It was just when the palace lanterns were first being lit in the sleeping quarters of Moon-Watching Palace.
Dozens of palace maids moved with light steps, filing in and out of the hall as they lit the cloudlike jade candles one by one.
The flickering flames cast shifting light and shadow across the unimaginably magnificent hall, making it hazy and dreamlike, like an illusion.
A crystal-clear curtain of glazed beads hung low. Behind it, a woman reclined at an angle, her raven hair like clouds and waterfalls. It was not gathered into a coiffure, but allowed to spill from her left shoulder in a cascade of satin-smooth locks, trailing down to barely touch the floor.
Simply sitting there, she was a sight to behold; no matter how lavish the ornaments around her were, they could not steal her radiance.
A faint mist and cloudiness lingered over that beauty beyond the mortal world. The only pity was that she seemed to be asleep, hiding the splendor of her eyes from view.
All that remained was an air of mystery and noble elegance, like an immortal who had stepped from an ancient painting—mysterious, exalted!
Every corner of the sleeping hall held exquisitely fashioned candle stands. The palace maids who filed inside spent a long while lighting them one by one.
Throughout the entire process, not a sound was heard!
It was so quiet that even the fine patter of raindrops striking the tiles outside could be heard clearly, every sound distinct.
Because everyone knew that the figure who seemed to exist only in paintings loved peace and quiet most, and feared noise above all.
No one questioned Moon-Watching Palace's extravagance or its cumbersome rules, for she was Empress Wen, mistress of Great Jin's imperial harem.
At that moment, the faintest sound of