The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter

It was dusk, and the rosy clouds on the horizon had not yet dispersed. The red glow and the clouds edged with gold by the afterglow of the setting sun blended together, creating a magnificent sight. From afar, half the sky seemed to be scorched by fire. (Note: The last part, "网(◎◎x◎s◎.o◎r◎g◎)百度搜索网址," appears to be an unrelated advertisement and has been omitted from the translation.)

The streets were already teeming with people, mostly parents with their children, chatting and laughing as they strolled along. Children, held tightly by their mothers' hands, would dash forward like little calves, only to be pulled back and told not to run too fast. Even younger children sat on their fathers' shoulders, looking around before pointing and cheering, making their parents shake their heads and chuckle.

Many men and women walked together, carrying lanterns, some whispering to each other, others looking at each other silently from a step apart. They all wore slightly silly smiles, and the atmosphere of their interactions drew understanding and kind glances from passersby.

The Southern Dynasties were far less restrictive towards women than some of the neighboring countries. Coupled with this annual festival, many unmarried young women ventured out of their homes to admire the lanterns, resulting in numerous groups of young girls. Though somewhat reserved, their bright eyes held curiosity and radiated youthful energy. Adorned with fragrant sachets and pouches, and beaded headbands, they left a trail of fragrance as they passed by.

Many lights were lit up along the streets early in the morning, some for everyday lighting and others large red lanterns added specially for festivals. Some shops also ordered lanterns to place in front of their stores to attract customers, and of course, there were stalls in the open spaces selling all kinds of lanterns.

Countless lights illuminated the night market, their orange glow dispelling the lingering chill of winter.

"Miss, if you walk too fast, the people behind you won't be able to keep up." Qin Shu, dressed in altered robes and looking like an ordinary young master, was keeping pace with the Empress Dowager as she walked briskly ahead. He glanced behind her and noticed that Tao Ye Zhuiyi and the guards had fallen behind, so he spoke up. As he spoke, he tried to create some distance between the Empress Dowager and the people around her, so she wouldn't be bumped into in the crowd.

"Taoye and Zhuiyi will find somewhere to play on their own later, so don't worry about them. As for the guards, they've been with me here many times since they were little, so they're familiar with the place and they won't be unable to keep up. Qin Shu, you should worry about yourself and make sure you don't get separated from the group."

Liu Qingtang was dressed as she was when she was still a young lady in her boudoir, wearing the most ordinary pale yellow dress, with a silver hairpin in her hair, and her long hair tied back with a red ribbon. Her face was unadorned. She didn't put on a pretentious, mature face or put on airs; when she smiled, she looked like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, full of mischievous innocence.

"Come on, hold my hand~" Liu Qingtang said, then reached out and grabbed Qin Shu, pulling him into the gaps in the crowd without further ado.

Seeing the Empress Dowager excitedly running into the crowd like a teenager, not caring whether people would bump into her, Qin Shu could only hurriedly follow closely, trying his best to protect her with his free hand.

Just then, someone shouted, "The dragon dance is here!" The already crowded crowd stirred, and everyone pushed forward. Qin Shu, who had been some distance away from Liu Qingtang, was pressed against her by the crowd, and combined with his previous protective posture, he almost hugged Liu Qingtang in his arms.

At this moment, they couldn't go against the flow of people, nor could they squeeze out of the encirclement. The two of them were almost being carried away by the crowd, not knowing where to go.

Seeing that Qin Shu was still trying to make room for her under these circumstances, and was struggling to withstand the pressure from the surroundings, Liu Qingtang simply let go of his hand, wrapped her arms around his waist, and snuggled into his embrace. Qin Shu was stunned for a moment, then without thinking, he wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulder, completely protecting her in his arms.

The surrounding crowd was crowded and noisy, but Liu Qingtang rested her head on Qin Shu's shoulder, and being held tightly in his arms, she felt as if she had been instantly cut off from the outside world. She could feel the rise and fall of his heartbeat, each beat faster than the last. Unconsciously, it made her own normally beating heartbeat just as fast.

Qin Shu held the person in his arms, using the surrounding crowd as a shield, and for the first time, he hugged her tightly without any restraint, as if he never wanted to let go. Liu Qingtang was a little breathless from his embrace, but she didn't say anything to remind him. She quietly let Qin Shu hold her, a gentle smile on her lips.

Gradually, the crowd quieted down and became less crowded. Qin Shu loosened his grip and removed his arms from the Empress Dowager. Liu Qingtang also took a step back from his embrace, but before Qin Shu could feel disappointed, she grabbed him again. "You have to hold my hand all night, or you'll get lost."

"Yes, Miss." Qin Shu looked at the Empress Dowager's hazy yet warm smile under the lamplight, and felt a sudden sense of satisfaction fill his heart. Just as the brilliant lights of tonight illuminated the entire capital, his heart was also illuminated by the Empress Dowager. If... he could always hold the Empress Dowager like tonight, like he just did, how wonderful that would be.

"Hey Qin Shu, look! The dragon dance is coming!"

Two dragons adorned with countless sequins were being danced on by dozens of men wearing headscarves and festive red clothes. The huge and majestic dragon heads chased after a red ball tied with colorful ribbons and silks, back and forth, creating a scene that truly resembled a dragon playing with a pearl, drawing cheers and exclamations from the surrounding children.

Qin Shu didn't think anything of it, but her mistress, like the children, exclaimed in amazement and cheered.

"Miss, haven't you seen this dragon dance before?" He remembered that every year during the Lantern Festival, the palace would specially invite people to perform dragon and lion dances. The scene was much more magnificent than this, but he never saw the Empress Dowager sitting at the head of the table showing any interest. He had always thought that the Empress Dowager didn't like watching these things.

Liu Qingtang stood on tiptoe to look ahead, and replied without turning her head, "The dragon dance outside is much more interesting. It's more lively when everyone watches together. Unlike the past few years when we were inside the walls, sitting high and far away, we couldn't even see clearly. And when we occasionally saw something interesting, we couldn't cheer loudly. It was so stifling."

"Lion dance! Lion dance!" Liu Qingtang exclaimed as she saw six lion dancers arrive after the dragon dance. She instantly forgot her dissatisfaction and excitedly shook Qin Shu's hand, urging him to watch.

Qin Shu wasn't there to watch the dragon and lion dance; he had been watching the Empress Dowager's vivid expressions the entire time, his eyes never leaving her. The Empress Dowager's shaking had him quite shaken; he barely managed to glance away at the lion dance performance passing by on the street.

Lion dances are smaller than dragon dances, with two people per group, and there are six groups in total. They also look more agile, leaping and turning, rolling and shaking their heads. Their eyes can even blink, and they can even spit out flowers from their wide-open mouths, making people laugh heartily. Some lions even get entangled in the dance, one on top of another, and some even circle around a red ball, refusing to be caught, making the surrounding crowd roar with laughter.

Liu Qingtang was watching with great interest when she turned her head and found Qin Shu staring at her without blinking. She couldn't help but laugh and tapped his forehead with her finger, saying, "Why are you looking at me? At a time like this, you should be watching the dragon and lion dances and the lanterns."

Qin Shu quickly looked away, but after a moment he glanced furtively at the Empress Dowager beside him. Liu Qingtang sensed his gaze but ignored him, focusing instead on the lantern float that had just finished the lion dance. The float was covered with a red carpet, and red silk ribbons were tied to the railings on both sides. In the center stood a huge and magnificent lantern, easily taller than two people. Each of the eight sides of the lantern was painted with a beautiful woman, representing the eight most famous beauties of the Southern Dynasty since ancient times.

Liu Qingtang, who was known for her mastery of both calligraphy and painting, could naturally tell that the painting had been commissioned from a famous artist and was quite good. After the lantern-lit carriage passed, there were performances of suona horns and trumpets, as well as acrobatics and dances. Although every dance and acrobatic performance Liu Qingtang had seen in the palace was better than this, the atmosphere and mood were different, and she still preferred this kind of performance.

The long procession passed by. Those who hadn't had enough of the spectacle followed the convoy to continue the parade, while those who had dispersed to admire the roadside lanterns and stroll through the market. Liu Qingtang, rubbing her rumbling stomach, excitedly dragged Qin Shu to eat glutinous rice balls.

After visiting several stalls, all of which were already full of people, Liu Qingtang randomly chose the stall with the most customers and called out to the busy owner, "Two bowls of glutinous rice balls."

The shopkeeper smiled and agreed, then looked down at the round, white glutinous rice balls in the pot. Once they floated to the surface, he took a bowl from the side, scooped out two spoonfuls, and had his waiter take them to the waiting customers.

Liu Qingtang stood to the side waiting and noticed that the shopkeeper was skilled at scooping eight spoonfuls at a time, and two spoonfuls made a bowl. He never counted but never made a mistake. She couldn't help but find it interesting and stared at the bowl he scooped each time to count the spoonfuls.

The shopkeeper smiled and moved even faster, never missing a beat, which made Liu Qingtang praise him.

"I've been doing this for decades, I can feel how many I've scooped up with my eyes closed," he said, adding an extra one to each of Liu Qingtang's and Liu Qingtang's bowls.

After their two bowls were ready, Liu Qingtang gave Qin Shu extra money and let him take the bowls away. She didn't go far, but sat down on a quiet grassy spot by the river next to the stall.

The guards following behind wouldn't bother her without her orders, staying at a respectful distance. Her presence here allowed them to have a bowl of glutinous rice balls at the stall to fill their stomachs.

The river flowed gently eastward, disappearing into the distance. The two sat on the riverbank; though there were no lanterns, the gentle moonlight shone upon them. The Lantern Festival, the first full moon of the year, cast its silvery glow across the sky, reflecting on the shimmering waters of the river.

After admiring the moon for a while, the glutinous rice balls in the bowl cooled down slightly. Liu Qingtang picked up the bowl and chose one. But after taking a bite, she pouted and said, "Why is the first one I eat sesame and white sugar filling?"

These stalls cook glutinous rice balls with various fillings all together. The vendors don't know what fillings are in a bowl, and neither do the customers. Liu Qingtang hadn't eaten them for years, and to her surprise, the first one she ate was her least favorite filling: sesame and white sugar. She couldn't help but feel a little unhappy.

Looking at Qin Shu next to her, she also took a bite, with half left on her spoon, the oozing filling tasting like peanuts. Liu Qingtang suddenly turned to the side, lowered her head and ate the half peanut butter filling, then stuffed the sesame and white sugar filling glutinous rice ball she had only taken a small bite of from her spoon into Qin Shu's slightly open mouth, which was filled with surprise.

"I'll trade you this. I don't like sesame and white sugar filling." Liu Qingtang didn't think there was anything wrong with eating the glutinous rice balls that Qin Shu had eaten. Seeing that Qin Shu had already eaten the sesame and white sugar glutinous rice ball, she took the spoon and scooped another one into the bowl.

"Why is it sesame and white sugar again!" Liu Qingtang stared at the glutinous rice ball with a small hole bitten in it, from which black sugar paste was flowing out, and held it up to Qin Shu's lips.

Qin Shu obediently ate, then lowered his head and poked a small hole in each of the plump white glutinous rice balls in his bowl with a spoon, before picking out the peanut butter filling and transferring it to Liu Qingtang's bowl.

"I want the jujube paste filling too~" Liu Qingtang mumbled, glancing at Qin Shu's bowl while biting into a glutinous rice ball.

Without a word, Qin Shu picked out the jujube paste filling and put it in her bowl as well. After that, only a few jujubes remained in his own bowl. Liu Qingtang looked at her bowl, which was almost overflowing with glutinous rice balls, and picked some back for him. "You should eat more too. Look, you're the same age as me, but you're only half a head taller than me."

When the question of height came up again, Qin Shu paused in scooping up the glutinous rice balls, looking somewhat hesitant as she said, "I'm... two years younger than Miss."

Author's Note: [Let's write more sweet moments so we can...cough cough, get through the boring plots~ Next chapter will be for the Lantern Festival~] [Found a bug earlier, fixing it will be an incorrect update]

Ada threw a landmine~

Yoyo Yingzi threw a landmine~

Thank you, ladies, for spending so much!