Chapter 109: Grand Finale
Feng Gao did not want to leave at first.
But Qin Mingxu’s words, “Take Mother,” touched him.
From the moment he reunited with his mother, he felt an indescribable sense of belonging. With his mother present, his origins were clear; he was not a lonely ghost, nor a rootless, drifting duckweed.
He scooped Cai Qingyao into his arms and ran towards the horse carriage. As long as his mother was safe, he didn’t care what happened to him.
Qin Mingxu, while holding Zhang Jing hostage, kept a close eye on the black-clad guards.
Seeing Feng Gao flee, Zhang Jing grew anxious. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He signaled to the guards, who dispersed and surrounded Qin Mingxu.
Qin Mingxu looked around, knowing escape was hopeless. He tightened his grip on the dragon-patterned saber, intending to drag Zhang Jing down with him.
However, Zhang Jing noticed that Qin Mingxu was holding him with his left hand. A normal person would wield a saber with their right hand, so Qin Mingxu’s right hand might be injured. Zhang Jing suddenly exerted force to his right, breaking free, and shouted sharply, “Attack!”
Several guards lunged at Qin Mingxu.
In an instant, Qin Mingxu became fish meat on a chopping block.
Zhang Jing smiled, grabbed Qin Mingxu by the collar, and said, “I detest people who threaten me the most. To be a double-dealer, one needs skill. Boss Qin, you’re still far from it.”
He then instructed the guards, “Serve Boss Qin with the same torture methods Director Feng once devised. Let him enjoy it thoroughly, and only then, let him die.”
“Yes!”
The guards were always experts at inflicting torture.
Feng Gao had not yet gotten far when Cai Qingyao, in his arms, weakly opened her eyes.
She placed her palm on Feng Gao’s face. “My child, are you alright? Is this mother dreaming?”
Feng Gao shook his head. “No, Mother, it’s not a dream. Your son is fine.”
“You’re injured,” Cai Qingyao said, seeing the wound on his shoulder.
“It’s nothing. I’ve been in the Eastern Depot for over a decade; injuries like this are trivial.”
In the dense forest, screams erupted one after another. The guards’ torture grew more severe. Qin Mingxu endured with all his might, but the pain pierced his bones, and his body no longer obeyed his will.
Cai Qingyao recognized Qin Mingxu’s voice. In her daze, she seemed to understand something. Qin Mingxu had been raised by her since childhood. She fed him, clothed him, watched him take his first wobbly steps, learn his first character, and grow bit by bit. When Qin Mingxu grew up and went on his first long journey, he returned and searched the manor for his mother. Upon seeing her, he rushed into her embrace. Qin Mingxu remembered her preferences and would spend months searching everywhere for a genuine painting by Wu Daozi just to make her happy. The bond between mother and son was unbreakable.
“Xu’er is in trouble, isn’t he?” Cai Qingyao asked, her expression panicked.
Feng Gao thought for a moment, then hugged his mother and ran back.
His mother hearing her adopted son being tortured would surely feel like she was being cut into a thousand pieces.
The child in Elder Sister’s womb could not be born fatherless.
Zhang Jing, holding the dragon-patterned saber and acting on an imperial decree, had not intended to confront Feng Gao directly, but now, he couldn’t afford to hesitate.
Feng Gao’s return filled Zhang Jing with immense joy.
In truth, Zhang Jing’s claim of a “secret imperial decree from Your Majesty” was false. However, having the dragon-patterned saber in hand gave him more confidence. The dragon-patterned saber had been stolen by Consort Zheng. Under normal circumstances, this trick would not have fooled Feng Gao. But Feng Gao was now considered a “dead man” by the Imperial Palace, unable to investigate or show his face, and thus was temporarily deceived.
Zhang Jing feigned nonchalance and falsely delivered an imperial decree to kill Feng Gao. Consort Zheng had told him that if he brought Feng Gao’s head back, the position of Eunuch would be his. He was terrified of losing this opportunity.
He feared Feng Gao. He feared him to his core.
If Feng Gao truly escaped, and he failed, Consort Zheng would completely deem him useless.
He made a desperate gamble, ordering the guards to torture Qin Mingxu.
It had indeed lured Feng Gao back.
The guards’ silver needles pierced towards Qin Mingxu’s head.
This torture was called “Soul Drilling, Spirit Capturing.” The meridians of the entire body were targeted sequentially. The final needle was to the top of the head. A single needle could be fatal.
Qin Mingxu’s eyes widened, and blood overflowed from his pupils. He collapsed like a crumbling hill.
He murmured, “Sang Yu, Sang Yu, Director Feng will return safely, you will be happy, you will surely be happy… Qin An, Qin Hao, may you be well every day…”
When the peach blossoms bloomed, Sang Yu would give birth. It would be the most beautiful spring day, but he would not be able to witness it.
Qin Mingxu’s mind flashed back to the scene of his first meeting with Sang Yu.
A young woman in a coarse cloth garment on a boat.
Her first words to him were, “Lecher!”
Thinking of this, Qin Mingxu smiled, a charming and dashing smile, with a hint of smugness from a successful scheme.
If he could choose, if he could go back to the boat heading south all those years ago, Qin Mingxu would still wish to meet her, wish she was on that passenger boat, wish there were still bandits, and he could flee with her.
However, he should have been bolder.
Stolen her marriage certificate. Eloped with her.
He wouldn’t care about the family business. He wouldn’t compete in the inner court struggles. He wasn’t a gentleman anyway; he just wanted to take her away. He wanted them to be two ordinary people in the marketplace. Waking up to the smell of pan-fried buns in the morning, sleeping in each other’s arms at night.
He didn’t want her to meet Cheng Huaishi, didn’t want her to endure so much hardship. Cheng Huaishi’s righteousness was for the world. But his heart was small; it couldn’t contain the world, only her. He didn’t want her to be wronged, to be frightened, to shed tears.
Sang Yu, I love you. I’ve said many words in my life, but this is the truest.
I can even stop being jealous of Director Feng. If I die, you have him, and that’s good. He cares about you; I know that. Who you care about, I dare not guess, nor will I. As long as you are well.
Sang Yu, the waters of the Grand Canal will continue to flow; live well.
The greatest joy of my life was having you.
We were husband and wife for a time, lived a life together.
Cai Qingyao watched Qin Mingxu’s tragic state, tears streaming down her face.
Xu’er. Xu’er, who grew up in her arms.
Feng Gao quickly walked to Qin Mingxu’s side, sealed his acupoints, trying to salvage something.
Qin Mingxu shook his head, struggling, wanting to say something.
Feng Gao leaned closer and heard him say, “Tell Sang Yu, one child is named Qin An, another is named Qin Hao…”
Feng Gao nodded, his hands trembling.
“Sang Yu and the children, I, I, I entrust them… to you…”
Qin Mingxu spoke his last words with all his might and then breathed his last.
Cai Qingyao threw herself on him, crying out, Xu’er.
“Ming Dynasty waits for Xu’er, watching the spring ice by the pond.” This was the meaning behind the name she had given her child. She had never imagined this child would die young.
Xu’er, good child. Mother cannot bear to part with you.
Mother raised you, and you returned your life to Mother; how can Mother bear this?
You were just an infant in swaddling clothes back then. Your father exchanged you. Yet, you were not at fault.
Xu’er, you truly owe no one anything.
Just as Feng Gao and Cai Qingyao were engulfed by the immense shock of Qin Mingxu’s death—
From the shadows, a cold arrow shot towards Feng Gao.
As Feng Gao was about to turn, Cai Qingyao swiftly moved like an opened umbrella, shielding him.
The blood from her chest soaked through her clothes.
Feng Gao suddenly felt his breathing become difficult.
For days, his mind had been taut, and with a “bang,” it snapped.
“I’ve already lost one son; I can’t lose another…” Cai Qingyao smiled faintly.
She looked at the vast night sky, suddenly blushing like a young girl. “Tai Yue, Tai Yue, I’ve wanted to find Tai Yue for a long time… He studied so hard, he didn’t even notice the dust from the lamp wick falling into his eyes… I must go take care of him… We weren’t husband and wife in the human world, but we can be in the underworld… Will he still be willing to marry me?”
Her face lost its color.
The blood seemed to flow endlessly.
The arrow was highly poisonous. The arrowhead was dark blue.
“The old man will surely be willing,” Feng Gao said, his eye corners twitching violently.
Waves ripple, distant mountains lie across. A smile, a city overthrown. His body came from her, his appearance was so like hers, he wore shoes she had sewn, a Ruyi knot she had woven adorned his chest. How could she die? How could she?
Feng Gao hugged his mother tightly, his roars like those of a trapped beast.
In his eyes, nothing could be seen but blood and endless corpses.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill.
You forced me.
You pushed me to this.
He leaped, like an eagle, grabbed Zhang Jing, and twisted Zhang Jing’s head off.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill.
I can kill everyone.
But can my mother come back to life?
I was castrated at seven and endured the hardships of the Imperial Palace, covered in wounds. I prided myself on my flawless planning, yet I couldn’t even protect my own mother.
I wronged the old man. I was his harbinger of death. I watched him die in the Zhang Manor.
I wronged Elder Sister. Qin Mingxu is dead. Elder Sister’s child is fatherless.
I wronged Mother. That poisoned arrow was meant for me.
I wronged Ning Yue. I promised her my word, but I couldn’t let her leave the Zheng Manor alive.
The world has wronged me. But I have wronged those who love me.
I am a complete failure.
I am the one who deserves to die the most.
“Great Chieftain, they’re over there!”
Sounds of hurried footsteps echoed from the dense forest.
One-Eyed Dragon had finally resolved the chaos in the city and arrived.
He saw Feng Gao, covered in blood, holding Cai Qingyao, standing with a vacant gaze.
The ground was littered with corpses.
Besides Feng Gao, no one else was breathing.
One-Eyed Dragon ordered his men to lift Qin Mingxu’s body from the ground. He approached Feng Gao, who showed no reaction.
One-Eyed Dragon tried to take the body from his arms. He felt a sudden tension, as if facing a great enemy, and Feng Gao clutched his mother tightly.
One-Eyed Dragon had a very bad premonition.
Feng Gao refused to leave. He wouldn’t budge an inch.
He was incredibly strong; no one could move him. If anyone approached him, his gaze turned ferocious like a beast’s.
He couldn’t let him stand here forever, One-Eyed Dragon mused.
Boss Zhu would surely have a way to make him leave.
No.
He couldn’t call her.
Her husband died tragically. Her mother-in-law died tragically. How could a pregnant woman endure such a blow?
As One-Eyed Dragon hesitated, he looked up and saw two figures, one large and one small, slowly emerging from the woods.
The night was no longer night. The dormant light was about to erupt, making the darkness before dawn so lonely.
By the water wheel.
Cherry kept asking me, “Yuniang, why haven’t Godfather and Uncle returned yet?”
It had been half an hour.
Dawn was approaching.
I took Cherry’s hand and got off the horse carriage. “Yuniang will go with you to see.”
Hua Lian wanted to follow me.
I said, “You and Xifeng stay here and watch the water wheel.”
Seeing my determination, Hua Lian nodded.
Cherry and I stepped over the withered grass and stones, heading into the dense forest.
The cold was biting.
From afar, I saw One-Eyed Dragon approaching.
I smiled and greeted him, “Great Chieftain, long time no see.”
He nodded. “Boss Zhu, long time no see.”
I saw Dou Ya. He stood with his back to me, motionless.
I walked towards him, and One-Eyed Dragon called out, “Boss Zhu—”
I turned back, and he said two words: “My condolences.”
My condolences.
Why should I offer condolences?
Who had met with misfortune?
I looked around the dense forest and asked, “Where is Mingxu?”
One-Eyed Dragon remained silent.
I hurried to Dou Ya. “Dou Ya, where is Mingxu?”
Dou Ya saw me. His eyes, filled with a deathly gray, flickered slightly. He let out a long cry to the sky, not saying a word.
I saw Cai Qingyao in his arms. Her face and hands were dark blue.
“Mother, Mother—” I called out.
I suddenly realized something.
“Mingxu! Mingxu! Mingxu, where are you?” I rushed around the dense forest.
One-Eyed Dragon, unable to bear it, finally told me, “Boss Zhu, your husband… is gone.”
His men carried Qin Mingxu’s body, hidden in the wild grass, to me.
The world spun.
My feet stumbled, and I fell to the ground.
A thin, long needle on Qin Mingxu’s head was a shocking sight.
He had no breath.
That moment, when he told me in the horse carriage, “Sang Yu, don’t worry, I will definitely bring Director Feng back safely,” became the last words he spoke to me in his life.
My first husband was dead.
My second husband was now also dead.
This human world is truly bitter and cold.
Peach blossoms drift with the water all day, where is the cave by the clear stream?
I am that peach blossom drifting with the water, floating and sinking, boundless.
I had lost my home once again, and was once again alone.
I had returned to being the original Zhu Sangyu.
Half a cup of a hundred years of harmony. My journey as husband and wife with Mingxu was so short.
Mingxu.
I pressed my face against his chest.
His chest was stiff.
I reached out and felt a letter.
It began with “Sang Yu, my wife.”
Five thick pages, where he confessed all his sins and selfish desires to me.
All the confusing and inexplicable situations from the past, I now understood. I understood his struggles, his hesitation, his resolve. I understood his love for me, as deep as the abyss.
I don’t blame him for his occasional selfishness. In this world, everyone’s heart snows, and everyone has their own hidden depths and purity.
Mingxu.
You shouldn’t blame yourself so much.
I forgive you, I forgive everything, truly. Do you hear me?
Mingxu.
The heartbreak of this mortal world is nothing more than this.
My abdomen suddenly began to ache violently, a downward pain, as if a hand from below was pulling me, constantly pulling me.
With a “swish.”
It felt like something had broken open. My lower garment was soaked.
In this desolate wilderness, was the child coming early?
Cherry snuggled close to me, guarding me, and asked worriedly, “Yuniang, Yuniang, what’s wrong?”
One-Eyed Dragon took off his robe and covered me with it.
I gasped for breath from the pain.
“I’ll go get a doctor—” One-Eyed Dragon said quickly.
I shook my head. “No, no, there’s no time…”
I could already feel the infant struggling to break free from my body.
I looked at Cherry and said, “You deliver the baby for Yuniang.”
“Okay!” Cherry nodded heavily.
A lonely bird call echoed in the mountains. The blackness in the sky turned to ink blue, and then, it began to boil. A bright red line rose. Daylight broke through the night.
I was covered in sweat.
Constantly exerting force.
In a moment, an infant emerged. Its cry was extremely loud.
“It’s born, it’s born!” everyone exclaimed.
“The umbilical cord…” I said weakly.
One-Eyed Dragon drew the sword from his waist and handed it to Cherry. Cherry cut the baby’s umbilical cord. She held the infant and said, “Brother, it’s a boy. Uncle Dou Ya, Uncle, come quickly, Yuniang has given birth to a boy.”
Dou Ya remained dazed and foolish, hearing nothing. He seemed to have fallen into a broken and chaotic dream, unable to wake up.
One-Eyed Dragon held the child in his hands and said, “The young master looks so heroic! Boss Zhu will have good fortune!”
My pain did not lessen; instead, it intensified.
The midwife had said I was carrying twins.
Today’s premature birth meant the other child was slow to come out.
I bit down on the robe covering me and grasped Qin Mingxu’s hand lying on the ground. Mingxu, protect me. Protect me.
After a long while, the other child emerged.
But there was no sound at all.
Exhausted, I dared not lie down.
Cherry picked up the child.
I quickly asked, “How is she? Why isn’t the child crying?”
Cherry lowered her head and mumbled, “It’s… it’s… it’s a girl… but…”
I forced myself to sit up, took the child, and examined her.
It was an extremely cute baby girl. Her eyebrows were sparse, her lips curved upwards, very much like Qin Mingxu. But her limbs were motionless, and there was no sound from her.
“Sister, she has no breath…” Cherry burst into tears. “Yuniang, what happened? Why did Godfather die, Uncle Dou Ya change, and now Sister has no breath? Why?”
Cherry’s accumulated fear and sorrow poured out. One-Eyed Dragon held her, gently patting her shoulder.
“Boss Zhu, the young lady passed away upon arrival. Let’s bury her here,” One-Eyed Dragon said to me.
I said blankly, “Let me hold her a little longer.”
In the prison cell, Qin Mingxu told me he had already named the children. One was named Qin An, and the other, he hadn’t had time to say before the prison door was shut by the jailer.
I never heard the second child’s name.
It turned out that this second child and I had no mother-daughter fate in this lifetime. My great grief had harmed the fetus.
I don’t know how long I sat there quietly.
The sky had become completely bright.
One-Eyed Dragon said, “Boss Zhu, if we don’t leave soon, the Zheng family’s claws might catch up—”
I handed the infant to him and watched as he buried Mingxu and the child together.
Mingxu, you’ll have your daughter for company; you won’t be lonely.
One day, I will come down to join you.
You must meet me at the entrance to the Yellow Springs.
Fleeting wisps of clouds, flickering and hard to dispel. Souls shattered, shimmering and swaying. Mountains and waters, faint and distant. From now on, sorrowful and heartbroken, like today.
Cherry handed the baby boy to me. “Yuniang, the baby is crying. He seems hungry. Will you feed him?”
I took the infant. Looking at his heroic little face.
His name is Qin An, nicknamed Pea.
My Pea. My Pea, lost and found.
He suckled at me.
A mother’s armor grew in my heart.
Life must go on.
I’ve always been strong, haven’t I?
Never leaving room for desire. I am a river, accepting both the sorrow and joy of fate.
After feeding Pea, I got up and walked towards Dou Ya.
Dou Ya’s eyes were still dead, and he wouldn’t let anyone near him, except me.
I leaned my forehead against his and said softly, “Dou Ya, Mother is tired. Let’s let her sleep for a while, okay?”
He looked at me, and in an instant, all his shells shed, and he became a small child.
“Really, Elder Sister?”
“Yes. Let’s let Mother sleep.”
His hand slowly loosened.
I looked at One-Eyed Dragon, signaling him to take the body.
The deceased are gone. May they rest in peace.
Dou Ya hugged his head. I handed Pea to him. “Look, Pea is back. He misses you very much.”
He reached out to touch Pea’s tender little face, then quickly withdrew his hand, fearing. “Elder Sister, he won’t like me. I’m a bad person. I’m a very bad person.”
“No, you won’t. We’ll go together, to Peach Blossom Spring. Let’s go, Dou Ya, let’s go together.”
He retreated repeatedly, looking desolate. “No, no, I’m a bad person, I don’t deserve it. I will only bring you disaster…”
The smell of blood was extremely strong.
Although I didn’t know what happened in the last half hour.
I was certain that Dou Ya had done his best.
Mother died, Mingxu died. The blow he received was unprecedented. He was submerged in deep guilt and self-negation.
“Dou Ya, the Troupe Leader said there’s a temple fair at the City God Temple today. Elder Sister will carry you to see it, okay?” I said, as if I were a child.
He looked at me timidly, and after a long pause, said, “Elder Sister, the Troupe Leader hit me again today.”
He had truly returned to his childhood.
The tumultuous years that followed seemed to have vanished.
I handed Pea to Cherry, then bent down and said, “I know, it’s okay. Later, Elder Sister will buy you fried cakes at the temple fair, alright?”
“Yes. Elder Sister, after you buy the fried cakes, we’ll each have half. You eat the bigger half, and I’ll eat the smaller half,” he said earnestly.
Tears streamed down my face, continuously.
“Elder Sister will listen to you. Come up quickly.”
“Okay.” He slowly climbed onto my back.
Dou Ya was so thin.
I carried him on my back and walked forward step by step.
One-Eyed Dragon wanted to help me, but I shook my head.
If it were anyone else, Dou Ya wouldn’t feel at ease. If he were startled awake, he wouldn’t leave.
Carrying Dou Ya, with Cherry and Pea, I walked towards the water wheel to meet Hua Lian and Zhu Xifeng. Accompanied and protected by One-Eyed Dragon, our group headed towards Shenju Mountain.
After the water wheel entered the mountain, One-Eyed Dragon blew up all the paths leading into the mountain.
In spring, the Wuling flowers on Shenju Mountain bloomed, clusters filling the branches and emitting a faint fragrance.
Occasionally, a breeze would pass, scattering petals like rain.
The sun in the mountains was gentle, neither overbearing nor impatient.
I sat at my desk, painting a long scroll. In this painting, everyone I had met in my life was present. Huaishi, Mingxu, their voices and appearances were as vivid as yesterday.
One-Eyed Dragon accompanied Cherry on the hillside, flying a kite. The kite flew high and far. Hua Lian and Xifeng ran and chased each other, laughing from time to time.
Dou Ya sat blankly beneath the Wuling flowers.
Nothing could make him clear his mind, except when it concerned me and Pea.
In the cradle, Pea cried, and he quickly picked him up to soothe him.
When I called him, he would crouch by my knees and ask, “Elder Sister, what’s wrong?”
His eyes were as clear as the clouds in the sky.
One day, it rained in the mountains. Dou Ya looked at the curtain of rain and said to me, “Elder Sister, do we no longer have to worry about being killed?”
I nodded.
We both cried.
The sound of eaves dripping, a hundred twists and turns.
Having walked through blades of light and shadows, through life and death separations, the peace that Dou Ya and I sought, like the dawn light at the end of a long and rugged night, was finally obtained.
Rolling red dust. Peace is all that matters.
