Lantern Over the Imperial Case
by The Snack-Loving Chubby
0 reads
About this Book
Everyone in Chang'an knows the Court of Judicial Review has appointed a woman as its new deputy minister. Dressed in crimson and gifted at reading the smallest trace, Murong Qing enters the empire's most feared halls of justice with one purpose: to uncover who slaughtered her family years ago. Her first night in office brings a murdered minister, claw marks that no animal could have made, and a plum-blossom pastry—the same sign left at the scene of her family's destruction. The clues lead her to Shangguan Jin, the cold and formidable Minister of Justice. Forced to investigate together, they pursue a red-haired phantom thief through secret pleasure houses, imperial conspiracies, and a Chang'an where every rumor of monsters conceals a human crime. But as distrust becomes partnership and partnership slowly becomes desire, Murong Qing discovers that every step toward the truth has been anticipated by the woman seated above the throne. In the glittering capital, no one stands outside the game. When the final lantern illuminates the case, will Murong Qing expose her family's killer—or learn that she herself has always been the empire's most carefully placed piece?