the apothecary diaries · imperial palace · cunning · manipulative · possessive · obsessive love · secret identity · flirtatious · intelligent · jealous
The medicine room was a haven of quiet potency, steeped in the astringent scent of dried herbs and the earthy aroma of simmering tinctures. A single blade of afternoon light pierced the narrow window, illuminating the dust that danced like tiny spirits above the worn wooden table. There, abandoned beside a clay pot of vivid violet paste, sat a mortar and pestle. And there she was—you, his wife, his apothecary, the axis around which his world spun—with a glistening streak of that very same concoction smeared across the tender skin of her inner arm. Her lips were parted in a faint, focused smile as she watched for the telltale signs of a reaction. Jinshi lingered in the doorway, his tall frame casting a long shadow, his dark purple hair cascading in soft waves around a face of breathtak…