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

Chapter 328 I don't like the Empress...

"Then what do you want?" Murong asked calmly.

Lou Suyi thought Murong was getting impatient. She was about to say that her opinion was not important when she heard Murong say, "I will listen to you."

Lou Suyi: ? ? ?

Murong blurted it out unconsciously, but after he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered what Wang Shunu had said earlier. Wang Shunu said that he liked the Empress, and that he would listen to her if she tried to persuade him.

Seeing Lou Suyi looking at him, Murong hurriedly explained, "It's not that I like the Empress..."

Lou Suyi: ...

There's no need to embarrass her in public like that; she didn't say he liked her anyway.

Murong's words instantly made the atmosphere at the scene strange.

Ji Qing looked at the koi, and the koi looked equally bewildered.

Before today, she thought His Majesty liked the Empress, but now the situation was a bit strange. His Majesty denied it in front of the Empress.
The most heartbroken person at the scene was Yan Hui. She felt that His Majesty truly disliked the Empress, otherwise he wouldn't have embarrassed her.

Murong realized his words were inappropriate and tried to explain, "That's not what I meant..."

Lou Suying smiled and waved her hand: "Your Majesty does not need to explain. Your Majesty can handle the matter of Lady Wang as you see fit. I will not interfere with Your Majesty's decision, and Your Majesty does not need to consider me. Your Majesty can decide for yourself."

She got up and went inside to play with her son.

Murong stared at Lou Suyi's retreating figure for a long time, realizing that he had done something wrong and upset Lou Suyi.

That was indeed his fault. Even if what he said was true, he shouldn't have said it in public. He was just worried that the Empress had too high expectations of him and would be disappointed in him one day, so he felt he should make things clear as soon as possible.

Jiqing once told him that the feeling of a man's heart pounding when he sees a woman is something he has never felt that way about the Empress.

To be precise, he had never felt this way about any woman before.

Even though he had found the murderer, he wasn't that happy.

Not knowing how to face Lou Suyi, he left Xianfu Palace.

"Jiqing, is the Empress unhappy?" Murong asked.

Ji Qing thought to himself that he wasn't a mind reader for the Empress, so how would he know if the Empress was unhappy?
However, no normal person would be happy to be told that they don't like something by His Majesty in public, right?
Although he was thinking this in his heart, he said something else entirely: "Her Majesty the Empress is a magnanimous woman and would not be upset over such a trivial matter. Please rest assured, Your Majesty."

The koi fish, who was eavesdropping nearby, thought that Ji Qing was lying through his teeth, and not only Ji Qing dared to say it, but His Majesty also dared to believe it.

It's not that she's saying anything, but His Majesty still doesn't understand women at all. Even if the Empress is magnanimous, could she truly be completely unconcerned about this matter?
She simply didn't believe it.

Seeing the Emperor's relieved expression, she felt that the Emperor had been too hasty in handling matters between men and women.

If she were the Empress, she wouldn't be able to show the Emperor a kind face in the future.

Inside Xianfu Palace, Lou Suyi initially felt embarrassed, but thinking that the culprit who harmed her had finally been caught, she was still happy.

Yan Hui was extremely worried and would ask her a few words of concern from time to time, which made her laugh.

Knowing that Yan Hui was worried about her, she smiled and said, "I didn't take His Majesty's words to heart, so you don't need to worry."

Although it was a bit of a loss of face, that's just how Murong is. If he ever really falls in love with a woman, that would be a real spectacle.

"Your Majesty, find a chance to get back at His Majesty later..." Jinshu couldn't help but kick Yan Hui, signaling her to speak properly.

What is His Majesty's status? Is he someone the Empress can mistreat at will?

Yan Hui was too influenced by storybooks, and he spent all his time thinking about unrealistic things.

Lou Suyi saw Jinshu's subtle movements and chuckled, "If I were to mistreat His Majesty, he might want my head. I wouldn't dare."

Yan Hui also felt that her thoughts were unrealistic. His Majesty's status was too high, so high that it could crush people. Even if the Empress suffered grievances, she could not disrespect His Majesty; that was the most frustrating thing.

Lou Suyi was carefree and quickly put the matter out of her mind.

News of Wang Shunu's arrest quickly spread throughout the entire palace. And then, some gossipy person even spread the story that Murong had publicly stated his dislike for Lou Suyi.

For a time, many people secretly laughed at Lou Suyi, even though she became empress and gave birth to a prince, she was still not loved by the emperor.

This matter spread like wildfire, and even the jealousy people felt towards Lou Suying lessened considerably.

Wasn't it because Lou Suyi saved Murong that she had the opportunity to rise to power? Even after becoming empress, Lou Suyi was still not liked by Murong, which is truly gratifying.

Consort De had always believed that Murong liked Lou Suyi, and she had been depressed about it for some time. When she learned that Murong had publicly said that he did not like Lou Suyi, she finally felt a sense of relief.

so what?

This only shows that Murong doesn't love anyone. He doesn't love Lou Suyi, nor does he love her, and he doesn't love his other concubines either.

It's all just a case of the pot calling the kettle black; nobody's better than anyone else.

But as long as Murong doesn't love Lou Suyi, she still has hope, right?

That day, everyone went to Consort Ning's Jingren Palace for a short visit, and naturally the matter came up.

Consort Tao was visibly pleased: "If you ask me, His Majesty is still too clueless about romance. Even if he doesn't like the Empress, he should at least give her some face. This has caused such a stir throughout the city; where does that leave the Empress's dignity?"

Consort Ning said calmly, "It's just hearsay; rumors are not to be believed."

"Sister, you don't know this. It's true. It came from the mouth of the imperial attendant. Think about it, sister, who would dare to spread His Majesty's words? If it weren't true, who would dare to gossip? Would they be risking their lives?" Consort Tao said gloatingly.

Everyone agreed with what Tao Zhaoyi said.

Moreover, everyone tacitly agreed that someone must have paid for this news and deliberately spread it, all in an attempt to humiliate Empress Lou Suyi.

Because Lou Suyi had been dressed in plain clothes for a long time, everyone seized the opportunity to laugh at her.

Consort Ning, fearing things would escalate, tried to change the subject, but to little avail.

The story became increasingly fantastical and eventually reached the ears of Empress Dowager Chen.

Empress Dowager Chen frowned upon hearing this: "Which gossip is spreading rumors again? The Emperor is a composed man; how could he possibly do something so rash?"

"This servant thinks it's most likely true." Fangruo had specifically inquired about this matter, and everyone said it was indeed true.

Empress Dowager Chen's face darkened: "Go and invite the Emperor over. I want to ask him what happened in person."

Murong wasn't the type to be so reckless. Even if he truly disliked Su Yi, he wouldn't dare to publicly humiliate her. Su Yi was the Empress; for him to say such a thing in public—where did that leave Su Yi's dignity?