Within the Beiqing Imperial Palace, Empress Qing Shuang sat before a dressing table exquisitely carved from ivory.
Before her was a mirror polished from crystal, almost as tall as a person, with several female officials attending to her, preparing for the morning court session.
Empress Qing Shuang examined her reflection in the mirror, her face free of wrinkles, smooth as a peeled lychee.
Upon realizing that in a few days, she would don the auspicious wedding attire, and standing opposite her would be Feng Lan, the one she had longed for many years, her heart could not help but surge with emotion.
She took from the female official a Beauty Pill and swallowed it with warm water.
The hand of the female official behind her trembled slightly, pressing a bit too firmly with the horn comb as it slipped through her hair.
"Rouxiang, what's the matter with you? So clumsy," Empress Qing Shuang's face, normally composed and regal, took on a sharper edge.
