On the fifteenth of the third lunar month, the candlelight inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony cast the curtains in a deep, crimson glow. The moment Liu Shiyao’s maid knocked over the candle stand, Jiang Wan had already stepped forward, lifting her hem to sweep a copper basin off the side table and splashing clear water onto the leaping flames. Simultaneously, Lu Jingyuan drew his sword to strike down the burning curtains, shouting, "Guards, protect the Emperor! Palace maids, use dampened cloths to suppress the fire!"
"Over here!" the Princess of the Zhenbei Prince's Estate tore a landscape painting from the wall and wrapped it around the burning pillar. "Miss Jiang, quickly, have the Imperial Kitchen send well water!"
Jiang Wan nodded, turning to snap at a dazed young palace maid, "Go to the East Corner Gate, find the water cart, and bring ten people here!" She then looked toward the frozen Liu Shiyao. "Miss Liu, aren't you going to have your maid help?"
Chapter 159