The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 36

The Empress Dowager wants to give him a gift? Qin Shu was instantly flattered. For over a decade, he had been alone, and no one had ever cared about his birthday, let alone given him a gift. (For more text, please search on Baidu or search for "Lewen" on WeChat.)

"Well, it's just a small gift." Liu Qingtang said, looking around. Seeing a group of children playing not far away, she told Qin Shu to wait there and walked over.

Qin Shu stood there holding the lantern, watching the Empress Dowager stand among the children, waving her hand to gather them together. Then she bent down and said something, turned back and pointed at him, and then brought the children back.

"Alright, go ahead and say it." Liu Qingtang clapped her hands with a smile on her face.

The children looked at each other, and then a boy who looked a little older spoke first. He looked at Qin Shu and said loudly, "Happy birthday, brother!"

Qin Shu was taken aback, but Liu Qingtang nodded approvingly, saying, "Not bad, not bad, your voice is quite loud. Here, have a lantern." She then took a lantern from Qin Shu's hand and placed it in the boy's hand. The other children were excited to see their friend actually receive a lantern and rushed forward to wish Qin Shu a happy birthday.

Qin Shu was so overwhelmed by the children's enthusiasm that he unconsciously took a step back. But the children were all focused on the lanterns and didn't care about his stiff expression, which usually terrified them. They surrounded him, chattering and shouting "Happy Birthday!" Liu Qingtang, seeing Qin Shu's helpless expression in front of the children, laughed even more heartily. She stood by and watched, and only when she felt it was about time did she slowly step forward to stop the children.

"That won't do. We have to do it one at a time, or we won't give you the lanterns."

After hearing Liu Qingtang's words, the children finally calmed down and began to step forward one by one to wish Qin Shu a happy birthday, and then happily received a lantern from Liu Qingtang.

After Qin Shu had given away all ten lanterns, Liu Qingtang dismissed the children and then pulled Qin Shu back into the lantern market. Qin Shu, who had just been wished a happy birthday by a group of innocent and lively children, hadn't quite processed it when he saw the Empress Dowager starting to solve lantern riddles again.

This time, instead of letting him guess, she tried to guess herself. She guessed very quickly, almost able to tell the answer after just a glance at the riddle, which attracted frequent attention from those who were also struggling to solve the riddle.

They walked and guessed as they went, hardly stopping at all. Qin Shu's hands were soon full of lanterns, and Liu Qingtang's own hands were also full. Only when neither of them could carry any more did Liu Qingtang stop, casually stopping a couple who appeared to be lovers by the roadside. Pointing to Qin Shu, she said to them:

"His birthday is coming soon. If you would like to wish him a happy birthday, I would like to give you a lantern."

The couple smiled amicably and wished Qin Shu a happy birthday without saying a word. As they left with their lanterns, Qin Shu overheard the woman say to the man with envy, "They're so loving."

For some reason, Qin Shu felt his already excited heart rise like fireworks.

"Excuse me, everyone. His birthday is coming up soon. May I wish him a happy birthday? I can give you some lanterns as gifts."

Liu Qingtang showed no sign of stopping, continuing to speak to strangers along the way. Few people refused; in the festive atmosphere, everyone seemed to become kind and friendly.

Young couples, families passing by, elderly couples looking at lanterns with their spouses, children running around in the lantern market, vendors setting up stalls... Liu Qingtang searched for all kinds of people, young and old, men and women. After giving away all the lanterns in her hand, she went to guess them. By the time she had finished browsing the entire lantern market, she had lost count of how many lanterns she had given away.

Liu Qingtang seemed to know that Qin Shu had never celebrated his birthday, and wanted to make up for the lack of birthday wishes he had received for the past ten years or so. At this moment, she was not the dignified empress dowager whom everyone looked up to, but a woman who wanted to make her beloved happy and asked others to bless him.

Just as she was about to head to the next lantern market, Qin Shu, who had been silent all along, stopped her. He held her hand firmly and said softly, "Miss, it's time."

Liu Qingtang smiled, then pulled Qin Shu to a quiet spot under the willow trees by the river. She reached out and touched his face. "Although it's a day early, I'll say it in advance: Happy Birthday."

Qin Shu's Adam's apple bobbed, and he suddenly spoke, "Qin Shu, may I... kiss Miss now?"

"Pfft." Liu Qingtang's eyes crinkled as she answered him cheerfully, "Sure~"

Overwhelmed with an undying sense of happiness, Qin Shu reverently lowered his head and lightly kissed Liu Qingtang's lips. He seemed easily satisfied, but today, the overwhelming and frequent happiness had almost become unbearable. Qin Shu thought, perhaps there really are people in this world who die from excessive joy.

"Qin Shu, you said you'd just give me a kiss, and you really only gave me a light kiss?" Liu Qingtang couldn't help but laugh when she saw Qin Shu gently nuzzle her, looking at her as if he had received a great favor. It wasn't like she hadn't kissed him before; why was his reaction always so cautious, almost adorably so?

"Then, can I kiss her again?" Qin Shu was pushing his luck with the Empress Dowager for the first time, and waited nervously for her answer.

“I’m also planning to give this as a second birthday gift. If so, it can’t be too simple.” Liu Qingtang said, pulling Qin Shu’s head down and pressing her lips to his, giving him a passionate kiss from the inside out.

After a while of entanglement, Qin Shu gradually took the initiative, wrapping his arms around Liu Qingtang's waist and back, gently caressing and rubbing against her. Unlike Liu Qingtang's unrestrained and carefree kisses, Qin Shu's kisses were restrained and cautious, and much gentler than Liu Qingtang's. They made the other person feel itchy and unsatisfied, yet unable to escape from that watery tenderness.

The overlapping figures whispered sweet nothings, intoxicated by the fragrant moonlight and gentle breeze, a beautiful and auspicious time. The bustling city lights in the distance faded into gradually blurring dots of light.

As she finally stepped back, Liu Qingtang saw the bright light in Qin Shu's eyes, like an inextinguishable lamp that burned quietly.

"Your Majesty, this servant... I... love you."

Then Liu Qingtang heard Qin Shu say this.

The feelings he had hidden for decades in his past life were laid bare before her, without any concealment. Qin Shu was a man of low self-esteem and caution; just a few days ago, he was so worried that she would discover his feelings, afraid that she would despise him because of his body. But now, simply because she had been kind to him, he was able to tell her his most unspeakable secret.

"Aren't you still scared?" Liu Qingtang grasped Qin Shu's trembling hands, raised her eyebrows and smiled, "I grant your request. Since you say so, then it can never be changed."

"An imperial decree, you won't accept it?"

Qin Shu bent down to hide the tears in his eyes, took Liu Qingtang's hand, and gently pressed his forehead against it. "Yes, Your Majesty's will." He was destined to live and die for this person.

If he was a weed before, then for the sake of the Empress Dowager, he wanted to become a thorn bush. He would carefully grow around that beautiful flower, protecting her so that she could grow and bloom freely.

"Today, I'm going to take you to visit someone."

Far from the lantern market, leaving behind the shouts and laughter, the two walked hand in hand along the secluded path leading to Chuyun Temple on the mountain. Chuyun Temple was not considered a particularly popular temple in Yujing, but according to her father, her mother loved to come here to burn incense. He said that in a bustling place like Yujing, the tranquility of Chuyun Temple was especially endearing, so her mother's memorial tablet was also enshrined here.

Before she entered the palace, every Lantern Festival, after playing with her brothers, she would come here to offer incense to her mother. Now, so many years later, the scenery here remains unchanged.

After walking along a short, winding stone path and past lush trees, you'll see two yellow paper lanterns emitting a soft glow in front of Izumo-ji Temple.

Liu Qingtang stepped forward and knocked on the door. Immediately, a bald young monk opened it, his bright, round eyes scanning the two of them. "Are you Benefactor Liu?" Upon receiving an affirmative answer, the young monk opened the door fully and welcomed them inside. He escorted them to a side hall, clasped his hands together, chanted a Buddhist prayer, and left.

Liu Qingtang didn't say why they came, so Qin Shu didn't ask. It wasn't until Liu Qingtang pushed open the door with a creak that he saw the name written on the memorial tablet in the hall, which was Liu Su Shi Bai Yan, that he vaguely guessed something.

Sure enough, the Empress Dowager said, "You have seen your father, your brother, and Su Shu. Now I'm bringing you here to let my mother see you."

As Liu Qingtang spoke, she picked up the incense sticks placed beside her and lit them on the candle flame on the altar. "My mother passed away a few months after I was born. I have no memory of her, but I often heard about her from my father, brothers, and sisters. My father said that my mother and I are very similar, so she would definitely be satisfied with you."

Even though he was facing only a cold memorial tablet, Qin Shu couldn't help but feel nervous, as if he were truly being scrutinized by his mother-in-law. Liu Qingtang smiled when she saw him like that, and pulled him to kneel on the prayer mat to kowtow and offer incense.

"Mother, the man next to me is Qin Shu, the man I chose for myself. I brought him here to show you. If I like him, you'll like him too, right?" Liu Qingtang said, then tilted her head to look at Qin Shu.

Qin Shu then forced himself to speak, "Madam..."

He had barely uttered two words when Liu Qingtang poked him in the ribs. "What did you call my mother?"

"Mother..." This title wasn't as difficult to say as he had imagined. Qin Shu paused for a moment before continuing, "I am Qin Shu, and I will definitely treat Mother well in the future..." Before he could finish, Liu Qingtang poked him in the waist again.

Qin Shu immediately changed his tune, "Treat Qing Tang well." After saying that, he looked at Liu Qing Tang as if he had done something wrong.

Without saying a word, Liu Qingtang poked his waist again, "So stupid!"

Even after they returned to the Liu residence, Qin Shu washed up and lay in bed, still thinking about the Empress Dowager's helpless yet gentle smile, so captivating that one was willing to be intoxicated by it and never want to wake up.

This was the best Lantern Festival he had ever experienced, no, it should be said to be the best day of his life. Even in a dream, there is no dream as beautiful as this.

Whether his eyes were closed or open, Qin Shu saw only the image of the Empress Dowager before him. Smiling, annoyed, joyful, serene—every expression was worth savoring countless times. The dazzling smile on her face while watching the dragon and lion dance, the way she ate glutinous rice balls, her eyes slightly lowered as she blew air into the spoon, her cheeks puffing out—it was an adorable sight he had never seen before. When she stopped passersby to wish him a happy birthday, she stood beside him, silently opening her mouth to say the same. Under the willow tree, hearing his words, without any reservations, so freely and earnestly, that she had accepted his love…

Qin Shu covered her eyes with her hands, a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth. She remained in the darkness, thinking of the person she had just parted from, for a long time, unwilling to fall asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, there was a sudden knock on the window. Qin Shu, lying in bed, was startled, but before she could utter a sound, she heard the Empress Dowager's voice from outside the window. "Qin Shu, are you asleep?"

"Is Your Majesty still not asleep?" Qin Shu hurriedly got out of bed to open the window. In his haste, he bumped into the corner of the table in the dark, letting out a muffled groan of pain before quickly suppressing it.

He opened the window and saw the Empress Dowager standing outside. She was still wearing the same dress she wore at the lantern festival, holding a large tray with a bowl of noodles and a long box on it. Seeing that he had opened the window, she handed him the tray and said quickly, "These longevity noodles... I had the cook in the manor make them for you as a late-night snack. The wooden box next to you contains my birthday gift for you. You can rest now; I'll be going now."

She finished speaking hastily to herself, and without waiting for Qin Shu to speak, she disappeared into the night. Qin Shu leaned out of the window with the tray in his hand, only to see a corner of her dress hidden at the end of the corridor, like a butterfly fluttering in the night.

Standing by the window for a while, Qin Shu felt a chill. Looking down, he realized he'd been in such a rush that he'd forgotten to put on his shoes. He closed the window, lit the lamp, and sat down at the table. Looking at the bowl of longevity noodles still steaming, he first opened the wooden box. Inside lay a scroll. Qin Shu picked it up and slowly unfurled it, revealing a traditional Chinese ink painting of lanterns.

Almost the instant Qin Shu saw the painting, the night market he had strolled through with the Empress Dowager that evening vividly appeared before his eyes. The stalls selling glutinous rice balls, the endless stream of people watching the performances, the quiet willows by the river, and the river reflecting the bright moon—all were depicted in this painting. Prosperity and tranquility, noise and peace, coexisted harmoniously within its walls.

In one corner of the painting, there is a woman guessing riddles and a man carrying many lanterns. Although it is just a faint silhouette, Qin Shu clearly knows that it is the Empress Dowager and him.

Qin Shu reached out to the woman in the painting, seemingly wanting to touch her, but halfway there, he hesitated, worried about hurting her, and withdrew his hand, staring blankly at the painting. He gazed at it for a long time, reluctant to let go, before carefully rolling the painting back up and placing it neatly back in the wooden box. Then he carried the wooden box to the inside of the bed.

He carefully placed the wooden box away, then sat back down at the table and picked up the bowl of noodles, which had now gone cold. He had been looking at the painting for so long that a layer of oil had formed in the bowl, but Qin Shu ignored it and started eating. Even if it were poison sent by the Empress Dowager, he would have eaten it without batting an eye.

The cold noodles didn't taste good, and they had a faint burnt flavor. Qin Shu took a bite and was stunned. He wasn't stupid; remembering the Empress Dowager's unnatural expression when she said the cook had made them, he immediately understood. It seemed the Empress Dowager herself had made these noodles.

Suddenly, a drop of water fell into the bowl. Qin Shu lowered his head, his expression unreadable, and ate the noodles one small bite at a time.

It was already midnight; the Lantern Festival of the fifth year of Yuanning had passed.

Author's Note: It's been so long writing for the Lantern Festival... but on such a beautiful day, I couldn't help but want to write more!

Mo Cirou threw a landmine

Chen Li threw a landmine

A rocket was thrown from the castle of three.

The Ming Dynasty threw a landmine

[Thanks to the girls who threw grenades and rocket launchers~ Here's a Fuhua cigarette for each of them to enjoy with your drinks~ Please accept it~]