After Transmigrating Into A Eunuch, I Became Famous In The Harem - Chapter 17

Shao Yin turned and closed the door, shutting out the biting cold and swirling snow behind her.

She faced the Empress, keeping her gaze lowered.

“Why won’t you look at me?” The Empress raised her eyes, fixing Shao Yin with a frosty glare.

The air seemed to freeze under her icy stare.

Shao Yin finally met the Empress’s gaze, looking up at the woman seated above her.

The Empress’s beautiful face was frozen by the storm outside, her cool eyes masking a turbulent sea of rage.

Even Guan Zhixian couldn’t pinpoint the source of her fury. Simply seeing Shao Yin in her current state filled her with a suffocating irritation.

Memories of Shao Yin’s subservience before Liang Fujun, her eagerness to cater to the Noble Consort’s every whim, intensified this vexation.

Guan Zhixian found her answer.

She had already accepted Shao Yin as one of her own, even entrusting her with the task of delivering imperial edicts to other palaces—a clear signal to others of her favor for the eunuch.

Yet this woman had dared to obey Liang Fujun’s commands so completely. Whose servant was she, truly?

Guan Zhixian’s expression grew colder still. “Do you know where you went wrong?” she demanded.

How could Shao Yin not know? “I shouldn’t have obeyed the Noble Consort so readily. I am the Empress’s servant.”

Her tone sounded sincere enough, but inwardly, Shao Yin merely viewed these words as the necessary work of a eunuch and nothing more.

If Shao Yin had to be honest, she didn’t believe she was truly at fault. It was her position as a eunuch that forced her into error in the palace, before these masters.

Shao Yin thought she had disguised herself well enough, but Guan Zhixian sneered. “Is there an undertone of dissatisfaction in your words?”

Shao Yin immediately knelt. “This servant wouldn’t dare.”

The palace fell so silent that the drop of a needle would have been audible.

After a moment, Shao Yin heard footsteps and the rustle of skirts dragging across the floor.

As the skirt drew closer, Shao Yin gazed at the exquisitely embroidered shoes beneath it. Her breaths became shallow and drawn out; if she could, she wouldn’t breathe at all.

It was like one of those memes she’d seen online: everything is your fault, and your fault is breathing.

The moment that thought vanished from her mind, Guan Zhixian gripped her chin.

Bending over her, Guan Zhixian looked down at Shao Yin with the gaze of an absolute superior. Her nails glided across the delicate skin of Shao Yin’s chin. Her voice was dangerous, yet carried an irresistible allure. “You belong to me. No matter what happens between me and the Noble Consort, you must never listen to her.”

“If you truly admire the Noble Consort, I’ll send you to her. You’ll never return to Kunning Palace.”

“I want to see if Liang Fujun will protect you and if she can.”

Shao Yin trembled violently. “I would never dare to aspire to become the Noble Consort.”

She even instinctively tilted her head slightly.

This time, Guan Zhixian’s hand, which was pinching her face, didn’t apply much force.

As Shao Yin turned her head, her chin slid past Guan Zhixian’s fingertips, and her cheek pressed against her palm.

The warm, soft cheek against Guan Zhixian’s icy palm felt like a gentle spring breeze, its warmth sending a faint tingling up her arm.

The sensation spread from her palm all the way to her heart, causing the organ hidden in her chest to flutter briefly before going numb.

Guan Zhixian’s breath caught as she gazed at the obedient woman in her palm, as if she were holding a delicate, fragile bellflower that might wither under the slightest pressure.

Yet the bellflower’s delicate fragrance and tender beauty slowed her breath to a gentle, rhythmic pace.
By the time Shao Yin realized what she had done, she immediately straightened her kneeling posture, pulling her face away from the Empress’s palm.

Her face paled with fear, uncertain if her transgression would cost her life.

Guan Zhixian lowered her gaze to her palm, feeling the warmth that had yet to seep into her bones dissipate. For a moment, she was inexplicably silent.

Looking at Shao Yin’s slightly pale face, Guan Zhixian felt a twinge in her heart. After a pause, she sighed helplessly. “I don’t understand what you’re so afraid of.”

She reached out and helped Shao Yin up.

Shao Yin rose with her assistance. Before she could speak, Guan Zhixian softened her gaze. “I’m not going to kill you. Do you really think I’m that kind of ungrateful, heartless person? Did you get so scared your face went pale?”

“No,” Shao Yin said, looking up at the Empress.

She didn’t know if the Empress was a Great Female Protagonist. She hadn’t finished reading the novel.

It was a ensemble novel. Before the author abandoned it, many concubines in the Imperial Harem had appeared, and they all shared a common goal: to use their meager strength to fulfill their families’ wishes.

They all came from families of loyal ministers, and their ultimate goal was the entire nation and its people.

Though Shao Yin hadn’t finished reading the novel, she felt great fondness for these concubines.

She gazed into the Empress’s eyes, so pure and genuine, untouched by impurity, and revealed without reservation the deep reverence and admiration she felt for the Empress standing before her.

She said, “I never thought you were that kind of person, Your Majesty the Empress. Your heart is filled with great love and a vision of a greater world. How could you be ungrateful or indifferent to human life?”

After saying this, Shao Yin felt a little timid.

Perhaps to the Empress, such words sounded like nothing more than the most ordinary flattery.

At the Imperial Palace, there were far too many who were better at flattery than she was.

She immediately lowered her head. Servants in the palace were not allowed to look directly at their superiors.

Unexpectedly, the Empress lifted her chin, and Shao Yin caught a glimpse of tenderness in her eyes.

Even her voice seemed to carry a faint, barely perceptible smile. “What’s this hesitance? Do you not truly feel that way?”

Shao Yin couldn’t avoid answering this time. Her heart raced as she shook her head, suppressing her deepening, drawn-out breaths. Her voice softened considerably.

She no longer forced her voice to sound deep and masculine. Her delicate, soft voice, though fragile, carried a hint of the sweetness of sugar water. “No, I—I do feel that way.”

“To be able to come to Your Majesty’s palace and serve you is an honor I never dared to dream of.”

In her three months at the palace, she hadn’t been able to find an opportunity to sneak into the Imperial Harem and seek even a sliver of hope for survival.

It was the Empress who brought her into her palace, freeing her from the Emperor and giving her a glimmer of hope for survival.

When she was at the Emperor’s side, she saw only a tyrant who cared nothing for the people. She even felt a sorrow, thinking she was no different from the common folk, struggling to survive in this tyrant’s realm.

Now, in the Empress’s palace, though still a servant, everything was different.

The Empress was willing to listen to Shao Yin’s thoughts.

The Emperor had never been like this before.

If she could do some small things for the people in this world, her heart would feel a little better.

Her eyes were pure and soft, full of sincerity. “Your Majesty is truly kind.”

Outside, the wind and snow still raged.

Inside, the charcoal fire warmed the air exceptionally.

A faint pink blush appeared on Shao Yin’s cheeks, replacing her earlier pallor.

Guan Zhixian’s icy fingertips traced Shao Yin’s face. Feeling the warmth beneath her touch, she withdrew her hand.

“Enough. I’m not punishing you. I simply don’t want my people to be so obsequious before others.”

Shao Yin said, “This servant will not repeat this mistake.”

The Empress then said something unprecedented: “The snow is heavy now. Have Su Zhongjie send extra coal to your quarters to keep you warm this winter.”

A moment later, the Empress’s eyes flickered, and her voice lowered. “Women really shouldn’t be exposed to the cold in winter.”

Shao Yin nodded in gratitude.

When Shao Yin finished her duties and returned to her quarters, a young palace attendant immediately arrived with two baskets of high-quality coal. He said, “Her Majesty the Empress said to tell Eunuch Shao not to be sparing. She’ll have us send more in a few days.”

After thanking him, Shao Yin closed the door, opened the window to ventilate the room, and lit the charcoal fire.

The cramped, damp quarters that’s usually cold and gloomy, now basked in the warmth of the charcoal fire, the air suffused with a soft, golden glow.

Staring into the flickering flames, she suddenly smiled—a radiant smile that could melt ice and snow.

Ever since arriving in this world, she’d known she had to enter the Imperial Harem. Even if she couldn’t immediately find the Great Female Protagonist, serving even one of the virtuous Imperial Consorts mentioned in the text would improve her life immeasurably compared to being at the Emperor’s side.

Moreover, these Consorts’ concern for the common people offered her far more hope than the Emperor ever could.

She collapsed onto the narrow single bed and murmured softly, “Empress.”

In the Noble Consort’s Palace, the Head Maid was reporting the latest news to her mistress: “I heard the Empress is furious. She summoned Eunuch Shao to her chambers to punish him. Yet when he emerged, he showed no signs of injury, and even carried a faint smile. After his shift ended, the Empress even sent him two baskets of premium silver-thread charcoal.”

Liang Fujun gazed at the roaring charcoal fire in the brazier before her, a cold smile twisting her lips.

So Shao Yin truly had some skill.

No, I still need the Empress’s support for many things. How could I let a eunuch bewitch her heart?

A flicker of deranged malice flashed in her eyes as she stared into the flames.

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