The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 35

"I'm two years younger than you, Miss. For more text, please search on Baidu or search for 'Lewen'."

The glutinous rice ball that Liu Qingtang had just scooped up fell back into the bowl with a thud, splashing a few drops of soup.

"You're two years younger than me?!" Liu Qingtang's eyes widened in disbelief, leaving Qin Shu unsure whether to nod or shake his head.

Before Qin Shu could think of how to answer, Liu Qingtang lowered her head, scooped up the glutinous rice balls in her bowl, stuffed them into her mouth, and chewed them angrily, her cheeks bulging.

She had always assumed Qin Shu was the same age as her because in her past life, she had casually asked him his age, and both Zhuiyi and Taoye said he should be the same age as her. She had only asked casually then and hadn't bothered to verify it with Qin Shu. Looking at his face, he certainly seemed about her age, so she had always assumed that. She never imagined he was actually two years younger than her!

Or rather, in terms of mental age, she's more than two years younger now. Thinking about it this way, Liu Qingtang felt even more unhappy.

Looking at the glutinous rice balls in the bowl, Liu Qingtang felt a tightness in her stomach. She glanced at Qin Shu, who was looking at her helplessly, and handed the bowl to him, saying, "Eat them all."

"Yes, Miss." Qin Shu picked up his bowl and ate the glutinous rice balls, while secretly glancing at the sullen person sitting next to him. He noticed that the Empress Dowager seemed unhappy, but he didn't say anything... Could it be that the Empress Dowager didn't like him being younger than her? Qin Shu regretted saying that earlier, but he couldn't take it back. So he once again felt helpless about his inability to speak in front of the Empress Dowager.

In Qin Shu's view, it was just a slight age difference, and the Empress Dowager shouldn't care too much about it. However, he clearly failed to understand the principle that 'women in love are prone to overthinking.' No matter how strong Liu Qingtang appeared, she was still just an ordinary woman facing the man she loved.

Seeing that Qin Shu had finished eating, Liu Qingtang stood up, patted her skirt, and said, "Let's go guess the riddles."

The Empress still has the interest to guess riddles, so she must be alright, right? Qin Shu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly followed her.

There are many places to guess lantern riddles. One is where the government hangs countless lanterns in a large open space, and everyone can guess them. You tell the person guarding the place the answer, and if you guess correctly, you can take the lantern away.

Secondly, some shops on the street joined together to set up a long string of lanterns in front of their doors. People could win lanterns by guessing the riddles hanging under them, and some even received prizes prepared by the shop owners. However, each person could only guess a maximum of three times per shop.

Thirdly, there are small markets that specialize in selling lanterns. You can pay a fee at the entrance to enter and guess the lanterns. The lanterns there are more exquisite. You can choose as many lanterns as you want by guessing a few riddles correctly from the stall owner.

Of course, there were also other kinds of lantern festivals held by renowned literati in their own gardens. Those who wrote poems or painted at the entrance and won the appreciation of the host could enter, mostly to make friends. Some civil officials would also set up lanterns at the entrance of their mansions to make friends through literature. Those who wrote articles or poems that the host liked could receive a lantern, and depending on the host's satisfaction with the work, they could receive anywhere from a few taels to tens or even hundreds of taels of silver.

Qin Shu had assumed that the Empress Dowager would only go to the first three types of lantern markets, since the latter two types would easily expose her identity. However, to his surprise, she directly dragged him to the door of Minister Wu's house in the Ministry of Revenue, which was the closest.

A large crowd had already gathered there, mostly scholars in long gowns, all watching the people wielding their brushes at the row of tables in front, whispering amongst themselves. Wu Hansheng, the Minister of Revenue, a man in his forties with a beard and a refined appearance, paced back and forth in front of the tables, a look of satisfaction and admiration frequently appearing on his face.

Liu Qingtang straightened her clothes and walked over gracefully. Qin Shu, though somewhat doubtful and worried, showed no sign of it on his face, following a step behind Liu Qingtang beside her. Whatever the Empress Dowager did, she must have her reasons; he didn't care about right or wrong, he just wanted to stay by her side.

There were three empty tables left, and Liu Qingtang chose the last one. She stood behind the table, and Qin Shu knowingly ground ink for her. The onlookers were immediately abuzz when they saw a woman step forward. After all, in this situation, unless one truly possessed genuine talent and skill, few men would dare to step forward, and women were indeed very rare.

Fortunately, the Southern Dynasties had produced many women whose literary talent rivaled that of men, so most scholars did not show any disdain; on the contrary, they were somewhat expectant. However, since the other party appeared to be an unmarried woman, they did not dare to get too close to take a closer look, and instead glanced at her from time to time.

Wu Hansheng, of course, also noticed the woman who had suddenly appeared. Seeing her with her head down as if she were painting, he curiously stroked his beard and walked over to take a closer look at what she was painting. But as soon as he got closer, he saw her look up, and that familiar face startled him so much that he almost ripped off his own beard.

They, as ministers, naturally knew that the Empress Dowager had left the palace to visit her family, but since she wasn't at the Liu family's residence, how did she end up here incognito? Wu Hansheng saw the guards in ordinary clothes under the trees not far away, and then he recognized the person grinding ink as Eunuch Qin, the one the Empress Dowager had been bringing to court these past few days. Only then did he truly believe that the girl in front of him, who looked about the same age as his own daughter, was indeed the Empress Dowager who could manipulate events at court. He inwardly groaned.

Having served as an official for over twenty years, Wu Hansheng could naturally tell that the Empress Dowager would not want to reveal her identity at this time. Therefore, he composed himself, approached the painting, and whispered, "This humble subject pays his respects to the Empress Dowager. I apologize for my neglect of Your Majesty."

Liu Qingtang smiled, shook her head slightly to indicate that she was alright, and continued drawing her Lantern Festival picture. Even Wu Hansheng, who was trembling with fear because of the Empress Dowager's sudden arrival, couldn't help but nod and show an approving smile as he looked at the gradually taking shape of the painting. After Liu Qingtang finished the last stroke, she thought for a moment and wrote a line next to it: "The east wind releases a thousand trees of flowers at night, and blows down stars like rain."

Finally, as Liu Qingtang left with the top prize of several hundred taels of silver and a finely crafted lantern, Wu Hansheng was still holding the painting, pondering to himself. What exactly did the Empress Dowager come for? Was it just for those few hundred taels of silver? But this painting alone was worth far more than a few hundred taels, and the Empress Dowager probably wasn't short of money. Lost in thought, Wu Hansheng simply took the painting into his residence. No matter what, he had to keep it safe; it was incredibly valuable.

“Miss, so many people saw that painting today. If Minister Wu were to take it out and claim it as a masterpiece by the Empress Dowager, and someone with ulterior motives were to connect it to today’s events, it might not be appropriate,” Qin Shu said as he followed Liu Qingtang away, seeing Minister Wu holding the painting.

Hearing Qin Shu's awkward and roundabout way of trying to get the painting back, Liu Qingtang felt a little relieved. She had long noticed that Qin Shu's eyes were glued to the painting, clearly showing how much he wanted it. But the more he wanted it, the less she would give it to him. In fact, if she had just asked, Minister Wu would have returned the painting without hesitation, but seeing the reluctance in Qin Shu's eyes, she gave it to Minister Wu without a second thought.

Normally, if Qin Shu wanted a painting, she would simply give it to him. But today, she was still angry. Could it be that Qin Shu couldn't see it? Her eyes were practically piercing into the painting.

Liu Qingtang turned to look at Qin Shu and saw that he really didn't realize she was still angry and reluctant to part with the painting. She was immediately furious and said in a muffled voice, "Wu Hansheng is very smart and wouldn't do such a thing."

His ability to maintain neutrality between her and the two prime ministers for so long is undoubtedly remarkable. If this clever man could be won over, he might become a valuable asset in the future.

This wasn't a sudden, impulsive decision; it was a long-planned move. Wu Hansheng was currently neutral, but it wouldn't be long before he was drawn into the faction of Chief Minister Wang and Chief Minister Feng, because his daughter had married Chief Minister Wang's youngest son. And Wu Hansheng's greatest passions in life were calligraphy, painting, and his daughter. Since he hadn't yet been won over, she naturally wanted to compete for his services.

Another important reason was Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng was the orphan of a general under her father's command. They had played together as children and were on good terms. When they grew up, her father had considered marrying her to Wei Zheng, but neither of them was interested, and her father didn't want her to marry so early. Furthermore, she later entered the palace, and the matter was dropped.

After becoming Empress Dowager, Wei Zheng was her right-hand man, doing many things for her. In her previous life, it wasn't until several years later that Liu Qingtang learned that Wei Zheng and the daughter of Minister Wu were in love, but the youngest son of the Grand Secretary Wang ruined Miss Wu's reputation, forcing her to marry him, and she died a few years later.

After Miss Wu's death, Wei Zheng was depressed for a long time and died in an accident orchestrated by Chief Minister Wang. If Wei Zheng hadn't died, she wouldn't have been so easily placed under house arrest in the palace to await her death. After all, Wei Zheng held half of the military power he had inherited from her father, and he had fewer concerns than his father, making it easier for him to act.

After Wei Zheng's death, she handed over half of the military power to her trusted nephew, the emperor, giving him the confidence to break ties with the Liu family.

Thinking of this, Liu Qingtang felt a surge of guilt and anger rising in her chest. Forcing herself to suppress these emotions, she began to plan when to bestow a marriage decree upon Wei Zheng and Miss Wu. She remembered that Wei Zheng had mentioned that he first met Miss Wu at the lantern festival that year, so she could draft the imperial edict after returning home.

If in her past life she didn't understand why Wei Zheng, who was always strong and independent, would be so devastated by Miss Wu's death; or why her usually stern father would soften his expression only when talking about her mother, and why he, who was as steady as a mountain, would lock himself in his study every year on the Lantern Festival, the anniversary of his mother's death, as if he couldn't bear it, then now, because of Qin Shu, she understands.

If Qin Shu were to die one day, I'm afraid she...

Liu Qingtang softened as she thought about it, realizing that her anger was indeed unreasonable. Just then, she heard Qin Shu say, "Miss, the painting is so good, why not bring it back, frame it, and hang it in the study?"

Why was Qin Shu still thinking about that painting? Liu Qingtang felt the anger she had just extinguished reignite. She was right there, yet Qin Shu was so preoccupied with that lousy painting. If she were appeased, he could have any painting she wanted, but he couldn't even tell that she was still angry.

Liu Qingtang was determined to make a scene. Grabbing his calloused hand, she stormed towards the lantern-lit street in front of the shops. Upon reaching the first shop, Liu Qingtang stopped and said to Qin Shu:

"Qin Shu, you guess the riddle."

Qin Shu could only regretfully put aside his thoughts about the painting and went forward to look at the riddle as instructed. After thinking for a moment, he was just about to reveal the answer when he heard the Empress Dowager beside him say, "The answer is 'water'."

"This young lady guessed correctly." The shopkeeper nodded, looking at the paper with the answer to the riddle written on it, and then asked, "Would you like to guess again?"

Liu Qingtang squeezed Qin Shu's hand, "Qin Shu, keep guessing."

Could it be that the Empress Dowager thought he was too slow in guessing and so she revealed the answer herself? Qin Shu thought to himself as he looked at the second riddle, but just as he opened his mouth to say the answer, he heard the Empress Dowager say before him, "The answer is the character '鑫' (xīn)." So the words he was about to say were stuck in his throat.

"This young lady is very clever, she guessed correctly again. A shop can guess three times, would you like to guess again?" The shop owner smiled and rang the bell twice.

Liu Qingtang smiled and glanced sideways at Qin Shu. "Guess."

Qin Shu reached for the third slip of paper with a riddle written on it. This riddle was more difficult, and he pondered it for a while. While thinking, he glanced at the Empress Dowager beside him. She seemed focused on the lanterns and didn't even look at him. When Qin Shu finally figured out the answer, he opened his mouth and heard the Empress Dowager leisurely utter, "The answer is 'peony'."