thefictionvixens Chapter 1331 Burying the Ashes
Chapter 1331 Burying the Ashes
Seeing that Shao Yun was firmly refusing, Ningguang did not press the matter further. She simply nodded slightly and put the letter back in her hand.
She took a deep breath, unfolded the letter, and as her gaze fell upon the handwriting, she began to read the contents of the letter aloud, word by word, to ensure that Shao Yun could hear her clearly.
"Lord Ningguang, by the time you read this letter, the ashes of those three secretaries should have already reached you."
“I’m sorry, I did everything I could, but the Emperor’s attitude was too tough, and I had no way to resist… I tried to protect your property, but there were too many people eyeing it.”
"But I have cooperated with True Monarch Liuyun Jiefeng to preserve your Qunyu Pavilion intact."
"The Qunyu Pavilion is currently hidden in Aozang Mountain. I don't know what kind of magic Liuyun Immortal used to hide such a large Qunyu Pavilion in a secret realm. For the time being, we don't have to worry about it being found by others."
“After Beidou returned to Liyue, she was furious and even wanted to lead the Southern Cross fleet to fight Keqing directly to avenge you, but I persuaded her not to.”
“I have prepared some money for you through the Adventurers’ Guild. You can collect the money by taking the key from this letter to the reception desk of the Nata Adventurers’ Guild.”
“This is my personal savings, not money from selling off your assets…”
“I don’t know how things are between you and Mr. Shao Yun now. When I learned in Fontainebleau that you had chosen to seduce Shao Yun, to be honest, I thought about giving up on you because I thought you were crazy.”
“But, after much thought, I still chose to help you; however, afterwards I watched you start to go crazy trying to seize the ‘power’ that Shao Yun had given you.”
“I watched you build your skyscraper, watched you abandon your pride, and finally watched your house collapse. I felt that everything was going to become distorted, but I couldn’t explain why.”
"Is it because of your desires? I can't say for sure, but I feel that you've changed ever since you met Shao Yun."
"But I can't quite put my finger on what's changed about you. Is this your true nature? Someone who would give up everything for eternal wealth and power? Someone who would put the shackles called 'power' around their own neck?"
"I've been wondering to myself, are we cursed? Otherwise, none of this can be explained."
At this point, Ningguang's gaze fell on the repeatedly smeared ink mark at the end of the letter. Her fingertips gently brushed over it, and she could clearly feel the uneven marks left by the pen tip.
She took a deep breath and read aloud the last sentence Ye Lan had written in the letter.
"Anyway, I'm sorry... Please forgive me, because this is the last time I'll write to you. I need to assist Keqing in the future, and I need to cut off contact with you..."
"Wishing you happiness in Nata..."
At this point, Ye Lan had finished reading the letter, but Ning Guang was still holding the letter, unable to come back to her senses for a long time, still processing this sudden severance of ties.
Ningguang knew she could never return to Liyue, and she also knew that she would never have any further contact with Yelan or Beidou in the future...
But when I actually received this "farewell letter"...
Two hot tears slid down her cheeks without warning, landing on the letter and quickly blurring a small patch of writing, making the words "Wishing you happiness in Nata" indistinct.
Ningguang hurriedly raised her hand and vigorously wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, trying to hide her loss of composure. Her voice choked up as she tried to make excuses for herself.
"I, I'm sorry, I... I think I got some sand in my eyes, it's a little uncomfortable."
She didn't even believe this clumsy lie herself.
Seeing her forced composure, Shao Yun didn't expose her pretense. Instead, he pointed to the sofa beside him and gestured in as gentle a tone as possible:
"Sit down, don't stand, you'll feel better if you calm down."
Ningguang didn't stand on ceremony this time, nor did she maintain her usual composure. She let her tears slide down her cheeks and sat down on the sofa.
She stared at the letter in her hand, tears streaming down her face, turning the pages over and over again, countless times, until her tears had dried up.
Finally, Ningguang exhausted all her strength and slowly put down the letter in her hand.
She turned her head and looked at Shao Yun, who was sitting beside her, keeping a distance from her.
Disheartened, and even with a hint of despair, she asked in a low voice, "Mr. Shao Yun, why won't you use me?"
The question abruptly came up, leaving Shao Yun momentarily stunned.
He glanced at Ningguang, opened his mouth, but found that he had no idea how to answer.
Ningguang awaited Shao Yun's reaction, whether it was acceptance or rejection, or even if he directly and roughly defiled her in the living room, it was all acceptable.
But she wanted to know what she should be in his eyes, or in the eyes of outsiders.
Faced with Ningguang's question, Shao Yun ultimately chose to remain silent.
He couldn't give her a satisfactory answer, nor did he want to brush her off with meaningless words. He could only let the silence spread, dragging the atmosphere between them into a complex and heavy state.
Ningguang looked at Shao Yun's silent profile and a bleak smile suddenly appeared on her lips, a smile full of self-mockery and despair.
She didn't ask any more questions or expect a response. She simply folded the letter carefully and put it into her pocket, as if nothing had happened.
Then, she reached out her trembling hands and gently stacked the three rosewood urns on the coffee table together, holding them tightly in her arms as if they were three priceless treasures, afraid that she might accidentally break them.
She pressed her face against the cool wooden box and slowly recounted her past with these three personal secretaries, deliberately omitting the question that had gone unanswered earlier.
"Baiwen, Baishi, and Baixiao, those three have been with me for a long time..."
"Actually, it was a very short time, so short that I can still clearly remember what they looked like when they first came to my side... Those little things seem like they happened just yesterday."
"I never imagined it would all turn out to be just a dream, and in the end, we are separated forever..."
"Even now, I still can't accept that those three are really dead, I can't accept that I'll never see their faces again, never hear their voices again..."
At this point, her voice choked up again, but her tears had already dried up...
"Waaah... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Ningguang hugged the urn tighter and confessed to the ashes inside.
"I have implicated you all; I have made you pay with your lives for my actions."
Her apologies grew fainter and fainter, eventually turning into suppressed sobs, and the entire living room was enveloped in sorrow.
Seeing Ningguang weeping bitterly, Shao Yun silently stood up. After hesitating for a moment, he finally waved to Ningguang with some helplessness and said in as gentle a tone as possible:
"Stop crying, holding onto the ashes isn't a solution."
"According to the customs of Liyue, the deceased should be laid to rest so that their souls can find peace."
"I think the vegetable garden next to the ranch is good enough. We can dig three pits to bury the three of them...more than enough."
Upon hearing that Shao Yun intended to bury the ashes of his three secretaries in the vegetable garden of the ranch, Ningguang's arms tightened around the urn, and she froze.
She originally thought that she might only be able to find a remote place to be buried hastily, but she never expected that Shao Yun would suggest burying them in the ranch.
Then, she looked up in disbelief, her eyes red-rimmed, and asked Shao Yun cautiously:
"Vegetable garden? Is that really okay? That's where you grow vegetables. Wouldn't it be... inconvenient to bury them there?"
Seeing Ningguang's tense reaction, Shao Yun used his unique sense of humor and deliberately asked in return:
"Or what? Don't worry, I'm not that crazy. I won't plant vegetables on your secretary's grave, much less use their ashes as fertilizer. At least not now..."
Ningguang wasn't worried that Shao Yun would use his secretary's ashes as fertilizer; she was worried about what would happen to the vegetables in the garden. They were almost ripe!
Moreover, wouldn't it be unlucky to build a cemetery in one's home?
"But... there are still vegetables growing in the garden, and those fruits and vegetables are almost ripe. If we dig up the ground, won't all the vegetables be ruined?"
"Besides... wouldn't it be bad luck to build a cemetery in your own yard? Aren't you worried about bad luck?"
(Ying: As long as my husband doesn't cook human flesh, nothing else is considered bad luck...)
Seeing Ningguang's hesitant and conflicted expression, Shao Yun couldn't help but laugh, replying nonchalantly:
"What you're saying is, of course we should uproot the vegetables! Vegetables can be replanted, but we can't keep your three secretaries' ashes in a box forever just for a few vegetables, can we?"
He paused, then added, "Besides, vegetables aren't as important as people. Even someone like Euron, who treats vegetables like treasures, would understand this if he were in a situation like this."
(Sethralli: I don't think so. That brat risked his own safety to protect the vegetables...)
……
In short, the burial arrangements have been finalized.
Shao Yun walked towards the ranch's basement and soon came out carrying a shovel.
He carried the shovel ahead, while Ningguang carefully held the three stacked urns containing ashes as they walked towards the ranch's vegetable garden.
The vegetable garden on the ranch was a vibrant scene of life, with everything thriving.
In the vegetable garden, the various vegetables that Ningguang planted during her spare time are growing well and it will be harvest time soon.
The emerald green cucumber vines climbed up the trellis, dotted with small yellow flowers, and some of the flower stems had already produced tiny cucumbers.
Bright red tomatoes hang from the branches, some fully ripe, others still slightly unripe.
Peas... The tender green pods are plump and look quite delicious.
The carrot leaves spread out on the ground, a lush green expanse, with the roots bulging beneath the soil faintly visible.
Watermelons were also growing in the corner, with several round little watermelons hidden under the leaves, growing vigorously.