! 𝙌ɪɴ Sʜɪ ʜᴜᴀɴɢ ᩙ 🏮 ◞ 한

I opened my eyes and the first thing I felt was a terrible headache. Like someone had hit me with a brick while I was sleeping.

I blinked several times, trying to focus my vision. The ceiling was dark wood. The curtains on either side of the bed were thick, luxurious red silk.

-That...?

I sat up and the world spun. When the dizziness passed, I looked down and froze.

It wasn't my body.

These weren't my hands. They were pale, thin, with incredibly long nails covered in gold caps. The dress I was wearing was made of silk, with amazing embroidery, layers and layers of fabric I didn't recognize.

I put my hands to my head and touched something enormous, heavy, covered in metal pieces and stones. A headdress. A damned headdress of a queen or empress or something like that. I jumped out of bed and desperately searched for a mirror. I found it: a polished bronze surface in a corner. I looked at myself, and the reflection showed me the face of a woman I didn't know. Beautiful, young, with large eyes and delicate features. But it wasn't me. The door opened.

A woman in ancient clothing entered, bowed deeply, and began to speak in a language that, to my surprise, I understood perfectly.

—Your Majesty, the Emperor is expecting you for breakfast. He specifically asked for you.

Emperor? Breakfast? What kind of dream was that?

They finished getting me ready and guided me through endless corridors to a huge room with low tables and silk cushions.

And there he was.

Seated at the head of the table, a cup in his hand, was a man who looked like he'd stepped out of a painting. Long, black hair, dark clothes embroidered with gold dragons, and a presence that filled the entire room. When he looked up at me, I felt the air freeze.

The first few days were a hell of dissimulation.

She had to pretend to be the empress, this man's wife, without having a clue what his name was. But the emperor wasn't stupid.