Villainous Fake Eunuch (1)
When Song Xuyi woke up, she found herself lying on a soft, large bed.
The room was filled with a pleasant fragrance from burning incense, and it was adorned with antique jade and precious items. The quilt was made of the finest Shu brocade1, embroidered with beautiful cloud patterns on the back. The entire room looked luxurious with a touch of elegance…
Had she arrived in the ancient world again?
Without showing any expression, Song Xuyi glanced around and saw two maidservants in palace attire trembling as they fanned her. Remembering the violent turbulence she encountered while traveling through time, she closed her eyes again.
Both Song Xuyi and the system were already experienced with the loss of contact with the main god and sudden unknown attacks. As Song Xuyi had expected, it didn’t take long for the system’s voice to sound in her mind.
“Xuyi, I tried again, but the main god is still out of contact,” the system sighed deeply. However, it was no longer as caught off guard as before, quickly digesting its inner worries and conveying the plot summary of this world to Song Xuyi.
As Song Xuyi had expected, she was in an ancient country called Heguo.
The female protagonist, Zhao Qin, was an illiterate tea-picking girl who accidentally saved a handsome, injured young master in the mountains. The young master had lost his memory but possessed extraordinary demeanor and exceptional looks, and was unusually vigilant towards ordinary people.
Under Zhao Qin’s care, the young master gradually recovered from his injuries, but his memory never returned. Due to the propriety between men and women, Zhao Qin wanted to send the young master away to find his family, but unexpectedly, the young master persistently stayed at Zhao Qin’s home, even disrupting the child engagement arranged by Zhao Qin’s late parents for her.
The young master, being cunning and extraordinarily handsome, eventually won over Zhao Qin with his deliberate flattery, and they became husband and wife.
Originally, Zhao Qin thought that the two of them would become a loving couple like the old man and woman at the entrance of the village, who quarreled daily but were exceptionally affectionate. However, one day, while chopping wood in the mountains, a fierce beast appeared. The young master injured his head protecting Zhao Qin, and when he woke up again, his personality had completely changed, becoming much more silent.
Zhao Qin initially thought this was due to the young master’s unhealed injury and treated him with even more care and tenderness. But she never expected that shortly thereafter, a team of imposing soldiers arrived at her doorstep. The leading officer respectfully knelt before the young master, addressing him as “Third Prince.”
It turned out that the young master was actually the Third Prince of Heguo, Zheng Lian.
Zhao Qin had speculated many times about the young master’s identity. She had thought he might be the son of an official, or the child of a wealthy family… but she had never imagined he was a prince of Heguo.
If Zheng Lian were the son of an official or a wealthy family, Zhao Qin was confident she could follow him home. However, Zheng Lian was a prince, a person vastly different from ordinary citizens—
Zhao Qin did not dare to remain with Zheng Lian, nor did she want to become a caged swallow in the deep palace.
She pretended to agree to return to the capital with the young master but found an opportunity to escape to the border along the way. It was then that Zhao Qin discovered she was already pregnant.
Zhao Qin gave birth to the child at the border, originally thinking that she and her son would support each other until old age. However, when the child was five years old, Zhao Qin unexpectedly encountered Zheng Lian, who had come to the border to lead troops.
Amidst the chaos of war, the two reunited, and after enduring hardships, Zhao Qin finally understood that in the face of life and death, status and power were all fleeting. She mustered the courage to stand by Zheng Lian’s side…
At this stage, the two should have proceeded towards the beautiful ending preset by the main god. However, since Song Xuyi had arrived here, it was naturally because the villain had started causing trouble again.
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When Zheng Lian and Zhao Qin reconciled and were about to return to the capital, a piece of shocking news struck the nation like a thunderclap: the treacherous Grand Eunuch Gu Ruyu had secretly defected to the enemy country. As a result, the national gates were wide open, and the enemy had already invaded the southwestern territory of Heguo.
Zheng Lian bravely fought the enemy but could not withstand the meticulously planned attacks of the enemy forces and ultimately died on the battlefield. At this time, Zhao Qin unexpectedly showed resilience. She took over Zheng Lian’s remaining troops, desperately resisting and fighting to the last moment, but still could not withstand the enemy’s invasion…
Both the male and female protagonists perished, and their child was left to flee like a stray dog. This was naturally not the ending the main god wanted to see.
Thus, Song Xuyi came to this world.
After understanding the world’s summary, Song Xuyi received the memories of this body.
Song Xuyi had grown accustomed to the “high status, easy to handle matters” identities arranged by the main god. The identity of this body that Song Xuyi possessed was that of a princess of a different surname raised beside the Empress Dowager.
The original owner’s family was renowned throughout Heguo for being loyal and righteous, holding high prestige within the military. Fifteen years ago, when foreign enemies invaded, the Song family, known for their loyalty, miraculously resisted the well-equipped invaders with fewer troops until reinforcements from the court arrived. However, this battle nearly wiped out the entire Song family, leaving only the three-year-old original owner.
The Emperor, moved by the Song family’s loyalty and bravery, and after a physiognomist2 said that Song Xuyi had suffered misfortune in her early years but would bring long-lasting blessings and peace to the nation after growing up, decided to adopt her as his goddaughter since he had no daughters of his own. He summoned the original owner into the palace to be raised by the Empress Dowager.
Interestingly, Heguo had been plagued by numerous disasters over the years, including floods, locust infestations, and foreign invasions. However, after the original owner entered the palace, all these calamities ceased, and Heguo enjoyed a rare period of peace and tranquility.
With this time to recuperate, Heguo, which had been ravaged by continuous disasters, gradually began to prosper.
Because of the Song family’s enormous influence in the military and the good fortune that the original owner brought to the country after entering the palace, the Emperor was extremely fond of this “mascot” goddaughter. Having never had a daughter of his own, he treated the original owner even more affectionately than his own sons, which objectively fostered the original owner’s arrogant and domineering nature.
The original owner was adept at pretending to be obedient in front of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, but privately, she was known for bullying the weak and currying favor with the powerful. The eunuchs and palace maids who served her were all extremely fearful of this Princess who was deeply favored by the Emperor. In the plot summary, there was only a brief mention of this Princess: the male protagonist Zheng Lian’s death was because the original owner had secretly defected to Gu Ruyu long ago and deliberately provided Zheng Lian with false information.
Song Xuyi reviewed the timeline and found that this period was precisely when Zheng Lian, while on an inspection tour in Jiangnan, had triggered the local interest groups, resulting in his pursuit and loss of memory, and his subsequent acquaintance with the female protagonist Zhao Qin. Currently, the royal family’s search for Zheng Lian had been fruitless, and apart from Zheng Lian’s birth mother who was still persistently searching, the others had already assumed Zheng Lian’s death.
There were about seven years left before the war that would lead to Zheng Lian’s actual death.
Seven years was enough to change some things.
Song Xuyi let out a breath, opened her eyes, and sat up from the bed.
Seeing Song Xuyi awake, the two palace maids beside her quickly got up to assist her. Another group of eunuchs filed into the room, presenting a cup of chilled sour plum soup and various snacks.
Song Xuyi knew this was the original owner’s prescribed ritual; sometimes, if the eunuchs were slow to come in, the original owner would throw a huge tantrum.
However, Song Xuyi did not have the original owner’s mix of inferiority, arrogance, and sensitivity, nor did she intend to make things difficult for these unfortunate servants. She waved her hand to dismiss them.
The sour plum soup was extremely tangy and refreshing. Even though she knew that drinking too much was harmful, Song Xuyi couldn’t help but finish the entire cup before starting to consider her future plans.
If you look closely, this world is actually a mess, and the subsequent defeat by the enemy is not entirely Gu Ruyu’s fault.
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The current Emperor was considered a wise ruler in his earlier years, but in recent years, the aging Emperor began to suffer from the common ailments of emperors: he became sensitive and suspicious, yearned for immortality, and placed his faith in alchemists…
As the saying goes, “what is done at the top will be imitated at the bottom.” Now, the entire country is engaged in large-scale construction of Taoist temples, and various alchemists are running rampant. Gu Ruyu, who was originally a eunuch in charge of cleaning the imperial mausoleum, gained the emperor’s favor due to his excellent alchemy skills.
The Crown Prince had previously fallen out of favor with the Emperor due to inappropriate behavior and remarks. Before, the Third Prince, Zheng Lian, would help the Emperor with state affairs. However, with Zheng Lian now missing, the Emperor, devastated by the loss of his beloved son, has seen his health deteriorate daily, and he has become increasingly indulgent in pleasures and more reliant on Gu Ruyu. In recent times, the court has essentially become a place where Gu Ruyu’s word is law.
This era places significant constraints on women. Even though Song Xuyi has ideas about training soldiers and defending the country, she cannot implement them at the moment. After much consideration, Song Xuyi realizes that the most feasible plan now is to first find Zheng Lian.
Once Zheng Lian returns, perhaps the situation where Gu Ruyu dominates the court can be changed.
Even though this might affect the development of the romantic storyline between the male and female protagonists, there was no time to worry about such things!
——Song Xuyi decided to make good use of her identity as a “mascot” and persuade the Emperor, who was most superstitious, to search for Gu Ruyu by claiming she had received a divine dream.
It would seem too deliberate to go directly to the Emperor, so Song Xuyi decided to take a step back and approach the Empress Dowager instead.
Because she had always been raised by the Empress Dowager, and the original owner was adept at flattering and pretending to be obedient, the original owner was well-loved by the Empress Dowager. She could enter the Empress Dowager’s sleeping quarters without even needing to be announced.
“You little monkey, usually you are nowhere to be seen when you’re out playing, but today you’ve come running because you heard there was food here…”
Seeing Song Xuyi arrive, the Empress Dowager, thinking that Song Xuyi had come because the fruits from the foreign lands had arrived, jokingly scolded her a bit and called her over to pick first.
However, the usually cheerful and pleasing Song Xuyi seemed noticeably distracted this time, appearing much more subdued than usual.
The Empress Dowager noticed Song Xuyi’s unusual behavior and frowned as she looked over: “Xuyi, what’s the matter with you today?”
“Imperial Grandmother, to tell you the truth, I just had a dream during my afternoon nap,” seeing that the bait had been taken, Song Xuyi bit her lower lip, and without hesitation, revealed the excuse she had long prepared: “I dreamt that my third brother was in the middle of a forest, and a beautiful woman was feeding him medicine…”
“Is this true?”
The Empress Dowager’s face immediately changed upon hearing this, her eyes fixed intently on Song Xuyi.
“Of course it’s true,” Song Xuyi pretended not to notice the suspicion and scrutiny in the Empress Dowager’s eyes and answered innocently, “It’s so strange, I don’t even know why I had this dream. In the dream, my third brother seemed to have lost his memory. The woman was feeding him medicine and asking him, ‘Do you remember who you are yet?’…”
The Empress Dowager’s bony hand immediately gripped Song Xuyi’s arm, her sharp nails almost piercing Song Xuyi’s skin, causing a sharp pain in her arm. However, the Empress Dowager seemed oblivious to this and pulled Song Xuyi up, heading outside: “Xuyi, you must come with me to see the Emperor. This might be a sign from the heavens…”
Having achieved her desired effect, Song Xuyi obediently followed the Empress Dowager out. However, just as they were leaving, a figure in bright yellow appeared in the doorway, and Song Xuyi heard the Emperor’s laughter: “Mother, what matter is so urgent that you wish to see me?”
Song Xuyi instinctively followed the sound and looked over.
The Emperor was an unremarkable-looking middle-aged man with deep nasolabial folds3. Perhaps due to years of taking medicine, although he was the Empress Dowager’s son, he looked almost the same age as her!
Behind the Emperor, Song Xuyi saw a figure she least wanted to see:
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That person seemed to stand respectfully behind the Emperor, yet his spine was straight, and he looked like a jade tree in the courtyard. With deep-set brows and eyes, a pale face, slightly thin lips, and a delicately curved jawline, he seemed meticulously sculpted by the heavens, possessing a fragile beauty that blurred the lines between male and female, drawing people’s gazes irresistibly to him…
Song Xuyi dared not look again after a single glance and instinctively lowered her head.
Even though she knew from the original owner’s memories that this person was very handsome, the memory and seeing him in person were different. Confronted with this person’s stunning beauty, Song Xuyi was still overwhelmingly amazed.
But no matter how beautiful he was, Song Xuyi dared not approach this beautiful but carnivorous flower—the villain Gu Ruyu.
The author has something to say:
A new small world is here~
For now, Xuyi doesn’t know that Gu Ruyu is a girl, so “he” is used to refer to Gu Ruyu.
LP: Re-translated on August 09, 2024
Footnotes
- Shu brocade (蜀錦): An exquisite type of silk fabric from the Shu region (modern-day Sichuan), known for its high quality and intricate designs.
- Physiognomist (相師): A person who practices physiognomy, the assessment of a person’s character or future based on their facial features. This practice is rooted in traditional Chinese beliefs.
- Nasolabial folds (法令紋): The deep lines or wrinkles that run from the sides of the nose to the corners of the mouth.
I really like this story but the lack of development is bothering me too much, it feels like a collection of different stories with the same main characters occuring at the same time in parallel, in fact the order these worlds are explored dont really matter so far after all the main character always loses her memory at the end always and the character feels one dimensional since theres barely any growth from her
I really like this story but the lack of development is bothering me too much, it feels like a collection of different stories with the same main characters occuring at the same time in parallel, in fact the order these worlds are explored dont really matter so far after all the main character always loses her memory at the end always and the character feels one dimensional since theres barely any growth from her