The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 64

After Yang Sushu finished her postpartum confinement, Liu Qingtang could no longer escape. One day, she left Qin Shu to watch over Cixi Palace and went to Yang's residence with Taoye, intending to confess to Yang Sushu, as previously agreed, why she was able to know so much about the plague in advance.

Finally, Yang Sushu, who had just given birth, sat on the bed for a long time to digest her feelings, while Liu Qingtang calmly leaned over the cradle and gently nudged the chubby little boy sleeping soundly inside.

Almost three years later, when she talked about those things again, she didn't seem to be as furious and heartbroken as before. This didn't mean she had forgotten, but that she was no longer afraid.

"I didn't believe in ghosts and gods in this world before." Yang Sushu blinked and leaned back on the bed after a long while.

"Do you believe it now?"

"The only reasonable explanation is laid out before me; how can I not believe it? It's just that I have some doubts about what you could see after you died." Yang Sushu appeared calm, but she didn't really know what she was saying; she was just subconsciously trying to find something to say. After all, she had never encountered such strange things before, and unlike her father, who was resolute and unafraid of ghosts and gods, she couldn't react for a while.

Liu Qingtang didn't care and casually said, "At that time, I don't know how, I was in a daze and could see some things, here and there. I didn't know everything that happened after I died, but knowing those things was enough."

Yang Sushu finally came to her senses, looking at her friend with some reluctance at her seemingly indifferent but actually somewhat unfocused gaze. Her friend said she had witnessed her father and brothers being beheaded. Having known her for so many years, Yang Sushu knew perfectly well how much her friend cared for her family. Before Qin Shu, she had practically lived for the sake of her father and brothers in the Liu family—to protect the Liu family from the clutches of the late Prince Xiao Nanhe, to protect her nephew, and to fulfill her deceased sister's dying wish to enter the palace as a powerful empress dowager. She had almost never thought of herself or sought only her own happiness.

She had asked her before she entered the palace, and her friend had said that the Liu family had given her too much and too much freedom, and it was time for her to repay them. Who knew that this repayment would be delayed for so many years? Yang Sushu sighed. Just listening to her friend's words, she could imagine how desolate and unwilling she must have been when she died in her previous life, and how much grief and pain she must have felt after death. Even her supposed rebirth was probably not so easy to accept, and it wouldn't really be like she said, waking up to find everything back to normal.

Since Qingtang didn't say anything, Yang Sushu kept it to herself; saying more would be pointless. Even if she knew, she couldn't truly understand Qingtang's feelings, only knowing that it must have been incredibly painful. Fortunately, it was all in the past, and now she had Qin Shu. As long as they were both alright, Yang Sushu had no doubt that Qingtang would eventually let go of these worries.

"Qingtang, does Qin Shu know about these things?"

Liu Qingtang's calm expression changed. She tapped the baby's nose, making him whimper, before saying, "I didn't dare let him know. It was so hard to get him used to being with me like this. What if I told him and he mistakenly thought that I was with him only because he risked his life to save me in my past life? He's the kind of person who likes to dwell on things."

Seeing that she spoke of Qin Shu, finally acting as usual, Yang Sushu smiled slightly and deliberately asked, "Isn't that right?"

"I am grateful, but at first I just found him interesting because he was different from the one in my previous life. I never thought about being with him. Later... I don't know what happened. Anyway, if I didn't really like him, I would only give him power and money out of gratitude. There was no need for me to give myself away." Liu Qingtang murmured, then poked the baby's face.

Yang Sushu finally spoke up to stop her, "Alright, stop bothering Yong'er. He'll cry again when he wakes up. Let's see if you can handle this little devil then."

"Yong'er? This little guy's nickname?" Liu Qingtang withdrew her hand and sat up straight.

Yang Sushu smiled, her eyes filled with tenderness as she looked at her child. "Yes, I hope he can live a peaceful and ordinary life, and that will be enough for him."

Liu Qingtang paused, then suddenly lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry, Sushu, I might get involved with Yong'er in the future, so I'm afraid your expectation..."

She didn't finish speaking, but Yang Sushu understood, or rather, she had already somewhat understood when Liu Qingtang said she wouldn't let Emperor Xiao Huaixu go.

The emperor has no son, and Qing Tang cannot tolerate him. Within a few years, an irreconcilable conflict will likely erupt between them, forcing them to break off their pretense and openly confront each other. If the emperor still leaves no child, and Qing Tang has no intention of replacing the Xiao family, then only her child will remain as a member of the Xiao family capable of inheriting the throne. Of course, this is all predicated on Yong'er not being like his father.

Yang Sushu did not want her child to become emperor; she preferred him to live a peaceful and ordinary life. However, she could not refuse her friend's request, nor could she stand idly by and watch the potential turmoil that might arise from the transfer of power.

"If possible, I will try my best not to let Yong'er sit in that position. After all, he is my godson, and I can't bear to see him suffer. You know, I've almost tasted that kind of hardship myself. It's truly awful. Every day there are endless things to do and things to learn, and I also have to deal with those ministers arguing and bickering. Sometimes I really wish I had three heads and six hands." Liu Qingtang suddenly laughed and complained half-jokingly, trying to break the dull atmosphere from before.

Yang Sushu reached out and touched her son's head, then flicked Liu Qingtang's head with her finger. "Why would I be unhappy if my son became emperor? Don't overthink it. Just focus on doing your own job well. If Yong'er really has to sit on that throne in the future, I hope he won't disappoint you."

Liu Qingtang's smile instantly brightened. "I will never let myself make the same mistake twice. Your words are enough."

"Qingtang, can you tell me what Huaiyu was like in your past life?" Yang Sushu finally couldn't help but ask.

Liu Qingtang paused for a moment before truthfully replying, "He and Consort Lian perished together on the way to Yangzhou. Many things have changed in my life since then, and I'm so glad that I stopped Consort Lian because of a moment of weakness." Life's circumstances are always so strange; people never know if they think the same way now as they do a day from now, or if a small thing they do will become the cause of a big thing in the future.

"I believe in the saying that everything happens for a reason. Qingtang, I must thank you on behalf of Huaiyu."

Liu Qingtang shook her head, her gaze distant. "You don't understand. The person these changes truly saved is me."

At the full moon celebration, Su Shu's child was given the name 'Xiao Le'an'. Anyone could understand the name's creator's expectations for the child: not that he would become a dragon or a phoenix, but that he would live a peaceful life.

Three months later, those who had followed Qin Shu to Ling County returned, bringing with them the list of officials who had colluded with the governor, which the governor had hidden. They also brought a pile of paintings Qin Shu had left there, as well as some small gifts he had bought specifically for Liu Qingtang. Liu Qingtang ignored the list, but enthusiastically flipped through the gifts Qin Shu had bought for her. Of course, she didn't hold back on the paintings, but she did reward Qin Shu handsomely. As for the method of reward, well, that's another story.

As officials in Ling County and surrounding prefectures fell from power, Liu Qingtang, without hesitation, transferred her own people, whom she had already prepared, to these positions. She didn't even have time to prepare for placing people in the positions of the two chief ministers, which made the two of them secretly even more dissatisfied with the increasingly unrestrained empress dowager.

Some officials in the court were also implicated. Liu Qingtang dismissed those who could be dismissed, and showed no leniency to those who couldn't. If these pests weren't brought to justice, the entire Southern Dynasty would likely be corrupted into an empty shell. She understood the principle that too much clarity leaves no room for fish, and all she needed to do was maintain a balance. While dismissed officials were naturally replaced, the two chief ministers openly had many connections among their civil officials, allowing them to plant many people in positions of power. But what happened behind the scenes was known only to Liu Qingtang.

After her rebirth, besides her romantic entanglements, she also accomplished many things. One of these included using the people and events she knew from her previous life to plant people in the camps of the two prime ministers. She also secretly selected those planted by them within her own camp and had them monitored, ensuring their deaths during the final reckoning. Therefore, many of those she considered her allies had already sided with Liu Qingtang. Moreover, the fact that she had arranged for Prime Minister Feng's son made things even easier for her.

After the previous plague, and then this purge, the situation in the court gradually changed again.

After that, there was another period of peace. It seemed that the Empress Dowager's faction and the Grand Secretary's faction had reached some kind of agreement and were waiting for something together.

In the spring of the eighth year of the Yuanning era, the Empress Dowager issued an edict to begin the selection of imperial concubines.

Most of the women of good family background selected from various counties were sent to Yujing before the New Year to serve as palace maids. The daughters of officials from various places participated in the selection process in May, along with the eligible young ladies from Yujing, to enter the emperor's harem.

Although the selection of imperial concubines was held in May, the newly arrived ladies-in-waiting still had to undergo a series of training sessions. They all entered the palace in March and temporarily resided in the Nixiu Palace. After the final selection two months later, some of them would become the emperor's concubines.

The Southern Dynasty's imperial harem, which had been quiet for many years, suddenly became bright and lively, just like the spring sunshine, because of these young women in their prime. The girls who had just entered the palace were a little reserved at first, but they became more familiar with each other and started to play together in small groups in the small garden where they were allowed to look around freely.

The Nixiu Palace and Cining Palace were not far apart, so sometimes Liu Qingtang could hear the young girls playing and laughing through the walls. Those who wanted to remind the young ladies not to disturb the Empress Dowager's peace and quiet were stopped by Liu Qingtang. "They're just children," she said. "Hearing their voices makes me feel younger too. Let them play."

For those women, this was probably the last period of time they could retain their pre-marriage innocence. After that, the ambitious ones among them would remain forever within these palace walls, fighting and vying for the man who didn't love them, or for power, money, status, family, and so on. At that time, no one would be able to laugh as happily and brightly as they do now.

Even though others thought Liu Qingtang was only twenty-three or twenty-four, no one found it strange that she spoke to these young ladies as if they were juniors. Qin Shu, on the other hand, always saw her as a rascal and playful child in private, but seeing her serious expression and tone now, he felt a little... wanting to kiss her.

Author's Note: Back then, Xiao Le'an was just a little kid. I had a wild imagination, imagining him as the only emperor in the Southern Dynasty who would enjoy taking pulses and treating patients. "My dear minister, you don't look well. Come, let me take your pulse." "My beloved concubine, please wait! I haven't taken your pulse yet today!" Just thinking about it makes me laugh out loud~

He Yuqing threw a landmine

A grenade was thrown from an old passenger ship.

[Thanks to the two girls who threw the grenades and hand grenades~ Come here, let me give you a couple of kisses (pouting)]