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

Chapter 244 Did I grant you permission to leave?

Liang Wanying felt as uncomfortable as if she had swallowed a fly.

But with Murong present, she had to pretend to be magnanimous no matter what. She suppressed the humiliation in her heart and replied, "The Empress is right."

Lou Suyi had been waiting for these words, and immediately took away the soup bowl.

Under Liang Wanying's watchful gaze, she took a sip, savored it carefully, and shook her head: "Consort Hui, your soup-making skills still need improvement. This soup is only palatable because His Majesty isn't picky. In my experience, this soup is not only too salty, but also has too strong a medicinal flavor. I can only say that you have a lot of room for improvement..."

Lou Suying launched into a long, rambling critique, seemingly oblivious to Liang Wanying's dark expression.

She didn't actually mean to belittle it; the soup was indeed just average, but Murong still gave it a "not bad" rating, which shows that she truly loves Liang Wanying.

Lou Suyi took two sips and then stopped trying: "I'm sorry, I really can't drink anymore. Your Majesty, please leave it to drink."

After all, Murong was her true love, and she didn't want to make her stomach suffer.

Liang Wanying clenched her fists, barely managing to refrain from arguing with Lou Suyi.

Lou Suying looked at Liang Wanying's tense face and chuckled inwardly. She didn't continue to poke at Liang Wanying's lungs. She was afraid that if she continued to provoke her, Liang Wanying might be able to hold back, but Murong would also be unable to resist scolding her on behalf of his beloved.

Unwilling to be humiliated, Liang Wanying asked Murong with a wronged expression, "Your Majesty, is the soup I cooked really as bad as the Empress said?"

Why did Lou Suyi criticize the soup she painstakingly made as worthless? Murong had clearly said the soup was good before.

She wanted Murong to back her up and help her slap Lou Suyi in the face.

Murong glanced at Liang Wanying and said, "I'm busy."

Liang Wanying felt a chill run down her spine, as if Murong was accusing her of being ignorant and disturbing his handling of state affairs.

Just then, Murong said to Jiqing, "Jiqing, try the soup and see how it tastes."

Ji Qing was taken aback, not expecting his master to entrust him with such an important matter for judgment.

This is truly a thankless and arduous task.

To say the soup is delicious would offend the Empress. To say it's not delicious would offend Consort Hui.

In the end, you're bound to offend a powerful person.

But since his master had given the order, he could not refuse, so he smiled and replied, "It is truly an honor for this servant to be able to drink the soup stewed by Consort Hui."

He first flattered Liang Wanying, who immediately looked at Lou Suyi with arrogance.

Lou Suyi just smiled. Ji Qing was indeed shrewd enough, as expected of someone who served in the imperial court.

After that, Ji Qing buried his head in drinking the soup, and after taking a sip, he frowned.

Previously, when His Majesty drank the soup, the bowl was quickly emptied, and he thought the soup would taste good.

Now he realized that the Empress hadn't intentionally belittled Consort Hui. Even he, a mere servant, found the soup unpalatable; how could His Majesty drink the entire bowl without batting an eye?
Liang Wanying looked at Ji Qing expectantly and asked, "Is it good?"

After swallowing the soup, Ji Qing answered truthfully: "As Your Majesty the Empress said, it is indeed a bit too salty, and too many medicinal herbs were added, so the taste is a bit pungent."

Liang Wanying was dumbfounded: "How is that possible?"

Yulan said it tasted good, and she herself thought it was alright, so why did Jiqing and Lou Suyi have so many problems with it?

“Your Majesty usually eats light meals, and so does I. I think the soup Your Highness made was indeed too salty,” Ji Qing replied confidently.

Liang Wanying was about to retort, but then she thought about it again. She did eat a saltier soup. If Murong and the others thought the soup was too salty, wouldn't that be normal? If Murong thought the soup was salty but still lied and said it was good, wouldn't that mean Murong cared about her and was afraid that she would be upset, so he lied and said it was good?

Thinking about it this way, she was overjoyed.

"His Majesty drank a bowl earlier and said it tasted good, but you and the Empress said the soup was not good. So, should I believe His Majesty, or should I believe you and the Empress?" Liang Wanying turned her beautiful eyes to look at Murong.

Murong's gaze never left the memorial, as if he hadn't heard Liang Wanying's words.

"Your Highness Consort Hui, His Majesty still has many memorials to review..." Ji Qing hesitated before speaking.

Could you please not disturb His Majesty while he is handling state affairs?
In this respect, Consort Hui was far less sensible and considerate than the Empress.

Previously, when His Majesty was busy, the Empress would quietly pass the time on her own. Consort Hui, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. As if afraid that His Majesty would not know of her existence, she kept talking to him, without considering how busy His Majesty was.

Liang Wanying was not stupid; she understood the hidden meaning in Ji Qing's words.

She said with displeasure, "It is rare for me to visit His Majesty. What is the meaning of this?"

Ji Qing was speechless for a moment and could not answer.

His Majesty did not issue an order to expel her, so he had no right to drive Consort Hui away.

Seeing this, Liang Wanying pressed her advantage: "Jiqing, do you now have the right to make decisions for His Majesty?"

Did Lou Suyi give Jiqing this misconception?
Ji Qing thought that by climbing up the stairs in plain clothes, he could disregard Consort Hui.

Lou Suying didn't want to get involved, but seeing Liang Wanying's aggressive manner, she said calmly, "I also think my sister is too noisy. His Majesty is busy with state affairs, and my sister should be considerate of him. What kind of logic is it to keep disturbing His Majesty's busy work?"

Liang Wanying was so angry she almost laughed: "When the Empress and Chen'er were making a scene in the Imperial Study, why didn't you say you were disturbing His Majesty?"

At that moment, she forgot that Lou Suyi and her son had been summoned by Murong.

Lou Suyi felt that she couldn't reason with Liang Wanying.

Just then, Murong tossed aside the memorial and looked at Liang Wanying's face: "Consort Hui, say what you have to say all at once, I am all ears!"

At that moment, everyone could see that Murong had indeed been disturbed.

Liang Wanying's face turned pale. Looking at Murong's serious face, she was so frightened that she knelt down and said, "This concubine did not mean to disturb Your Majesty."

Ji Qing also knelt down, but Lou Suyi felt that she was holding a child and didn't have time to kneel, so she sat down to the side as a matter of course.

Liang Wanying was annoyed to see Lou Suyi's nonchalant demeanor, but this time it was indeed she who kept trying to talk to Murong.

She simply habitually regarded Murong as the late emperor, unconsciously assuming that he would unconditionally indulge all her mischief.

Murong said calmly, "If you have nothing to say, then you may leave."

Liang Wanying quickly stood up: "I know I was wrong, I will take my leave."

She lowered her eyes and left, only to see Lou Suying still sitting in her original spot. She gritted her teeth, feeling that she had once again been outdone by that bitch Lou Suying.

But this time she dared not cause any more trouble, for fear of incurring Murong's displeasure.

However, she was in no hurry to leave, thinking that Lou Suyi would also be kicked out by Murong, and she wanted to compete with Lou Suyi.

Inside the imperial study, Lou Suying also felt superfluous. Only after confirming that Liang Wanying was far away did she say, "Your Majesty, shall I take Chen'er back?"

She waited for a while, but when she didn't hear Murong speak, she tried to leave quietly. But as soon as she turned around, she heard Murong say, "Did I grant you permission to leave?"