"Sigh!" Chu Susu couldn't help but sigh helplessly. They were concubines in the harem. Unless they accompanied the emperor on a trip, how could they have the chance to leave the palace? Even if the regent really succeeded in seizing power and became the new emperor, she and Consort Lian would not be able to escape this palace.

Just as she was feeling sentimental, she suddenly heard three light knocks on the window frame from the outside—one long knock and two short knocks—it was the secret signal between Regent Li Xiao and her.

She had always thought that her respect and admiration for the regent who brought stability to the court and prosperity to the people was love for him. But now she realized that while she did admire the regent, romantic love seemed to be something else entirely.

Moreover, her current helpless situation is entirely thanks to this regent. Thinking back to her past life, when she was a perfectly fine young man who was sent to the palace to become a eunuch, she felt a surge of hatred for Li Xiao.

She coughed three times, one long and two short, indicating that she was not in a convenient position to go out and meet people right now.

She couldn't break with the Regent, so although she harbored resentment and hatred, she couldn't completely ignore Li Xiao.

No sooner had they finished replying with the coded message than the Emperor's voice rang out from outside. His voice was rather soft, as if he were afraid of waking those sleeping inside: "What, are the Empress and Consort Lian sleeping side by side tonight?"

Suhe replied softly, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Ying Yuan sighed, "I never imagined that the two of them would suddenly become so close one day."

Suhe lowered her head and looked down, thinking to herself: I never thought of that!

Honestly, she couldn't understand why the Empress was so good to Consort Lian. That Consort Lian was clearly a troublemaker, always stirring up trouble. And now, she'd even gotten the Empress to live in Xukun Palace.

She felt that Consort Lian's actions today must be part of a conspiracy, but the Empress seemed to think otherwise. Suhe had a terrible headache; she felt like she had endless worries.

Ying Yuan turned around and instructed the palace servants behind him: "You all stay outside and guard. I want to go into the inner palace to sleep with my concubines."

Before the palace servants could respond, a woman's voice suddenly rang out from the inner palace: "A bunch of dog servants, how dare you disturb my peaceful dreams in the middle of the night!"

Even worse, before the shouts had faded, a shoe suddenly flew out of the inner palace window, and by sheer coincidence, it hit Emperor Ying Yuan squarely on the head.

Suhe was so frightened that she opened her mouth wide and almost screamed.

The palace servants fell silent instantly, stunned by the scene before them.

As if possessed, Ying Yuan felt the shoe fall off his head and actually reached out to catch it. After it landed in his hand, he examined it closely and confirmed that it was indeed Consort Lian's shoe.

Thinking of the drunken antics of Consort Lian, whom he had just promoted, in Kunning Palace, Ying Yuan truly didn't know whether to be happy or angry.

To be honest, being hit by a beautiful woman's shoe wouldn't make a man angry; on the contrary, it would feel strange, like a woman's little cat's paw scratching at his heart, making him feel itchy. But as an emperor, he knew that being hit by a concubine's shoe today would be a huge loss of face for the emperor.

Chu Susu, lying on the bed in the inner palace, was very nervous: she did not want to serve the emperor!

So, when she heard the emperor say he was coming to the inner palace, she tensed up completely. Unexpectedly, Consort Lian suddenly sat up as if in a daze, yelled something at the outside, and threw her shoes out.

She didn't know where the shoe had been thrown inside the inner chamber, but the complete silence outside made her even more nervous.

She once again marveled at Consort Lian's carefree attitude: after throwing away the shoes, she immediately fell asleep. If only she could be as open-minded as Consort Lian.

It is said that Consort Lian said she had died once and had figured everything out; but what about herself? In her previous life, she was Chu Shu, who was tricked by the emperor and stabbed through the heart. She had truly died. How could she not be as open-minded as Consort Lian?

The emperor outside was examining the shoes from all angles, wondering if his servants would laugh at him if he put them in his robes. Suddenly, a woman's sigh came from inside the palace.

His internal strength was profound, which allowed him to hear clearly. He recognized the sigh as belonging to the Empress. He stepped forward and softly asked from inside the door, "Has the Empress not yet gone to sleep?"

Chu Susu said, "She's already asleep. Your Majesty, Consort Lian is quite drunk. If she has offended you in any way, please forgive her."

Ying Yuan hurriedly replied, "Of course. She is my beloved concubine. If she threw a shoe at me, it had a deeper meaning, and I understand it. How could I blame her?"

Chu Susu broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this: What does this mean? Could it be that Nian Nian, in her dazed state, carelessly threw a shoe that actually hit the Emperor? Good heavens, if it were any other woman, even in a conscious state, she might not be able to hit the Emperor even if she threw it directly without using a door or window as a barrier, but Nian Nian…

For a moment, she was at a loss for words. She had just asked the Emperor not to take offense, thinking it would be quite impolite for a shoe to be thrown at him while he was talking to palace servants outside. Little did she expect the shoe to be exactly what the Emperor wanted!

Then the emperor outside said, "Susu, I will go in and sleep with you."

Chu Susu felt her hair stand on end after hearing this.

In fact, the emperor always appeared to be very sickly in front of outsiders, but both Chu Susu and Li Xiao knew that the emperor was not sick and was just pretending.

So today the emperor suddenly felt he didn't want to pretend to be sick in front of Chu Nian, and he hadn't coughed once all day, which only made some palace servants who didn't know the inside story feel strange.

Since she wasn't sickly, the emperor could naturally perform sexual acts without any problem. Chu Susu knew very well what would happen if the emperor entered.

She had no desire to serve the emperor!

She paused for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, Niannian is really drunk today and can't sleep well. I have to take care of her and I'm afraid I won't be able to serve Your Majesty properly. Your Majesty, please go back. I will serve Your Majesty properly another day."

Suhe was Chu Susu's confidante and knew Chu Susu's thoughts. Chu Susu loved the Regent Prince Li Xiao and had no interest in the Emperor. Hearing Chu Susu say this, she was not surprised. Instead, she stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid the Empress will find it difficult to serve you today."

Ying Yuan replied, "It's alright, I just want to sleep with the two of them."

Chu Susu quickly added, "Your Majesty, this bed... I'm afraid it can't fit the three of us."

"Annoying! Disgusting!" Consort Lian suddenly rolled over a few times, shouting as she did so, before abruptly sitting up again.

Chu Susu exclaimed in surprise, "Niannian!"

"I'll beat you to death, you dog servant!" Consort Lian roared outside without even opening her eyes. She bent down, picked up the shoes by the bed, and threw them outside. "How dare you disturb my peaceful sleep! I'll beat you to death, you dog servant!"