Zhenzhen Returns to the Capital

At seven, she was the legitimate daughter of a marquis’s household, sheltered from hardship. At fifteen, her entire family was executed, and she became a government slave. Ten years of forced labor on the frontier taught her one thing: how to survive. At twenty-five, she returned to the capital and started in the woodshed, stitching her life back together, one needle and thread at a time. No golden finger, just hands hardened from hauling grain. She opened an embroidery shop, made friends, and investigated old cases. Her enemies from the past passed right by her without even a glance. She wasn’t in a hurry. She simply lived, day by day, until she became the woman every woman in the capital envied most. This time, she would live with dignity, for herself.