As she pulled back the curtain and stepped out, she collided with a matron from the Marquis Manor, who was slamming a bolt of maggot-infested brocade onto the incense table. As the rotting silk shifted, a dense mass of maggots crawled out, sending the noblewomen present into a series of panicked screams.
"Ladies, do not panic," Shen Qing said, a silver needle flashing between her fingertips. She flicked it into a sachet and tossed the bundle toward the swarm.
Wormwood ash mixed with benzoin powder drifted through the air, and upon contact, the maggots went rigid. "They are merely carrion insects; they die the moment they touch the light."
Chapter 34