In the seventeenth year of Qianyuan, on the day of Frost's Descent.
I gazed at the celadon cup on the table, which held amber medicinal broth with a few goji berries floating on top. Outside the window, the parasol tree leaves were rustling down, and a withered leaf dropped into the cup like a butterfly with broken wings.
"Your Ladyship, it is time to take your medicine." Liuli stood in the corridor holding a gold-lacquered tray, her voice carrying an imperceptible tremor. I knew that hidden at the bottom of the tray was the red crane poison the Emperor had just bestowed upon me—the small porcelain jar he had placed into my vanity case with his own hands when he came to see me three days ago.
Chapter 32