The Phoenix's Hidden Eunuch

The Xu family had served the empire loyally for generations, yet a conspiracy brought the whole family to ruin.

On the night her elder brother died suddenly, Xu Shuying shaved her head and took his place in the palace.

Faced with the glinting blade in the eunuch cleansing chamber, she survives by reciting an obscure medical text from memory.

In the Crown Prince's residence, she meets the sickly Ninth Prince, who sits motionless in a side hall like a living corpse.

Then, in the imperial garden, the Ninth Prince suddenly grabs her wrist. “Eunuchs don't have Adam's apples.”

“And they don't bring secret letters plotting rebellion against the previous dynasty into the palace.”

His fingers brush the forged certificate of castration hidden in her sleeve.

“Still, I'm in need of a knife to kill for me.”