Chapter 330 Finale
Emperor Jingren's footsteps suddenly stopped, and the officials accompanying him instantly widened their eyes and let out a gasp of disbelief!
Before me lay a vast, warm space. Light streamed softly through the specially crafted, relatively translucent Korean paper ceiling. Neatly arranged rows of wooden cultivation troughs held moist, dark soil.
And right on this piece of land, in the cold winter that no one would think could exist, there is a miracle full of vitality and greenery!
The juicy green cucumber vines are climbing all over the supports, and the tender cucumbers with flowers and thorns are hanging among the green leaves; the red tomatoes are densely packed on the branches like small lanterns, so full that they seem to be bursting; in the green vegetable beds, the lettuce stretches out its crisp and tender leaves, the spinach is shiny green, and there are even a few beds of lush green leeks!
Even more shocking was the sight of several plump, yellowed melons dangling from carefully tended vines in the corners! And in the very center, beneath a few small glass canopies, several sturdy plants bore bunches of plump, green-tinged, red grapes!
The warm, moist air is filled with the sweet, alluring aroma of melons and fruits. Greenery, red fruit, yellow flesh... This is the most unlikely, most brilliant, and most stunning picture of life in the dead silence of winter! It is the proudest challenge of agricultural wisdom to the laws of nature!
"This...this..." An old minister who was accompanying them pointed at the tomatoes hanging from the branches, his fingers trembling as he spoke incoherently with excitement. "Fragrant fruits in the dead of winter? This...is this a miracle?"
Emperor Jingren's pupils contracted violently, and the usual cold and majestic look on his face was completely destroyed by the vibrant vitality that came towards him and subverted his cognition.
He subconsciously took a few steps forward, his eyes sweeping almost greedily over this incredible green ocean and the juicy fruits and vegetables.
He reached out his hand, his fingertips lightly brushing against a smooth, cool cucumber leaf. The real touch made his fingertips tremble slightly. Finally, his gaze fixed on the golden melons in the corner, and his Adam's apple rolled uncontrollably.
"Your Majesty," Tu Subo's voice sounded at the right time, steady and clear, "This is an exiled people. In order to survive, they had to study the art of farming and occasionally made some gains. All of this is managed by the Gu family in the mansion of this criminal." He turned slightly and cast his eyes on Gu Yuexuan, who had been standing silently in the shadow of the entrance to the greenhouse.
All eyes were instantly focused on the woman in a plain cloth skirt who kept her head lowered.
Gu Yuexuan took a deep breath, calming her pounding heart. She slowly raised her head. She didn't look at the emperor, her gaze resting calmly on the vibrant crops. Then, facing Emperor Jingren, she knelt and performed the most standard peasant woman's salutation. Her voice was quiet, yet it echoed clearly in this warm, miraculous space: "I, the commoner Gu, pay my respects to Your Majesty."
Emperor Jingren's gaze fell upon her, as if it were a physical object, filled with unprecedented scrutiny, shock, and a subtle, deep fear of the person who had created this miracle. For a long time, so long that the only sounds in the greenhouse were the gurgling water and the suppressed breathing of the crowd.
"Gu..." The emperor finally spoke, his voice low and emotionless. "How... did you do it?"
Gu Yuexuan raised her head, meeting the oppressive gaze. She wasn't timid; her eyes were clear and forthright, carrying the simplicity of a cultivator and the resolve of a pioneer. "Your Majesty, the universe has its regularities, but also its irregularities. I simply follow the will of nature, exploit the advantages of the land, and use human effort to compensate for any deficiencies. Though the cold snap is harsh, the earth's energy is inexhaustible; though the sunlight is thin, it can still generate warmth. I control the temperature and humidity, regulate the water and soil, cultivate good seeds, and guide them according to their nature. It's not a miracle, it's simply dedication."
Her answer was concise and practical, without any mystique. She only pointed out the most core agricultural principles - insulation, light, water and fertilizer, good seeds, and meticulous management.
"Be careful..." Emperor Jingren repeated in a low voice, his eyes once again sweeping over this oasis of life blooming in the cold winter, and the ice in his eyes seemed to quietly crack.
He suddenly walked towards the row of bright red tomatoes. Ying Shuo, the eunuch attendant, cleverly picked a few of the ripest and fullest ones, placed them on a silver plate, and carefully cut one open with a silver knife. The bright red juice instantly flowed out, emitting a rich sweet and sour aroma.
Ying Shuo first tasted a small piece respectfully. After a moment, an expression of uncontrollable wonder appeared on his face. He then presented the chopped tomatoes to Emperor Jingren: "Your Majesty, please try this. This flavor... is truly the only one I've ever tasted in my life! Sweet, juicy, and delicious!"
Emperor Jingren picked up a small piece of the rosy, translucent flesh and placed it in his mouth. Instantly, a pure, rich, sweet and sour taste, like the midsummer sun, exploded in his cold mouth!
The juicy, succulent texture, the long-lost, vibrant vitality... it's completely different from tomatoes from any season in my memory! This is the most unlikely taste in the cold winter, yet it's the most real and intense!
He chewed slowly, his eyes once again looking at the emerald cucumbers, golden melons, and green vegetables... Finally, they fell back on Gu Yuexuan's calm and resolute face.
"What a thoughtful gesture!" Emperor Jingren swallowed the fruit pulp in his mouth, and his voice suddenly rose. With a finality that echoed throughout the greenhouse, he said, "Announce the decree!"
Ying Shuo immediately stepped forward and unfolded the bright yellow scroll that he had prepared long ago. His shrill voice was filled with supreme majesty:
"By the Providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: The investigation into the case of King Xuan has implicated many, and there may be injustice. Now, looking at the place of exile in Fangling, thanks to the diligence of the criminal Tu Subo and his wife, Gu, they have managed to transform the bitter cold into fertile soil, producing delicacies in the depths of winter. This is truly a great service to the state and the people! It shows that their heart is compassionate and their actions are commendable!
"I hereby pardon Tu Subo and all his men from their exile, and restore his title to Crown Prince Xuan! The fertile fields and warm gardens established in Fangling are to be named 'Tiangong Garden,' and will remain under the management of the Gu family. The produce will be exclusively supplied to the Imperial Court! Furthermore, I grant the Gu family the title of Doctor of Agriculture, a rank equivalent to the fifth rank, to focus on agricultural improvements for the benefit of the nation! This is my decree!"
"I, your humble servant, bow in gratitude for Your Majesty's grace! Long live Your Majesty!" Tu Subo and Gu Yuexuan bowed simultaneously, their foreheads touching the ground once again. The dust settled. The cold snow seemed to warm.
The emperor did not stay long. After leaving his decree and the officials in charge of the handover, he set off again with several baskets of freshly picked "miracle" fruits and vegetables still warm in the greenhouse, and immersed himself in the vast snow and wind.
In the manor, after a deathly silence, a thunderous cheer suddenly erupted! Servants, guards, and the hired workers who had toiled alongside Gu Yuexuan for ten days embraced and wept with excitement. The shackles of exile were finally broken!
Gu Yuexuan was still kneeling in the snow, the overwhelming impact leaving her somewhat dazed. A warm, powerful hand reached out to her. She raised her head and gazed into Tu Subo's deep, unfathomable eyes.
"Get up, my dear Doctor of Agriculture." He said in a hoarse voice with a smile as he pulled her up with force.
Gu Yuexuan, using his strength, stood up, her legs still a little weak. She looked at his face so close, at the love in his eyes that threatened to overwhelm her. Her heart trembled, and she subconsciously wanted to take a step back, to distance herself. "My Lord... I..."
"Young Master?" Tu Subo raised an eyebrow and suddenly took a step closer, his hand extended, not to her keys or account books as he often did. Instead, his warm, calloused fingertips gently brushed against a streak of black dust that had rubbed against her cheek. His gesture was filled with unprecedented intimacy and tenderness. "Still calling me Young Master?"
His voice was low and full of bewitching magnetism. His eyes were fixed on her, and every word he spoke struck her heart clearly. "Gu Yuexuan, have you forgotten? The divorce letter was torn to pieces and thrown into the mud a long time ago."
Gu Yuexuan's whole body stiffened, and those scenes that she had deliberately forgotten instantly flooded into her mind - the humiliation on the wedding day, the divorce letter that hit her face, the harsh sound of the eunuchs tearing it up during the house search... Her face turned slightly pale.
"Tear it up, and it's gone." Tu Subo's voice cut through her memories, with a resoluteness that brooked no argument. "From the moment you followed me on this three thousand li journey of exile, from the moment you were still thinking about how to grow the first seedling in that leaky shed, from the moment you created this 'little sun' in this world of ice and snow..."
He looked around at the miraculous greenhouse behind him, and when he looked at her again, his eyes were filled with deep affection and regret. "Gu Yuexuan, the stupidest thing I, Tu Subo, have ever done in my life was handing over that divorce letter on our wedding day. And the luckiest thing is that you tore it up and were still willing to come with me."
He held her hand again, this time, it was no longer to transfer power or keys, but to interlock their fingers, so tightly that there was no gap.
He leaned down, his forehead almost touching hers, his warm breath brushing her cheek. His voice was as light as a sigh, yet as heavy as a vow: "There is no substitute, never. The little girl who grabbed me tightly in the icy water when I fell into the water as a child, dragged me ashore with her tiny body, her own face blue with cold, and only remembered to give me a candy to comfort me. It's you, Gu Yuexuan! It has always been you! It's just that I was blinded by greed, and blinded by those so-called 'superiority and inferiority', that's why I lost you..."
He reached into his bosom with his other hand, fumbling for a moment before pulling out a small, well-preserved object wrapped in layers of oil-paper. He carefully peeled back the paper—and inside, a piece of faded, even melted and warped at the edges, still recognizable as some kind of cheap candy wrapper.
The small, fragile candy wrapper reflects a faint but extremely familiar colorful glow under the bleak winter sunlight!
Gu Yuexuan's breathing instantly stopped! Dust-covered memories burst out like a flood!
It turns out that the drowning boy she had thought of as someone she had saved out of injustice, a figure she had long forgotten, was actually him! Tu Subo!
"I've been searching for a long time... I only remember that piece of colorful candy wrapper..." Tu Subo's voice was choked with sobs. He held the small piece of candy wrapper carefully, as if it were a rare treasure, his gaze scorching as if it could melt her. "Until that night, when you were exhausted and fell asleep by the greenhouse, this old book that you always carried with you, recording your farm work, fell out of your arms."
He glanced at the account book she had just thrown on the deep side of the kang table. "I was picking it up for you and accidentally opened it. Inside was this piece of candy wrapper! And the few small words you wrote next to it when you were little: 'Save a life, the candy is sweet.'"
The huge shock and belated enlightenment hit Gu Yuexuan like an electric current!
"So, Gu Yuexuan," Tu Subo gently wiped away her tears with his fingertips. His voice was soft and firm as never before, carrying a sense of great cherishment, a feeling of having lost something and then found it again. "Stop thinking about exchanging marriages or body doubles. You were the light in the icy lake of my youth, the only warmth I have on my road of exile, and the only wife I, Tu Subo, will ever choose in this life! The only white moonlight."
He gently placed the candy wrapper into her trembling palm, then, in her astonished eyes, he leaned over and kissed her tear-stained lips tenderly and reverently.
This kiss was gentle and long, carrying the warmth of the winter sun, the relief of surviving a disaster, the ecstasy of regaining what was lost, and even more, a heavy promise.
After a long time, their lips parted. Gu Yuexuan's cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were sparkling, but there were no more tears, only a clear light.
She looked at the man in front of her with deep eyes and a gentle smile, felt the edges of the small piece of candy wrapper in her palm, and then looked at the miracle of life blooming in the greenhouse in the severe cold. An unprecedented power filled her limbs.
She held Tu Subo's hand tightly with her backhand, a smile blooming on her tear-stained face, like the brightest flower in the greenhouse in this cold winter, with the tenacity and ambition unique to farmers: "Okay! My Lord, I will accept the responsibility of being a doctor of agriculture at Tiangong Garden! But..."
She winked slyly, pointing out at the vast, snow-covered wasteland outside. Her eyes gleamed with the almost obsessive love for the land and the desire to conquer that characterizes a doctor of agronomy. "It's not enough to just take care of this greenhouse! After spring, I'll transform all of Fangling's fertile land into what Your Majesty calls the 'Heavenly Garden'! I'll transform this exiled land into the North's largest granary! Warehouses of gold and silver are no match for my granary! Do you dare to join me?"
Tu Subo looked at the familiar light in her eyes - it was the light that belonged to the pioneers, the true owners of the land, brighter than any star.
He laughed heartily, a laughter that swept away years of gloom. He shook her hand back, fingers clasped tightly together, his voice firm and firm, filled with endless doting and indulgence:
"Why not? My dear Doctor! I will accompany you to cultivate all the fertile land in this vast land! What are mountains of gold and silver? I, Tu Subo, will spend my life accompanying my wife to cultivate a peaceful and prosperous land with abundant granaries!"
He lowered his head and placed a solemn kiss on her smooth forehead, as if sealing an eternal contract.
The wind and snow were still swirling and howling on the land of Fangling, but in this warm oasis named "Tiangong Garden", in the eyes of the two people hugging each other, the bitter cold of winter had receded, and the spring breeze belonging to Gu Yuexuan was coming in a mighty and unstoppable manner.
The end of exile became the beginning of a legend. And that concubine's daughter, once forced into marriage exchange and reduced to despair, finally cultivated the most brilliant life with her own hands on the cold black earth, and reaped her unique, belated white moonlight!
[End of Book]
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