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

Chapter 168 Is her child an object? Tossed around like a dumping block of paper?
Jinshu noticed that Lou Suyi was unhappy and also overheard what Consort De had said to her mistress earlier.

Normally, given the young lady's optimistic nature, nothing would bother her. But this time, Consort De wanted to take away the young prince's custody. How could the young lady be happy?

"Please don't take Consort De's words to heart, young lady. His Majesty wouldn't entrust the young prince to other concubines to raise." Jinshu said this without much confidence.

In the past, she might have thought that His Majesty cared about the young lady and wouldn't do something like taking the young prince away, but now she wasn't so sure.

Lou Suyi sighed softly: "Last time, judging from the Empress Dowager's tone, she wanted Chen'er to be raised by me. But today, judging from Consort De's words, because I severed ties with the Earl of Suning, the Empress Dowager feels that I am not worthy to raise Chen'er. I don't know what His Majesty is thinking. Maybe they are of one mind?"

Jinshu felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this and said in a hoarse voice, "His Majesty wouldn't be so cruel."

Lou Suyi thought to herself that if only she hadn't entered the palace, she wouldn't be in this dilemma now.

She was an optimistic person after all. As evening fell, while she was holding her child and watching the sunset, she suddenly had a change of heart.

While she can still raise the child herself, she should cherish the time she spends with him. If Murong really decides to hand the child over to someone else in the future, and her efforts to change this are fruitless, then she will leave the palace.

She couldn't let this incident make her miserable for the rest of her life; she wasn't the type to compromise.

Furthermore, with so many rewards she received, she would be a wealthy woman if she left the palace.

Murong is the child's father; he wouldn't mistreat the child. She can leave with peace of mind then.

In the time that followed, she practiced calligraphy whenever she had free time and occasionally made new clothes for her child. Her days were fulfilling and warm.

Consort De waited for several days without receiving any feedback from Empress Dowager Chen. She became restless and went to Shou'an Palace under the pretext of paying her respects to Empress Dowager Chen.

After paying her respects, she cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, has the custody of the young prince been decided?"

Empress Dowager Chen did not shy away from the topic and replied, "The Emperor wants Lady Liang to raise Chen'er, but I do not agree. For the time being, Chen'er will be raised by Su Yi. We will make further plans when Chen'er grows up a bit."

Consort De had high hopes, but after hearing Empress Dowager Chen's words, her heart sank.

"His Majesty personally said that he would give the young prince to Consort Hui to raise?" she asked unwillingly.

"The Emperor himself said it, there's no way it could be false." Empress Dowager Chen sneered. "Does Liang Shi even deserve to raise Chen'er?"

Consort De still couldn't understand why Murong insisted on having Liang Wanying raise the young prince.

So in the end, her plan failed, and it was still Lou Suyi who raised the child.

It's a shame that she deliberately made outrageous remarks in front of Lou Suyi a few days ago, wanting to kill Lou Suyi. Now it seems that she was just happy for nothing.

Consort De was unwilling to give up so easily.

She didn't know when Murong would choose her, and even if he did, she didn't know when she would conceive. With the young prince right in front of her as a ready-made tool for vying for favor, she didn't want to let him go easily.

The more she thought about it, the more unwilling she became, and suddenly another idea came to her: "Has Your Majesty ever considered letting Abbess Kongchen choose someone to raise the little prince? If Abbess Kongchen were to choose a concubine to raise the little prince, even His Majesty would have to respect the Abbess's opinion, right?"

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Chen looked at Consort De and thought to herself that she was indeed good at scheming.

As the biological mother, how could Su Yi easily give her child to another woman to raise?
Consort De is now targeting her again, wanting her to be the villain. "If you have a way to persuade Su Yi, that's your skill, and I won't stop you," Empress Dowager Chen replied calmly.

Consort De's eyes flickered slightly: "To be honest, Your Majesty, I have already spoken to the Abbess about this matter, but she did not agree. I was thinking, could we trouble Her Majesty the Empress Dowager to act as an intermediary? The Abbess respects Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, and if Your Majesty speaks up, the Abbess should respect Her Majesty's opinion."

Empress Dowager Chen stared intently at Consort De, who immediately knelt before her: "I know my request is excessive, but I truly love the young prince. Furthermore, my status as a nun is not respectable enough to raise the young prince. Even for the sake of the young prince's future, I beg Your Majesty to help me this once. I will be eternally grateful!"

Empress Dowager Chen, remembering Su Yi's identity, was indeed a little worried that having her child raised by Su Yi would affect the child's future.

Seeing that Empress Dowager Chen's expression had softened, Consort De kowtowed repeatedly to her, saying, "Please, Your Majesty, lend me a hand. I will serve you like a slave in the future to repay Your Majesty's kindness!"

She kowtowed loudly to show her sincerity.

After a long while, Empress Dowager Chen finally relented: "Alright, I'll go and ask Su Yi what she thinks. As for whether she's willing or not, I can't force her."

Consort De wept with joy: "Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. With Your Majesty personally intervening, the Abbess will surely agree."

Empress Dowager Chen also felt this was a major matter. After dismissing Consort De, she went to Xianfu Palace.

Lou Suying was practicing calligraphy in her study when the child, in a cradle, slept soundly. Upon seeing Empress Chen arrive, Lou Suying rose to greet her.

"No need for formalities, I've come to see Chen'er." Empress Dowager Chen's gaze fell on the child's face.

The little one was fair-skinned and delicate, with a beautiful, exquisite appearance; the child's looks were truly outstanding.

She could also tell that Lou Suyi was raising the child very well.

Lou Suyi saw that Empress Dowager Chen looked at the child for a long time, then looked at her, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

She roughly guessed that Empress Dowager Chen was also eyeing her child.

She pretended not to know, just to see what Empress Dowager Chen's purpose was in coming here.

Empress Dowager Chen found it difficult to speak, after all, she had made a promise last time.

But remembering Consort De's words, she made up her mind and said, "Suyi, you don't have a rank now, so it's not suitable for you to raise Chen'er..."

"I remember Her Majesty said she was on my side last time, so why is it that I'm not suitable to raise children?" Lou Suyi asked softly.

Empress Dowager Chen looked embarrassed. She had said those words, but the situation had changed.

She gave an irrelevant answer: "The Emperor intends for Consort Hui to raise Chen'er, but I think Consort De is more suitable. However, I think it would be better if you spoke to the Emperor and asked Consort De to raise Chen'er. You can rest assured that Consort De will treat Chen'er well."

Lou Suyi felt a chill in her heart.

The Emperor wanted Liang Wanying to raise the child, while the Empress Dowager wanted Consort De to raise the child. So what about Liang Wanying, the child's birth mother?
Is her child an object? To be tossed around and passed around?

If her biological mother is not dead, why should she let another woman raise her child?
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager is also a mother. May I ask Your Majesty, if someone had wanted to take His Majesty away when he was just born, would Your Majesty have been willing to do so?" Lou Suyi asked calmly, without anger or resentment.