After Transmigrating Into A Eunuch, I Became Famous In The Harem - Chapter 3

Perhaps the Empress had been staring at Shao Yin for too long, for the Emperor met her gaze and his eyes instantly grew cold:

 “Empress, I have been too lenient with you.”

Guan Zhixian immediately lowered her eyes, adopting a look of submission.

The Emperor sneered, letting the immediate subject drop but his tone still harsh:

 “Get up. If Mother finds out, she will surely drag me over there and lecture me again.”

Guan Zhixian’s heart sank, knowing he wouldn’t let the matter rest.

She suppressed her emotions, rising with a gentle expression, daring not to look at Shao Yin again.

Sure enough, when night fell, she finished washing and entered the sleeping chamber. The Emperor was sitting on the bed, his robes loosened, watching her with utter derision: “I haven’t come to your palace for so long, and you immediately report it to Mother? If I don’t favor you tonight, will you go and inform Mother again tomorrow?”

“Your subject dares not.”

Guan Zhixian bowed her head without offering any further explanation.

If it weren’t for the sheer necessity of sitting in this position, she wouldn’t even have to face this man, so why would she try to please him?

Her gaze fell on the tip of Shao Yin’s foot peeking out from beneath his robe, where he stood to the side.

She quickly pulled her eyes away.

It was improper for a woman to stare at a man’s foot.

She even felt disgusted with herself because that pair of feet was now imprinted on her mind.

How could a man possess such delicate-looking feet?

They were like a woman’s.

The Emperor, sitting on the bed, most detested this appearance of the women in the inner palace.

They were like rotten leaves that had withered in a pond; although one could imagine their past elegance, they were lifeless and simply bad luck to look at.

He sneered at Guan Zhixian: “You finally managed to beg for this night, do you think you will get what you want? I tell you, you are dreaming.”

“I only didn’t punish you in the main hall earlier for the sake of… reasons. Tonight, you shall kneel right here. Let it be known how an Empress should conduct herself.”

With that, he fixed an intimidating gaze on Guan Zhixian.

Guan Zhixian knelt down, her knees hitting the cold, hard floor, the chill biting into her bones.

Her back was ramrod straight, like a pine tree standing firm in the ice and snow.

With her eyes lowered, her figure in her sleeping gown was soft yet resilient in the candlelight.

The Emperor seemed satisfied. He turned to the figure standing beside him and sighed softly again: “You… forget it. Don’t wait on me tonight either. If you don’t wish to… then go sleep on the couch over there.”

With that, the Emperor lay down on the bed.

Shao Yin immediately stepped forward, lowered the bed curtains for him, then moved to the side and blew out the candles in the main chamber, leaving only a faint flicker from a nearby small lamp.

Shao Yin did not go to sleep on the couch.

Normally, she would have rested there.

But with the Empress kneeling in the chamber, if she were to sleep on the couch, she would surely be marked down in the book of the dead by the Empress.

She raised her eyes and looked at the Empress.

In the faint candlelight, the woman’s back was extremely frail, yet her posture was perfectly steady.

The scent in this chamber was unlike that in the Emperor’s palace; it was a pure and refined aroma, noble and composed, much like the dignified Empress herself, carrying a subtle aloofness that made her seem difficult to approach.

Shao Yin looked at the Empress, her heart feeling heavy. Could this woman be the final big winner?

It seemed logical for the Empress, as the ultimate winner, to ascend to the highest position in the inner palace.

Moreover, the Empress had a son, who was currently studying in the Imperial Study and performing well.

********

The night deepened. In the cold stillness, only the occasional murmur of the wind outside the window could be heard.

The Empress had been kneeling for over half an hour. Her perfectly straight posture had not faltered at all. Were it not for the occasional tremor, Shao Yin would have thought a jade statue was kneeling there.

Eventually, she couldn’t bear it any longer.

The women in this inner palace were more miserable than she had imagined. Even the Empress had moments of such distress.

Having been by the Emperor’s side for three months, she knew his routine well.

She then glanced up at a certain corner of the room. The hidden guard on duty tonight…

The next moment, a figure suddenly materialized in the spot she was looking at, which should have been empty. He gave Shao Yin a barely perceptible nod.

Shao Yin nodded back, and the man vanished again.

He was an acquaintance of the hidden guard corps. Earlier, the Emperor had thrown a random tantrum and nearly killed the man. It was Shao Yin who had distracted the Emperor, saving the hidden guard’s life.

Since then, Eunuch Shao had earned a decent reputation among the hidden guards.

Today, she was lucky that it was this specific person on duty.

Shao Yin looked at the Empress again, just as she saw her figure subtly tremble. She immediately suppressed it, making it seem like a mere illusion, a wavering light cast by the faint candlelight falling upon her.

Shao Yin silently walked toward the Empress.

Though her steps were light, they disturbed the dim light and shadow in the chamber.

Guan Zhixian, whose eyes were cast down, saw Shao Yin’s shadow shift. A moment later, the delicate little feet that were imprinted in her mind appeared right beside her.

Shao Yin knelt on one knee beside the Empress. Seeing the Empress show no strong reaction, she opened her mouth.

The Empress finally moved. She turned her head to look at Shao Yin.

Guan Zhixian’s eyes were deep, cool, and desolate, like the autumn wind outside the window.

But her gaze was devoid of emotion, looking at Shao Yin as she would any other palace servant.

In fact, she might occasionally show pity to other servants, but she reserved none of that for Shao Yin.

Shao Yin wasn’t bothered.

She was a favored eunuch—a favored eunuch who was the reason the Empress was kneeling here. Could she possibly force the Empress to feel fond of her?

She wasn’t that audacious.

Another gust of wind blew outside. Amidst the sound of the wind, Shao Yin spoke softly, her voice low enough for only the two of them to hear: “Empress, the Emperor is fast asleep. He won’t wake up until the hour of Mao tomorrow morning.”

Guan Zhixian finally reacted. Her lips subtly twitched, and she asked quietly: “Do you know what you are saying?”

Shao Yin lowered his eyes, avoiding Guan Zhixian’s gaze.

It wasn’t that she didn’t dare, but how could a eunuch dare to meet the gaze of the nobles in this palace?

What she was doing today was truly risky.

But she wanted to hedge her bets on the Empress, just in case the Empress was the heroine of the original book.

Moreover, she couldn’t bear to see a woman tormented like this by a man.

So, she decided to take a gamble. She trusted her intuition: she felt the Empress wouldn’t try to kill her for this action.

She appeared cold, but she should also be a compassionate person.

Shao Yin said: “This servant knows. This servant meant to say that before the Emperor wakes, Your Ladyship could rest on the couch nearby.”

Her voice dropped even lower: “If you kneel all night, Your Ladyship, it will take many days to recover.”

And to do it for such a despicable man? It certainly wasn’t worth it.

Guan Zhixian hadn’t expected Shao Yin to act this way.

This eunuch was the most favored attendant right now and should be arrogant due to his imperial favor.

But he wasn’t.

Guan Zhixian even occasionally sensed his dislike for the Emperor.

Just like in the main hall earlier, she hadn’t been mistaken.

More than the physical pain, Guan Zhixian was curious about this eunuch’s gesture of goodwill.

She pondered for a moment, then looked up at a certain corner of the room.

The spot was pitch black and should have been empty.

The hidden guard hiding there felt his stomach drop: “…”

The hidden guard subtly shifted position again.

Shao Yin looked at the light and shadow on the floor, then followed the Empress’s gaze upward.

She whispered again: “That person and I have a private understanding.”

The implication was that the hidden guard would not report them.

Guan Zhixian hadn’t expected the hidden guard to have a private understanding with this eunuch.

She had initially thought she would have to use her own influence.

A moment later, a feeling flashed through her mind. She almost wanted to laugh.

She looked toward the lowered bed curtains. In the darkness, the curtains were like a massive beast, swallowing the most arrogant person in the world.

That Emperor would certainly never imagine that out of the three people in the room besides himself, not a single one was loyal to him.

It was truly ironic, yet it brought such a feeling of relief.

“Your Ladyship,” Shao Yin’s voice came from beside her.

Guan Zhixian turned back to Shao Yin.

The person was bowing his head, eyes downcast. His face was like congealed cream, his skin seeming softer than a woman’s in the faint, orange candlelight.

He wore no makeup, and his long lashes cast shadows on his eyelids, making him undeniably beautiful.

No wonder the Emperor liked this eunuch.

Shao Yin slowly reached out a hand. It was the professional gesture commonly used by eunuchs in the palace—the human armrest for the ladies of the court.

Guan Zhixian’s gaze fell on the fingers exposed beneath Shao Yin’s wide sleeve.

The fingers were as white as peeled scallions, the nails round and clean, lacking any of the prominent veins of a man.

He was truly effeminate down to every fingertip, every pore.

Guan Zhixian raised her hand and placed it on Shao Yin’s forearm, using his strength to stand up.

But she had been kneeling for nearly an hour, and her legs were stiff and numb. The moment she rose, she suddenly pitched sideways.

Shao Yin had anticipated the Empress’s weak legs and immediately reached out his other arm to steady her. Instinctively, she glanced toward the bed curtains.

What if the Empress cried out and woke the Emperor?

However, the Empress did not make a sound. Even as she lost control and stumbled into Shao Yin’s arms, she suppressed all noise in her heart.

In that instant, her free hand instinctively braced itself against Shao Yin’s chest, where she felt a slight softness beneath her palm.

Guan Zhixian’s eyes narrowed slightly. A faint sweet fragrance wafted into her nostrils, unlike the incense worn by anyone else in the palace. The scent was extremely subtle but carried a delicate sweetness, gentle as flowing spring water.

Guan Zhixian’s gaze darkened.

Why was this eunuch so fragrant and soft?

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