### Eunuchs in the Qin dynasty and Western Han were not all castrated men; the term referred generally to officials who served the emperor and imperial family within the palace.
Yet eunuchs who had undergone castration could spend day and night around the imperial family, win the emperor's trust, and take part in state affairs. Some criminals were also subjected to castration as punishment. For instance, the descendants of Lin Shuangwen, who had rebelled in Taiwan: because they had been too young to participate in the uprising, they were sent into the palace instead, and the court punished them by "cutting off their family line."
Nick found it hard to understand why emperors could feel at ease letting such people serve them. He had heard that the Persian royal palace also had eunuchs, but they had never developed influence on the scale of eunuchs at the end of the Han dynasty or the Ming dynasty. This was precisely why the Qing palace had such strict restrictions. Eunuchs could not privately befriend officials or freely enter and leave the palace. Yet wherever rules existed, there were loopholes to exploit. They mostly used official errands outside the palace to build connections, which was why the Imperial Household Department kept such close track of time and would not let them linger outside.
Nor were they allowed to exchange private letters with outsiders, even their families. The young prince and Yongrong had warned the provincial graduate that, no matter how the eunuchs begged, he must not write or deliver letters for them.
It was somewhat inhumane. Missing one's family was only natural, yet those in the palace were denied even that ordinary right, all to prevent a repeat of what had happened at the end of the Ming dynasty. Palace maids differed from eunuchs.