Consort Jing was utterly stunned when she learned that she had been demoted.
"What rumors? When have I ever spread any rumors?" she asked her personal maid, Jiu'er.
Jiu'er shook her head as well. "I don't know, Your Highness. Consort Xian has only been in the palace for a little over a month. Why has she suddenly moved against you? Your Highness, I fear she's declaring war on you."
"Declaring war! Declaring war! When I was fighting the Sovereign's Wife, who knows where she was! A mere Great Xia Commoner dares slander me like this!"
Consort Jing smashed everything within reach to pieces and said furiously, "If the Sovereign's Wife were still managing the harem today, she would investigate everything thoroughly. She would never wrongfully accuse me without cause!"
"But ever since the Sovereign abandoned Princess Liuli in Great Xia, the Sovereign's Wife has never recovered. She can't even be bothered to deal with me anymore, and that so-called Consort Xian seized the opening. Raising herself up wasn't enough-she had to trample on me too!"
Merely bringing it up made her seethe.
After returning from Great Xia, she had seen the Sovereign's true colors and intended to live quietly. Who would have thought this woman would declare war on her?
She truly had no desire to fight anymore!
Jiu'er hurriedly interrupted her, reminding her in a whisper, "Your Highness, you mustn't say such things."
"Why mustn't I? Jiu'er, you didn't accompany me to Great Xia. You have no idea how loathsome the Sovereign's ugly face was when he abandoned his own flesh-and-blood daughter."
"I put myself in the Sovereign's Wife's shoes. If he can abandon his daughter in a crisis today, will he hand my son over as a hostage when Xia Siheng invades tomorrow?"
"Jiu'er, men cannot be trusted!