The Edict Between Her Teeth

The bite marks at her neck were his edict, and the spark that would ignite her revenge.

The night Song Anning stepped into the prime minister’s residence, carrying the blood debt of her family, the hem of her rouge-red skirt set a high-stakes gamble in motion. She wagered herself to lure Chu Jiesi, the most powerful man in the realm, into her game. “Please save my father and brothers, Lord Prime Minister. Anning can give you anything.”

“What Miss Song means by ‘turning the world upside down’...” He paused deliberately, his scorching breath making her earlobes tingle. “Do you mean my ability to command the winds and clouds in court and wield power over the realm... or...”

In the dark of night, he gripped her wrist and pinned her against the palace wall. She bit his Adam’s apple and laughed softly. “Are you afraid, my lord? If you want me, Anning will obey your every command.” She tilted her head slightly, her red lips a hair’s breadth from his, their breaths mingling. “It all depends on whether you dare accept this ‘deal,’ my lord, and whether you have what it takes to... handle it.”

Chu Jiesi held her wrist and chuckled. He had long known what this loyal family’s orphan was plotting, yet he willingly indulged her. The blazing hatred in her eyes and the alluring hooks in her smile were the dead waters of the court’s most potent poison...