As Cixi's favorite female official, she fell in love with a eunuch and was refused marriage by the top scholar. She was even broken in her later years.
After the Five Emperors and One, he was well versed in the secret technique of making swords, but became the eunuch "inventor" who fought chess pieces in the palace.
Wang Baochai digs wild vegetables for 18 years, but it is not as good as Tongji's doctoral version of "Chen Shimei" seamlessly connecting the rich woman