ebookland Chapter 566 Finale
Chapter 566 Finale
The western suburbs of Beijing, nestled amidst lush green mountains and winding springs, are only a little over fifty miles from the Forbidden City. Enjoying both scenic beauty and a favorable climate, it has been an ideal location for garden construction since previous dynasties. By the present dynasty, this area had become a complex of imperial gardens, centered around Changchun Garden, Yuanmingyuan, Jingyi Garden, and Jingming Garden, along with other private residences of princes and ministers.
Surrounded by many gardens, there is only a natural body of water called Wengshan Lake. Although it is vast and blue, it has not been artificially embellished and appears empty and desolate.
The emperor saw that the terrain here was open but suffered from frequent droughts and floods due to poor water supply, so he ordered the diversion of water from the springs in Xishan, Yuquanshan and Shou'anshan mountains, and dredged the lake surface in the style of Hangzhou West Lake. All the excavated earth was piled on Wengshan Mountain by the lake, making the originally low mountain appear majestic. He named the mountain "Wanshou Mountain" with the meaning of "longevity as good as the Southern Mountains". He also named the newly expanded water area "Kunming Lake" in imitation of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's Kunming Pool where he trained troops.
He also ordered craftsmen to build palaces and corridors on the southern foot of Wanshou Mountain according to the terrain. He named it "Qingyi Garden" after the elegant meaning of "the river water is clear and rippling" in "The Book of Songs".
This construction not only connected the water system in the western suburbs, but also reproduced the elegant beauty of the lakes and mountains in the south of the Yangtze River in the north with the traditional fairyland layout of "one pond and three mountains".
On sunny days, you can go boating on the lake, gaze at the shadow of Yuquan Pagoda in the distance, and watch the farming and weaving scenes up close. The grandeur of the imperial family and the tranquility of the literati garden are fused into this beautiful scenery of lakes and mountains.
The Summer Palace, formerly known as the Qingyi Garden, covers an area of about 3 square kilometers.
The Qingyi Garden was first built in 1750 and burned down by the British and French forces in 1860. In 1886, the Qing government embezzled naval funds to rebuild it and renamed it the Summer Palace. It was destroyed again by the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900.
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Time moves forward slowly. It quietly creeps over the temples, dyeing the black hair into frost and snow; it gently brushes the corners of the eyes, carving fine lines; it slowly bends the once upright back, making the steps become staggering.
The cruelest thing is that it has taken away so many familiar faces. Parents, teachers, old friends, one by one, have departed, leaving only scattered memories. Standing in the long river of time, watching my peers grow old, I have finally become the "ancestor" in the eyes of others.
However, in this ruthless river of time, there are always some things that can pass through the dust of time and solidify into eternity.
Facing Kunming Lake and backed by Longevity Mountain, Leshou Hall occupies the best location in the Qingyi Garden.
A white-haired old woman leaned on a rattan chair under an apricot tree. Mottled light and shadow filtered through the gaps between the petals, casting tiny spots of light on her face.
As the spring breeze blew, the apricot blossoms on the branches fluttered down, and a few petals gently landed on her moon-white clothes.
She closed her eyes slightly, with a faint smile on the corners of her lips, and the sunlight flowed quietly between the fine lines at the corners of her eyes.
A young girl took a thin velvet blanket and gently covered her with it.
The person on the recliner was awakened and raised his hand to rub his eyes.
In this simple gesture, one can still vaguely see the shadow of the past. However, now, her eyes are less innocent and more calm; less passionate and more tranquil.
Time has taken away her youth, but has given her another more lasting beauty - that is the elegance after the precipitation of time, the indifference after seeing thousands of sails, and the authenticity after the prosperity has faded.
An Lingrong's voice was a little hazy: "Liu Zhu, is it time to eat?"
The girl smiled mischievously when she heard this: "My Lady, it's still early for dinner. If you're hungry, I'll get you some cakes!"
"Sure! I want to eat the mung bean cake you made!"
"Okay!" The girl responded happily, turned around and took a step, then turned back and said, "My lady, I am A Yuan."
An Lingrong then sat up: "A Yuan? Who is it? Where's Liu Zhu?"
Ah Yuan knelt down beside the rattan chair again, carefully tucked the fallen blanket in, and patiently explained, "Liu Zhu is my grandmother, she is at home."
She shook her wrist deliberately and said, "Look, this bracelet was given to my grandmother by you, and then passed on to me."
"Oh~ Then you go play, let Liu Zhu come!"
You are treating yourself like a child!
A Yuan smiled helplessly: "Today is your birthday. She will come with grandfather to celebrate your birthday later!"
"OK then!"
A Yuan turned around and looked back worriedly. The Empress' memory seemed to be getting worse day by day. He had been serving her for three years, but she still often couldn't remember who she was.
After eating two pieces of cake, A Yuan looked at the sky and said, "My Queen, please go to the room and rest for a while. I will wake you up when it's time for the banquet!"
"it is good!"
An Lingrong responded, and with her support, she slowly walked into the hall, lay down on the bed, and soon fell into a light sleep.
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"Di..."
"Di..."
"Di..."
Z City, First People's Hospital.
The pungent smell of disinfectant filled the corridor, the pale light cast a cold reflection on the tiled floor, and the ticking sound of monitoring equipment echoed regularly in the silent ward.
On bed number 3, a young girl of about twenty years old lay quietly, her pale face almost blending into the snow-white pillow. Drops of transparent liquid from the infusion tube dripped down the slender catheter into the back of her hand with slightly visible veins.
A middle-aged woman with gray hair on her temples sat beside the bed, holding a half-dry towel in her hand. She gently wiped her daughter's face, then dipped a cotton swab in water and carefully moistened her daughter's lips.
The other hand always holds my daughter's hand.
Suddenly, there was a slight movement under his hand.
Her voice was trembling: "Old Yu, Yue'er's finger is moving, go call a doctor."
The middle-aged man sitting next to him suddenly stood up and staggered out of the ward.
In less than three minutes, a chief physician wearing gold-rimmed glasses came quickly with two nurses.
"let me see."
The doctor leaned over, placed the stethoscope on the girl's chest and listened, then gently lifted the girl's eyelids. Under the beam of the flashlight, her pupils reacted faintly to the light.
"The patient is in good condition." The doctor straightened up, a look of relief behind his glasses. "All vital signs are stable. If this condition continues, he'll be revived soon."
The couple's tears finally burst out and they held their daughter's hands tremblingly.
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When An Lingrong opened her eyes, the lilac curtain above her head swayed gently in the breeze, and the fine gold embroidery patterns glowed with a soft color in the sunlight.
She stared blankly for a long time, and suddenly felt dazed - this was the first time in all these years of traveling through time that she had dreamed of the past so clearly.
In the dream, the smell of disinfectant seemed to still linger at the tip of my nose, the "beeping" sound of the monitor was still in my ears, my parents' excited tears, the doctor's words "you will wake up soon"... every detail was so real that it made me tremble.
When her fingertips touched her cold cheek, she realized that she was already in tears.
She got out of bed barefoot and pushed open the carved wooden window. The early spring sunshine poured in, bringing with it a slightly intoxicating warmth. The tender green leaves of the weeping willows in the yard rustled in the wind.
Suddenly, I heard the clear cry of a cuckoo falling from the clouds:
"It's better to go home..."
"It's better to go home..."
"It's better to go home..."
There is a voice in my heart that becomes clearer and clearer with the birdsong——
It's time to go back!
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[Book lovers, the real-person audiobook is now online. It sounds pretty good. If you are interested, you can go and listen to it. ]