The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

chapter Ten

"Zhuiyi, go find me some storybooks." Liu Qingtang tossed and turned on the bed, then suddenly turned to Zhuiyi, who was doing needlework beside her, and said.

"Your Majesty, you are still ill. Although you seem to be in better spirits today than yesterday, what if you don't take good care of yourself and develop a chronic illness? Reading is too exhausting. Besides, Your Majesty, haven't you always thought that those love stories are frivolous? Why did you suddenly think of reading them?" Zhuiyi turned over the sleeve she was making and looked at the Empress Dowager on the bed questioningly.

"It's all because of Qin Shu's trouble yesterday. That man wouldn't speak to me properly, so I had no choice but to think of consulting some storybooks. As you know, Zhuiyi, I have no experience with this."

Listening to her mistress's words, Zhuiyi suddenly felt both worried and relieved. It had been a long time since she'd heard her mistress speak so freely. Over the years, she had become more and more like a proper empress dowager, even her expressions had become less pronounced. Now, she could vaguely see glimpses of her former self in her maiden days; she even dared to joke with her now.

However, refusing to speak properly to her master? Perhaps it's more than that. Considering the Empress Dowager's fluctuating condition yesterday and the long time she spent alone in her room with Qin Shu… perhaps the Empress Dowager wanted to do *that* kind of thing, but Qin Shu objected, hence her current outburst. It seems she needs to talk to Qin Shu and make him understand his duty as a servant. The Empress Dowager's decision to let him serve her is a blessing from his past life; since she chose him, he must serve her well. Zhuiyi inadvertently overthought things and secretly made a terrible decision.

"Zhuiyi? What are you thinking about?"

"Your Majesty, I'm wondering what kind of pattern should be on these sleeves," Zhuiyi replied with a smile.

Liu Qingtang reached out and picked up a sleeve cover, touched it, and smiled, "Zhuiyi also made sleeve covers for me this year. The ones from previous years are still brand new, so you can just use them. It will save you the trouble of going through all this trouble again."

“Our master cherishes us, but we cannot become complacent. Making sleeves for our master every winter has been a tradition for many years, and it is also a small token of our appreciation as servants.”

“Winter has already arrived…” Liu Qingtang suddenly fell silent. She passed away in the late autumn of the fifteenth year of Yuan Ning, and ultimately did not live to see the first winter snow of her thirtieth year.

Since waking up that day and returning to ten years ago, a month has passed without her realizing it. Liu Qingtang only felt dazed for a moment before she came back to her senses.

"It's almost the end of the year, and there's a lot going on at this time. Have all the preparations for Cixi Palace been started? We can't let our guard down with the Emperor either. We need to be careful with everything, from charcoal and clothing to food." Liu Qingtang subconsciously started to worry, and only after she finished speaking did she realize what she had said, so she shook her head and smiled.

"This is something we've done every year before. Taoye is busy with these things right now, so there won't be any problems. Don't worry, Master." After reporting some year-end matters to Liu Qingtang, and after Liu Qingtang indicated that it was okay, Zhuiyi suddenly thought of something and said, "Taoye is so busy with these things that she's barely able to breathe. When she got home tonight, she told me that she wanted me to leave the embroidery work on these sleeves to her, or she would make a fuss with me."

Liu Qingtang glanced at her with a half-smile and teased, "I know that you and the Taoye sisters are both thinking of me wholeheartedly, so there's no need to come to me specifically to say it. I'll give you an extra red envelope at the end of the year."

"Then Zhuiyi will thank you on behalf of Taoye." Zhuiyi stood up and curtsied to her. "This servant will go down and prepare food for you."

"Hmm." Liu Qingtang responded, then, hearing the howling wind outside the window, called out to Zhuiyi, "Is the wind very strong outside?"

"Indeed, the wind is blowing fiercely today, and this year will likely be another harsh winter."

"Then you should go to Qin Shu's place for me first." Liu Qingtang thought for a moment and gave him a series of instructions. Zhuiyi smiled and agreed before leaving.

Stepping out of the inner palace, a cold wind swept over them. Zhuiyi put on a cloak, instructed the maids in the outer palace to carefully watch for any instructions from their mistress, and then led two young maids to a side hall.

The servants living in the side hall were also divided into ranks. The servants who were more favored could live in better rooms, while the less favored servants had to share a room with several other servants. Ever since Qin Shu gained the master's favor, he had moved from a room shared with two or three other servants to his current room by himself.

Zhuiyi entered the room and saw Qin Shu gesturing with his fingers on the table. There was a tracing book next to him, but he wasn't writing on it. Instead, he was looking at the tracing book, dipping it in water, and writing on it, as if he was cherishing the tracing book.

Zhuiyi recalled the thick stack of calligraphy practice books her mistress had written a few days ago, and realized that the tracing book was probably her mistress's work. Her mistress really cared about Qin Shu, even more so than her, the servants who had served her since childhood. Zhuiyi sighed, feeling increasingly dissatisfied with her mistress's claim that Qin Shu refused to serve her.

Qin Shu immediately sensed someone entering, closed the calligraphy practice book, and looked up. Seeing it was Zhuiyi, he abruptly stood up. Realizing his haste, he calmed himself and asked, "Aunt Zhuiyi, has Master summoned me for something?"

He was actually looking forward to it; the Empress Dowager's words yesterday had left him in a daze. After returning home, he lay in bed for a long time, feeling a mix of excitement and disbelief, and couldn't sleep all night.

He longed to see the Empress Dowager again today; just seeing her would put his mind at ease. Whether she teased him until he was embarrassed or forced him to do something against his will, he didn't care; he desperately wanted to see the Empress Dowager.

Although he was the chief eunuch, he could not see the Empress Dowager on his own unless she summoned him. No matter how much he longed to see her, he could only quietly wait here for her to remember him.

Qin Shu practiced calligraphy absentmindedly all morning, even leaving the door open to see if anyone would come to summon him to the front, despite the cold wind. Finally, Zhuiyi arrived at that moment.

But soon, Qin Shu realized that Zhuiyi hadn't come to summon him. She looked him up and down for a moment, then said to him with an extremely serious expression, "Qin Shu, the Empress Dowager has been valuing you more and more lately, and I think there are some things you should know."

Having lived in the palace for several years longer than Zhuiyi, how could Qin Shu not know what she meant? He immediately understood and adopted a humble posture, saying, "Yes, please enlighten me, Aunt."

Zhuiyi was, after all, an unmarried young lady, and there were some things she couldn't say directly. She could only vaguely reply, "As servants, our most important duty is to obey our masters' orders and never disobey them. The Empress Dowager... has chosen you, so you must understand your responsibilities."

He thought so too, and that's what he's always done. Qin Shu was completely confused; although he didn't quite understand what she meant, he still softly replied, "Yes."

This person is an old servant of the Empress Dowager, so there must be another reason for him to say this. Qin Shu couldn't help but think more about it.

Zhuiyi was organizing her thoughts, trying to make her next words more subtle. She glanced at Qin Shu's still unreadable, gloomy face, cleared her throat, and said, "Presumably, the Empress Dowager didn't explain things clearly to you, but as a servant, one cannot always wait for the master to explain everything clearly; one must first try to understand the master's meaning. It is your blessing that the Empress Dowager wants you to stay by her side and be close to her; you must serve her well. You cannot refuse whatever the Empress Dowager asks of you; you can only obey her."

Even if the Empress Dowager wants to do that kind of thing with you, you can only do it to satisfy her. Zhuiyi swallowed these words back after they had been swirling in her mouth. She covered her mouth and coughed, her expression becoming even more serious. "The Empress Dowager is of noble status, so naturally she cannot know about that kind of thing herself. But if the Empress Dowager wants you to serve her, as her person, you must know how to serve her."

Unlike Liu Qingtang, who was busy with political affairs after entering the palace, Zhuiyi, as a senior palace maid, had more contact with the palace maids and eunuchs below her and knew about all sorts of things, including the matter of eunuchs and palace maids having sexual relations. Therefore, she knew more than Liu Qingtang.

Of course, she couldn't let her master learn this on his own initiative. If her master wanted to, then he would just have to wait to be served by Qin Shu.

Zhuiyi said seriously with a matter-of-fact expression, "I can see that you don't know how to do it either. I will give you some storybooks and picture books later. Prepare well and make sure to satisfy the Empress Dowager."

Zhuiyi had explained it so clearly; if Qin Shu still didn't understand what she meant, he'd be a blockhead. His heart pounded, and he cautiously asked, "This is... Her Majesty the Empress Dowager's intention?"

Zhuiyi asked in surprise, "Didn't Her Majesty say she wanted you to be her person?"

"...She did say that." The Empress Dowager did say she wanted to be with him, but he only thought she meant for him to be loyal to her. Even if the Empress Dowager pulled him closer, she probably just found his awkwardness amusing, not that she genuinely wanted to be close to him.

He... he simply couldn't imagine that his crippled body could do such a thing with the Empress Dowager. Even imagining it made him feel like he was defiling her.

However, Aunt Zhuiyi shouldn't have misunderstood the Empress Dowager's meaning, after all, she was said to have served the Empress Dowager since childhood. So, did the Empress Dowager really mean that? Or was it that he himself hadn't understood the Empress Dowager's true meaning? But how could the Empress Dowager allow a eunuch like him to touch her? Qin Shu thought and thought, but his mind was in complete chaos.

Zhuiyi revealed an expression of certainty. "That's it then. We can't let the Empress Dowager explain it clearly herself. As servants, we must be sensible and discreet." Zhuiyi felt that she had done a good job in this regard.

"This servant understands." Qin Shu was completely at a loss for what to do and could only answer blankly.

Zhuiyi was quite satisfied with his attitude, and finally smiled as she said, "I have another matter to attend to. I am here on the orders of the Empress Dowager to deliver something to you. The Empress Dowager said that you are diligent in practicing calligraphy, and the paper and ink allocated to the eunuchs are too little. From now on, you will be allocated extra paper and ink every month, and you can use it as you please."

Qin Shu was surprised that the Empress Dowager would even consider such a small matter for him, and his heart was filled with unexpected joy, which also eased his previous anxiety.

"Also, the Empress Dowager said that you worked hard yesterday, so you should rest well today and go back to serve in the front tomorrow." After conveying the Empress Dowager's message, Zhuiyi added, "It's a good opportunity to take a look at the picture books I just told you about."

Then, on this day and night, Qin Shu, his hands trembling as he flipped through those erotic picture books and storybooks describing certain things, felt an indescribable mix of emotions.

Author's Note: Lianxuan threw a landmine.

Ata threw a landmine

My second uncle threw a landmine.

Season 12 threw a landmine

[Thank you so much for the thunder, my darlings~ (づ￣3￣)づ I'm so glad you like me so much~ Wait, don't you like me?]

[On the Necessity of Assists] [The Self-Cultivation of Assists] [Eunuch Qin's Hands Weakened While Looking at the Picture Album, Hahaha~]

[Homework Home ...

I really want girls to come to Weibo and see the new profile picture I drew. I'm sure some girls will trust my aesthetic sense.