Knowing when to stop, the Concubine Rui followed him out. The two were lovey-dovey in the courtyard.
Shi Muyuan quietly opened her eyes and waved her hand behind her.
"Don't come out. Let's first see what their plans are. I don't believe the Concubine Rui would give up on attacking me so easily."
Sure enough, hardly had she finished speaking when the Concubine Rui opened her mouth.
"If I hadn't been so on guard against him, how could I have been so suspicious? I even had hallucinations just now. Your Majesty, since we've both escaped, why don't you kill her without anyone knowing? Then we can still use me to threaten the Great Liang. It'll be the same."
The King of the Western Regions was slightly distracted and exerted a bit too much force. The Concubine Rui immediately gasped in pain.
He quickly stopped his hand. "Sorry. It's not time for her to die yet. Don't worry. I'll avenge you sooner or later. She's still useful for the time being."
Although the King of the Western Regions was being led around by the nose by the Concubine Rui, he still knew the priorities of things.
This Empress Dowager was far more important than the Concubine Rui. If he took her there, he might not be able to threaten the young emperor, but if he took the Empress Dowager, the result would surely be different.
The Concubine Rui wasn't stupid. She naturally knew why the King of the Western Regions was reluctant to act.
No. This woman mustn't be left alive any longer. Otherwise, she might kill her one day.
After careful thought, she decided to use the King of the Western Regions and Shi Muyuan to do one last thing for her. Once it was done, she would never have to pander to anyone again.
A plan gradually took shape in her mind, and her attitude towards the King of the Western Regions improved a lot.
"Your Majesty must have far - reaching plans. Since you've said so, I won't pester you about this. Are we going straight back to the Western Regions next?"
"You're the most considerate. Don't worry. Once we're on my territory, I'll surely make you enjoy endless glory and wealth for the rest of your life."
The Concubine Rui rolled her eyes secretly. Who cared about your glory and wealth? She wanted to be the most noble woman in the Great Liang's land.
On the surface, she still maintained a false demeanor.
"Your Majesty is so kind to me. I have a small request now. I wonder if Your Majesty could..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the King of the Western Regions readily agreed without even blinking.
"Do whatever you want boldly. I still have some men at my disposal. If you want something, I can get it for you quickly. You don't have to go through all the trouble yourself."
The Concubine Rui twitched the corner of her mouth. "Your Majesty misunderstood. That's not what I meant. I've stayed in this place for too long. If I leave this time, I don't know when I'll be able to come back. So I hope Your Majesty can allow me to go back and have a look."
The King of the Western Regions raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect her request to be so simple.
"For such a small matter, go and have a look at ease. I'll have someone protect your safety secretly."
"No, no, no, Your Majesty. It's better for those men to stay and protect you. As a concubine, I surely won't get into any trouble."
"You're always thinking about me whole - heartedly. Then I can't let down your good intentions. I'll wait for you to come back here at ease."
The matter was thus settled. Cui Qizhou originally wanted to capture the Concubine Rui and then deal with the King of the Western Regions.
But as soon as he made a move, he was immediately called back by that woman.
"National Teacher, go and see what she wants to do. I feel she'll surely do harm to the emperor."
"The Empress Dowager herself is in great danger. How can she still have the leisure to care about others? Moreover, I came here this time specifically to protect your safety. I've already arranged others for the emperor."
"Don't worry about me. The King of the Western Regions is still waiting to use me to make a deal with the emperor. He surely won't harm me in the short term. You can go with confidence. If there's any change, you can protect the emperor in time."
Cui Qizhou's words of refusal were blocked. Helplessly, he finally had to leave his most trusted shadow guard here and then turned around and left.
Shi Muyuan pretended to be asleep, constantly praying in her heart that the young emperor would be okay.
...
The Concubine Rui returned to Changjing City and headed straight for the palace. At the palace gate, however, she was stopped by several guards.
"Who are you? You're so dirty. Go and beg somewhere else quickly."
She was almost enraged by these people. Without thinking, she slapped the guard.
"Open your dog eyes and see who I am. How dare you speak rudely? It seems you've lived too long."
The guard was stunned for a moment before he recognized the true face of the person in front of him.
He quickly knelt down to admit his guilt. Fortunately, the Concubine Rui didn't have the leisure to argue with him now.
"Take me to see the emperor immediately. I have something important to tell the emperor."
These words made the two guards a bit embarrassed.
"Concubine, how could we have the face to meet the emperor? Why don't you go back to the palace and wash up first?"
The guard's eyes scanned her body, clearly full of suspicion.
The Concubine Rui couldn't stand such a look. With a cold face, she took out something from her body.
"You don't want to take me there, do you? Do you believe I can execute the two of you directly?"
The two of them never expected that such an important thing as the Phoenix Seal would fall into her hands.
But under the might of the Phoenix Seal, they had no choice but to take the Concubine Rui to find the young emperor with trepidation.
"Your Majesty, we had no choice. The Concubine insisted on seeing you and even took out the Phoenix Seal."
"What? The Phoenix Seal?"
The young emperor, who had been buried in thought, immediately looked up. His eyes were serious. "Where is it?"
The Concubine Rui curled her lips. "Your Majesty should recognize this thing, right?"
Staring at the Phoenix Seal, the young emperor gritted his teeth. "How could such an important thing be in your hands?"
"Sister gave it to me. Sister asked me to come back and see Your Majesty. Your Majesty, go quickly. If you're any later, Sister's life will be in danger."
As she said this, she even pretended to cry.
But the young emperor was only concerned about his mother. "Where is she? Take me there quickly."
"Okay."
"No." Almost at the same time, an opposing voice came from outside the imperial study.
The young emperor was a bit dissatisfied. "Those pedantic old fools try to stop me. Does the National Teacher want to do the same? You know how important the Empress Dowager is to me. This time, even if the King of Heaven comes, I won't back down an inch."
Cui Qizhou coldly glanced at the eager Concubine Rui and took out a jade pendant.
"The Empress Dowager said, does Your Majesty want to forget your own promise?"
The jade pendant swayed in the air. The Concubine Rui's eyes slightly shrank. After all, she had stayed in the harem for so many years and knew the origin of the jade pendant, which had a different meaning for the Empress Dowager and the emperor.