The Fallen Heiress: Republican-Era Arc

The wind from the north, coarse with grit from beyond the frontier, lashed her face like a dull knife cutting into flesh.

Ruan Ruan sat in the back of a black Steampunk automobile. Her qipao, a pale lotus-root pink embroidered with magnolias, was made of the finest silk from Jiangnan, yet even its perfect fit could not keep out the cold that seeped in everywhere. She gathered the cashmere shawl draped over her arms, her fingertips cold.