Five years after her death, she awoke on the dragon bed.

Chapter 42 Plain Clothes, Your Place Is Still the Quietest…

With Consort Wu acting as a gossip, even though Yan Hui and Jin Shu wanted to keep it a secret, the news about Consort Liang naturally reached Lou Suyi's ears.

After hearing this, Lou Suyi thought to herself that being an emperor must be great. He could even take the late emperor's women as he pleased. Murong was truly blessed with good fortune in love.

She didn't show it on her face, but said "Amitabha" and "Well said, well said. It's best for this humble nun, an outsider, not to listen to His Majesty's affairs in the inner quarters."

She knew that in the past, the concubines in the harem came to Xianfu Palace hoping to use her to get close to Murong. But recently, Murong had a new lover and stopped visiting Xianfu Palace, yet Consort Wu still came to see her every day. Did this mean that Consort Wu really just wanted someone to talk to?

"In any case, Master is His Majesty's savior, so there's no harm in listening to him, is there?" Then, Consort Wu vividly recounted this romantic affair.

Yan Hui and Jin Shu, who were standing to the side, felt that Consort Wu was too noisy, revealing all of His Majesty's affairs, and they, as her maids, could not stop her.

After Lady Wu left, Lou Suying finally got some peace and quiet, and Yan Hui and Jin Shu also breathed a sigh of relief.

Two palace maids, worried that Lou Suying was in a bad mood, wanted to say a few words to comfort her, but they heard their mistress say, "I'm going to bask in the sun. It's such a rare sunny day, I'll get moldy if I don't get some sun."

Yan Hui and Jin Shu exchanged a glance, both with the same question in their eyes: Did Miss Lou care whether His Majesty would take Consort Liang into the harem?

"This servant thought His Majesty valued Miss Lou the most," Yan Hui quickly comforted her. "Don't be discouraged, Miss. His Majesty will come to keep you company soon."

Lou Suyi yawned and muttered to herself, "I wonder what kind of vegetarian dishes lunch will be. I'm really looking forward to it."

She didn't want to discuss the Emperor's affairs with Yan Hui and Jin Shu, and she didn't consider herself part of the Emperor's household either; she planned to leave the palace in two years.

She was also afraid that if she said something unpleasant, the two palace maids would complain to Murong, which would damage the emperor's reputation, and she would not get the better end of it.

It would be better not to discuss this inappropriate topic.

Her current thought is to lie back and watch the show. She can't get involved in the power struggles in the harem. The emperor's favor is poisonous; this is a lesson she learned from Consort Ma.

If possible, she hoped that Murong would never come looking for her again, so that she could spend the next two years in peace.

These are the unspoken truths that cannot be uttered, otherwise the two palace maids would report them to Murong, which would surely hurt the emperor's pride as a man.

As Murong said, no one in this harem can be easily trusted, including the three people serving her and Consort Wu who comes to chat with her every day.

Two palace maids followed behind Lou Suyi, listening to her mutter about trivial matters like eating and sunbathing. When the emperor was mentioned, the young lady said she wanted to sleep, leaving them completely baffled as to what she was thinking.

Even so, the commotion on Miss Lou's side still needs to be reported to His Majesty.

Just then, Jili returned and stopped Jinshu, who was about to meet the Emperor: "The Empress Dowager is on a hunger strike because of Consort Liang, and His Majesty is currently at Shou'an Palace. His Majesty may not be able to spare the time recently, so let's discuss Miss Lou's matter later."

Yan Hui leaned closer and asked, "Has Miss Lou really fallen out of favor?"

“Whether the young lady has fallen out of favor or not, we are all responsible for serving her well. She is His Majesty’s benefactor, and for that alone, no one else can compare.” Jili lowered his voice. “Don’t talk about whether she has fallen out of favor or not in front of the young lady, lest you upset her. You two keep your mouths shut.”

Yan Hui and Jin Shu both agreed. Of course, they didn't dare to say it to Miss Lou's face, but there were some things they had to say, so they could only whisper to each other behind her back.

At lunchtime, Lou Suyi had a particularly good appetite.

While she was enjoying her vegetarian meal, Jili came in and brought several meat dishes.

"If you do this, won't everyone know that I, this nun, have broken my vows?" Lou Suying said, but her eyes gleamed as she stared at the meat dishes. Jili smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss. This meal was prepared by Master in the names of us servants. No one else will know that it was prepared for you."

This was probably meant to appease Miss Lou, but seeing how carefree she seemed, she didn't care at all.

Lou Suyi immediately started eating heartily and invited Jili and the others to join her.

But these three were stubborn and insisted that the rules couldn't be broken, so she stopped trying to persuade them.

After eating and drinking her fill, she leaned back comfortably in her chair and said, "It's so wonderful to be alive."

She has food and drink, and can lie down in the palace without having to do anything. It's so good that she's alive.

Yan Hui and Jin Shu both thought that Miss Lou had a really good attitude. She was happy to be alive. How could she possibly have the ambition to seize the emperor's favor?
A girl like her could live a good life even if she didn't stay in the palace.

At that moment, they stopped worrying. As long as the girl was happy, whether she received favor or not seemed unimportant.

In contrast to the peaceful and tranquil Xianfu Palace, Shou'an Palace was shrouded in gloom and despair.

Murong's plan to take Consort Liang as a concubine was opposed by many court officials. However, the new emperor's favorite ministers had the opposite opinion, saying that this was a matter for His Majesty's inner court and that as subjects, they had no reason to interfere.

Xie Zhijie was the most steadfast in his stance, supporting any decision the new emperor made.

Of course, Xie Zhijie also had his own selfish motives.

If the new emperor had a woman he cared about, he wouldn't have made a move on Su Yi. Hearing that the new emperor had stayed at Xianfu Palace for too long, he couldn't help but worry.

Only after seeing that the new emperor still harbored feelings for the Liang family did he finally calm down.

Inside Shou'an Palace, because Empress Dowager Chen was on a hunger strike, Murong tried to persuade her for a long time, but Empress Dowager Chen lay on the bed and ignored him.

Finally, out of concern for Empress Dowager Chen's health, Murong relented and postponed his plan to take Liang Wanying as a concubine.

Empress Dowager Chen breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Murong had backed down.

As long as Consort Liang hasn't become one of the emperor's concubines, and with the upcoming imperial concubine selection, she'll surely be able to divert the emperor's attention. She refuses to believe that Consort Liang can cause any trouble right under her nose.

When Murong accompanied Empress Dowager Chen to dinner, it was already evening.

The confrontation between mother and son ended in victory for Empress Dowager Chen, and the concubines in the harem breathed a sigh of relief.

Empress Dowager Chen had sent people to keep an eye on Murong's movements. If he went to see Consort Liang, they were to report to her immediately. However, Fangruo told her that the Emperor had gone to Xianfu Palace.

"Su Yi is the emperor's savior, so there's no problem for the emperor to go to Xianfu Palace," Empress Dowager Chen said, relieved.

Inside Xianfu Palace, Lou Suying was about to have her dinner when the lovelorn emperor arrived. She had no choice but to put down her chopsticks and ask, "Does Your Majesty wish to have dinner here?"

"No, I just finished my meal." Murong sat down opposite Su Yi. "Su Yi, it's quieter here."

(End of this chapter)