The Empress watched me as I carried out the steps in the ceremony.
Walk down the aisle holding the silkworm feed. Reach the gold pan that held the silk worms.
Feed the silkworms. Raise the gold pan in the air.
Kneel three times without dropping the pan above my head.
I let out a shaky breath when I was done.
There were about 30 women in attendance, sitting down on both sides of the aisle I walked up to the ceremonial platform.
Each of them were dressed to the nines, their Principal Wives status evident in how they smiled and talked with each other.
The Princess Consorts, only three of them had come, were talking amongst themselves as I walked down the steps to get to my seat.
Since the Empress was in attendance, I had no right to take the highest seat in terms of seniority.
Instead, I joined the 9th Princess Consort on the left of the aisle and sat down. The servants wasted no time serving us the pastries and tea I had planned out for the Inner Bureau.
