The midsummer night was so stifling that even the breeze felt hot.
Fu Yingzhi awoke from a light sleep, a thin layer of sweat slicking her temples. Outside the window, the screeching of cicadas was maddening. She rose to push open the carved wooden window, and a wave of heat, heavy with the fragrance of gardenias, washed over her.
"Miss, it is three-fifteen in the morning," a young maid in palace attire said, entering with a copper basin in which mint leaves floated on the surface. "It’s sweltering today, so I’ve prepared mint water for you to freshen up. Please, do get up."
Fu Yingzhi nodded and dipped a cloth into the cooling mint water. Suddenly, she heard a flurry of hurried footsteps approaching from outside the courtyard. A young eunuch in indigo palace robes ran in, panicked. He bowed respectfully and said, "Third Miss Fu, the Emperor requests your presence!"
Chapter 123