Chapter 2: The evil eunuch is a girl
The emperor’s non-compliance with the script made Mu Jin feel something was not quite right but she didn’t dare to show the complaints in her heart.
Yu Wenrui lowered his hand naturally as if nothing had happened: “In this case, Jinwen should pay attention to his body.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. This slave knows.” Mu Jin bent her waist and lowered her eyelids, ever looking the respectful servant she was. The emperor nodded and did not say anything else. He turned around and left with his people, not glancing at Duan Rongrong once the whole affair.
Mu Jin knelt down again and sent him off but cursed him in her heart for his disrespect. Because of the original Mu Jinwen’s enchanting and beautiful appearance, she had been slandered for serving her master by improper means and it now looked like she couldn’t wash this reputation away.
Yet, in the original novel, it had never been written that Yu Wenrui had a special affection for her.
“Jinwen, this girl has offended you several times, how about…”
Mu Jin narrowed her eyes in annoyance and noticed the young eunuch who was approaching her. The look he gave the heroine was full of disgust and his expression became distressed when he saw Mu Jin’s injured wound.
Zhang Mingxu, Mu Jinwen’s loyal dog, was now the Deputy Chief Steward. He had gone through fire and water for Mu Jinwen and had died in a very dishonorable way in the end.
“Blind. How dare you not even see His Majesty’s arrival and have me personally come to mediate.” Mu Jin looked sullen, seemingly in a bad mood because of her subordinate’s bad management.
Zhang Mingxu’s eyes flashed and he apologized in a low voice: “It was my mistake, let me get rid of her.”
Get rid of her? Did he want her to suffer for nothing?
“Muddled.” Mu Jin lightly reprimanded, “If she dies just after I saved her in front of His Majesty, what would His Majesty think? Find a room for her, let things run their course.”
Mu Jin had no intention to keep talking to him. The reminder that the mission had been completed had already sounded and she now wanted to deal with her own wound.
Seeing her face become paler and remembering the emperor’s fingers as he wiped the blood on Mu Jinwen’s perfect features, a subtle emotion flashed across Zhang Mingxu’s eyes. Yet Mu Jin didn’t notice his abnormal behavior; she held the whip and went to find the imperial doctor, not daring to remove the barb stuck in her skin herself. Ah, so painful!
[Mumu, you’re so awesome.] The system rejoiced as her wound was being tended to by the physician. [I didn’t expect you to get into a character so different from your own personality so fast. I thought you would take longer to get used to it.]
“I didn’t have a choice.” Mu Jin burst into tears in her heart, “Mu Jinwen has made so many enemies. If they find out I am strong in appearance but weak in reality, I’m toast.”
[You’re right…]
“But why aren’t these characters following the plot at all? The heroine was almost killed and the hero didn’t even care.” Mu Jin was really disappointed with what had just happened.
[It may be because some deviation occurred when the world was repairing the loophole.] The system hesitated.
Mu Jin felt at a loss. The heroine herself had transmigrated from modern times and judging from her description in the original novel, her personality was stubborn and straightforward. If she didn’t see eye-to-eye with the emperor at once, she would start thinking of escaping the palace in the near future and the whole plot would float away. And if the plot could not be followed, her wish could not be realized…
No! She needed to find a way to lead the plot back on track.
She recalled the story in her mind. In the original novel, Mu Jinwen had assembled a large number of followers and posed a huge threat to the protagonists. After he had been arrested, he had been tortured in the Great Yan’s prison, until he had been bitten by a bubonic plague-infected mouse; his whole body had festered and he had died.
Mu Jin shivered and she reached out to pat her chest and relieve the pressure she felt. Her fingers felt the layer of cloth she had not had time to investigate earlier and a thought crossed her mind. She suppressed her temper; she let the doctor finish bandaging her wound, quickly got up, and reflexively thanked him as she left.
The physician who was packing up the medicine box stopped in his tracks; he watched in astonishment her figure as she walked away and muttered: “Have the Heavens opened his eyes?”
Mu Jin went back to her residence and closed the door, as quiet as a thief. She opened the neckline of her robe and saw the delicate and smooth skin; under layers of white cloth, the curves of a young girl were hidden.
Her first reaction was that she could not be seen by others but the villainous and dark Mu Jinwen was someone who beat anyone who displeased her. Perhaps because of her identity, she didn’t like having people close to her and the inside of her courtyard was always empty and nobody dared to step in.
“How could she be a girl…”
In the novel, Mu Jinwen had always been described as feminine, with a slender figure and an enchanting appearance. But she was vicious and merciless and in this patriarchal feudal society, she could almost have overthrown the entire dynasty with a wave of her hand. Such a formidable and fearsome person turned out to be a girl…
[This is one of the loopholes the world has automatically repaired. Mu Jinwen’s original name was also Mu Jin, she changed her name because of her disguise.] The system said.
Mu Jin’s thoughts were a mess but she had to admit that after learning she was a girl and not a eunuch, she felt instinctively relieved in her heart.
***
She kept Mu Jinwen’s personal habit that night. She ate the meal specially delivered to her room, uneasy when she thought about the heroine who had been left alone. If she didn’t survive, wouldn’t her mission automatically fail?
Mu Jin couldn’t sit still anymore. She took out a bottle of golden ointment from Mu Jinwen’s personal stash, as well as some ecstasy tobacco. She then stayed up and waited until late at night to quietly head to Duan Rongrong’s room.
Mu Jinwen’s health was not very good and between staying up late and being injured, she started panting after only a few steps. When she finally reached the outside of the heroine’s room, she couldn’t help but rest on the lacquered mahogany pillar. She looked at the door not far away with a grimace, wishing she had another way to get inside.
Her face was half-obscured and half-lit by the bright and cold moonlight, and she looked like an alluring and amorous ghost as she stared at the door with sorrow.
“What are you doing here? Get out of the way.”
A quiet voice suddenly came from the side and Mu Jin jumped in surprise, steadying herself before her weak legs could fall to the ground.
Under the halo of the moon, a tall man in dark red robes looked at her. His eyes were like two brown gems and his half-covered long hair couldn’t hide them as he closed and opened his eyelids. There was no silver or gold armor and no military attire, yet his cold and dashing aura was enough for Mu Jin to immediately realize he was Rong Feng, the second male lead of the novel.
Right now, he was just an imperial guard with a sword, not yet the man who had faced the danger of the Great Yan’s destruction by Mu Jinwen’s design, nor the General who was sent beyond the Great Wall, or even the second male lead who had kept his love for the heroine deeply hidden in his heart as he vowed to protect her.
Yet, his relationship with the original Mu Jinwen was already strained.
Mu Jin straightened her body and put away the sadness on her face, before sneering at him with bottomless eyes.
“I don’t know in what capacity Guard Rong is giving me orders? In the middle of the night, is it appropriate for an imperial guard to enter the quarters of a palace maid?”
There was no such scene in the original novel! Hurry up and go back! The heroine and hero are already unreliable enough, please do not join them!
Rong Feng’s eyes did not show fear as normal people did but some disgust. He moved his hand and showed the bottle in his hand: “His Majesty is kind-hearted, he ordered me to visit the palace maid His Majesty saved earlier today. Yet I don’t know the reason Chief Steward Mu would come.”
Sure enough, the male lead already had his heroine in his heart. But if Rong Feng went back to Yu Wenrui and told him about her whereabouts, would the emperor feel she had deliberately wanted to harm Duan Rongrong?
The hand that was holding the same bottle of medicine became a little sweaty. Mu Jin coughed a few times and covered herself with her sleeve; the slightly flushed cheeks on her pale face made her look even more beautiful and delicate.
“Guard Rong is jesting, I couldn’t fall asleep and came for a walk.”
Rong Feng took a step closer and his much larger figure enveloped her. It wasn’t that he was too large; his wide shoulders and narrow waist, his slender yet powerful limbs, and his handsome and slightly indifferent appearance had been very popular among readers. But despite being tall, Mu Jin was thin; food insecurities from childhood had made her look a little weaker than an ordinary girl.
She raised her eyes and glanced at Rong Feng. She clearly was in a vulnerable position, yet her eyes were full of disdain.
“Mu Jinwen, you are different.” Rong Feng’s facial features were sharp and when he wasn’t smiling, at such close distance, he looked like a leopard staring at its prey. His strong oppression was very different from the Emperor yet as intense.
Mu Jin’s heart skipped a bit and the sound of the system burst into her head like an explosion, yelling at her to not be discovered.
“Guard Rong might want to have his eyes checked by the imperial doctor.” Mu Jin tried to ignore the noise of the system and her gaze dropped coldly.
“In the inner palace, Guard Rong is different from me…” She curled her lips, “I wonder whose appearance is the most suspicious.”
Rong Feng paused. Was he getting ridiculed or molested?
“Chief Steward Mu can go and report to His Majesty.” He retreated to his original place, seemingly not wanting to entangle any longer with Mu Jin, before turning around and pushing the door straight into Duan Rongrong’s room.
Mu Jin: …??? Wait a minute! Is an unmarried man going to an unmarried woman’s chamber just like that?
Mu Jin felt distressed. She stood at the threshold and looked around, and after not finding anyone and noticing Rong Feng had already reached the heroine’s bed, she followed after him in a rustle of fabric.
Rong Feng looked at the scarred and unconscious girl in front of him. His eyes had no emotion whatsoever and he put the medicine bottle aside before reaching out to lift her clothes. It looked as if he was not seeing a delicate girl but an inanimate object waiting to be repaired.
But just as he touched the pink skirt, a fair hand suddenly slapped his to the side. Rong Feng’s movements stopped mid-air and he turned his head to stare at Mu Jin who was glaring at him.
It was very easy for him to avoid this kind of attack but he wondered what the notorious evil eunuch wanted to do. If he wanted to harm the girl, he could kill him in a second.
But to Rong Feng’s surprise, Mu Jinwen glared at him as if he didn’t want him to touch the little palace maid. His usual somber and dark eyes were shining, full of anger or something else. He had always looked pretty but for a split second, Rong Feng found him pleasant and delicate.
As soon as he realized where his thoughts had gone, Rong Feng was appalled; Mu Jinwen was a eunuch and a male, how could he have such ideas!
Mu Jin slapped Rong Feng’s hand away and tightened Duan Rongrong’s clothes, before glaring at the imperial guard with anger and sadness.
The female lead belongs to the male lead! Second male lead, how can you touch her first!
Couldn’t he be a little more respectful? But when she noticed how Rong Feng was looking at her, she realized what she had just done and her face froze.
TL note: Now that Mu Jin has realized Mu Jinwen was female, I will be using “she” most of the time, for the current Mu Jin and novel Mu Jinwen. “He” will still be used from other characters’ point-of-view and insights, at least until they realize she is a woman.
Chapter 2: The evil eunuch is a girl
The emperor’s non-compliance with the script made Mu Jin feel something was not quite right but she didn’t dare to show the complaints in her heart.
Yu Wenrui lowered his hand naturally as if nothing had happened: “In this case, Jinwen should pay attention to his body.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. This slave knows.” Mu Jin bent her waist and lowered her eyelids, ever looking the respectful servant she was. The emperor nodded and did not say anything else. He turned around and left with his people, not glancing at Duan Rongrong once the whole affair.
Mu Jin knelt down again and sent him off but cursed him in her heart for his disrespect. Because of the original Mu Jinwen’s enchanting and beautiful appearance, she had been slandered for serving her master by improper means and it now looked like she couldn’t wash this reputation away.
Yet, in the original novel, it had never been written that Yu Wenrui had a special affection for her.
“Jinwen, this girl has offended you several times, how about…”
Mu Jin narrowed her eyes in annoyance and noticed the young eunuch who was approaching her. The look he gave the heroine was full of disgust and his expression became distressed when he saw Mu Jin’s injured wound.
Zhang Mingxu, Mu Jinwen’s loyal dog, was now the Deputy Chief Steward. He had gone through fire and water for Mu Jinwen and had died in a very dishonorable way in the end.
“Blind. How dare you not even see His Majesty’s arrival and have me personally come to mediate.” Mu Jin looked sullen, seemingly in a bad mood because of her subordinate’s bad management.
Zhang Mingxu’s eyes flashed and he apologized in a low voice: “It was my mistake, let me get rid of her.”
Get rid of her? Did he want her to suffer for nothing?
“Muddled.” Mu Jin lightly reprimanded, “If she dies just after I saved her in front of His Majesty, what would His Majesty think? Find a room for her, let things run their course.”
Mu Jin had no intention to keep talking to him. The reminder that the mission had been completed had already sounded and she now wanted to deal with her own wound.
Seeing her face become paler and remembering the emperor’s fingers as he wiped the blood on Mu Jinwen’s perfect features, a subtle emotion flashed across Zhang Mingxu’s eyes. Yet Mu Jin didn’t notice his abnormal behavior; she held the whip and went to find the imperial doctor, not daring to remove the barb stuck in her skin herself. Ah, so painful!
[Mumu, you’re so awesome.] The system rejoiced as her wound was being tended to by the physician. [I didn’t expect you to get into a character so different from your own personality so fast. I thought you would take longer to get used to it.]
“I didn’t have a choice.” Mu Jin burst into tears in her heart, “Mu Jinwen has made so many enemies. If they find out I am strong in appearance but weak in reality, I’m toast.”
[You’re right…]
“But why aren’t these characters following the plot at all? The heroine was almost killed and the hero didn’t even care.” Mu Jin was really disappointed with what had just happened.
[It may be because some deviation occurred when the world was repairing the loophole.] The system hesitated.
Mu Jin felt at a loss. The heroine herself had transmigrated from modern times and judging from her description in the original novel, her personality was stubborn and straightforward. If she didn’t see eye-to-eye with the emperor at once, she would start thinking of escaping the palace in the near future and the whole plot would float away. And if the plot could not be followed, her wish could not be realized…
No! She needed to find a way to lead the plot back on track.
She recalled the story in her mind. In the original novel, Mu Jinwen had assembled a large number of followers and posed a huge threat to the protagonists. After he had been arrested, he had been tortured in the Great Yan’s prison, until he had been bitten by a bubonic plague-infected mouse; his whole body had festered and he had died.
Mu Jin shivered and she reached out to pat her chest and relieve the pressure she felt. Her fingers felt the layer of cloth she had not had time to investigate earlier and a thought crossed her mind. She suppressed her temper; she let the doctor finish bandaging her wound, quickly got up, and reflexively thanked him as she left.
The physician who was packing up the medicine box stopped in his tracks; he watched in astonishment her figure as she walked away and muttered: “Have the Heavens opened his eyes?”
Mu Jin went back to her residence and closed the door, as quiet as a thief. She opened the neckline of her robe and saw the delicate and smooth skin; under layers of white cloth, the curves of a young girl were hidden.
Her first reaction was that she could not be seen by others but the villainous and dark Mu Jinwen was someone who beat anyone who displeased her. Perhaps because of her identity, she didn’t like having people close to her and the inside of her courtyard was always empty and nobody dared to step in.
“How could she be a girl…”
In the novel, Mu Jinwen had always been described as feminine, with a slender figure and an enchanting appearance. But she was vicious and merciless and in this patriarchal feudal society, she could almost have overthrown the entire dynasty with a wave of her hand. Such a formidable and fearsome person turned out to be a girl…
[This is one of the loopholes the world has automatically repaired. Mu Jinwen’s original name was also Mu Jin, she changed her name because of her disguise.] The system said.
Mu Jin’s thoughts were a mess but she had to admit that after learning she was a girl and not a eunuch, she felt instinctively relieved in her heart.
***
She kept Mu Jinwen’s personal habit that night. She ate the meal specially delivered to her room, uneasy when she thought about the heroine who had been left alone. If she didn’t survive, wouldn’t her mission automatically fail?
Mu Jin couldn’t sit still anymore. She took out a bottle of golden ointment from Mu Jinwen’s personal stash, as well as some ecstasy tobacco. She then stayed up and waited until late at night to quietly head to Duan Rongrong’s room.
Mu Jinwen’s health was not very good and between staying up late and being injured, she started panting after only a few steps. When she finally reached the outside of the heroine’s room, she couldn’t help but rest on the lacquered mahogany pillar. She looked at the door not far away with a grimace, wishing she had another way to get inside.
Her face was half-obscured and half-lit by the bright and cold moonlight, and she looked like an alluring and amorous ghost as she stared at the door with sorrow.
“What are you doing here? Get out of the way.”
A quiet voice suddenly came from the side and Mu Jin jumped in surprise, steadying herself before her weak legs could fall to the ground.
Under the halo of the moon, a tall man in dark red robes looked at her. His eyes were like two brown gems and his half-covered long hair couldn’t hide them as he closed and opened his eyelids. There was no silver or gold armor and no military attire, yet his cold and dashing aura was enough for Mu Jin to immediately realize he was Rong Feng, the second male lead of the novel.
Right now, he was just an imperial guard with a sword, not yet the man who had faced the danger of the Great Yan’s destruction by Mu Jinwen’s design, nor the General who was sent beyond the Great Wall, or even the second male lead who had kept his love for the heroine deeply hidden in his heart as he vowed to protect her.
Yet, his relationship with the original Mu Jinwen was already strained.
Mu Jin straightened her body and put away the sadness on her face, before sneering at him with bottomless eyes.
“I don’t know in what capacity Guard Rong is giving me orders? In the middle of the night, is it appropriate for an imperial guard to enter the quarters of a palace maid?”
There was no such scene in the original novel! Hurry up and go back! The heroine and hero are already unreliable enough, please do not join them!
Rong Feng’s eyes did not show fear as normal people did but some disgust. He moved his hand and showed the bottle in his hand: “His Majesty is kind-hearted, he ordered me to visit the palace maid His Majesty saved earlier today. Yet I don’t know the reason Chief Steward Mu would come.”
Sure enough, the male lead already had his heroine in his heart. But if Rong Feng went back to Yu Wenrui and told him about her whereabouts, would the emperor feel she had deliberately wanted to harm Duan Rongrong?
The hand that was holding the same bottle of medicine became a little sweaty. Mu Jin coughed a few times and covered herself with her sleeve; the slightly flushed cheeks on her pale face made her look even more beautiful and delicate.
“Guard Rong is jesting, I couldn’t fall asleep and came for a walk.”
Rong Feng took a step closer and his much larger figure enveloped her. It wasn’t that he was too large; his wide shoulders and narrow waist, his slender yet powerful limbs, and his handsome and slightly indifferent appearance had been very popular among readers. But despite being tall, Mu Jin was thin; food insecurities from childhood had made her look a little weaker than an ordinary girl.
She raised her eyes and glanced at Rong Feng. She clearly was in a vulnerable position, yet her eyes were full of disdain.
“Mu Jinwen, you are different.” Rong Feng’s facial features were sharp and when he wasn’t smiling, at such close distance, he looked like a leopard staring at its prey. His strong oppression was very different from the Emperor yet as intense.
Mu Jin’s heart skipped a bit and the sound of the system burst into her head like an explosion, yelling at her to not be discovered.
“Guard Rong might want to have his eyes checked by the imperial doctor.” Mu Jin tried to ignore the noise of the system and her gaze dropped coldly.
“In the inner palace, Guard Rong is different from me…” She curled her lips, “I wonder whose appearance is the most suspicious.”
Rong Feng paused. Was he getting ridiculed or molested?
“Chief Steward Mu can go and report to His Majesty.” He retreated to his original place, seemingly not wanting to entangle any longer with Mu Jin, before turning around and pushing the door straight into Duan Rongrong’s room.
Mu Jin: …??? Wait a minute! Is an unmarried man going to an unmarried woman’s chamber just like that?
Mu Jin felt distressed. She stood at the threshold and looked around, and after not finding anyone and noticing Rong Feng had already reached the heroine’s bed, she followed after him in a rustle of fabric.
Rong Feng looked at the scarred and unconscious girl in front of him. His eyes had no emotion whatsoever and he put the medicine bottle aside before reaching out to lift her clothes. It looked as if he was not seeing a delicate girl but an inanimate object waiting to be repaired.
But just as he touched the pink skirt, a fair hand suddenly slapped his to the side. Rong Feng’s movements stopped mid-air and he turned his head to stare at Mu Jin who was glaring at him.
It was very easy for him to avoid this kind of attack but he wondered what the notorious evil eunuch wanted to do. If he wanted to harm the girl, he could kill him in a second.
But to Rong Feng’s surprise, Mu Jinwen glared at him as if he didn’t want him to touch the little palace maid. His usual somber and dark eyes were shining, full of anger or something else. He had always looked pretty but for a split second, Rong Feng found him pleasant and delicate.
As soon as he realized where his thoughts had gone, Rong Feng was appalled; Mu Jinwen was a eunuch and a male, how could he have such ideas!
Mu Jin slapped Rong Feng’s hand away and tightened Duan Rongrong’s clothes, before glaring at the imperial guard with anger and sadness.
The female lead belongs to the male lead! Second male lead, how can you touch her first!
Couldn’t he be a little more respectful? But when she noticed how Rong Feng was looking at her, she realized what she had just done and her face froze.
TL note: Now that Mu Jin has realized Mu Jinwen was female, I will be using “she” most of the time, for the current Mu Jin and novel Mu Jinwen. “He” will still be used from other characters’ point-of-view and insights, at least until they realize she is a woman.
