"Her Highness lay down early, but she only just fell asleep. Don't disturb her!"
"It's urgent. Wake Her Highness at once."
The Princess Consort of Prince Lu faintly heard voices, but they were indistinct. She was utterly exhausted and had originally been unable to sleep; only after lighting the Calming Incense had she finally drifted off.
The art of incense was less widely known than the arts of tea and chess. Aphrodisiac drugs and incense were especially taboo in the palace. Though some women liked to use them, they were officially contraband, and anyone caught with them was finished.
The rules at the Prince's Residence were not so strict, but such things were still difficult to obtain. Unable to sleep earlier, she had finally resorted to lighting a stick of Calming Incense. Once asleep, breathing in its delicate fragrance, she wanted nothing more than to keep sleeping.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, wake up! Someone has come from the palace!"
What? Someone has come from the palace?
The anxious calls beside her ear roused the princess consort. Forgetting all decorum, she abruptly rolled over and sat up.
The woman before her, her face full of anxiety, was one of her personal maids.
"Someone has come from the palace? To announce an edict?" the princess consort asked, gesturing for the maid to bring her embroidered shoes. Her heart pounded wildly.
Several maids helped the princess consort put on her clothes and straighten her hair. Remembering what she had just witnessed, one maid was still trembling as she said in terror, "It's Eunuch Ma. Our residence's gates are wide open, and armored soldiers have barged in. It was frightening! Oh, Eunuch Ma has already brought a great many soldiers inside and gone to His Highness! Your Highness, do you think... do you think