"Mother, Ling er have failed you."

The effeminate man touched his lower half, where he felt the emptiness. A tear rolled down his cheek. He turned his head away to the side, to see an urn placed by his bed. It was where his castrated manhood would slumber forever.
Qiu Qian Ling did not wish to remember, yet his memory of that day was still as refreshing as yesterday.

He was only 14, the son of a concubine of a scholar family. His father, Qiu Sheng Tian was teaching at an academy in the East River City where most of the top three jinshi had graduated from throughout the history. His mother, the concubine, Han Xue Yi was an artisan who lived her life performing music and dances. She had passed away when Qian Ling was 12. Qiu Qian Ling was a bright child that learns fast, he could do anything, from math, calligraphy, music and rites to archery and horsemanship. But what he loved the most was literature. Whenever he spoke of poems, his father would smile with delight. He was his father's pride, as neither the son nor daughter born by his main wife were as talented as Qian Ling.

Out of jealousy, his stepmother had someone kidnapped Qian Ling, and sent him to the palace, castrated and become a little eunuch.

Qiu Qian Ling huddled himself in the blanket, and lonely, cried to sleep. As dawn came, someone knocked on his door. Qian Ling wore his new eunuch uniform and opened the door to meet the staring eyes of an old eunuch.

"Good morning, Wen gonggong. Have gonggong come to find me for anything?"

"En. Have Xiao Ling recuperate well enough?"

"Yes, Wen gonggong. It was all thanks to the healing paste Wen gonggong had given me. Otherwise, it wouldn't have healed that fast."

Wen gonggong nodded, he was rather fond of this little new eunuch.

"Follow me then, we're going to Xie Cai ren's place. You're going to learn how to take care of the Emperor's women in the harem."

"Yes, Wen gonggong."
*
Qiu Qian Ling followed behind Wen gonggong, as he learned from the gonggong, his back arched forward and he walked with short, but quickened steps, with his hands tucked within his long sleeves.

"Good day, Xie Cai Ren."

"Good day, Wen gonggong. Have you brought a new eunuch again? Aiya, he looks very delicate for an eunuch."

"Yes, Xie Cai Ren. This is Xiao Ling, just came a week ago. Xiao Ling, come and greet Xie Cai Ren."

"Yes."

"Xiao Ling pays his respect to Xie Cai Ren. Hoping Xie Cai Ren stays youthful and beauty always."

"Aiya, his voice is sweet and nice to my hearing. Good, well done bringing him to me, Wen gonggong. Zi Yan, pass a silver to Wen gonggong."

"Yes."

"Thank you, Xie Cai Ren."

Wen gonggong turned away and left.
"Xiao Ling, help me massage my shoulders."

"Yes."

Qian Ling placed his hands on Xie Cai Ren's shoulders and slowly ignited some strength on it. He was rather proficient in this as he used to help his father massaging his shoulders when he was fatigued from work.

Xie Cai Ren nodded her head, pleased. For the whole day, Qian Ling served Xie Cai Ren, from massaging to brewing tea and cleaning. He was sent to learn tea brewing, as she was rather not satisfied on this aspect. Qian Ling was good at everything, except he had never once entered the kitchen. It took him at least nine days for him to be able to brew a good tea.

One morning, a young handsome man in golden dragon robe, with the refined majestic aura of a sovereign, passed by Xie Cai Ren's palace and he was attracted by the smell of the red tea Qian Ling had brewed.

"The Emperor had arrived."

Xie Cai Ren and all the servants were startled. Although there were currently only 10 women in the Emperor's harem, none had ever managed to attract the Emperor into their palaces. So, what wind had brought the monarch here today?

"Xie Cai Ren greets the Emperor."

Xie Cai Ren kneeled down and bowed slightly. Behind her, all the servants, including Qian Ling were kneeling with their head lowered, reaching the ground.

"Rise. What tea are you brewing here? It smells really good, very refreshing. Even Zhen could smell it from outside your palace."

"Yes, Emperor. Answering the Emperor, this is a type of red tea from the north. My little eunuch had learned some new brewing technique lately, so I was simply tasting his new tea brewing."

"I see. Let this Emperor had a taste then."

"Yes. Xiao Ling, come and pour a cup of tea for the Emperor."

"Yes."

Qian Ling stood up, and encircling the table to where the brewing pot was. His head was low all the time, so he had not noticed the staring of the Emperor on him. Qian Ling devoted all of his concentration on the brewing, and he poured a cup for the Emperor, before retreating three steps backwards and lowered his head.

The Emperor slowly savoured the tea. He had a smile on his face when he left Xie Cai Ren's palace. He had even made a notice that he would come again for the tea tomorrow. The Emperor had sent over a book on tea brewing techniques to Xiao Ling soon after, hoping he would improve his skills even further.

Qian Ling was dismissed that late evening. He wanted to read the book he received, but his room was rather dark. So he took the book out, looking for a quiet and bright place to read. Qian Ling soon found a spot on top of the wall near the Begonia Garden, well hidden from others, yet bright enough for reading. He climbed up the tree to reach the top of the wall and sat there quietly as he read.

The tree leaves shook slightly another hour later. And a handsome eunuch appeared to meet Qian Ling's surprising eyes.

"Oh. There's someone here already? And here I thought no one would have found this place. Hmnn, you're Xiao Ling from Xie Cai Ren's palace?Squeeze over a bit. This used to be my hiding spot."

"Oh."

Qian Ling moved away slightly to give some space to the newcomer. The eunuch looks young and had a handsome face, but Qian Ling was sure he had never met this eunuch before. Why would he know his name then? He was rather confused.

"Who are you? How do you know who I am?"

The eunuch lied down comfortably, and turned to look at Qian Ling. He pointed a finger at the book in Qian Ling's hand.

"That's the book I helped the Emperor choose earlier. I'm an eunuch in the Emperor's study. I'm called Xiao Xian."

"Oh."

Qian Ling looked down on his book and quietly concentrating on reading. Xiao Xian glanced at him from time to time. He was bored from the silence after a while. He thought of what topic he should bring up.

"Say, are books on tea brewing that interesting?"

"Yes, it is. Why are you asking?"

"Well, it looks boring to me. I've heard from the Emperor, that your tea tastes good. Could I have a taste too?"

Qian Ling looked at Xiao Xian who had eyes as bright as the moon in the dark skies. He gave him a smile and nodded.

"Alright, but next time. I need to get back soon to rest. The Emperor had made an appointment for morning tea tomorrow."

"Will you be coming tomorrow night?"

"Probably. But if you want to try my brewing, how about coming to my room tomorrow evening? I should be done with my work by then."

"Okay, but where is your room?"

"Ah, it's the 27th room in the right wing of the eunuch's residence."

"Okay, then I'll see you tomorrow."

A/N: Dreamless Dragonfly here! This is the first chapter of my new story. "The Bewitching Lover of the Emperor Xian". With ideas overloaded in mind, chapters would be done faster. Thanks for reading! (づ￣ ³￣)づ
#gonggong : a titled eunuch
#jinshi : a court's scholar
#Cai Ren : a fifth rank title of the Emperor's concubine
#Zhen : the calling "I" of an Emperor