After being reborn, the empress only wanted to seduce the emperor and seize the empress's posit

Chapter 73 Consort Zhen's Difficulties
Upon arriving at Changchun Palace, Lu Jingning rushed into the bedchamber and saw the Empress lying weakly on the bed, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, tears silently streaming down her face.

Upon seeing Lu Jingning hurry in, a palace maid nearby quickly bowed and said, "Greetings to Consort Lu."

Lu Jingning had no time for anything else. She went straight to the Empress's bedside, sat down quietly on the edge of the bed, and took out a handkerchief with her slender fingers to wipe away the tears from the corners of the Empress's eyes.

"Your Majesty, please don't cry," Lu Jingning said, her eyes filled with heartache.

The Queen's heart was utterly broken, yet she still gently said, "I'm alright."

"Your Majesty, why would you harm your body for someone who doesn't care about you?" Lu Jingning tried to persuade the Empress.

The Empress sighed softly, her voice barely audible, as if a gust of wind could dissipate it: "I have been fulfilling my responsibilities as Empress all this time, and I am so tired."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jingning's heart tightened. She held the Empress's hand tightly; those hands were cold and thin, yet she could feel their resilience and hardship.

Her gaze was gentle yet firm, as if she wanted to convey her strength to the Empress: "I know you've always worked very hard, but now that I'm by your side, even if it's just for my sake, could you please take care of yourself?"

"Why? I did nothing wrong, yet this is how I ended up..."

The Queen said heartbrokenly, turning her face to the side at the end, silently shedding tears.

Lu Jingning looked at her and said, word by word, "The mistakes of others have nothing to do with Your Highness. Your Highness is the best woman in the world, and no matter what, I will stand by Your Highness's side."

The Empress finally couldn't hold back her tears, which fell like pearls from a broken string, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

Lu Jingning gently patted her back, softly comforting her, "Why doesn't Your Majesty live for yourself this once?"

Just then, Qingming rushed over with the imperial physician, her face filled with anxiety: "Imperial Physician, Her Majesty just vomited blood, please take a look!"

"Alright, Miss Qingming, don't worry."

Upon hearing this, the Empress suppressed her grief, quickly wiped away her tears, sat up straight, and regained her usual composure.

The imperial physician stepped forward and carefully took the empress's pulse. His brows furrowed, he said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty is suffering from a sudden attack of anger. You need to take good care of yourself and must not be subjected to any further stimulation."

After saying that, he picked up his pen and wrote a prescription with practiced ease: "I have prescribed a calming medicine for Her Majesty, to be taken twice a day, on time."

"Okay," Qingming said solemnly as she took the prescription.

The imperial physician nodded, slung his medicine chest over his shoulder, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I will go and prepare the medicine."

"go"

After the imperial physician left, Qingming hurriedly stepped forward to check on the Empress's condition: "Your Majesty, how are you?"

"I'm fine, don't worry."

Seeing that the Empress's condition had improved slightly, Qingming could no longer suppress her resentment.

She gritted her teeth, indignant on behalf of the Empress: "Your Majesty is devoted to the Emperor, yet he relinquished the power to manage the six palaces to the Consort while you were ill. How could the Emperor do such a thing?"

"What?" Lu Jingning listened from the side, his face also showing an expression of disbelief and shock.

After saying that, she turned to look at the Empress, only to see that the Empress was calm and staring blankly ahead, as if Qingming's words had not stirred any ripples in her heart.

The candlelight flickered in the hall, illuminating the Empress's pale yet resolute face: "Very well, I'm tired too. I can finally get some rest. Let His Majesty give this power to whomever he wishes."

Qingming nodded vigorously: "That's right, Your Majesty has been working tirelessly for the affairs of the harem, it's time for you to take a break."

The Empress gently raised her hand, looked out at the deep night, and said tenderly to Lu Jingning, "It's getting late, you should go back and rest." A hint of reluctance and worry appeared in Lu Jingning's eyes.

Seeing this, the Empress smiled faintly, a smile that carried a hint of relief: "I want to live for myself for once, really, don't worry."

As she spoke, she gently patted Lu Jingning's hand, her eyes filled with relief and composure.

Looking at the Empress, Lu Jingning felt a great weight lifted from her heart. She slowly rose, curtsied, and said, "Then this concubine will take her leave now and will come to see Your Majesty again tomorrow."

"Okay, let's go back."

Lu Jingning turned and left, returning to Chengqian Palace.

The next morning, Lu Jingning had just woken up when he heard the palace maids outside gossiping.

Her heart sank, and she called Chun'er over: "What happened? Why is it so noisy outside?"

"Your Majesty, this morning I had Eunuch Zhao inform the six palaces that the affairs of the harem will be managed by the Imperial Concubine."

Lu Jingning felt a mix of emotions and murmured, "The inner palace is really about to change."

"My lady, the Empress can't manage the affairs of the harem now. It would be bad if the Consort found out that you are pregnant," Chun'er said, her face full of worry.

As they were talking, Xia'er rushed in and said, "Qinglang, who serves the Imperial Concubine, requests that you go to Chang Le Palace."

Chun'er's face turned deathly pale. She clutched Lu Jingning's sleeve tightly, her eyes filled with fear: "My lady, perhaps... perhaps you should tell the Emperor about your pregnancy? What if the Imperial Concubine..."

Lu Jingning shook his head gently, his eyes firm: "No, telling the Emperor now will only put me and the child in my womb in a more dangerous situation."

She turned to Xia'er, her voice soft yet carrying an undeniable authority, "Xia'er, has Qinglang said what it is?"

Xia'er, panting heavily, tried to calm herself: "Qinglang only said that the Imperial Concubine had summoned all the concubines to Chang Le Palace, saying that she had something important to announce."

Lu Jingning breathed a sigh of relief: "Let's go get ready and head to Chang Le Palace."

As Lu Jingning stepped into Chang Le Palace, all the concubines had already arrived, their eyes fixed on her.

She moved gracefully to the center of the hall, bowed slowly, and said in a gentle voice, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to Your Highness. May Your Highness enjoy boundless blessings and peace."

Consort Liang sat regally on her high seat, her crimson lips parted slightly, but before she could speak, Consort Zhen beside her could no longer contain herself and shrieked, "Oh, so Consort Lu, relying on the Emperor's favor, dares to be disrespectful to the Consort Liang?"

After speaking, he covered the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, his eyes full of mockery.

Lu Jingning's expression remained unchanged. She bowed slightly and said calmly, "This concubine is indeed late. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Consort Yan stood up from her seat and said softly, "Your Highness, Noble Lady Lu may have been delayed by something and did not mean to be late. Please forgive her and do not take offense."

Immediately afterwards, Consort Yin and Noble Lady Yi also stepped forward, pleading together for Lu Jingning: "Your Highness, it seems Noble Lady Lu did not mean it. Please forgive her."

Consort Liang gently raised her hand to stop Consort Zhen's chatter, and said softly, "Enough. Today we have important matters to discuss. Noble Lady Lu, please take a seat."

"Yes, thank you, Your Highness."

After sitting down, Lu Jingning looked gratefully at the sisters who had pleaded for her.

Consort Yan nodded to her, and Lu Jingning responded with a smile.

(End of this chapter)