Chapter 488 Illusion
After seeing Zhao Huajing off, Yuan Hongqu sat alone in the warm pavilion as dusk deepened.
She slowly took out an extremely old but well-preserved brocade pouch from her bosom. Inside was not gold or silver, but a small piece of dried, dark-colored green bamboo.
That was the first bamboo shaving Lin Yuanhang shaved off when he made a bamboo flute for her, and she kept it as if by some strange impulse.
After many twists and turns, I never expected that it would still remain by her side.
She gently stroked the rough bamboo strip with her fingertips, gazing at the last rays of sunset outside the window, which, like burning flames, reflected in her calm and undisturbed eyes.
Is this prosperous era as you wished, ready for your voyage?
She asked silently in her heart.
No one answered.
Only the evening breeze gently rustled the autumn leaves in the garden, making a soft, rustling sound, like a long, contented sigh.
......
Winter in Jing'an Garden always carries a tranquility that seems to be favored by time.
Outside the window, the snow fell silently, while inside, the fireplace steamed warmly. Yuan Hongqu, wrapped in a thick blanket, leaned against the couch by the window, holding a book in her hands, but not reading it closely.
As she grew older, she let go of many of her obsessions, and even her reading became more casual, mostly just enjoying the rare tranquility in this noisy world.
Daiyu, now the matriarch of the Tenth Prince's Mansion, though her hair is now streaked with white, still maintains the efficient habits she developed during her time as governor.
She was sitting to the side, peeling newly offered tangerines for Yuan Hongqu with her own hands, her movements delicate and gentle.
Time has smoothed away her youthful sharp edges and sensitivity, leaving behind a clear and composed wisdom.
She would occasionally look up and whisper to her nanny about the recent interesting events at the academy, or the mischief of her grandchildren, her eyes and brows exuding a gentle warmth that had been washed away from her worldly concerns.
“Granny, a few days ago when I was going through some old things, I actually found the original manuscript of the ‘Discourse on Salt Administration’ that you annotated for me back then,”
Daiyu handed a translucent segment of orange flesh to Yuan Hongqu, her tone filled with nostalgia.
"At that time, I only thought your insights were profound. Now, looking back, I realize how many open and hidden attacks you shielded me from back then, and how far you paved the way for me."
Yuan Hongqu took the orange, smiled slightly, and the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out, like ripples on the surface of water:
"It's because you're ambitious, willing to learn, willing to work, and willing to take responsibility. I was just... handing you a ladder."
As they were talking, Daiyu suddenly frowned slightly and gently pressed her temples.
"Yu'er? Are you feeling unwell?"
Yuan Hongqu immediately noticed and put down her book to ask with concern.
Daiyu shook her head, her expression somewhat dazed:
"It's nothing, it's just that I suddenly felt a little dizzy just now, and I seemed to see some... strange shadows in front of my eyes."
She didn't pay much attention to it, thinking it was just due to her age and occasional poor blood circulation.
However, when she looked up again and gazed at the snow-covered plum tree outside the window, the scene before her suddenly became distorted and blurred!
The warm pavilion in Jing'an Garden rippled and vanished like a reflection in the water, replaced by a completely different, desolate yet familiar scene—that was Xiaoxiang Pavilion.
No longer the meticulously maintained, spring-like courtyard in the Tenth Prince's Mansion, but the Xiaoxiang Pavilion in the Grand View Garden of the Jia family, a place filled with bamboo shadows, lingering medicinal fragrance, and melancholy, which she had seen in the book in the nanny's study!
What shocked her even more was that she seemed to have become an invisible bystander, seeing...another version of herself.
The "Daiyu" was even thinner and weaker than she remembered, her face pale to the point of being almost transparent. She was hunched over the table, coughing violently, and a plain white handkerchief was stained with a glaring scarlet.
Her brows were furrowed with unyielding sorrow and despair; her eyes stared blankly out the window, and she murmured something to herself.
“…Baoyu…hello…”
And around that "Daiyu" were some blurry yet familiar figures.
There was Zijuan sighing and complaining, and Xiren with a worried expression, yet seemingly harboring some kind of secret calculation.
She even seemed to see a figure, vaguely... Sister Feng?
But the shrewdness and cunning in that "Sister Feng's" eyes and brows were completely different from the familiar Wang Xifeng, who now lived a vegetarian life and did good deeds. She exuded an uncomfortable coldness.
Then, the scene shifts.
She saw that "herself" lying on her deathbed, while in the distance, the faint sound of gongs and drums could be heard—was that… the commotion of Baoyu's wedding? Burning the manuscripts… severing her infatuation… her fragrant soul scattered with the wind…
Immense grief, resentment, and anger...
All sorts of negative emotions belonging to that "Daiyu" swept over her soul, the bystander, like a surging tide!
It was a suffocating despair, a pain of being crushed in the darkness with no light in sight.
No! That's not how it works!
The real-life Daiyu cried out in her heart.
She had never experienced any of this before!
She had a nanny to guide her, a prince to watch over her with unwavering devotion, and a vast world to realize her ambitions. Although her life had its ups and downs, she had never been in such a helpless and desolate situation before!
Just as the "Daiyu" in that illusion was about to breathe her last, and the room was filled with mournful cries, even the real Daiyu, as an observer, felt a chill run down her spine—
"Enough!"
A clear, authoritative shout, carrying an undeniable power, seemed to pierce through layers of void, suddenly exploding in the desolate illusion of Xiaoxiang Pavilion!
Suddenly, a figure appeared out of thin air, standing between the dying "Daiyu" and the blurry figures.
The newcomer was also dressed simply, but not in a sickly dress; instead, she wore a neat and dignified everyday outfit, with a dark-colored cloak trimmed with silver fox fur over it.
She stood tall and straight, her face bearing a striking resemblance to the woman on the sickbed, yet she showed no signs of illness. Between her brows lay the dignified bearing of someone long accustomed to a high position and the serene strength that had been tempered by the passage of time.
Her gaze, sharp as an ice blade, swept over the blurry figures present, carrying a condescending scrutiny and...undisguised coldness.
It was none other than the real-life Governor Lin, Daiyu herself!
Or rather, it is a projection of her powerful will and complete soul in this bizarre situation!
"Who dares to lurk here, spooking demons and monsters, trying to pry into my mind?!" The real Daiyu's voice was not loud, but it carried the sound of metal and stone, making the entire Xiaoxiang Pavilion illusion resonate.
The "Daiyu" on the sickbed seemed to sense something as well. She opened her eyes in a daze and saw Governor Lin Daiyu, who looked exactly like her but had a completely different aura. A look of extreme astonishment and... an indescribable longing flashed in her eyes.
Governor Lin didn't look at the phantom "herself" much. Her gaze was like lightning, shooting straight at the direction of the faint festive gongs and drums outside the window, and then coldly sweeping over the blurry figures inside the room that represented the driving force of the old tragedy.
"A mere obsession, a broken dream, dares to presume to taint my soul?" Governor Lin Daiyu's lips curled into a mocking smile, a sharp edge she only displayed in the imperial court, when facing political enemies.
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