The night was thick as ink, and the candle flames in the room radiated warmth.
The warm, orange glow separated Xiao Jingheng and Ning Wanshuang, like a raging fire on the verge of being unleashed, ready to spread at the slightest contact.
The room erupted in a great commotion, and Jiang Deshun and Liu Yue hurriedly burst in.
The heavy scent of wine in the room was overpowering and pungent.
Jiang Deshun saw Ning Wanshuang with tears streaming down her face like rain, glaring furiously at Xiao Jingheng with eyes wide and bloodshot.
The xinhui jade pendant that he had painstakingly found for Xiao Jingheng was also shattered all over the floor.
Having served in the imperial court for so many years, he had never seen any imperial consort quarrel so fiercely with Xiao Jingheng.
Terrified, his words came out stammering:
"Your Majesty, Imperial Consort...this is..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Jingheng casually grabbed a bowl from the table and hurled it at him in a rage:
"Get out!"
When the Emperor was furious, who dared advise him?
Jiang Deshun and Liu Yue fled the room as if their souls had left their bodies.
Xiao Jingheng slowly got up after a moment of silence, steadying himself on the table as he staggered over to Ning Wanshuang's side. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace.
But Ning Wanshuang was not appeased like usual after throwing a tantrum and getting a hug.
She reflexively pushed Xiao Jingheng away forcefully and stumbled back two steps, shaking her head with tears in her eyes:
"Has it really come to this? Can Your Majesty tell me the truth for once? Have you never accepted my father and brothers? Have you never accepted...our child?"
Xiao Jingheng was taken aback, standing still as he gazed at her, shaking his head repeatedly:
"Where did you hear such nonsense? Don't you know clearly how I've treated you all these years?"
His attempt to dodge the question was clearly ineffective in this situation.
Ning Wanshuang choked back sobs as she pressed on, "Then can Your Majesty swear an oath?"
Xiao Jingheng's lip twitched slightly, his expression changing abruptly. "What do you want me to swear?"
Ning Wanshuang suddenly raised her right hand over her head, holding up three fingers to the heavens, and declared angrily:
"Swear on what matters most to you. If you utter a single lie, may it bring calamity to your kingdom and dynasty, and may your heirs be disloyal and unfilial to you..."
"How dare you!"
Before Ning Wanshuang could finish speaking, Xiao Jingheng's resounding slap had already landed on her tear-stained face.
She was completely unprepared and did not expect that the youth who had always gently cherished her would slam her heavily to the ground.
Her entire body was flung to the floor, her head hitting the leg of a chair, scattering the bejeweled ornaments in her hair.
Those treasures had all been rewards from Xiao Jingheng, but now strewn across the floor, they were only like irritating shards of glass, piercing her heart like a thousand wounds.
Amidst the ringing in her ears, Ning Wanshuang's cheeks felt numb from the heat.
Her fair skin was marked with a red imprint, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
Yet she did not cover her face, instead straightening her neck to glare at Xiao Jingheng, her face ashen.
She saw a fleeting remorse flash across Xiao Jingheng's eyes, but then heard him breathe heavily and bellow angrily:
"I am the Emperor! How dare you utter such treasonous curses before me?"
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Xiao Jingheng had struck heavily. Ning Wanshuang swayed unsteadily, barely managing to stand up after three attempts.
Mist clouded her vision, obscuring even the face of the young man before her.
For a moment, she felt the man before her was a stranger, frightening in his unfamiliarity.
"The innocent have no fear of oaths! If Your Majesty has long been wary of the Ning clan, why pretend to dote on me all these years? Does it not exhaust you?"
Xiao Jingheng's voice was hoarse and coarse. "I am the Emperor. I must balance court politics, set an example for the people, and protect the peace of the commoners. There is much beyond my control, much that I have no choice but to accept... I thought you would understand. Being in a position of power, I have sacrificed and given up so much. I..."
"What does that have to do with my father and brothers? With my poor child!?"
Ning Wanshuang cut him off with an almost hysterical scream.
"For your helplessness, my family deserves to die, and my affections deserve to be exploited! What wrong did my family commit? If I had known marrying you would bring such ruin and cause me to become this overbearing, jealous woman, I would rather have shorn my hair and become a nun, accompanying lamps and Buddha, than blindly give my heart and life away!"
Xiao Jingheng clearly did not expect Ning Wanshuang to retort like this.
He furrowed his brows, his gaze towards her growing increasingly cold.
"What wrong did your family commit? What about Noble Consort Yang, who died a wrongful death from madness? What about Consort Jia, who despairingly took her own life after you falsely accused her and cut off her fingers? Over the years, you have defied the Empress, schemed against the consorts, lording over the harem however you wished. Do you think I'm blind?"
He angrily slammed the table, casually flipping over a jade dish. His tone grew more agitated:
"Yet I did not hold it against you, precisely because I doted on you, protected you! You stand here blaming me, but are you yourself innocent? Consort, for many matters, it is better we close one eye."
These icy words swirled in the humid summer night air before entering Ning Wanshuang's ears.
As she looked at Xiao Jingheng, at the irritable, furious expression revealed after she had peeled away his fake exterior, she suddenly felt that the deep affection between them these past years may have only been a long, empty dream.
Now, having lost her family, she finally and belatedly awoke from this dream - how laughable.
Ning Wanshuang's expression was as desolate as dirt, yet she no longer cried or threw a tantrum.
She tidied her clothes and calmly looked at Xiao Jingheng, even forcing out a dimpled smile.
"Yes, closing one eye. Hasn't Your Majesty been doing that all these years? I killed Noble Consort Yang and dealt with Consort Jia, so what? Look back at the women in your harem. Which of them has clean hands?" She gave a hollow laugh. "This muddied pool, who do you think is to blame?"
She wanted to say more, but felt it pointless, so just shook her head and said lightly:
"Let it be. Your Majesty's kindness, I do not deserve. If in your heart I am such a reprehensible criminal, then my family is dead, and I have lost my purpose as your protective talisman. There is no need to endure me; you may simply decree my death. At least then you would not have to face me daily, reminded of how the late Emperor forced you to take me, as if I had ruined your life."
Xiao Jingheng felt he had gone too far with his earlier words. He sighed deeply, his tone now conciliatory:
"I promised to fulfill your every wish, and will continue to treat you well. It's just that you..."
"Continue? Hahaha~" Ning Wanshuang gave a hollow laugh. "No need. I cannot appreciate Your Majesty's kindness."
She turned and took out from a nearby drawer the seals and tablets commemorating her elevation to Imperial Consort, which she respectfully presented before Xiao Jingheng. She then began methodically unbuttoning the gilt buttons on the front of her robe.
Puzzled, Xiao Jingheng asked, "What are you doing?"
Ning Wanshuang did not answer. She simply folded her robe neatly and placed it by the seals and tablets, before kneeling upright before Xiao Jingheng and performing a deep bow:
"It grows late, Your Majesty should retire."
Having bowed, she added solemnly:
"This peasant woman bids the Son of Heaven goodnight."
