Chapter 489 My Time Is Approaching
"Throughout my life, I have lived up to the expectations of the emperor and the people, and I have been true to my beloved family and friends. I have always been upright and have a clear conscience! I have no weakness in my heart, no self-pity, and no willingness to surrender!"
She took a step forward, and the entire illusion shook violently.
The blurry figures let out terrified screams and began to distort and fade.
"My path is one I forged myself! My life is one I fought for!" Governor Lin's voice rose higher and higher, carrying a resolute determination that seemed to cleave through the chaos.
"How could you, mere reflections in a mirror or rootless duckweed, possibly fathom or sway me?!"
She flicked her sleeve sharply, her movements swift and decisive, carrying the same resolve and power a governor would show when issuing an order!
"break!"
At the command, it was like a thunderclap in spring, or like glass shattering!
The scene before me at Xiaoxiang Pavilion, the sickly "Daiyu," the blurry figures, the desolate atmosphere... was like a mirror struck by a heavy hammer, instantly covered with countless cracks, and then with a "bang," it shattered completely, turning into countless weightless specks of light that quickly vanished into nothingness.
All the gloom, sorrow, and despair receded like the tide.
In reality, Daiyu suddenly came to her senses and found herself still sitting in the warm pavilion of Jing'an Garden, holding the half-eaten tangerine in her hand, with the quiet snow falling outside the window and the fire burning brightly in the stove.
Everything that just happened seemed like an incredibly realistic, yet unbelievably short-lived nightmare.
But the fine beads of cold sweat on her forehead and the still rapidly beating heart in her chest proved that the moment of intense emotion she had just experienced was real.
"Yu'er!" Yuan Hongqu had already sat up straight, tightly grasping her slightly cool hand, her eyes filled with worry and a hint of barely perceptible solemnity.
"Your breathing was suddenly disordered and your mind was unsettled just now, but... what did you see?"
Daiyu took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and slowly recounted the strange and bizarre experience she had just had.
She described that miserable "self," the suffocating atmosphere, and emphasized... her instinctive, forceful intervention in and breaking of that illusion.
Yuan Hongqu listened quietly, her grip on Daiyu's hand tightening slightly.
Her gaze was profound, as if it pierced through time and space, seeing something deeper.
After Daiyu finished speaking, she remained silent for a long time before softly sighing:
“Foolish child…that might be…another possible ‘you,’ a remnant of obsession, a faint reflection of the tributary in the river of fate that was never chosen.”
She looked at Daiyu's still somewhat pale face, and her tone turned firm and gratified:
"But you did the right thing! That kind of ending wasn't meant for you! You broke free from it with your own strength! This shows that you've already transcended the constraints that bound you, and your will is unbreakable!"
As Daiyu felt the warmth and strength emanating from the nanny's hands, the lingering fear in her heart gradually dissipated, replaced by a sense of clarity and greater certainty.
“Yes,” she nodded, her gaze regaining its calm and strength.
That's not me. My path is under my feet, beside me, and before my eyes.
She gripped Yuan Hongqu's hand tightly in return, her tone tinged with lingering fear, but mostly with relief.
"Fortunately, I had my nanny. Fortunately, I chose another path."
Yuan Hongqu looked at her, her eyes filled with love and pride.
She knew that after this experience, Daiyu's mind would be more complete and flawless, with no more gloom to invade.
"It's all in the past." Yuan Hongqu gently patted the back of her hand, as if comforting a little girl who had just lost her parents.
"Illusions like flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water are ultimately illusions. Only the present moment is real."
Tranquility returned to the warm chamber; the fire crackled in the fireplace, and the snow fell silently.
The breathtaking scene just now seemed like a small pebble thrown into the center of a lake; after the ripples subsided, the lake became even deeper and calmer.
Daiyu picked up the segment of tangerine, put it in her mouth, and the sweet taste melted on her tongue, incredibly real.
She looked out the window; the snow seemed to have lessened, and the world was clear and pristine.
Her world, solid and warm, has never been as clear as it is now.
......
The years in Jing'an Garden were like the dripping of water from the eaves, neither hurried nor slow, yet never ceasing.
Yuan Hongqu could clearly feel that the life force was slowly flowing away from this body in a gentle but irreversible way.
She was not ill; it was simply that her time was about to come to a natural end.
Having lived through eighty-six years and weathered two lifetimes of trials, she had few regrets, only some lingering concerns about what would happen after her death.
The most important of these is the mysterious space that accompanied her through her journey, provided her with countless benefits, and witnessed the deepest bond between her and Daiyu.
She knew that this space was connected to her life, and that once her time came, the space would inevitably dissipate.
The many wonders, accumulated wealth, and precious materials contained within must not be lost forever.
Thus, in the last two years of her life, a silent and orderly "migration" plan quietly unfolded.
Citing her need for absolute quiet to organize her life's learning notes and her desire to avoid being disturbed, she made a request to Daiyu and the Tenth Prince's Mansion—to build a sturdy, dry, and secluded underground storeroom deep within Jing'an Garden, against a natural mountain wall.
To the outside world, it was only said to store some old objects and manuscripts, but in reality, the internal structure was extremely elaborate. She personally drew the blueprints and required that the walls be thick, with multiple layers of sandalwood shelves, jade boxes, sealed porcelain jars, and even a small special storage room with running water to simulate a specific environment.
Although Daiyu was surprised, she never questioned the nanny's request and immediately gave the order to use the most reliable craftsmen to complete the construction of the storeroom at the fastest speed and the highest standard.
When the heavy stone door, which required a special mechanism to open, fell, Yuan Hongqu knew that she could find a safe home for the legacy of the space.
In the days that followed, she kept to herself and claimed that she was old and lacked energy and needed to rest.
In reality, she devoted most of her conscious time to making the best use of and transferring the resources within the space.
First and foremost are those rare medicinal herbs.
The medicinal field in the space, nourished by the spiritual energy of the space and the special flow of time, grows many precious medicinal herbs that have long been extinct in the outside world or have an astonishing age.
There's the "Golden Thread Resurrection Grass" with veins like golden threads, capable of reviving lives; the "Glassy Detoxifying Flower" with seven-colored petals, capable of curing all poisons; and the ancient ginseng, which has condensed the essence of countless years and taken on a human form...
These are all things that can save lives and can be considered national treasures.
The original red lotus began to be harvested and processed in a planned manner.
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