The scene actually fell into a moment of eerie silence.
"Lift up your head!"
Li Xu had not anticipated such a situation and was a beat slow to react. It wasn't until he felt someone kick him from behind that he hurriedly lifted his head.
No matter how much one disguises, the inherent quality and charm cannot be hidden. Normally, some people felt that this little eunuch was somewhat "odd". Now with the addition of a permanent change of "charm +10", he exhibited the extraordinary effect seen before them.
A throng of concubines looked on speechlessly. Li Xu, however, only felt a blur of splendid colors in front of him, and momentarily couldn't distinguish who was who.
Meanwhile, the direct feeling of the concubines was that although he was clearly a eunuch, subconsciously, he didn't seem like one. Despite his lowliness, he had an intrinsic brilliance, a loftiness in his aura. Between the movements of his eyebrows and eyes, one couldn't help but feel an indescribable ease to the sight, an unspoken warmth and naturalness.
What a "handsome" little eunuch!
"Pfft!" A consort covered her mouth and laughed. Instantly, laughs and chuckles spread contiguously. These beauties, slim and plump in their layers of silk, either covered their mouths with handkerchiefs, shielded half their faces with their fans, whispered in pairs pointing at Li Xu, or tried to maintain a serious demeanor, yet their slightly upturned lips betrayed their enjoyment.
There was no need to mention the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs. Dramatically, Li Xu became the center of attention on the scene, under all sorts of well-meaning, malicious, jealous, and flickering gazes, making him feel as if he were sitting on pins and needles.
It was utterly shameful for him to actually feel his cheeks growing hot!
Damn it, is there some mistake here? I'm a eunuch now, without a dick, can you guys show some professionalism?
Laughter aside, frolic aside, it was ultimately improper for a group of concubines to keep laughing at a "handsome" little eunuch. Thus, it wasn't long before a serious cough instantly extinguished all the meaningful gazes.
"Who are you, and what is your duty?" A woman in palace attire spoke first. Judging by her dress and manner, she didn't seem like a consort, yet she was different from any other woman Li Xu had ever seen in the palace.
"Ah, I, your servant..." Li Xu wasn't quick enough to respond!
"Impudent, how did this servant learn such manners?"
"Enough, Lady Cui, it's getting late. If you want to teach him manners, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future!"
Li Xu recognized the speaker at a glance. She was amidst the concubines, and to his amazement, her features greatly resembled those of Consort Hua from his memories, except she looked younger and more slender, yet otherwise, she was nearly identical.
The same haughtiness, the same aura!
Such similarity, could it be due to the collective impression of her being too profound, so much so that many loyal to the original story like Li Xu couldn't affect or revise it?
This doubt was but a fleeting thought, then he wondered, if Consort Hua had appeared, what about the others? Concubine Wan...
Without much searching, he saw her, in the position to his front right, another person who seemed low-key but "attracted" the surrounding light in an intangible manner, a woman with a strong presence, Concubine Wan, Zhen Huan, the main character, Son of the Plane!
Li Xu's gaze met hers startlingly.
"Warning, insufficient resources, insufficient rights to hack the Plot World, connecting with the Son of the Plane may lead to unpredictable consequences!"
The suddenly appearing text startled Li Xu and caused him to break out in a cold sweat. He quickly lowered his head, avoiding that moment of eye contact, while Concubine Wan across from him appeared puzzled, her gaze becoming more probing as she stared at Li Xu.
"My lady, my lady?"
Concubine Wan gave a slight smile, withdrew her gaze, and moved slowly along with the other concubines, approaching the large iron cage holding the lynx.
The lynx had been ignored for a long time, and only then did it receive the attention it deserved...
"And here I thought it was some incredible beast, it turns out to be just a larger cat!"
"Consort Duan is right, your concubines also see nothing special about it."
"...It does bear some resemblance to the one kept by Her Majesty the Empress."
"How could this beast compare to Her Majesty the Queen's beloved pet, Noble Lady Qi jests," said Li Xu.
"Oh, the concubines simply misspoke momentarily..."
"..."
Li Xu, seeing that no one was paying attention to him any longer, completely relaxed and sighed deeply in relief.
Spotting his so-called master's location, he carefully made his way over.
"I'll settle scores with you when we get back!" the old eunuch, gritting his teeth in hatred, thought about how dangerous the situation had just been, while this clueless lad remained blissfully ignorant, acting as if nothing happened—did he think this was his family's vegetable garden?
"Master, it's not my fault, it was..."
"Shut up!"
"Yes!"
Li Xu obediently bowed his head, but his mind wandered to the virtual screen behind him.
There should be no doubts now, right?
The creators of the TV dramas in the real world couldn't possibly do this; they didn't have the time for it either.
As long as one's mind is sound, one has to accept reality, and once accepted, the explosive overturning and shock would spiral out of control, eventually generating a tsunami-like impact that could stir up massive waves out of nowhere in reality.
However, this also meant that many people, organizations, and powers would shift their focus to him as a key figure, probably digging three feet into the ground to find any trace of a clue, going all out to not miss a single thread.
Was Li Xu worried?
No, deep in his soul, he was so excited he almost trembled and moaned.
Such a magnificent and encompassing life, a future of limitless brilliance, endless possibilities of transcendence...
Just as Li Xu was internally overwhelmed with excitement...
"Ao!"
A sudden roar put an abrupt end to the surrounding noise!
At first, Li Xu didn't take it seriously; the beast was in a cage, after all. Even a tiger should be lying down obediently at this time.
But what he hadn't anticipated was...
"It, it, the cage is open..."
Li Xu was startled and immediately turned to look!
The large lock on the iron cage hung loosely aside, and the iron door slowly opened under the lynx's sharp claws. The surrounding concubines were stunned by the sudden change, until someone shouted, "Protect the carriage, protect the carriage..."
The guards were dispersed on the outskirts; they were too far to be of any use. It was the lynx, now poking half its body out of the cage, that let out another "Ao~~" roar!
"Ah!!"
Following that scream, everyone who had been frozen in shock snapped out of it. In an instant, chaos ensued. The concubines, who had been so poised moments before, now stumbled and were pulled, dragged, even carried, scattering in disarray.
The old eunuch's face turned as white as snow. Without a word, he ran towards the lynx that had emerged from the cage, muttering pleas, but in the clamor around him, his voice was useless. His body was knocked this way and that by people fleeing in panic, rendering him utterly powerless for the moment.
Just as the lynx was about to harm someone, a concubine somehow fell to the ground. Curiously, the lynx ignored the people within reach. With a tensing of its body and a "swoosh!" it pounced toward the fallen concubine...