The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter

When Liu Qingtang opened her eyes again, the ferocity on her face was no longer visible. (The rest of the text appears to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

Hearing the sound, Qin Shu, who was waiting anxiously outside, immediately pushed open the door and hurried in. The Empress Dowager, who was sitting there, turned to look at him, and when he saw the expression on her face, Qin Shu felt an indescribable sadness in his heart.

He had never seen the Empress Dowager like this before. He had mostly seen her with a calm and emotionless expression. Now, he often saw her smiles—a hearty smile, a malicious smile, a gentle smile, and a faint smile—and every expression captivated him.

But now, she sat casually on the footstool by the bed, her eyes red-rimmed, looking tired and weak. A strand of hair fell across her forehead, and her faded makeup easily revealed that she had been crying, making her look quite disheveled.

This was the first time he had ever seen the Empress Dowager like this, but he never wanted to see her with that expression again. But what could he do?

Qin Shu noticed the lingering unease and anxiety in her eyes, and felt increasingly useless. In their occasional moments together, he could sense what troubled the Empress Dowager, but he had no right to ask, for he couldn't solve her problems.

He increasingly wanted to do something for her. If sacrificing his life could fulfill the Empress Dowager's wishes, he would not hesitate to sacrifice himself, just so that she would not have these worries.

"Come here and let me lean on you." Liu Qingtang, unaware of Qin Shu's thoughts, simply raised her hand weakly and said.

As she raised her hand, revealing the teeth marks and bloodstains she had just bitten herself on, Qin Shu's heart skipped a beat. He took a few steps forward, lifted her hand, and stared helplessly at the deep teeth marks, not daring to touch them.

Liu Qingtang didn't mind that he kept holding her hand, so she leaned against Qin Shu and used her free hand to put it around Qin Shu's neck.

"Your Majesty, no matter how uncomfortable you are, please don't hurt yourself. This servant is here to let you vent your anger." Qin Shu's voice was calm, as if he wasn't saying that the Empress Dowager could scold or beat him if she was angry. His tone was not joking at all; it was as if he were making a major decision. This was also the first time he had spoken to Liu Qingtang in such a calm yet unassuming tone.

Upon hearing this, Liu Qingtang nuzzled against his chest, tightened her arms around his neck, and a faint smile appeared on her face. She slowly exhaled and said, "Then next time I'm angry, you can stay next to me, and I'll bully you when I'm upset."

"Okay." Qin Shu looked at the teeth marks and answered without the slightest hesitation.

When Zhuiyi and Taoye returned and saw that their mistress had recovered, they breathed a sigh of relief. They hurriedly treated the wound on her arm, tidied her hair, and even wanted to apply makeup to her again. Liu Qingtang shook her head, indicating that it wasn't necessary. She simply applied some rouge herself and got up to walk towards Mingguang Palace. She had already delayed for too long, and the banquet was almost too late. As for those feelings of hatred and self-blame, she would bury them deep in her heart for the time being. One day, she would make those people taste the same pain she had once experienced.

Liu Qingtang raised her head, her expression solemn and cold.

Inside the Mingguang Hall, the Emperor sat at the head of the table, with Liu Qingtang seated slightly below him on his left. To his right sat the mentally challenged Second Prince, Xiao Huaiyu. Despite being neglected and considered a disgrace to the royal family, Xiao Huaiyu, like the current Emperor, was still the late Emperor's son, and a place was essential for him at this grand banquet. As for Consort Lian, she sat beside him, her expression somewhat stiff, her hand tightly gripping her son's sleeve, as if afraid he might suddenly do something inappropriate.

As in previous years, the young emperor began with the same invariable praise for the officials' hard work throughout the year, followed by some words of encouragement. He had prepared this speech himself, having done his homework beforehand, and recited it meticulously, like reciting a text. After speaking, he looked at Liu Qingtang, waiting for her evaluation of this "lesson."

Liu Qingtang nodded slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips, trying to appear more composed.

The young emperor smiled, looking at her with delight and admiration.

Throughout the banquet, Liu Qingtang rarely spoke, and tried her best to avoid looking at her father at the head of the table. She simply sat in her seat with her eyes downcast, occasionally taking a sip of wine. Zhuiyi, who was standing behind her, noticed that she had drunk a bit too much and quickly stepped forward to quietly remind her. Liu Qingtang had no choice but to put her cup down again.

Qin Shu, who had been watching her since she started drinking her third cup of wine, finally breathed a sigh of relief when she put down her cup. He was genuinely worried that the Empress Dowager hadn't recovered from her outburst, especially since she had only eaten a few pieces of pastry and some porridge that day; drinking so much would be harmful to her health.

Liu Qingtang stopped touching the wine on the table and looked up at the two prime ministers below, her gaze meeting one of theirs. It was Prime Minister Feng, the one whose "only" son she had taken. Of course, that was only his publicly acknowledged only son; Liu Qingtang knew he also had an illegitimate son from a singer who was living away from home. He had been so focused on climbing the social ladder by currying favor with his wife's family that he refused to acknowledge the illegitimate son and had driven him out of Yujing. Now, he was in no hurry to find him. If it weren't for the existence of that illegitimate son, he wouldn't be so composed.

This Chief Minister Feng came to court the very next day after she beheaded his son, acting as if nothing had happened. Even when Liu Qingtang saw him later, she never saw him show any hatred in his eyes, and couldn't help but admire him as a truly cunning and patient old fox. Compared to him, she was still too young, but she had memories of her past life, which alone gave her an advantage.

She had sent people to find the man long ago and learned that his mother had died of illness when she was expelled from Yujing, so he hated his father, Chief Minister Feng, to the core. The truly interesting thing would be when Chief Minister Feng brought back his only son to inherit his mantle.

As Liu Qingtang pondered, she subconsciously reached out and stroked the rim of her wine glass on the table. Then she felt a gaze on her back. Turning her head, she saw Qin Shu staring intently at her hand holding the glass. Liu Qingtang instinctively and awkwardly released her grip, then realized how amusing it was. So she sat there with a serious expression, but her hand kept fiddling with the glass, secretly amused whenever she noticed Qin Shu's gaze.

After this happened several times, Qin Shu realized that the Empress Dowager was teasing him. Knowing she knew her limits, he simply kept his head down and avoided looking at her. At such a large banquet, if someone with ulterior motives noticed anything, it would be troublesome for the Empress Dowager.

As Liu Qingtang played, she noticed Qin Shu wasn't cooperating and, feeling bored, began to think about her plans. She needed to find a time after the New Year to return to the Liu family. Even if she was hesitant, she had to face her father and brother; there were many things she couldn't trust them with without speaking to them in person.

She had already planted the seeds with Chief Minister Feng, and they would take effect in time; as for the young emperor, he was only twelve years old, but it would be time to select women for the harem next year. This time, she planned to decorate his harem in a lively and bustling manner, at least to distract the emperor and prevent him from thinking about how to bring down the Liu family all day long.

Because of this matter, she sent people to be selected from below to be properly trained so they can be put to use next year. Whether it's for next year's minor election or to prepare for the plague in the seventh year of Yuan Ning, she needs to keep the young emperor under her control as soon as possible. If the Grand Secretary Wang could do something in her previous life, why couldn't she do it too?

As for that cunning old fox, Prime Minister Wang, who was even more shrewd than Prime Minister Feng, she had no way to deal with him for the time being and could only take it one step at a time. In her previous life, he had always been the one hiding behind the scenes, playing the good guy, but secretly he made many decisions. During that plague, he had the heart to send his illegitimate granddaughter into the palace as a maid to take care of the emperor, and later he even helped her become the most favored concubine. His illegitimate granddaughter was a major reason why her relationship with the emperor had deteriorated so much in her previous life.

The emperor, already suspicious, was constantly told by his favorite concubine that the Liu family harbored ambitions. Coupled with the two chief ministers' subtle warnings about the potential for powerful maternal relatives, the emperor gradually came to believe them. She blindly trusted that her child, whom she had practically watched grow up, would never do such a thing to an outsider's family, and ultimately reaped the consequences.

Thinking of Wang, the prime minister's seemingly gentle and kind illegitimate granddaughter, Liu Qingtang suddenly smiled. She was genuinely curious about what he would do if she had cut off his trump card early on.

"Why is Mother laughing so happily?" The young emperor noticed Liu Qingtang's smile and asked playfully.

Liu Qingtang glanced at Xiao Huai and Consort Lian opposite her, and suddenly remembered something. She smiled at the emperor and said, "It's just that I feel gratified that the Second Prince has reached the age to leave the palace and establish his own residence."

"Speaking of which, it's not good to always call him Second Prince. Now that he's left the palace and established his own residence, according to custom, he should be given a title of Prince. What title does the Emperor think would be appropriate?"

Hearing Liu Qingtang's question, the young emperor glanced at his nominal older brother, who was standing there dumbfounded, a hint of disdain in his eyes. From the moment he was born, the palace servants had only ever mentioned him as the prince; no one had ever spoken of this second prince, and he didn't want such an older brother. But since Liu Qingtang had asked, he couldn't show it, so he simply thought for a moment and said, "How about we use the character 'Pure' for his title?"

“Pure…pure and innocent, that’s not bad.” Liu Qingtang glanced at Xiao Huaiyu, who was immersed in his own world and seemed oblivious to everything around him, and nodded, saying, “As the Emperor wishes.”

Consort Lian, who had been listening to the two talking, hurriedly thanked Xiao Huai on his behalf. Whether the excitement on her face was genuine or not, only she knew whether she was truly happy or not.

"Speaking of which, the Second Prince is eighteen years old, and it's time for him to marry a princess. He's been delayed in the palace for so long. Let the Dowager Consort keep an eye on things first. If there's a girl she likes, she can come and talk to me, so I can arrange a good marriage for Prince Chun."

The Empress Dowager thanked her again, this time with genuine joy on her face.

Liu Qingtang didn't care much about Consort Lian and Xiao Huaiyu, it was just because of a regret from her previous life. Now that she had finished talking about these things, she put their affairs aside and then discussed with the Emperor: "Your Majesty and the Second Prince are only six years apart. By this time next year, Your Majesty's harem will be able to have more people."

Author's Note: Zhu Chimohei threw a landmine.

Zhu Chimohei threw a landmine

Zhu Chimohei threw a landmine

A truly lazy person threw a landmine.

October Lemon threw a landmine

The cheeky Shanpu Rabbit threw a landmine

Snowball Cat threw a landmine

Ada threw a landmine

[Thanks for the landmine~ And thank you to all the girls who read this far~ Let's have fun together (and have sex) from now on!]