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

Chapter 341 Bringing humiliation to oneself
For Consort De's birthday celebration, Lou Suyi had prepared a list of noblewomen to be invited to the palace. With Consort De's consent, Lady Chi entered the palace today to celebrate Consort De's birthday, and Consort De's own mother, Aunt Hong, was also among them.

Consort De and Aunt Hong were not close. She was a time traveler who did not consider herself a person of this era when she first arrived in the Great Xia Dynasty, and she did not consider Aunt Hong as her family.

Sending Aunt Hong into the palace this time is merely to prove to the world that she is not someone who has forgotten her roots.

After everyone had arrived, they waited for another half hour, but Murong still hadn't appeared. Aunt Hong became restless and muttered under her breath, "On such an important day as Her Majesty's birthday, why hasn't His Majesty shown up yet?"

Did you forget?

Even before His Majesty ascended the throne, Consort De was the most favored concubine by His Majesty. How could she be late on such a day?
Consort De was also unhappy, but she disliked Consort Hong's inappropriate behavior even more.

Empress Dowager Chen was also present. How would Empress Dowager Chen view Aunt Hong's words?

"The emperor is busy with state affairs, so it's normal for him to arrive a little late," Empress Dowager Chen said, glancing at Fang Ruo.

She suspected that the emperor had forgotten that today was Consort De's birthday, even though she had specifically reminded him last month.

Fang Ruo understood and left Changqiu Palace when no one was paying attention, only to run into the imperial procession.

Upon seeing His Majesty arrive, Fangruo knew she no longer needed to make this special trip.

Murong had indeed forgotten Consort De's birthday. It was Jiqing who reminded him that today was Consort De's birthday, which is why he left the ministers who were discussing matters and rushed to Changqiu Palace.

Before coming to Changqiu Palace, he had a rare moment of reflection.

His mother had reminded him in the first month of the lunar year not to forget Consort De's birthday this year, and he had agreed at the time, but he forgot about it in the blink of an eye.

Even when he went out of the palace to buy birthday gifts for Chen'er, he didn't think of Consort De at all, which was indeed his fault.

No matter what, Consort De was one of the people who had been with him the longest. Another person who had been with him the longest was Consort Ning, whose birthday was also this month, yet he hadn't remembered their birthdays at all.

Upon entering Changqiu Palace, Murong personally presented Consort De with her birthday gifts.

Consort De happily accepted it, and asked with a bright smile, "Is this a birthday gift personally chosen by His Majesty?"

Ji Qing, standing to the side, thought to himself that His Majesty hadn't even remembered Consort De's birthday, and this was a gift he had to find in the storeroom at the last minute.

If His Majesty said that he didn't pick it up personally, it would be a loss of face for Consort De, who is celebrating her birthday. So he quickly replied, "This is a gift that His Majesty took a liking to at first sight. It is especially fitting for Consort De."

Only he knew the rhetoric behind it. He took a liking to it at first sight, selected it, and presented it to His Majesty, who then said, "This is the one I'll give you."

As for the phrase "especially suits Consort De," he added it himself, not His Majesty's words.

But when put together, these words gave Consort De a great deal of face.

Consort De did not think about it in detail, but Consort Tao was a thoughtful person and quickly figured out the deeper meaning behind it.

Indeed, how could His Majesty, such a great figure, personally choose a birthday gift for a concubine?

But the young prince is different.

She had heard that His Majesty had searched the entire capital for a birthday gift for the young prince, just to find one that would suit his taste.

This is enough to show that in His Majesty's heart, the young prince is the most important.

Consort De was just one of the concubines in the harem, not very important, yet she insisted on humiliating herself.

"Does my beloved concubine like it?" Murong felt indebted to Consort De, so she took the initiative to ask. Consort De was taken aback, and suddenly her eyes reddened.

Murong was surprised by her reaction and momentarily realized she had said something wrong.

Just as he was in a daze, Consort De nodded with tears in her eyes: "I like it very much. I like any birthday gift from His Majesty."

Murong nodded slightly: "That's good."

"Your Majesty, please have a seat." Consort De instantly put on a bright smile and pulled Murong to sit down.

Murong didn't really like sitting among women; he preferred to face only the Empress rather than so many women.

To this day, he still cannot understand how his father was able to navigate so many concubines with such ease. He feels that dealing with so many women is very stressful, far less so than handling state affairs.

Unbeknownst to everyone, the emperor, who appeared perfectly composed, intended to leave as soon as he sat down. Everyone hoped Murong would notice them, but the young emperor listened quietly to their casual conversation, offering no comment.
Empress Dowager Chen looked at the emperor, who sat there like a wooden statue, and couldn't help but sigh at his lack of romantic understanding.

He is clearly the late emperor's biological son, but his dull and taciturn nature is hard to tell who he takes after.

"Your Majesty, after your afternoon meal, could you accompany me for a stroll in the garden?" Consort De asked Murong earnestly.

Murong remembered that Consort De had made the same request yesterday, which he had refused without hesitation.

Today is Consort De's birthday, and he shouldn't refuse her request. But he has never accompanied the Empress to stroll in the garden, so how can he accompany Consort De to stroll in the garden? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?

Thinking of this, he calmly declined: "I will not have lunch here. I still have state affairs to attend to, and I cannot stay here for too long."

Consort De had held a sliver of hope, since it was her birthday today, and if Murong wasn't so cold-blooded, he might grant her this small request.

Even with such a request, Murong refused without hesitation.

Yesterday was the young prince's birthday, and Murong could stay at Xianfu Palace for a day and a night for him. But on her birthday, he wouldn't even stay a little longer.

How could he be so heartless to her?
Not only is Lou Suyi his woman, but she is too!!

She was filled with resentment, but because of his status, she could only swallow all her grievances.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Empress Dowager Chen looked at Consort De, whose eyes were filled with tears, and also felt that the emperor was too heartless.

No matter what, today is Consort De's birthday. Even if the Emperor is busy, how could he not spare a moment?
"Today is a special day, Your Majesty should spend time with Consort De first. If there are too many official duties to attend to, you can do so in the evening. Consort De is celebrating her birthday today, she is the most important person, Your Majesty, please give her some consideration," Empress Dowager Chen said calmly.

Empress Dowager Chen spoke, and Murong had no choice but to reply, "What Your Majesty says is true."

Consort De, however, could not be happy at all.

What's the meaning of this? He only agreed to stay after Empress Dowager Chen spoke up. It was clearly his birthday today, yet he was unwilling to stay even a moment longer.

She felt terrible, but she knew that many people were laughing at her, so she could only force a smile.

Empress Dowager Chen wanted to divert everyone's attention, so she asked, "Where is Consort Ning?"

Consort Tao had noticed that Consort Ning was absent, but it seemed that no one else had noticed this detail, so she pretended not to know and didn't want to remind them.

When Empress Dowager Chen suddenly asked the question, no one could answer it. Consort Ning was usually low-key, and her absence today was indeed unlike her usual meticulous manner.