'Bang!'
As the door was slammed open, Song Zhao hurriedly strode in.
She looked at the mess all over the main room, but did not see Ning Wanshuang.
Suddenly, there was a muffled thud, seemingly coming from the inner chamber.
With Xiao Fuzi's support, Song Zhao rushed towards the inner chamber.
Lifting the curtain, the scene before them was shocking.
The bed sheets were cut into long strips, wrapped three times around the roof beam.
Ning Wanshuang had kicked over the chair below her and was now hanging mid-air, having hanged herself on it.
Her beautiful face was twisted and flushed red from asphyxiation, but her limbs did not even struggle instinctively, showing how heavily determined she was to end her life.
"Lady! What nonsense is this!"
Liu Yue and Kang Yubin hurriedly ran over to lift Ning Wanshuang's legs to relieve the pressure on her jade neck hanging on the cloth strip.
Xiao Fuzi, reacting quickly, picked up the scissors on the table, righted the chair to stand on it, and cut the cloth strip in half at the waist.
Together, they pulled Ning Wanshuang back from the gates of hell.
She slumped on the ground, coughing uncontrollably a few times.
When she had calmed down a little, she glared at them again, her voice hoarse,
"Who let you in? Get out!"
Seeing the blood red marks left on her slender, fair neck, Liu Yue cried sorrowfully,
"Lady, you must not think such thoughts, you...."
Before she could finish, Ning Wanshuang pushed her violently to the ground,
"Get out! I told you to get out!"
Song Zhao knew Ning Wanshuang cared about face more than anyone.
She never wanted anyone except Xiao Jingheng to see her fragile and unpresentable side.
So Song Zhao said firmly to Liu Yue and the others,
"You leave first. Do not let half a word about tonight's events get out, or you will face severe punishment."
"Yes..."
Liu Yue and Kang Yubin bowed and retreated, but Xiao Fuzi was still worried about leaving Song Zhao alone with Ning Wanshuang. She whispered by Song Zhao's side,
"Lady, this servant should stay to protect you."
Song Zhao shook her head gently, "You go out and stand guard at the door too. If anything happens I will call you."
After the servants had left, Ning Wanshuang suddenly lifted her brows, staring at Song Zhao with hollow eyes, laughing coldly,
"What? You just can't wait to see me make a joke out of myself?"
She was drunk, and had just undergone immense grief and sorrow. Clearly she was having trouble standing steadily.
Song Zhao went forward to support her, "What has happened to the Lady?"
"Don't call me Lady!" Ning Wanshuang pushed her hand away in disgust, "What? After being the emperor's woman for so long, do I no longer have my own name?"
Song Zhao knew Ning Wanshuang must have had a big argument with Xiao Jingheng, which was why she did not even want to be associated with the title of imperial concubine now.
But even so, Song Zhao did not dare to directly address her by name, since that would be greatly disrespectful.
So she said, "After drinking until drunk, both you and His Majesty must have said some hurtful things in anger. When the alcohol wears off tomorrow, everything will be fine again."
"Hahahahaha! Be fine again?"
Ning Wanshuang laughed with insane delight, her hair in disorder like a madwoman.
"How can it be fine again? Can my elders and brothers come back to life? Will my poor child ever get the chance to lay eyes on this world?"
Bloodshot eyes wide with madness, Song Zhao was given a fright by her crazy state.
Suddenly, her laughter stopped abruptly as she lunged towards the table and picked up the scissors Xiao Fuzi had left behind earlier without any hesitation, holding it against her own neck.
Song Zhao shouted, "What are you doing, Lady!"
"Don't come over!" Ning Wanshuang held the scissors horizontally towards Song Zhao for a moment, clearly holding back to avoid harming her, then retreated several steps until her back touched the wall, murmuring,
"I have failed my elders and brothers, failed my own child. My whole life has been spent foolishly bringing disaster to my whole family, and now I will end it as a joke..."
She slowly closed her eyes, breathed out heavily, shaking her head bitterly with a wry smile.
Then she raised the scissors high, stabbing down towards her chest.
Taking advantage of her closed eyes, Song Zhao quickly grabbed the horse whip from the floor and flung it at her.
The horse whip hit Ning Wanshuang's scissors-holding hand, causing her to drop them in pain.
As Ning Wanshuang came to her senses, she tried to bend down to pick them up again,
But Song Zhao took a quick step forward, kicking the scissors under the bed before she could reach them.
By now, Ning Wanshuang's emotions had completely crumbled beyond control. Desperate to die, she turned instead to try and dash her head fatally against the nearby bronze cauldron.
Slap!
But before she had taken two steps, Song Zhao grabbed her wrist and pulled her back forcefully,
Then delivered a tight-fisted slap to Ning Wanshuang's face without hesitation,
"Have you gone mad!"
Song Zhao held Ning Wanshuang's wrist tightly, frowning at her,
"Concubine suicide is a grave crime. Do you want your orphaned and helpless mother to follow you in death as well, so your Ning family can reunite again in the underworld?"
Saying so, she shoved Ning Wanshuang violently to the ground, yelling loudly,
"You have no father left already. Are you going to make your beloved Jin Yue lose her mother as well? You know very well yourself how many concubines you have offended over the years in the harem! If you die, it would be a miracle if your child is not skinned and eaten alive there without you!"
"Chenghui....Jin Yue..."
At the mention of her child, Ning Wanshuang finally could not hold back anymore.
The tears welling in her eyes burst forth uncontrollably. Every breath was like scalding magma flooding her body, churning her heart and lungs.
She clutched tightly at her torn garments over her chest, sobbing ceaselessly,
"Why...why do this to me! Why..."
Song Zhao bent down and handed her a handkerchief.
"What use is there in asking why about things that have already happened."
But to Song Zhao's surprise, Ning Wanshuang suddenly hugged her tightly instead, crying even more sorrowfully.
Song Zhao was at a momentary loss over this.
The current Ning Wanshuang resembled a child who had lost a beloved toy, all distraught and crying loudly in panic.
She held Ning Wanshuang in her arms, gently patting her back as if to comfort a child,
"Once a person is dead, everything is gone. No matter how difficult things are, you still have to endure and live to see hope."
Her words of comfort received no response.
She could only feel Ning Wanshuang trembling uncontrollably against her.
So even an arrogant and pampered person would become so vulnerable once they lose the capital and support they relied on.
After some time, when Ning Wanshuang seemed to have cried all her tears and come back to her senses, she let go of Song Zhao somewhat awkwardly. Turning her face away, she wiped her tear tracks as she asked coldly,
"Why save me? Without me, your future would be much smoother."
Song Zhao said gently, "Because Sister Wan once saved my Chenghui too. Chenghui is your son. As sister said, if he had died that day, sister's path would also have been smoother.
But sister saved him then regardless of self. So today, it isn't me saving sister, but sister saving herself."
Hearing this, Ning Wanshuang looked surprised for a moment.
"You...called me what?"
"Sister Wan."
Song Zhao held her icy cold hand tightly.
"However time may pass, you remain as elegant and graceful as before. Wanshuang is such a beautiful name."
