The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Side Story 2 [The Story of Father Liu: Swallows of Bygone Days]

“Master, that peach tree in the corner hasn’t blossomed much in recent years. Why don’t you have someone transplant another one?” Gui Fu said, seeing that the old man was staring at the old peach tree in the corner that had only blossomed two or three times.

Liu Shaodi was jolted awake by his shout, silently shook his head to indicate that it was not necessary, and walked into the study with his hands behind his back.

Seeing the Duke's back suddenly turn desolate, Guifu, though puzzled, silently left. But as he reached the courtyard, he saw his father, the old steward of the Liu family, approaching. Guifu greeted him but couldn't help asking, "Father, just now I saw the Duke staring at that peach tree in the corner, and I was saying whether we should have someone come and replace it with a better one. The Duke suddenly seemed... Ouch, Father, why did you hit me?"

Gui Fu was hit on the head by his father before he could finish speaking, and he held his head, looking even more bewildered.

"You brat, don't talk nonsense. That peach tree was the former lady's favorite. The Duke is just reminiscing about her by looking at it." The old steward glared at his son, glanced at the study, and decided to wait a bit before going in.

Returning along the same route with his son, the old steward suddenly shook his head and sighed, "The Duke is a man of deep affection. When his wife passed away, he almost collapsed. Such a formidable man on the battlefield, who struck fear into the hearts of his enemies, was truly... pitiful because of the death of his beloved wife."

Having served as the steward of the Liu family for so many years, he had practically watched the Duke of Liu grow up, so he naturally knew what was going on. Because he knew, he couldn't help but sigh at the Duke's secret sorrow over the years.

In this world, the most hurtful thing is love.

…………

Su Baiyan first met the young general named Liu Shaodi when he returned to the capital after winning his first battle. At that time, Su Baiyan secretly slipped out to play and saw a troop of soldiers walking through the crowded streets. Liu Shaodi rode a black horse in the middle of the troop.

He looked like a young man about her age, yet his expression was resolute and his eyes held a hint of world-weariness. The creases between his brows were deep, indicating that he was prone to frowning, and his face was as cold and rigid as the armor he wore.

Su Baiyan thought to herself, "A seemingly boring yet serious and mature beyond his years." She stuck out her tongue inwardly.

A few days later, Su Baiyan overheard her doting father, mother, and brothers talking about the boy with the stern face. They said he was young and promising, and quite handsome, a good match for their precious daughter. They even planned to visit him soon to inquire about marriage. Su Baiyan snorted, thinking to herself, what was so attractive about that stern face that her parents and brothers praised so highly.

Su Baiyan grew increasingly annoyed by the man's stern face, so she decided to go directly to the Liu residence to tell him that he absolutely could not agree to the marriage. However, when she arrived at the gate, she felt that coming to him like this was simply inappropriate. She was a respectable woman, and although she was used to being a man and acting like one, having been raised by military men, she was still a woman and would never casually visit a complete stranger.

All her anger dissipated, and Su Baiyan turned to leave unhappily. However, she was unwilling to give up and wandered around outside the Liu family's wall for a while, unable to make up her mind. Suddenly, she heard low shouts and thumping sounds coming from inside the wall. Su Baiyan recognized the voice as that of a young boy, who might just be that stern-faced Liu Shaodi.

Looking around to make sure no one was passing by, Su Baiyan lifted her skirt and started climbing over the courtyard wall. Her family, the Su family, was also a line of military men. Her older brothers doted on her, and her father loved her the most, raising her to have a boyish nature. Climbing walls and trees was something she was used to doing from a young age, so she easily sat on the top of the wall.

Dressed in a pale yellow robe, Su Baiyan sat on a wall in the backyard of the Liu family and looked inside. She saw the man with the stern face practicing sword swings. He wore a black short martial arts shirt and had his hair tied in a neat bun. His movements were monotonous yet meticulous. Su Baiyan sat there watching him for a long time, but he didn't notice her. He was completely focused on swinging his sword.

He only stopped and wiped his eyes with a towel when sweat got into them. As he did so, he inadvertently turned his head and saw a beautiful girl of about sixteen or seventeen sitting on the wall of his house.

Liu Shaodi's parents were estranged. His mother went to a nunnery outside Yujing to practice Buddhism while still keeping her hair, and his father took a group of concubines to live in a branch of the Liu family in Fanyang, and did not come to Yujing for many years. The Liu family in Yujing was far from what it used to be, and it was only after he grew up and won a battle that it regained some of its former glory.

He began living alone in the Liu family mansion at a very young age. He was the only master there, with no one to teach or support him. He was also busy practicing martial arts and studying, and although he was old enough to understand things, he still knew nothing.

In ordinary families, men of this age would be busy finding wives, and wealthy families would be preparing maids to teach them manners. But he was on the battlefield, his parents were preoccupied with their own lives and hadn't thought about their son, and the servants in the household had even less say. So, having grown up like this, Liu Shaodi had never actually seen a girl's face properly, except for the wet nurse and nanny who raised him. Therefore, he had no idea how to interact with a young woman.

So when he suddenly saw Su Baiyan sitting on the wall, frowning at him with an unhappy expression, he didn't know how to react. After a while, he lowered his head, decided to pretend he didn't see her, and resumed practicing his swordsmanship.

Su Baiyan was furious at his reaction. How dare this guy ignore her? He didn't even want to look at her twice! She was clearly very beautiful, so what was with his dismissive attitude! Su Baiyan was annoyed for a while when she noticed a peach tree in full bloom in the corner of the yard and suddenly said, "Hey, I see that the peach blossoms in your yard are blooming nicely. Could you pick a branch for me?"

Liu Shaodi paused his sword-wielding motion, looked at Su Baiyan sitting on the wall with a puffed-up face, then at the peach tree in the corner, and hesitated.

"What, General Liu, are you so stingy that you can't even afford a single peach blossom?" Su Baiyan said unhappily, hands on her hips.

Liu Shaodi put down his sword, broke off a peach blossom, walked over, stood at a distance under the wall, and handed it to her without uttering a sound.

Seeing him standing so far away, Su Baiyan inexplicably got angry again. Why was this stern-faced man so annoying? "Why are you standing so far away? Do you think I, a girl, can eat you? If you stand closer, I can't reach you."

No matter how harsh Su Baiyan's tone was, Liu Shaodi's expression remained unchanged, and he didn't say a word. He simply stepped forward slightly and handed her the peach blossoms. Seeing that she accepted them, he immediately turned around, grabbed his sword, and prepared to practice.

"This peach blossom isn't blooming well; I want the very top one." Su Baiyan was doing it on purpose, deliberately trying to make things difficult for the person in front of her. Although she was sometimes a bit willful, she never intentionally made things difficult for anyone without reason, and many people liked her cheerful, generous, and enthusiastic nature. But this changed drastically when facing this unyielding, stern-faced man. Heaven knows why she wanted to make things difficult for him; seeing his expression change would be even better.

Su Baiyan eagerly awaited his anger, but looking at Liu Shaodi, who remained unyielding and stern, she still showed no sign of being angry at him for his inexplicable appearance and demands. He simply put down his sword again, walked to the peach tree, and nimbly climbed up the branches with one hand in a few swift movements. He broke off the branch that Su Baiyan had described as the most beautiful and returned to the wall to hand it to her.

Not seeing his expression change at all, Su Baiyan was unhappy, but since he was so good-natured and didn't get angry with her, it seemed wrong to be unreasonable again. Su Baiyan thought, "I'll deal with it next time. Next time, I'll definitely make sure to crack that door-like face."

Distracted, Su Baiyan accidentally fell while trying to catch the peach blossom.

After a soft gasp, Su Baiyan was caught by Liu Shaodi below the wall. Being embraced by a strange man was quite embarrassing, even for a young woman like her. However, she inadvertently noticed that Liu Shaodi's ears were slightly red; although his face remained serious, it completely betrayed his embarrassment.

Seeing that he was embarrassed, Su Baiyan felt nothing at all, but was filled with amazement. So this guy can be shy?! If he's shy... he's actually a little more pleasing to the eye.

"Put me down when you've had enough of holding me." Su Baiyan raised an eyebrow in the arms of the boy who seemed to be in a daze and said calmly.

Liu Shaodi snapped out of his daze, realizing he was still holding the young woman and staring blankly. Startled, he let go. Su Baiyan then cried out and fell to the ground.

Liu Shaodi was somewhat at a loss. He hadn't expected the girl to be so light, and incredibly soft to hold, with a pleasant fragrance emanating from her. Having never even touched a girl's hand before, Liu Shaodi couldn't help but freeze for a moment. After regaining his composure, he realized his actions were inappropriate and would damage the girl's reputation, so he didn't know what to do and let go.

Liu Shaodi was about to help her up when he saw this seemingly short-tempered girl clap her hands, dust off her skirt, and stand up, aggressively approaching him. Liu Shaodi, who had faced countless enemies on the battlefield without flinching, suddenly felt like retreating. But in reality, he just stood there like a wooden puppet.

"What's wrong with you? You hurt me, you know that?"

Liu Shaodi paused for a moment, lowered his head, and said his first words: "I'm sorry." Then he said nothing more.

Seeing that this once majestic young general was now hanging his head and stiff, looking as if he had been bullied and looked pitiful, Su Baiyan wondered if she had gone too far. She gave a small snort and said, "Fine, I won't argue with you."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at the sky and realized it was getting late. She turned around and tried to climb back up the wall she had just climbed. However, she had only managed to climb up the wall because there was a rock on the outside that she could use for leverage; without it, she couldn't climb up. Determined not to let that stern-faced man see her like this, Su Baiyan tightened her delicate expression and tried her best to jump up, attempting to grab the edge of the wall.

Liu Shaodi stood there, watching the girl say she wouldn't hold it against him and prepare to leave gracefully, but she couldn't climb up. She could only hop and jump for a while, and finally, unable to turn around, she glared at him with her bright, watery eyes, quite annoyed, "Can't you see I can't get up? Won't you help me?"

This girl seemed fierce, but Liu Shaodi inexplicably found her adorable. She always seemed so lively, quite different from the refined, demure mother he remembered. This energetic and playful nature was wonderful.

Su Baiyan felt utterly humiliated, having to ask this stern-faced man for help. She had hoped he would lend her a hand, but to her surprise, he paused for a moment, nodded, and squatted down against the wall, whispering, "Step on it to get up."

Aside from being a bit aloof, this person wasn't a bad guy, but it seemed she had treated him rather poorly because of her previous prejudice. Seeing his actions, Su Baiyan reflected on her actions and felt embarrassed. However, she ultimately said nothing, stepping on him to climb back onto the wall.

She had originally planned to leave after going up, but for some inexplicable reason, she turned to Liu Shaodi, who had stood up, and said, "Hey, I'm a young lady, and you've been hugging and cuddling me all day. Shouldn't you take responsibility? My name is Su Baiyan. Remember to come to my house to propose marriage. If you dare not come, you're dead!" After saying this in a deliberately fierce manner, without even looking at the expression on the guy's face inside, Su Baiyan blushed and jumped off the wall.

She had come to warn him against even thinking about marrying her, but it turned into a threat that he would definitely come to propose. What was going on? Su Baiyan wandered back, touching her cheeks, which had suddenly turned red for some reason, feeling troubled as to how things had turned out this way. She had said those last few words without thinking at all; she just... just wanted to see his expression change.