Chapter 3, Section 9: Taifu Yang Bi
Inside the queen's bedroom, Empress Fu lay on her bed, her face pale, with four maids beside her applying hot towels and feeding her medicine one mouthful at a time. Seeing Liu Xie approaching in big strides, the maids hastily knelt down, and Empress Fu also tried to get up, but due to weakness, she fell back onto the bed as soon as she sat up.
Liu Xie stepped forward and supported Empress Fu's body with one hand: "Your Majesty is unwell, no need to be too polite!"
The Empress Dowager smiled lightly and said: "I have always been in good health, but today I don't know why, it's worrying Your Majesty!"
Liu Xie took the medicine from the hand of the palace maid, and said to the four eunuchs who had accompanied him: "All of you withdraw, I want to have a few intimate words with the Empress!"
The four of them hesitated for a moment, then slowly retreated. Those four 'maids' also felt embarrassed and didn't wait for Liu Xie's order to hastily leave the bedroom.
Liu Xie scooped up a spoonful of the medicinal soup and blew on it lightly, smiling as he said, "Empress, lie back down, I'll feed you!"
The Empress's face turned red and she said in a low voice: "I'm afraid I won't be able to fulfill my promise, tonight... I won't be able to serve Your Majesty!"
Liu Xie didn't have such intentions, but seeing Empress Fu's pale face flush with a red glow, her voice was soft and gentle, like the hum of a mosquito. He couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat, and immediately smiled, saying: "Your Majesty should take your medicine first!" After speaking, he extended the spoon to Empress Fu's lips.
The Empress Fu was deeply moved in her heart, and secretly said: "Having you like this, what more can I ask for!" At that moment, she burst into tears and rushed into Emperor Liu Xie's arms. Emperor Liu Xie was startled, the bowl of medicine in his hand almost fell over, but he quickly put it down on the table and wrapped his arms around Empress Fu's waist, feeling a sense of relief in his heart.
It wasn't long before an imperial eunuch came to pay his respects, but he saw the Emperor tightly embracing the Empress, and his heart skipped a beat as he hastily retreated backwards.
Liu Xie and Empress Fu were shocked, and when they looked up, they saw the eunuch hastily preparing to leave the bedroom. Liu Xie thought he was a spy sent by Cao Cao to eavesdrop on his conversation with Empress Fu, and he secretly hated him. He angrily shouted: "Get back in here!"
That eunuch heard Liu Xie's angry rebuke, almost fell off, and had to slowly move forward, his heart had already slapped himself countless times, ruining the good things of the emperor and empress, fearing that this life would not be preserved, if he had known earlier, he should not have been greedy for that Taifu's one hundred coins, now thinking about it, those one hundred coins were truly pitifully small.
He knelt down in front of Emperor Xian, crying and begging: "Your Majesty spare my life, Your Majesty spare my life!"
Liu Xie thought to himself, "I'm not a tyrannical ruler, why would I randomly kill people?" He secretly laughed at the eunuch's cowardice, thinking that if he were truly Cao Cao's man, it might be possible to use him for his own purposes with a combination of kindness and intimidation. Thinking this, he intentionally sank his face and ignored him. However, he didn't know that this eunuch was indeed one of Cao Cao's men, and Cao Cao had arranged for four personal eunuchs to follow Liu Xie, with the leader being Song Jiu, who was in charge of Liu Xie's daily life and food. This eunuch was under Song Jiu's command and had just been newly recruited into the palace to serve as an attendant, but he didn't yet fully understand the intricacies of court etiquette and had forgotten to report his presence before entering the imperial bedchamber. In ancient times, etiquette was extremely important, and a eunuch like this who was so careless and reckless would already be guilty of a capital offense.
