After Transmigrating Into A Eunuch, I Became Famous In The Harem - Chapter 1

The cool autumn air in the palace felt colder than in previous years.

But even the chill in the air couldn’t compare to the cold detachment in the Empress’s eyes.

In the Kunning Palace, all the maids and eunuchs had been dismissed, leaving only the Empress’s most trusted senior maid to attend to her.

A woman of stately grace sat in the main seat of the hall.

She possessed exquisite beauty, and her gaze was lowered to the teacup, from which a wisp of light smoke rose. However, no one noticed the indifference and mockery deep in her eyes; she found the words spoken by the middle-aged woman seated below her simply laughable.

The woman seated below was the Empress’s mother.

Even as the Empress’s mother, she was still a subject, and the Empress was the sovereign. She was only permitted to sit in a subordinate position.

The Empress’s mother had not come to the palace today out of longing for her daughter.

She had come to admonish her.

“Zhi Xian, as the Empress, you should be more attentive to His Majesty.”

“Although you already have the Emperor’s principal son, no one ever complains about having too many children.”

“Even if you cannot monopolize the Emperor, you should still advise him to share his favor among the women of the harem.”

At this point, her voice lowered slightly: “You absolutely cannot allow him to spend all his time with that… that eunuch.”

“Your daughter understands.”

Empress Guan Zhixian raised her eyes, which were now filled with a look of virtuous compliance. “I will advise the Emperor to spread his favor. If he doesn’t find anyone he likes among the present consorts, I will select a few more for him. We certainly cannot let one… one person cause Father and the other ministers undue worry.”

The Empress’s mother sighed in relief, her eyes full of satisfaction.

Her daughter was, as always, utterly sensible.

After her mother left, Guan Zhixian sat in the main hall for a long time.

Her senior maid, Ruyi, watched her mistress’s desolate silhouette, her eyes slightly red, her nose tingling, and a dull ache tightening her chest.

Why did her mistress have to suffer this kind of torment?

That shameless eunuch had dared to ensnare the Emperor, and His Majesty had not visited the Empress’s palace for three months now.

Normally, the Emperor would come to the Empress’s palace on the first and fifteenth day of every month. Even if he did nothing else, he would rest here to show his respect for the Empress.

A gust of wind blew through, causing the wind chimes by the window to tinkle.

Guan Zhixian snapped back to the present, her picturesque eyes flickering slightly before returning to stillness.

She was cold and detached, like an arrogant pine on a mountain peak shrouded in clouds, unmoved by everything in the world.

After a moment, Guan Zhixian’s thin lips parted. She glanced sideways at the maid beside her, her voice low: “Did the Emperor keep Eunuch Shao at the Qianqing Palace (Heavenly Purity Palace) again last night to wait on him?”

Ruyi’s eyes reddened, and her voice was almost choked with emotion: “Yes.”

She had been in the palace for so many years and thought she had become invulnerable, yet her heart still broke for the Empress.

She gritted her teeth and said, “Your Ladyship, how could the Emperor… That eu—”

“Ruyi!” Guan Zhixian admonished her in a soft, sharp voice.

Ruyi immediately knelt down, her face pale.

Guan Zhixian sighed lightly. “Get up. Just… don’t say those words again in the future.”

Ruyi knew her mistress wasn’t trying to punish her; it was simply necessary to be strictly careful with one’s words in the palace.

She was just burning with injustice for her mistress.

Ruyi suppressed the storm of emotions within her. Looking at her mistress’s profile, which was as bleak as the late autumn wind, her heart ached. Swallowing her deep pity, she said to Guan Zhixian: “Your Ladyship, I heard that this newly favored eunuch was once just an insignificant junior eunuch. For some reason, he gained the Emperor’s favor a few days ago, and since then, he has been constantly serving close by, taking many of Chief Qian’s duties.”

Chief Qian was the head eunuch who served the Emperor.

Now, many duties were no longer handled personally by Chief Qian; the Emperor clearly preferred using that young eunuch.

Ruyi contemplated for a long time, then finally leaned closer to Guan Zhixian’s ear and whispered: “Your Ladyship, do you think the Emperor might have… feelings for that Eunuch Shao?”

She did not finish her sentence, but Guan Zhixian understood her meaning.

Guan Zhixian watched the desolate autumn wind outside the door, which made the maids’ skirts sway, and felt a sudden wave of irritation in her heart.

It was bad enough that she had been locked away in this deep palace, but now she even had to manage whom the Emperor chose to favor.

Yet, she couldn’t allow any of those feelings to show.

She lowered her gaze, concealing the fierce temper in her eyes, and a sigh quietly bloomed from the depths of her soul.

She wondered when the Emperor would tire of that Eunuch Shao, and whether she could make him disappear from the palace forever.

*******

A few days later, the Emperor had not yet finished reviewing his memorials. Looking at the bright sunlight outside the window, his mood lifted. He laughed heartily: “After being overcast for so many days, it’s finally sunny.”

With that, the Emperor turned to Eunuch Qian: “Have the chrysanthemums in the Imperial Garden bloomed yet?”

Eunuch Qian bowed his head and replied: “To answer Your Majesty, they have all bloomed.”

The Emperor smiled knowingly and turned to the person grinding ink for him on the other side of the desk: “Yin’er, the weather is so nice today. Would you like to go and enjoy the flowers in the Imperial Garden with me?”

Standing by the table was a young eunuch. He was slightly shorter and noticeably slenderer than an average man.

His head was bowed, the smooth curve of his white nape showing beautifully. His exquisite features were concealed in the shadows, but his hands continued their work, grinding the ink. The fingers gripping the ink stick were as fair and translucent as jade.

He was the Eunuch Shao that the Empress spoke of.

He was the young eunuch whom the Emperor had recently taken a great fancy to.

Shao Yin.

Shao Yin’s gaze barely flickered toward the stack of untouched memorials. He deliberately lowered his voice and said: “Your Majesty, the memorials have not yet been finished.”

The Emperor slammed his brush onto the desk and his expression instantly changing to one of furious temper:

“Memorials, memorials! There are so many memorials to deal with every day. Is it not permitted for me, the Emperor, to want to go and enjoy the flowers!”

Shao Yin immediately put down the ink stick and knelt down to beg for forgiveness: “May Your Majesty subdue your anger.”

He held his breath after speaking.

The Emperor’s anger dissipated. He personally helped Shao Yin up. Looking at the delicate profile from his brow bone to the tip of his nose, his heart softened. His grip on Shao Yin’s slender wrist tightened.

“Why do you kneel before me and beg for forgiveness so often? Am I blaming you!”

When Shao Yin was standing straight, the Emperor looked up at his face, which was as smooth and lustrous as fine jade, and his eyes softened. “How is this your fault? It’s the fault of those ministers. As subjects, they cannot relieve my worries and instead give me so many memorials. They are truly unforgivable.”

Hearing this, Shao Yin did not dare to speak again. He simply lowered his head, picked up the ink stick once more, and continued grinding the ink.

The Emperor opened his mouth to say more, but seeing Shao Yin’s seemingly fragile, easily shattered appearance, he was unwilling to scold him further. He could only soften his tone: “Fine, stop grinding. I can’t focus on these memorials today. I want to go and bask in the sun. Come with me.”

Shao Yin stopped his movement and stepped aside. The Emperor rose and walked out, and Shao Yin immediately followed.

Eunuch Qian, who had kept his head bowed and his presence minimal, glanced at the Imperial desk and the still-wet ink. He sighed silently and followed the footsteps of the Emperor and Shao Yin.

*****

The light was truly lovely today. The warm sun scattered across the ground, coating everything in a golden layer.

The gentle breeze stirred the hems of the people’s robes, making them look like ethereal immortals as they walked.

The Emperor insisted on having Shao Yin walk beside him, holding his wrist to keep him close.

Shao Yin’s fingers, hidden inside his sleeve, subtly clenched into a fist, and a flicker of impatience crossed his lowered eyes.

But he dared not show it. This was a feudal dynasty, an era where the sovereign could arbitrarily decide the life and death of anyone.

At least the current tyrant next to him was capable of such a thing.

And the only reason this tyrant was so affectionate towards him was that he knew Shao Yin was not a ‘he’ but a ‘she.’ 

She was a gentry family’s illegitimate daughter who had cross-dressed and entered the palace to seduce the Emperor. Only she and her mother knew of this secret. Her mother had concealed her whereabouts and sent her to the palace because the two of them sought a shortcut to a lifetime of wealth and glory.

But Shao Yin didn’t want this.

Because she wasn’t the original owner of the body. She was a modern person who had died of illness a short while ago and transmigrated into this world.

The day she arrived was the exact day the original owner had planned to let this tyrant discover she was a woman.

However, the original owner accidentally drowned in the hot spring pool, and she appeared.

In the original novel, the original owner did not die that night but successfully spent a night of passion with the Emperor.

When she arrived, she quickly processed the original owner’s memories and realized this was a novel she had read. She immediately decided to frantically flee from the Emperor.

She regretted her reaction, thinking she hadn’t been quick-witted enough and might invite disaster.

But she honestly couldn’t bear the idea of being intimate with the tyrant. She feared that forcing herself to serve him would make her vomit all over him in disgust.

Who would have thought that this scoundrel of an Emperor not only didn’t punish her but, following the principle that “the unattainable is the most desirable,” became even more obsessed with her, doting on her immensely? It was as if he wanted to see her eventually conquered and kneeling beneath his imperial robes.

For three whole months, not only had she not fallen for him, but she had become increasingly disgusted by this tyrant.

And this tyrant seemed to have developed a liking for this “playing hard to get” game, becoming ever more lenient and indulgent with her.

But this was not the life Shao Yin wanted.

She had only skimmed through parts of this novel and hadn’t reached the end.

She knew it was a ‘Big Female Lead’ novel, where the heroine eventually teamed up with a few concubines and the powerful families backing them, successfully killing the Emperor, placing a new ruler on the throne, and ushering in a new era for the decayed dynasty.

Therefore, Shao Yin’s first choice was to find that heroine. Even if she couldn’t join her in her grand cause, being by her side and watching her overthrow this disgusting Emperor would bring her satisfaction.

If that failed, escaping the palace and finding a place to live out the rest of her life in peace was also a good option.

All this extensive thought took place in mere moments.

The Emperor, who was holding her wrist, suddenly looked toward a certain spot:

“Why is the Empress here?”

Shao Yin looked up. A graceful figure stood in the distance, directing her maids to pick flowers.

The woman was dressed in luxurious robes, possessing a rich and dignified posture.

Shao Yin’s heart gave a faint stir.

Could this be her — the one who would someday become Empress Dowager?
The novel’s true heroine?

Support After Transmigrating Into A Eunuch, I Became Famous In The Harem