Mu Zhi had been struck dead by lightning!
After she died, her soul neither ascended to the heavens nor descended into hell. Instead, she transmigrated.
Other people transmigrated as princesses, commandery princesses[1]A commandery princess, or junzhu, was a noblewoman holding a title generally below that of an emperor’s daughter. The exact rank and eligibility varied between Chinese dynasties. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3708887_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3708887_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, madams, or princess consorts[2]A Princess Consort, commonly translated from Wangfei, was the principal wife of an imperial prince. She held a prestigious position within the imperial nobility, although her authority and rank … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3708887_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3708887_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. At worst, they became noble young ladies from prominent families. But Mu Zhi had it rough: she’d become a little eunuch[3]Eunuchs were male palace attendants who had undergone castration, traditionally allowing them to serve within the imperial household, including areas reserved for the emperor’s women. Some … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3708887_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3708887_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
A fake eunuch, at that!
Still, she was lucky she’d ended up in a body of the right sex.
But if anyone discovered that she was a fake eunuch, she would be guilty of deceiving the emperor—and could lose her head at any moment.
Worst of all, even now, after transmigrating into this body, she had no memories of its original owner.
She was completely in the dark.
Fortunately, in her previous life, Mu Zhi had been a cultivator of considerable skill. Though she now inhabited a different body and had lost all her martial arts skills and cultivation, she could still glimpse what lay ahead by reading faces and telling fortunes.
More impressively, whenever she met someone’s eyes or had any physical contact with them, she could hear their thoughts.
So, during the more than a month since she arrived, despite knowing nothing, she had managed to fool everyone. She had also pieced together some information about this world from those around her.
Northern Jin.
A country that had only just undergone a coup.
The new emperor had ascended the throne just over a month ago, and the palace had undergone a complete overhaul, inside and out. Even the palace maids and eunuchs had all been replaced with new faces after rigorous screening.
The original owner of this body was one of them.
Whether through good luck or bad, Mu Zhi and several other little eunuchs had been assigned to serve in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
But she hadn’t wanted to go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity at all, because she’d heard the new emperor was a vicious man.
Countless people had died at his hands in the coup. He was the archetypal tyrant who would rather kill the innocent than let a guilty person escape.
As it turned out, on her very first night, she was assigned to stand watch at the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
That night, she crouched outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation[4]The Hall of Mental Cultivation, or Yangxin Dian, is a historical building in Beijing’s Forbidden City. Beginning with the Qing dynasty’s Yongzheng Emperor, it became the principal … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3708887_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3708887_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, waiting until the early hours of the morning, but the tyrant still hadn’t returned.
She had heard he was holding a banquet that night to reward his troops, so he probably wouldn’t be back early.
Mu Zhi leaned against a pillar in the corridor. Unable to fight off her drowsiness, she dozed off.
Suddenly, she felt an intense pressure bearing down on her. She slowly opened her eyes and jerked her head up—only to find herself staring into a pair of dark, icy eyes.
Mu Zhi’s heart lurched, and she was instantly wide awake.
“Your servant—”
Mu Zhi had barely begun to speak when he seized her and dragged her into the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The strong scent of alcohol filled her nostrils.
In the dim light, the man slammed her against the door, staring at her with a savage, brutal intensity, like a bloodthirsty beast.
What was going on?
Mu Zhi’s mind raced.
This was the Palace of Heavenly Purity, with guards stationed all around it. At this hour, no one but the emperor would dare come here.
Which meant the man before her could only be the tyrant, Ying Mo!
Had he mistaken her for an assassin?
Through eye contact or physical contact, she could hear a person’s thoughts.
Mu Zhi wasn’t worried at all.
Calmly, she looked up to meet his gaze, held her breath, and strained to listen.
But after listening for a long while, all she heard was his slightly labored breathing. Nothing else.
That didn’t make sense.
She was still wondering why when she realized that something was wrong with the man above her.
His hand had settled on her waist, and his gaze had begun to change.
It was heated, filled with a certain longing.
And with the kind of desire a man felt for a woman.
Seriously?
What a pervert, man! She was a eunuch!
Realizing she was in danger, Mu Zhi no longer cared that he was the emperor and began struggling with all her might. But no matter how hard she shoved and pounded on him, she couldn’t break free of his powerful grip.
“Your Majesty, get a hold of yourself!”
Mu Zhi fought with all her strength.
At first, she thought he was merely drunk. Then she realized that his body was growing hotter and hotter, and his breathing more and more ragged.
He really wanted to do… that to her?!
Mu Zhi was horrified.
She braced both hands against Ying Mo’s chest. Her gaze inadvertently swept over his face, and she saw a strange glint in his deep black eyes. His face was abnormally flushed, as if he were struggling to suppress something.
Something wasn’t right.
Could he be…?
But with her cultivation gone, Mu Zhi was powerless against Ying Mo, whose martial arts were formidable and who had lost all reason under the influence of that kind of drug.
Ying Mo held her firmly in his arms, grabbed the front of her clothes, and ripped them open. A chill swept over her as her slender shoulders were exposed to the air.
Though she had carefully wrapped her chest with binding cloth, her naturally prominent curves were still plain to see.
Bastard!
Now Mu Zhi was truly panicking. She pummeled him with her fists and feet. “Let go of me!”
Her blows landed on him like a light drizzle, doing nothing at all—in fact, they only made him more frenzied.
His body grew hotter and hotter, as if it were on fire. He looked at her like a starving wolf that had roamed the wilderness for ages and finally found a delicious meal, eager to tear her apart and devour her whole.
Was she completely screwed?
Her identity was about to be exposed!
And she was going to lose her chastity!
He stripped away her clothes one piece at a time. His forceful, domineering movements made Mu Zhi tremble with pain.
Damn it, he wasn’t gentle at all!
Who knew how long it was before Ying Mo finally satisfied himself completely. It wasn’t until just before dawn that he held her in his arms and fell into a deep sleep.
Once he was sound asleep, Mu Zhi endured the feeling that her body was about to fall apart, picked up her tattered clothes, hastily threw them on, and fled as if for her life.
Back in her little room, she collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. Her eyelids kept drooping, but she didn’t dare fall asleep.
After what had happened that night, her identity would probably be exposed as soon as dawn broke.
And once it was, she was as good as dead.
Run?
Mu Zhi forced herself to sit up.
The next instant, she lost heart and slumped back down.
In this vast imperial palace, escaping was harder than reaching the heavens for a lowly eunuch like her.
Before she could come up with a plan, daylight had fully broken.
Sure enough, someone knocked on her door.
“Mu Zhi, are you in your room?”
The person standing outside was one of the little eunuchs who, like her, had been assigned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Mu Zhi knew she couldn’t avoid him. She got dressed properly before opening the door.
“You really were in your room?”
Qi Lu stared at her in disbelief. “Mu Zhi, last night was your first time standing watch at the Palace of Heavenly Purity. How could you leave your post without permission before dawn?”
“I got my clothes dirty, so I came back to change into a clean set.” Mu Zhi’s expression didn’t change, and her voice was calm. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, you’re asking what’s wrong? The emperor woke up and couldn’t find anyone, so now he’s furious. He’s summoned the Chief Attendant, too. You’ve really gotten us all into trouble this time—we’re all going to be dragged down with you!”
Beside himself with anger, Qi Lu grabbed Mu Zhi and hurried her toward the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
On the way, through their physical contact, Mu Zhi heard Qi Lu grumbling to himself. That was how she learned that the other little eunuchs had all slipped the Chief Attendant some silver last night, which was why she had been sent to stand watch at the Palace of Heavenly Purity first.
Damn it.
They were going to get her killed!
How on earth had that tyrant ended up drugged like that in the first place?
Thinking of last night, when he had been like a tireless beast, tormenting her again and again…
If she’d had the strength, Mu Zhi would have liked to kill someone right then.
A heavy, oppressive atmosphere filled the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Ying Mo sat on the dragon throne behind the imperial desk. His strikingly handsome, noble face was veiled in frost. His slender fingers held a vermilion brush, and his deep eyes were slightly lowered, a trace of sinister anger in their depths.
Memorials[5]Official written reports, petitions, or recommendations submitted by government officials to the emperor. Imperial memorials were an important means of communicating state affairs, requesting … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3708887_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3708887_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); lay scattered across the floor. The Chief Attendant knelt trembling before the imperial desk, scarcely daring to breathe.
“So, you’re saying that the only person you assigned to stand watch here last night was a little eunuch, and no one else came?”
“Yes.”
The Chief Attendant didn’t even dare lift his head. He was practically limp on the floor.
After he answered, he felt the emperor’s presence turn even more oppressive.
Why hadn’t that damned Mu Zhi arrived yet?
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