Qinglian’S Heart Is Covered, Fate Meets Chapter 52
byChapter 52
Qinglian’s Heartfelt Words·Different Paths and Destiny (Re-continuation·Two Girls in Love)
15. The two sisters are destined to live together forever, enjoying the family relationship in the lotus pond.
After the storm calmed down, the lotus pond returned to its former tranquility, but the laughter in the small courtyard became more intense.After Su Yan lost his immortal status, he built a bamboo house next to the lotus pond. He took care of his spiritual veins with Gu Baifei every day. In his spare time, he taught Nian Xia how to read and write. Occasionally, he would accompany her to the ancient alleys to look for old things. His life was ordinary but overflowing with happiness.
Two years later, Si Yi was recognized by the laws of heaven and earth for his meritorious service in protecting the spiritual veins of the lotus pond and transforming the people in the city, and became the guardian of the lotus pond. However, he still guarded the purity of the small courtyard and was unwilling to accept the title of heaven.When she went to collect spiritual herbs in the mountains, she met a wandering spiritual doctor. The spiritual doctor had excellent medical skills and a kind heart. Seeing the abundant spiritual energy in the lotus pond and the simple folk customs, she was moved to stay.The two were like-minded and loved the purity and fireworks of the lotus pond, so they held a simple wedding beside the lotus pond in the presence of relatives and friends.Red silk was wrapped around the green lotus, and the lotus fragrance was mixed with joy. People in the city came to congratulate her. Granny Li also gave her a basket of hand-made osmanthus cakes and said with a smile: “Our great fairy in the lotus pond has finally found her home.” After the marriage, the spiritual doctor stayed to take care of the medicine garden next to the lotus pond. Together with Siyi, he gave free medical consultations to the people, and became a divine couple praised by everyone in Liancheng.
Nian Xia also made a lifelong commitment to Su Yan, and the wedding was simpler than Si Yi’s, but extremely warm.The lotus pond was filled with freshly picked green lotuses. Nian Xia was wearing a red dress, with the lotus-patterned bamboo hairpin on her head that once attracted immortal love. Su Yan was wearing a green cloth gown. He held her hand and bowed to heaven and earth in front of the lotus pond, and then saluted Gu Baifei and me.During the dinner, Su Yan held a wine glass and paid homage to Gu Baifei, and said in a sincere tone: “Don’t worry, father-in-law, I will protect Nianxia’s stability throughout her life.” Gu Baifei patted his shoulder, his eyes full of relief, and only said, “Treat her well.”That day, the laughter in the small courtyard spread to the outside of Liancheng, and even the koi in the pond seemed to be happy, with ripples jumping out of the water.
After getting married, Su Yan opened a study in an ancient alley of Liancheng, named it “Lianxinzhai”, and taught children in the city how to read and write, and tell ancient and modern allusions.Nianxia helped Siyi take care of the lotus pond. In her spare time, she went to the study to help out and distributed lotus seed cakes to the children. Her life was ordinary but happy.Occasionally, she would take Su Yan to Granny Li’s stall to eat a bowl of sweet-scented osmanthus sugar taro paste. Su Yan would always smile and help her wipe the sugar stains from the corners of her mouth, as gentle as when they first met in the ancient alley.
Ten years passed quickly, and Si Yi and the spiritual doctor had a son and a daughter. The boy’s eyebrows were as gentle as the spiritual doctor’s, while the girl inherited Si Yi’s gentleness and often followed Nian Xia’s children to play by the lotus pond.Nian Xia also had a son and a daughter with Su Yan. The son loved to study with Su Yan in the study, while the daughter was like Nian Xia when she was a child. She always loved to take her cousin to the ancient alleys to buy old things, or to pick green lotus by the lotus pond.
Every morning, the sound of children playing around the lotus pond can be heard. They chase the koi carp swimming in the pond, clutching the freshly picked tender lotus pods in their hands. Occasionally, they will imitate Si Yi and clumsily water the green lotus.Si Yi would stand in the corridor, looking at the children, with a gentle smile on her lips. The spiritual doctor would hand over a cup of warm lotus seed tea at the right time. The two of them would look at each other and smile, and it would be a peaceful time.
Nianxia’s days were also full. During the day, I helped Su Yan take care of the study and taught the children to identify the lotus patterns in ancient books. In the evening, I took my children back to the lotus pond courtyard. The whole family sat under the bamboo porch, eating the Qinglu lotus seed soup that I cooked by myself, and listening to Su Yan tell the newly collected folk allusions.Gu Baifei would sit aside and tell the children about the past when he was guarding the lotus pond, but he would describe all the thrilling twists and turns in a calm way.
One day, Liancheng held the annual Lotus Culture Fair. Si Yi took her children to decorate the lotus pond booth, while Nian Xia and Su Yan took their children to the study to set up a small stall and distributed lotus pattern bookmarks to children for free.Gu Baifei and I also went to the market. Looking at the smiles on the faces of the people in Liancheng and the happy looks of our two daughters, our hearts were filled with ironing.Grandma Li squeezed in next to us, handed over two pieces of freshly made sweet-scented osmanthus sugar taro paste, and said with a smile: “Sister Qinglian, look at the situation now, how wonderful it is. The hardships of the past have all come to an end.”
I took a bite of the sweet and glutinous taro paste, looked at Nian Xia who was joking with the children not far away, and looked at Si Yi who was giving a free clinic to the people, and nodded with a smile: “Yes, everything is fine.”
As the sun set, the family returned to the lotus pond courtyard in the afterglow. The children were still interested in the ceremony and pulled their elders to put lanterns in the courtyard.Su Yan and the spiritual doctor went to prepare the lanterns, while Si Yi and Nian Xia went to the kitchen to cook lotus seed porridge. Gu Baifei and I sat under the bamboo corridor, looking at the warm scene in the courtyard. Gu Baifei held my hand, stroked the fine hair on my temples with his fingertips, and said softly: “The wanderings of the past have finally resulted in the stability of today.”
I leaned on his shoulder, looking at the green lotus in full bloom in the pond, and then at the busy children and playful grandchildren in the courtyard. I nodded with a smile: “Yes, guarding your family and guarding the lotus pond is the best perfection.”
The evening breeze blows, and the fragrance of lotus mixed with the smoke of fireworks lingers in every corner of the small courtyard. The charcoal stove under the bamboo corridor is still warming the lotus seed soup.
Qinglian’s Heartfelt Words·Different Paths and Destiny (Re-continuation·Two Girls in Love)
16. The lotus heart is passed down to all generations, and all destiny is fulfilled.
The long river of time carries the wind of the lotus pond and flows quietly for decades.Gu Baifei and I’s temples are gradually turning white with frost. Although the lotus heart can nourish the soul and prolong life, it cannot withstand the passage of time. Just seeing our children and grandchildren around the house and our two girls being safe and sound, I feel that I have no regrets in this life.
Si Yi has long been able to take charge of her own business and take care of the lotus pond spiritual veins in an orderly manner.Her two children have grown up. The boy inherited the kindness of his spiritual doctor father and studied with the spiritual plants in the medicine garden every day. By the time he was a teenager, he could identify hundreds of herbs and prescribe simple medicines. The girl had Si Yi’s clear temperament, guarded the ancient books in the lotus pond, followed her mother’s example to maintain her spiritual veins, and occasionally helped the people in the city pray for blessings, becoming a new generation of “Lotus Pond Guardian Fairy”.The spiritual doctor still consults every day, and the spiritual herbs in the medicine garden are evergreen all year round. Whenever the people of Liancheng feel sick, the first thing they think of is the medicine house next to the lotus pond. The reputation of the couple has already spread throughout the hundreds of miles.
Nian Xia and Su Yan also lived a stable and comfortable life.The sound of Lian Xin Zhai’s books has been passed down from generation to generation, and Su Yan’s temples have grown gray, but he still wakes up every morning to clean the study and tell the children ancient and modern allusions. On the wooden table in the study, there is always the lotus seed cake made by Nian Xia.Their two children have also gotten married. The son took over Su Yan’s class and taught and educated people in Lianxinzhai. The daughter married a dedicated lotus farmer and guarded several acres of lotus fields, living a peaceful and contented life.In her free time, Nian Xia still loves to take Su Yan to Granny Li’s stall to eat sweet-scented osmanthus and taro paste. But now that Granny Li is old and the stall is taken care of by her granddaughter, the taste is still as sweet and glutinous as before. Su Yan still smiles and wipes the sugar stains from the corner of Nian Xia’s mouth. The years have carved traces between their eyebrows, but the friendship has become more mellow.
The green lotus in the lotus pond is still in full bloom all year round, and the aura on the petals has become a unique scene in Lotus City. Travelers coming and going make a special trip to see this “magnificent view of the fairy pond”, but few people know that behind this beautiful scenery, there is a family that has been together and protected for decades.
The day when I became more and more healthy, it was the Double Ninth Festival, and the folk market in the ancient alley opened again.There were freshly picked lotus pods and freshly steamed lotus seed soup in the courtyard. The grandchildren gathered around the corridor and chattered interesting stories about the market. Siyi and Nianxia were guarding me on the left and right. Gu Baifei held my hand, and the temperature in his palm was still warm.I looked at the warmth of the courtyard, touched the green lotus petals with my fingertips, and whispered softly: “When I transformed, I only knew that the lotus heart was meant to protect the three realms, but I didn’t know… the most important thing to protect is the people around me, and the fireworks in this courtyard.”
Si Yi’s eyes were red, she held my hand and said, “Mother, you will always be with us.”
I smiled, shook my head, and glanced at every familiar face: “The veins of the lotus heart are passed down from generation to generation. I just changed my way to guard the lotus pond and guard you. From now on, this lotus pond will be handed over to you.”
As he finished speaking, a faint green light suddenly appeared around him, and his consciousness gradually became lighter. Finally, he glanced at Gu Baifei’s tearful eyes, and then turned into a ray of clear light and blended into the blue waves of the lotus pond.
Gu Baifei looked at the ripples on the surface of the pond and said softly after a long time: “She just became a part of the lotus pond and will always be with us.”
Since then, the green lotuses in the lotus pond have bloomed more and more prosperously. Every moonlit night, a soft clear light will appear in the center of the pond. People say that this is the blessing of the Green Lotus God.Si Yi still guarded her spiritual veins and taught her mother’s advice to her children; Nian Xia and Su Yan still guarded the study, and the sound of books in Lian Xin Zhai was filled with legends about the God of Qinglian; Gu Baifei sat under the bamboo corridor every day, looking at the lotus pond, sitting there all afternoon, and occasionally whispered to the surface of the pond, as if chatting with me.
Many years later, Gu Baifei also turned into a ray of light, blended into the lotus pond, and stayed with me.The spiritual veins of the lotus pond are still stable. Si Yi’s children have taken over the burden of guardianship, and Nian Xia’s grandchildren have also begun to learn to take care of the lotus fields and guard the study. The inheritance of the lotus pond continues in the hands of one generation after another.
Later, the old people in Liancheng would tell the children the stories of the past: the relationship between the Green Lotus God and Gu Xianjun, the courage of the two sisters protecting the lotus pond, the love between immortals and mortals across different paths, and the fireworks and protection behind the green lotus in the pond.The people in the story have long been part of the lotus pond, but their concern for their families and their protection of their homeland have been passed down from generation to generation along with the lotus fragrance.
The spring wind blows through the lotus pond, the green lotus sways, the blue waves ripple with clear light, the lotus seed soup under the bamboo corridor is still steaming, the loud sound of reading in the study floats into the distance, the years go by, the lotus heart remains the same, all the twists and turns of fate have finally turned into the most perfect stability in the world.