Eventually, Jiang Huan struggled enough that a small gap was created between the knot and the banister of the bed. She painfully dragged her hand through, contorting it as much as possible.
Her chest was heaving as she reached over with her right hand to untie the binding on her left hand. She took deep breathes in and out to calm herself down as she rubbed her bruised wrists. One by one she undid the bindings on her legs and stood up. She found her legs were shaking slightly.
Jang Huan grabbed a robe from the side and tied it tightly around her as she tried to hold herself together. In her mind, she made up excuses to placate herself and push down the terrible knot in her throat. 'Maybe something happened. Maybe he collapsed in the kitchen?'
Jiang Huan hopelessly called out again: "Tingzhe?" She tentatively went to the kitchen and found it completely empty.