Jinshi

Lore & Background

In the light novels, Jinshi was originally mostly a narrative accent, but his popularity with readers led the author to make him an active character with his own personality and relationship with Maomao. His relationship with Gaoshun was meant to be darker resulting in an attempted assassin arc and Jinshi being a more vulnerable individual. When creating the character, Hyūganatsu made him with light-hearted feelings similar to characters explored in shōjo manga. She initially planned for Jinshi to die but scrapped that idea alongside other personality traits. In the original concept, Jinshi was going to be a more vulnerable figure with Gaoshun having orders to kill him; these ideas were scrapped and Jinshi became 'an elegant and seemingly untouchable figure.' Later it is revealed that Jinshi is not a eunuch — he merely uses suppressants (anaphrodisiacs) to appear as one, in order to hide his identity as the current Emperor's younger brother, swapped at birth with a concubine's son to ensure his safety. Jinshi is also known as Ka Zuigetsu (華瑞月), but the Emperor's name is not stated to share the 'Ka' character in the widely-known canon.

In Their Own Story

Jinshi is introduced as an eunuch who runs most of the administration of the rear palace, where the Emperor's concubines and their respective staff reside. His appearance and allure are frequently described as androgynous because he possesses an overwhelmingly beautiful, soft, and feminine face that contrasts with his lean but well-built, masculine physique. Both men and women alike are attracted to his physical appearance, but he finds himself attracted to Maomao, the only person he has met who is not immediately enamored by him. Maomao is included in a mass layoff as a victim of Fengming's and her family's side business of human trafficking. Jinshi is torn between keeping her and fearing it might tear them apart even more because he thinks she hated working at the rear palace. Jinshi ultimately decides to set Maomao free thinking that that's what she wanted, not knowing that she actually wanted to stay. It is during a party thrown by a rich person outside of the brothel where he thought of buying her out of the brothel upon her request. Maomao returns to the palace, but this time to work in the outer palace, because, as Gaoshun explains to her, they cannot just restore her former position after being laid off. Maomao discovers that Jinshi's family has long been served by the Ma Clan, to which Gaoshun and Basen belong. Jinshi searches for Maomao after her disappearance. Lahan reports the results of his investigation to Jinshi, revealing unreported expansion in the Shi stronghold, evidence of rebellion. Lakan then addresses Jinshi as a royal, asking him to mobilize the Forbidden Army against the Shi rebellion.

Reader's Guide

Jinshi is a eunuch from the Imperial Palace who serves the Emperor's concubines, eunuchs, and respective staff in the Rear Palace. He finds the protagonist, Maomao, and introduces her to Consort Gyokuyou due to her notable skills. He is often accompanied by Gaoshun, who has taken care of him since childhood. Behind his beautiful face lies a shrewd mind that tries to balance his duties to the Emperor while improving life within the Imperial Palace. His true identity is that of the Emperor's son, swapped with the Emperor's brother in infancy to ensure his safety; he uses anaphrodisiacs to appear as a eunuch. In the animated adaptations, multiple voice actors provided their talents for Jinshi: in Japanese, Takeo Ōtsuka voices him as an adult and Megumi Han as a child; in English, Kaiji Tang voices him as an adult and Mikaela Krantz when young. In the drama CD, Jinshi was voiced by Takahiro Sakurai.

Did You Know?

• Jinshi was originally going to die in the author's initial plans, but that idea was scrapped.
• In the original concept, Gaoshun had orders to kill Jinshi, leading to an attempted assassin arc.
• Jinshi is not actually a eunuch — he uses suppressants (anaphrodisiacs) to hide his identity as the current Emperor's younger brother, swapped at birth with a concubine's son.
• Jinshi is also known as Ka Zuigetsu, but the Emperor's name is not stated to share the 'Ka' character in the widely-known canon.
• At the 9th and 10th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, Jinshi was nominated for 'Best Supporting Character.'

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