Chapter Fifty-Four: A Dream That Has Gone Far Away
The lady leaned against the sickbed; her once black hair had all turned white, but her expression was very calm.
The floor-to-ceiling windows on one side let in plenty of sunlight, and the flowers and plants placed indoors quietly stretched their branches and leaves.
"Yun'er, you've come." When the lady saw him, she smiled faintly, just like every time they met before, she called out to him gently.
"Madam." Yun Yao could no longer control his emotions. He ran over and knelt down by the head of the madam's bed.
Outside the ward, the third young lady lowered her eyes, silently retreated, and closed the door.
“Yun’er…” The lady looked at Yun Yao’s tearful, sorrowful eyes and couldn’t help but stroke his cheek with pity. “I heard from the Third Miss that you have been ill recently.”
Yun Yao lowered his head, took his wife's hand, and silently shook his head.
Seeing this, the lady sighed, "They promised me they would take good care of you." She cupped Yun Yao's tear-streaked face and asked softly, "What's wrong, Yun'er? Have they mistreated you? Or... has someone bullied you?"
Yun Yao could feel that the lady was staring intently at him, but he did not answer her question. Instead, he suddenly leaned over the headboard of her bed and began to cry silently.
As his wife sighed softly and gently stroked his hair, Yun Yao choked out, "Madam, I want to go home... I want to go back to Nanhang..."
The lady was silent for a moment, her eyes seeming to recall something. She looked at Yun Yao, who was haggard and had red eyes, and finally sighed, "Very well, this is what I promised you."
She gently stroked Yun Yao's soft but messy black hair and whispered to him, "Yun'er, you are still so young. As you grow older, you will find that everything will pass."
The lady glanced at the bright sunshine outside the window, hesitated for a moment, and then continued, "However, Yun'er, you can't go back to Nanhang yet. I heard you have an uncle abroad, is that right?"
Yun Yao glanced at the lady in surprise, then, as if remembering something, cautiously replied, "Yes, Madam, my uncle is my only family now."
The lady smiled, took Yunyao's hand and said, "Yun'er, go stay with your uncle abroad for a while. Your illness requires your family's care. I promise you, once you recover, everything will be alright... Then you can return to Nanhang."
Hearing the lady's words, Yun Yao finally felt a huge weight lifted from her heart. A glimmer of hope had finally shone into the dark abyss.
The thought of finally seeing his uncle and returning to his family brought Yun Yao a sense of relief, a feeling that his world was no longer just despair. His will to live rekindled; he wanted to heal himself. Xing Yu was right; he shouldn't punish himself for someone else's mistakes. He wanted to live a good life.
The time for farewell arrived. Yun Yao and his wife gazed at each other, a thousand words unspoken in that single glance. His wife kissed the corner of Yun Yao's lips, her eyes filled with reluctance and something profound. She whispered in his ear, "Yun'er, if I were younger... I might have been able to give you a proper..." The unfinished words drifted away in her regretful sigh.
Finally, just before Yun Yao was about to open the door, the lady suddenly asked softly, "Yun Yao, do you hate me?"
Yun Yao didn't turn around. He held back his tears and whispered, "Madam, I don't hate you. Perhaps it's all fate."
Whether our meeting was fate or calamity, grace or misfortune, the rights and wrongs, who owed whom, no longer mattered. He had to move on.
Goodbye, Madam. Yun Yao thought silently. At that moment, sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating his profile, like a dream about to fade away.
...
Under the madam's arrangement, the third young lady quickly prepared everything Yun Yao needed for her trip abroad. In the private waiting room, the third young lady took out the compensation that the madam had prepared for Yun Yao and said, "Yun Yao, this is what the madam prepared for you a long time ago, and it is what you deserve. Sign it."
Looking at those sums of money that he could never spend in several lifetimes, Yun Yao understood that this was both a private gift from his wife and hush money for him. He sighed and said to the Third Miss, "Third Miss, I can sign it, but I hope to cancel all previous asset gifts related to Muxi Garden and your clan. For example, the trust that my wife gave me back then, I want to cancel it."
The third young lady exclaimed in surprise, "Yun Yao, have you thought this through? That's..."
Yun Yao nodded firmly; he really didn't want to have anything to do with them anymore.
"Alright..." The third young lady sighed and reluctantly agreed.
Just before boarding the plane, the third young lady said to Yun Yao one last time, "Yun Yao, I apologize to you on behalf of my eldest and second brothers. I know you have the right not to forgive them. But whether you believe it or not, I... I sincerely hope that you can live a good life and live the life you want in the future."
Yun Yao smiled, looked at the Third Miss, and said softly, "I understand. Thank you, Third Miss. No matter what, you saved me this time. I also hope that you will get what you want in the future."
Just then, the airport boarding announcement sounded. Yun Yao waved goodbye to the Third Miss and walked towards his future. The Third Miss, somewhat dazed in the morning light, watched Yun Yao's receding figure, silently thinking to herself, "Has everything I've had been my wish for? What a pity." Her wish would never be fulfilled.
The only person she had ever truly loved and wanted in her life was now leaving, and she feared she would never see them again in this lifetime...
Mingxiao watched the plane fly further and further away until it disappeared from sight. She lowered her eyes, smiled bitterly, and when she looked up again, she had transformed back into the aloof and self-possessed third young lady of Muxiyuan.
In the days that followed, the Osmanthus Garden was in a state of chaos due to Yun Yao's disappearance. When the Third Miss stepped into the garden again, her eldest and second eldest brothers were waiting for her.
"Third brother, you still dare to come see us." Second young master Xu Zhi sneered, staring intently at her. "You and your sister-in-law are really good at scheming."
The eldest young master's eyes darkened like a storm brewing. He stared at the third young lady and said in a deep voice, "Mingxiao, where did you hide him?"
Despite the intense stares of the two men, the third young lady remained remarkably calm. She said unhurriedly, "Eldest brother, second brother, this is Madam's will."
Their pupils contracted sharply, and Xu Zhi hurriedly asked, "How did Madam know?"
"Eldest brother, second brother, think about this calmly. Do you think you can keep this a secret forever?" The third young lady said coldly, "Have you all forgotten what Madam taught us back then? Don't let your personal desires affect the entire family."
She stared intently at the two of them. "I remember, didn't you two elder brothers despise those family disgraces who were blinded by lust and did all sorts of absurd things? How come you're so blinded by your own situation?"
The young master's eyes flickered slightly. He closed his eyes briefly, but still said in a hoarse voice, "I can handle it."
"Big brother, don't be so stubborn!" The third young lady finally couldn't help but scold, "Your so-called 'handling it well' means keeping that person locked up indefinitely? You've already driven him crazy, do you want to drive him to his death?"
The eldest young master's eyes trembled; he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word. Meanwhile, the second young master, Xu Zhi, seemed to understand something, "Third brother, so you also..."
The third young lady stopped looking at them and turned to look elsewhere, saying calmly, "Eldest brother, second brother, I came here with the Madam's orders. She wants all four of us to come see her."
After saying that, the Third Miss ignored their reactions and turned to leave. The Eldest Young Master stood there, seemingly lost in thought, while the Second Young Master, Xu Zhi, followed after him.
"Third brother, wait!" Xu Zhi called out to the third young lady. He seemed hesitant, but still couldn't help asking earnestly, "Yun Yao, is Yun Yao alright? Madam wouldn't make him disappear for the sake of the eldest brother, would she...?"
The third young lady glanced at him and shook her head. "We may have many reasons not to, but Madam is different. Her feelings for Yun Yao are definitely more genuine than yours. Women are often more soft-hearted..."
Xu Zhi smiled bitterly upon hearing this. "I know you're blaming me and my brother for being scoundrels. But, my brother..." He sighed and said, "Mingxiao, you know, someone who wields such power couldn't even keep the one he loved..."
“This is not love,” the third young lady, Ming Xiao, interrupted the second young master, Xu Zhi, as she looked into the distance. “If you still have any feelings for him, just let him go… From now on, it’s best for each of you to go your separate ways.”
...
Inside the VIP ward, the four young masters and ladies stood around the madam's sickbed, not daring to utter a sound. Even the eldest young master, who was already the head of the family, obediently lowered his eyes.
The lady glanced casually at the four young people and said meaningfully, "I left a bowl lotus in the Osmanthus Garden. Has any of you touched it?"
After the words were spoken, none of the four spoke. The youngest of the four, the fourth young master, secretly glanced at his three older brothers and sisters, then at his wife, sighed inwardly, and decided not to say anything or be the first to speak out.
Seeing that none of the four of them spoke, the lady chuckled in exasperation. A heavy, oppressive atmosphere hung in the air over everyone.
After an unknown amount of time, the lady finally sighed and said wearily, "Alright, I'm tired. You may all leave now." As everyone was about to leave, the lady added softly, "Chi'er, please stay here."
The third young lady went out first, followed by the second and fourth young masters. The third young lady didn't know what the madam would say to the eldest brother of the heir, but she knew that everything related to that person was about to end.
Just then, she noticed the fourth young master peeking at her, and she asked, somewhat amused, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
The fourth young master quickly waved his hand, scratched his head and said, "No, no, third sister, I was just wondering why you didn't answer the question Madam asked earlier?"
The third young lady was silent for a while, but then asked him in return, "What about you? You haven't been in Muxi Garden for a long time, why don't you say that you don't know anything?"
The fourth young master chuckled and said, "I know what you mean, third sister. Actually, I heard some rumors, and I was quite angry at the time. That was Madam's person, how could my eldest brother do that? But my eldest brother was too tyrannical back then, and I was both angry and helpless, so I just wanted to avoid seeing it and didn't go to Muxi Garden. But now, if I jump out and say that I am the most innocent, can we still be considered brothers? I think we are family, so we should share the hardships together. Don't you think so too, third sister?"
Hearing this, the third young lady, Mingxiao, sighed. Deep down, she didn't know what the right thing to do was either. Seeing the fourth son like this, she couldn't help but think about the future of the family. Who could say what the future held?
Outside the window, a snowflake drifted down in the strong wind; winter was approaching in the north…
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