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

Chapter 206 A Mother's Status Rises with Her Son: The Best Candidate for Empress

Murong paused in his hand, which was poking the child's face, before replying after a moment: "I haven't decided yet. I plan to choose one from among the concubines in the harem, but currently Wanying has the highest rank among all the concubines..."

Before he could finish speaking, Empress Dowager Chen's face turned cold.

Her expression was grim: "If the Emperor intends to make Lady Liang Empress, I will absolutely not agree!"

To reiterate, even if all the women in the world were to die, it would be impossible for Liang Wanying to become the empress.

The emperor had previously punished Liang Wanying, but now he intends to make her empress. Has he been cursed by the Liang family?

"I didn't say I had to make Wanying empress, but it seems there's no one in the harem more suitable for the position. Wanying has the highest rank, and Consort Ning comes from a general's family, so she would normally be suitable for the position. However, if we want to check and balance the general's family, Consort Ning is destined to be out of luck for the empress's position. As for the other concubines, we won't consider them," Murong said slowly.

Empress Dowager Chen thought of Consort De, but Consort De was a concubine's daughter from the Chi family.

If Consort De is to be made Empress, it would be better to choose Su Yi. Su Yi is also a concubine's daughter, but she has already given birth to a prince.

Yes, rather than letting Consort Hui become Empress, it would be better to elevate Su Yi to the throne.

Although Su Yi is a concubine's daughter of the Lou family, she gave birth to Chen'er, so she can gain status through her son!

Thinking of this, she said with burning eyes, "The Emperor has forgotten one person. You've forgotten, Su Yi gave birth to Chen'er for you. She doesn't have a title yet, but she gave birth to Chen'er, and that's a contribution that no one else can match!"

Murong remained silent and did not respond.

"Consort Ning is indeed unsuitable to be made Empress. Although she comes from a noble family, the General's Mansion is too powerful to produce another Empress. Lady Liang was once in the late Emperor's harem; how can she be fit for the position of Empress? If she were to ascend the throne, the royal family would become a laughingstock. I believe that Su Yi might be a good candidate. I and the Emperor trust her character. Compared to Consort Ning, Su Yi doesn't have a powerful family behind her, which might be a blessing for the royal family." The more Empress Dowager Chen spoke, the more she felt that making Su Yi Empress was a good choice.

Although Su Yi is weak, she has a prince by her side. When Chen'er grows up, he will be Su Yi's strongest support.

Furthermore, Su Yi's personality is also suitable for that position.

More importantly, if a strong empress were to come and she were to clash with her, wouldn't she be very tired at her age?
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that making Su Yi empress was the best choice.

Murong pondered for a long time before saying, "Let me think about it."

Lou Suying went to the small kitchen and when she returned, she found that Empress Dowager Chen was looking at her with unusually intense eyes. Such a fervent gaze made her a little scared: "Why is Your Majesty looking at me like that?"

Could it be that her face was covered in soot from the stove?
Empress Dowager Chen pulled Lou Suying around, looking her over from left to right, and felt that she was the perfect daughter-in-law for her.

Su Yi saved her son and then saved her. To repay her kindness, the mother and son took her in as their own family. Isn't that perfectly reasonable?
"You look good." Empress Dowager Chen looked at Murong, hoping he would show some appreciation.

But her son was always reserved, and she didn't know if Murong's talk of consideration was just a perfunctory response.

"The Empress Dowager is also beautiful. His Majesty is so handsome, he must resemble her." Lou Suyi immediately flattered Empress Dowager Chen.

Empress Dowager Chen was overjoyed and couldn't stop smiling: "Look how sweet your mouth is!"

She then looked at Murong: "Emperor, don't you think so?"

Murong glanced at Lou Suyi with a half-smile, his gaze lingering on her lips.

Lou Suyi suddenly felt as if her lips were burning; the emperor's eyes were clearly tinged with lust.

The heat on her face only dissipated after Murong looked away. Because Empress Dowager Chen had been frightened, Murong personally escorted her back to Shou'an Palace after lunch.

When Lou Suyi and her son left Xianfu Palace, Empress Dowager Chen said some ambiguous things to her. For example, "You are a blessed child," and "The Emperor is wise to keep you in the harem."

Moreover, Empress Dowager Chen kept glancing at Murong while saying these words.

Murong's expression didn't reveal anything, but she suspected that the mother and son had been discussing her when she went to the small kitchen.

After Murong and Empress Dowager Chen had walked away, Lou Suyi asked Jinshu, "Did you eavesdrop on His Majesty and the Empress Dowager's conversation?"

Jinshu quickly shook her head: "This servant wouldn't dare!"

"If I hadn't gone to the small kitchen, I definitely would have eavesdropped on what they were saying. Don't you think the Empress Dowager is acting strangely today? The way she looks at me makes me seem like a delicious dessert."

Her metaphor made Yan Hui burst out laughing.

Jinshu couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at her daughter's pretty face: "Your daughter is indeed beautiful, like a delicious dessert."

Lou Suyi laughed at herself. Who would describe themselves like that? Only she would use such a random analogy.

She pondered for a while and then stopped worrying about it.

Empress Dowager Chen was extremely worried about this matter, and even while sleeping, she was still thinking about making Lou Suyi her empress.

Before today, she had never considered this possibility, simply because Lou Suyi had no family to support her and was born out of wedlock. Women like Suyi were generally not on the list of candidates for empress.

But nothing is absolute. With the Empress Dowager backing her up, Su Yi's backing is stronger than anyone else's. Now it's just a matter of waiting for Murong to make a decision.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, she planned to visit the Qianqing Palace again the next day.

The next morning, she got up early and heard that the court was once again arguing about the matter of choosing an empress. These people were eager to see the emperor choose an empress, but of course they did not really want to see the emperor marry a wife as soon as possible. Most of them had their own selfish motives and hoped to choose a young lady from their family with a similar background to enter the palace and strengthen their family's power.

After court, Murong returned to Qianqing Palace and was somewhat surprised to see Empress Dowager Chen: "Why has Mother come?"

Empress Dowager Chen smiled kindly: "I heard that the ministers argued again today in court about the matter of establishing an empress? In that case, the emperor should make a decision as soon as possible."

Murong said calmly, "I haven't thought this through yet, there's no rush."

"Why aren't you in a hurry?" Empress Dowager Chen was about to continue her persuasion when she saw the servants in the Imperial Study and ordered them to leave, "Everyone, leave."

Ji Qing quickly chased everyone out of the Imperial Study, while he stood guard outside, leaving Empress Dowager Chen and Murong alone.

He peeked into the study every now and then, never expecting that Empress Dowager Chen would think so highly of Lou Suyi.

Looking at His Majesty's expression, he didn't seem to be so resistant.

Could it be that the Fourth Miss is really going to ascend to the throne and become Empress?

With the Empress Dowager making such a move, and His Majesty being a filial son, he will most likely follow the Empress Dowager's wishes.

He had never even considered the possibility of the Fourth Princess becoming Empress, simply because His Majesty hadn't even granted her a title. But now it seemed the Fourth Princess had a very high chance of winning!