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

Chapter 280 His Majesty Has Arrived
When Empress Dowager Chen heard Lou Suyi mention Consort An, she suddenly remembered that Chen Xing's title was Consort An.

She has now entrusted the management of the birthday celebrations of the imperial concubines to Su Yi, so she is unaware that Chen Xing's birthday is approaching.

Su Yi came specifically to ask her opinion today, presumably because Chen Xing is a member of the Chen family.

"Consort De and Consort An are of the same rank, but we neglected to celebrate this year because of the birth of Chen'er. It would be better to keep Consort An's birthday celebration low-key. Next year, we will hold a grand celebration for Consort De's birthday and also hold a grand celebration for Consort An's birthday." After careful consideration, Empress Dowager Chen made her decision.

Speaking of this, she looked at Chen Xing and said, "Consort An, don't overthink it. You're new to the palace, and I don't know if I forgot a few concubines' birthdays this year. One is Consort De's, and the other is Consort Ning's; both of their birthdays are in February. Chen'er was born in February, and by the time I remembered, it was long past. I've been keeping this in mind, so I'll keep your birthday celebration low-key this year to avoid giving anyone cause for gossip."

This is also for the good of the Duke of Fuguo's mansion.

Chen Xing obediently replied, "Your Majesty is right, I have no objection."

Then she looked at Lou Suyi and said, "Your Majesty has gone to great lengths to make this trip. Thank you for your trouble."

Lou Suyi thought Chen Xing was the most pleasing person to the eye in the harem, and she smiled and said, "Of course, then let's have another big celebration next year."

Chen Xing nodded repeatedly.

She stole a glance at Murong, but Murong stepped forward, picked up the little prince, and took him aside to play.

Empress Dowager Chen also noticed Chen Xing's frequent glances at Murong; the look of someone in love is impossible to hide. If Chen Xing liked Murong, then Su Yi was much calmer; she hadn't made eye contact with Murong since he entered.

Are these two still having a fight?

But judging from the fact that the woman in plain clothes spoke to the emperor earlier, it doesn't seem like that at all.

Murong played with the child for a while before leaving Shou'an Palace. Chen Xing couldn't help but chase after him, saying with concern, "Your Majesty is usually busy with state affairs, please take care of your health."

Murong nodded slightly, glancing at Lou Suyi out of the corner of his eye.

Lou Suyi was talking to the child and didn't see him and Chen Xing.

At first glance, he and Lou Suyi seemed the same as before, but something seemed different.

Chen Xing silently saw Murong out of Shou'an Palace, and Murong did not look back at her even once until the imperial procession was far away.

No wonder everyone says that Murong is a heartless man. He is cold to everyone, as if only the young prince can evoke the tender side of His Majesty.

Since she was conferred the title, Murong has never taken the initiative to summon her. She is not shameless and dares not bother Murong in the Qianqing Palace. She can only hope that one day Murong will see her.

Judging from the current situation, Murong really is as he said before: this is a road of no return, but once you embark on this road, there is no turning back.

She sighed softly and was about to turn back when she saw Lou Suying come out with the little prince.

"Is Her Majesty the Empress returning to Xianfu Palace?" Chen Xing asked.

“Exactly. You can tell me what your birthday wishes are. Although we won’t have a big celebration, I will try my best to fulfill your requests,” Lou Suyi replied with a smile.

Chen Xing hesitated for a moment before replying, "Then may I invite my relatives to the palace for a chat?"

"Of course," Lou Suying readily agreed.

Although she had severed ties with the Lou family, she could understand Chen Xing's longing for his family.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Chen Xing said with delight. Lou Suying didn't take it to heart: "It's nothing, not worth mentioning."

After chatting with Chen Xing for a few more minutes, she left in a palanquin.

Chen Xing stood there, stunned for a long while, before turning back to Shou'an Palace. She could still come to Shou'an Palace now, to talk to Empress Dowager Chen, after all, she was still a member of the Chen family.

It's hard to say who she'll be able to talk to after Empress Dowager Chen passes away.

If she fails to gain Murong's favor for the rest of her life, then she can probably see the end of her life now.

It had only been two months, and she suddenly felt a chill.

She didn't know if her love could withstand the long, empty years, but she could understand that Murong's advice against entering the harem was indeed for her own good.

Jinshu looked back at Chen Xing's figure and couldn't help but sigh, "Consort An is a good person. I'm just afraid that one day she will also have her true nature swallowed up by the harem."

"This is someone else's business, it has nothing to do with us, why bother?" Lou Suyi replied lazily.

Jinshu smiled and said, "Your Majesty is right."

Perhaps it was because they felt it was rare to find a pleasing concubine in the harem, and they thought it would be a pity if Consort An were to become unrecognizable one day.

“But you’re right, Consort An’s temperament is indeed quite good,” Lou Suyi suddenly said.

Jinshu smiled gently: "A person that Your Majesty considers good must be good!"

Lou Suyi recalled that Murong had never spoken to Chen Xing when they were at Shou'an Palace, and was a little puzzled: "That's strange. His Majesty doesn't seem to be very interested in Consort An either."

“This servant remembers that Consort An said that His Majesty advised her not to enter the harem. If His Majesty truly liked Consort An, why would he say that entering the harem was a path of no return?” Jinshu felt that His Majesty’s attitude at that time explained everything; it was Consort An who was stubborn and insisted on staying in the harem.

Lou Suyi frowned, thinking to herself that Murong had advised Chen Xing not to enter the harem because he didn't like it, so it couldn't be because he liked her that he forced her into the harem.

The thought flashed through her mind, and she suddenly found herself ridiculous for even thinking such a baseless thing.

She shook off her thoughts. Since Chen Xing's birthday banquet didn't need to be grand, then the only grand celebration left was Liang Wanying's.

She felt that being a favored concubine like Liang Wanying was much easier than being the Empress, at least Liang Wanying didn't have to take care of the birthdays of the other concubines.

If Empress Dowager Chen were to one day truly intend to hand over the management of the harem to her, she would need to find someone to do it for her. Perhaps Chen Xing would be a good choice, and she could have Chen Xing assist her in managing the harem.

If one Chen Xing isn't enough, then add another one, so that someone can help her manage the affairs of the harem.

She thought Consort De was a woman of her own mind, and if Consort De hadn't been so hostile to her, she might have been able to bring Consort De into the picture.

That night, after she finished washing up, she was still thinking about who would help her manage the harem in the future when she suddenly heard familiar footsteps. She peeked out and saw that it was indeed Murong.

"Why has His Majesty arrived at this hour?" Lou Suyi couldn't help but be a little surprised.

Murong glanced at her indifferently: "Has the Empress forgotten that today is the fifteenth?"

Lou Suyi touched her nose and suddenly remembered that today was indeed the fifteenth: "I've been so confused about the days."

Empress Dowager Chen's birthday is in the middle of the month, isn't it?
She assumed that since Murong had stayed overnight at Xianfu Palace, he wouldn't come over tonight. Besides, she was probably already asleep by this time, so why was he coming over so late? Who knew what the emperor was thinking?