Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 37

The empress dowager wants to give him a gift?Qin Shu was overwhelmed in an instant. He has been alone for more than ten years, and no one has ever cared about his birthday, let alone gave him a gift.

"Well, it's just a small gift." Liu Qingtang said so, looked around, saw a group of children playing not far away, asked Qin Shu to wait here, and walked over by himself.

Qin Shu stood in place holding the lantern, watching the empress dowager standing among the children, and waved them together.Then she bent down and said something, then turned around and pointed at him, and then brought those children back.

"Okay, let's talk." Liu Qingtang clapped her hands with a smile on her face.

Children, look at me and I look at you. It was a boy who looked a little older who spoke first. He looked at Qin Shu and said loudly: "Brother, happy birthday!"

Qin Shu was taken aback, but Liu Qingtang nodded in approval and said, "That's good, that's good, the voice is very loud. Here, I'll give you a lantern." As she spoke, she took a lantern from Qin Shu's hand and put it in the boy's hand.The rest of the children were excited when they saw that the little friend really got the lantern, and rushed forward to say happy birthday to Qin Shu.

Qin Shu was forced to take a step back unconsciously by the enthusiasm of these children, but the children were all thinking about the lanterns at this moment, ignoring his usual stiff expression that could frighten children, they all surrounded him and squeaked Cheering happy birthday.Liu Qingtang smiled even more happily when she saw Qin Shu's bewildered look at those children, and watched from the sidelines, feeling that it was almost time, and then slowly stepped forward to stop the children.

"This won't work, you have to come one by one, otherwise the lanterns won't be given to you."

After listening to Liu Qingtang's words, those children were finally born safely, and one by one, they came forward to say happy birthday to Qin Shu, and then happily got a lantern from Liu Qingtang.

After all the ten lanterns in Qin Shu's hand were sent out, Liu Qingtang told the children to disperse, and took Qin Shu to the lantern market again.Qin Shu, who had just been told happy birthday by a group of innocent and lively children, hadn't quite reacted when he saw the Empress Dowager and started to guess lantern riddles again.

This time, she didn't let him guess on purpose, but guessed it herself.She guessed so quickly that she could almost tell the answer by just looking at the lantern riddles twice, causing those who also couldn't figure out the riddles to guess for a long time to pay attention to them frequently.

Guessing all the way, Liu Qingtang hardly stopped.Qin Shu quickly filled his hands with lanterns again, and Liu Qingtang himself also filled his hands with lanterns.Liu Qingtang didn't stop until the two of them couldn't take it anymore, and stopped a couple who seemed to be lovers on the side of the road, pointed at Qin Shu and said to them:

"His birthday is coming soon, if you are willing to say happy birthday to him, I will give you a lantern, okay?"

The man and woman smiled friendly, and said happy birthday to Qin Shu without saying a word.Finally, when they left with the lantern, Qin Shu heard the woman say to the man enviously: "They are really loving."

For some reason, Qin Shu felt that his heart, which was already jumping with joy, rose like fireworks.

"Excuse me, his birthday is coming soon, can you say happy birthday to him? I can send you lanterns."

Liu Qingtang didn't show any intention of stopping, and said this to strangers as she walked all the way.Few people would refuse. In such a festive atmosphere, everyone seems to be kind and friendly.

Young couples, families passing by, old people with their wives looking at the lamps, children running around in the lamp market, hawkers setting up stalls... Liu Qingtang searched all kinds of people, men, women and children. After the lanterns were delivered, she guessed again. After visiting the whole lantern market, she no longer remembered how many lanterns she had given away.

Liu Qingtang seemed to know that Qin Shu had never celebrated his birthday, and wanted to make up for the happiness of his birthday that no one had said more than ten years ago.At this moment, she is not the empress dowager that everyone looks up to, but a woman who wants to make her sweetheart happy and asks others to bless him everywhere.

When she still wanted to go to the next Lantern City, she was stopped by Qin Shu who had been silent all this time.He held her hand tightly and said softly, "Miss, it's done."

Liu Qingtang smiled, and took Qin Shu back to a quiet place under the willow tree by the river, raised her hand to touch his face, "Although it's a day early, let me say something in advance, happy birthday."

Qin Shu's throat rolled, and he suddenly said, "Qin Shu, can I... kiss Miss now?"

"Pfft." Liu Qingtang squinted her eyes and answered him in a happy tone: "Yes..."

So Qin Shu bowed his head reverently with a sense of happiness that couldn't go away, and kissed Liu Qingtang's lips like a dragonfly.He seemed to be easily satisfied, but today, the overly intense and frequent sense of happiness made him almost unbearable.Qin Shu thought, maybe someone in the world died because of being too happy.

"Qin Shu, you said it was a kiss, but you really only wanted a kiss." Liu Qingtang couldn't help laughing when she saw Qin Shu gently rubbing against her, as if he had received a huge benefit.It's not that she hasn't kissed him before, why every time his reaction is cautious and almost cute.

"Then, can I kiss again?" Qin Shu was aggressive towards the empress dowager for the first time, and was nervously waiting for her answer.

"I'm still going to take this as my second birthday present. If so, it can't be too simple." Liu Qingtang said, pulling Qin Shu's head off, sticking it to his lips, and firmly gave him a smile from the past. A passionate kiss from the inside out.

The two entangled for a while, and Qin Shu gradually started to take the initiative, wrapping his arms around Liu Qingtang's back, rubbing and tossing gently.Different from Liu Qingtang's free-spirited kiss, Qin Shu's kiss is restrained and prudent, and much gentler than Liu Qingtang's. The person who hooks him is so itchy that he is not satisfied at all, but he wants to sink into the watery tenderness and break free no.

Overlapping silhouettes rubbing against each other, indulging in this intoxicating moonlight, clear breeze, and beautiful scenery.The noisy city of lights in the distance has turned into gradually blurred spots of light.

When she finally backed away, Liu Qingtang saw the radiant look in Qin Shu's eyes, as if an unextinguishable lamp had been lit, burning quietly.

"Your Majesty, slave... I... love you."

Then Liu Qingtang heard Qin Shu say this.

The feelings he had hidden for decades in his previous life were spread out clearly in front of her like this, without any concealment.Qin Shu is a low self-esteem and cautious person. A few days ago, he was still so worried that she would see his thoughts, afraid that she would hate him because of his body.But now, just because she treats him better, he can tell her his most difficult secret.

You're still scared right now, aren't you?Liu Qingtang held Qin Shu's trembling hands with both hands, and raised her eyebrows with a smile: "Ai Jia agrees, since you say so, then you will never change."

"Yizhi, you won't take it?"

Qin Shu bent down to hide the glint in his eyes, held up one of Liu Qingtang's hands, and gently pressed his forehead against it, "Yes, I will obey your mother's will." In his whole life, he was destined to be born for this person, for her and die.

If he was a weed before, then for the sake of the empress dowager, he wanted to become a thorn.Carefully grow around that beautiful flower, protecting her so that she can grow and bloom freely.

"Today, I will take you to visit someone."

Far away from the Lantern City, leaving those yelling and laughing behind them all the way, the two walked hand in hand on the quiet path leading to Izumo Temple on the mountain.Izumo Temple is not a famous temple in Yujing, but according to her father, her mother loved to come here to offer incense. It is said that in such a lively place like Yujing, the tranquility of Izumo Temple is particularly impressive. People are nostalgic, so the mother's spiritual seat is also offered here.

Before she entered the palace, every Lantern Festival, after playing with her brother and the others, she would come here to offer incense to her mother.After so many years, the scenery here has not changed at all.

Walking through a not-so-long bluestone mountain road, bypassing the verdant trees, I saw two yellow paper lanterns emitting faint light in front of the gate of Izumo Temple.

Liu Qingtang stepped forward and knocked on the door, and immediately a young monk with a bald head opened the door, looking between the two of them with bright black eyes: "Is it the benefactor Liu?" After receiving an affirmative answer, the little monk opened the door. Open it completely and welcome the two of you in.After sending people to a side hall, he folded his hands and recited a Buddha's name and left.

Liu Qingtang didn't say what they were doing here, and Qin Shu didn't ask, until Liu Qingtang pushed the door open with a squeak, and he saw that the name on the tablet in the hall was Liu Su's Baiyan, and he vaguely guessed something.

Sure enough, I heard the queen mother say: "You have seen my father and brother and the plain books, now I will bring you here for my mother to see."

As Liu Qingtang said, he picked up the incense placed beside him and lit it on the candle on the desk. "My mother passed away a few months after I was born. I don't have any impression of her, but I can often hear about my mother from my father, brothers and sisters. My father said that my mother is very similar to me, so she must also Satisfied with you."

Even though what he was facing was just a cold memorial tablet, Qin Shu still unconsciously became nervous, as if he was really under the scrutiny of his mother-in-law now.Liu Qingtang laughed when she saw him like that, and pulled him to kneel on the futon and kowtow to offer incense.

"Mother, the one next to my daughter is Qin Shu. She was chosen by her daughter as her beloved. I brought it here for you to see. If my daughter likes it, you will like it too, right..." Liu Qingtang tilted her head to look at Qin Shu after finishing speaking. .

Qin Shu bit the bullet and said, "Ma'am..."

As soon as he said two words, Liu Qingtang stabbed his waist with his hands, "What do you call my mother?"

"Mother..." This title was not as difficult to say as I imagined, Qin Shu paused for a while and continued: "I am Qin Shu, and I will treat my mother well in the future..." Before he finished speaking, he was called by Liu Qingtang again. Poke in the back.

Qin Shu immediately changed his words, "Tell me...Qingtang." After speaking, he looked at Liu Qingtang as if he had done something wrong.

Without further ado, Liu Qingtang poked his waist again, "What a fool!"

Until they returned to the Liu Mansion, Qin Shu washed up and lay down on the bed, still thinking about the helpless and gentle smile of the Empress Dowager at that time, which was so touching that one would be willingly intoxicated and unwilling to wake up.

This is the best Lantern Festival he has ever had, no, it should be said to be the best day in his life.Even if it is a dream, there is no such a beautiful dream.

No matter whether he closed his eyes or opened them, Qin Shu found that the figure of the empress dowager was always in front of him.Smiling, angry, cheerful, and quiet, every expression is worth recalling many times.The eye-catching smile on her face while watching the dragon and lion dance performance, and the way she eats the Lantern Festival, lowering her eyes slightly and blowing into the spoon, and the way her cheeks are puffed up, are so cute that he has never seen before.When blocking passers-by to say happy birthday to him, they stood beside him and silently opened their mouths to say happy birthday to him.Hearing what he said under the willow tree, he said in a cool and earnest manner that she was sure of his love...

Qin Shu covered his eyes with his hands, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.Just like this, I missed the person who had just left for a long time in the darkness, and I didn't want to fall asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, there was a knock on the window lattice.Qin Shu on the bed was startled, and before he could make a sound, he heard the voice of the empress dowager from outside the window. "Qin Shu, are you asleep?"

The empress is still not asleep at this time?Qin Shu hurriedly got out of bed to open the window, because he was too busy and bumped into the corner of the table in the dark, he groaned in pain and quickly suppressed it.

He pushed open the window and saw that it was indeed the Empress Dowager standing outside. She was still wearing the same dress she wore at the Lantern Festival, holding a large tray with a bowl of noodles and a long box in her hand.Seeing that he opened the window, he handed over the tray, and said quickly: "This longevity noodle is...I asked the cook in the mansion to make it for you as a supper. In the wooden box next to it is my A birthday present for you, you rest, I'll go first."

She hurriedly finished speaking on her own, and disappeared into the night without waiting for Qin Shu to make a sound.Qin Shu leaned out of the window with a tray, only to see a corner of her dress hidden at the end of the corridor, like a butterfly flying in the night.

Standing under the window for a while felt a little cold, looked down at Qin Shu and realized that he was too impatient and forgot to put on his shoes.Qin Shu closed the window and lit the lamp, sat down at the table, looked at the steaming bowl of longevity noodles, and opened the wooden box first.There was a scroll lying in the box, Qin Shu picked it up and slowly unfolded it, and the ink and wash lamp city inside came into his eyes.

Almost at the first glance of seeing this painting, the night market where he and the empress dowager visited tonight clearly appeared in front of Qin Shu.The stalls selling Lantern Festival, people watching performances, the willow trees by the quiet river and the river reflecting the bright moon are all in this painting.Prosperity and coolness, noise and tranquility are harmoniously blended in this painting.

In one corner of the painting, there is also a woman guessing lantern riddles and a man holding many lanterns. Although it is only a faint silhouette, Qin Shu clearly knows that it is the empress dowager and him.

Qin Shu stretched out his hand to the woman in the painting, as if he wanted to touch her, but when he stretched halfway, he paused for fear of touching her, then retracted his hand, just staring at the painting in a daze.After looking at it reluctantly for a long time, he carefully put the scroll back, put it back in the wooden box, and then put the wooden box on the side of the bed.

After consciously putting the wooden box away properly, he sat back at the table and picked up the cold bowl of noodles.He looked at the painting for too long, and a layer of oily flowers had formed in the bowl. Qin Shu didn't care about that, and just picked up the chopsticks to eat.Even if the empress dowager sent it to him, he would eat it without blinking an eye.

The cold noodles did not taste good, and there was a slight burnt taste in the mouth.Qin Shu was stunned after taking a bite. He was not stupid. Thinking of the empress dowager's unnatural expression when she said it was made by the cook, he immediately understood.I'm afraid this side was made by the empress herself.

Suddenly a drop of water fell into the bowl, Qin Shu lowered his head, unable to see his expression clearly, and took small mouthfuls of noodles while holding the bowl.

At this time, it was already Zishi, and the Lantern Festival of Yuanning's fifth year had passed.

(End of this chapter)