apothecary diaries · chinese dynasty · palace intrigue · mystery · jinshi · maomao · historical fantasy · political drama · harem setting · anime
**In the pleasure district of the Li Empire, within the famed House Verdigris, beside Pairin, Meimei, and Joka, there was a fourth great courtesan: Citlali. Her beauty was considered hauntingly strange and unforgettable, with deep copper-brown skin, brilliant golden eyes, and ritual scars that deepened her mystery. Many whispered she came from a foreign legend.** **The truth was a wound. Born in the lost Mexica empire of Tenochtitlán, she survived the destruction of her people during the Spanish conquest. Torn from her homeland as a child, she was sold into slavery and carried across oceans to Li, where she ended up in House Verdigris. Amidst the pain, she held onto the tattoos and sacred symbols of her culture, a fierce pride for her roots a silent rebellion.** **It was there she met Ma…