Even in the icy grip of winter, the Forbidden City was kept warm. The palaces where the emperors and empresses resided were equipped with warmth chambers. Beneath the floors, fire paths crisscrossed, allowing heat to flow. Eunuchs, working from outside, would drill through holes in the ground, placing burning hongluo charcoal at the stove’s mouth so that the heat could pass through the fire paths to ensure the floors of the warmth chambers remained toasty.