walked out of the gatehouse with soft footsteps.
Everyone's spirits were shocked. ….
As a result, when the man walked out, everyone took a look and realized that it was Nangong Wan'er, not the Queen.
Su Xian was a little disappointed, saying that it was indeed time-consuming for women to dress up, and he could understand it, because women did look better after dressing up, and the wait was worth it.
But isn’t the Queen’s speed too slow?
"Your Majesty has decreed that Lieutenant Xuan is allowed to enter alone." Nangong Wan'er said loudly.
Su Xian was stunned, wondering what the Queen was doing, but it was good, as he could ask the Queen, so he bowed directly: "Your Majesty, I accept the order!"
Just like that, Su Xian went in.
The rest continue to wait.
Most of the people, including Princess Lanling, looked worried, while Qian Zhongshu was getting more and more proud and was ready to watch Su Xian's show.
Under the city tower, after the news spread that Su Xian entered the gate tower, others didn't think anything of it, but those people with evil intentions were already laughing:
"Yes, that's right. Your Majesty has gone to discuss countermeasures with the Taiwei. Let's see how the Taiwei can tell this huge lie! I want to keep out the cold with just a ragged cotton-padded jacket. I'm still dreaming!"
"..."
By the way, Su Xian entered the gatehouse and was led by Nangong Wan'er to stop in front of a room door.
"Your Majesty ordered that the Taiwei please come in alone." Nangong Wan'er made a gesture to invite in.
"Thank you."
Su Xian nodded and opened the door directly.
Nangong Wan'er closed the door outside the house.
"Su Aiqing is here? Come and help me. The buttons of this cotton-padded jacket are too tight. I really can't button them up by myself."
The queen's back was to Su Xian, her head was lowered, and she was struggling to button the buttons with both hands. She had already put on the cotton-padded jacket.
Su Xian looked from behind and saw that the back of the cotton-padded jacket was obviously tight, outlining the beauty of the queen's thrilling curves, but she... hadn't buttoned it yet?
Are the clothes too small?
Or the queen...
Something is wrong today, I have a slight chest tightness and my head is still a little dizzy. I am always in a daze when sitting in front of the computer, and I feel a little confused. The direction of the plot is already clear, but I will stop after writing a paragraph and think about it for a few seconds before writing. a paragraph. At night, I actually had a fever after taking a shower... It's over, I may have been infected. Once I am infected, it is inevitable to stop updating for a few days, and the losses will be heavy! .
Governor of Ming Dynasty
