The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter two

At dawn, just as day was breaking, the palace servants had all risen and tidied themselves, waiting to attend to their masters if they made a sound. (For faster updates, please search "乐文" on Baidu! [Website address: ◎◎x◎s◎.o◎r◎g◎] Remember to remove the ◎ from the Baidu search URL, dear!]

If he wasn't assigned any tasks during this period, he had a rare moment of free time. Taking advantage of this free time, Qin Shu recalled the words he had seen in books before and used his fingers to trace the characters on the table with water.

Ordinary eunuchs in the palace were illiterate and didn't have the time or resources to waste on paper and ink, so these few gestures were barely enough to get by. But Qin Shu was very serious; ever since he entered the palace, he had been like this, humbly learning everything. This was for his own meager and unspoken wish, and for the hope that he could use these skills to climb the ranks in the future.

While recalling fragmented memories of a dozen or so words, Qin Shu suddenly heard a eunuch from the same room, who was serving at the front, rush over and say, "Qin Shu, hurry, the Empress Dowager is summoning you to report."

The Empress Dowager summoned him? Qin Shu was startled, and in a panic, he gripped a splinter on the table, drawing a bead of blood. Ignoring the pain, he jumped up and took a few steps forward.

Did they say what it was about before?

He was usually just a minor official standing outside the palace, waiting for his master to have any business, and then running errands to various palaces to relay the message. He had two junior eunuchs under his command who had recently entered the palace. He didn't have much influence with the Empress Dowager and rarely had the opportunity to have an audience with her. Today's sudden summons made him feel flustered.

Qin Shu's first thought was that his feelings for the Empress Dowager had been discovered, and he was now to be punished. But he immediately realized that he never overstepped his bounds, at most daring to glance at the Empress Dowager's back when she passed through the central courtyard on her way to court. He shouldn't have been discovered. If he had, he would probably have been beaten to death on the spot, let alone summoned.

"Your aunt didn't explain it clearly either, so you'd better hurry up and go."

"I understand." Qin Shu tucked in the corner of his robe as he walked, wiped the water and a little blood off his hands, and rushed to Ning'an Pavilion, where the Empress Dowager lived, as quickly as possible.

A palace maid was waiting at the door, and she waved him in. Qin Shu took a deep breath at the door to calm his heavy breathing from the journey, then lowered his head and entered the warm pavilion. His eyes were fixed on the intricately patterned carpet on the floor, and he dared not look anywhere else. He knelt down and whispered, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

"Your Majesty, Qin Shu has arrived." Zhuiyi parted the curtain and whispered to Liu Qingtang, who was deep in thought with her eyes closed.

Liu Qingtang opened her eyes, looked at the person kneeling behind the curtain, and said calmly, "Zhuiyi, you may leave now."

Zhuiyi quietly walked to the front cubicle, where only Liu Qingtang and Qin Shu remained.

Upon hearing Liu Qingtang's languid voice tinged with drowsiness, Qin Shu held his breath, tensing his back and trying to suppress certain emotions within him.

"Come forward."

Qin Shu paused, then crawled forward on his knees as instructed, still not daring to look up at the person behind the bed curtains. It was the first time he had been so close to the Empress Dowager. A faint fragrance of orchids wafted into his nose and straight into his heart, making him somewhat dazed. He could only maintain his respectful posture by relying on his long-standing habit.

Qin Shu was feeling a bit strange when he didn't hear the Empress Dowager speak from behind the bed curtains for a long time. Suddenly, he saw a fair, white wrist reach out to his eyes and gently lift his chin.

Lifting his head following the force, Qin Shu couldn't help but look at the Empress Dowager leaning forward with some surprise. She hadn't gotten out of bed yet, wearing only a white silk undergarment, her black hair loose, and without any makeup, she was still considered a beauty of unparalleled grace, but the expression on her face was very complicated.

Upon meeting Liu Qingtang's eyes, Qin Shu jolted awake and immediately lowered his gaze, no longer daring to look directly at her. He repeatedly begged for forgiveness, saying, "This servant had no intention of offending Your Highness. This servant deserves to die."

Liu Qingtang didn't seem to care much. Perhaps her sudden action caught him off guard. In the brief moment she lifted his face, she saw in his eyes the same emotion Qin Shu had shown her when he was dying. However, it was quickly masked by his fearful expression.

Qin Shu must have had feelings for her, but Liu Qingtang couldn't quite understand this kind of romantic love.

Born into the prominent Liu family, she was raised with strict discipline from a young age, mastering not only the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and etiquette, but also needlework, cooking, and the art of managing people, even knowledge of important court affairs. She strictly adhered to propriety, never seeing a man outside the family again after the age of seven. At fifteen, her elder sister, the Empress, passed away, and she was chosen to succeed her as Empress. However, the Emperor, already in poor health, was further devastated by the death of his beloved wife and remained bedridden. He died a month after she became Empress in name only.

Later, the seven-year-old crown prince ascended the throne with the strong support of her father, Liu Guozhang, and several veteran ministers, and honored her as Empress Dowager, jointly managing state affairs.

In a single month, this fifteen-year-old girl went from a sheltered young lady to Empress and then Empress Dowager. The affairs of the court and the harem demanded her attention, leaving her no time for romantic relationships. Later, she remained in the deep palace, and even with immense power, she never developed any unusual feelings for any man.

Therefore, in her previous life, she lived to the age of thirty and only realized Qin Shu's feelings for her before she died, which suddenly gave her a little insight and touched her.

Liu Qingtang was somewhat curious. What kind of feelings could make Qin Shu willingly give up his own life just to save her? Moreover, it seemed that Qin Shu had long harbored feelings for her. So, what were his feelings when he served her all those years in her previous life?

Thinking of things from her past life, Liu Qingtang momentarily forgot that she was still holding Qin Shu's chin. When she came to her senses, she realized that she had been holding that position motionless for quite some time. Because of her silence, Qin Shu didn't dare to move at all, awkwardly sitting with his chin held up by her.

His appearance betrayed his nervousness; his lowered eyelashes trembled slightly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

She noticed that his whole body was trembling, whether from fear or some other reason.

Liu Qingtang suddenly felt a strange sense of pride, because Qin Shu was so nervous because of her. In her previous life, when Qin Shu was useful to her, it was three years later, after a certain event. At that time, Qin Shu was already very similar to the future Grand Steward. Not to mention nervousness, he never showed that cold and gloomy expression on his face.

He handled everything with a measured pace, and could complete any task she assigned perfectly. Even tasks she hadn't given him, he could anticipate and execute flawlessly. Aside from his ruthless actions, cold demeanor, and lack of eloquence, his competence was exceptional. This was why, despite disliking his speech, mannerisms, and appearance, she still promoted him to head steward.

Even if you dislike the bloodstains on your blade, you still need to use it to clear obstacles in your path; it's the same principle.

Qin Shu never showed any sign of panic, even when he led her away from Cining Palace, knowing full well that his journey would lead to his death, he showed no sign of panic. Liu Qingtang found it truly strange. Was this Qin Shu really in love with her? Could this Qin Shu really love anyone?

He hid his feelings so well that if it weren't for what happened back then, she probably wouldn't have noticed his feelings even decades later.

Strangely enough, given her upbringing, she should have felt offended, or at least disgusted, that a eunuch of such a different social class harbored such feelings for her, since the class divide was insurmountable.

But ever since she learned of Qin Shu's intentions, she had never felt any aversion. Instead, she felt disbelief and some inexplicable strange feelings. Perhaps she was simply not someone who adhered to traditional ethics and morality.

"Qin Shu, are you afraid of me?" Liu Qingtang found herself feeling a surge of pleasure at seeing Qin Shu's nervous expression, and deliberately leaned closer to whisper in his ear. Sure enough, Qin Shu's grip on her hand tightened, and he stammered, "This...this servant wouldn't dare, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager's status is too noble..."

Qin Shu choked up at this point because Liu Qingtang suddenly reached out and touched his Adam's apple, and the rest of his words got stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter them.

Qin Shu never imagined that one day, the master he held dear in his heart, whom he would never dare to disrespect, would take the initiative to approach him, and even be willing to touch him. It felt like a dream. At this moment, Qin Shu truly wondered if he was still dreaming.

"Why did you stop talking?" Liu Qingtang withdrew her hand, leaned back against the cushion, and looked at him sideways.

Qin Shu's face turned pale instantly. In front of his mistress, no matter what she did, he had to remain calm and obedient. But his loss of composure just now was enough to warrant punishment several times over. Just as he was about to kowtow again to beg for forgiveness, he saw the Empress Dowager, who was always indifferent and aloof, slowly smile at him.

That smile was like peach blossoms in March, blooming like clouds and mist in the spring breeze, dazzling the eyes.

"From today onwards, you will serve as my chief eunuch." Liu Qingtang glanced at the light streaming through the window and stopped speaking. "It's getting late, you may leave now."

Qin Shu thanked the Empress Dowager and left the warm room, still feeling dazed. As soon as he stepped outside, the crisp autumn wind of the courtyard hit him, but he felt no cold at all. The spot on his neck where the Empress Dowager had touched felt as if it had been burned by fire.

He gently touched that spot, a deep emotion welling up in his eyes, which he quickly suppressed. Pulling up his sleeve, he reverted to his usual gloomy expression, lowering his gaze as he walked towards his residence.

He needed to work even harder to climb higher, and one day, he would stand closer to that person. Qin Shu's hand, hidden in his sleeve, suddenly clenched into a fist.

Author's Note: Pea Bean threw a landmine.

Fu Xiangjin threw a landmine

A truly lazy person threw a landmine.

[Thanks, girls! ~o(￣e￣*) I'm so annoyed that you guys always throw in so many bombshells, I don't want to let you down... Anyway, please don't criticize my writing if it's not good (＝＝)]

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