The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

third chapter

"Greetings, Mother. (Please remove the '◎' from the Baidu search results for the website.)"

After breakfast, the young emperor, having finished his court session, came to Cixi Palace to pay his respects. He walked to the couch and respectfully addressed Liu Qingtang, who was reclining on the couch with a furrowed brow. His voice was somewhat hoarse due to the onset of puberty.

The emperor is only twelve years old now, still quite young and not very tall; he still looks like a child. But in the royal family, children are known for their precociousness, and at twelve, he was already full of cunning. It's likely that in his previous life, he had already become wary of her and the Liu family by this time.

The Liu family was arranged by her elder sister, the Empress, to take care of the young emperor and to support him. The two Grand Secretaries were left by the late emperor to educate his son. It was probably because of the two old men's constant reminders not to let the Liu family become too powerful that the young emperor developed a deep-seated prejudice against them, which eventually led to the Liu family's demise in his hands ten years later.

To be honest, the young emperor was of the Liu family bloodline, her nephew, and his father's grandson. How could they possibly plot against him? It was only after their emperor nephew seized power that the Liu family met their end—execution of the entire clan for their failed rebellion. Rebellion, such a grave crime, was probably only something the child would do later in life, driven by resentment at being controlled and suppressed by his relatives, and thus attempt to overthrow them.

The emperor was young, and the Liu family practically controlled the court. Her father was strict, straightforward, and ruthless, easily offending people. He had even reprimanded the emperor in front of all the officials for his mistakes, mostly out of deep love and concern. Little did she know that her nephew, the emperor, outwardly respectful, secretly hated them and was just waiting for an opportunity to punish them.

Years of diligent teaching, yet they successfully produced such an emperor. The saying "when the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away" has always been a tragedy for ministers. The fact that the Liu family enjoyed continued favor with several emperors was undoubtedly due to their loyalty to the royal family, and also because they never married into the royal family, lest they be treated as relatives of the emperor and alienated from them.

However, her elder sister was deeply in love with the late emperor and married into the royal family despite the family's objections. The "great favor" she brought to the family as empress once made her father shake his head and sigh. He would rather his daughter marry an ordinary man and not be involved with the royal family. Because of this, the family became estranged from her sister. Later, her sister's life in the palace was not as wonderful as she had imagined, and she died in depression, leaving behind a seven-year-old child.

Before she died, she begged her father to let her younger sister enter the palace to succeed the empress, just to prevent her son from being bullied by someone of unknown background. Her father, pitying her untimely death, agreed. Later, because his grandson, the emperor, had lost his mother at a young age, he treated him like a younger member of the family, forgetting that the emperor was not only his grandson but also the emperor himself. Those things he saw as good for him were seen by the child as disrespect for the emperor. Poor father, loyal to the royal family his whole life and loving this child for over a decade, was ultimately framed for treason and died in prison.

Recalling her past life, Liu Qingtang's heart was filled with complex emotions. Reborn and seeing this emperor nephew again, how could she not feel hatred? But in her previous life, she had no son, and she had also shown great affection for this child who was nominally her son but actually her nephew. One of the Liu family's precepts was to be united and protect the younger generation, so in court affairs, she always tried her best to protect the young emperor, taking on much infamy for him. But in the young emperor's eyes, she was merely trying to seize power for herself.

"Mother, are you still feeling unwell? Why don't you call the imperial physician to come and see you?" A slightly hoarse voice interrupted Liu Qingtang's thoughts.

"Your Majesty, please sit down." Liu Qingtang feigned listlessness, sat up from the couch, and replied lightly while pressing her forehead, "Your Majesty need not worry. It's just that the autumn chill has made you feel cold. You'll be fine after a short rest. Those imperial physicians usually prescribe dozens of doses of bitter medicine even when there's nothing wrong. If you summon them like this, they'll probably have to take bitter medicine for more than half a month. It's nothing serious, so why bother with all that trouble?"

The young emperor smiled, revealing a dimple on his face. All members of the Liu family had this dimple when they smiled, and her nephew had inherited it. Liu Qingtang felt a chill in her heart for a moment, and felt increasingly exhausted. Physically, she was fine, but mentally she couldn't recover.

"Why is Mother afraid of bitter medicine? You can resolve any major issue in the court without batting an eye. You can't let this bitter medicine defeat you." The young emperor smiled like a sunny big child. After speaking, he changed to a serious expression and said, "If you are sick, you should seek medical treatment and take medicine properly. Otherwise, how can you get better on your own? In the past... in the past, when I was sick, I refused to take medicine, and Mother said the same thing to me."

The "mother" he refers to is naturally his elder sister, the former empress who sacrificed her younger sister's prime years for her son.

In her past life, if she had heard him speak of his sister with such melancholy, even if she showed no outward expression, she would have felt a little more pity for him. After all, he was her own nephew, and even if he resented his sister, there was still sisterly affection between them. But now, she remained unmoved. The young emperor's frequent mentions of his sister were merely a way to lull her and the Liu family into a false sense of security. He meant that he still thought of his sister and the Liu family every day, trying to put her mind at ease. Who knew how much genuine feeling the young emperor truly harbored?

“The Emperor is right. Illness always requires medicine; otherwise, just keeping it wrapped up like this will never get better,” Liu Qingtang said, fiddling with the jade bracelet on her wrist. She spoke of medicine, but only she knew what she truly meant. She needed to find a way to resolve the young Emperor's inner conflict.

"Your Majesty did not attend court today, so I brought you this memorial. I am useless; Your Majesty is clearly unwell, yet I still trouble you with these trivial matters. I feel truly ashamed. I wish I could grow up sooner so I could share some of your burdens." The young emperor spoke with the appearance of a well-behaved, ashamed child, and his act was indeed quite convincing.

Liu Qingtang turned her head and stared at him intently until she noticed some unease in his eyes. Then she slowly said, "Twelve years old is not young anymore. The emperor should also learn to handle state affairs. After all, I am only managing the government on your behalf. I will definitely hand it back to you when you are older. How can I feel at ease knowing that you still rely on your mother so much now?"

Given his age and inexperience, the young emperor immediately became somewhat uneasy upon hearing her words, and stammered, "Mother is right, I..."

"There haven't been any major events in the court recently. Your Majesty, take half of these memorials back to review them and practice for a while. If there are any questions you don't understand, come and discuss them with me, or you can consult the two Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet. They are loyal ministers carefully selected by the late Emperor and are trustworthy."

Hmph, those two so-called loyal ministers also harbored their own ulterior motives, plotting to use the emperor's hand to bring down the Liu family in a respectable manner and seize power for themselves. This time, Liu Qingtang would like to see who could outmaneuver whom.

Upon hearing Liu Qingtang's words, the young emperor's face lit up with joy, but he quickly suppressed it and tentatively said, "I understand. If there's anything I don't understand, I think it's best to consult my maternal grandfather. After all, he's family, and he's always been very experienced in his work, having taught me a great deal..."

It was precisely because he had no airs of an emperor, constantly referring to himself as family, and his words were full of reliance, that she lowered her guard. If anyone is to blame, it's the Liu family for always being so careless with their own family; they later suffered and learned their lesson because of it.

When it comes to putting on an act and having a heart-to-heart talk, how could Liu Qingtang possibly lose to such a child? She was just blinded by her so-called relatives before.

Therefore, upon hearing him mention his father, Liu Qingtang looked at the young emperor, changed her form of address, and said with a sincere expression, "Aunt knows that you are close to your maternal grandfather, but your father is getting old and unable to handle many things. He can no longer withstand the strain. In the past, he forced himself to do things because you were still young, but now that you are older and more sensible, it is time for your father to enjoy his old age. Besides, there are some petty people in the court who always like to use the matter of maternal relatives as a pretext to gossip. Our Liu family has been loyal to the country for hundreds of years, and this reputation... I don't know how much your father cares about it."

“My dear child, your aunt knows you depend on us, but we can’t overstep our bounds. Too much of a good thing is bad. Your father and I both love and are very happy with you, and we’ve been looking forward to retiring once you can stand on your own. Now is the time. Just focus on your studies, and soon your aunt will be able to enjoy her retirement.”

Anyone can make a big deal out of family ties. After the young emperor confidently assured them that he wouldn't let them down and left Cining Palace with half a memorial, Liu Qingtang leaned back on the couch and chuckled softly.

She would eliminate all those petty people who had sown discord between the emperor and the Liu family in her past life, step by step. As for her imperial nephew, she would naturally keep him firmly in her grasp. There are many ways to control someone. He was her good nephew in her past life, but things are different in this life. Don't expect her to be soft-hearted.

If the young emperor still harbors thoughts of destroying the Liu family, she will let him experience what it means to regret it. Of course, it would be best if they could live in peace. She just hopes that he won't make her really disregard blood ties and act against him.

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Liu Qingtang pressed the bridge of her nose and picked up the pile of memorials on the table. They were all idle musings from court officials, long-winded and noisy. Putting down the memorials, Liu Qingtang said to the attendant standing beside her, "Go and fetch an imperial physician to take a look at me."

"Yes, Queen Mother."

After the imperial physician examined her and prescribed some medicine to nourish her body, it was already past 9 AM. This was usually when Liu Qingtang was reviewing memorials; in her previous life, for over a decade, she had always been accustomed to reviewing memorials alone. She liked to use this time to quietly reflect on things, so she didn't like having anyone serving her. However, that morning she had personally appointed Qin Shu as the chief eunuch to serve her with her writing materials. Having a chief eunuch for the first time in over a decade piqued Liu Qingtang's interest.

"Send someone to summon Qin Shu to serve you."

"Your Majesty, just now when I saw the imperial physician off, I saw Eunuch Qin waiting outside the door. He must have known that Your Majesty was about to review some memorials, so he rushed over to serve you." Zhuiyi said with a smile as she told a maid to go and summon someone.

Zhuiyi and Taoye were the head maids of Cining Palace, one in charge of internal affairs and the other of external relations. Both were trusted maids of hers, and she spoke to them more intimately than to ordinary people. Liu Qingtang had always known of their loyalty and had always treated them differently. Having witnessed their protection of her mistress in her previous life, she now held them in even higher regard. Therefore, upon hearing Zhuiyi's words, Liu Qingtang replied, "Qin Shu is good; take good care of him in the future."

This was the hint. Zhuiyi received the confirmation and knew how to treat Qin Shu, who had suddenly gained the master's favor. She calmed down and smiled as she told Liu Qingtang some interesting stories to cheer her up.

Liu Qingtang responded casually, listening to Zhuiyi's soothing and gentle tone and pleasing smile. Unexpectedly, she thought of Qin Shu again—his completely opposite, unpleasant personality and voice. Since her rebirth, she had found herself thinking of Qin Shu from time to time. If the young emperor was one unresolved issue, then Qin Shu was another; the impact he had had on her was too great for her to ignore.

"Greetings, Her Majesty the Queen Mother."

Just as she was thinking about this person, he arrived. Zhuiyi wisely stopped talking and withdrew. Liu Qingtang sat upright at the desk, glanced at Qin Shu's perpetually downcast face, pointed to the inkstone and said, "Come forward and grind the ink."

"Yes." There are many rules to follow when walking in the palace. One cannot walk too fast, otherwise it will be unseemly; one cannot walk too slowly, otherwise it will cause trouble; one cannot walk too heavily or too lightly, otherwise it will disturb the nobles. One must walk in a way that is noticeable but not abrupt. Qin Shu is the most particular about these etiquettes and never makes a single mistake.

Liu Qingtang had never paid attention to these things before, but now she found Qin Shu interesting in every way. Thinking of how she had made Qin Shu so nervous that morning, Liu Qingtang suddenly had an idea. She reached out and covered Qin Shu's hand holding the inkstone, and said with an unchanged expression, "You may have never done these things before, so let me teach you first."

After saying that, Liu Qingtang felt her hand and arm stiffen. After a moment of amusement, she suddenly felt like one of those villainous masters in storybooks who forcibly took their servants.

Author's Note: Jinling July dropped a landmine.

Duan Jinghong threw a landmine

A truly lazy person threw a landmine.

[Thanks for the landmines, girls~ It feels so wonderful to have one like this every day (blushing)]

By the way, my writing style is quite varied, so I don't really know what it will turn out to be. It'll be a mix of serious and lighthearted moments, and the male and female leads might even get a little lewd during their... well, you know... scenes, hehe~

[Don't ask me about update times, I'm not sure either. Just leave lots of comments and I'll grow bigger and bigger, so beautiful girls understand, right?]