The Crown Prince has his eye on the soft-skinned, delicate attendant at his side.
The eunuch called Yingtao speaks softly, walks at an unhurried pace, carries a warm fragrance, and has a face as lovely as a woman's.
The first time he sees Yingtao is on his younger sister's bed.
Yan Shu flies into a rage. He drags her out from under the covers, her face pale and eyes full of fear. Ignoring her tearful pleas, he hangs the audacious slave who dared seduce his sister up and gives him twenty lashes.
His younger sister keeps begging: "Please spare him, Brother! He didn't seduce me. I wanted to give myself to him!"
The Crown Prince sneers. "Yan Zhao, you must be out of your mind. He's been castrated. What could you possibly give yourself to him for?"
Later, he decides to personally keep watch over this restless eunuch, determined to make Yingtao mend his ways and never again dare to seduce his master.
Yingtao is petite, with black hair and a slender waist, skin as white as cream. He attends to the Crown Prince with such care that there is nothing to criticize.
One day, the Crown Prince catches a glimpse of him bathing from behind and starts having erotic dreams. There is no beautiful woman in them, only the little eunuch Yingtao.
Night after night, and cold tea becomes a staple in the Eastern Palace.
Eventually, unable to bear the torment of wanting what he can't have, he takes Yingtao by force.
Yan Zhao finds Yingtao on the bed in the Eastern Palace. His hair is disheveled, tear tracks still on his face, and his snowy neck is covered with crimson marks of abuse.
"Brother, how could you... how could you do this?"
"You said you liked him and wanted to give yourself to him, but he's been castrated and can't make you happy. So let him make me happy instead."
Reader's guide:
1. Both are sexually inexperienced; one-on-one romance; woman disguises herself as a eunuch; forced possession.
2. The male lead is an awful dog early on, but he gets what's coming to him. Later, he's obsessed with Yingtao.
Theme: The sea is wide enough for fish to leap.
