When Lin Yu looked into the mirror, the reflection staring back at him was foreign. Long lashes, small face, skin too pale for someone who had grown up hauling water and mending torn clothes. Lin Yu had grown to realize that his beauty only became useful when someone else decided it was worth something.

“Go.” the palace attendant snapped. Lin Yu obeyed, fingers tightening around the silk sleeves of his borrowed dress. "Yes." Lin Yu said in a light girly voice, careful not to make it sound too fake. No one here could know the truth.

He was not Lin Yu the son of a poor fisherman. Here, he was Lin Yu, a female dancer summoned to entertain the emperor. As the music began, Lin Yu stepped onto the polished floor followed with the soft music.