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

Chapter 267 The child is her tool for winning favor

Consort Ning watched Tao Zhaoyi walk away, sighed softly, and returned to the palace.

When Consort De saw her return, she said in a low voice, "Sister, really, always accommodating others, how tiring is that to live?"

Tao Zhaoyi wasn't even that important, yet she went out of her way to comfort her; she must be exasperated.

If it weren't for the fact that she and Lou Suyi were irreconcilable enemies, she wouldn't want to deal with Consort Ning either. Consort Ning's personality was too moderate; she wanted to befriend everyone but didn't want to offend anyone.

Despite being a concubine, she lowered herself to curry favor with Consort Tao, and it's unclear what she was after.

Consort Ning smiled and replied, "Sister Tao is a good person. I have some acquaintance with Sister Tao, and I certainly don't want to lose her as a friend. In this harem, it's not easy to have a friend you can talk to."

Consort De fell silent upon hearing this, for she had no close friends in the palace. She had been frequently visiting Consort Ning lately, but in her heart she looked down on her.

How could one possibly make true friends in a place like the imperial harem? There were certainly plenty of people who betrayed them.

At the very least, she didn't trust Consort Ning, nor did she trust anyone else.

"Sister treats Tao as a friend, but Tao may not be sincere towards you. Sister should be more careful," Consort De said calmly, deliberately trying to sow discord.

Consort Ning did not take these words to heart: "Regardless of whether Sister Tao is sincere to me or not, I still value Sister Tao as a friend."

Lou Suyue smiled brightly after hearing this: "Then does Consort Ning consider me a friend?"

Consort Ning smiled and said, "I like all the sisters here. I'm just afraid that if Sister Lou gets too close to me, it will displease Her Majesty the Empress."

Lou Suyue thought Consort Ning was overthinking things; Lou Suyi wouldn't care whether she lived or died.

She had just received a letter yesterday, delivered to her through connections by her elder sister, saying that her mother and elder sister were having a hard time lately. However, Madam Ke had also suffered, being confined to her quarters by her father.

Her elder sister urged her to find a way to win the emperor's favor as soon as possible, saying that if she could be promoted to a higher rank and become a favored concubine, her elder sister and mother would still have a chance to turn things around in the Marquis's mansion.

The moment she saw that so-called family letter, she felt that her elder sister had overestimated her.

She has no connections or influence, and since she entered the palace, His Majesty has never given her a second glance.

There are countless concubines like her in the harem; how could she possibly rise to a higher position?

After seeing the letter from home, she tossed it aside and suddenly felt that her life had hope again. At least she wasn't like her elder sister, who was divorced by her husband, nor was she like her elder sister, who was looked down upon by everyone when she returned to her parents' home, nor was she like her elder sister, who lived a life worse than a maid.

Although life in the harem was somewhat monotonous, and although she did not receive the Emperor's favor, she enjoyed a leisurely and contented life there.

Empress Lou Suyi never took the initiative to target her. If she hadn't gone to Lou Suyi to make her presence known, Lou Suyi probably wouldn't have bothered to torment such a nobody.

After leaving Jingren Palace, Consort De suddenly struck up a conversation with Lou Suyue: "Why don't we go to Xianfu Palace for a while?"

After much thought, she still felt that only at Xianfu Palace would she have a chance to meet Murong.

She was still unwilling to live an ordinary life; she wanted to become a favored concubine and make Murong fall in love with her. The prerequisite, however, was that she had to make Murong notice her.

Lou Suyue refused upon hearing this: "Sister, please go. The Empress doesn't like me. Except for the days when I regularly pay my respects to the Empress, I won't go to her to annoy her."

Consort De replied, "Doesn't my sister want to reconcile with Her Majesty the Empress?"

She suddenly wondered if she should become friends with Lou Suyi.

If she becomes friends with Lou Suyi, and waits for the right opportunity, she can then steal Murong away from Lou Suyi. Aren't there many examples of this in modern times? The success rate of stealing a man from your best friend is very high…

"My grudge against Her Majesty the Empress runs too deep; reconciliation is impossible." Lou Suyue didn't want to discuss the topic any further. "Sister, go find someone else; I won't join in the fun." With that, she left.

Consort De watched Lou Suyue walk away, and as soon as she turned around, she saw Consort Wu.

She suddenly remembered that when Consort Wu first entered the palace, she often visited Xianfu Palace. Although they didn't have a deep relationship, they could still talk to each other.

In that case, why not bring Wu Meiren along?

Coincidentally, Consort Wu also wanted to pay her respects to Lou Suyi, and the two hit it off immediately and headed to Xianfu Palace.

Even Consort De was surprised to find that Murong was also taking care of the child in Xianfu Palace.

He was clearly the most noble man in the world, yet he let the little prince ride on his shoulders, making him look no different from an ordinary man.

Consort Wu seemed a little flustered when she saw Murong, while Consort De stepped forward with great poise and struck up a conversation with Murong.

After exchanging pleasantries, she asked Murong, "May I hold the little prince?"

Murong held the child who was riding on his shoulders in his arms, glanced at her, and hesitated: "You've never held a child before, so maybe you shouldn't."

Consort De thought to herself, "Who said she's never held a child before? She held one back in modern times. It's not that difficult to have a child."

"Speaking of which, I held a child when I was still unmarried. I really want to hold the little prince because he is so cute. Your Majesty, would you grant me this small request?" Consort De looked at Murong expectantly.

Lou Suying watched from the side, feeling heartbroken. Her child wasn't a tool for Consort De to gain favor. Consort De's ambition for the emperor's favor was practically written all over her face; it was impossible for Lou Suying not to see it.

Murong subconsciously looked at Lou Suyi, and at this moment Consort De also looked over: "Empress, may I hold the little prince?"

Upon hearing Consort De call her "elder sister," Lou Suyi felt goosebumps all over her body.

Can she say no?
At this moment, Consort De went to coax little Muchen again: "Chen'er, come into my arms."

Seeing someone teasing him, Xiao Muchen clapped his hands excitedly. Just when Consort De thought there was a chance, Xiao Muchen turned to Lou Suyi and reached out: "Liang, Liang..."

Lou Suyi immediately stepped forward to take the little one, and then said to Murong, "I'll take Chen'er out to get some sun."

Murong nodded: "Go."

Consort De watched Lou Suyi carry the little prince away and thought to herself that it was good that Lou Suyi, this eyesore, was gone, so that she would have a chance to be alone with Murong.

There were too many people around, including Wu Meiren.

"Is Your Majesty not busy today?" Consort De took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Murong.

"I left something at Xianfu Palace. Fortunately, Granny Fan made some of my favorite dishes, so I plan to have lunch before leaving," Murong replied calmly.

Wu Meiren was gazing at Murong's face with fascination when Murong looked over and asked, "Are you Wu Meiren?"

Consort Wu was immediately flattered: "Your Majesty recognizes me?"

Murong glanced at Consort Wu a couple more times: "Of course I recognize you. You were among the first batch of concubines to enter the palace."

Consort Wu nodded repeatedly and blurted out, "Indeed, I was immediately struck by Your Majesty's beauty when I first saw you!"

Seeing this, Consort De's face darkened. She wondered why Murong ignored her when she spoke to Consort Wu. Was she now inferior to even a lowly Consort Wu?