The summer night was sweltering, without a breath of wind; the air was oppressively stagnant.
Though ice was placed everywhere in the courtyard, the impending downpour rendered it ineffective against the cloying oppressiveness; even the cicadas in the trees buzzed with an edgy urgency.
The Spirit Rhinoceros Fragrance in the incense burner wafted a complex aroma that only served to heighten the agitation of the man seated at the table.
Blue smoke dissipated through the room like fog slowly spreading out, and Qi Yutai glanced at it with a flicker of irritability in his brow, reaching out to open the window.
He wasn't certain if it was his imagination, but ever since he had smelled Jin Xianrong's "Pond Spring Grass Dream" at the Board of Rites Office, the Spirit Rhinoceros Fragrance at home seemed tediously dense in comparison, just like the rigid and outdated rules of the Qi Family, utterly tiresome.
