The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter

Liu Qingtang had no idea things would turn out this way, with her brother and friend dragging Qin Shu to tell him embarrassing stories about her. (For more text, please search on Baidu or Lewen.) If she had known it would turn out this way, she would have definitely taken Qin Shu to her old house instead of dragging him to those two. Unfortunately, she was unaware of this.

After pressing Qin Shu in front of her brother and friend, Liu Qingtang smiled, waved to the three of them, and gracefully left the courtyard. However, she didn't go far; she stopped just outside their sight.

Although those three were people she valued and trusted, she still felt some unease. Standing there, she vaguely heard her brother say, "The person you want to marry... bring them to me..." Liu Qingtang touched her face and chuckled. She naturally guessed what her brother was talking about with Qin Shu; he was simply telling Qin Shu about the promise they had made years ago.

But she only remembered that promise after she came to this courtyard. Before that, she just felt that she liked Qin Shu and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, so she brought him back to show her important relatives and friends.

But Qin Shu must have been frightened by her brother's clear and explicit statement.

Liu Qingtang felt a pang of regret whenever she thought about the terrified look on Qin Shu's face that she hadn't seen.

Qin Shu deserved to be scared. She had hinted at it so many times, both openly and subtly, yet he still couldn't believe her feelings. It was good that his brother gave him a good scare.

Liu Qingtang tried to listen again, but couldn't hear anything clearly. Their voices were too soft, and she couldn't make them out from so far away. Unable to hear anything, Liu Qingtang gave up, put her hands behind her back, and left for her father's study.

If she really wanted to know what they talked about, she could just ask Qin Shu when she got back; he wouldn't lie to her anyway. Besides, asking him to bring up something that would leave him feeling awkward in front of her would surely make his reaction quite interesting.

Having made up her mind, Liu Qingtang set aside the three people at Yizhu Garden for the time being and turned to look at the surrounding scenery.

This was where she grew up; every place was familiar to her, holding her memories. Looking around, the pavilions, gardens, rockeries, lotus ponds… nothing had changed in the slightest. It was so familiar that it felt like just yesterday that Liu Qingtang, the mischievous and energetic young lady of the Liu family, had been running lightly along this path, through this garden and its corridors.

Looking at the long-missed blades of grass and trees with a gaze filled with longing and nostalgia, Liu Qingtang couldn't help but feel a few tears welling up in her eyes. Now, everything was still the same as before, and all the people she cared about were still there, but beneath her youthful face, her heart had become weathered.

As she walked forward, she would occasionally see servants approaching. These servants were all elderly members of the Liu family, most of them having watched her grow up or grown up alongside her. They were all very excited to see her. However, remembering that she was no longer the young lady of the family, but the Empress Dowager, they hurriedly bowed and stood aside, watching her leave.

Liu Qingtang stopped to greet several cooks, who were both touched and apprehensive as they wiped away tears. These were women around the same age as her father, and she had grown up eating their food. When she was little, she would always sneak into the kitchen to play, and each time she went, these women would stuff her with lots of pastries and snacks, which is why she became a chubby little girl.

Hibiscus cake, mung bean cake, peanut cake, chestnut cake, yam cake... She occasionally reminisced about the old ladies' cooking skills in the palace, and even the palace chefs couldn't make that unique taste.

There's also the gardener in the garden, Uncle Liu, who's quite old. It's said that he used to be his father's personal guard, but he was injured and could no longer go to the battlefield. Since he had a knack for tending flowers and plants, he volunteered to stay here as a gardener. When Liu Qingtang was a child, he was naughty and would often accidentally damage the flowers, plants, and trees that Uncle Liu was pruning in the garden, so he would often chase after him and beat him.

This was the only person in the manor who didn't spoil Liu Qingtang just because she was the young lady of the family at that time. He would directly discipline her when she caused trouble. However, it was more like playing a game of chasing after her than disciplining her. When she was little, she always liked to deliberately provoke him.

Seeing her return, Uncle Liu dropped his flower hoe, quickly picked it up, and called her "Young Miss" with tears streaming down his face. Liu Qingtang felt both sad and amused, and greeted him in return.

The journey was filled with memories. As she turned past a bamboo grove, she saw her father's study ahead. Liu Qingtang took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Her father, Liu Shaodi, was a meticulous and sentimental man. He refused to replace many things he was used to, even when they were worn out and old, and his unwavering habits from decades ago remained unchanged. His favorite places, besides the martial arts training ground, were his study. Whenever he had free time, he would first go to the training ground to practice swordsmanship after getting up in the morning, and then come to his study to read after breakfast. From a young age, Liu Qingtang felt that it seemed her father's life consisted only of practicing martial arts and reading, with no other pleasures.

Someone was sweeping the fallen bamboo leaves in front of the study with a broom. It was an old servant. He was delighted to see Liu Qingtang walking out of the bamboo path and was about to call out to her.

Liu Qingtang waved her hand, signaling him to be quiet. He bowed slightly from a distance, then picked up the broom and walked away. Liu Qingtang climbed the bamboo stairs, stood outside the study door, placed her hand on the door but hesitated to move, and stood there blankly for a while. Finally, the door suddenly opened from the inside, breaking her daze.

When Liu's father saw Liu Qingtang outside the door, he showed no surprise. Instead, it was as if he already knew she was outside. He said directly, "Come in." Then he turned around and walked back into the study.

Liu Qingtang followed her inside. She used to frequent this study when she was still at home; she practiced calligraphy and painting almost entirely here when she was a child. So she walked in with ease, found her usual chair, and casually picked up a piece of red date cake from the small table next to it.

Her father never ate sweets, and he never prepared pastries in his study when he was alone, so… “Father, you prepared all this early in the morning for me to come back?” Liu Qingtang spoke indistinctly, a pastry in her mouth. Liu Shaodi frowned, put down his book, and said in a deep voice, “How many times have I told you not to talk while eating? You look quite proper in the palace, but you become like this as soon as you get home.”

Liu Qingtang didn't take it to heart. Instead, she missed the feeling of being nagged by her father insincerely. She laughed and said, "In the palace, there are outsiders who have to make such a show. Here, it's just the two of us, father and daughter. Why bother with so much? Father, you don't treat me like the Empress Dowager anymore."

"Hmph, five years without returning, and still no progress." Liu Shaodi's eyes were fixed on his book, his tone flat, yet Liu Qingtang could sense the deep dissatisfaction in his words. Dissatisfaction stemmed from the fact that she hadn't returned to the Liu family since entering the palace.

Liu Qingtang didn't return to the Liu family initially because she was too busy handling state affairs, and later to avoid suspicion, fearing that getting too close to the Liu family would make her nephew, the emperor, think they had ulterior motives. Moreover, seeing her father gradually distancing himself from her, she assumed he didn't want her to return. But hearing what he said today, she realized her father also wanted her to come back.

"I understand. From now on, I'll come back to see you every year, okay?" Liu Qingtang turned her head away, pretending to get the red date cake, and took the opportunity to blink away her tears. "Otherwise, I'll come back every few months."

“It’s enough to come back every two years, how can you come back every few months? You’re the Empress Dowager, don’t let anyone find fault with you.” Liu Shaodi frowned at his daughter’s behavior. She had acted quite well in the past two years, but she had suddenly changed these days. It was good that his daughter could come back to see him, but he had been worried that she was hiding something from him.

"Qingtang, at the beginning of your reign, you were so assertive to intimidate the ministers and help the emperor secure his throne. But now that the emperor is getting older, you should gradually learn to delegate power and stop being as domineering as before." Otherwise, how will she handle things when the emperor grows up? Those ministers who want to undermine her will seize this opportunity to remind the emperor, and a rift will inevitably develop between her and the emperor.

Although Liu Shaodi was worried about his daughter, his tone sounded displeased. Coupled with his cold expression and furrowed brows, he looked like he was lecturing someone. He said, "You have been too hasty and capricious in your actions lately. You used ruthless methods to awe people before, but now you should use benevolent governance to win people's trust. You should not make too many enemies in the court."

Liu Qingtang lowered her eyes, staring blankly at the brush washer on the desk. In her previous life, she thought the same way as her father. Two years later, after the new women entered the harem, she began to relinquish most of her power to the emperor, along with all the connections she had cultivated over the years, and she would live a quiet and self-disciplined life as the empress dowager in the harem.

Her father was always low-key. In order not to upset his nephew, the emperor, or to prevent him from thinking that the maternal relatives were seizing power, her brother, such an outstanding person, never entered the court and instead idled away his time like a playboy.

She clearly remembered her brother telling her when they were little that he wanted to enter the imperial court and become a high-ranking official who punished evil and upheld justice. But because of her, his powerful sister who was the Empress Dowager, and their father who held military power, her brother's ambitions remained unfulfilled. Yet he never complained, always smiling and supporting her and their father. In her past life, she hadn't been able to return home for so many years. For the first few years, she could see her father when she attended court, but she hadn't seen her brother, who hadn't been able to become an official, for over a decade.

Just now at Yizhu Garden, how difficult it must have been for her to suppress her overwhelming guilt and tears, and to speak and laugh with him in a seemingly ordinary manner. But even so, she still abandoned Qin Shu and hurriedly ran away.

In truth, she was becoming increasingly aware that no matter what they did, as long as she remained the Empress Dowager who had once served the emperor and handled state affairs on behalf of the young emperor, the emperor could never truly confide in her. Because seeing her call her "Mother" was like a constant reminder to the emperor that his throne was won and protected by this woman; she was like a mountain weighing on his heart. As an emperor, could he feel any satisfaction? Perhaps his greatest desire was to get rid of her as soon as possible.

And then there's my father. As long as he still holds military power, the emperor and the chief minister won't trust him, a relative of the emperor. Unless my father relinquishes his military power, but once he does, that double-edged sword of power will be used against him even before the emperor takes action. His former political enemies will swarm in to try and crush him.

She and her father had naively believed that retreating would demonstrate their resolve and ensure peace. But they were wrong. One step back leads to another, until there's nowhere left to retreat, resulting in a dead end. Therefore, this time she cannot retreat, nor does she want to!

"Did you hear me?" Liu Shaodi was so angry at Liu Qingtang's nonchalant and absent-minded attitude that he almost threw his book down. He had been worried about her for so long, but his daughter seemed to be taking it all for granted.

"I heard that, Father, please rest assured, I have my own plans."

Liu Qingtang spoke calmly, but Liu Shaodi's expression changed upon hearing it. He looked at his daughter, who was sitting quietly drinking tea, and asked with some difficulty after a long while, "Tell me, have you harbored any rebellious thoughts that you shouldn't have?"

The atmosphere instantly turned cold. Liu Qingtang's hand trembled, and she placed the teacup on the table with a soft click. Looking up at her father, she said softly, "What if I said yes?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Shaodi looked at his daughter with a complicated expression, unsure of what to say for a long time. What could he say? Should he arrest her because of this? This was his youngest daughter, whom he had doted on for decades, his precious darling who looked so much like his beloved wife. He would even take people to teach those people a lesson if they said anything negative about her. How could he possibly bear to hurt her?

"Father, don't worry, I was just joking." Liu Qingtang couldn't bear to see her father caught between family and country, so she spoke up. "Our Liu family has been loyal to the country for generations. How could I let the Liu family be disgraced? I will assist the Emperor as Empress Dowager."

However, Liu Qingtang's words did not reassure Liu Shaodi. He knew his daughter's personality very well. If she truly didn't have such thoughts, she would stubbornly argue with him, feeling that he shouldn't misunderstand her. But now, her calm demeanor made him increasingly worried.

"Qingtang, did something happen to you?"

"What happened?" Liu Qingtang suddenly smiled. She got up and walked to the window, pushed open the two bamboo windows, looked at the greenery outside to calm herself down, and then turned her head and said in the calmest tone, "Father, do you believe in the dead coming back to life?"

Author's Note: Did you see how my double eyelids are practically turning into single eyelids, in that card with the face of a heartless man filled with all sorts of inner monologues? =l=

Feng Fengzheng threw a landmine.

[The idiot threw a landmine]

[October Lemon threw a landmine]

[Yu Yue threw a grenade]

Thank you, ladies! It's so satisfying to see the rankings of the free tickets change every day, haha! And I received another long review! Long reviews get you a red envelope and points!