After the New Year celebrations, Yuancheng turned four years old. Though young, when dressed in his tiny dragon robe, he stood straight with impeccable posture, not a single gesture out of place.
Yuancheng stood at the highest point of the grand hall in the Palace of Eternal Joy. Just as he had practiced countless times before, he spoke loudly to the kneeling crowd: "Rise."
The eunuch announced the commencement of the banquet, and Yuancheng steadily raised his small arm, holding an empty wine cup aloft, inviting everyone in the hall to drink with him.
The idea of using an empty cup was Jiang Yunshu’s. Yuancheng was still too young—if the cup were filled with wine, it would likely spill when he raised it. And Yuancheng, proud by nature, found the thought of spilling wine utterly humiliating, so he had practiced over and over. Seeing how hard he worked, Jiang Yunshu simply replaced it with an empty cup.
After all, the people below were too far away to see whether Yuancheng’s cup held any wine.
Once Yuancheng had raised his cup in toast, his duties for the day were complete. Still just a child, his relief was palpable, his bright eyes turning eagerly to Jiang Yunshu.
Recognizing that look—a silent plea for praise—Jiang Yunshu almost reached out to pat his head. But remembering the audience, she lowered her hand slightly and instead pressed it to his shoulder, saying warmly, "Yuancheng did wonderfully today."
Yuancheng smiled shyly. Then, lifting his cup again, he looked nervously at Jiang Yunshu and said, "To Mother Empress, may all your wishes come true."
Next, even more hesitantly, he turned to Xie Lin: "To... to Father Guardian, may all your wishes come true."
Jiang Yunshu blinked in surprise. "Thank you. And may you have a happy New Year, Yuancheng—may you grow healthy and strong."
Xie Lin’s thin lips pressed together as if he wanted to speak, but in the end, he said nothing. Instead, he raised his cup and lightly clinked it against Yuancheng’s.
"Yuancheng," Jiang Yunshu asked curiously, "who taught you to toast Mother Empress and Father Guardian?"
Yuancheng shook his head. "No one. I thought of it myself."
He had practiced raising the cup so many times before the New Year’s banquet. He knew it was a gesture of blessing. "I wanted to bless Mother Empress and Father Guardian too."
Jiang Yunshu resisted the urge to ruffle his hair and repeated, "Thank you, Yuancheng."
She had always felt Yuancheng’s affection and trust toward her. But Xie Lin...
Glancing at the man, whose expression remained as cold as ever, she couldn’t help but ask Yuancheng, "Were you afraid to toast Father Guardian?"
Yuancheng nodded—then shook his head. He nodded because he always felt afraid when facing Xie Lin. But he shook his head because: "Father Guardian likes Mother Empress, and Mother Empress likes Yuancheng... so Yuancheng isn’t afraid of Father Guardian."
A child’s words were disarmingly frank. Jiang Yunshu’s cheeks flushed slightly, while Xie Lin pretended not to hear—though the tips of his ears turned red.
Those below couldn’t hear their conversation, but they saw Yuancheng toasting Jiang Yunshu and Xie Lin.
The young emperor’s toast, accepted without hesitation by the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord. None dared show even a flicker of dissent.
Everyone knew: first came the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord, then the emperor and the empress dowager.
Noticing Jiang Yunshu lost in thought as she gazed at the crowd below, Xie Lin asked softly, "What is on Your Majesty’s mind?"
Jiang Yunshu replied slowly, "So this is what it feels like... to stand up here and look down."
She had never imagined that one day, she would stand at such a height in the grand hall, receiving the bows of so many.
Distant memories drifted slowly back—those days when her elder sister had stolen her betrothal, when her stepmother had forced her into the palace, when she had no control over her fate and could only submit to the whims of those in power... Back then, she had occasionally imagined a day when she would rise to the highest position, forcing those who had manipulated her to kneel at her feet.
But such thoughts had long faded.
Xie Lin had already avenged the grievances in her heart.
Now, she truly stood at the pinnacle. Those she had once resented were either dead or exiled, no longer even qualified to kneel before her.
Xie Lin poured wine for himself and Jiang Yunshu, then gently clinked his cup against hers.
Jiang Yunshu’s gaze swept over the crowd below. As if by silent agreement, everyone avoided looking their way, exchanging glances and feigning busyness.
"What is Her Majesty thinking?" Xie Lin asked.
"I was wondering how today’s New Year’s banquet will be recorded in the palace annals. Will it mention me and the Chief Eunuch?"
"Her Majesty will certainly be recorded," Xie Lin replied. "You are the virtuous Dowager Empress, guiding the young emperor."
"And the Chief Eunuch?"
"Me? Just a lowly eunuch attending to Her Majesty."
"You truly wish to be recorded as a mere eunuch?"
Xie Lin smiled. "Why not?"
A strange feeling welled up in Jiang Yunshu’s heart. Though everyone in the grand hall knew the truth of their relationship, not a single soul dared to speak of it.
Their names would both be etched into history—yet in the annals, their connection would be reduced to this: she, the Dowager Empress; he, a eunuch.
Future generations reading these records would never know she had not originally been the Dowager Empress—that Xie Lin had gently lifted her to that position simply because he wanted to give her the best.
No one would ever know the true nature of their bond.
History would erase its greatest secret.
She and Xie Lin were like lovers stealing moments in the cracks of time.
"I think I’m drunk," Jiang Yunshu murmured, her eyes fixed on Xie Lin. "Let the banquet end."
With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the New Year’s feast ahead of schedule. Though the guests found it abrupt, none dared show it, all pretending to be sated as they filed out of the hall.
Servants cleared the dishes and withdrew.
Only Jiang Yunshu and Xie Lin remained.
With a creak, the heavy palace doors closed, leaving the vast hall illuminated only by flickering lanterns, their shadows stretching and merging.
Seated on the highest throne, Jiang Yunshu pressed a hand to Xie Lin’s shoulder.
"Her Majesty is truly drunk," he murmured.
Slowly, Xie Lin knelt, his gaze level with the hem of her robes.
He loosened his sash, then leaned forward, bowing his head...
Jiang Yunshu looked down, first catching sight of his straight nose, thin lips, the agile flicker of his tongue—
Then she could see nothing but the sleek black crown of his hair.
Much later, Xie Lin rose, intending to carry her to the bath.
Normally, she would let him lift her without protest.
But this time, she clutched his collar, her heart aching with longing for the memory of his chest against hers on that snowy night.
"Even eunuchs are not without desire, are they?"
Her voice was soft as she met his eyes. "What should I do?"
"Teach me, Chief Eunuch."
