After Transmigrating Into A Eunuch, I Became Famous In The Harem - Chapter 9

Serving the Empress wasn’t particularly difficult. All it required was constant attention to her needs. Unlike the Emperor, she didn’t periodically shoot Shao Yin disgusted looks. Shao Yin found this job preferable to her previous positions in the Imperial Study and Qianqing Palace.

Two hours later, as dusk settled in, Shao Yin realized she wasn’t scheduled to be on duty tonight. Yet the Empress detained her, saying, “His Majesty will visit my palace today. If I let you return to rest, he’ll just send someone to your quarters to drag you back here to serve.”

Shao Yin had enjoyed several comfortable days in the Empress’s palace, forgetting it was the middle of the month—the time when the Emperor traditionally visited. When the Empress first took her into her service, the Emperor had also mentioned he would come to see her. She’d expected he would indeed visit today.

Shao Yin felt a surge of resentment. When would she finally be free of that vile, despicable man? She longed to fast-forward through this ordeal, letting the Great Female Protagonist swiftly deal with the Emperor. Whether she ended up enduring life in the palace or was eventually sent outside to find a modest residence, she’d rather live out the rest of her days in peace than suffer this torment.

What Shao Yin feared most was the day the Emperor lost his patience and forcibly took her.

The mere thought of this possibility filled her with an overwhelming urge to blow up the entire Imperial Palace.

Of course, if the day ever came when she truly couldn’t resist and the Emperor took her, she wouldn’t end her life.

She refused to take her own life over a man’s mistake. Instead, she would keep this hatred in her heart, waiting for the day she could make him pay, even if he was the Emperor.

Shao Yin lowered her head and acquiesced to the Empress’s request.

Overtime tonight was inevitable.

She just hoped the Empress would let her return home for proper rest the next two days. She never wanted to live that James Bond-like existence at the Emperor’s side again.

Unexpectedly, before the Emperor arrived that evening, two Junior Attendants came earlier.

After greeting the Empress, Ruyi produced a small deck of cards. The three of them sat at the table, playing cards, snacking, and chatting about the mundane gossip of the Imperial Harem.

Just as the sky darkened, Su Zhongjie’s voice announced the Emperor’s arrival.

The Empress and the two Junior Attendants immediately rose to stand at the door and welcome the Emperor.

Standing behind the Empress, Shao Yin couldn’t suppress a sigh.

Having spent too many days in the Empress’s Palace following the routine schedule, Shao Yin couldn’t suppress a sigh of resentment when she heard the Emperor had arrived. It was the same feeling she used to get at work when her boss called for a meeting.

Her sigh caught the Empress’s attention, and Shao Yin instinctively looked up. Under the dim yellow lamplight, the Empress’s magnificent face appeared strangely desolate. Her deep eyes seemed like a quagmire, pulling Shao Yin deeper and deeper until she touched the indescribable desolation and loneliness beneath the cool surface.

Shao Yin immediately lowered her gaze.

The Emperor approached, and everyone bowed in greeting. With a casual wave, he dismissed the formalities and stepped to Shao Yin’s side, reaching out to help her up.

How could Shao Yin dare let him touch her? She quickly stepped back to avoid his hand.

Fortunately, she had always behaved this way in Qianqing Palace, so the Emperor didn’t think much of it. He simply looked at her with tender concern.

“Why have you grown so thin?”

Shao Yin lowered her head and remained silent.

Anyone with eyes can see, she thought, that my complexion is much better than before.

This blind dog, ignoring the truth, insisted on perpetuating the illusion that she could only live well within his palace. With his dog-like blindness, he insisted on claiming she had lost weight.

Of course, she couldn’t possibly voice these thoughts.

She didn’t yet have the courage to challenge the current imperial authority.

Behind the Emperor, Guan Zhixian gave a subtle signal to the two Junior Attendants beside her.

The two Junior Attendants immediately moved to the Emperor’s side, their soft, fragrant presence a rare sight for him. To the Emperor, they seemed exceptionally tender and fresh.

Though these two weren’t as refined or strikingly beautiful as Shao Yin, nor did they evoke the same instant tenderness in his heart, they were still a rare delight in their novelty and charm.

The Emperor suddenly found himself in a dilemma.

He couldn’t even remember when he had brought these two Junior Attendants into the palace, nor had he realized he still had such beauties in his harem.

It would have been one thing if they were confined to the Noble Consort’s Palace, especially since Shao Yin wasn’t there at the time.

But he had recently sworn eternal devotion to Shao Yin. Now, to embrace these two tender Junior Attendants right in front of her—wouldn’t that be a humiliating contradiction?

Unexpectedly, Shao Yin stepped aside, showing remarkable understanding as she guided the Emperor toward the low couch in the main chamber. She gently advised him, “The Empress Dowager herself has said that spreading the imperial seed throughout the harem is Your Majesty’s duty, a responsibility you owe to the nation.”

These words made it clear that she didn’t mind the Emperor enjoying himself with the two Junior Attendants in her presence.

The Emperor felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

After all, he thought, his Yin’er was always the most sensible.

The women of the Imperial Harem only knew how to vie for the Emperor’s favor. They never stopped to consider that as the Emperor, it was his duty to share his affection equally among them.

It proved worthwhile that he had favored Shao Yin so greatly. She truly was the most considerate person in the palace.

In the end, the Emperor took the two Junior Attendants to the side room.

He showed some regard for the Empress by not indulging in mischief with the Junior Attendants on her bed.

But he wasn’t one to be trifled with. Perhaps as punishment for the Empress having taken Shao Yin away from him, he ordered the Empress to stand outside the side room and listen to his antics with the Junior Attendants.
In the palace, attendants were always stationed outside noble chambers to monitor their movements. Palace maids and eunuchs stood by to fulfill their masters’ every whim. A mere whisper for water would summon them instantly. Thus, the Emperor felt no discomfort knowing someone was listening to his private moments with the Junior Attendants.

Instead, this was a deliberate humiliation for the Empress.

Shao Yin was also outside the room, standing beside the Empress.

For a moment, Shao Yin felt the atmosphere was unbearably awkward.

She had once kept vigil for the Emperor before. It was widely rumored that he had abstained from the Imperial Harem for three months because of her. Even the Empress Dowager and the Empress had intervened, determined to end her favored status.

But had the Emperor truly gone without women for three months because of her?

No, he hadn’t.

He simply didn’t summon the named concubines from the Imperial Harem to attend to him.

Several of the palace maids by his side had already been taken to bed.

He had never lacked attendants.

At that time, Shao Yin also had to stand guard outside the door.

After he satisfied his desires, Shao Yin had to listen to him sigh about life.

For an emperor, this wasn’t unusual; it was perfectly normal.

Shao Yin knew even some modern men were the same.

They would strictly separate their extramarital affairs from their wives, firmly believing that visiting prostitutes was as inconsequential as buying drinks at a supermarket, and wouldn’t affect their deep love for their wives.

What expectations could Shao Yin possibly have for this emperor?

Night had deepened, and the silence was profound, even the insect songs having faded away.

An autumn night should have been bitterly cold, but this side room was warmed by a brazier, as cozy as spring.

Inside, the voices of the Emperor and the two Junior Attendants rang crisply through the still air.

Normally, listening to this 3D surround sound of debauchery alone, Shao Yin would pretend it was just her computer speakers. After a few times, she’d grown accustomed to it.

But now, the person across from her was the Empress.

Apart from the Emperor’s and the Junior Attendants’ voices, Shao Yin suddenly felt she could almost hear the Empress’s breathing.

The faint scent of incense was no longer the most prominent smell in the air.

Instead, Shao Yin was overwhelmed by the Empress’s subtle, cool fragrance, which seemed to bewitch the heart. Her pulse raced like a frog leaping in a pond, churning the still waters of her chest into turbulent waves.

The air, heated by the charcoal fire, grew stiflingly warm, even the breath itself feeling scalding. Shao Yin instinctively raised her eyes, her gaze meeting the Empress’s deep, unfathomable eyes.

She wanted to lower her gaze, to flee.

But the Empress stepped forward and seized her wrist.

In the dim candlelight, Shao Yin’s features appeared fragmented and incomplete. Her natural, vulnerable beauty stirred an overwhelming urge to protect and cherish her, to give her one’s all. Even the Emperor couldn’t resist this impulse.

Now, Guan Zhixian gripped her slender wrist. Doubts resurfaced in her mind. Was this eunuch before her truly a man? Or was she merely imitating one?

Zhixian’s other hand gripped Shao Yin’s chin, forcing her to tilt her head back. Her gaze fell upon Shao Yin’s neck.

The neck was remarkably slender, its delicate skin glowing with a warm, candlelit radiance that held a mesmerizing quality.

Guan Zhixian’s hand gradually slid down, closing around Shao Yin’s throat.

As she had imagined, Shao Yin’s neck was remarkably soft. Beneath the fine skin lay a layer of supple flesh.

Guan Zhixian’s thumb traced the area where Shao Yin’s throat should have been. She could feel the segmented texture beneath the skin, but it felt different from what she expected.

Guan Zhixian knew that not all men had a prominent Adam’s apple.

But wasn’t Shao Yin’s… too faint?

The suggestive music from the inner chamber continued, now adding an alluring quality to their actions. The air, once cold and tense, grew thick with ambiguity, swirling between them.

Shao Yin even swallowed hard, the rolling of her throatbone brushing against Guan Zhixian’s fingertips.

Guan Zhixian gazed at Shao Yin’s delicate neck, the candlelight tracing its taut lines under the strain of nervousness. A sudden urge surged within her—to lean forward and press her lips deeply against that vulnerable skin, to bite down.

In that instant, Guan Zhixian’s gaze sharpened.

She looked up at Shao Yin, her eyes filled with murderous intent. Even her hand, resting on Shao Yin’s neck, tightened with force.

She hadn’t imagined she’d be seduced by a eunuch in this situation.

Better to kill this person instead.

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