"I don't know." Su Heng shook his head. "I heard from the Beggars' Gang that he took the money we gave him, bought some clean clothes, and bought a boat ticket to the south. He said he was going to visit some distant relative and left the capital."
"Going south is fine." Su Jinli sighed softly, walked to the window, and watched the grandchildren chasing and playing in the courtyard. "The capital is ultimately a sad place for him. Maybe he can live a more stable life somewhere else."
"Sister!" Su Heng was unhappy and took a step forward. "Why are you still thinking about him? He almost pushed you into the fire pit back then! If you hadn't turned the table over, you would be..."
"I know." Su Jinli interrupted him, turning back to look at her brother, her eyes calm and gentle, "But look, isn't the way he's acting now the best response to what he did back then?"
She pointed out the window. In the sunshine, Xiaoyue was tugging at Jiang Yan's hand, clamoring for him to buy more sugar paintings. Jiang Yan smiled helplessly and let his granddaughter drag him away. Not far away, Nianli was accompanying Su Qingyao in identifying flower species in the garden. Su Qingyao pointed to a newly opened rose, her face beaming with joy.
"Look at us now," Su Jinli said softly, yet with a sense of relief that comes from having experienced so much. "Father enjoys his old age, my eldest sister is content, and you've achieved success. I have a husband who loves me, filial children, and grandchildren around me... We're all doing well."
She paused, her eyes falling on Su Heng: "As for those who have hurt us, their endings are just footnotes to our happy lives. Why should we let them occupy our thoughts anymore?"
Su Heng looked at his sister's calm face, the deep, unwavering pool in her eyes, and was suddenly speechless. Yes, his sister was right. They already had the best possible ending, so why dwell on the past that had long since been settled?
Jiang Yan walked over and gently put his arm around Su Jinli's waist from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head, looking in the same direction. The sunlight fell on them, overlapping their shadows, as if embedded in the spring scenery of the garden.
"It's all over." He whispered, his tone filled with the tenderness accumulated over the years.
"Yeah." Su Jinli nodded, holding his hand with her backhand, interlocking their fingers. "It's all over."
She turned back to the table and carefully placed her mother's letter back into the wooden box. She also placed the bamboo stick, which held the memory of her youth, inside. Finally, she closed the lid. The copper buckle clicked shut, as if locking those dusty memories away in the depths of time.
A few more pomegranate petals fell from the window, drifting through the open window frame and landing in Su Jinli's hair. She raised her hand to pluck a petal, put it to her nose and sniffed it, a relieved smile playing on her lips.
The past is like smoke, all gone.
What matters is never what fate has given you, but how you play the cards in your hand in new ways. She, Su Jinli, ultimately turned the bitter wine of her past life into the honey of this one, drinking the peaceful years together with those who love her and those she loves.
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