The Lacquer of Embers

Ten years ago, the Shen family, a dynasty of court lacquer artisans, was burned to the ground overnight. The entire family was executed for treason. The sole survivor, Shen Zhiwei, changed her name to Lu Heng and went into hiding in a lacquerware repair shop in Linchuan, making a living mending broken wares while searching for the truth behind her family’s destruction in their cracks, lacquer dust, and faded patterns.

A black lacquer coffin washed ashore at a ferry crossing during a torrential storm. Inside, a vermilion-lacquered wine cup bore the Shen family’s unique “Returning Flame Pattern.” Pei Yan, a former censor, followed the case to her and concluded that she was connected to the old case from ten years ago. Shen Zhiwei also discovered that this cold-faced official, demoted to Linchuan, was secretly investigating the mystery of his elder brother’s wrongful death.

Each hiding secrets of their own, they made a three-month pact: he would give her access to government records and connections in the capital, while she would decipher the coded marks hidden beneath the lacquer on ritual vessels. A string of murders followed. Stolen ceremonial objects, altered case files, and an explosion at a military armory on the frontier all pointed to the disassembled and sealed-away Ashen Lacquer Record.

When the truth led straight to the imperial altar, Shen Zhiwei finally understood that her enemy was not one person, but an old fire kindled by power, fear, and silence. She had to do more than take revenge: she had to make sure the names burned to ash were seen by the world once more.