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

Chapter 382 The Empress Has Been Spoiled by Him

Murong watched Lou Suyi's retreating figure, then dropped his chopsticks and bowl, startling everyone so much that they knelt down in fear.

Fearing that his master would go after the Empress, Ji Qing quickly advised, "Perhaps it's because the Empress is pregnant with the imperial heir that her temperament has become strange. Your Majesty, please be more lenient with the Empress."

Do not argue with the Empress at this time, otherwise His Majesty will have to coax her back, which would be asking for trouble.
It's just that His Majesty cares more about the Empress; His Majesty is no match for the Empress.

"Does being pregnant make her so special?"

Ji Qing quickly replied, "Of course it's amazing, Your Majesty might be carrying a little princess."

Doesn't Your Majesty want a little princess as beautiful as the Empress?

Murong was speechless for a moment.

He looked coldly at Ji Qing, who bravely returned his gaze: "At this time, Your Majesty should coax the Empress more. The Empress is actually very easy to coax."

Who told His Majesty to care about the Empress?
Murong calmed down a bit. He carefully recalled what he had said to the Empress earlier that day and realized that his tone had indeed been rather harsh. The Empress had been pampered by him and was pregnant; it seemed understandable that she couldn't bear to be wronged.

He got up, intending to apologize to the Empress.

Lou Suying was feeding the fish by the pond when she saw Murong arrive. Too lazy to pay him any attention, she looked away.

When Murong saw Lou Suyi's appearance, he thought to himself that this empress had an even bigger temper than he, the emperor.

If he really apologizes to her, won't she take advantage of him and act wildly in the future?

He changed the subject of his words at once: "I have returned to the Qianqing Palace."

"Respectfully seeing Your Majesty off," Lou Suying replied perfunctorily.

He never actually looked at Murong properly.

It's best to leave this weird emperor as soon as possible; she doesn't want to offend him again by accident.

Murong frowned and said, "Won't the Empress see me off?"

She seemed to be hoping he would leave as soon as possible.

Lou Suying, supporting her pregnant belly, looked troubled: "I'm a little tired today. Jinshu, go and see His Majesty off."

Jinshu secretly groaned. The Empress was going against His Majesty, and it was they, the servants, who would suffer.

"No need!" Murong said, then turned and left.

Ji Qing glanced at Lou Suyi with a resentful look, then quickly followed.

Once His Majesty the Emperor was out of sight, Jinshu breathed a sigh of relief and said to Lou Suyi, "Your Highness is too bold. His Majesty asked you to see him off, and you only did it once. If His Majesty were to become truly angry by refusing him like this, what would you do?"

"Don't you think His Majesty is acting strangely? He's been acting weird ever since he came to Xianfu Palace. If I go to see him off, and he suddenly starts picking on me, wouldn't I be asking for trouble? So, it's better not to see him off to avoid making a mistake." Lou Suyi smiled and touched her belly. "I have one in my belly. Even if His Majesty is angry, he won't touch me. Don't worry."

Jinshu felt that the Empress's fallacies were all too illogical, so she didn't say anything more.

"When His Majesty comes again, Your Highness must not show him any displeasure. After all, His Majesty is the ruler of the country. If you truly anger His Majesty, I am worried..."

Lou Suyi understood everything Jinshu hadn't finished saying.

She was simply worried about angering Murong and losing favor as Empress. She wasn't actually that worried, after all, her son, Mu Chen, was already the Crown Prince. Even if she did lose favor, as long as Mu Chen was there, she would have someone to rely on.

However, Jinshu's concerns were not unfounded. Because Murong was the emperor, there was no benefit in provoking him.

As long as Murong doesn't make things difficult for her, she won't give him the cold shoulder.

The first day of the sixth lunar month was the day Murong came to Xianfu Palace.

Lou Suyi thought that so much time had passed, Murong should have calmed down by now, right? But to her surprise, Murong still didn't appear until she went to bed that day.

She didn't think much of it and went to sleep on time.

The next day, after she finished washing up, she overheard two palace maids whispering about Murong's visit to the Cold Palace the previous day.

Last month, after Tao was banished to the Cold Palace, Murong visited her once. Yesterday, he went to the Cold Palace again. Could it be that Murong only realized he actually liked Tao after she was banished?
Sure enough, she overheard a palace maid say, "Has His Majesty fallen for that criminal woman?"

"Tao is not some stunning beauty, how could she compare to the Empress's looks?" another palace maid said dismissively.

"That's hard to say. Who can fathom the Emperor's heart? Yesterday was supposed to be the day His Majesty visited Xianfu Palace, but he went to the Cold Palace instead, and now there are many rumors circulating in the harem..."

Jinshu coughed twice as she watched the conversation become increasingly absurd.

The two palace maids then realized that Lou Suying had come out at some point, and they were startled, worried that they would be punished.

Lou Suyi walked up to them and said, "It's alright, it's alright. I also love listening to these rumors, just like listening to stories."

The two palace maids breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that their master was so magnanimous.

It's truly a blessing they earned in their past lives to be able to work at Xianfu Palace.

"If there's any interesting news later, you can tell me about it. I'd love to hear it." Lou Suying said, then walked away happily.

The two palace maids couldn't help but laugh. At this moment, Jinshu whispered to them, "You two should be more careful. The Empress has been standing behind you for so long and you didn't even notice. It's because the Empress spoils you."

The two palace maids responded in unison.

Recently, Lou Suying has also enjoyed reading storybooks to pass the time. Since Empress Dowager Chen manages the affairs of the inner palace, she only needs to focus on her pregnancy. She is usually very bored, so she reads storybooks.

That's when she understood why Yan Hui liked reading storybooks. Although they weren't meant to be taken literally, good stories could still bring joy.

It's not impossible that the two palace maids were right; there are many similar stories in folk tales. At first, the male protagonist didn't appreciate her, but later, after banishing her to the cold palace, he suddenly realized he loved her and began a tumultuous journey of trying to win her back.

Murong might really have fallen for Tao, otherwise why would he keep going to the Cold Palace after she was banished there?
Surely it couldn't be because the feng shui of the Cold Palace was good that people went there, right?
Surprisingly, there was a follow-up to this story.

Two days later, Murong went to the Cold Palace again. This made the entire harem aware of Murong's frequent visits to the Cold Palace, even alarming Empress Dowager Chen.

"What's wrong with the Emperor?" Empress Dowager Chen asked Fangruo.

Fang Ruo was also completely bewildered: "Everyone says that His Majesty has taken a liking to Tao Shi, but in my opinion, the possibility of that is extremely slim."

"What if? What will Su Yi think if the emperor reinstates Tao?" Empress Dowager Chen couldn't help but worry.

You must know that Tao was banished to the Cold Palace because she framed Su Yi. If the Emperor truly took a liking to Tao and allowed her to leave the Cold Palace so soon after, how would he explain this to Su Yi?
Su Yi will surely be heartbroken when she finds out about this, won't she?
Fangruo was speechless for a moment, and stammered, "Your Majesty is wise and mighty, would you do such a foolish thing?"

"No, go and invite the Emperor over. I'll test him a bit." Empress Dowager Chen was still worried and sent Fang Ruo on the mission.