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

Chapter 221 The Empress must arrange for the concubines to take turns serving her in bed.
"What exactly is going on with the Emperor? You are not one of his concubines, you are his wife. How can he not call your name for so long? When he comes, I will definitely have a word with him," Empress Dowager Chen said in a deep voice.

Lou Suyi thought to herself that although the Empress Dowager said the Emperor was not in a big deal, the Emperor would think that she was complaining to the Empress Dowager.

"His Majesty is busy with state affairs, so it's normal that he doesn't have time to walk around the inner palace. Mother, please don't have a conflict with His Majesty over such a trivial matter, otherwise I will be guilty of a great sin." Lou Suyi tried her best to dispel Empress Dowager Chen's idea.

Empress Dowager Chen, however, had her own plan: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Lou Suyi wanted to continue trying to persuade her, but Empress Dowager Chen had already made up her mind and would not continue to discuss the matter.

As expected, when Murong came to pay his respects to Empress Dowager Chen after court that day, Empress Dowager Chen set a rule for Murong: no matter how busy he was, he had to stay overnight at Xianfu Palace every ten days or so. She said this was a hard rule, and it was the same in the previous dynasty.

Empress Dowager Chen also emphasized that this was the dignity that the Empress should be given, and Emperor Murong had to do it!

Upon hearing this, Murong glanced at Lou Suyi, who quickly looked away, thinking to herself that this wasn't her snitching.

Just as she thought Murong would fly into a rage, she heard Murong reply, "What Mother says is true. It was my oversight. From now on, I will stay overnight at Xianfu Palace on the first and fifteenth of each month."

Empress Dowager Chen herself hadn't expected Murong to be so easy to talk to, and she beamed with joy: "Then it's settled!"

She then continued to probe: "When the emperor has time, he should also visit the inner palace..."

Before she could finish speaking, the emperor interrupted her, saying, "Your son knows what he's doing."

Empress Dowager Chen looked at Lou Suying upon hearing this, thinking to herself that it was only because the emperor was addressing Suying that he was willing to listen to her advice. If it were any other woman, the emperor would not have listened.

This shows that in the emperor's heart, Su Yi was different from other women.

Having figured out the trick, she stopped wasting her breath.

The emperor's reluctance to move around in the harem stemmed from his dislike of the women there. Before Ruochen'er was born, she must have been anxious.

Now that Su Yi and Chen'er are around, she no longer interferes too much.

She only hoped that Su Yi could produce more offspring for the royal family, and now her only hope was to place it on Su Yi's belly.

There's nothing new in the harem, and the news that Murong was forced to spend the first and fifteenth of each month in Xianfu Palace quickly spread throughout the entire harem.

What Lou Suyi found amazing was that there were only Empress Dowager Chen, herself, and Murong present at the time, along with their close attendants. So how did this matter spread throughout the entire harem?
Originally, when Murong hadn't visited Xianfu Palace for some time, everyone was gloating. But then news suddenly spread that Empress Dowager Chen had reprimanded Murong. Subsequently, under Empress Dowager Chen's pressure, Murong had no choice but to stay overnight at Xianfu Palace on the first and fifteenth of each month. This made everyone look at Lou Suyi with a hint of resentment.

Lou Suyi pretended not to notice the strange looks people were giving her. She planned to chat for a few minutes and then have everyone leave.

Consort De, however, seemed to thrive on chaos: "Now that Your Majesty the Empress is in charge of the inner palace, shouldn't you arrange for the sisters to serve the Emperor? Your Majesty can't monopolize His Majesty's time; His Majesty is the husband of all the sisters. Your Majesty shouldn't be hogging the spoils!"

Upon hearing this, Lou Suying recalled that there seemed to be such a rule: the emperor could arrange for his concubines to serve him in bed. However, the prerequisite was that the emperor was willing to allow her, the empress, to arrange for his concubines to serve him in bed.

But Murong himself didn't want to move around in the inner palace, and last time she mentioned it, he took the child and walked away. Such an attitude... While she was still in a daze, she heard Consort De say sarcastically, "Your Majesty the Empress should fulfill your duties in your position. In my opinion, Your Majesty should arrange for all the sisters present to serve you in bed today. It wouldn't be too much to arrange for one concubine to serve you in bed each day!"

Lou Suyi did remember that she was the empress, but there was no explicit rule that an empress should push her man into the arms of other women.

If she were truly that magnanimous, she wouldn't be Lou Suyi.

"Does the Great Xia Dynasty have a law that stipulates that the Empress must arrange for the concubines in the harem to spend the night with her?!" Lou Suyi asked loudly.

After she said this, the room fell silent, and no one responded.

Consort De's words resonated with everyone.

There's no reason why His Majesty should be monopolized by Lou Suyi. As the Empress, it's only right that she arranges for them to serve her in bed.

They were happy to watch the show, and hoped that Lou Suying would listen to their advice and arrange for each of them to serve the emperor in bed. With the opportunity to serve him, how could they worry about not gaining the emperor's favor in the future?
But Lou Suyi's single sentence extinguished Consort De's anger.

In the Great Xia Dynasty, there was indeed no law that stipulated that the Empress should arrange for the concubines to spend the night with her. If the Empress did arrange it, it was a matter of courtesy; if she did not, one could only say that the Empress was a jealous woman.

"There are so many ladies in the harem. If His Majesty were to arrange a bed for each of them, he would be too busy. If he only arranges for one or two, everyone will say I am biased. It would be better if you all tried to get the chance to serve His Majesty. You are all young and beautiful, and His Majesty will eventually take a liking to you. I will not get involved in this matter, lest I make an improper arrangement and make His Majesty dislike me." Lou Suying almost said that she would not do such a thankless task.

If you want to win favor, everyone should rely on their own abilities; don't try to drag her down with you.

Besides, Murong herself doesn't even want to move around in the harem. Does she think that if she arranges for these people to serve her in bed, they will actually do so?
Anyway, the last time she served the emperor was on the day she was made empress; she couldn't possibly handle such a difficult man.

She had a thousand reasons not to arrange for the concubines to serve her in bed, but she couldn't find a single excuse to act as a matchmaker for them.

Consort De looked coldly at Lou Suyi, wanting to retort, but not knowing what to say.

Lou Suyi's statement that they should fight for it themselves—does that mean they don't want to fight for it? They still need to have the opportunity to see Murong.

In this year of 365 days, the only time they can see Murong is during holidays and festivals. How are they supposed to find an opportunity to see him?
Consort Ning glanced at everyone and said softly, "I understand how you sisters feel, but serving the emperor does require everyone's effort..."

"Is it because Consort Ning has never tried to serve His Majesty that she hasn't been able to serve him all these years?!" Consort Ling suddenly retorted sarcastically.

For a moment, Consort Ning felt somewhat embarrassed.

Yes, it wasn't that she didn't try, but that Murong had never been interested in her. After all these years, she thought she had long accepted this cruel reality, but being exposed in public still made her feel utterly humiliated.

She used to be such a proud person, but now even a lowly concubine can ridicule her. It's utterly pathetic.

"Judging from what Sister Ling said, it seems that she has tried her best and even gained His Majesty's favor." Consort Tao had recently become close to Consort Ning, and seeing Consort Ning being humiliated, she couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.