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

Chapter 48 What kind of behavior is this? The Empress Dowager orders her to serve the Emperor!
Murong continued eating slowly and deliberately, without answering Consort Liang's question.

His reaction made Consort Liang a little nervous, wondering if he was going to embarrass her in front of Consort De.
At this moment, not only was Consort Liang anxious about Murong's answer, but Consort De's curiosity was also piqued.

After waiting for a while, Murong put down her chopsticks and elegantly curled the corners of her lips: "Kong Chen will not be leaving the palace for a while."

Consort Liang was shocked and blurted out, "Why is this?"

She didn't believe that he stayed in the palace to ward off evil spirits. Murong was not feudal or old-fashioned and believed that there were evil spirits in the world.

Murong looked at Consort Liang with a calm expression. Consort Liang seemed to shrink back under Murong's gaze, but she forced a smile and said in a soft Wu dialect, "I was entrusted by Suyi, so I must give her a reason."

“Go and tell her to stay in the palace without worry. I am not an unreasonable person. As long as she doesn’t cause trouble, I will take good care of her.” Murong ended the topic with this sentence.

Consort Liang breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Judging from Murong's words, it didn't seem like he kept Lou Suyi in the palace because he was interested in her.

That put her at ease.

"I will convey His Majesty's message to Suyi." Consort Liang looked intently at Murong.

Consort De, standing to the side, also gazed at the young emperor with affection. The two women, each harboring their own secrets, shared the same thought: to serve the emperor as soon as possible before the new concubine entered the palace.

After dinner, Murong dismissed them, saying, "I still have memorials to review. Jiqing, have someone escort Wanying and Consort De out of the way. Don't neglect them."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Ji Qing was not surprised at all.

Consort De was unwilling to leave so easily and said to Murong, "I have something I would like to discuss with Your Majesty about a new type of gunpowder. Could Your Majesty spare some time for me?"

Seeing this, Consort Liang looked at Murong and saw him nod, her heart sank.

At this moment, Consort De looked at her, her eyes filled with undisguised smugness.

She didn't understand what Consort De had to be so proud of, and took her leave.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Consort De explained her method for developing a new type of gunpowder. Murong, after listening, felt it was just the same old thing in a new guise. What Consort De described was merely theoretical knowledge, but its practical application would be difficult.

Seeing Murong's lack of interest, Consort De's heart sank even further.

"I have relayed what my beloved consort said to the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of Works, instructing them to develop gunpowder according to the method. If they can develop a new type of cannon, it would be a great achievement. It's getting late, my beloved consort should go back and rest early. Jiqing, escort Consort De back," Murong said calmly.

Although Consort De felt that Murong's reaction was a bit too bland, Murong at least listened to her.

If a new type of artillery is ever developed in the future, Murong will surely remember her kindness.

Over the next few days, Murong was busy with government affairs and did not move around the inner palace. When she finally had some free time, she went to Quanfu Palace in the evening.

This time, Empress Dowager Chen had a plan and went directly to Lou Suyi.

On the way to Xianfu Palace, Fangruo thought of a solution that would solve the problem once and for all: "Since Miss Lou has the ability to take His Majesty away, why not let Miss Lou accompany His Majesty under the guise of protecting him? Every time His Majesty goes to Quanfu Palace, the Empress Dowager goes to find Miss Lou, which is too conspicuous. It would be better to just put Miss Lou by His Majesty's side, so that Consort Liang has no chance to seduce His Majesty!"

Empress Dowager Chen was taken aback: "Your idea is good! With Su Yi around, even if His Majesty is outrageous, he wouldn't dare to favor Lady Liang in front of a nun! But to place Su Yi by the Emperor's side, we should find a suitable reason..."

“That’s easy. Just say that His Majesty is surrounded by a lot of yin energy, and that Your Highness suspects that an evil spirit is haunting His Majesty. Wouldn’t that give you a reason? However, I’m worried that if Miss Lou stays by His Majesty’s side for too long, she might develop impure thoughts about him,” Fang Ruo said calmly.

His Majesty's face is indeed attractive to women. If Lou Suying were to be momentarily blinded by lust and try to climb into the Emperor's bed, it wouldn't be impossible. Empress Dowager Chen sighed softly, "Suying has no interest in the Emperor. If she were, she would have already started seducing him. Why wait until now? The Emperor has never liked Suying before, so how could he possibly have any impure thoughts about her after she became a nun? I do hope that Suying truly has the ability to win the Emperor's heart back from Lady Liang."

It would be truly heartbreaking if Liang were to enter the emperor's harem.

Now, if any woman could stand up and bring the emperor back to the right path, she could help that person ascend to the throne.

Upon hearing Empress Dowager Chen's words, Fangruo realized she had been overthinking things. Judging from her mistress's tone, the least likely thing in the world was something happening between His Majesty and Lou Suying, right?

Lou Suyi was having dinner when her nose suddenly itched, and she sneezed twice: "Who's talking bad about me?"

She muttered something to herself and continued eating.

Just then, Jinshu ran in to remind them, "The Empress Dowager is here! Quickly put away the meat!"

Lou Suyi was startled and hurriedly helped clear away all the meat dishes on the table, not forgetting to wipe the grease off her mouth.

Just as they finished their work, Empress Dowager Chen entered, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

Lou Suyi became wary. That kind of smile was like a weasel paying respects to a chicken; it couldn't be anything good.

Empress Dowager Chen chatted casually with Lou Suyi before getting down to business.

Lou Suying was stunned for a while after hearing this. She wondered if she had misheard: "Your Majesty wants this humble nun to stay by His Majesty's side at all times from now on?"

She's not a palace maid, why should she be a servant? What kind of behavior is this?
"After the emperor finishes court, you will stay by his side and help him exorcise evil spirits until he returns to normal." Empress Dowager Chen solemnly held Lou Suyi's hand. "Suyi, I entrusted you with such an important task because I trust your exorcism skills. You were able to save the emperor's life back then, and of course you can do it again now. You are the emperor's benefactor."

Lou Suying struggled in Empress Dowager Chen's grasp, but the Empress Dowager held her too tightly, and she could not break free.

This Empress Dowager really knows how to make things difficult for people.

The charlatan Lou Suying gave a dry laugh, her lips twitching slightly. "Your Majesty, isn't this a bit inappropriate? Actually, this humble nun's exorcism magic isn't that powerful..."

"If I say you can do it, then you can do it! Only you can do this, so you can't go against my wishes." Empress Dowager Chen said, her smile fading.

I must say, Empress Dowager Chen's appearance is quite intimidating.

Lou Suyi still tried to make a last-ditch effort: "Since it concerns His Majesty's safety, shouldn't we ask His Majesty's opinion?"

Murong definitely didn't want to have such an eyesore by his side. The Empress Dowager was being unreasonable, and Murong certainly wouldn't stand for it.

Although Empress Dowager Chen issued an imperial edict, this absurd matter would be null and void if the young emperor did not agree.

Thinking of this, she suddenly calmed down.

It's alright, it's alright, things haven't been settled yet, she doesn't need to scare herself unnecessarily.

-

Murong: Suyi, you are quite lucky with women. You will have the opportunity to accompany the emperor.

Plain clothes: Go away, I don't care!
(End of this chapter)