The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 63

Qin Shu had a leg injury, but he still refused when Liu Qingtang asked the palace servants to help him bathe, insisting that he could manage on his own. Liu Qingtang had no choice but to verbally agree, and after he went to the bathhouse, she swaggered in after him.

Like the Emperor's Chang'an Palace, Cining Palace had a special bathing pool for the master. Originally, Qin Shu was thinking of going back to his own place and having someone carry a bath tub for him to wash, but Liu Qingtang said that was too troublesome and wouldn't let him go back. She forced him to agree to go to the bathing pool where she usually bathed.

After watching Qin Shu go inside, Liu Qingtang, who had promised to wait for him in her palace, followed him in without changing her expression. In the outer room, she untied her heavy hair, tied it with a silk ribbon, and slowly removed her outer robe, changing into a light garment she usually wore. Only then did she carry the medicine into the inner room. Although Qin Shu said he was fine, he was injured and couldn't easily wash up, and since he wouldn't allow the palace servants to help him, she had to do it herself.

Qin Shu had already taken off his dark outer clothes. When Liu Qingtang came in, he was taking off his white inner garment. Normally, Liu Qingtang would have teased him, but this time she immediately noticed that Qin Shu's white trousers were soaked with dark red bloodstains. Her expression changed and she quickly walked over and said, "How did it get so bad?"

While in the carriage, Qin Shu only mentioned that he had chafed his legs. She could see through his outer clothing that his thighs were injured and bleeding, but when they returned to the palace, she noticed that Qin Shu wasn't being helped, and although he walked slowly and unsteadily, he didn't seem to be in much pain. Liu Qingtang assumed the situation was alright, but she hadn't expected it to be so serious. Qin Shu hadn't even mentioned it, and both his trouser legs were almost entirely covered in blood.

"Qingtang?" Qin Shu was taken aback for a moment, then his eyes lit up. Qingtang obviously wouldn't do things according to other people's wishes. He couldn't hide it like this, so he simply stopped trying to hide it and looked at Liu Qingtang's bad face to try to explain, "Although it looks like there's a lot of blood, it's actually not that serious."

"Didn't you say it was stuck? How do you take it off now?" Liu Qingtang walked to Qin Shu's side, looking at his legs with a deep frown.

Qin Shu, leaning against the wall with an unchanged expression, said in an ordinary tone, "Just take it off like this. Qing Tang, turn around. It might be a little... indecent later."

At this moment, he still cared about these things. Liu Qingtang glared at him with both heartache and anxiety, urging him to hurry up, as it was not good for him to be in pain like this.

Qin Shu's movements were swift and decisive; his hands didn't even tremble as he simply peeled off the pants stuck to the wound. This startled Liu Qingtang, who was watching from the side, causing her to turn her head away in shock. It wasn't that she hadn't seen blood before; she had even killed someone with her own hands. But seeing Qin Shu's mangled leg and the blood gushing from the ripped wound, she still felt a shiver run down her spine and couldn't bear to look directly at it.

"It hurts?"

Qin Shu leaned against the wall, gritting her teeth as the pain subsided before speaking, "It doesn't hurt much now."

Liu Qingtang knew that asking him that question was pointless, so she stopped asking and reached out to help him. "I'll help you over there, quickly wash you up and apply the medicine, and then you'll stay in bed for two months. You're not allowed to get out of bed until your injury heals."

If he argued back now, she would probably get angry and hurt herself, so Qin Shu agreed in a gentle voice, put down the pants with bloodstains on them, and let Liu Qingtang help him sit down by the pool.

"Don't go in the water, I'll help you wash." Liu Qingtang rolled up her sleeves and awkwardly filled the tub with water to wash Qin Shu's hair and body. When she got to his back, Liu Qingtang touched the protruding bones, and suddenly, unable to contain her emotions, she leaned down and bit his shoulder. "Look at you, you finally managed to gain some weight, and now you're so skinny again!" After saying that, she rubbed the light tooth mark in frustration, "Why can't you just stop worrying so much? You can't gain any weight no matter what."

"It was my fault." Qin Shu didn't refute at all, truly agreeing with whatever Liu Qingtang said.

Liu Qingtang snorted and then pulled his hand to wash his hands. But when it came to washing his thighs, she couldn't bring herself to do it. After wiping away the bloodstains that snaked down to his ankles, she didn't dare touch the large abrasion next to it. Qin Shu had no choice but to do it himself, reminding her, "You can close your eyes first. I'll be done washing in a bit."

Liu Qingtang ignored him, watching him scrub the area without any restraint, repeatedly calling out, "Be gentle!" Although Qin Shu was in pain, hearing her words suddenly made him both amused and exasperated, and he softened his movements accordingly. It made it seem as if she was the one injured, not him. He saw her concern and worry, and suddenly felt a warm and happy feeling, a feeling she always seemed to convey.

Qin Shu applied the medicine himself because Liu Qingtang's hands were shaking so badly she dared not touch it. She squatted beside him, her brows furrowed in dismay. Qin Shu comforted her as he applied the medicine, but he wasn't very good at comforting people, repeating the same two phrases over and over: "It doesn't hurt" and "It'll be over soon."

After finally getting everything done, Liu Qingtang, who was watching from the side, was even more tired than Qin Shu himself, so she simply took a nap with Qin Shu.

Liu Qingtang had ordered all the gates of Cining Palace to be closed, and the palace servants, terrified by the plague, were kept in their rooms, with only guards and servants responsible for important areas remaining. The entire Cining Palace was unusually quiet. Or rather, the entire palace was eerily quiet, except for the area around Mingshou Hall, where the plague-stricken palace servants were concentrated, where cries could be heard.

Having given all the instructions, Liu Qingtang simply let go of her responsibilities and stayed by Qin Shu's side, content to remain in Cixi Palace.

"You mean you even hired an artist to paint a lot of pictures?"

"Yes, but I came back in such a hurry that I forgot to bring it." Qin Shu lay on the couch by the window, leaning back against the headboard. In front of him was a small table with the calligraphy he was writing on, along with his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Liu Qingtang sat beside him, lazily reading a book. While chatting with him, she took a piece of candied fruit, bit off half of it herself, and offered the rest to Qin Shu.

Qin Shu turned his head and bit down, his eyes still fixed on the words he was writing, when Liu Qingtang unexpectedly licked the corner of his mouth.

"You got some honey on your lips." After the kiss, Liu Qingtang tried to sit back down with an air of nonchalance, but the smug smile on her red lips was clearly visible. She continued reading, resting her chin on her hand, leaving Qin Shu facing a huge ink stain on his nearly finished page, calmly rewriting it on a new one.

As for the previously agreed-upon story of Qin Shu's experiences traveling south, Qin Shu, who had seen it all with his own eyes, couldn't describe the scenery as vividly as Liu Qingtang, who had only read travelogues and illustrated books about local customs. Moreover, Qin Shu couldn't answer a single of Liu Qingtang's questions, such as "What's the most lively building on the famous red-light district at night?", "I heard the perch in Yunjiang is delicious, but how delicious is it?", and "Are the monks in the largest temple in the Southern Dynasty as skilled in martial arts as described in books?"

Actually, Liu Qingtang didn't expect Qin Shu to answer. After all, she knew that someone as unromantic and boring as him would never go to those places, nor would he care much about eating local specialties. She just enjoyed watching Qin Shu be speechless, dumbfounded, and ashamed by these questions, wanting to say something but not wanting to disappoint her, he could only hesitate and look away, clearly thinking about what to say. It was quite amusing.

Because Liu Qingtang watched over him closely and provided him with good medicine and food, Qin Shu's wound quickly scabbed over. Then, that same day, Yang Sushu sent word that the prescription had been developed and was already showing significant effects in stopping the disease from worsening in patients who had recently contracted it. Hearing this news, Liu Qingtang felt much relieved.

Later, doctors and clinics across the country were busy. Because some of the medicinal herbs needed for the prescription were not available in Yujing City, Liu Qingtang had the soldiers stationed outside the city specially go to nearby counties to transfer them. In short, after the prescription for treating the plague was developed, the entire Yujing was in a state of chaos for a while before it was finally able to truly escape the shadow of the plague.

Three months had passed from the initial outbreak of the plague to the reopening of the sealed-off capital, Yujing. When the Ministry of Revenue reported the approximate death toll in Yujing, it was only a fraction of the final death toll from the plague in her previous life. Even so, that simple number left Liu Qingtang speechless for a moment. Human life is the heaviest burden; faced with this natural disaster, they had done everything they could, yet they still couldn't save everyone's lives.

Just like in the previous life, the Mingshou Hall in the palace was burned down. Liu Qingtang personally selected a site and built another one elsewhere. The original Mingshou Hall, which had been reduced to ashes, was replaced by a grand hall with thousands of ever-burning lamps.

Those she cared about had all survived the plague, and Liu Qingtang was filled with gratitude. Once Qin Shu's injuries were no longer preventing him from walking, the two of them went out of the palace to visit Liu's father and brothers. Qin Shu was dragged into the study by Duke Liu and played a dozen games of Go with him, while Liu Qingtang kept company with Xi Lan, who was supposedly disguised as a man. During this time, Liu's brother tried countless times to eavesdrop on his sister's conversation with her sweetheart, but Xi Lan always managed to throw walnuts at him from the table. Liu Qingtang felt a mixture of melancholy and immense satisfaction watching this unfold.

Her sister-in-law should be someone who doesn't spoil her brother; she should be disciplined when necessary, and the men of the Liu family should be able to take a beating. As for Qin Shu, her Qin Shu isn't as docile as her brother; she's too worried about her to hit her. Besides, in the Liu family, regardless of gender, everyone should treat their wives well. Of course, she couldn't say this to Qin Shu.

After spending the morning at the Liu family home and having lunch, Liu Qingtang and Qin Shu went to the Yang residence as usual. However, as soon as they entered, they found the place bustling with activity. Upon asking, they learned that Yang Sushu was about to give birth.

Liu Qingtang had already found a reliable midwife for her friend, and she and Qin Shu were waiting outside the courtyard. Xiao Huaiyu was also waiting outside, but he was anxiously peering through the window. Although he couldn't speak, he seemed to understand something and was making hoarse, incoherent noises. Liu Qingtang couldn't bear to listen to him and simply told him to go in and keep Yang Sushu company, regardless of any rules or etiquette.

Hearing Yang Sushu's shouts from inside, Liu Qingtang's cup of tea trembled in fear. For the first time, she felt that it was truly wonderful that she didn't have to give birth.

Before sunset, Yang Sushu gave birth to a baby boy, and both mother and child were safe and sound.

Liu Qingtang was initially delighted, but then her smile faded. She sent someone to the Liu family to request a squad of personal guards to be stationed at the Yang family's residence. Facing Qin Shu's somewhat puzzled gaze, Liu Qingtang smiled and looked towards the direction of the palace, saying, "This child also has the surname Xiao."

Author's Note: Situ Nuan threw a landmine.

The cat was so good, it threw a landmine.

The glamorous Doraemon threw a landmine

[Thank you so much for the landmines, girls! And thank you to those still following the story. I'm so tired, goodnight!]