After Transmigrating Into A Eunuch, I Became Famous In The Harem - Chapter 18

Shao Yin hadn’t expected the Noble Consort to summon her so quickly.

It was her day off, and when she saw the eunuch appear before her quarters, she hesitated before deciding to invoke the Empress’s authority. “Sir, to enter the Noble Consort’s Palace, I must first obtain permission from the Empress.”

The eunuch stared at Shao Yin in disbelief. “Why would you need the Empress’s permission for this?”

He couldn’t understand how someone like Shao Yin had become favored by both Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace. “Are you trying to sow discord between the two Imperial Consorts?” He smirked and rolled his eyes at her. “Do you really think the Empress would argue with our Imperial Consort over you?”

He scoffed arrogantly. “The Empress and our Imperial Consort are on excellent terms. Let me warn you: don’t assume that because you’re favored by your lord, he’ll make a scene over you.”

You’re not the Emperor. Why would the Imperial Consorts fight over you?

The eunuch from the Noble Consort’s Palace sneered disdainfully.

Shao Yin lowered her gaze.

In the end, she decided to accompany the eunuch to the Noble Consort’s Palace.

She truly couldn’t shift this responsibility onto the Empress.

She understood her own position well. What merit or ability did she have to expect the Empress to handle her interpersonal conflicts?

She resolved to go to the Noble Consort’s Palace herself and find an opportunity to clarify the situation.

The eunuch from the Noble Consort’s Palace finally looked satisfied, seeing Shao Yin leave with him.

It seemed this eunuch wasn’t as stubborn as she’d thought.

The snow had been swept from the palace paths.

Following the eunuch, Shao Yin still felt the biting wind chill her to the bone.

The wind howled sharply, swirling flakes of snow in the air.

A sudden thought flashed through Shao Yin’s mind: the soldiers on the border.

She wondered if the Empress and the Noble Consort had managed to resolve the matter, if the military funds had been secured.

Meanwhile, a young eunuch arrived at Kunning Palace. After announcing his presence, he was granted an audience with the Empress.

“Your Majesty,” he reported, “this humble servant saw Eunuch Shao depart with the chief eunuch of the Noble Consort.”

The Empress’s expression had already turned cold at the young eunuch’s appearance. Hearing his report, her face darkened further.

She set down her teacup, a glint of frost in her eyes. The others in the room held their breath, the heat from the charcoal brazier suddenly fading.

Ruyi’s heart sank. “Perhaps,” she ventured cautiously, “Eunuch Shao had some urgent matter to attend to.”

Even Su Zhongjie spoke up. “If the Noble Consort herself requested his presence, Eunuch Shao might have felt unable to refuse.”

The Empress twirled her thumb and forefinger, a cold smile curling her lips as she rose. “Is that so? Then let us go see for ourselves.”

Su Zhongjie and Ruyi exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with sympathy and confusion for Shao Yin.

The Noble Consort seemed to be paying particular attention to Shao Yin.

Even the Empress was acting strangely. Why would she send a young eunuch to spy on Shao Yin?

They were powerless to help Shao Yin further and could only follow the Empress’s lead.

The black limestone palace path was dusted with a light layer of fresh snow.

The Empress, resplendent in her lavish robes and draped in a voluminous cloak, sat in her sedan chair, gazing toward the Noble Consort’s Palace.

Yet she didn’t order the Bearer Eunuchs to take her inside. Instead, she commanded them to stop just short of the palace gates.

As the sedan settled, Guan Zhixian stepped down and continued to stare in the direction of the Noble Consort’s Palace.

She was waiting for Shao Yin to come out.

Inside, Shao Yin knelt before the Noble Consort.

The Consort reclined languidly on her low couch, her narrowed eyes fixed on Shao Yin with a cold, suspicious glint. After a long pause, she finally spoke: “Eunuch Shao, could you tell me how you’ve managed to gain such favor with both the Emperor and the Empress? I’m genuinely curious. Why don’t you try those tricks on me? Let’s see if you can bewitch me too.”

Shao Yin lowered her head and closed her eyes. The Consort’s unnervingly sickly voice made her dare not reveal that she had agreed to the Empress’s request. She could only obey the Empress’s orders.

Even the air seemed to twist unnaturally, reflecting the Noble Consort’s distorted aura.

The room fell into an eerie silence, as if everyone had held their breath.

“What’s wrong?” the Noble Consort demanded. “Am I not worthy of your sincere attention?”

How could Shao Yin dare defy her? She immediately denied it and said, “Your Majesty, if there’s anything you need from this servant, please just say the word. I would never refuse.”

Liang Fujun raised an eyebrow, her striking features suddenly taking on a sinister cast. Her laughter grew icily mocking. “Oh? Really? Then I won’t hold back.”

Shao Yin lowered her head even further. “This servant will do their utmost.”

But inwardly, she was terrified. She had no idea what task the Noble Consort would entrust to her, whether she could bear it, or whether she could accomplish it.

Liang Fujun’s gaze locked onto Shao Yin. She dismissed the other servants, stepped closer, and leaned down, her voice dripping with unmasked arrogance. “You’ll do anything? You said it yourself.”

She chuckled softly. “Aren’t you the Emperor’s favored attendant? Then go advise him to approve the Empress’s father and brother’s Commercial Tax Act.”

Her tone was flippant, clearly mocking. She didn’t intend to entrust Shao Yin with this task sincerely; she just wanted to humiliate her or find an excuse to punish her.

Shao Yin looked up at Liang Fujun, the surprise in her eyes impossible to conceal.

So, the matter remained unresolved, stuck at the Emperor’s level.

The fleeting anxiety in Shao Yin’s eyes did not escape the Noble Consort’s notice.

The Noble Consort even set aside her usual flirtatiousness, her expression serious. “Eunuch Shao, could it be that you truly intend to go to the Emperor and make this suggestion?”

Her smile held a dangerous edge. “Do you know that those who offer advice to the Emperor usually meet unfortunate ends?”

Shao Yin’s thoughts raced. “This servant will give it a try.”

As the flirtatiousness and danger faded from the Noble Consort’s eyes, her strikingly beautiful face became aggressively alluring, like a masterpiece sculpted by the goddess Nuwa. Even the slightest shift in her expression carried a soul-stealing charm.

Shao Yin felt her heart stir slightly at the sight.

The Noble Consort’s beauty was too aggressively alluring.

This time, Liang Fujun didn’t threaten Shao Yin.

Instead, she eyed her suspiciously. “You’re really going through with this? Do you know the consequences of deceiving me?”

Shao Yin lowered her gaze, afraid to meet Liang Fujun’s eyes. “This servant will give it a try.”

Liang Fujun gazed at Shao Yin’s delicate, almost feminine features and asked softly, “Why aren’t you afraid of death?”

“I won’t die for my advice,” Shao Yin replied. “I should be safe.”

As she spoke, her thoughts drifted to the soldiers on the border, and then to the possibility that the Noble Consort might be the Great Female Protagonist of this world. She decided to secretly curry favor with the Noble Consort, despite the Empress’s disapproval. “I also hope to do something for the people of the realm,” she added.

“This isn’t about the people of the realm,” Liang Fujun corrected. “This concerns the soldiers on the border—a matter of state.”
“The border soldiers are part of the people of the realm,” Shao Yin countered. “If I have the honor to serve them, it would be my privilege.”

Liang Fujun’s expression remained cold, or perhaps she deliberately hardened her features. Her voice turned as frosty as the snow outside. “Shao Yin, don’t think this display of kindness will change my opinion of you. A corrupt eunuch remains a corrupt eunuch. I’m not as easily deceived as the Empress.”

Shao Yin immediately bowed low. “I would never presume such a thing.”

Liang Fujun scoffed, rising to reclaim her seat of authority.

Shao Yin finally emerged from the Noble Consort’s Palace.

As she approached the palace gates, her mind raced with thoughts of how to persuade the Emperor, wondering if her efforts would bear fruit. She also fretted over whether the Empress would even allow her to offer counsel.

Lost in these concerns, she stood before the tightly shut palace doors, pondering rather than heading back immediately.

If she handled this well, not only could she gain favor with the Noble Consort, but the Empress might also be pleased.

Surviving in the Imperial Harem was arduous, every step fraught with peril. Yet Shao Yin remained steadfast in her original plan: to find the Great Female Protagonist within the palace. Even if she couldn’t become the protagonist’s trusted confidante, she refused to become her nemesis.

Suddenly, a familiar and icy voice cut through the air: “What, still reluctant to emerge?”

Shao Yin’s breath caught in her throat. She turned, utterly unprepared to see the Empress standing beside her.

Her lips parted to perform the proper obeisance, but panic and the biting cold rendered her speechless.

As she gazed upon the Empress’s frosty visage, she knew she was finished.

Just days after agreeing to the Empress’s request, Shao Yin had secretly come to the Noble Consort’s Palace.

Guan Zhixian tilted her head, raising an eyebrow, her gaze sharp as a sword. “You’ve given up on explaining yourself?”
Shao Yin shook her head. “No…”

But Guan Zhixian didn’t wait for her to finish. Seizing her wrist, she dragged Shao Yin forward without giving her a chance to react.

Shao Yin stumbled. “Imperial Consort! Empress!”

I can explain!

Suddenly, everything turned upside down. When Shao Yin came to her senses, she found herself pinned against a corner of a palace gate by the Empress.

Guan Zhixian gripped Shao Yin’s chin viciously. “Do you know what I despise most? Betrayal!”

Shao Yin’s lips turned pale, her eyes trembling as she gazed at the Empress.

A gust of wind lifted strands of hair from the Empress’s temple, stealing the last vestiges of warmth from Shao Yin’s body.

Shao Yin raised her hand, instinctively grasping the Empress’s wrist, her voice trembling with desperation. “I—I had no choice. The Noble Consort sent someone to summon me. I couldn’t disturb the Empress with this matter.”

“Why not?” Guan Zhixian demanded.

Shao Yin froze.

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