To his knowledge, his name was still unknown-for now, although he didn't know for how much longer.

Or at least for someone who looked like him. He was approaching the city of Minzhou now by river, where there was very likely a warrant out for his arrest for attempted murder. Wealth and commerce were the forces that truly ruled this province. The surrounding mountains were inhabited by bandits and smugglers. Imperially appointed bureaucrats still oversaw the administration of the cities, but it was the merchants who dominated the rivers and ports. It wasn't that there was no law in Fujian.

He knew who would turn a blind eye and who could be bribed. Yang should have been afraid to return to the city where not long ago he'd tried to have a powerful warlord assassinated, but he had connections. This was a land where a person with determination and a little cleverness could carve his own destiny, regardless of his birth. This was a land set apart from the heart of the empire, away from the eyes and ears of imperial authority. To the east was the ocean fed by a lattice of streams and rivers. It certainly held true in Fujian province where rugged mountains enclosed them to the north, west and south. 'The mountains are high and the Emperor is far away.'īao Yang had always been fond of that particular proverb. Her first two books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and The Dragon and the Pearl was listed among Library Journal's Best Romances of 2011. Jeannie started writing her first romance while working as a high school science teacher in South Central Los Angeles. When her best friend introduced her to romance novels in middle school, the stage was set. Jeannie Lin grew up fascinated with stories of Western epic fantasy and Eastern martial arts adventures.

A Dance with Danger by Jeannie Lin