Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 9

Liu Qingtang lay there like that, watching Qin Shu who was slowly leaning down, without the slightest thought of closing his eyes, but instead watched the changes in his face with interest.

Qin Shu was flustered by the look, and tried to retreat several times in embarrassment under this gaze, but was finally pulled back by his remaining rationality.The extravagant hope in his heart was also driving him to kiss the empress dowager in front of him, so he could only avoid her gaze and just stare at the beautifully shaped red lips.

Being too close, Qin Shu could feel the empress dowager's breathing intertwined with his, and they seemed so close at this moment.He swallowed dryly, and his Adam's apple slipped.

Just when he was about to kiss her heartily, Qin Shu suddenly heard the Empress Dowager speak.

"Qin Shu."

Qin Shu barely regained his thoughts, stopped his movements with difficulty and replied: "...Yes."

"Aijia feels dizzy."

Qin Shu straightened up in shock. Seeing that the empress dowager's face was unusually rosy, he quickly put his hand on her forehead to check the temperature.The tentacles were scorching hot, Qin Shu immediately lost all thoughts, and said in a hurry: "The servant went to invite the imperial doctor for the empress dowager."

"The imperial doctor has already prescribed medicine not long after he left. There is nothing he can do when he comes again. Instead, he is here to make troubles. Aijia can rest for a while." Liu Qingtang stretched out his hand to touch his forehead, and said indifferently: "Sure enough, it's hotter. Already, how can Ai’s family say this head is so heavy that it cannot be lifted.”

"Your Majesty, you should have a good rest." Qin Shu took the initiative to hold the hand of the Empress Dowager, put it into the quilt tightly, and covered the brocade quilt tightly, unable to hide the worry in his eyes.

If he hadn't refused to agree to the empress just now, he would not have let the empress get out of bed and catch the cold again.It's all his fault that makes empress so uncomfortable now.Thinking of this, Qin Shu felt uncomfortable and didn't know what to do.

The wayward empress dowager had no energy to make trouble anymore, and was quietly wrapped tightly by Qin Shu with a brocade quilt.It wasn't until he saw his guilt that he said: "Aijia was close to you just now and I didn't see you so flustered. When it comes to Aijia's illness, you are more likely to let people see emotions."

"The slave is panicked." No, he was also panicked when he got close to the empress dowager.It's just that this kind of panic is accompanied by longing for anticipation and joy, and there are too many thoughts that will be seen by others, so he tries hard to suppress it.

But now, seeing her suffering from illness, he would panic very much.The feeling of worrying about the master is what a slave should have, and it is different from his secret thoughts about the empress dowager, so he doesn't have to suppress himself at this time.

Liu Qingtang didn't speak for a long time, and Qin Shu didn't want to disturb her rest. Seeing her eyes closed, she quietly got up from the edge of the bed and wanted to sit next to the footrest.In any case, there was no reason for a slave to sit on the master's bed, and he was worried that the empress dowager would not be able to rest well if he was next to him.

So when Liu Qingtang woke up, he saw Qin Shu sitting on the footrest, gesticulating with his fingers with his head down.

He should be practicing calligraphy, Liu Qingtang watched quietly for a while, and found that he had mastered all the calligraphy he had taught these days.This person may not be talented in calligraphy, but he is extremely diligent.Often she taught him some words the day before, and he couldn't memorize them in front of her that day, but he would definitely memorize them the next day, and there would always be a faint blue color under his eyes.

After knowing his hard work, Liu Qingtang deliberately reduced the number of lessons he taught him because he was worried that he would not rest at night.But later, even though he was self-taught, he still memorized the same amount of words every day, and even increased the amount, as if he wanted to tell her that he could do that.

Qin Shu has a stubborn temper and is not likable.But she didn't give in too much, just as bad-tempered.

Back then, her upright and upright father was so angry that she couldn't get out of bed because she insisted on going her own way despite her advice.

At that time, she had just become a queen, and the first emperor fell ill, and she was in charge of the conferring ceremony by herself.Later, less than a month after she became queen, the emperor died.The emperors of this generation have few heirs. Apart from her sister's son Xiao Huaixu, the prince only has a silly son who is born with dementia, Xiao Huaiyu.

In addition, there is an uncle Xiao Nanhe who is in his prime of life.Because the emperor left before leaving the imperial edict, the court was divided into two factions at that time, one faction ruled by the young prince Xiao Huaixu, and the other ruled by Xiao Nanhe.Because their Liu family are relatives, even if they choose to support Xiao Nanhe's succession, the new emperor will be worried about them after he succeeds to the throne, and will find a way to get rid of them, so they have no choice but to stand by the little prince who was only seven years old at the time. Behind Xiao Huaixu, there was a stalemate with Xiao Nanhe.

From her father's point of view, the important affairs of the previous court are the affairs of men, and she just needs to wait quietly for the result in the harem.Xiao Nanhe had coveted the throne for a long time, and he bribed ministers every day, his faction became more and more popular, and the Liu family was likely to retreat.One day, her father entered the harem to discuss with her, if the situation continued like this, he would give up the race for the throne first, and asked Xiao Nanhe to let her and the little prince go to the fief in the west.

How could Liu Qingtang not know that her father wanted to sacrifice the Liu family in exchange for their safety, she disagreed no matter what, neither father nor daughter could persuade the other, and finally broke up unhappy.

Later, she pretended to give up the throne.No one thought she would do anything as a woman, but she did it.Host a banquet in the palace to entertain Xiao Nan and the ministers, and show their goodwill to them.He secretly contacted his father's former subordinates, led his troops to ambush, and killed Xiao Nanhe who was so proud of him that he flirted with her on the spot at the banquet, as well as a dozen ministers who were bribed by Xiao Nanhe, causing blood to flow from that banquet.

Stubborn, but also very high self-esteem, everything must be strong and refuse to admit defeat.In fact, she is just a teenage girl. How can she not be afraid when she sees blood and kills someone, but she can only hold on, in front of the panicked ministers, and in the eyes of those who hate, fear and condemn, she pretends to calm down the little prince. Xiao Huaixu's throne has dealt with the rest of Xiao Nanhe's party.

After the little emperor succeeded to the throne, she became the empress dowager. The young little emperor knew nothing, so she could only shoulder all the burdens on him and began to listen to the government behind the curtain.But why did she know so much, she could only read the previous ancient books every day and slowly figure out what to do.

Looking at those ministers with cold eyes, they kept saying that the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics, and that it is against the law of heaven for the rooster to sit in the morning.After the infamy of attempting to seize power and intervene in politics, she gained the infamy of murderous cruelty, and many officials in the court were afraid of her and hated her in their hearts.

Even the father became suspicious and asked her if she really wanted to take the throne from her nephew.Also because she held great power and began to avoid suspicion with her, he rarely came to see her in the palace again.

No matter how much grievance and pain she had, she could only swallow it in her stomach. Liu Qingtang had completely become the empress dowager.Liu Qingtang, who used to be mischievous and lively, loved to laugh and make troubles that caused headaches for everyone in the Liu family, disappeared.

No one dared to call her by her name, and no one dared to underestimate her.In this way, wearing a dignified mask day after day, going in and out of the court, correcting memorials for the little emperor to solve those big and small things, and also bearing infamy.

In the most difficult time, she dared not speak up when she was sick and tired, fearing that those ministers who were dissatisfied with her would find an opportunity to step down on her, and fearing that once she was sick, the little emperor would not be able to solve those things alone, and was afraid that he would What major event between the court and China was delayed.His pale face can only be covered up with thick makeup, and because he didn't take good care of it, he fell into trouble, and every time he had menstruation, he couldn't get up because of the pain.

In fact, apart from this magnificent palace and the hordes of servants, she has nothing at all.She is like a willow tree, withered inside this red wall.

People, maybe they are weaker when they are sick, and it is always easy to think of those old things.At first, Liu Qingtang quietly watched Qin Shu practice calligraphy seriously, but later she became lying on the bed in a daze, her thoughts drifting away.After being called by Qin Shu, she woke up and looked at him blankly.

"Ma'am, is there any other discomfort?" Qin Shu leaned against the bed and asked cautiously.Just now he was gesturing and practicing calligraphy for a while, when he accidentally looked up and found that the Empress Dowager was awake.He didn't want to call her at first, but he saw the expression on her face...it was very distressing. He didn't know what he was thinking, so he couldn't help calling her.

"Qin Shu, sit down here."

"The slave's clothes..." Qin Shu was a little embarrassed when he looked at the footrest he was sitting on just now, and at the side of the bed that the Empress Dowager was pointing at.

"Aijia feels dizzy again."

Qin Shu stopped talking and got up and sat down.

Liu Qingtang sat up and rested her head on his shoulder.Qin Shu felt a weight on his shoulders, and the Empress Dowager seemed very tired leaning on him.

Swallowing back the advice that came to his mouth, Qin Shu was resting on one hand and did not dare to move, so he could only use the other hand to pull the brocade quilt over the empress dowager's body to prevent her from catching the cold again.

Liu Qingtang moved closer and put her head on her shoulder. "Qin Shu, do you know Ai's name?"

"The maiden's boudoir name is not known only by slaves."

"Just say you don't know. Why do you like to put on a show so much?" Liu Qingtang raised her hand and pinched Qin Shu's chin before retracting, and then said, "The Ai family told you, you have to remember clearly."

"Liu Qingtang, Qingming's clear, Tanghua's Tang. My mother likes Tangli, but I don't. Compared with these thousands of purples and reds, I only love Liu. Although she looks weak and unreliable, she is tenacious." No When Qin Shu responded, she complained again: "I feel like an old woman in her [-]s and [-]s, who claims to be sorry for her family all day long."

In the first two years, she often joked about this kind of thing with Xiuyi and Taoye, but after she got used to this kind of self-proclaiming, she never said that kind of thing again.

Qingtang, Qingtang... After saying a few words silently in his heart, Qin Shu said dryly: "The name of the empress dowager is very good."

As if he couldn't think of any other adjectives to compliment the name other than great.The queen mother is in his heart, no matter what is good.

The empress dowager's title is Empress Dowager Ciren. People in the palace directly call her Empress Dowager, and people outside the palace call her Empress Dowager Liu. No one has ever found out what her name is.But now, he is lucky to know her boudoir name, a name that only those close to her can know.Does this mean that he is also special to the empress dowager?

"Qin Shu, why can't you even think of good words to praise others? If I want to hear it in the future, don't you know how to say it? Let's forget it today, and next time, I have to say it until I am satisfied. Also, since it sounds good , you call Qingtang to listen, I haven’t heard anyone call this name for a long time, I really miss it.”

(End of this chapter)