Vermilion Debt: Snowbound Shadows of the Forbidden City
StarryScribe
Ten years ago, the legendary Lin family was slaughtered under a decree of treason, leaving only a young girl, Lin Xia, to vanish into the snowy northern wilderness. Today, she returns not as a noblewoman, but as a nameless tea maid with a hidden dagger and a thirst for justice.
Her target: the Imperial Court. Her obstacle: Prince Xuan Jue, the enigmatic “Ice Prince,” cold, calculating, and haunted by the memory of a girl who saved his life in the snow a decade ago, the very girl he now unknowingly protects.
Amid poisoned teas, secret ledgers, and deadly court conspiracies, Lin Xia and Xuan Jue are drawn into a blood-bound debt, the Vermilion Debt, that will demand either ultimate sacrifice or total destruction. Bound by betrayal, vengeance, and an undeniable connection, they must navigate shadows and lies to survive… and to love.