Year 3 of the Zhengyuan era, fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month.
Early morning.
On the east side of the Imperial Palace, outside the Qianhua Gate, stood five or six women dressed in purple and wearing jade ornaments.
Inside the Qianhua Gate lies the Lizheng Hall.
Lizheng Hall was originally the resting hall of previous empresses, but the current Empress Tang does not reside here; she shares chambers with the Emperor in Liangyi Palace. Lizheng Hall is used solely for the Empress to receive noblewomen.
These noblewomen, waiting outside the Qianhua Gate for the Empress to summon them, are all of the Third Rank or higher. Their husbands are high-ranking officials who have just returned to the Capital City to report their duties and are also awaiting an imperial summons elsewhere.
Though shielded from the cold wind under the eaves, the deep winter cold in the twelfth lunar month was still biting.
