The next several hours passed in a surreal blur.
The guards led Soyeon back to her chambers in the Cold Moon Palace, but they didn't leave. Instead, a army of servants descended, not her usual attendants, but new women she had never seen before. The Empress Dowager's personal servants.
"We're here to prepare you for tonight, Lady Su," the head servant said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Her Imperial Majesty wants you to look perfect."
They drew her a bath first. Not in the simple wooden tub she usually used, but in an elaborate porcelain basin brought specifically for this purpose. The water was hot, heated for precisely two-quarters of a shichen, they explained. About thirty minutes by modern standards.
The water smelled incredible. Rose petals floated on the surface, along with jasmine flowers and something else, orchids, maybe? They added oils that made the water shimmer iridescent. Sandalwood, camphor, and sweet osmanthus.
