Just a Eunuch [Reborn]

In the first year of the Qianyuan era, the year Tangxijian ascended the throne, Zhu Qingwu's eighth year since transmigrating. The new emperor married the eldest daughter of the Nalan family and made her empress. Zhu Qingwu sat on the parapet of the Stargazing Terrace, looking out at the palace decked in festive lights. Suddenly, he remembered eight years ago. Back then, after a car accident, he had unexpectedly transmigrated into the body of a young eunuch who had just been assigned to the Cold Palace. The young eunuch wasn't willing to settle for that. Clutching all his worldly possessions, he was about to go before the chief eunuch and ask for a better post. But just as he was preparing to leave, Tangxijian, who lay on the ground in nothing but a single layer of clothing in the depths of winter, suddenly woke up. The boy had only just come of age. His body was covered in wounds, and his face was mottled with bruises. Even speaking was difficult for him, yet he still did his best to reach out a thin, scarred hand and grab the young eunuch's trouser leg. His eyes brimmed with despair and resentment, so full they seemed ready to spill over. He said, "Save me." Those two words softened Zhu Qingwu's heart, and he stayed. He spent all his possessions on medicine for Tangxijian's wounds. In the dim candlelight, he sat with him as he learned to read and write, and in the dead of night, he kept him company as he practiced martial arts and swordplay. He watched him grow from a little boy who was even younger than himself. He watched his expressions grow more and more guarded, ambition take root in his eyes, and his nature become increasingly obsessive. He watched him kill his brothers and father, watched his hands become stained with blood. Sometimes Zhu Qingwu felt that Tangxijian had become a stranger to him, but in front of Zhu Qingwu, Tangxijian always seemed to be that same boy. He would cover Zhu Qingwu's eyes so he wouldn't see the blood. He would pull him into his arms and say, "A-Wu, don't be afraid." He said, "A-Wu, you will always be the person closest to me." He said, "A-Wu, once I ascend the throne, I'll make you my empress, so you can stay by my side forever." But one day, outside the imperial study, Zhu Qingwu heard Tangxijian himself berate a minister who had proposed rewarding him. His voice was full of contempt. "He's nothing but a eunuch." - According to the history books: On the night of Emperor Li's wedding, his personal eunuch, who had served him for more than eight years, leapt from the Stargazing Terrace and died on the spot. The emperor's eyes blazed with grief. He wept uncontrollably and followed him over the edge. They died together that very night. - When Zhu Qingwu opened his eyes again, he found himself back on the night eight years ago when he had first transmigrated. Seeing Tangxijian lying on the ground, dying just as he had in his previous life, Zhu Qingwu stepped right over him without hesitation and went to find the chief eunuch. What he didn't see was that the moment he stepped out of the room, Tangxijian suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze was crazed, obsessive, and full of longing for Zhu Qingwu. Zhu Qingwu transferred from the Cold Palace to the flower house, where he spent his days tending flowers and drinking tea. At twenty, he was even granted a pardon and released from the palace after saving the Ninth Prince's life. With his generous rewards in hand, he planned to travel all over Daliang. He wanted to see the streams and bridges of Jiangnan, and the wisps of smoke rising over the desert. But before he could even leave the capital, the palace was thrown into turmoil. Tangxijian, the sixth prince who had once been the least remarkable of them all, suddenly took the throne. His very first decree was an order to find someone. It contained just one sentence: A-Wu, come back to my side. [Content warnings: The protagonist transmigrates, the eunuch is a real eunuch, there are misunderstandings, poor communication, and old-school melodrama.] _ Please add my next historical BL novel, Transmigrated as the Tyrant's Little Eunuch, to your reading list~ Qian Yao opened his eyes. Before him stood a magnificent golden hall, but corpses covered the floor, and the luxurious carpet was almost soaked through with blood. He was dressed as a eunuch, trembling as he knelt behind a pillar. Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard a scraping sound as a sword dragged across the floor. Qian Yao looked up and saw a man in imperial robes approaching with a sword in hand. Its blade gleamed coldly, and the man's face was smeared with blood that had yet to dry. Qian Yao froze, then shut his eyes and pinched himself hard. This had to be a dream. As long as he opened his eyes... It was still the same dream! Help, QAQ! - Qi An had a secret no one knew. He could hear other people's thoughts, but every time he did, he felt awful for a long while. So he decided to save this ability for the most crucial moments, like... When killing someone. It was quite entertaining to watch people about to die weep and beg in front of him, while inwardly cursing him and wishing him a horrible death. That day, his younger brother rebelled. Qi An cut him down with his sword, then slaughtered everyone in the hall. The only person left in the palace was one hapless young eunuch who had come to deliver tea before Qi An's brother launched his rebellion. The boy was innocent, but Qi An couldn't let him live. Yet when he approached the young eunuch with his sword, he found that the boy was unlike anyone he had ever killed. No tearful sobbing, no begging on his knees, no trembling like a leaf. He simply kept his eyes shut, his thin lips moving slightly as if he were murmuring something. Is he putting a curse on me? Qi An wondered. For once, he used his ability on a eunuch. But after listening for a while, his brows drew together slightly. Then he lifted Qian Yao's chin with his sword and asked with a hint of curiosity, "What is... democracy?" - Everyone in the palace knew that the beautiful young eunuch was the emperor's most cherished person. They were together day and night, never apart. He even dared to take the emperor's hand in the middle of the court and stop him from wielding his sword. Only the emperor didn't see it that way. No matter how useful the eunuch was, he was still just a lowly servant. Qi An could replace him at any time. But he never expected that one day, the person he had kept in the palm of his hand would disappear. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find him. Only then did Qi An realize that the eunuch was his dearest treasure. Purpose: Hold on to hope. Even if you hit rock bottom, never give up.