The Tyrant Heard My Inner Thoughts

A month ago, Su Zhenzhen was in her room studying herbs. A month later, she'd become an NPC palace maid with no identity, kneeling on the floor as the matron taught them the palace rules and how to serve the tyrant of Great Zhou.

Su Zhenzhen: ...

-

Since the tyrant doesn't like seeing people, Su Zhenzhen's workload is actually very light. Once she sweeps the floors before he gets up in the early morning, she can spend the rest of the day sitting nearby and daydreaming.

It was a cold winter day. After finishing work, she sat beneath the eaves, warming herself by the brazier, brewing tea, and nibbling on a sweet potato, when a thin, pale-faced young eunuch suddenly came up to her.

Su Zhenzhen noticed the mottled scars on his hand and froze.

This palace really does eat people alive.

She broke her sweet potato in half and offered it to him. “Want some?”

-

After killing someone, Lu Hexu comes out for a stroll and meets a palace maid for the first time.

She has exceptionally clear eyes, so clear he can see right to the bottom.

He reaches out and touches her skin, then hears her exclaim admiringly, “This sweet potato is so lovely, and this kid is so sweet. What a shame he's a eunuch.”

Oh, she doesn't know who he is.

-

They say palace eunuchs and maids pair up because they're lonely.

Su Zhenzhen lives alone in this little courtyard, with no one to keep her company, and feels a little lonely.

The young eunuch is younger than her, but he's handsome, obedient, and well-behaved. She asks if he wants to be her partner, promising she'll treat him well.

The young eunuch stares at her with his dark eyes for a long time, then slowly nods.

Su Zhenzhen is delighted. She cuts out a pair of double-happiness characters and sticks them on the window, then cooks a table of dishes and holds a simple wedding with just the two of them.

Until one day, she discovers the young eunuch's true identity.

Su Zhenzhen runs away.

-

In all his years, Lu Hexu has never met anyone who sincerely cared for him, but she betrayed him.

He'll find her, then kill her.

Su Zhenzhen looks at the man who has reappeared before her after five years. The boyish innocence is gone, replaced by a fully grown, dark and brooding emperor.

His sharply defined fingers open the sandalwood box before him, revealing ten thousand needles inside.

“You told me that people who betray someone's sincere affection deserve to go to hell and swallow ten thousand needles.”

Su Zhenzhen wants to beat up her past self for saying that.

A young emperor who can read minds × a beautiful, reserved woman from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners

An older woman/younger man romance, with a gradual everyday love story.

All the traditional Chinese medicine knowledge in this story comes from the internet. Please don't imitate it.

If you're interested in the modern-day arc (complete), it connects closely to the main story, so it's recommended.

If you're interested in the Republican-era arc (complete), it's unrelated to the main story and stands alone, so it's optional.

Theme: Keep living