The Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter nine

Liu Qingtang lay there, watching Qin Shu slowly lean down, showing no intention of closing her eyes. Instead, she watched with great interest the changes in his facial expressions. (Source: Baidu Search)

Qin Shu felt flustered and confused under her gaze. Several times he tried to retreat awkwardly under her gaze, but each time his remaining rationality pulled him back. A sliver of hope in his heart also compelled him to kiss the Empress Dowager before him, so he could only avoid her gaze and stare intently at her beautifully shaped red lips.

They were so close that Qin Shu could feel the Empress Dowager's breath mingling with his own; they seemed so intimate at that moment. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Just as Qin Shu was about to steel himself and kiss her, he suddenly heard the Empress Dowager speak.

"Qin Shu".

Qin Shu barely managed to regain his composure, and with difficulty stopped what he was doing, replied, "...Yes."

"I feel very dizzy."

Qin Shu was startled and sat up straight. Seeing that the Empress Dowager's complexion was unusually rosy, he quickly placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature. It was burning hot to the touch. Qin Shu immediately forgot everything else and hurriedly said, "This servant will go and fetch the imperial physician for the Empress Dowager."

"The imperial physician left not long ago and has already prescribed medicine. There's nothing he can do if he comes again. He'll just be standing here and making things worse. I'll be fine after a rest." Liu Qingtang reached out and touched her forehead, saying nonchalantly, "It's definitely hotter now. I always said my head was so heavy I couldn't lift it."

"Your Majesty, you should rest well." Qin Shu took the Empress Dowager's hand and gently placed her under the covers, covering her tightly with the quilt, his eyes filled with unconcealed worry.

If he hadn't hesitated to agree to the Empress's request, she wouldn't have been forced to get out of bed and catch a chill again. It was all his fault that the Empress was in such discomfort. Thinking of this, Qin Shu felt a pang of sorrow and didn't know what to do.

The willful Empress Dowager had no energy to make a fuss anymore and quietly let Qin Shu wrap her tightly in a brocade quilt. Only when she saw his guilt did she say, "I didn't see you so flustered when I was close to you just now, but when it comes to my illness, it's easier for people to see your emotions."

"This servant is terrified." No, he felt the same panic when he was close to the Empress Dowager. However, this panic was mixed with an unyielding anticipation and joy, and he harbored too many thoughts that would be noticed by others, so he tried his best to suppress them.

Now, seeing her suffering from illness, he panics terribly. This worry for his master is a servant's natural feeling, unlike his secret feelings for the Empress Dowager; therefore, he doesn't need to suppress himself at this moment.

Liu Qingtang remained silent for a long time, and Qin Shu, not wanting to disturb her rest, quietly rose from the edge of the bed, intending to sit beside the footstool, as she closed her eyes. After all, it was inappropriate for a servant to sit on their master's bed, and he was worried that the Empress Dowager wouldn't be able to rest well with him there.

So when Liu Qingtang woke up, she saw Qin Shu sitting on the footstool, head down, gesturing with his fingers.

He must be practicing calligraphy. Liu Qingtang watched quietly for a while and found that he had already mastered all the characters she had taught him in recent days. This person may not necessarily have a talent for calligraphy, but he is exceptionally diligent. Often, if she taught him some characters the day before and he couldn't remember them in front of her that day, he would definitely remember them by heart the next day, and there would always be a faint bluish tinge under his eyes.

Knowing his diligence, and worried that he wouldn't rest at night, Liu Qingtang deliberately reduced the amount of text she taught him. But later, even when he studied on his own, he still memorized the same number of characters every day, and even increased the amount, as if to show her that he could do that.

Qin Shu has a stubborn temper, which makes her unlikable. However, she is no less stubborn, with the same bad temper.

Back then, her upright and honest father was so angry with her that he couldn't get out of bed, simply because she stubbornly insisted on doing things her own way despite his advice.

At that time, she had just become empress when the late emperor fell ill, and she single-handedly managed even the coronation ceremony. Less than a month after she became empress, the emperor passed away. This emperor had few children; besides her sister's son, Xiao Huaixu, there was only one prince, Xiao Huaiyu, who was born mentally challenged.

There was also the young and vigorous Imperial Uncle, Xiao Nanhe. Because the Emperor had passed away before leaving an edict, the court was divided into two factions: one supporting the young Prince Xiao Huaixu's ascension, and the other supporting Xiao Nanhe's replacement. Since the Liu family were related to the Empress Dowager, even if they chose to support Xiao Nanhe's succession, the new Emperor would distrust them and try to eliminate them. Therefore, they had no choice but to stand behind the then seven-year-old Prince Xiao Huaixu, creating a stalemate with Xiao Nanhe's faction.

In her father's eyes, matters of state were men's affairs; she only needed to quietly await the outcome in the inner palace. Xiao Nanhe had long coveted the throne, bribing ministers daily, and his faction's support grew stronger, causing the Liu family to show signs of decline. One day, her father entered the inner palace to discuss with her that if the situation continued as it was, he would relinquish his claim to the throne and ask Xiao Nanhe to release her and the young prince to their fiefdom in the west.

How could Liu Qingtang not know that her father wanted to sacrifice the Liu family for their safety? She disagreed no matter what, and neither of them could convince the other, so they parted on bad terms.

Later, she feigned relinquishing the throne. No one expected her, a woman, to do anything, but she did it anyway. She hosted a banquet in the palace for Xiao Nanhe and his ministers, trying to curry favor with them. Secretly, she contacted her father's old friends and subordinates, led troops to ambush them, and at the banquet, she killed Xiao Nanhe, who had been smugly flirting with her, along with more than a dozen ministers who had been bribed by Xiao Nanhe, turning that night's banquet into a bloodbath.

Stubborn and with a strong sense of self-respect, she always wanted to win and refused to admit defeat. In reality, she was just a teenage girl. How could she not be afraid after seeing blood and killing someone? But she could only put on a brave face and, in front of the panicked ministers and amidst their disgusted, fearful, and condemning gazes, pretended to be calm as she appointed the young prince Xiao Huaixu to the throne and dealt with the remaining followers of Xiao Nanhe.

After the young emperor ascended the throne, she became the Empress Dowager. The young emperor knew nothing, so she had to take on all the responsibilities and begin ruling from behind the curtain. But she herself knew very little, so she could only slowly figure out how to do things by reading ancient books every day.

She coldly watched as the ministers repeatedly declared that the empress should not interfere in politics, and that a hen crowing at dawn was against the natural order. After being branded with the infamy of attempting to seize power and meddling in politics, she gained the additional reputation of being ruthless and merciless. Many officials in the court secretly feared and loathed her.

Even her father began to have doubts, asking her if she really wanted to seize the throne from her nephew. Because she held great power, he also began to avoid her, rarely visiting her in the palace anymore.

She could only swallow all her grievances and bitterness; Liu Qingtang had completely become the Empress Dowager. The mischievous, lively, and playful Liu Qingtang who caused headaches for the entire Liu family had disappeared.

No one dared to call her by her name anymore, and no one dared to look down on her. Day after day, she wore a dignified mask, entering and leaving the court, revising memorials and resolving matters big and small for the young emperor, all while bearing the infamy.

During her most difficult times, she dared not utter a sound even when she was sick or exhausted, fearing that ministers who were dissatisfied with her would find an opportunity to belittle her, that the young emperor would not be able to handle matters alone if she fell ill, and that she might delay important affairs of state. She could only cover her pale face with thick makeup, and because she did not take good care of herself, she developed health problems, and every time she had her period, she would be in so much pain that she could not get out of bed.

In truth, aside from this magnificent palace and its throngs of servants, she had nothing at all. She was like a willow tree, withering away within these red walls.

People are often more vulnerable when they're sick, easily reminded of old memories. Liu Qingtang initially watched Qin Shu diligently practice calligraphy, but later she lay on the bed in a daze, her thoughts drifting elsewhere. Qin Shu called her, bringing her back to reality, and she looked at him blankly.

"Your Majesty, is there anything else that's bothering you?" Qin Shu asked cautiously, leaning against the bedside. He had been practicing calligraphy for a while when he inadvertently looked up and noticed that the Empress Dowager was awake. He hadn't intended to call her, but looking at her expression... he felt it was so heartbreaking, and wondering what she was thinking, he couldn't help but call her.

"Qin Shu, come sit here."

"My clothes..." Qin Shu looked at the footstool he had just been sitting on, and then at the side of the bed that the Empress Dowager was pointing to, and felt somewhat embarrassed.

"I feel dizzy again."

Qin Shu stopped talking, got up and sat down.

Liu Qingtang sat up and rested her head on his shoulder. Qin Shu felt a weight on his shoulder; the Empress Dowager seemed very tired as she leaned on him.

He swallowed back the advice he was about to give. With one hand propped up, Qin Shu dared not move, so he could only use his other hand to pull the brocade quilt over the Empress Dowager to prevent her from catching a cold.

Liu Qingtang leaned closer, resting her head on her shoulder. "Qin Shu, do you know my name?"

"Your Highness's maiden name is not something only a servant can know."

"Just say you don't know, why do you always pretend?" Liu Qingtang raised her hand, pinched Qin Shu's chin, and then pulled it back. She continued, "Then I'll tell you, and you'd better remember this."

“Liu Qingtang, Qing as in Qingming, Tang as in Tanghua. My mother likes pear blossoms, but I don’t. Compared to all these colorful flowers, I love willows. Although they look weak and fragile, they are resilient and unbreakable.” Before Qin Shu could respond, she complained, “All day long I call myself ‘Aiya’ (哀家, meaning ‘I am an old lady’), I feel like an old woman in her seventies or eighties.”

In the first two years, she often joked with Zhuiyi and Taoye about such things, but later she got used to this self-reference and never said it again.

Qingtang, Qingtang… Qin Shu silently repeated the name to himself before saying dryly, “The Empress Dowager’s name is very good.”

It seemed that, apart from "very good," he couldn't think of any other adjective to praise the name. In his heart, everything about the Empress Dowager was good.

The Empress Dowager's title is Empress Dowager Ciren. Those in the palace simply call her Empress Dowager, while the common people outside the palace call her Empress Dowager Liu. No one has ever bothered to find out her real name. But now, he is fortunate enough to know her given name, a name known only to those close to her. Does this mean that he, too, is special to the Empress Dowager?

"Qin Shu, how come you can't even think of a good way to praise someone? If I want to hear it in the future, won't you be unable to say it? I'll let it go today, but next time, you have to say it to my satisfaction. Also, since it sounds nice, call me Qing Tang. It's been a long time since I've heard anyone call me by that name. I really miss it."

Author's Note: Season 12 threw a landmine.

Fu Xiangjin threw a landmine

Fat Cat threw a landmine

Morning Dance and Evening Recitation threw a landmine

[Girls who recognize this author, do you realize how many bombshells you've already thrown at this awful author? _(:3∠)_]

It's just correcting a typo; double updates are practically a miracle for me, happening only a few times a year.