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

Chapter 402 If You Only Love One Person
"I never expected to end up marrying His Majesty." Lou Suying stole a glance at Murong, suddenly wanting to ask him if he had already taken a liking to her.

It seems that he likes her, and this shouldn't be just her imagination.

Murong noticed Lou Suying's lewd look and asked, "What's wrong?"

"What was His Majesty's mindset towards me, a nun, back then? Was it because I was so beautiful that His Majesty couldn't resist me, so he didn't even spare a nun?" Lou Suyi teased.

Murong didn't expect her to expose this to his face.

He felt a little uncomfortable and replied seriously, "The Empress is overthinking it."

"So His Majesty means he's taken a liking to my belly, not my face?" Lou Suyi pressed on relentlessly.

Murong felt that if he told her he had his eye on her belly, she would definitely be unhappy.

At this point, it's best to appease her.

"Perhaps I... was lustful at first sight?"

As soon as Murong finished speaking, Lou Suying laughed and fell into his arms: "Oh my, am I that beautiful? Even His Majesty, a man who is used to seeing beautiful women, can't resist my beauty?"

The Empress's reaction was quite unexpected for Murong.

"Yeah, I can't take it," he replied softly.

He looked at Lou Suyi, and Lou Suyi forgot to smile. The moment he leaned in to kiss her, Lou Suyi felt her body go limp...

The kiss was long and lingering, and both of them were somewhat moved. Lou Suyi pushed Murong away, and Murong's lips touched hers, and he laughed softly.

"Now do you believe that I was lustful at first sight?"

Lou Suyi blushed with embarrassment, her heart pounding like a drum. She felt that it wasn't beauty that bewitched people, but people themselves. She seemed to have been attracted to His Majesty the Emperor at first sight, which was probably a kind of liking.

That night, a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was held in the palace.

Lou Suying did not attend. Murong sat on the high platform, watching the singing and dancing below, the crowd was lively, but the person he was thinking of was still Lou Suying.

Empress Dowager Chen noticed his listlessness and wondered why he was in a bad mood: "Is the Emperor preoccupied?"

“I miss Suyi. She usually loves lively gatherings, but she stayed at Xianfu Palace for the sake of the child.” Murong didn’t shy away from the question and replied directly.

Empress Dowager Chen was somewhat surprised.

The emperor was introverted and rather dull, yet he actually said he missed the plain clothes. What was he thinking...?

"You like plain clothes?" Empress Dowager Chen asked curiously.

Murong turned to look at Empress Dowager Chen: "My son likes her very much, very much."

Empress Dowager Chen stared wide-eyed, as if she had seen a ghost.

This child, actually, has a day when he finally sees the light?
Seeing Empress Dowager Chen's shocked expression, Murong chuckled, "Doesn't Mother also like her?"

Empress Dowager Chen had recovered by then and felt that fate was truly wonderful.

"Yes, I like her too. I think she's wonderful in every way, and the more I spend with her, the more I like her. It's only natural that the Emperor would like her." Empress Dowager Chen smiled. "Since you like her, you should treat her even better in the future."

The emperor is doing well. After a lifetime of coldness, he's now showing compassion and has found someone he loves. He's also quite capable, so I believe he can protect her. However, given his status, if he only loved one person, I doubt his ministers would approve.

Murong was at the banquet, but his heart was with Lou Suyi.

After the banquet ended, he was about to head to Xianfu Palace when Consort Ning suddenly called out to him, "Your Majesty..."

Murong looked at Consort Ning, his expression returning to its usual coldness: "My beloved consort, is there something you need?"

Consort Ning smiled and said, "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I have some fine wine from the Chen family, and I would like to invite Your Majesty to taste it—"

"No, I have something to attend to and must take my leave first," Murong interrupted Consort Ning.

Consort Ning's smile gradually faded. Although she knew it wouldn't be easy, she was still somewhat disappointed.

"Respectfully seeing Your Majesty off." Of course, she couldn't press the matter further, and gracefully and politely saw him off.

After the imperial procession had gone far away, Consort De quietly came up behind Consort Ning: "Sister, why humiliate yourself like this? His Majesty was absent-minded all night, all because he was thinking about the Empress. His Majesty said he had something to do, and that was obviously to see the Empress. I really never expected that Consort Ning, who has always been so unambitious, would have the audacity to seduce His Majesty."

Consort Ning clenched her fists and looked at Consort De: "Has anyone said that you talk too much, sister?"

Consort De smoothed her cloud-like hair: "No, you're the first person to say that about me. But it's true, the truth is never pleasant to hear. You really look so cheap tonight. I can understand, though. With the Empress around, how could His Majesty even notice you? If you don't take the initiative, His Majesty might not even remember that you exist in the harem."

Consort Ning smiled instead of getting angry: "I've seen plenty of girls like you, sister. You clearly hate Her Majesty the Empress, but you don't dare to take action yourself. You always try to instigate others to help you get rid of your rival. It's just a pity that you've misjudged her."

As she spoke, she boarded the palanquin, but Consort De leaned close to her ear and said, "I think if things continue like this, His Majesty might disband the harem for the sake of the Empress. Aren't you afraid, sister?"

A complex emotion flashed in Consort Ning's eyes. Tao Shi also said that Murong would disband the harem for Lou Suyi.

With a stern face, she boarded the palanquin and led the crowd away.

Consort De gave a soft snort. She didn't think she had done anything wrong. She did have bad intentions, but she didn't want to dirty her hands, otherwise she would become the second Tao Shi.

If she could incite others to take action simply by talking, why wouldn't she do it?
It wasn't that she was pessimistic. She felt that Murong seemed to be getting deeper and deeper into the relationship. A man like Murong, once he fell truly in love with a woman, who knew what he might do?

Unless a powerful figure comes along and silently kills Lou Suying, these concubines in the harem have no chance of rising in rank. Otherwise, they can only waste their lives in the harem.

Lou Suyi actually wanted to rest early, but Murong told her to wait for him.

She made clothes while waiting for his return.

When Murong entered the bedroom, he saw his wife making clothes for him under the lamplight. Her hair had grown long, flowing down her shoulders, and the dim light made her features appear especially warm.

Her usually smiling face was unusually serious as she focused intently on sewing his clothes.

He told her to wait for his return, and she did wait.

Lou Suyi sensed Murong's gaze and, seeing that he had finally returned, she said reproachfully, "If Your Majesty hadn't come back soon, I would have gone to sleep. I'm so sleepy."

"Go to sleep." Murong took the clothes from her hands, helped her to the bedside, and carefully helped her lie down.

Lou Suyi was indeed sleepy, and she felt sleepy as soon as her head hit the pillow: "Your Majesty should also get settled early, as we have important matters to attend to tomorrow."

What's the point of waiting like this? She goes to sleep as soon as he gets back, so she might as well go to sleep earlier anyway, since she'll be the one to fall asleep first.

Murong's kiss landed on her forehead. She opened her eyes and looked at him, then quickly kissed him on the cheek: "Don't disturb my sleep."