The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 21

As dawn broke, the palace was already bustling with activity, with palace maids and eunuchs hurrying about along the palace paths. (For more details, please search on Baidu.) Outside the palace gates, a continuous stream of carriages slowly approached, forming a long line on one side. Officials in their robes entered the palace together with their female relatives, then parted ways before the silt-clearing pond.

The ministers still had to attend court today. It was New Year's Eve, and the founding emperor of the Southern Dynasty had decreed that a court assembly should be held every year on this day, as usual. However, this day's assembly did not discuss political affairs; instead, it was a summary of everyone's work throughout the year, with the emperor either praising or reprimanding them. Often, on this day, the emperor himself would also reflect on his own conduct before the ministers. If the emperor did this, the ministers even more so.

Most of the ministers' wives could only enter the palace once a year, so they were inevitably a bit reserved. They gathered together and, led by eunuchs, crossed the silt-clearing pool to reach the inner palace. The women were naturally received by the mistress of the inner palace, and since Liu Qingtang was basically the only one left in the inner palace, this task naturally fell to her.

Cixi Palace, located in the West Palace, is the second largest palace complex in the imperial palace. The largest in area is, of course, Nankun Palace, where the emperor resided, but the two palaces are not that different in size.

According to the custom of the late emperor, this banquet should have been held in the palace of the person hosting it, as this matter was always the responsibility of the empress.

However, when it came to Liu Qingtang, the main halls and gardens used for banquets in Cixi Palace were located in several palaces within Cixi Palace, very close to her residence. She didn't like having so many people making noise there, so in the first year she started hosting such banquets, she changed the venue to a palace in the northwest near the Imperial Garden.

There happened to be a large plum garden there, which gave the annual New Year's Eve banquet a floral name: "Plum Banquet". This plum garden is called Xiangxueyuan, and it only grows pear blossoms and plum blossoms, which bloom alternately in winter and spring. From a distance, the branches of the entire garden are covered with pure white clouds.

Tao Ye had already started preparations for the courtyard a month in advance. Early that morning, before dawn, she led a group of people to set up the decorations and waited there to welcome the women.

When the ladies arrived in a grand procession, the palace maids served tea and snacks, allowing the ladies and young misses to while away the time before the Empress Dowager arrived. Tao Ye was one of the head palace maids serving Liu Qing Tang, and she was a person of some standing in the palace. Naturally, she didn't need to personally serve these ladies and young misses; she simply watched from the sidelines, handling matters in case anything happened to them.

Liu Qingtang also got up early that day. The plum banquet had just begun, and although she was the Empress Dowager, she couldn't keep people waiting, so she also had to get up early to prepare. In particular, the clothes and makeup she was going to wear today were more exquisite and gorgeous than usual, which would take a lot of time.

After a quick and simple breakfast, she was dressed in the heavy Empress Dowager's court robes, attended by a group of palace maids. The black robes were embroidered with large peonies in silver thread, and every detail, from the front to the wide sleeves and the long skirt, was exquisitely crafted, making the entire garment both magnificent and dignified.

Since ancient times in the Southern Dynasties, the Empress Dowager's court dress was black with silver thread embroidery, the Emperor's was dark blue with gold dragon embroidery, and the Empress's was white with gold thread patterns. When she first entered the palace, the late Emperor had not survived long due to illness, so she wore the Empress Dowager's court dress before she could wear the Empress's.

She was only fifteen or sixteen years old at the time. She was young and loved to laugh, and wearing that court dress, she didn't look imposing at all. Later, she forced herself to have no expression and always held her head high and chest out, without showing the slightest fear. Now, thinking about it, it's really laughable.

It is said that this court dress requires dozens of embroiderers to make for three years. It is indeed beautiful, but the dress is extremely heavy. It took four people to lift her up and put on just the outer robe, and there is also an inner skirt embroidered with cloud patterns in silver thread. After putting on the three layers, Liu Qingtang felt that she could hardly take a step.

Fortunately, she had gotten used to it over the past ten years. She only wore such court attire on the days before and after the New Year, as well as during the sacrificial rites to Heaven. On other days, she could wear whatever she wanted.

After all, the emperor's harem was currently empty. Besides her, the only other member of the late emperor's harem still residing in this palace was the seemingly invisible Consort Lian; the rest had been sent to guard the imperial mausoleum. This gave her much more freedom. Even if there were people in the harem, they wouldn't dare say anything against her now. Normally, she dressed as usual, only slightly more formally when attending court; otherwise, she truly couldn't bear to dress like this every day.

After finally getting her clothes sorted out, Liu Qingtang breathed a sigh of relief and, with the help of two people, sat down in front of the mirror to have a palace maid style her hair. This palace maid, who was specifically there to style her hair on banquet days, was named Bai Wu, and was a second-class palace maid in Cixi Palace.

As Empress Dowager, Liu Qingtang not only held power in the inner palace but also wielded considerable influence in the court, thus she was surrounded by a large number of servants. Besides the two senior palace maids, Taoye and Zhuiyi, who had served her since childhood, there were over a dozen second-class maids alone, not to mention the lower-ranking, unranked maids. There were also a large number of eunuchs, nearly one hundred to two hundred in total.

When she first arrived, she saw many people crowding around her every day, all trying to curry favor. She found it really annoying, so she waved her hand and sent most of them to the outer hall, the garden, and the side halls—places she rarely saw. Only a few dozen remained to serve her, and even fewer could enter the inner hall to serve.

These people have been well-trained by Tao Ye Zhuiyi in recent years. They are usually quiet and don't talk much. They won't come to her without being summoned. They are reliable and perceptive. Most importantly, they all understand very well that they must keep their mouths shut about her. They will absolutely not see or speak when they should be deaf or blind.

The affair between Qin Shu and her was probably no secret to those in the inner palace of Cixi Palace, but they would all pretend to be blind and would not reveal a single word of it. This was because she was still the Empress Dowager, who held absolute power. Therefore, as long as she maintained her authority, she could have countless such "loyal" servants.

These people are different from Zhuiyi, Taoye, and Qin Shu. In her past life, she only trusted Taoye and Zhuiyi; in this life, she added Qin Shu to the list. That's enough. As long as she can protect them, her father, and her brother in this life, she feels that's enough.

This time, she would absolutely not allow herself to end up in the same situation as in her previous life. She was tired of having to act like a dignified empress dowager in front of others and behind their backs; what was wrong with being willful and unrestrained?

"Your Majesty, do you think this is feasible?" Bai Wu asked, taking a step back while holding the comb.

Liu Qingtang glanced at the bronze mirror and gave a faint "hmm." It was pretty much the same every year anyway, and she found it all rather boring. Her hair, with its elaborate bun and various hairpins, made her head look incredibly heavy.

Bai Wu withdrew, and another palace maid, Yu Ping, came to clean her face and apply the cosmetics and lipstick. Both were old servants and knew her preferences, so Yu Ping simply trimmed her eyebrows, plucked a few fine hairs, and then applied a thin layer of powder and a little rouge to her face, and that was it.

Zhuiyi, who had been watching from the side, handed her a box of lip balm at this opportune moment. Liu Qingtang disliked having her lips touched, and always applied lip balm herself, dipping her finger in the jade box, blending it on her lips, and pressing it in. After she finished applying it, Zhuiyi used a damp cloth to wipe the red balm off her hands. At this point, the other two palace maids who had been waiting came forward and knelt beside Liu Qingtang, each supporting one of her hands to apply the lip balm to her nails.

The flower juice was infused with many special palace recipes, and the resulting color resembled the clouds on the horizon or delicate, blooming flowers, layer upon layer.

By the time Liu Qingtang finished her makeup, it was almost time for the plum blossom banquet to begin. The palace maids from the inner palace escorted her out. A dozen or so palace maids and eunuchs remained standing in the outer palace, Qin Shu among them. He had been waiting there for at least two hours before the Empress Dowager rose. He hadn't shown any expression since he started standing there; he looked just like the potted plant next to him, completely still and never raising his head.

The wait didn't make him impatient at all; after all, this amount of time was nothing to him. And as long as he knew that the person he was waiting for was there, he wouldn't complain even if he had to wait another day.

For the past few years, including last year and the year before, he could only wait in the passageway outside the palace, his black hat often getting soaked with dew. Back then, he would wait a long time and only catch a glimpse of the Empress Dowager passing by in her full regalia from afar. But now, they were so close.

Upon seeing the Empress Dowager emerge from the inner palace, Qin Shu seemed to come alive instantly. He rushed forward and, along with the others from the outer palace, paid his respects to the Empress Dowager. With his eyes lowered, he could only see the trailing hem of the Empress Dowager's robes, the jade pendant at her waist, and the glimpse of her shoes peeking out from under her skirt. Just seeing these things filled Qin Shu with immense satisfaction.

"Rise," Liu Qingtang said calmly, turning and walking out surrounded by the crowd. Everyone followed behind her, and Qin Shu, after bowing, silently followed, secretly raising his eyes to gaze longingly at her retreating figure. The Empress Dowager walked unhurriedly, her cloak billowing slightly with each step, the pure white fur trim circling her neck. From Qin Shu's angle, only a glimpse of her snow-white cheeks could be seen, made even more porcelain-like by the soft fur.

Liu Qingtang took a few steps when she suddenly heard something. She stopped and turned around to look behind her. Sure enough, she saw Qin Shu standing among a group of people behind her, his eyes still fixed on her.

"Qin Shu, come forward." Liu Qingtang, with her sharp eyes, caught his gaze, and for some reason, her mood instantly improved. She couldn't help but feel that spending so much time on her makeup had been somewhat worthwhile. At least... now she had the hope of being noticed by someone.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager had stopped and was waiting for him, Qin Shu quickly replied "Yes" and hurried forward.

Liu Qingtang reached out her hand, and Qin Shu knowingly took it, carefully supporting her as they walked forward. It was a distance from here to the inner palace entrance; Liu Qingtang would only be able to board the sedan chair there, and she would have to walk a while before that.

Having served Liu Qingtang for so many years, Zhuiyi naturally understood her meaning. As soon as she saw Qin Shu supporting her, she led most of the palace maids and eunuchs, carrying some things, and lagged behind them a few steps. She only allowed two well-trained palace maids who had served in the inner palace for several years to hold up the Empress Dowager's trailing skirt.

"How long did you wait outside today?"

Qin Shu was still nervously holding his hand covered by a sleeve when he heard the Empress Dowager ask this question. Without the slightest hesitation, he answered truthfully, "Your Majesty, two hours."

"No wonder your hands are so red." Liu Qingtang said softly, taking off the fur sleeve covering her right wrist and hand, revealing her jade-like hand, and grasping Qin Shu's red hand. The hand was indeed as cold as she had imagined.

Qin Shu's eyes softened with undisguised tenderness at the Empress Dowager's small gesture. He moved his fingers slightly, then let her hold them. His hands were larger than hers, and rough with calluses, quite different from the Empress Dowager's. Yet, together, they created a strange harmony.

Walking slowly on the bluestone path, the two of them would occasionally glance at their overlapping hands, then pretend to look away naturally, both feeling very happy.

Author's Note: "The Empress Dowager is showing off her wealth! Look how rich I am! Marry me and you'll reach the pinnacle of life!" The Empress Dowager lifted Eunuch Qin's chin and said.

The Ming Dynasty threw a landmine

The Ming Dynasty threw a landmine

The Ming Dynasty threw a landmine

Mo Cirou threw a landmine

[Thank you to the girl who gave me a triple tap~ And Momo, come and let me touch you too~ Aww~ ┗|｀o′|┛ Aww~~]