The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 46

After leaving Qin Shu speechless for a long time in embarrassment, Liu Qingtang remained in a good mood and maintained a gentle demeanor throughout the Emperor's birthday celebration. (For more text, please search on Baidu or Lewen.com (◎◎x◎s◎.o◎r◎g◎) Remember to remove the ◎ from the Baidu search URL.) However, this good mood didn't last long. Just after the banquet ended that evening, as she returned to Cining Palace and was about to go to sleep, a young eunuch who worked in the Emperor's Chang'an Palace rushed in.

"Say it again?" Liu Qingtang sat at the head of the table with a dark expression. Her words startled the previously somewhat organized eunuch, who began to stutter.

"His Majesty drank a bit too much wine today, and a little palace maid named Ying Cai from Chang'an Palace seduced... seduced His Majesty into doing... doing that thing. Eunuch Fu... doesn't know what to do, so he sent me to report to the Empress Dowager, please... please Your Majesty make a decision."

"Nonsense," Liu Qingtang said coldly, tapping the table with her finger. The sound wasn't loud, but it startled the eunuch below who was about to speak, turning his face pale.

Emperors typically only arrange for a virtuous palace maid to guide them in their marital relations after they turn fifteen; there's no reason for them to just casually take any woman. Ambitious women like this are not lacking in the palace, and it's not wrong for her to want to climb the social ladder, but she must know her limits. A foolish person who is blinded by their own limitations and tries to achieve instant success by climbing into the emperor's bed will only meet a dead end.

Like Eunuch Ning, Eunuch Fu had served the late emperor in his early years, yet he too acted so recklessly, watching the emperor do such a foolish thing. He was only thirteen years old today, and doing such things at such a young age would be extremely harmful to his health. Many emperors had been exposed to such things too early, indulging in sensual pleasures, and ultimately ruining their health, dying in their thirties or forties.

Liu Qingtang frowned deeply in anger and stood up to deal with the matter.

But after standing up, she suddenly paused. If the emperor became obsessed with women and died young because of this, wouldn't it be a good thing for her? As long as the emperor left behind a child, she could easily support another young emperor to ascend the throne. Wouldn't that be much better than keeping him around all the time? At least there would be plenty of time for the other child to grow up. She shouldn't stop him; she should guide the emperor down this path.

The anger in Liu Qingtang's heart was extinguished by this sudden thought.

But as she thought this, she suddenly remembered that year when she first entered the palace, and how she saw that child dressed in mourning clothes, staring blankly at his mother's memorial tablet in the Fengxian Hall, his body so thin that a gust of wind could blow him over. And many years later, how he sat in the court, full of vigor and pointing out the state of the country.

She used the best years of her life to raise that child. In the very beginning, he would follow her around calling her "sister," but she would correct him and he would pout unhappily when she told him he should call her "aunt."

Later, she couldn't remember when it started, but he began to call her "Mother" affectionately yet with a clear distinction. At the time, she always thought it was because the child had become sensible, but she didn't know that it simply meant he had already figured out how to be a qualified emperor. How could imperial power be allowed to be held by others? Even though she had largely helped him seize the throne, she had no room to interfere.

In her past life, the emperor had decreed her death. In this life, she loathed and distanced herself from him, yet she refused to acknowledge that he was still the child in her heart. Just as a mother, even if she felt her child was a villain, guilty of heinous crimes, how could she bear to kill him with her own hands and lead him to his doom?

She kept convincing herself that the emperor's actions were due to the slander and misleading words of the two chief ministers, and thus poured all her hatred into them, regarding them as thorns in her side. But... she already guessed the truth, she just didn't want to believe it.

Liu Qingtang's face was frighteningly cold. She looked down at her pale hands for a while, then finally moved her stiff body and said, "Leave Taoye, and come with me to Chang'an Palace." Then she walked out the door.

Just as she had said before, she would not lay a hand on the emperor unless absolutely necessary. Out of… respect for the fact that he had called her "Mother" for so many years, this was her last act of kindness.

When Liu Qingtang stepped out of the door, she saw Qin Shu waiting there. It was already late, but Qin Shu was still busy with some matters and hadn't had time to rest. Hearing the commotion, he rushed over. Another eunuch from Chang'an Palace had already told him what was happening, and Qin Shu immediately ordered the Empress Dowager's palanquin to be prepared. Sure enough, just as it was ready, Liu Qingtang emerged from the palace.

Seeing him, Liu Qingtang breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to get into the sedan chair. Qin Shu glanced at her face, wanting to say something, but there were people around and it wasn't appropriate to speak, so he reached out to help her and whispered, "Your Highness, watch your step."

Liu Qingtang's hand tightened for a moment, then naturally loosened. When he sat in the sedan chair, his expression had returned to normal.

Inside the quiet palace walls, a group of people carrying lanterns and sedan chairs hurriedly made their way towards the emperor's bedroom, Chang'an Palace, like ghosts.

Meanwhile, in Chang'an Palace, Xiao Huaixu, who usually wore a smile and seemed like an innocent and naive young man, was now wearing his outer robe with a somber expression as he was helped by Eunuch Fu. He glanced at the woman kneeling at the head of the table, clutching a skirt wrapped around herself, and said indifferently, "Have someone drag her away and kill her. Before... Mother Empress, don't let this lowly thing defile her eyes."

Upon hearing this, the woman's face showed disbelief. With tears in her eyes, she raised her face and stared blankly at Xiao Huaixu. After a long while, she burst into a sob and pleaded, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am already yours. Please have mercy on me. I was delusional. I know I was wrong. Please spare my life, Your Majesty, for the sake of my wholehearted service to Your Majesty!"

"Drag her away and gag her. Don't let her say anything nonsense." Xiao Huaixu didn't even look at her, his gaze sweeping over the messy dragon bed, a hint of displeasure in his eyes. Just a little plaything; she'd forgotten her place after being given a few leeways. How dare she scheme against him! If it weren't for her face, why would he even glance at her? A disgustingly stupid thing.

Upon hearing this, the guards covered Ying Cai's mouth and dragged her out, but they were blocked from entering before they reached the door. Liu Qingtang entered with Zhuiyi and Qin Shu, and several servants and guards in the hall knelt on the ground.

Sitting there, Xiao Huaixu glanced at Ying Cai, who hadn't been dragged out yet, and finally felt a little uneasy. He then forced a smile and went to greet her. "Mother, it's so late and you've gone to all this trouble. Your son is unfilial."

At this moment, Ying Cai seized the opportunity to break free from the two guards and threw herself at Liu Qingtang's feet, crying and begging the Empress Dowager for mercy, reaching out to grab the hem of her skirt. Qin Shu, standing nearby, kicked her away without thinking. Seeing her fall to the side with blood trickling from her mouth, his expression remained unchanged. But for a fleeting moment, when he saw Ying Cai's raised face, he felt a strange stirring in his heart, as if something about her looked strangely familiar.

Xiao Huaixu then coldly said to the two stunned guards, "Why haven't you taken him away and executed him yet?"

"Wait." Liu Qingtang straightened her sleeves and looked up at Xiao Huaixu. "Your Majesty, don't rush to kill. It's still your birthday, and it's not appropriate to shed blood. Besides, I need to hear the whole story about the harem and ask this audacious palace maid in person who gave her the courage to entice Your Majesty to do such a thing."

Under Liu Qingtang's gaze, Xiao Huaixu's smile vanished, his face turning ashen, perhaps tinged with unease, though it quickly disappeared. Then, like a child who had done something wrong, he lowered his head and whispered, "Mother, Huaixu knows his mistake."

Although Liu Qingtang was eight years older than Xiao Huaixu, Xiao Huaixu, being a royal child, was precocious. For the first two years after Liu Qingtang entered the palace, she was more like an older sister to her nephew than an elder. However, as she experienced more and more, she became less fond of laughing and joking, and became particularly strict with Xiao Huaixu, which gradually led to their relationship becoming distant.

To say he was unfamiliar might not be the right word; it's just that Xiao Huaixu had become more and more like a young boy at some point, smiling and gentle, completely different from his precocious self in childhood. When Liu Qingtang first saw him like this, she was happy that he had finally become the person he should be at this age. But after her rebirth, Liu Qingtang realized that this was just an act he put on for her.

Now, seeing him apologize to her so softly, just like when he was **, Liu Qingtang didn't feel any pity, but rather a deep weariness. No matter the situation, this child could always put on a facade in front of her.

"Since you know you've made a mistake, don't repeat it next time. You are the emperor, so you must learn to control yourself. If a mere palace maid can throw you into such a state of confusion today, what will you do in the future? Don't disappoint me." Liu Qingtang's heart was cold, and her tone was exceptionally cold as well.

Xiao Huaixu shuddered upon hearing this, lowered his head, and said hesitantly again, "There will never be a next time."

"Then Your Majesty should rest well. I will take the person away and deal with her properly." Only then did Liu Qingtang finally spare a glance for Ying Cai, who was being held down by two guards. Her clothes were disheveled and her hair fell down, covering most of her face, so she could not be seen clearly.

A hint of panic flashed across Xiao Huaixu's downcast face, but he quickly suppressed it. He raised his eyes and said with concern and a touch of guilt, "She's just a lowly palace maid. Just drag her out and deal with her. Don't make Mother Empress stay up so late."

Liu Qingtang was about to leave when she suddenly remembered something and said, "I intend to build a 'palace prison' in the palace to specifically deal with these palace maids and eunuchs who have made mistakes. What does the Emperor think?"

Xiao Huaixu considered the matter for a moment, but still asked humbly, "Doesn't the Imperial Household Department have such a place?"

Liu Qingtang snorted and said leisurely, "I'm afraid the people in the Imperial Household Department can't handle so many things. They've really been outrageous in the last two years. I've received many impeachment memorials and had people teach them a lesson, but they still don't know how to restrain themselves."

It turned out that they wanted to divide the power of the Imperial Household Department. Xiao Huaixu understood. He also disliked the increasingly blatant servants in the Imperial Household Department, but if he agreed, the Empress Dowager would have more power.

"This...the matter of building a palace prison, why don't we ask the ministers during the morning court session?" Xiao Huaixu suggested, feigning indecision.

"Regarding matters within the inner palace, if any ministers have any opinions, please feel free to raise them with me. Although it is not within their scope of duty, they may have better suggestions. However, this is really not a big deal. It is merely a way to rectify the atmosphere in the palace and serve as a warning to those disloyal servants." Liu Qingtang said this with a slight smile, though it did not reach her eyes. She added, "Such a trivial matter, I presume the Emperor would agree with it as well."

Xiao Huaixu remained silent inwardly, but smiled without revealing any displeasure, saying, "Of course I agree." He knew very well that when his mother smiled at him like that, it meant there was no room for negotiation. Ha, this person is always so domineering, truly...annoying.

When Liu Qingtang returned to Cixi Palace with a group of people, a look of exhaustion appeared on her face. She stood there for a while in the night breeze, and Qin Shu silently stood in the wind to shield her from it.

Liu Qingtang noticed this, rubbed her face and smiled at Qin Shu, "It's alright, go and rest. Tomorrow, ask that palace maid—I guess she wasn't sent by anyone, she's probably just a silly woman who can't see the situation clearly. Just ask her a few questions and have someone deal with her, let her rest in peace."

Qin Shu agreed and escorted her to her bedchamber before leaving. However, he didn't go to rest as instructed, but instead went to the place where the palace maid Yingcai was imprisoned. At that moment, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of her face and felt something about her that made him uncomfortable.

The eunuch guarding outside opened the door for Qin Shu, who then led a young eunuch he had recently trained inside, carrying a lamp. The palace maid had already fainted and lay unconscious on the ground.

Qin Shu turned her over and saw her face clearly. In an instant, his expression turned extremely ugly. This palace maid's face looked about four-tenths like... the Empress Dowager.

With her eyes open, the resemblance wasn't so striking, which is why Qin Shu couldn't immediately pinpoint what was strange. But now that her eyes were closed, it was easy to see the resemblance to the Empress Dowager. Unless one was a discerning individual who had seen the Empress Dowager with her eyes closed, they probably wouldn't notice the resemblance. However, Qin Shu had already deeply etched Liu Qingtang into her memory, was extremely familiar with her appearance, and could perfectly mimic her even with her eyes closed. Given her exceptional sensitivity to matters concerning Liu Qingtang, how could she not notice?

Qin Shu almost immediately thought of the emperor. Over the years, he had developed a keen eye for reading people's expressions. Except when it came to the Empress Dowager, he was like a complete fool.

He loved the Empress Dowager, so he understood what it was like to love someone but suppress it. He was also used to observing everyone around him, capturing even the slightest unusual trace. He carefully recalled the Emperor's attitude towards the Empress Dowager, remembering every glance he gave her, and finally arrived at an outrageous answer.

Qin Shu squatted down, seemingly lost in thought, his expression shifting between light and shadow in the dim, flickering lamplight. The young eunuch who had come with him, seeing that he remained silent, glanced at him furtively, and trembled at Qin Shu's dark gaze, the lamp in his hand shaking slightly.

He was filled with fear when he heard Qin Shu say in a calm tone, "Take a dagger and slash her face, then send her on her way."

Author's Note: [The emperor is actually a yandere; he was severely ill in his past life, as you'll understand in the final epilogue. As for Qin Shu, when Liu Qingtang is around, he's an obedient and loyal dog; when she's not around, he occasionally turns into a mad dog.]

The Ming Dynasty threw a landmine

The Ming Dynasty threw a landmine

The Ming Dynasty threw a landmine

Da Ming threw a landmine. [Xiao Ming, you've mastered the new skill I mentioned last time! Truly exceptional talent! (Walks away)]

Job's tears. [Thank you so much, I'm one of the girls who always sees your comments and leaves a comment~ Mwah~ Also, I'm so illiterate, I don't know how to pronounce these two characters~]