Chapter 2134: Chapter 34: The Grand Finale (Part 6)
Back then, when Bright Pearls gave birth to three daughters in succession without bearing a son, many ministers in the court wanted to take the opportunity to send their daughters to the Crown Prince’s Mansion to climb the dragon and attach to the phoenix. Fortunately, Wanyan Chao was a deeply affectionate and righteous man. Even though Bright Pearls gave birth to three daughters in a row, he never had any thought of taking a concubine. He even publicly stated to those scheming ministers that if Bright Pearls couldn’t bear a daughter, he would adopt a son from his younger brother to continue the family line, but he would never take a concubine.
Bright Pearls was naturally deeply moved. Heaven took pity, and when she was pregnant for the fourth time, she finally bore a son. Wanyan Chao was overjoyed, and both The Emperor and The Empress were extremely pleased, decreeing a general amnesty across the world. Upon birth, the child was granted the title of heir, truly the epitome of wealth and honor.
Those who intended to send their daughters into the Crown Prince’s Mansion, seeing the Crown Princess gave birth to a legitimate son and the Crown Prince insisted on not taking a concubine, had to suppress their sleazy thoughts and withdrew to behave properly.
These five children completely inherited the excellent genes of their parents. Each possessed outstanding appearance, and Bright Pearls educated them well, making them gentle and courteous good children.
They heard about Nangong Yi and Cai Wei’s situation and respectfully went up to greet them. Cai Wei brought out several exquisite mutton fat jade stones from Space as gifts to meet them. The siblings happily accepted and also prepared gifts for Nangong Yi and Cai Wei, sincerely asking them to stay in Qing Luo Kingdom for a few more days.
Since Cai Wei and Nangong Yi were concerned about the situation in Great Jin, they politely refused their daughters, sons-in-law, grandsons, and granddaughters’ requests and left Qing Luo on the same day, returning to Great Jin.
This time, they were prepared. When they saw the aged Jin’er, none of them were surprised. Although their hearts felt slightly sour, they had accepted this reality.
After visiting their sons and grandsons, Cai Wei and Nangong Yi prepared ritual livestock and went one by one to pay respects to the tombs of Mu Zhongqing and his wife, Duke Li Guo and his wife, among others, and then moved to Cai Wei’s manor near the Royal Hunting Ground outside the suburbs of the capital, refusing to return to the palace.
In fact, living in the manor was just to avoid the public eye because there were fewer people there. The couple could stay in Space all day without worrying about being discovered by outsiders, and they no longer had to deal with social obligations as before.
After experiencing these events, their temperaments and outlook on life underwent significant changes. They no longer questioned state affairs, cared about business earnings, or became entangled in their children’s family matters. What the couple often did was plant flowers and grass in Space, read the "Yellow Court" at leisure, sit on meditation cushions, and contemplate the mysteries.
As time flew by, in the blink of an eye, thirty years passed. During these thirty years, Jin’er, Yu’er, and Bright Pearls passed away in succession. However, Cai Wei and Nangong Yi were neither in pain nor sorrowful. They had already achieved Zen enlightenment, using their Dharma eye to see their children’s paths.
They were still the descendants of the Nangong family, and their so-called death was merely shedding an old shell and replacing it with a new one.
Now, the Nangong family descendants are abundant, with hundreds of legitimate sons and grandsons alone.
These grandchildren and great-grandchildren had all heard of Nangong Yi and Cai Wei, but few had met them because Nangong Yi had long ordered that he and Cai Wei were in quiet cultivation and should not be disturbed by their offspring.
After all three children had passed away, on a moonless and windy night, Cai Wei and Nangong Yi set fire to the aged and dilapidated manor. It was spring, the spring wind was strong, and the roaring fire quickly reduced the manor to ashes.
The new emperor, Nangong Ji, thought his grandparents had perished in the fire and grieved for some time. Because the fire was so severe, the remains of his grandparents were not found, so he instructed a clothing tomb be erected in their honor, with offerings made during the four seasons and traditional festivals, ensuring an unbroken line of incense offerings.
Little did he know, Cai Wei and Nangong Yi had left Great Jin on a divine eagle after the fire started, returning to an Immortal Mountain.
Since then, the world saw no trace of Nangong Yi and Cai Wei. Yet years later, a court painter, who retired and returned home, claimed to have seen them on Jinbei Island.
The painter had seen portraits of Nangong Yi and Cai Wei and thus recognized them. He said he saw His Majesty Nangong and Empress Mu on Jinbei Island, where they still appeared in their twenties. The couple was traveling in a horse carriage, chatting and laughing with a few friends.
The friends had peculiar appearances. Among them, a young man dressed in green, wearing red boots, laughed the heartiest; another, a petite man in a white robe, had been sitting well in the carriage but suddenly agilely jumped onto the carriage shaft to speak with a tall, fierce-looking man in a white robe driving the carriage. Additionally, there was an elderly man with a wrinkled face, with kindly eyes, wearing a ball cap, dressed in a green and brown Taoist robe, holding a gourd that seemed to contain some kind of elixir...
The painter only recognized them from their portraits and didn’t dare confirm it was truly them, so he followed the carriage to investigate. No matter how hard he pursued, he couldn’t catch up. Ultimately, he watched helplessly as that carriage soared into the sea, running recklessly over the water as if on flat ground, and then gradually disappeared over the horizon, never to be seen again...
