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

Chapter 410 The Tea Ceremony is Extraordinary
Lou Suyi never arranged for concubines to serve her in bed before, and it's even less likely now.

In any case, she felt uncomfortable just thinking about pushing Murong to another woman.

But since Liang Wanying's tone was relatively mild, she replied in a calm tone, "How can I, a mere woman confined to the inner quarters, make decisions for His Majesty? Consort Kang, please don't make things difficult for me."

Upon hearing her words, all the concubines present gritted their teeth in hatred.

What's most hateful about Lou Suying is that she doesn't even bother with pretense; she openly wants to monopolize His Majesty. Even while heavily pregnant, she never considered sharing His Majesty with them.

It is truly hateful.

Which empress in any dynasty or era ever ate all the food herself like Lou Suyi? Yet His Majesty doted on this woman; it's infuriating to even look at.

"Your Majesty is too modest. His Majesty has always valued Your Majesty highly. If Your Majesty is willing to make arrangements, His Majesty will certainly dote on you." Liang Wanying was unwilling to give up and still wanted to try anything.

"Sister, you think too highly of me. I don't have such abilities. I think you are capable. His Majesty disregarded public opinion and bestowed this title upon you. You are more favored by the Emperor than any of us present. I won't be the one to make a fool of myself." Lou Suying touched her pregnant belly and continued to taunt all the concubines. "Surely you wouldn't bear to see me, a pregnant woman, being disliked by His Majesty, would you?"

When Consort De saw Lou Suyi's tea-drinking demeanor, she felt that this woman was more like a modern person than she, a modern person, and her tea skills were superb.

How could Liang Wanying, that fool, be a match for Lou Suyi?
Liang Wanying was indeed speechless after Lou Suying's words. She looked at the others, hoping someone would speak up, but they all looked away and acted as if they were indifferent to worldly affairs. Consort Ning was the same.

She was naturally annoyed, but there was nothing she could do, so she could only watch as Lou Suying moved on from the topic.

As she was leaving Xianfu Palace, she said to Consort De, "Didn't you used to love going against the Empress? Why aren't you helping me this time?"

Consort De glanced at her: "What's the point of helping? The result will be the same no matter what. Why are you taking it out on me? By the way, why don't you go find Consort Ning?"

After speaking, she boarded the palanquin on her own and left.

Her reaction surprised everyone.

Previously, it was always Consort De who was at the forefront, opposing Lou Suyi. At that time, everyone was just waiting to see what would happen.

Now that Consort De has suddenly stopped leading the charge, they are like a group without a leader.

Liang Wanying had no choice but to go to Consort Ning's side and ask, "Consort Ning, don't you want to serve me in bed?"

She had personally witnessed Consort Ning fawning over His Majesty that night during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Why was she acting so indifferent now?
Consort Ning watched Consort De's departing figure as if she hadn't heard her words.

Liang Wanying followed Consort Ning's gaze and murmured helplessly, "In the past, Consort De and Her Majesty the Empress were at odds, but now Consort De has quieted down. Is there no one in this harem who can control Her Majesty the Empress's arrogance?"

Only then did Consort Ning seem to hear Liang Wanying's words, and calmly said, "Sister, be careful not to say anything that might cause trouble."

Seeing Consort Ning like this made Liang Wanying angry. No wonder Consort De said Consort Ning was hypocritical; she now also felt that this woman was very hypocritical.

If Consort Ning truly had no desires, she wouldn't have actively seduced Murong that night. Since she wanted to climb into the emperor's bed, why pretend to be interested?

"Sister, stop pretending. If you really don't want to climb into the emperor's bed, I'll accept it. But you really want to climb into the emperor's bed, yet you pretend to be indifferent. It's really disgusting." Liang Wanying was agitated. After saying that, she got into the palanquin and left on her own.

Consort Ning watched Liang Wanying's departing figure, her brows furrowing slightly.

Linglong, worried that she might be overthinking things, whispered, "Consort Kang is really something. She has no ability herself, so why does she take her temper out on Your Highness?" Consort Ning clenched the handkerchief in her hand: "Am I really like what Consort Kang said?"

Linglong was taken aback, then denied it: "Of course not!"

Consort Ning laughed upon hearing this: "Don't bother comforting me. If Consort De and Consort Kang think this way, then Her Majesty the Empress must think this way too, right?"

Could it be that His Majesty also sees her that way?

Linglong was speechless for a long time before finally saying, "As long as His Majesty values ​​the Empress, other people's opinions are not important."

Consort Ning gave a faint smile: "Your Majesty has never taken me to heart. In Your Majesty's heart, there has always been only the Empress and everyone else."

And she was among those unimportant others.

Linglong felt heartbroken upon hearing this.

Everyone can see how deep His Majesty's favor towards the Empress is. Take the Emperor's birthday celebration, for example. When His Majesty saw so many concubines coming to offer their congratulations, he not only showed no joy, but also lost his temper on the spot and then stormed off in anger.

Unfortunately, the Empress went to the Qianqing Palace and, before being kicked out, ended up staying there overnight. If she hadn't been pregnant, the Empress would definitely have been invited to sleep with the Emperor that day.

In contrast, His Majesty has always been indifferent to his own master, and now he doesn't even go to Jingren Palace anymore.

To be precise, His Majesty no longer sets foot in any palace except Xianfu Palace. Unlike when he first ascended the throne, before the Empress entered the palace, His Majesty would occasionally visit the inner palace, even if it was just for show.

She opened her mouth, feeling sorry for her mistress: "Your Majesty is so good, His Majesty just hasn't seen it."

“There are many good women in the world, but there is only one Empress. His Majesty would certainly not be interested in any other woman besides the Empress. Let’s not talk about these meaningless things. Let’s go back.” Consort Ning said as she boarded the palanquin.

Shortly after they left, Yunzhong emerged from the shadows.

As a secret guard, her hearing was far superior to that of ordinary people. Moreover, it was the Empress who ordered her to keep an eye on Consort Ning, so she would not disobey the Empress's decree.

She then recounted the conversation she had overheard to Lou Suyi, who laughed and said, "Consort De is indeed much quieter today, looking quite disheartened."

The last time I saw Consort De, she was unusually quiet.

Consort De used to be the one who liked to argue with her the most among all the concubines, so why is she so disheartened now?

But with Consort Ning around, who was discreet in her actions and words, it was unlikely that she would gossip in front of Xianfu Palace. However, she could still glean from Consort Ning's few words that Consort Ning cared a lot about Murong's opinion of her.

This further confirmed her suspicion that Consort Ning was in love with His Majesty the Emperor.

With this background, Consort Ning had even more reason to deal with her.

Seeing that the Empress seemed to be in a good mood, Yun Zhong couldn't understand which part of her words had pleased the Empress. She was rather dull-witted and couldn't understand what was so pleasing about Consort Ning's words.

"Yunzhong, go to Qianqing Palace and invite His Majesty over for dinner. Tell him I miss him." Just as Yunzhong was in a daze, Lou Suying suddenly said this to her.