The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Xiao Huaixu's previous life extra

"Huaixu, look, that small place over there is your maternal family's residence, the Liu family mansion, where your mother grew up." (Source: Baidu search)

Following his mother's gaze, Xiao Huaixu found the place she had mentioned amidst a series of small squares. Looking down from the highest level of the Zhongsui Pavilion, everything seemed tiny, as if the entire capital city of Yujing was beneath his feet. The Liu residence his mother spoke of wasn't actually visible clearly, but rather vaguely. However, seeing his mother's focused gaze, Xiao Huaixu suddenly realized that his mother wasn't looking at the Liu residence itself, but rather imagining the people within.

His mother was the eldest daughter of the Liu family, the family of the Duke of Zhenguo. She was gentle, reliable, well-educated, and had a clever mind. It was said that since his father, the Emperor, brought her into the palace, he had never favored any other concubines. Everyone in the palace said that the Empress was very fortunate, but Xiao Huaixu felt that his mother was very pitiful.

Her most frequent activity was visiting Zhongsui Pavilion, as if she were waiting for something, gazing at the indistinct Liu residence in the distance. She often said that her insistence on entering the palace against all odds had broken her family's hearts, so they no longer wanted to see her. She was lonely in the palace; besides her father, the Emperor, there were many things she could only tell him.

"I have a younger sister, well, she's only eight years older than Huaixu. If you could meet her, you would definitely like her. Qingtang is lively and cute, and she especially likes to sneak out to play, which often makes our father so angry that he slams his fist on the table."

Xiao Huaixu didn't actually like listening to his mother say these things. He hated that his mother couldn't stop thinking about people she'd never met, and that she always felt guilty towards them. What he hated most was this younger sister his mother often mentioned, the one he should call aunt. Because when his mother talked about her, her tone was like she was talking about her beloved child, even though he was clearly her only child.

Xiao Huaixu simply liked being held on his mother's lap like this, and he liked her gentle chatter, so he pretended to be interested and listened to her talk, occasionally asking a few questions to join in.

"Qingtang will definitely like her little nephew Huaixu too. My Huaixu is so well-behaved and obedient." Xiao Huaixu smiled broadly, but in his heart he didn't think much of it. Why should he need that stranger's approval? He had his mother, that was enough.

"However, my entry into the palace hurt Qingtang's feelings. She probably doesn't like me as her older sister anymore, and she refused to come to the palace to see me even after being summoned several times."

Seeing the sorrow and worry on his mother's face, Xiao Huaixu's heart sank. He knew many things, far more than his mother, whom his father had kept hidden away. He knew it wasn't that the younger sister from the Liu family didn't want to come to see her, but rather that his father had blocked all the summons and then had someone tell his mother that the Liu family didn't want to come.

"It is your mother who has wronged them, Huaixu. If you become emperor in the future, will you take good care of your maternal family for your mother? Although they are angry with your mother, they will definitely treat Huaixu well, because Huaixu also has the blood of our Liu family. Your maternal grandfather, uncle, and aunt are all very good people."

"Those words again," Xiao Huaixu thought with a cold laugh, but on the surface he nodded emphatically, his smile devoid of any malice. "Mother, I will!"

"Qinghe, why did you bring Huaixu to Zhongsui Pavilion to see the scenery again?" A man still wearing a dragon robe walked in from the door. That was his father, the emperor. The first thing he did every day after the morning court was to find his empress. This was a very scary man. Xiao Huaixu couldn't help but tremble when he saw him. He slid off his mother's lap and sat down to watch them talk.

"Qinghe, I asked Father to come see you today, but... he refused. I'm so sorry. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be..." Xiao Huaixu looked coldly at the man he called Father, and put on a guilty expression as he spoke to his mother. Xiao Huaixu knew that what his father was talking about was impossible. He had tried every means to prevent his mother from having any contact with anyone from the Liu family, so why would he do such a thing?

His mother never realized that this man was lying to her. Although she was saddened by what she heard, she simply shook her head and comforted him, "There's no need to ask anymore. If Father doesn't want to see me, then don't make things difficult for them. Don't feel sorry; it's all my own choice."

Xiao Huaixu lowered his eyes, not wanting to look anymore. Every single time, he heard similar conversations.

After the Emperor sent Mother back to rest, the smile on his face vanished instantly, and he said to him in a cold voice, "Who told you to sit on your mother's lap?"

Xiao Huaixu didn't panic. He knelt down as usual, "Father, I was wrong." He felt that his father was almost like a madman. He couldn't stand anyone getting close to his mother. If the palace servants were even slightly kind to someone, that person would definitely not live long. Even he, her son, didn't like him getting too close to his mother. But in front of his mother, he was gentle and easy to talk to.

"Your mother spoke to you about the Liu family again? She wants you to take care of the Liu family in the future."

"Yes."

"I don't need to repeat what I've told you before, do I?"

"Yes, Father."

Xiao Huaixu lowered his head, his expression cold and indifferent, unlike that of a child, his voice hard and harsh. His father's words were the exact opposite of his mother's; he told him to forget what his mother had said, and that the Liu family would one day decline. His parents loved each other but had different intentions, and he grew up in this strange environment.

When he was even younger and still quite young, he overheard his father talking about how to destroy the Liu family. To prevent him from speaking ill of the Liu family to his mother, his father imprisoned him. He told his mother he was being sent to learn martial arts, but in reality, he kept him locked up in a secluded place for two whole months, teaching him deeply what he could and couldn't say in front of his mother. It seemed that it was then that he suddenly grew from a naive child into a mature adult, even though he was only six years old at the time.

Secrets can't be kept forever. One day, Mother found out about Father's intentions.

That was the first time Xiao Huaixu had ever seen his usually gentle mother, who never raised her voice, so hysterical. She couldn't accept that the man she loved had lied to her for so long, couldn't accept that he wanted to kill her family, whom she loved just as much. She clutched her father's clothes, her initial agitation and anger turning into pleading.

For the first time, the Emperor did not speak softly to the Mother. Although there was reluctance and shame in his eyes, he had no intention of changing his mind. He said, "I am the Emperor of the Southern Dynasty, but my people only know General Liu Shaodi. They support him, and the Southern Dynasty's army is almost entirely in his hands. Just thinking about this makes me unable to sleep peacefully."

"But Father has absolutely no intention of rebelling!"

"That doesn't mean it won't happen in the future."

"What would it take for you to let your father go, if he were to give up his military power and everything else?"

The Emperor remained silent, but Xiao Huaixu knew perfectly well that no matter what, his father would not let the Liu family off the hook. The war had been quelled for nearly ten years, and the Southern Dynasty was now at peace, no longer needing a man hailed as a military genius. Not only was his father unwilling to let the Liu family go, but he also intended to smear them with false accusations. The more favor the Liu family had once held in the eyes of the Southern Dynasty's people, the more severe their crimes would be.

His mother finally understood and refused to see the man or speak a word to him from that day on. His father, the Emperor, revealed his long-hidden cruelty, imprisoning his mother in the deep palace, forbidding her from sending any messages out and forbidding any palace servants from getting close to her. Xiao Huaixu was the only one who could see her, and so he watched helplessly as his mother grew thinner day by day, withering like a flower in just a few months.

Seeing his mother's haggard and ill state, his father's worry and anxiety, and their mutual torment, Xiao Huaixu suddenly felt a sense of absurdity mixed with a strange sense of relief. This was how it should be; why bother putting on an act and putting on a repulsive facade?

His father often visited his mother, but she refused to see him; seeing him only worsened her illness. After several such visits, Xiao Huaixu became fearful and cautious around the man who terrified him, only daring to glance at his mother a few times at night when she was asleep. Xiao Huaixu found this both amusing and satisfying. It was then that he began to realize he might be a little mad himself. Indeed, his father was a madman, and he, his child, was naturally a madman as well.

He watched his beloved mother grow increasingly ill each day, yet miraculously felt no sorrow. Perhaps her death would be a relief for her.

"Huai Xu, Huai Xu, my dear Huai Xu, promise your mother that if you become emperor in the future, you will never harm the Liu family. You promise your mother."

Xiao Huaixu lay on the edge of the bed, holding his mother's withered hand and smiling as he agreed, "Okay, Mother." Even if he agreed, so what? Can a dead person see what happens after they die? If they can't, why should he do what she wants? If they can... then if he doesn't do it, will his mother be so angry that she comes back to see him? Ha, maybe that wouldn't be so bad.

One day, when Xiao Huaixu went to visit his mother, he saw her sitting on the bed, her hair loosely tied in a bun. She hadn't had the strength to sit up in a long time, and speaking was also difficult. But now, she sat there, turned her head and saw him coming, a smile appearing on her face as she said, "Huaixu, you've come. Go and call your father to come and see me one last time."

His father was holding court when he heard this. His expression went blank for a moment. Then Xiao Huaixu saw him run like a madman, without any decorum, all the way to the Huifeng Palace where his mother was.

Xiao Huaixu did not go in. He stood behind a screen, listening to their conversation with a blank expression.

My mother spoke calmly, saying, "If you have ever truly loved me, even just a little, I beg you, at least spare the lives of my loved ones."

His father remained silent for a very long time before finally saying, "Alright, I won't touch them."

"Yuncheng, don't lie to me." When his mother was very happy, she would always call his father Yuncheng softly. Every time his father heard this, he would be happy. Only then did Xiao Huai feel that his smile was particularly genuine. But this "Yuncheng" sounded particularly light, as if it would be blown away by a wisp of wind.

"This time, I'm not lying to you."

After that, there was a long silence, as if the air itself had frozen. Xiao Huaixu looked down at his feet, which had become numb from standing for so long.

The sudden, hoarse sobbing made Xiao Huaixu stir. He raised his hand and touched his heart, thinking that his mother was probably dead. The only person in the palace who truly loved him was gone forever. He stepped out from behind the screen and saw his father tightly embracing his mother's body, crying his heart out. His cries turned into laughter, then he coughed up large amounts of blood, staining his bright yellow dragon robe—a truly terrifying sight.

Later, after his mother was buried, his father seemed to have become the same ruthless emperor he had been before, except that his face had turned pale and the strong smell of medicine on his body had not dissipated.

His health was deteriorating day by day. Once, Xiao Huaixu saw him carrying a box and picking up a few pieces of floral stationery inside. He stared at them as if he were mesmerized, and murmured for a long time, "I thought I didn't like you that much. I didn't mean to like you... Why is that?"

Those days felt like a dream. Xiao Huaixu grew increasingly silent until his grief-stricken father finally remembered him and summoned him to his bedside. There were two other people standing there, who seemed to be the same people who had once discussed with his father how to eliminate the Liu family.

His father seemed unwilling to see him, turning his head to the side and coldly saying, "I will use your mother's name to let that young lady from the Liu family enter the palace and succeed as empress. She has the Liu and Su families behind her, and they can help you protect your throne. After I die, you will also be supported by the Liu family to sit on the throne."

Xiao Huaixu could also tell that this man wouldn't live much longer, so he asked him to come and give his last words.

His father pointed to two obsequious men beside him and said, "I will appoint Wang Shuhui and Feng Wei as Grand Secretaries, and they will assist you together with the Liu family. Xiao Huaixu, remember, the only people you can truly trust are these two. The Liu family is just your tool. Once you have secured your throne, you will eliminate them one by one to prevent any future troubles."