The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 73

During the Southern Dynasties, there was a Golden Buddha Festival, which was held on November 10th every year.

In November of the tenth year of the Yuanning era, the Empress Dowager, in order to pray for the ailing emperor, led a group of people to the Yufo Temple in Fangyu Prefecture, near Yujing, to observe a two-week fast there. The Yufo Temple was the oldest temple in the entire Southern Dynasties, existing since the beginning of the dynasty. Several generations earlier, an emperor had even become a monk there after abdicating, thus giving the temple a very special status and ensuring its continued prosperity year after year.

Although the Bathing Buddha Temple is not in Yujing, Fangyu Prefecture, where it is located, is close to Yujing, and the royal family sends people to the Bathing Buddha Temple every year to fast and pray for blessings. As the Empress Dowager, Liu Qingtang's personal visit didn't attract much attention. The undercurrents between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor over the years were obvious to everyone in the court; now, seeing her going to the Bathing Buddha Temple under the guise of praying for the Emperor and the royal family, everyone simply assumed she wanted to gain a good reputation.

Only a few people close to Liu Qingtang could guess that she only wanted to be alone with Chief Eunuch Qin of Cixi Palace.

Of course, Liu Qingtang's dignified and solemn demeanor in front of outsiders meant that, unless they were very close acquaintances, no one would suspect that she had abandoned the increasingly murky political situation in the court due to the emperor's prolonged illness and made such a large-scale trip to the Yufo Temple simply for the sake of personal matters. Almost everyone felt that the Empress Dowager's departure from the capital must have its purpose and deeper reasons; perhaps it was because something was about to happen in Yujing that she could not be present for, and therefore she was leaving Yujing under the pretext of praying for blessings.

But in reality, Liu Qingtang simply wanted to find an opportunity to relax and rest with Qin Shu for a while. Ever since her brother began to make a name for himself in the court, he had become the biggest decision-maker for the Liu family faction. The things that Liu Qingtang used to do in secret were now taken over by her brother, and he did them even better. In just two years, he had severely suppressed the people of the Prime Minister Wang. During this time, because Xiao Huaixu, who was behind the Prime Minister Wang, was bedridden, he took the opportunity to bring down a group of old men in the Prime Minister Wang's faction.

During the period when Liu Qingtang gradually faded into obscurity through a strategy of strategic retreat, several of those below the Grand Secretary Wang became complacent and arrogant. Liu Qingtang had been keeping an eye on their foolish actions, holding their secrets and waiting for the right opportunity to bring them down one by one, completely eliminating the Grand Secretary Wang's trusted advisors. When the time was ripe, the Imperial Uncle Liu Qingrong seized the opportunity to deliver a severe blow to the Grand Secretary Wang.

Grand Secretary Wang remained Grand Secretary, but many important positions below him, including the Vice-Chancellor, had been filled, either openly or covertly, by people trusted by the Liu family or from neutral factions. This had, to some extent, gradually sidelined Grand Secretary Wang. Xiao Huaixu didn't openly control many people or forces; those under Grand Secretary Wang's command were mostly his core supporters. Liu Qingrong had truly made a ruthless move. She deliberately had those people submit memorials just to provoke Xiao Huaixu; the biggest benefit of such an act was simply to vent her anger.

Liu Qingtang found it amusing not only that her own brother Liu Qingrong deliberately provoked Xiao Huaixu, but even Qin Shu, who was becoming increasingly shrewd, would often go over to annoy Xiao Huaixu. So, no matter how old these men are, they are sometimes more childish than children.

Liu Qingtang wanted to keep Xiao Huaixu alive for a few more years, ideally until the fifteenth year of Yuanning, the same year she died in her previous life, thus fulfilling the karmic debt of this ill-fated relationship. The hatred that had tormented her day and night, keeping her awake, had mostly faded from her memory, but the past could never be forgotten. Liu Qingtang always believed in paying with her life. If Xiao Huaixu hadn't yet had the chance to harm them in this life, it was only because he lacked the ability, not the intention. On this point alone, he was far from innocent. Moreover, what about her, the Liu family, and Qin Shu in her previous life? Were they not innocent?

Five years to go. Liu Qingtang sat in the carriage, watching Qin Shu peel nuts for her, a tender smile and longing in her eyes. Five more years until it was all over. Then her godson could succeed to the throne, the old guard in the court purged, more capable ministers were chosen for him, a neutral faction was cultivated, and year by year, the Liu family would gradually fade from the court. Even if they secretly possessed the ability to protect themselves, they would maintain a clean public image.

She believed that the child, well-educated by Su Shu, would be a good emperor, and that the tragedy of the Liu family would not repeat itself. When that time came, she could stop worrying about these things and enjoy a peaceful and happy life.

Given her godson's precocious intelligence, perhaps after he ascends the throne for a year or two, she can take Qin Shu to live permanently at Yushui Manor, away from the intrigues of the imperial palace and court. She has already toiled enough for so many years, for the Southern Dynasty and the Liu family. Once everything settles down, she wants to do nothing and live a good life with this fool, Qin Shu.

Liu Qingtang felt happy just thinking about it, and stared at Qin Shu's profile while resting her chin on her hand.

Qin Shu noticed her gaze, but continued peeling the nuts he was holding until he looked at her. Seeing the smile on her face, Qin Shu couldn't help but feel happy as well. As long as he saw her happy, he was happy too; this joy was truly inexplicable.

"what happened?"

Liu Qingtang smiled and replied, "I was thinking about whether we should retire at Yushui Villa." As she spoke, she reached out and pulled over a plate of nuts that he had peeled and piled up, counted six, and stuffed them into her mouth.

Upon hearing the word "retirement," Qin Shu paused, a hint of longing gleaming in his eyes. Retirement—the word sounded incredibly blissful; wasn't one's greatest desire in life to grow old together with the person before them? These two people, who looked barely in their early twenties, both expressed a shared anticipation for retirement.

Qin Shu's expression softened, and Liu Qingtang knew that he was also looking forward to it. She couldn't help but pull him across the table and kiss the tip of his nose. Her clear eyes looked into his usually indifferent eyes and said, "In five years at most, you will have to retire with this old lady and enjoy your retirement. From now on, you will have to coax this bad-tempered old man from morning to night."

"Qingtang isn't old at all, and she never will be." Qin Shu finally said something nice enough, making Liu Qingtang smile, her dimples appearing on her cheeks. Everyone in the Liu family has dimples, but they're not very noticeable when they smile. Liu Qingtang herself often smiled and showed her dimples when she was little, but she rarely did so now that she was happy. Although her brother was always smiling, Liu Qingtang had never actually seen him smile and show his dimples more than twice. As for her father, she only heard from the old housekeeper that he appeared when her mother was still alive.

"Hmm, Qin Shu, I want to eat this one too. Peel it for me."

"It's not good to eat too much of this." Qin Shu felt quite helpless about how his wife liked to eat children's snacks more and more as she got older. These things were easy to fill her up but had no nutrition. After eating them, she didn't want to eat a proper meal. Moreover, if she ate too many of these snacks, she would get a sore throat and mouth ache.

Qin Shu always found it troublesome, even more so than interrogating those convicted slaves and dealing with their intrigues. He was adept at those things, but he really couldn't stop his mistress from having a sweet tooth. Even though he knew it wasn't good for her, the moment she gave him a pout and turned her head away, Qin Shu would unconsciously give in to her every whim.

Every time Zhuiyi and Taoye repeatedly told him to keep a close eye on her, even if he initially secretly intended to watch her and prevent her from eating too much, he would always end up helping Qingtang hide the truth and letting her eat her fill. This time, although he was saying he wouldn't let her eat, seeing Liu Qingtang reluctantly holding that small bowl of nuts, chewing them slowly and seemingly somewhat dejectedly, Qin Shu immediately felt a pang of heartache. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "She can only have one more small bowl."

Even if he knew she was faking it, and even if she knew he knew it too, it still worked every time.

After a day's carriage ride, Liu Qingtang, taking advantage of Qin Shu's presence, indulged her every whim at noon, barely eating lunch and only snacking. Zhuiyi came to check on her, could only give Chief Steward Qin a reproachful look, and finally shook her head helplessly before leaving.

In the evening, Liu Qingtang arrived at the Yufo Temple and paid homage to the Buddha in the main hall.

If there is a Buddha in this world, then why did she dedicate herself to her family and the people in her past life, while her innocent family members met such a tragic end? But if there is no Buddha in this world, how could she be given a second chance to hold everything she lost back in her hands? Liu Qingtang never believed in Buddhism in her past life, and she didn't know whether she should believe in it in this life. Looking at the golden Buddha in the hall, she sighed softly after a long while, then turned and left the hall.

As famous as its long history is its vast camellia garden. Legend has it that many generations ago, an abbot loved camellias so much that he built a camellia garden here to tend to the flowers and plants. Later, it was gradually expanded and transplanted, and today it has become the most famous camellia garden in the Southern Dynasties, with countless rare varieties. During the flowering season, countless people come to visit, and of course, only the powerful and wealthy can enter.

November is the peak season for camellias. Empress Dowager Liu Qingtang, the most esteemed empress dowager of the Southern Dynasty, was coming and had long ago expressed her desire to admire the camellias. Thus, for the entire half-month of peak bloom, the camellia garden was deserted, open solely for the empress dowager. And Liu Qingtang, who occupied such a large camellia garden, did so for Qin Shu.

Actually, Liu Qingtang didn't have much of a fondness for camellias, but she knew Qin Shu liked them. Back in Cining Palace, every time the camellias in the courtyard bloomed, he would instruct the gardener to take good care of them, so those camellias bloomed better and better each year. Last time, when the fat parrot was causing trouble, it damaged a few flower branches, and Qin Shu didn't hesitate to pluck three of the fat bird's blue feathers to make a hairpin for it, leaving the fat bird listlessly huddled in its nest when they left.

So Liu Qingtang specifically chose November to come to Yufo Temple because she actually wanted to bring Qin Shu to see the flowers. After settling in at Yufo Temple, Liu Qingtang immediately took Qin Shu to the camellia garden, not caring that it was already night.

Both were wearing cloaks, and Qin Shu was carrying a lantern. They walked hand in hand on the cobblestone path. The November weather was already getting cold, and Liu Qingtang was still holding the hand warmer Qin Shu had given her. But after a while, she didn't want to take it anymore and insisted that Qin Shu warm her hands. She even snatched the lantern from his hand and pulled him into the flower bushes, like a naughty child who refused to walk properly on the paved path and insisted on walking on the path no one had walked on before, scattering countless petals along the way.

The camellia garden was quiet, with only a dim yellow light from the roadside in the distance and the glow from the lantern in Liu Qingtang's hand. From afar, the light, appearing and disappearing among the flowers, looked like fireflies in summer.

Liu Qingtang left the maze of paths and led Qin Shu haphazardly into the flower bushes. After getting covered in petals, they finally found a huge camellia tree that looked to be a hundred years old, with its branches full of flowers. Satisfied, she wedged the lantern among the branches and pulled Qin Shu to sit under the tree.

The flowers on the branches were breathtakingly beautiful, appearing especially moving in the dim light. However, in Qin Shu's eyes, no flower could compare to the way Liu Qingtang closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then turned to smile at him.

"The camellias in our yard were damaged quite a bit by the fat parrot this year, so I thought I'd bring you here to see them. Qin Shu, do you like it?"

He liked camellias because he felt the flower resembled her. Qin Shu stared straight at Liu Qingtang as if bewitched, without answering her question, and leaned down to press his lips to hers.

Author's Note: Seaweed threw a landmine.

Taro Loves Lemon Green threw a landmine

Cangying threw a landmine

[Thanks for the landmine~ Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, ladies! Did you eat mooncakes? I just had a red bean paste one~]