Fude curled his lip in impatience as he felt the scrutinizing gazes around him. He had not bothered to disguise himself after leaving the palace, and his diagonal-collared eunuch’s robe made him particularly conspicuous. The stares pinning him to the spot were intense. Within the palace, plenty of people fawned over him; after all, his godfather was the chief eunuch Fú Quán, a man who served directly by the Emperor’s side. Fude’s status had risen accordingly.
"Look at that face, pale as a ghost from a play. Even in broad daylight, it’s frightening. That effeminate look makes him neither man nor woman," Auntie Miao remarked, her words dripping with disdain. Recalling how Zhao Yun had berated her in front of everyone earlier, she added with feigned surprise, "Don't tell me that girl from the Zhao Family has taken a fancy to this man? Hmph, young as she is, her eyes are already failing her."
The women who had been huddled next to her scattered immediately upon hearing her brazen remarks. If she wanted to court death, she could do it alone; they had families to look after and couldn't afford to be dragged down by such a fool.
Chapter 500