In ancient times, she gave birth to seven daughters and was divorced by her husband's family.

Bai Lu's gaze, calm and profound, fell upon Bai Siyue.

"June has her own plans."

"What about you?"

"And what are your plans?"

Bai Siyue clearly stated, "Mother, I don't want to get married."

This was the expected answer.

But her next words stirred a ripple in Bai Lu's eyes.

"I don't want to entrust my life to a man, to be at his beck and call, and to be at his mercy."

Bai Siyue's voice carried a clarity and determination beyond her years: "I want to be like you."

"My sisters all wish to find their soulmates and stay together until old age, and they are all doing very well... But I am not a person who likes trouble, so I need to focus my attention on my partner and children."

She paused, a burning flame igniting in her eyes, "I want to dedicate all my energy to the Bai family's foundation."

"I want the Bai family's caravan flags to be planted in every corner of the world."

"I want all the wealth in the world to circulate for my Bai family."

She took a step forward and looked directly at her mother, the only legend of the Great Wu Dynasty.

"Mother, you are the richest person in the world."

"And I want to be the next you."

"..."

A long silence filled the room.

Bai Lu looked at her daughter in front of her, this decisive and capable daughter.

In her, Bai Lu saw a reflection of her younger self.

That ambition and courage to refuse to be ordinary and to firmly grasp one's own destiny.

After a long while, Bailu slowly smiled.

That smile held satisfaction, appreciation, and unparalleled pride.

"it is good."

She spoke, her voice tinged with admiration, "Truly worthy of being my daughter, Bailu."

"Starting tomorrow, all of the Bai family's trade routes, accounts, and connections will be open to you."

“I’ve left each of your sisters a million-dollar dowry, and the rest… aside from what I’ll use for my retirement, it’s all yours.”

"Go do what you want to do."

From that day on, she threw herself into the Bai family business.

Using the connections she made during her trip to the Western Regions, she opened up a golden trade route from Dawu directly to the Western Regions. Silk, porcelain, and tea were continuously transported to the West, in exchange for gold, gems, and spices equal to her height.

She opened Seven Fairy Money Shops in major cities.

She even persuaded Bailu to invest in a shipyard, assemble a fleet of ships, and begin exploring the unknown deep blue sea.

Several years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Bai Siyue's name became a legend in the business world of the Great Wu Dynasty.

Everyone knows that her wealth is comparable to that of a nation.

Another five years passed, and when the Minister of Revenue presented the latest list of the wealthiest people in the land, Emperor Jingming stared at Bai Siyue, who was at the top of the list, and remained silent for a long time.

"Of Bailu's seven children... actually, Siyue is the one who resembles her the most."

That year, Bai Siyue built a seven-story building called Tianxia in the most prosperous area of ​​the capital, as the headquarters of her business empire.

She often stood alone on the top-floor terrace, looking down at the endless stream of people and the lights of countless homes below.

With the passage of time, her beauty has become even more striking and captivating.

She never wore gold or silver; she always wore a simple, plain-colored long dress, yet she appeared more noble than any jeweled socialite.

She doesn't need any supporting green leaves, because she herself is the most dazzling scenery.

……

With Bailu's support, in June, all the restaurants under her name were handed over to the most professional managers.

She then embarked on a culinary journey around the world, carrying a huge culinary fund and a team of top chefs and bodyguards.

Her first stop was the desert.

There, she learned from the nomadic herders how to roast the tenderest lambs and how to brew the finest wine from mare's milk.

Under a sky full of stars, she sat around a campfire, eating meat heartily and drinking wine from large bowls, enjoying life to the fullest.

Then, she crossed the Tianshan Mountains, which are covered in snow all year round.

On the cliff where snow lotuses bloom, she tasted snow chicken stewed with water from millennia-old ice and snow. The flavor was so delicious that it made her soul tremble.

She went to the humid rainforests of the south and, together with local hunters, searched for the legendary mushrooms that were as soft as clouds.

She traveled downstream by boat, tasting all 108 ways of cooking fish on the long river.

She even traveled to an overseas island just to taste a strange fruit that is said to melt in your mouth.

She wrote about her journey in a book called "June Food Record".

The book contains no fancy words, only the simplest descriptions and her own hand-drawn, slightly clumsy but childlike illustrations.

Yet, this very book unexpectedly became a sensation in the world of martial arts.

Countless people follow in her footsteps to search for the delicacies hidden among the mountains and rivers.

Wherever she goes, she brings the purest joy.

She would dance with joy at the sight of a novel spice, and become friends with a restaurant owner over a bowl of authentic noodles.

She is still that round, chubby little dumpling.

But her smile was brighter and freer than ever before.

On this day, Bai Lu, who was in the capital, received two letters at the same time.

One of the letters was a confidential business report that was sent urgently in April.

The letter used concise language to analyze the impact of the canal transport reform on rice prices in the Jiangnan region and proposed a grand plan to monopolize the market.

The other letter was sent back in June from the distant South China Sea by a gyrfalcon.

The letter was written on a huge banana leaf, on which a large, menacing lobster was drawn with fruit juice, and next to it was a line of large, crooked characters.

"Mother! This is beautiful!"

"Once I find a way to preserve it, I will send it back to you!"

Holding the secret report filled with ambition and the banana leaf slick with saliva, Bai Lu revealed a long-lost, genuine smile.

Her daughters, one chose immense power and wealth, the other chose a carefree life.

Although they seem to be going in opposite directions, they actually arrive at the same goal by different paths.

They have all found their own happiness and lived the life they most wanted.

This is a mother's greatest satisfaction in this life.

……

Time is a silent ferryman, carrying away vibrant lives as well as deep-seated grudges.

When news of Bai Yansong's death reached the capital, there was not a ripple in the Marquis of Anguo's residence.

Bai Chuyao silently sent people to handle the funeral arrangements and buried him in a corner of the ancestral graveyard.

None of the Bai family's children attended the burial.

It's not resentment, nor hatred; it's just a simple feeling that it's no longer necessary.

That long-severed family bond cannot be rekindled by a death.

He turned into dust without a sound, becoming a blurry silhouette in my memory, no longer capable of stirring any emotion.

Zhao Bingyu, far away in the Western Regions, also reached the end of her life.

She lay on a magnificent bed, surrounded by her later sons and daughters, such as Zhu, Ruyu, and Rubao...

They were gathered around the bed, sobbing softly.

But Zhao Bingyu's gaze passed blankly through them, looking towards the distant east.

She wanted to see Bai Lu, and the children she had personally pushed away.

She wanted to see Bai Chuyao, Bai Liezhao, and Bai Qingze.

She wanted to say an apology to them in person at the very last moment of her life, an apology that might have been too late.

She murmured their names over and over again.

However, they pretended not to hear and just cried while saying things to reassure her to focus on getting better.

They didn't go to invite them.

Of course, even if they went to invite them, those four people wouldn't come.

Zhao Bingyu slowly closed her eyes amidst endless waiting and disappointment.

At the very end of her life, she experienced the bitterness of lifelong regret.

The wheels of time never stop for anyone's sorrow.

Many years later, the golden age of the Great Wu Dynasty became even more stable under the rule of Emperor Jingming.

This emperor pioneered the cabinet system, and the success of the women's imperial examinations made him famous throughout history.

His marriage to his queen, which began as a political alliance, eventually blossomed into a deep and loving bond over the years.

They didn't have a dramatic love story, but they had a tacit understanding of mutual respect, and they grew old together, which was a happy life.

Bai Siyue's business empire is already the most powerful entity on this land besides the royal family.

Two people always stood beside her: Lady Luo and Shen Congyun.

The three of them form the most solid trio.

Lady Luo never married and managed all of Bai Siyue's businesses in the north.

Shen Congyun never married. He was deeply involved in the trade routes in the Western Regions, and his methods were shrewd and meticulous.

They had each reached the level of being the richest people in a state, yet they were still willing to be Bai Siyue's most capable assistants.

No one knows whether, in the sleepless nights, Shen Congyun and Luo Niangzi would recall the feelings they had when they were young.

Shangguan Fusheng has also grown old.

This man, once the richest man in Qingzhou and now the second richest man in the world, never married.

He transformed his deep-seated love for Bailu into a universal love for all women.

He sat in a rocking chair in the courtyard, sunlight filtering through the sparse leaves and casting dappled shadows on his aged face.

He called his younger sister, Shangguan Yi, his voice already somewhat weak.

“Ayi, after I leave, donate all my property to the Seven Fairies Academy.”

"elder brother!"

Shangguan Yi was already in tears.

"Let me finish."

Shangguan Fusheng smiled, a smile that still carried the cool and aloof air of his youth. "In my entire life, there has only ever been one person in my heart."

"If I can't have it, then so be it. Better to have nothing than something bad."

"This money, you can't take it with you when you're born, and you can't take it with you when you die... So let's use it to help more girls, so that they can go to school, learn to read, and have the right to choose their own lives."

"Perhaps, there will be a few more women like her in this world."

He didn't say who "she" was, but Shangguan Yi understood.

Shangguan Fusheng passed away suddenly in an autumn rain.

His departure marked the end of an era.

However, the enormous wealth he left behind allowed the brilliance of the Seven Fairy Maidens Academy to illuminate every corner of the Great Wu Dynasty.

Sun Nanxing is lucky.

During his business trip, he met a cheerful girl from the South.

The girl loved his inherent kindness and resilience.

They got married, had several children, and lived a simple but happy life.

Others, however, burn their lives out on the path they chose.

Zhou Langya dedicated his life to his country and died in the sandstorms of the northern border.

He died from exhaustion during the war.

He used his last ounce of strength to bring peace to the borders of the Great Wu for the next three hundred years.

Bai Chuyao, Bai Liezhao, and Bai Qingze, the three elder brothers, all passed away peacefully surrounded by their children and grandchildren.

They passed away peacefully, without regrets.

In their final moments, they all held Bailu's hand and told her to take good care of herself.

The most heartbreaking thing is Gu Liang's departure.

As the Duke of Anguo, he rose to the position of Grand Secretary, wearing a purple robe and a gold belt, reaching the pinnacle of officialdom.

His life is a model of rising from humble beginnings, a model of aristocratic scions, and the pinnacle of a powerful minister.

He left peacefully.

However, when his family was sorting through his belongings, they found it deep inside the trunk he kept close to his body...

I found a white garment that had been washed until it was faded and was even somewhat tattered.

When Bai Lu arrived after receiving the news, that was the white robe she saw.

She reached out, her fingertips trembling as she stroked the rough fabric.

She recognized the dress.

That was many, many years ago, in Liangzhou, when they first met. This is the clothes Gu Liang was wearing.

It turns out he had kept it all along.

It turns out that some secrets can be hidden for a lifetime.

Bai Lu stood there, speechless for a long time, tears silently streaming down her face.

She never wronged anyone in her life.

But with him, perhaps... I still can't quite see clearly.

So, one by one, the people have left.

Everyone has found their own place in the world.

Finally, only the White Dew remained.

She lived alone until she was very, very old.

The Marquis of Anguo's residence was still the same residence, only it had become increasingly spacious and quiet.

She often sits alone in the pavilion in the back garden, sometimes for an entire afternoon.

She watched the lotus flowers in the pond bloom and fade, and the locust tree leaves turn green and then yellow.

Her memory, like the cycle of the four seasons, replays those vivid faces again and again.

She recalled her youth in Liangzhou, where she raised seven children alone after her divorce. They survived in a dilapidated thatched hut, selling goat milk, milk tea, and tapioca pearls... little by little, they moved to a larger house...

She recalled the internal strife in Liangzhou, the plague in Qingzhou, and the war in Zhaozhou...

She recalled how, during the turmoil in the capital, her brothers stood in front of her, saying, "With us here, no one can touch my sister."

She recalled Shangguan Fusheng's aloof and jade-like face, Sun Nanxing's lively smile, Pei Huizhou's cold and sinister profile, the letters Zhou Langya sent from the border that always only said everything was fine, Bai Yansong's twisted and obsessive personality, and Zhao Bingyu's awkward and cold-blooded nature...

Those people and those events were the most vivid and colorful chapters in her life.

Now, they have gradually faded and become ink paintings hanging on the wall.

It was a crisp autumn morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten, and a chill was in the air.

Bai Lu, wearing a thick cloak, walked alone in the courtyard strewn with fallen leaves.

A layer of glistening frost had condensed on the tips of the grass blades.

She reached out and gently caught a falling yellow leaf.

She thought that in her life, she had protected her family, brought peace to the world, raised her daughter, helped many people, and also taken a more detached view of many things.

She gained a lot, and she also lost a lot.

The white dew of autumn has nourished all things.

Eventually, it will dissipate into the world as the sun rises.

【End of full text】