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Zhang Ru sat with Chen Mei-Li in the Chrysanthemum courtyard of the Mei Fu restaurant in Beijing. As it was one of the finest restaurants in the entire capital, he’d told her to purchase a dress of classic elegance.
She had exceeded his expectations.
Ru found his eyes returning to her time after time.
A high-necked black dress was elegantly embroidered with scenes of imperial-era serenity. Her long hair, up in a simple swirled bun pinned in place by meticulously inlaid chopsticks. The teardrop of skin exposed just below her clavicle made him want to grab there and tear the dress from her body to take her.
Yet in another way, she was so sophisticated that she almost looked untouchable.
Seated here in the converted royal home of a Qing Dynasty prince’s wife, she…belonged. The home w
