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

Chapter 313 His Majesty's body and heart are captivated
The concubines remembered that Murong had indeed said those words.

That person is the emperor of a country, whose authority is immense, and his words are considered imperial edicts.

If Murong judged Liang Wanying to be the real culprit, how could he only demote her? Not to mention the extermination of her entire family, at the very least, the Liang family's property would be confiscated.

Clearly, Murong believed that Liang Wanying was not the murderer, so he only demoted Liang Wanying's rank, while the real culprit was someone else.

However, because Lan Lan was Liang Wanying's person, Liang Wanying was still implicated. Although the real culprit has not yet been identified, at least Murong believes that Liang Wanying is not the real culprit.

"I think the mastermind behind this is also foolish. Consort Kang isn't that important to His Majesty. What's the point of framing Consort Kang? It would only demote her. If she's so capable, she should frame the Empress. If she can bring down the Empress, that would be a real feat," Consort Tao said with a half-smile.

Consort Ning frowned upon hearing this: "Words can be dangerous, sister, you mustn't talk nonsense!"

Consort Tao covered her mouth and chuckled: "I was just joking around because everyone was being too serious. Consort Ning, there's no need to be so strict."

"I think Sister Tao is absolutely right. The real culprit is also incompetent. His attempt to frame the Empress failed, and instead, the Empress saved the Empress Dowager again, thus gaining a great merit. After this incident, the Empress Dowager and His Majesty will only value the Empress more and more..."

At this point, Consort De suddenly stopped talking: "I was just joking, sisters, don't take it seriously and gossip to the Empress."

Consort Ning glanced at everyone present and said seriously, "Such words, even if spoken in jest, are extremely disrespectful. If they were to reach Her Majesty the Empress's ears, who knows how much chaos they would cause! I am only doing this for the sake of my sisters, to prevent them from speaking out of turn and bringing disaster upon themselves. Although Her Majesty the Empress is gentle and magnanimous, my sisters must not offend her behind her back! Otherwise, I will not dare to entertain you all anymore."

Consort De thought to herself that Consort Ning knew how to protect herself, as if this would clear her name.

But Consort Ning's Jingren Palace is always so lively, and she calls her friends and relatives in the harem. She is much more capable than Empress Lou Suyi.

“Why be so serious, Consort Ning? Where would the laughter come from if we didn’t talk? But I think the real culprit has really done nothing but pointless things. At first glance, he seems very clever, causing trouble at the New Year’s Eve banquet, but what benefit did he gain?” Consort De said, looking at everyone. “On the contrary, I think that every time someone causes trouble in the past two years, it’s always the Empress who ends up benefiting. In the end, the real culprit thinks he’s so clever, but he’s just a joke!”

Her words were a test, as if she wanted to know if the murderer was among the concubines present at the scene.

If the real culprit were among them, they would definitely be unhappy to hear her say that.

This time, Consort Tao was in agreement with Consort De: "Consort De, what you said really resonated with me. The murderer always starts with a bang, but ends up doing nothing. It would be better to live a peaceful life like us."

Upon hearing this, Consort De looked at Consort Tao and wondered if she was the only one who was so eager to speak. Was Consort Tao just trying to clear herself of any wrongdoing?
Looking at the other people present, their expressions were normal, and there was no clue whatsoever.

If that person were present, she hoped to provoke them and unleash a major move. If she could remove Lou Suyi from the position of Empress or eliminate Lou Suyi completely, she could reap the benefits.

Consort Ning then replied, “Sister Tao’s last sentence makes sense. Her Majesty the Empress has treated us well. As long as we don’t cause trouble, Her Majesty the Empress will not treat us badly. It’s better for everyone if we all live peacefully. Besides, Her Majesty the Empress is a very good person. She has not wronged us. If we are ungrateful, we will surely suffer the consequences in the future! I have said all I have to say. Sisters, take care of yourselves.”

She spoke with righteous indignation and imposing manner, and everyone immediately sat up straight to listen to her reprimand. At this moment, Consort De also couldn't quite understand Consort Ning.

She had always suspected Consort Ning, and recently Consort Ning seemed cunning, but at this moment she doubted she was overthinking it. Everyone present was a suspect, and Consort Ning seemed less like the real culprit.

Tao Zhaoyi is more likely to be the suspect.

After Consort Ning finished speaking, the others stopped discussing Lou Suyi and started talking about Murong.

"His Majesty stayed at Xianfu Palace again yesterday. He rarely leaves the inner palace. It's only now that the New Year is here, and whenever His Majesty enters the inner palace, he stays by the Empress's side. I wonder what tricks the Empress has used to capture His Majesty's heart and soul." It was Consort Luo who spoke.

As soon as Consort Luo spoke, Lou Suyue looked over.

Consort Luo and Lou Suyue were once close, as was Consort Qiao. Later, Consort Qiao attempted to murder the imperial heir and was sentenced to death, after which Consort Luo and Lou Suyue became estranged.

Lou Suyue didn't want people to remember that when she first entered the palace, she was close to Consort Qiao and consciously distanced herself from Consort Luo.

She and Consort Luo tacitly agreed that they would never have any contact again, simply because Consort Qiao's incident was too heinous and her end was too tragic, and neither of them wanted Lou Suyi to be reminded of Consort Qiao.

But after a period of silence, Consort Luo was clearly getting restless again.

His Majesty resting in the Empress's palace—is that something that a mere concubine like Consort Luo has the right to interfere with?

Sensing Lou Suyue's gaze, Consort Luo glanced at her, then looked away and continued, "If Her Majesty the Empress truly considered us sisters, she wouldn't monopolize His Majesty's position. Consort Ning is currently the highest-ranking among us besides Her Majesty the Empress. Shouldn't we, on behalf of all our sisters, raise this matter with Her Majesty the Empress Dowager?"

Seeing that Consort Luo was pushing her forward again, Consort Ning patiently explained, "It's not that I'm unwilling, but Her Majesty the Empress has already said that His Majesty's whereabouts are beyond Her Majesty's control..."

“But doesn’t Her Majesty have an obligation to urge His Majesty to move around in the inner palace?” Consort Xiao echoed.

After a moment of silence, Consort Ning said calmly, "If you sisters have any objections, go and report this matter to the Empress Dowager yourselves. Although I am of a higher rank than you, I am not in charge and cannot speak on your behalf."

She meant that she didn't want to get involved in this matter anymore.

Seeing that Consort Ning was not involved in affairs, the crowd became somewhat dissatisfied with her.

At this moment, Consort Luo looked at Consort De and said, "Consort De is the highest-ranking consort besides Consort Ning. If Consort Ning is unwilling, could Consort De report this matter to the Empress Dowager on our behalf?"

Consort De waved her hand upon hearing this: "I have already spoken to the Empress Dowager about this matter, but she told me to compete for the Emperor's favor myself. Everyone knows that the Empress Dowager dotes on the Empress, so this matter needs to be handled by someone with influence. I certainly don't have that ability, so my sisters should ask Consort Ning for help."