The Dragon Garden

When a stranger claims to be the rightful demon queller of the Far East, 11-year-old Pingzi worries about losing the life she loves.Pingzi Po is a member of the Imperial Family and the only demon queller in the Far East. That's why she's the only female in the entire country who has the power to live an independent life.Knowing a demon queller comes along only once every few hundred years fills her with confidence. But after a young man in a far-off province threatens to replace her, Pingzi must travel to that province, where she matches her skills against his. For the first time in her life, Pingzi fails. No longer a demon queller, she knows the emperor can now marry her off in order to gain political favor. She can't go home.But refusing to go home means disobeying the emperor. It would break a myriad of laws-and many are punishable by grotesque deaths.Devastated at losing her freedom, Pingzi is horrified by her only two choices. She doesn't know how she can survive in a nation where so many laws stack up against girls and women.