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

Chapter 192 He probably won't have any descendants in this lifetime.
Seeing Lou Suyi suddenly quiet down, Jinshu quickly said, "That's not what I meant. I was just worried that His Majesty would be unhappy if he saw this."

Seeing her nervousness, Lou Suyi smiled and said, "I know what you mean, no need to explain."

So she stopped leaving Qingyan Palace and waited patiently for Empress Dowager Chen to return with her son.

Meanwhile, the results of the dragon boat race were announced, and Qi Yan's Imperial Guards once again emerged victorious. He had no other desires; he was content just to catch a glimpse of the white-clad figure from afar.

Unfortunately, Su Yi did not appear today.

He wasn't the only one disappointed; Xie Zhijie was also very disappointed.

He looked around and saw Empress Dowager Chen holding the young prince, surrounded by a group of concubines. Amidst the clamor, he couldn't see Su Yi's figure. Of course, Jin Shu was nowhere to be seen either.

He really wanted to find someone to ask what was going on.

He knew Su Yi's personality; she usually loved to join in the fun. With the dragon boat race today, there was no reason for Su Yi not to come and join in the excitement.

Just as he was feeling anxious, Murong's voice rang out: "What are you looking for, Minister Xie?"

Xie Zhijie snapped back to reality and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, I found today's event exceptionally lively, and I couldn't help but take a few more glances."

Murong glanced at Xie Zhijie but didn't reveal his thoughts.

The little nun probably just woke up now; Xie Zhijie won't be able to see her today.

Empress Dowager Chen was holding little Mu Chen. The little guy seemed very happy to see Murong and jumped around in Empress Dowager Chen's arms with his little hands outstretched.

Murong's expression softened slightly as she took the child in her arms.

The little guy bounced around as soon as he was in his arms, and his handsome appearance attracted everyone's attention.

Xie Zhijie stared intently at the little prince. Thinking that this was Su Yi's child, he said as if possessed, "Your Majesty, may I hold the little prince?"

Murong glanced at him and replied slowly, "Minister Xie has never been a father and doesn't know how to hold a child, so please refrain from doing so. Speaking of which, Minister Xie is not young anymore, and has been married for many years. Isn't it time for you to become a father?"

Xie Zhijie felt a bitter taste in his mouth, but concealed the bitterness in his eyes: "Your Majesty is right, but having children is also a matter of fate."

He thought to himself that he probably wouldn't have any descendants in his lifetime.

If Su Yi doesn't get rid of this inner demon, his life will probably just stay like this.

Murong poked the child's rosy cheek and suddenly asked, "My dear minister, you are still young, but your mentality is a bit mature. Would you like me to bestow a few beauties upon you?"

Xie Zhijie, remembering Lou Suya whom he had imprisoned, refused to accept this "kindness": "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. However, my wife is a jealous woman. If she knew that I had taken a concubine, I'm afraid she would be unhappy."

Murong didn't pursue the topic further and continued to tease the child in her arms.

Afterwards, he bestowed gifts upon Qi Yan, and when Qi Yan expressed his gratitude, he made a point of bringing up Lady Chi as well.

Chi was flattered and overwhelmed that Qi Yan had invited her to appear before the Emperor.

Qi Yan wanted Murong to see his stance. He now had a wife and children, and although he had no romantic feelings for his wife, he felt a responsibility and obligation towards her.

Su Yi was already His Majesty's woman, and he didn't want her to be implicated because of him.

As a result, Murong not only rewarded Qi Yan, but also gave a reward to Lady Chi. Consort De, who was standing to the side, felt disdainful when she saw Lady Chi gain favor.

Lady Chi also saw Consort De. She simply smiled faintly and obediently stayed by Qi Yan's side.

Back when she was still unmarried, neither she nor Consort De would yield to the other. But even then, she could tell that Consort De's heart belonged to Xie Zhijie.

However, her father was determined to marry Consort De to His Majesty, who was then a prince. Consort De was extremely reluctant to marry him, but in the end, she could not go against her father's wishes.

Now it seems that even the usually aloof Consort De has fallen for His Majesty, whom she previously looked down upon. This woman is nothing more than that.

Once the rewards were finished, the ten concubines surrounded Murong again.

Murong looked at them with unusual indifference, which reminded everyone of the incident when Empress Dowager Chen fell into the water.

Although Murong didn't say it explicitly, everyone could guess that Empress Chen being pushed into the lake was related to the people on the boat. Since hypnosis was used again, it meant it was the same person who harmed Lou Suying.

The one who harmed Lou Suyi was clearly one of the concubines in the harem. Only ten concubines accompanied the emperor on this trip, which means that the murderer was among them.

What they could think of, Murong could certainly think of as well, which explains why Murong's expression was so cold when he saw them.

"Everyone else may step down. Consort Hui will accompany you today." Just then, Murong suddenly spoke up.

His words stunned everyone, including Empress Dowager Chen.

Consort De quickly figured out the intricacies of the situation. The real culprit, who wanted to frame Liang Wanying, ended up helping her clear her name.

The more the murderer tried to harm Liang Wanying, the more favored Liang Wanying became. Murong only wanted the real murderer to see clearly that her scheme not only failed, but also made Liang Wanying extremely popular.

This time, even Empress Dowager Chen did not stop her. However, when she saw Liang Wanying shyly accompanying the emperor, she found it an eyesore and simply took the child, saying, "I'll go back to Qingyan Palace first."

Before leaving, she gave Liang Wanying a cold look.

Liang Wanying was in a good mood and ignored Empress Dowager Chen's provocations, staying close to Murong like a little bird.

Consort De watched Liang Wanying and Murong leave together, a cold smile playing on her lips: "I wonder which fool tried to harm the Empress Dowager, only to lose more than they gained. Not only did it give Abbess Kongchen even more face in front of Empress Dowager Chen, but it even helped Consort Hui. How utterly laughable!"

The other concubines looked at each other, but no one responded.

Consort Ning, fearing trouble, kept her distance from Consort De and walked away first.

Watching the others walk away, Consort Tao stopped beside Consort De and asked, "Consort De, who do you think is the most suspicious?"

Consort De looked at Consort Tao and thought to herself that Consort Tao was also cunning. If it were Consort Tao who made a move against Empress Dowager Chen, it would be reasonable.

When Consort Tao saw Consort De scrutinizing her, her expression changed slightly: "Sister, you don't suspect me, do you? I'm very timid and wouldn't do such a heinous thing."

“Bad people don’t have ‘bad person’ written on their faces.” After a pause, Consort De smiled insincerely. “I didn’t say it was my sister, so don’t overthink it. At first glance, the real culprit seems very powerful, but every time they make a move, they fail to achieve anything, and Master Kongchen always benefits. However, now the scope has narrowed down to the remaining nine people besides Consort Hui. I certainly won’t do something so thankless, which means that only the other eight are suspects.”

Tao Zhaoyi quickly added, "I certainly wouldn't harm the Empress Dowager, which means the suspect is among the other seven."

“We know how to use the process of elimination, and His Majesty certainly does too. Perhaps we will find the real culprit soon,” Consort De said with a smile.