The fish slid down Lin Mei's throat with deceptive smoothness, each swallow carrying a silken glide that masked the danger beneath. The saffron sauce, thick and luminous, coated her tongue in layers of warmth and subtle floral notes, while the tender flesh of the phoenix fish melted against her palate like the finest butter, releasing faint hints of charred herbs and distant mountain smoke.
To anyone watching from the surrounding tables, she appeared exactly as she should: a poised, well-bred noble girl of the Lin Clan, savouring an expensive delicacy prepared in her honour, her posture elegant, her smile faint and gracious beneath the soft glow of lantern light that danced across the banquet hall.
