Eunuch's Declaration of Loyalty

Chapter 1

"Queen Mother, everyone in the head of the state's mansion has been convicted of treason, and now the head of the state and the uncle of the state have been forced into Dali Temple!" Zhuiyi threw herself at Liu Qingtang's feet with tears in her eyes. It was the first time for An Gong's maid in charge to lose his composure like this.

The Ci'an Palace was as quiet as if no one existed, and the sculptures of more than a dozen court ladies and eunuchs standing beside them generally didn't dare to move.After hearing what Sui Yi said, Liu Qingtang sat down on the stool completely exhausted, with the corners of his mouth curled into a smile that was not a smile.

This day has come. After watching her grown-up nephew, now the emperor has full wings, she finally started to clear them of those who stand in the way.

She probably couldn't escape this time, she should have discovered the emperor's murderous intentions towards her relatives of the Liu family, but years of comfort blinded her eyes, and by the time she realized it, it was too late.The general situation is gone, and it seems that all she can do now is wait for death.

Just as he was thinking sadly, there were noisy footsteps and shouts from a distance.

"Empress Dowager, the emperor has given you Jiujiu, and the eunuch delivering the decree will be here soon!" Tao Ye, another palace maid who has been serving her, hastily walked in and said repeatedly, losing her usual poise and her tone was full of panic .

The emperor has endured it for many years, and had planned it beforehand, so how could he let her go now.She lost, no matter how frightened she was, it was of no use, it was a joke for no reason.

Liu Qingtang didn't make a sound, she knew she couldn't escape, she just sat there staring blankly at the yard outside the window.It was already late autumn, and the ground was covered with golden ginkgo leaves in the courtyard. Before today's maids had time to sweep them away, the rustling autumn wind blew up the fallen leaves, adding to the sadness.

"The servant is here to send the Empress Dowager on her way." It was Qin Shu who walked in, the chief eunuch of Ci'an Palace.Holding the jug in his own hand, he whispered respectfully. "The Empress Dowager, please enter the inner room, so that the servants can tidy up your appearance later."

Qin Shu is Liu Qingtang's right-hand man, usually the most respectful, but now he is carrying poisoned wine to send her on the road.Liu Qingtang was sad in her heart, looked left and right at the maids and eunuchs who bowed their heads silently in the palace, and the two big palace maids who had been serving her for more than ten years, sobbing in low voices, turned around and walked into the inner room without saying a word.

She thought she was going to return to the west soon, but who would have thought that as soon as she entered the inner room, Qin Shu put down the poisoned wine, presented a set of maid's clothes, and said in a hurry: "The empress dowager, please change into this clothes as soon as possible. The slave will send you out of the palace."

Liu Qingtang was very surprised when he heard this, and looked at Qin Shu as if he was meeting Qin Shu for the first time.Is he going to risk his life to save her an outdated queen mother?

For a long time, in Liu Qingtang's eyes, Qin Shu was an unlovable but good servant.Because he doesn't smile kindly and pleasingly like other slaves, even when he smiles, he always has a gloomy and cold tone, and his voice is even colder when he speaks.

Liu Qingtang had seen him deal with those who made mistakes, and he was always cruel and merciless, looking very vicious and terrifying.So even though he had worked faithfully all these years, Liu Qingtang made him the chief eunuch of the Ci'an Palace, and she didn't like to be close to him very much.

I thought that Qin Shu would climb another branch after she died this time, but who would have thought that he would come out like this.

"Zuiyi, Taoye, you wait for the empress to change into clothes, and then guard the Ci'an Palace, it can last for a while."

Hearing Qin Shu's usual cool tone ordering the two court ladies who came in, Liu Qingtang couldn't help but frowned and said, "Qin Shu, why did you save Ai's family?"

Qin Shu was startled, looked up at her, then quickly lowered his head and said, "It's a blessing for a slave to give up this humble life for the empress dowager, and it must be the same for Zhuiyi Taoye, as long as the master is safe and sound." , how can we not get in the way?"

Liu Qingtang took off the heavy pearls, emeralds, gold and silver on her head and body in the eyes of Zhuiyi and Taoye, and silently changed into the clothes of a court lady, and followed Qin Shu to leave Ci'an Palace through the side door.He should have taken care of it, and didn't meet any guards along the way.

"Your Majesty, the servant has prepared a carriage outside the west gate and there are some gold and silver coins. When I get there later, I will use my waist card to go out. The Majesty will take the carriage and go to the servant's village to temporarily avoid the limelight. It will be safe when the wind passes. It's gone." Qin Shu walked quickly, turned his head and whispered to Liu Qingtang behind him.

Liu Qingtang walked behind him, watching him lower his eyebrows, and the corner of his dark blue clothes swayed in the late autumn wind.She felt that she had never seen this person clearly all these years.She never thought of seeing him clearly, after all, she was just a slave, and now, she has no such opportunity.She knew very well that she could leave, but he couldn't. The only thing waiting for him was death.

"Go and search this way, and guard the door over there!" A clear yell came, Qin Shu paused, and led Liu Qingtang into a rockery.

"I didn't expect to be discovered so soon. The servant went to lure them away. This is not far from the west gate, and everything has been arranged there. After the servant leaves, the empress will take the opportunity to go there." Qin Shu hurriedly left, Liu Qingtang didn't She didn't have time to say anything, but she didn't know what to say.Up to now she still doesn't know why he saved him, even willing to give up his life.

The noise outside gradually died down, Liu Qingtang gritted her teeth and lowered her head, walked out of the rockery towards Ximen.When he saw the vermilion gate, the pursuers behind him had already arrived.

There is only a thin line between life and death, what should come will still come, but it's a pity that Qin Shu has made a lot of painstaking efforts, she still hasn't escaped.Liu Qingtang didn't struggle and let herself be escorted back to Ci'an Palace, expressionless.Maybe if she died, those servants in her palace who had served her for so long would not have to die in vain.

After so many years, she was actually tired.

Passing through a long and narrow palace road, Liu Qingtang was startled.She saw Qin Shu curled up on the bluestone road, covered in blood, and two guards holding swords next to him.

"Wait, let Aijia talk to him for a while." Walking to Qin Shu's side, Liu Qingtang took a deep breath and said calmly.

After all, she has been in charge of the government for more than ten years, all the guards and eunuchs were captured by her aura for a while, and stood beside her without daring to stop her.

Liu Qingtang knelt down to look at Qin Shu's face.It's funny, this is probably the first time Liu Qingtang saw his face so clearly.

For so long, in her impression, Qin Shu is a shadow with his head down.It seems that because she said that he didn't like the cold expression on his face that remained unchanged all year round, he was obedient and never looked up at her again, just to prevent her from feeling unhappy.Even if he raised his head occasionally when he was answering, he quickly lowered his head again, never letting her see his expression clearly.

Once, Liu Qingtang thought this was what an obedient servant should do, but now she felt something else.

Qin Shu wasn't dead yet, but he was about to die. After seeing Liu Qingtang, his half-closed eyes suddenly opened.He was lying in a pool of blood, his face was blue from the cold wind, he tried his best to look up at her, his mouth opened and closed.

Liu Qingtang got close to hear some fragmented words from his mouth, he said: "The slave is incompetent, he failed to save the empress dowager, and he can no longer serve the empress in this life, and only wishes to work for the empress again when he goes underground."

After he finished speaking, he fixedly looked at her, perhaps this was the first time he looked at her so boldly.Liu Qingtang and him looked at each other with some waves in their eyes, and then Qin Shu quickly left with a smile on his face.

The stiff smile on the corner of his mouth made Liu Qingtang feel a shock in his heart for no reason.Qin Shu's eyes were not closed, Liu Qingtang saw his own shadow inside and the gray sky above his head, making his eyes cloudy.

Liu Qingtang stood up and walked away along the palace wall with her thin body.Behind him, Qin Shu's body was dragged away by two eunuchs, and the glaring pool of blood was quickly washed away.

In the 15th year of Yuanning, the Empress Dowager died in Ci'an Palace. ...

"Your Majesty, you're awake, it's not time yet, do you want to lie down a little longer?" Liu Qingtang rolled over on the bed and opened her eyes, only to hear the attendant behind the thin curtain take a step forward and whisper outside the curtain.

Liu Qingtang looked around, this is her bedroom.But obviously she is dead, what is going on now?

"Empress Dowager?" Seeing Liu Qingtang's silence for a long time, Sui Yi outside the curtain called softly again in doubt.

"What time is it?" Liu Qingtang sat up hugging the quilt, touched her warm arm, and asked as calmly as possible.She has only heard about the situation of resurrection from the dead in folk tales, but now that she has experienced it herself, how can she not feel astonished.

"What about Maochu, you usually wake up at Maozheng, but your mother didn't sleep well last night?" Zhuiyi asked cautiously.

"My head is a little dizzy, I don't know very well, it's even blurry that Yuanning has been here for a few years now." Liu Qingtang said carelessly, holding his forehead.

Zhuiyi immediately replied: "This is the fifth year of Yuanning, the ninth day of October. Do you want to call the imperial doctor for your mother?"

"No, I'll take a rest. I'll go to court this morning and tell the emperor that I won't go if I catch a cold." Liu Qingtang squeezed her palms vigorously as she spoke, her expression a little dazed.

In the fifth year of Yuanning, she was 20 years old, and it has been five years since she entered the palace and became the queen mother.She actually returned to ten years ago after her death. Could this be the grace of the Buddha to let her do it all over again?
Confused, Liu Qingtang lay down again under Suiyi's careful service, and closed her eyes to calm down.But as soon as he closed his eyes, a pair of cloudy eyes burst into his mind, which were Qin Shu's eyes before his death.

Qin Shu...

Liu Qingtang trembled suddenly, closed her eyes and said, "Sui Yi, go and call... Qin Shu in."

At this time, Qin Shu was not the chief eunuch of Ci'an Palace, but a small consul eunuch.On weekdays, I seldom even see her face, mostly walking and doing errands outside.It should be inappropriate for her to suddenly call such an eunuch whom she doesn't have much contact with at this moment, but Liu Qingtang really wants to see him with her own eyes at this moment, to see that he is still alive.

Therefore, regardless of Sui Yi's surprised expression, Liu Qingtang said again: "Go."

"Yes." Seeing Liu Qingtang's face, Suiyi didn't dare to say anything, and went out to let the little maid at the door call someone.

The people arrived soon, Liu Qingtang looked a little strange, she leaned on the pillow and waved her hand to let the clothes retreat to the outside, quietly looking at Qin Shu who was kneeling outside her bed with her head bowed.

"The queen mother is auspicious."

His voice was always like this, cold and uncomfortable.Every eunuch in this palace must learn to laugh, even the voice must have a smile, otherwise the master will not like it.But Qin Shu was the only one, and even his smile made people feel a bit cold.

"Come forward." Liu Qingtang bent her fingers and buckled the side of the bed.

Qin Shu, who was kneeling with his head down, only paused for a moment, then carefully walked forward on his knees, approaching the pedals without making a sound.He was so cautious that he didn't even dare to raise his head.

The consul was wearing a long robe of Li-color, and the corners of the robe were scattered when he was lying there, reminding Liu Qingtang for a moment that he saw him lying on the palace road covered in blood and dying.At a glance, I felt that the current robe was also stained with blood.

Liu Qingtang suddenly leaned forward and raised Qin Shu's drooping face with her slender and fair hands.

(End of this chapter)