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

Chapter 349 His Majesty, such a cold-blooded and ruthless man

Inside Xianfu Palace, Lou Suyi also heard about Consort Ning catching a cold and fainting.

"I also heard that His Majesty had already left, but after hearing that Consort Ning had fainted, he returned to Jingren Palace. However, His Majesty did not stay in Jingren Palace for very long, and later left again." Jinshu told him everything she had found out.

Lou Suyi wasn't particularly interested in this matter at first, but she felt that Jinshu had a ulterior motive for mentioning these details: "What's the main point you're trying to make?"

"Didn't Your Highness say that we must be wary of Consort Ning?" Jinshu asked in a low voice.

Lou Suyi had indeed said those words, and instantly understood Jinshu's meaning: "So you think that Consort Ning's illness this time was intentional?"

Jinshu dared not make a guarantee, but she felt that such a possibility existed: "Using illness to gain favor is a common tactic used by nobles. It is not impossible that Consort Ning used a self-inflicted injury on her birthday to try to keep His Majesty."

Lou Suyi scoffed upon hearing this: "Would Consort Ning do something so foolish as to debase herself to win a man's favor?"

Yan Hui interjected at the opportune moment: "Your Majesty is unaware of how difficult it is for the noble ladies of the harem to keep His Majesty in the palace. To gain favor, they will try any method, let alone something as simple as feigning illness?"

Her mistress was favored by the Emperor within a few days of entering the palace. Later, the Emperor came uninvited and even elevated the Empress to the position of Empress.

Even His Majesty suffers from insomnia, but it gets better when the Empress sleeps with him.

Which noblewoman in the harem has such good fortune as the Empress?

Your Majesty is like a well-fed person who doesn't know the hunger of a starving person.

Lou Suyi understood: "If Consort Ning is really using illness to vie for favor, I think it's quite foolish. His Majesty is of noble birth, how can he stay in Jingren Palace? If he catches Consort Ning's illness, the Empress Dowager will probably hold Consort Ning accountable."

Yan Hui and Jin Shu exchanged a glance, finding their master's way of putting it quite peculiar.

“Looking at it from another angle, Consort Ning is one of His Majesty’s longest-serving concubines. His Majesty usually values ​​Consort Ning, and Consort Ning is not one to cause trouble. Whenever His Majesty shows her any affection, he will stay in Jingren Palace to accompany her,” Jinshu analyzed.

Unfortunately, His Majesty is not one to cherish women, and even when Consort Ning fainted, he could not be kept by His Majesty.

Lou Suying laughed and said, "That's why I say, when facing a cold-blooded and ruthless man like His Majesty—"

"Your Majesty, be careful, walls may have ears," Jinshu quickly interrupted her mistress.

Lou Suying immediately shut her mouth. These were just thoughts; if they reached Murong's ears, the emperor would surely be displeased.

"Although I don't know if Consort Ning is using her illness as an excuse to vie for favor, we should still be on guard." Jinshu intended to end the topic.

She brought this up specifically in the hope that her master would not underestimate the enemy.

If Consort Ning is not as simple as she appears on the surface, she will become a formidable opponent to her master, and must be guarded against.

"Competing for favor is nothing more than the same old tricks, I know them all too well." Lou Suyi didn't care at all.

Jinshu, however, was not as optimistic as her master.

The Empress did not realize the seriousness of the problem.

If Consort Ning was feigning illness, then the foreshadowing was already underway on Consort De's birthday, which is enough to show that Consort Ning is a cunning and scheming person.

How could Consort Ning, with such a cunning mind, be a kind soul? In addition, Consort Ning was extremely popular in the harem, and many concubines often visited Jingren Palace, making it more lively than Xianfu Palace most of the time.

Consort Ning's demeanor made it seem to outsiders that the mistress of Jingren Palace was the true empress.

There are too many people in the harem who are jealous of the Empress, and there are also many people who like Consort Ning. These two groups of people are very likely the same group.

She also inquired and found out that Consort An was also close to Consort Ning.

Consort An is someone the Empress trusts, and she fears that one day Consort An might be used by Consort Ning to turn against the Empress.

She felt it was necessary to remind the Empress: "Consort An also frequently visits Jingren Palace. This time, when Consort Ning fell ill, Consort An sent over a lot of tonics. They've been getting quite close lately."

Lou Suyi fell silent upon hearing this.

She understood what Jinshu hadn't finished saying: Chen Xing was someone she had personally chosen to help her manage the harem, and she was also a member of the Chen family.

She admired Chen Xing's simplicity; such a person was rare in the harem. But human nature is treacherous, and she feared that Chen Xing might be manipulated without even realizing it.

“I can’t exactly ask her to choose between me and Consort Ning.” Lou Suyi frowned, finding this kind of thing really troublesome.

After pondering for a moment, Jinshu asked, "Your Majesty, could you give Consort An a hint to stay away from Consort Ning?"

“If Consort An thinks I’m making a big deal out of nothing and tells Consort Ning about it the next moment, wouldn’t I be alerting her?” Lou Su shook her head, feeling that it was inappropriate to do so.

Jinshu was at a loss for what to do.

"Let's see if we can give her a hint in the future. I think Consort An, though simple-minded, isn't necessarily stupid. It won't be so easy for Consort Ning to use Consort An." Lou Suying touched her belly. "Right now, I should focus on taking care of my pregnancy. Consort Ning had better behave herself. If I find out that what happened before was related to her, I will definitely deal with her myself!"

Jinshu was taken aback. She thought her mistress hadn't connected the past with Consort Ning, but it turned out that the Empress had also considered this possibility.

That evening, Murong came to Xianfu Palace again, and Lou Suyi specifically asked about Consort Ning: "I heard that Consort Ning was seriously ill. Are you feeling better now?"

As the empress, even if it was all insincere, she still had to pretend to care about her so-called sisters in the harem, so that Emperor Murong could see how virtuous and kind she was.

"With Minister Liu here, there shouldn't be any major problems. Consort Ning has been ill for several days, but she hasn't sought treatment from Minister Liu, claiming that he's treating me and the Empress and she doesn't want to cause trouble. Minister Liu is the best doctor in the Imperial Hospital. Consort Ning's refusal to see him means her illness hasn't been treated in time, which only shows that Consort Ning is inflexible and doesn't know how to adapt," Murong said calmly.

Lou Suyi was a little surprised after hearing this.

It turns out that these were the thoughts in Murong's mind, rather than feeling sorry for Consort Ning being sick on her birthday.

"If it were the Empress, would she act like Consort Ning?" Murong suddenly asked.

Lou Suying wasn't sure if his question was a test, but she still replied casually, "I think health is the most important thing. If there's a best imperial physician, of course we should go for the best one. Even if Physician Liu is His Majesty's personal physician, we should still go for him. Health is the foundation of everything. Only when we are healthy can we better serve His Majesty, isn't that right?"

Murong looked at Lou Suying approvingly: "I like your open-minded nature. Someone like Consort Ning, who overthinks and hesitates in everything, can't accomplish anything great."

Lou Suyi thought to herself, "How could he possibly expect Consort Ning, a mere woman in the harem, to accomplish anything great?"

Murong's way of thinking is different from other men. It can only be said that although Consort Ning's moves were quite good, it was a pity that she used them on the wrong person.