Final Chapter
Five years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the maple leaves on Qinglang Mountain have once again turned into crimson waves. Yin Li stood on the sea-viewing platform of the Yin family saltworks, her skirt fluttering lightly in the autumn wind, like a butterfly about to take flight.
The salt workers below the stage held the newly cultivated salt seeds, the warmth in their palms seemingly carried up through the wind—these salt seeds were the result of her and He Mo's three years of searching and improvement throughout the salt-producing regions of Jiangnan. Now, each grain was as white as snowflakes, no longer the coarse salt mixed with mud and sand of the past.
Beside her, He Mo handed her a cloak embroidered with silver crabapple blossoms, his fingertips brushing against her neck with warmth: "Autumn is deep and the wind is fierce, be careful of the cold."
Yin Li turned her head and saw that his temples were tinged with a few strands of light frost, but he still had the same gentle look he had on the shore of Qinglang Mountain back then.
She recalled this time last year, on a similar autumn day, when she knelt in the imperial court with a stack of documents in her hands, resounding with each word about the evils of the "Salt God Sacrifice"—that century-old rule, under the guise of "protecting the salt transport," required the selection of three thirteen-year-old orphaned girls each year to be thrown into the salt wells, but in reality, it was a pretext used by successive salt officials to cover up their corruption and curry favor with the powerful.
At that time, the clan elders advised her not to violate the ancestral rules, and the court officials ridiculed her for being "womanly indignation." Only He Mo stood by her side and handed her the evidence he had secretly found: account books of previous salt officials embezzling salt profits and persecuting orphans under the guise of sacrifices. Every single one of these cases was irrefutable.
In the end, the Emperor decreed the abolition of the old rules and bestowed upon her a plaque inscribed with "Benevolent Protection of All People." Now, that plaque hangs in the main hall of the Yin family mansion, side by side with her mother's dowry box, becoming the most precious item in the Yin family. "Mother! Father!" A crisp child's voice broke through her thoughts. Yin Li looked down and saw three-year-old Nian Tang, dressed in a pink silk dress, leading a little boy in a blue cloth shirt as he ran over.
The boy was Jin Yan, the son of Jin Jing, who was half a year older than Nian Tang. The two had slept and played together since childhood, and each of them wore a freshly picked camellia in their hair, the pink and white flowers complementing each other like two spring buds growing side by side.
Nian Tang held up a red maple leaf and rushed to her knees. The veins of the maple leaf were like the rosy clouds. "Mother, look! The maple that Brother Yan picked looks like the butterfly kite of Qinglang Mountain." Yin Li squatted down and gently touched her daughter's nose with her fingertips. A smile spread into her eyes. "It's even more beautiful than a kite. My Nian Tang has such good taste."
Jin Yan looked up, clutching a wild chestnut in her hand: "Master's wife, I'm going to take Nian Tang to pick wild chestnuts tomorrow, just like Master took you back then."
He Mo chuckled upon hearing this and reached out to rub Jin Yan's head: "Alright, in a few days, we'll go back to Qinglang Mountain together to fly that butterfly kite." Jin Jing also walked over slowly at this moment. She was now the manager of the "Jinxiu Pavilion" in the capital. She wore a moon-white dress embroidered with orchids, and her temperament was like jade that had been soaked in a clear spring.
She held a brocade box in her hand and handed it to Yinli: "Ali, these are bellybands made by the girls in the embroidery workshop for Niantang. They are all orphans you saved back then, and now they can all embroider the best patterns. They always say they want to thank you."
Yinli opened the brocade box and saw that the bodice was embroidered with the pattern "Begonia Shade Protecting the Buds". Pink begonias surrounded the tender buds, and the stitches were so fine that they could reflect light. She remembered when those girls first came to the embroidery workshop, their eyes were full of timidity, but now they could smile and embroider such vivid patterns. Her heart felt as if it had been warmed by warm wine, and she trembled with warmth.
“Back then, I only hoped to protect myself, but now I realize that I feel more at ease when I protect others,” Yin Li said softly, her fingertips tightly intertwined with He Mo’s hand.
The warmth of his palm seeped through her sleeve, becoming the most reassuring comfort she had experienced in her life.
The warm autumn sun shone down, turning the salt fields golden and red. Nian Tang and Jin Yan ran hand in hand towards the distant maple forest, their laughter like scattered silver pieces falling on the wind.
Yin Li leaned on He Mo's shoulder, gazing at the fiery red maple leaves covering the mountains, then at the busy yet peaceful salt workers in the salt fields and the children studying in the school. Suddenly, she remembered her mother's last words, which were spoken while holding her hand: "A Li, a woman's heart is not fragile porcelain, but a field that can withstand wind and rain and bloom flowers."
Now she finally understands.
In this field, there is not only her affection for He Mo, and Nian Tang's laughter, but also the future of countless girls who are being protected.
The winds of Qinglang Mountain will come again every year, the crabapple blossoms of the Yin family will bloom again every year, and those who have been warmed will carry this warmth with them, growing into people who protect others, so that this kindness, like the maple leaves of Qinglang Mountain, will be passed down from generation to generation, never to be extinguished. As dusk deepened, He Mo held her hand, while Nian Tang and Jin Yan walked hand in hand in the middle. The shadows of the four of them were stretched long by the setting sun, falling on the road covered with red maple leaves.
In the distance came the songs of salt workers returning home; the tune was an old melody from Qinglang Mountain, but it sang of new hope.
Yin Li smiled and looked up, seeing He Mo gazing at her with eyes as gentle as a sky full of stars. She knew that this was the most perfect ending to her life—a lover by her side, a daughter around her knees, unwavering original intentions, and peaceful joy in the years.
If I disappeared, would you keep looking for me?
"you guess"
"Then I'll stand closer to you, so you can see me when you turn around."
"good."
We will never fail each other, year after year.
—The End—
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