The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 16

The snow from a few days ago hasn't melted yet, and with the sky darkening, it looks like another snowfall is coming. Stay tuned for updates! Just search "Lewen" on Baidu! For more text content, please search "Lewen" on Baidu.

After leaving Cixi Palace, Consort Lian walked along the long corridor with a blank expression.

She looked up at the corner of the upturned eaves in the distance, then suddenly turned pale and clutched her chest. A green-clad palace maid who had been silently following behind her rushed forward to support her, saying with concern, "Your Highness, is your chest hurting again? Was it because of what happened to the Empress Dowager just now...?"

Consort Lian stopped her, closed her eyes and said wearily, "Don't say anything more, let's go back first. I'm afraid those lazy servants won't take good care of the Second Prince."

The green-clad palace maid, Lian Qiao, fell silent, but her face remained filled with worry. Consort Lian was helped back, her expression dazed. Ever since learning that her illness was incurable and that she didn't have much time left, she had been in a state of constant anxiety. After learning a few days ago that the Empress Dowager had publicly punished Chief Minister Feng's son and embarrassed the Emperor, she had felt uneasy, sensing an impending storm brewing in the palace.

The imperial court and the harem have never been separate entities. She is now thirty-five years old and has been in the palace for twenty years since she entered at fifteen. A woman's most precious youth has been almost entirely consumed within these red walls; it can be said that she has spent most of her life with this vast palace. Therefore, she has an innate sensitivity to such shifts in power. The Empress Dowager's sudden attack was unexpected by many. The officials of the former court are now troubled about which side to choose, while even the Dowager Consort is worried about her son.

The late emperor had five princes. Her Huaiyu was the second prince, and the current emperor is the fifth prince. The eldest prince, as well as the third, fourth, and fifth princes, all died young. The harem was always rife with infighting, and no one knew who had killed those children. Compared to those who died, her Huaiyu was fortunate. Although she had taken some inappropriate medication during her pregnancy, causing her child to become mentally disabled, it also saved his life.

Upon discovering that the child was mentally challenged and that she could no longer bear children, her regret and self-blame were futile. No longer desiring to fight for anything, she took him to the desolate Qinghuai Palace, a place akin to a cold palace. If she could, she truly wished to care for the child forever, but alas, she had no time left. Moreover, given the current situation, the Empress Dowager seemed less inclined to wholeheartedly protect the Emperor as before. If the Empress Dowager were to do something, would it implicate his child?

Although the child is mentally challenged, he is easy to control and has the title of prince. Could he be used as a puppet or dragged into the power struggles of those people? Could either the Empress Dowager's or the Grand Secretary's faction have such intentions?

Today, she came to ask the Empress Dowager for permission to leave, intending to test the waters, but the result terrified her. If the Empress Dowager had no other intentions towards them, why would she detain her and her son in Yujing?

Even the Dowager Empress dared not imagine what would happen to her child if she died. That innocent child, with the most insightful eyes in the world, how would he survive in such circumstances without anyone to care for him?

The more she thought about it, the less hope she felt. Even the Dowager Consort was on the verge of tears and could only cover her reddened eyes with a handkerchief.

With a glance, Qinghuai Palace was right in front of her. Consort Lian wiped away the tears that had welled up in her eyes, forced a smile, and walked in.

The yard looked desolate; snow covered most of the flowers and plants, and no one had swept it. In the center of the yard, a thin young man stood under a tree, his eyes following the falling yellow leaves, so focused that it seemed his entire world consisted only of that one leaf.

He's eighteen now, a grown man, and if he were of sound mind, he might already be a father. But his expression makes him seem like a child, innocent and naive. That kind of bright, clear gaze isn't something an adult would have.

When they came in, the child's eyes crinkled into a smile. He opened and closed his lips but couldn't make a sound because he also had a problem with his throat.

He murmured something for a while, then fell silent, turning his head to intently watch the fallen leaves beneath the tree. Even the Dowager Consort stepped forward and gently stroked Xiao Huaiyu's hair, her eyes filled with affection. Xiao Huaiyu showed no reaction, lost in his own world.

Standing beneath the tree for a long time, even the Dowager Consort's gaze shifted from bewilderment and wavering to determination. She released her grip on Xiao Huaiyu's hand and looked at the green-clad palace maid standing beside her, saying with some difficulty:

“Lian Qiao, you’ve been with me for several years now. You’ve taken care of my son and me all these years. I’m very grateful to you.”

"Just now, I begged the Empress Dowager at Cixi Palace to let my son and me leave, but she didn't agree. However, I still want to try again. I heard that the Empress Dowager has recently taken a liking to a certain eunuch. If I can find him and have him speak to the Empress Dowager, perhaps we will still have a chance."

Lian Qiao knew exactly what Consort Lian meant. For a palace maid like her, with nothing to her name, to ask someone for a favor, especially something so important, meant she had nothing left to offer besides her body. Such things were common in the palace, and Lian Qiao had seen them before, but she never imagined she would one day find herself in the same situation.

"Lian Qiao, you're the only one by my side now, I only trust you. I know I'm letting you down, but I have no other choice. I'm really afraid that if I stay here, Huaiyu will be devoured alive by those people." Consort Lian looked at her expectantly and pleadingly.

Lian Qiao shifted her gaze from Xiao Huai, who was engrossed in his own world. Something flickered in her eyes, but she ultimately gave a bitter smile and softly replied, "This servant... understands."

At the same time, in Cixi Palace

"Qin Shu, tell me, what have you been acting so awkwardly about since just now?"

"This servant did not..."

"You didn't even glance at Su Shu just now. What's your problem with her?"

Hearing Liu Qingtang raise her eyebrows and ask, Qin Shu's heart tightened, and a feeling of fear quickly spread through him. He ultimately couldn't fully control his emotions, and so the Empress Dowager noticed. Was the Empress Dowager displeased with him because she discovered his hostility towards that person?

The person she admires takes her anger out on someone else, someone who is more outstanding and more pleasing to her. Qin Shu feels her heart filled with jealousy, an emotion she can't suppress no matter what she does.

Qin Shu was terrified that the Empress Dowager would despise him if she found out about his jealousy of Physician Yang.

He remembered that a year ago, Physician Yang had been summoned by the Empress Dowager in the same way. That day, they sat in the pavilion in the Cixi Palace Garden talking, with palace maids standing at a distance to prevent anyone from getting close.

Having not seen the Empress Dowager for a long time, he didn't know what drove him, but he hid in a clump of flowers and trees and watched them from afar.

At that time, in Qin Shu's eyes, the Empress Dowager was always noble and dignified; he had never seen her with any expression other than seriousness. But that time, when facing Imperial Physician Yang, he vaguely saw her smile as she picked a flower from beside her and tuck it behind his temple.

Physician Yang touched the flower with a helpless expression, but did not pick it. The Empress Dowager seemed very happy, her smile growing even brighter, which he could clearly see even from a distance.

He first saw the Empress Dowager's sly expression and completely relaxed smile when she was talking to Physician Yang.

He was extremely jealous, but the more jealous he was of Physician Yang, the more inferior he felt. The day he saw the Empress Dowager smile at Physician Yang, he practically fled in panic.

Qin Shu couldn't remember how she got back to her room. She only remembered being startled when she looked up and saw herself in the blurry bronze mirror. The person huddled in the shadows had a distorted face that was more terrifying than a demon.

"This servant deserves to die." Qin Shu knelt down with a thud, his face stiff, burying his face deeply. He didn't want this person to see his face, twisted with jealousy.

He never dared to hope that the Empress Dowager would consider him a favorite. At most, he was just a servant the Empress Dowager needed, while Physician Yang was someone the Empress Dowager favored. There was no need to compare the two. Qin Shu placed himself in a very low position so that he would have no expectations and avoid unnecessary disappointment.

Liu Qingtang looked at Qin Shu kneeling in front of her, completely confused. She was just curious why Qin Shu seemed to dislike Su Shu, so she asked him a question. Why did he kneel down like he was going to make her angry?

"Qin Shu, what are you doing?" Liu Qingtang couldn't help but glance at his knees. He had just knelt so hard that his body must be covered in bruises.

"This servant has been disrespectful to Physician Yang, and it is only right that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager punishes him."

Every time Qin Shu started talking to himself like this, Liu Qingtang felt a headache coming on. What was he thinking about all day? That "disrespectful to Physician Yang" thing he just said—didn't he always have that deadpan expression on everyone's face? He didn't seem to change at all when he saw Su Shu, so how was that disrespectful to Su Shu? And he even apologized?

"How could you be so disrespectful to Su Shu? Did you secretly glare at her just now?"

"This servant...no." He didn't want to see that person, so there shouldn't have been a glare, Qin Shu thought uncertainly.

"So what did you do that was disrespectful to her?"

"..." Could he tell the Empress Dowager that it was because he was jealous of Physician Yang, and had been jealous for a very long time? Qin Shu couldn't bring himself to say it.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Get up first," Liu Qingtang suddenly waved and said with a smile.

Qin Shu quietly breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. Halfway up, he heard the Empress Dowager say again, "It's fine if you don't want to answer this question. I'll choose another one."

Why are you dissatisfied with Su Shu?

Unable to answer either of these questions, Qin Shu, still bent over, thought for a moment and then gritted his teeth, preparing to kneel down again.

Liu Qingtang had already anticipated this, and before he could kneel down, she said, "Try kneeling again. Don't tell me you don't want to serve me anymore?"

Qin Shu was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to kneel or not, and stood there frozen, looking both disheveled and pitiful.

Author's Note: Changzhi threw a landmine.

Little Dragon Tian Tian threw a landmine

[Thanks to the girl who threw the grenade, muah~]

I've started my internship! Since my rented apartment doesn't have internet, I couldn't post this online, so I'm secretly posting it at work today. Please leave a comment to show your support!