Hearing this, several maids rolled their eyes.
"Your Ladyship, you'd better wait until you're released from confinement before saying such things."
With that, the maids directly pushed open the door.
The leading maid keenly noticed a figure flash by.
They immediately chased after it, even forgetting about Concubine Ning.
When Concubine Ning entered, she found that the person on the bed had disappeared. She originally thought that Ling'er had run away on her own after realizing the situation was wrong. However, her illusion was shattered the next moment.
Ling'er was dragged out of the cabinet by those maids, her eyes filled with panic.
Her heart skipped a beat. She knew what would happen if those maids took Ling'er away. Her expression showed a bit of panic.
"You're so presumptuous! How dare you barge in and take someone like this. Does that mean next time you'll come for me?"
As she spoke, she stepped forward, trying to pull Ling'er back. But those maids blocked her tightly, not giving her any chance.
"Your Ladyship, we've found our mistress's maid. We won't bother you anymore. As for the rest, you can talk to our mistress."
The maid's face was full of disgust, apparently misunderstanding the cause of this incident.
Concubine Ning wanted to explain, but all the words got stuck in her throat.
It was because Concubine Rui had appeared at the door with a look of surprise.
"Ah, Ling'er! You've only been out for a while. How did you get such serious injuries? Did someone deliberately make things difficult for you? If so, just tell me. I'll surely stand up for you."
Ling'er was dizzy. At this moment, she was only holding on to her last bit of sanity to keep from falling.
She opened her mouth and took all the blame on herself.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Ladyship. You've come out personally to look for this lowly maid. These injuries were caused when this lowly maid accidentally fell into the pond in the imperial garden. Your Ladyship, please don't worry. Since you've found this lowly maid, let's go back quickly. Don't bother Concubine Ning here."
She seemed very nervous. Disregarding the etiquette of hierarchy, she stepped forward and directly pushed Concubine Rui out. This dissatisfied the maids watching the show.
They stepped forward and helped Ling'er to one side.
"Sister Ling'er, don't cause trouble for Concubine Rui. She's gone through so much trouble to find you. Now that you're injured, Her Ladyship will surely get an explanation for you."
"I... I'm fine now. Concubine Rui, all this was caused by this lowly maid herself. Please don't blame others."
However, her explanation was worse than not saying anything. No one present believed her.
Concubine Rui sighed and stood in front of Concubine Ning.
"Sister, you should give me an explanation. The girl went out in good condition, but now she's seriously injured. If I hadn't come in time, she might have lost her life, right?"
Concubine Ning gritted her teeth. "What do you mean? Do you think it was me who injured her? Concubine Rui, you should know better than me how Ling'er got injured. Stop pretending and shifting all the blame onto others. I've been in this harem for so many years, and I've never seen anyone as arrogant as you. As the saying goes, he who often walks by the river is bound to get his shoes wet. You'd better pray that you never fall into my hands one day."
"Hehe, Sister, you'd better think about how to deal with this matter. Everyone saw Ling'er come out of your place and then get injured."
"You! It was clearly you who injured Ling'er. She came to me to seek help. Ling'er, am I right?"
Now, the only person who could prove her innocence was Ling'er. She believed that since this maid had come back to find her at this time, she must be on her side.
However, the result was often disappointing. She was still too careless.
At some point, the girl had completely fainted and stopped making any sound. If it weren't for the two maids holding her, others might have thought she was dead.
Concubine Ning widened her eyes and gritted her teeth. "I never thought you'd go to such lengths to frame me. You even dared to hurt an innocent person."
Concubine Rui curled her lips, stood beside her, and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear. "Otherwise, do you think I'd let this maid who holds my secret go, especially at such a crucial moment? Concubine Ning, do you really think you can deal with me without the Princess? "
Hearing this, Concubine Ning felt a chill run down her back. She seemed to know something.
The next moment, before she could react, the person who had just been showing off to her suddenly fell backward.
Seeing this, the maids around rushed forward in a hurry to care about Concubine Rui. She was the apple of the Western Region King's eye now, and not the slightest mistake could be made.
It wasn't until everyone had rushed to take Concubine Rui away that she came to her senses.
Thinking about what had just happened, she suddenly understood that she had been set up from the very beginning.
No, she had to find a way to stabilize her position first. Otherwise, after this incident, Concubine Rui would surely do everything in her power to drive her out of the palace.
Actually, being driven out of the palace wasn't so bad. After all, she had an elder brother who loved her dearly, and he would surely find a good match for her. But she was afraid that the king wouldn't drive her out of the palace. Thinking about the fates of the concubines she had framed before, she couldn't sit still anymore.
However, the Western Region King had strictly forbidden anyone to let her out before. So now when she stood at the palace gate, she was immediately stopped by the guards.
"Get out of the way! Who do you think you are? How dare you stop me? Do you believe that when my elder brother comes, he'll have all of you beheaded?"
The guard had a straight face and didn't back down at all because of her words.
"Please don't make things difficult for us guards, Concubine Ning. If you want to see the King, we can pass on your message."
That wouldn't do. She originally wanted to rush over to assess the situation and respond accordingly. If the King knew about this in advance, she wouldn't even have a chance to respond. By then, the King surely wouldn't spare her lightly.
"You! Get out of here quickly. If anything happens, I'll take the responsibility myself. I don't need you useless people. When Concubine Rui led people to break into my palace before, I didn't see you jump out. Now, it's good. You dogs can recognize your masters, right?"
"We weren't on duty at that time. We just came here. If you want to vent your anger, please wait until you get out of here. We can't let you out now."