Seeing her mother struggling to sit up, Ning Wanshuang carefully helped her, propping her against the headboard of the bed. She then placed a thick cushion behind her lower back to make her as comfortable as possible.
After Lady Ning coughed a few times, she smiled and said, "In recent days, I often find myself thinking of your father and your brother. It's as if they're still here, but in a blurry way."
With effort, she raised her hand and pointed in the direction of the main hall. Ning Wanshuang followed her gaze and saw only a slightly worn-out mahogany dining table, which used to be where their family shared meals. The table, once filled with laughter and joy, now lay covered in a thin layer of dust.
"We used to have lively meals as a family. We would drink, make merry, and your father would boast about how he could single-handedly take on fifty enemy soldiers. Even though you were young back then, you already understood how to tease people," Lady Ning said, as she gently patted Ning Wanshuang's cheek. "You used to mimic him, patting your own cheek like this and teasing your father. It was adorable. Haha, it would have been wonderful if Xiu Qi were still here. He should have married and had children by now. But he would have neglected your sister-in-law for sure. After all, that child's mind was filled with thoughts of protecting the family and winning battles..."
Her withered hand moved inch by inch to rest on Ning Wanshuang's hand. She wanted to hold her daughter's hand tightly, but she no longer had the strength.
Ning Wanshuang understood and quickly grasped Lady Ning's hand, holding it tightly.
She was not a woman who cried easily, but in front of her mother, she had long since become a tearful person.
"Mother, I'm unfilial. It's because of me that Father and Brother..." Ning Wanshuang's voice choked with tears.
"Silly child, it's not your fault," Lady Ning said with a gentle smile. "If you hadn't married the Emperor, your father and brother might not even have this posthumous honor. But my child, I want to ask you, the person you were so infatuated with back then, the one you couldn't bear not to marry, have you found the life you wanted after ten years by his side?"
Ning Wanshuang shook her head tearfully, unable to meet her mother's clouded eyes.
"Mother, I know I was wrong..."
Lady Ning shook her head gently. "Wan'er, you must understand that in life, there is no right or wrong. It's like shooting an arrow; once it's released, you can't turn it back. Even if you've chosen the wrong path, you have to walk it with determination."
She leaned back, her voice gradually weakening.
"I will soon go and find your father. I hope everything will be well for you, my child. Let go of your resentment. Over these years, the Emperor has not been without genuine affection for you. Otherwise, after the fall of the Ning Family, you wouldn't still be adorned with such honor and become the esteemed Imperial Noble Consort."
Lady Ning whispered softly, forcing Ning Wanshuang to meet her gaze, and then spoke with unwavering resolve:
"Wan'er, your mother has let go, do you still want to hold on? Your mother knows your temperament. You and your mother were originally the same, seemingly free-spirited but actually deeply emotional. Since the Emperor is the person you liked when you were young, then try to forgive him, try to accept him again, and get along well with him. For yourself, and for Jin Yue as well, do you understand?"
Ning Wanshuang clearly understood the meaning behind her mother's words.
Her mother hadn't really forgiven Xiao Jingheng, the man who killed her husband. She was just worried about her ignorant daughter, which was why she said she forgave that man on her deathbed.
Even if she didn't forgive him, what could she do?
Xiao Jingheng was the Emperor, and he was Ning Wanshuang's husband. Once she entered the palace, there was no turning back.
The dead could not be brought back to life. Did she want her daughter to resent Xiao Jingheng for the rest of her life and end up with a miserable fate?
Lady Ning knew that only when Ning Wanshuang completely dissipated her hatred for Xiao Jingheng from the bottom of her heart would her future path become smoother.
In that case, as a mother, she could also rest in peace in the underworld.
During countless nights after her father and brothers' deaths, Ning Wanshuang had shed her pretenses and faced her own heart.
She had to admit that she had lost her integrity. Until now, she still loved Xiao Jingheng.
But this love was mixed with hatred and had long since turned sour.
Love can become plain through repeated duration, while hatred can continuously gain momentum from persistent actions.
She could no longer sincerely treat Xiao Jingheng as an equal, but in order to put her mother's mind at ease, she still said:
"Mother, rest assured. Your daughter knows how to walk her path from now on. You have worried and cared for your daughter all your life, and it's my filial duty to make you suffer in this life. If there is a next life, I hope you won't abandon me and let me be a daughter of the Ning family again, so that I can serve you and father well."
Lady Ning nodded gently, then struggled to raise her hand and wiped away the tears that had broken free from Ning Wanshuang's eyes.
"Silly girl, you will always be my daughter, the best daughter."
On the ninth day of the second month of the tenth year of the Qiyuan era, Lady Ning passed away at the family mansion in the capital city at the age of forty-six.
The Imperial Noble Consort, Ning Wanshuang, observed a seven-day mourning period and returned to the palace on the sixteenth day of the second month.
It was Jin Yue's birthday, but it was also the death anniversary of Ning Wanshuang's two previous sons.
[Let's review: The first child died from a miscarriage, and there was no child born on the 16th of February. The second child, a pair of twins, was born on the 16th of February, but the male child died shortly after birth, and Jin Yue, the female child, was also born on the 16th of February.]
On her way back to the palace, passing by the Jinxiu Building in the capital city, Ning Wanshuang saw a crimson peony short shirt displayed near the entrance.
She remembered that Jin Yue, just like herself, loved this colorful and vibrant color the most.
So Ning Wanshuang bought that garment as a birthday gift for her child.
While returning to the palace, as she passed by the Imperial Garden, Ning Wanshuang noticed a crowd of palace attendants gathered near the rockery, creating a lively scene.
Curious about what was happening, suddenly, a young eunuch appeared out of nowhere and almost bumped into Ning Wanshuang.
Liu Yue stood protectively in front of Ning Wanshuang, reprimanding the young eunuch in a stern voice.
"Why are you rushing around like that? Be careful not to collide with the esteemed Empress!"
The eunuch looked up and saw Ning Wanshuang, his face turning pale with fear.
Then, with a thud, he knelt down on the ground, his voice filled with tears as his lips trembled.
"Esteemed Empress... Princess Jin, she... she fell from the artificial mountain!"
