Of course, Concubine Rui understood such a simple truth. But she also wanted Ling'er to recognize that she would never back the wrong horse.
"The words may be crude, but the reasoning is sound. You can think carefully about what I just said. Even though I have no one behind me now and not a single person I can rely on, as long as I can get close to the King, everything will be fine."
After Ling'er applied the medicine for her, those words kept echoing in her mind.
Thinking back over the years, although the Princess Consort was very domineering, she had never taken any action to undermine the King.
If so, could she understand that the King actually had his own forces secretly all along, just waiting for a suitable opportunity to fight back?
If she could become an assistant to the King, it might not be impossible for her to replace the Queen in the future.
Just as she finished thinking, she returned to the palace hall.
Concubine Ning got up to relieve herself in the middle of the night. Seeing the newly promoted maid, she felt a bit puzzled.
"Why aren't you staying by this palace's side? Where have you been?"
"Your Highness, please calm down. Just now there were wild cats meowing outside. This maid was afraid that it would disturb Your Highness's rest, so I went out to chase them away. I didn't expect to still wake Your Highness up."
She didn't even blink when telling a lie. This was a skill that everyone in the harem had.
Concubine Ning took a careful look for a while and didn't suspect anything.
"Well, you're quite considerate. With you by this palace's side in the future, I won't have to worry about those scheming people."
"Thank you for Your Highness's praise. Your Highness, please go back to rest quickly. This maid will guard outside."
"Okay, move a bit more gently. Don't let the King sleep badly."
"Yes."
The night seemed calm on the surface, but in fact, many things had already deviated from the right track.
For example, early the next morning.
When the King of the Western Regions was washing up, the maid beside Ling'er somehow suddenly lost her balance. The water spilled directly on the ground, and the basin hit the ground with a loud noise.
Seeing that the maid was so anxious that tears were about to fall, Ling'er stepped forward to save the situation.
"Your Majesty, please forgive her. This younger sister just came to serve in the palace today and is still a bit unaccustomed to the rules. Please don't bother with her."
The King of the Western Regions opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Concubine Ning had already spoken.
"You useless slave! You can't even hold a basin steadily. I don't know what use you are. If I had known you would make such a big mistake today, I shouldn't have let you stay before. Guards! Drag her out and give her a beating with the rod."
Several eunuchs beside her were about to step forward, but as soon as they made a move, they were immediately stopped by the King of the Western Regions.
He waved his hand impatiently.
"For such a small matter, my love, is it really necessary to make such a big fuss? This maid must have just been careless. Just scold her a little."
Concubine Ning never expected that the King of the Western Regions, who never bothered about harem affairs, would actually speak up for this maid at this time. She widened her eyes.
"Your Majesty, you never used to interfere in harem affairs. Why are you helping this maid today? Is it because you think this maid is good - looking? If so, this concubine will go to the Princess Consort in person today and ask her to make the decision to take this maid into the harem for Your Majesty."
Although she seemed to be considering the King of the Western Regions on the surface, every word was actually a threat to this man.
If he really dared to agree, she would never let this maid off easily. After all, it was very easy to get rid of a maid in this harem.
How could the King of the Western Regions not know what Concubine Ning was thinking? All the concubines in this harem were the Princess Consort's people. He didn't even have his own people. He was already tired of such a life.
"Humph, do you really think this King is afraid of the Princess Consort? Now all of you keep bringing up the Princess Consort to suppress this King. It seems that this position should be left to the Princess Consort."
He sneered. Concubine Ning felt a bit scared. Although she sometimes slipped up and used the Princess Consort to pressure him on weekdays, this man had never directly refuted her like this before.
She felt that something was about to come to her mind, but at this moment, she didn't dare to say a single word.
"Your Majesty, don't be angry. This concubine just thought that it was the first time Your Majesty spoke up for a maid. If Your Majesty really likes her, it's better to take her into the harem. After all, she was this concubine's maid before. It would be nice to have a close younger sister then."
Although she said so on the surface, the King of the Western Regions knew exactly what she was thinking in her heart.
"Normally, this King never participates in these things because I thought the Princess Consort could manage the harem well. Now it seems that all of you dare to ride on this King's neck and act presumptuously."
After saying this, everyone around knelt on the ground. Even Concubine Ning didn't dare to say anything more.
Obviously, the King of the Western Regions was angry. If she continued to talk, God knows what else would make him angry.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. This concubine knows her mistake."
"Humph, this King heard that the Princess Consort arranged Concubine Rui to stay with you. Why didn't this King see her when having breakfast today?"
Concubine Ning was stunned. Didn't the King of the Western Regions just care about his own dignity a moment ago? Why did it suddenly change now? Why did he suddenly think of that little slut?
She couldn't possibly tell the King of the Western Regions that the person he wanted was now in a dilapidated room in the side hall and was about to die.
Logically speaking, with the Princess Consort's previous arrangement, the King of the Western Regions shouldn't be interested in that widow now.
Everything had deviated from the right track. She could only explain with a stiff upper lip.
"Concubine Rui was punished before and still has injuries on her body. The imperial doctor said that she couldn't be exposed to the wind, so this concubine arranged for her to stay in the side hall. If Your Majesty wants to see Concubine Rui, it's better to wait until her injuries get better next time."
If the incident with the maid hadn't happened before, maybe the King of the Western Regions would still give Concubine Ning this face. But now he felt that his face had been trampled on, so he couldn't listen to a single word.
Now he even seized the opportunity to make trouble.
"Anyway, Concubine Rui was brought back by this King personally. Even though her reputation wasn't very good before, there's no need for you people to trample on her, right? Don't you know what kind of place the side hall is? After living in the harem for so many years, you can't even understand such a simple thing."
"This concubine just wanted to find a quiet place for Concubine Rui. She is living alone there now. She won't be disturbed by anyone, and of course, she won't live with those palace maids."
"Is there any difference between the two? Concubine Ning, you used to be quite sensible, but now you make this King feel ridiculous. Were all your previous sensibilities just an act? All your so - called sharing the burden for this King was actually just to get some information from this King and tell it to the Princess Consort?"
Concubine Ning slumped to the side, her face pale.