CHAPTER 1277: CHAPTER 1277: SU JINGSHU AND THE LITTLE EUNUCH SIDE STORY

Daqian Dynasty.

Changle Palace, the Empress Dowager’s bedroom.

After a hectic month, all the funeral arrangements for the late Emperor were finally resolved.

Su Jingshu leaned on the beauty couch, enjoying the service of a Palace Attendant massaging her shoulders and legs, the shadows of exhaustion in her eyes stirring up compassion in the beholder.

She was innately a beauty, exuding a faint scholarly fragrance, her demeanor serene and elegant.

Such a beauty, yet fated to live in widowhood at a young age, and ever since she entered the Palace, she had no chance to become a real woman, envied and mocked by many.

They envied her for being the honored Empress Dowager, controlling the harem’s authority, specially granted by the late Emperor and Empress the right to dictate court affairs behind the curtain.

They envied her, for her father was one of the assisting ministers, and ever since the Su Family took charge of the Northern Frontier, the family’s status rose with the tide.

Those who knew the inside story laughed at her, for from beginning to end, she never became a true woman, would never experience the taste of being a woman.

Who didn’t know, since the late Emperor ascended the throne, he had never touched the women of the harem.

The enviously gossiped about Su Jingshu now held a white porcelain bottle.

This was what the Little Princess Huo Yuning left for her before departing; as long as Nangong Chang consumed this medicine, he would regain his memory and even restore his original form as a Divine Beast of the ancient Dragon Clan.

Su Jingshu straightened up, dismissed the Palace Attendants, and asked in a deep voice: "Where’s Achang?"

Luliu bowed respectfully, replying: "Eunuch Nangong went to Ganqing Palace to meet the Emperor."

Su Jingshu placed the white porcelain bottle on the table, unhurriedly asked: "What does the Little Emperor want with him?"

Luliu answered: "Heard it’s to bring a Palace Attendant to Changle Palace."

Su Jingshu waved her hand: "All of you may leave. When Achang comes back, let him come straight in."

"Yes—"

Luliu, along with a group of Palace Attendants, swiftly withdrew.

Half an hour later, Nangong Chang returned to Changle Palace with steps precise as if measured by a ruler.

Luliu quickly approached and conveyed the Empress Dowager’s decree.

Nangong Chang’s mind conjured the graceful and gentle face of the Empress Dowager. He nervously adjusted the hat on his head, smiling, "Understood. Thank you, Aunt Luliu."

Luliu urged: "You better go in quickly, don’t keep the Empress Dowager waiting anxiously."

Nangong Chang nodded and hurried into the bedroom.

The vast palace empty, not a trace of Su Jingshu in sight.

"Is it Achang? Come in."

The familiar voice came from the inner chamber, husky, laced with laughter, carrying a deliberate tease.

Nangong Chang’s throat tightened, suppressing the wildly inappropriate thoughts welling up within, he bowed humbly, and with his head slightly lowered, he walked into the inner chamber.

There, in a translucent red gauze nightgown, Su Jingshu lay languidly on her bed, propping her head with one hand.

Seeing Nangong Chang enter, she revealed a mischievously amused smile.

"This servant greets the Empress Dowager."

Nangong Chang stepped forward, kneeling on both knees.

Without permission to rise, Su Jingshu stared at the person kneeling before her, feigning sorrow she asked: "Achang, many ridicule me."

Upon hearing this, a fierce glint flashed in Nangong Chang’s eyes, yet his voice remained exceedingly humble: "Who? Your servant will exact vengeance for you!"

That cocky, provoking tone, indeed had a nostalgic charm.

But Su Jingshu knew that he had not regained his memory; probably it was ingrained in his bones, the brazen defiance that unintentionally came out when bottom lines were touched.

Su Jingshu sat up, her bare foot slipped out, pressing against Nangong Chang’s immaculate chin.

She applied slight pressure with her toes, lifting Nangong Chang’s clean-faced visage.

The flash of desire in his eyes did not escape Su Jingshu’s gaze.

She chuckled internally, but her façade remained troubled as she confided her grievances: "Achang, so many speak behind my back, mocking. They say I’ll never be a true woman in this lifetime."

Nangong Chang’s hands, hanging by his sides, clenched involuntarily into fists.

It’s true he was an actual eunuch, but he was not ignorant of the world and understood well the Empress Dowager’s inner hardship.

If... If he...

Nangong Chang swiftly shut his eyes, pushing down the rebellious thoughts at the bottom of his heart.

Su Jingshu, watching his conflicted and anguished expression, felt immensely pleased, her eyebrows raising, the foot on his face shifted, grinding onto his collar.

Fair and delicate toes, gently hooking.

The attire of the head eunuch on Nangong Chang’s body was pulled open.

Nangong Chang was shockingly panicked: "Empress Dowager!"

Su Jingshu leaned forward, grabbed his collar, pulling him close.

Her eyes smiling, breath fragrant, she whispered seductively: "Achang, would you keep me company?"

After saying that, without giving Nangong Chang a chance to refuse, she flipped him straight onto the bed behind her.

How such an apparently frail woman possessed the strength to lift a grown man so effortlessly was a mystery.

Nangong Chang’s heart raced, his complexion completely changed.

He scrambled up in panic and unrest, clawing his way to his feet.

Su Jingshu easily pinned him down with a light touch, a look of contemplating her next meal spread across her face.

She leaned in close to Nangong Chang, brushing aside the hair scattered over his face, her voice softer than ever.

"Achang, be a good boy, I won’t despise you."

In that moment, as Nangong Chang felt his life in her grasp, his entire body froze.

The numb look on his face, the gray defeat in his eyes, would wrench the heart of anyone who saw it.

But how could Su Jingshu possibly let him off easily.

*

After a while, Su Jingshu looked up, her eyes void of focus, her emotions extremely complicated.

Her blank gaze shimmering with moisture stirred, and out of the blue, she thought of bamboo shoots.

It seemed as if she could smell the gentle spring rain, and after it ceased, amidst the thriving bamboo forest, sprouts of bamboo shoots erupted one after another.

Without pushing aside the surrounding bamboo leaves and weeds, one simply couldn’t see them—those bamboo shoots just starting to emerge.

They looked small, fresh, and green, yet couldn’t quite incite one’s appetite.

But their mere existence was enough to make one look forward to the moment they would mature and be served upon the table.

Su Jingshu had never anticipated such a twist.

She glanced beside her at the crimson-faced Nangong Chang.

This fellow looked as if he had been fished out of water, clearly worn down hard.

After a long while, Su Jingshu’s breath stabilized, and she asked meaningfully, "When you entered the palace, did you bribe the executioner eunuch?"

Nangong Chang’s ears reddened as he said softly, "This servant did not."

"But you don’t count as..." Su Jingshu’s gaze drifted downwards slightly: "A real eunuch."

Already in high spirits, Nangong Chang, upon hearing this, wished he could find a hole to hide in.

His face blushed, and he defended in a soft voice, "Perhaps this servant’s bones are unique, and so, it just grew."

Watching his endlessly embarrassed look, Su Jingshu pulled at the revealing sleepwear and stretched out her slender fingers to caress the slightly red corner of his eyes.

Nangong Chang had already adapted to his master’s "bullying," but his body still stiffened involuntarily, unsure of where to place his hands and feet.

Su Jingshu leaned in to leave a tentative kiss on his face.

She said with a smile, "You truly are blessed by the heavens; let’s just leave it as is. Although small, it’s superior in craftsmanship; I don’t scorn it."

The white medicine bottle on the table was left untouched.

Nangong Chang, moved to tears by her words, had no idea what he was missing out on.

For the following two years, this was how they got along.

Compared to their previous life’s crazed behavior, this indescribable touch of purity seemed too fresh, yet they immersed themselves in joy.

Two years later, the former Emperor’s brothers at the bottom of the hierarchy began to stir, and the Little Emperor’s throne became unstable.

Three princes with an army of a hundred thousand approached the Imperial City, under the pretense of executing the demon Empress, attempting to coerce the Son of Heaven to control the feudal lords.

With the crisis looming, Su Jingshu delivered the medicine left by Huo Yuning into Nangong Chang’s mouth.

Nangong Chang’s face, smooth as jade, suddenly flickered with the emerging black dragon scales, his body shrouded in a dense black mist.

The dragon’s roar from within the Palace resounded through the sky.

A majestic and powerful Black Dragon emerged from Weiyang Palace, soaring into the sky, winding through the clouds.

That day, the citizens of Capital City witnessed the existence of the Black Dragon.

Those closer to the city gates saw the ferocious Black Dragon sweep the three princes and their hundred thousand troops into a tornado vortex.

This palace coup, before it could begin, was quashed by the enraged Black Dragon, eager for release.

His woman was so ruthless!

She had the medicine to restore him all along, and yet she hid it for two years.

The bitterness of these two years was indescribable.

Nangong Chang never felt full; he was always a little short, just a bit more.

The consequence of his insatiable hunger was the growing distortion and derangement within him.

Games that he and Su Jingshu had never played in their previous lives were developed in this backward and conservative era.

You can imagine the extent to which Nangong Chang was driven.

There’s a saying, survive the abnormal, or explode in it!

After disposing of those treacherous scoundrels, the formidable Black Dragon flew straight for the Palace.

Su Jingshu from Weiyang Palace, as if knowing what was coming, had already bathed, dressed in a bright yellow nightgown, and patiently awaited.

She wore a full-faced smile, looking quite expectant.

After a long time, Nangong Chang, clad in eunuch attire, strode into the sleeping quarters with a domineering gait.

Nangong Chang cast aside his former reverence, a sinister smile curling on his lips: "Jingshu, how cruel your heart is!"

He teleported in front of Su Jingshu, and with a ripping sound.

Something was forcefully destroyed.

Su Jingshu raised her hand to encircle Nangong Chang’s neck, leaning close to his ear to whisper tenderly, "Achang, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time."

Her voice almost sounded aggrieved.

If she hadn’t been smiling, it might have been more convincing.

Nangong Chang smiled through gritted teeth: "Good, very good! Next, I promise to give her majesty endless pleasure, so that for the rest of your days, you will remember and be forever engraved in your bones!"

Su Jingshu’s eyes widened slightly, sensing the sudden intrusion and showing a hint of fear in her eyes.

Damn!

It seemed like she had gone too far!

Was it still possible for her to beg for mercy now?

In fact, it was too late.

Nangong Chang, holding her, teleported to the inner chamber, giving Su Jingshu no chance to speak.

In his plan for revenge, there was only one goal—to provoke tears of regret.

He wanted to make Su Jingshu understand one thing: certain instincts of the Dragon Clan could not tolerate provocation.

Dragons were by nature lascivious.

Suppressed for too long, who knew what issues could arise.

For the following month, the doors of Weiyang Palace were firmly shut.

The Little Emperor, sending people to inquire, couldn’t even enter the palace gates before hearing the absurd noises inside, and the visitors returned, their faces flushed.

For ten years, Su Jingshu had held onto power in the court, and everyone in the harem knew she had a male consort, a little eunuch granted by the late Emperor.

During these ten years, the two showed their affection openly within the palace, brazen to the extreme.

During the ten years of the Little Emperor’s reign, he survived three crises and five assassination attempts, all thwarted by the eunuch named Achang by the Empress Dowager’s side.

While the Empress Dowager governed with her male consort, they shielded the Little Emperor from all plots and schemes.

On the day the Little Emperor came of age, as the Empress Dowager returned power, she also purged the imperial court officials.

Su Jingshu and Nangong Chang left the Palace, hand in hand, to enjoy the affluent era of Daqian.

They occasionally kept in touch with the Little Emperor in Capital City.

The child they had protected was now married.

After a year, the Little Emperor again brought good tidings; the Empress had given birth to a son.

Su Jingshu burned each letter after reading, never replying.

However, whenever the Emperor was in danger, she and Nangong Chang would always appear promptly.

One day, as if sensing something, Su Jingshu suddenly woke from her sleep.

Embracing the man beside her, she whispered softly, "Achang, let’s leave."

He enveloped her in his arms, murmuring softly, "Okay."

The next moment, Nangong Chang transformed into the Black Dragon, wrapping up Su Jingshu’s slender body and shooting straight into the sky, vanishing into the clouds.

That day, the longest-reigning Emperor of the Daqian Dynasty passed away.

The Little Prince they had protected throughout his life returned to the Underworld.