Chapter 47

• It was the first day of filming, and the sun had absolutely no mercy.
• We were out on the edge of the capital, tucked into one of those massive studio lots that smelled of lacquered wood, sweat, and dreams hanging by a thread. The first scene was a court banquet where the emperor would receive foreign emissaries, the kind of scene filled with veiled insults and glittering danger.
• My role? Consort De. No lines. Just sit beside the emperor looking elegant, seductive, and dangerous enough to unnerve foreign spies.