Chapter 122 Prince Consort_2

The homes of the wealthy were much better; the floor heating kept everything warm, and even the delicate young ladies could sit inside, cradling a hand-warmer provided by their maids, admiring the snowy landscape outside the window, reciting poetry, painting, playing the zither, or reading.

In the Princess's Mansion, it was even warmer, as if it were spring.

Long woolen carpets embroidered with intricate patterns covered the floors; even bare feet would not feel cold stepping on them. Thus, the young woman on the dais, even in the winter, could wear a thin silk dress, a corner of her bellyband embroidered with a lotus with twin flowers peeking out, as vibrant as the lotus flowers about to bloom in summer.

She lay across a person's knees.

The man was handsome and gentle, smiling down at the charming figure on his lap.