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

Chapter 273 This is a favor, not love.

Upon returning to Qianqing Palace, Jiqing noticed that Murong was frequently distracted and seemed absent-minded, wondering if she was influenced by Consort De.

Does this mean that His Majesty still has feelings for Consort De?

After all, His Majesty had taken good care of Consort De a few years ago, but after becoming Emperor, he neglected her.

"Jiqing, do you know what it feels like to like someone?" Murong suddenly asked, putting down the memorial in his hand.

Ji Qing was speechless.

He's cut off his reproductive organs, so how would he know what it's like to like someone?
"This servant...this servant doesn't know," Ji Qing chuckled awkwardly. "Why don't I go ask someone else?"

Actually, he felt that His Majesty liked the Empress quite a bit. When facing the Empress, His Majesty seemed different from usual.

"I just..." Murong paused, "...never mind."

After that, Ji Qing still noticed that Murong would occasionally lose focus, clearly still troubled by matters between men and women.

He quietly walked away for a while to ask someone about this.

When he returned to the Imperial Study, he found His Majesty still lost in thought.

"I asked a few palace maids, and they said that liking someone makes them very happy, and they can't help but be nice to that person. They also said that they miss them when they can't see them. They get angry and jealous when they see that person with other people of the opposite sex..." Ji Qing finished speaking in one breath.

Murong frowned slightly after hearing this.

Seeing His Majesty's appearance, Ji Qing couldn't help but wonder, could His Majesty have all the symptoms he mentioned?

"Has Your Majesty ever felt this way about any of the concubines in the harem?" he asked cautiously.

He was particularly curious about which one could make His Majesty jealous.

Murong gradually came to his senses, and he looked coldly at Ji Qing: "That's not true!"

Ji Qing dared not ask any more questions, perhaps he was overthinking things.

How could His Majesty, a man of such cold heart, possibly fall for a woman? He is currently too busy with state affairs to care about such trivial matters as romantic love.

Your Majesty is a man destined for great things, yes, that's it!
But he found that His Majesty was still absent-minded. An hour later, he was holding the same memorial in his hand. It was clear that His Majesty's mind was not on these political affairs.

Seeing that His Majesty was not interested in state affairs, he seized the opportunity to suggest, "Would Your Majesty like to take a stroll in the inner palace?!"

If you look at the beauties in the harem more often, you might suddenly take a liking to one and then choose her as your concubine.

Murong was indeed not interested in politics, so he simply put aside the memorials and decided to go for a walk outside the Qianqing Palace.

He did not ride in a palanquin, but walked on as he pleased.

This time, Ji Qing didn't dare to offer any advice and silently followed behind Murong.

When Jiqing discovered that Xianfu Palace was not far ahead, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration: Could it be that His Majesty has discovered that the person he likes is actually the Empress?

Just as this thought crossed his mind, His Majesty stopped in his tracks, suddenly turned around with a stern face.

Inside Xihe Palace, Consort Li was surprised that Murong would suddenly come to visit her.

She was surprised but also delighted, and quickly stepped forward to greet Murong.

"I heard that my beloved consort has been ill for some time. How are you feeling lately?" Murong asked calmly. "I am much better now. Last time, I suddenly suffered from an old ailment, but thanks to Her Majesty the Empress, she promptly summoned Physician Zhao, and I recovered after a few days of recuperation." Consort Li's gratitude towards Lou Suyi was evident in her words.

Ji Qing observed the Emperor's expression and noticed that his expression changed slightly when he heard the name of the Empress.

Consort Li was clearly won over by the Empress, mentioning her frequently. His Majesty showed no expression, but he still felt that His Majesty did not resist the topic of the Empress, otherwise there would be no need for him to sit here and not leave.

Murong left Xihe Palace after sitting for a short time, and did not visit any other palaces afterward, but returned to Qianqing Palace.

Inside Xianfu Palace, Lou Suyi heard that the imperial procession had arrived outside the palace. Urged by Jinshu and Yan Hui, she came out to greet the emperor. However, when she went outside, she couldn't find a single ghost, let alone Murong.
“This old servant clearly saw His Majesty arrive.” It was Granny Shen who spoke.

Lou Suyi thought to herself that if it wasn't Granny Shen's mistake, then it must be that Murong refused to enter the house.

What's the point?
"Since we can't see His Majesty, let's go back." Lou Suyi didn't think much of it, assuming that Murong had something to do and had to turn back temporarily.

Because of Consort De's accusations, Lou Suyi no longer wanted to go to Qianqing Palace, lest she arouse the jealousy of the concubines in the harem.

As the days went by, Yan Hui suddenly brought up Murong in front of her: "Has His Majesty not visited Xianfu Palace for some time now?"

Didn't His Majesty say he wanted to spend more time with the young prince? Yet His Majesty hasn't even come to Xianfu Palace anymore.

“It’s normal that His Majesty is busy with state affairs and doesn’t have time to spare,” Lou Suyi said without giving it much thought.

Jinshu hesitated, feeling that this time had been a bit too long. Perhaps it was because the Empress and His Majesty had been meeting more frequently lately, and now that they hadn't seen each other for such a long time, she felt something was amiss.

Lou Suyi didn't take it to heart.

On this day, all the concubines came to pay their respects to Lou Suyi. Not only Liang Wanying was among them, but Consort De also came.

Lou Suyi then realized that time had indeed passed very quickly, and the two concubines who had been under house arrest had already been released from their confinement.

Liang Wanying had heard earlier that Murong had arrived at Xianfu Palace but did not enter, instead going to Consort Li's Xihe Palace.

She deliberately touched on Lou Suyi's sore spot: "His Majesty has not summoned the Empress for some time. It seems that the Empress has fallen out of favor."

Therefore, Lou Suyi only had the opportunity to see Murong more often because of the young prince.

Consort De suddenly smiled and chimed in, "Last time I specifically asked His Majesty if he liked the Empress. Sisters, guess what His Majesty said?"

In an instant, everyone's attention was focused on Consort De's face.

Lou Suying's curiosity was also piqued, so she asked on behalf of the others, "What was His Majesty's answer?"

Consort De, eager to slap Lou Suyi's face, raised her voice and replied, "His Majesty said that the Empress once saved his life; this is a favor, not love."

The last sentence was added by myself.

This wasn't just something she made up. Murong's meaning was quite clear: he treated Lou Suyi differently because Lou Suyi had once saved his life.

Lou Suyi thought it was something special, but it turned out to be just this sentence.

"Yes, I saved His Majesty's life back then, and His Majesty repaid me with his body. Not everyone is as lucky as me to be able to save a king and become empress because of it!" Lou Suyi was very excited when she mentioned this.

So she was lucky; she casually saved a big shot, which changed her own destiny. No wonder she was envied.

Consort De's face turned ugly, and she seriously suspected that Lou Suyi was pretending to be weak while actually being strong.

Is the focus now on Lou Suyi saving Murong? What she clearly meant was that Murong's feelings for Lou Suyi were nothing more than gratitude, unrelated to romantic love. Why didn't Lou Suyi show any signs of sadness or distress?