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

Chapter 6: A painting of a woman bathing in plain clothes...

Royal Palace, Qinzheng Hall.

Xie Zhijie and Qi Yan both took sick leave today. If Murong hadn't known that the two of them had been lingering in the Lotus Nunnery for Lou Suyi, he would have actually believed their excuses for taking leave.

After reviewing a pile of memorials, there was still a pile left.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the memorial being delivered to the palace by the guards beside him, and finally picked it up and began to read it.

The guard is talented; he not only portrays Lou Suyi vividly and brightly, but he is also a great storyteller. He vividly describes the hunting game between Lou Suyi and the two men, with both pictures and words. It's a pity he doesn't write storybooks.

He glanced through two pages, chuckled softly, and tossed them aside.

It's unclear who the prey is, but Lou Suying is clearly handling the simultaneous attack by Xie Zhijie and Qi Yan with ease.

When he reviewed the memorials again, he found their contents dull and uninteresting, far less lively and interesting than those of the secret guards.

Ji Qing caught a glimpse of the new emperor glancing at the imperial guards' memorial out of the corner of his eye, and he understood what was going on.

It seems that from now on, the secret guards will have to describe everything that happens around Lou Suyi every twelve hours without interruption, and then send it to the Emperor to relieve His Majesty's fatigue and provide him with some amusement.

Murong was a self-disciplined person. He only picked up the memorial from the secret guard after reviewing all the other memorials.

When Xie Zhijie had kept watch all night but failed to find Lou Suyi's whereabouts, he wrote the word "treacherous" in red ink on the memorial.

Ji Qing curiously peeked out and secretly clicked his tongue in amazement.

The word "cunning and treacherous" must be used to describe Lou Suyi, but it's unclear whether it's meant as a derogatory or complimentary term.

"Who do you think will find her first, Xie Zhijie or Qi Yan?" Murong suddenly asked.

This question stumped Ji Qing, who gave an irrelevant answer: "Does Your Majesty wish to visit the Lotus Temple?"

Upon hearing this, Murong looked over, and Ji Qing immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

He knelt down and sincerely suggested: "It is springtime, and the Lotus Temple is bathed in sunshine. It is a good place to go for a spring outing, and... there is a lot of excitement to see."

Life was simply too dull after the new emperor ascended the throne.

Although there are many beauties in the harem, the new emperor has not yet summoned any of them to his bedchamber.

The Empress Dowager was worried that His Majesty's health would suffer if things continued like this, and she was even more concerned that the lack of an heir would destabilize the court. She kept pressuring him to find a way to get His Majesty to move around more in the inner palace.

He was also helpless, wishing he could immediately find a beautiful woman and send her to the new emperor's bed to make their marriage happen.

Lou Suyi was, after all, an old friend of the new emperor. With her beautiful face and ability to arouse his interest, she might have a chance to become the first person to serve him in bed.

Murong ignored Ji Qing and left the Qin Zheng Hall on his own.

Ji Qing reluctantly followed behind, but when he discovered that the new emperor was going to stroll around the inner palace, he was immediately relieved!
**
Qi Yan arrived at Lotus Nunnery early in the morning and went to the room designated by the novice nun the day before, only to find the door wide open.

He asked around and learned that the nun had disappeared.

He felt a sudden sense of loss and could only continue to stay in the dormitory, hoping to see that face that haunted his dreams again.

Xie Zhijie searched the entire Lotus Nunnery and even went to the back mountain to look for the nun, but he couldn't find her anywhere.

Although he hadn't seen the nun's face clearly last night, her figure seemed vaguely familiar. If he were to meet her again, he felt he could recognize her just by her back view.

He searched the entire back mountain but still couldn't find the nun, and no nuns had entered or left the Lotus Nunnery since last night.

This means that the person is at Lotus Temple, but no one knows where they have hidden.

He knew that Qi Yan was also looking for someone.

Unfortunately, the whole day passed without either of them finding anything.

Lou Suyi was indeed at Lotus Nunnery, but she was hiding in the abbot's meditation room.

Hiding outside the Lotus Nunnery was too risky; it wouldn't be worth it if she encountered danger while trying to hide from an old friend. The back mountain could indeed hide people, but it was too strenuous. So she simply gave the abbot some money for incense and stayed in her meditation room, enjoying good food, drink, and sleep.

**
As evening fell, an official from the Imperial Household Department brought over the nameplates of the imperial concubines.

Murong looked at the names on the green nameplates, and his gaze happened to fall on Consort Li's nameplate. He casually flipped over her nameplate.

Just then, a report from the secret guard arrived.

He wasn't in a hurry to enter the inner palace; instead, he began to peruse the memorials. When he saw that Xie Zhijie and Qi Yan had spent the entire day at the Lotus Nunnery without finding Lou Suying, he felt no surprise whatsoever.

On the contrary, seeing Lou Suying soundly asleep after eating and drinking her fill in the abbot's meditation room made him blush for Xie Zhijie and Qi Yan.

The man was right under their noses, yet his two trusted ministers couldn't find him, and were instead completely outmaneuvered by a young woman.

He put down the memorial and went to the inner palace.

Inside Xihe Palace, Consort Li had prepared delicious food and wine early in the morning, telling herself that she must successfully serve the Emperor tonight.

As the celebratory chants began, she hurriedly stepped forward to greet the emperor: "Your Majesty, I respectfully wish you good health."

Murong raised his hand, dismissing Consort Li's formalities.

This was the first time Consort Li had been chosen by the emperor; to be precise, this was the first time the emperor had chosen the concubines since his ascension to the throne.

She was Empress Dowager Chen's niece and had previously served in the palace as her attendant. She was one of the newly appointed concubines upon the new emperor's ascension to the throne.

Perhaps because her surname was Chen, she was given the title of Consort Li as soon as she entered the palace.

If she serves the emperor in bed and wins his favor, she may be promoted.

During the meal, Consort Li secretly glanced at her husband more than once.

His Majesty was exceptionally handsome, with striking features. His most captivating feature was his pair of dark, deep eyes; a single, fleeting glance from him seemed capable of stealing her soul.

In fact, she had fallen in love with the new emperor at first sight several years ago, even though she knew that she had entered the palace to consolidate the Chen family's position in the court.

After digesting her food, Consort Li nervously approached Murong and said, "Shall I serve Your Majesty to bed?"

Murong allowed Consort Li to help him undress.

Consort Li was perhaps too nervous, her slender fingers trembled slightly, and she couldn't find the button on his front for a long time.

Murong frowned slightly and brushed her hand away: "I still have state affairs to attend to, you should make your own arrangements as soon as possible."

After speaking, he straightened his clothes and walked away heartlessly.

Consort Li's eyes reddened with fear: "Does His Majesty despise me?"

The palace maid Xiangyang quickly comforted him, saying, "His Majesty has just ascended the throne and is very busy with state affairs. Just now, I didn't think His Majesty was angry. Please don't be sad, Your Majesty. After all, you still have the Empress Dowager to support you. His Majesty chose Your Majesty as his first concubine, which shows that Your Majesty is special to him."

Consort Li's tears continued to stream down her face, her eyes reddening with grievance.

Tomorrow, countless concubines in the harem will laugh at her for not being able to keep the Emperor...

Murong returned to Qianqing Palace, processed some more memorials, and then went to bed to rest.

The next day, he got up before dawn. After washing up, he saw a secret guard's report on the table next to him.

He casually opened the folded book and saw a picture of a beautiful woman bathing with her clothes half-undone.

He was a man of self-discipline and aloofness throughout his life; he had never witnessed such a vibrant and passionate scene before.
The half-naked beauty in the document is Lou Suying, who is gazing at him with deep affection...

Seeing an author say they made three million and then stopped updating makes me wonder why I haven't even broken even yet. If I could make that much in the stock market, I'd stop updating too, haha.

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(End of this chapter)