The Court Assigns Shuang a Secret Meeting

Shuang kept her head down at court and her hands busy matching people who could not meet in public. That work made her rich enough to survive, but it also put her near the officials who ruined her family. When the palace asked for her help with a poor scholar named Lu Wenchi, she saw a way back inside. Lu needed cover, coin, and someone who understood the danger around him. Shuang needed one chance to use her false name against the people who cursed her real one. The brass token in her locker, the patrol bell in her sleeve, and the candle hidden in her wall were all pieces of a life she could not afford to lose. Then Wenchi started looking at her like he already knew the worst parts of her, ...