Chapter 983 - 979: The Walnut Tree Outside the Window
While giving a slight signal to her subordinates, Mei Huizi quickly wiped away the tears from her face, trying to make her expression appear no different than usual, before biting her lip and swiftly returning to Ozawa Miwa.
At this moment, Mei Huizi was really putting everything aside, even if it meant giving up her position as the head steward, she wanted to hear what Ozawa Miwa had to say.
Gently wiping away the bloodstains from Ozawa Miwa’s face with pity, Mei Huizi’s hands trembled uncontrollably, and she couldn’t suppress the deep pain in her heart, having to rely on deep breaths to ease the overwhelming feeling.
"Mei Huizi Granny, there are some things I’ve long wanted to tell you... *cough cough!*"
With two coughs, Ozawa Miwa’s newly cleaned face was once again stained with fresh blood. Her crescent-like eyebrows deeply furrowed together.
"Princess, please just rest for a while, I’m right here, I won’t leave," Mei Huizi said anxiously, reaching out and lovingly touching Ozawa Miwa’s hair, the gesture as gentle as handling a rare and precious treasure.
"No!" Ozawa Miwa insisted, "I’m afraid if I don’t say it now, I won’t have the chance to tell you, Mei Huizi Granny."
Upon hearing this, the emotions that Mei Huizi had barely managed to contain once again spiraled out of control, making all her prior efforts in vain.
Next, while Mei Huizi was about to offer words of comfort, she noticed the middle-aged man beside them shake his head slightly, "Let her finish what she wants to say."
Mei Huizi closed her eyes slightly, then nodded and said, "Go ahead, don’t be anxious, I’m right here."
Saying this, she took Ozawa Miwa’s hands in her own, as if trying to reassure her, convincing herself she would feel more at ease this way!
"Thank you, Mei Huizi Granny," Ozawa Miwa said as she tried to focus her gaze on Mei Huizi, then continued, "I lost my mother when I was very young, so I’ve always seen you as a motherly figure. Thank you for letting me feel a mother’s warmth."
"I remember when I asked you as a child why you never married, you told me that once I grew up and got married, you would be free to find a place of your own."
Ozawa Miwa sighed, "It was later that I realized you were deceiving me, but I hope after I’m gone, Mei Huizi Granny, that you can be happy, without worrying about me anymore!"
"No, how can you be gone?" Mei Huizi shook her head in denial, lowering her head deeply to avoid letting Ozawa Miwa see her expression.
Yet Ozawa Miwa earnestly said, "I’ve grown up now, Mei Huizi Granny, you can’t fool me anymore."
Mei Huizi gripped Ozawa Miwa’s hands even tighter, the quickened breath interrupting any attempt to speak, leaving her unable to regain her composure for a long time.
After some time, Ozawa Miwa continued, "Do you remember when I asked you as a child what gift you wanted most, what you said?"
Hearing this, Mei Huizi quickly cleared her mind, desperately trying to recall what Ozawa Miwa was referring to, finally recalling after a long while...
It was Ozawa Miwa’s sixth birthday when she received a big pile of presents and asked Mei Huizi what the gift she wanted most was.
At the time, Mei Huizi shook her head with a laugh, then pointed out the window at the Bodhi Tree, and said, "Do you see that walnut tree? If you can find two walnuts of the same size with similar patterns, then give them to me as a gift."
Ozawa Miwa tilted her little head and asked, "What’s so good about walnuts? Besides, isn’t two not enough to eat?"
Upon hearing this innocent question, Mei Huizi couldn’t help but laugh again, "Princess, you might not know, but two identical walnuts are actually hard to come by, and if you can find them and process them, they will become very valuable over time."
"Oh, that’s how it is!" Ozawa Miwa showed an enlightened expression, then nodded vigorously agreeing, "Alright, I will definitely find two identical walnuts to give to Mei Huizi Granny as a gift."
Mei Huizi smiled and agreed, "Then it’s a promise!"
...
At the end of these thoughts, Mei Huizi felt even more distressed. A casual remark at that time; she never thought the young princess would remember it to this day!
Moreover, with Ozawa Miwa’s words, many things began to surface in her mind as well.
For instance, later, some personnel involved in royal planning repeatedly proposed cutting down the walnut tree outside Ozawa Miwa’s window, but it was preserved each time through her insistence.
At the time, it was only thought that Ozawa Miwa was going through a rebellious phase, always wanting to oppose everyone around her. Besides, no one wanted to offend Ozawa Miwa, the royal family’s cherished jewel, over a walnut tree, so the walnut tree remained to this day.
But now, reflecting on it, Mei Huizi felt a twinge of sourness in her nose. Was the little princess really doing it for her as a joke?
As everyone knows, in the world of antiques, such consistently sized walnuts with nearly identical patterns generally come in pairs, and the better preserved they are over the years, the more valuable they become, often selling for hundreds of thousands and still not being considered extraordinary.
However, those are carefully selected from countless walnuts, and they’re not even always from the same tree. Some specialists would contract entire orchards at once, but still find very few that qualify to make a pair, most simply appear similar in size.
Let alone finding slightly similar patterns, exactly the same size, and obtaining them from the same tree under such strict conditions?
Thinking of this, Mei Huizi nodded and spoke in a dry voice, "I remember!"
"According to your request, Mei Huizi Granny, I’ve found two walnuts that are of consistent size and patterns not too dissimilar. They’re in my room’s cabinet," Ozawa Miwa said, a very proud smile appearing on her face, but in Mei Huizi’s eyes, it caused a heaviness in her chest, and a multitude of indescribable feelings surged in.
A moment later, Ozawa Miwa weakly asked, "Mei Huizi Granny, why are you crying?"
Mei Huizi quickly snapped back to reality, reaching up to touch her cheek, only to realize she had unknowingly shed tears. She quickly wiped them away and covered up, "The wind is strong, sand got into my eyes."
Though the voices of their conversation weren’t loud, in the deathly silence, they seemed especially clear, especially the behaviors of Mei Huizi and Ozawa Miwa, weighing heavily in the hearts of everyone present, like a big stone pressing down, making it impossible to feel at ease.
Witnessing all this, Xiao Tian’s expression was equally grave to the extreme. Since Ozawa Miwa mentioned the Heart-Breaking Fruit, he had been searching his mind for information about these three words, but still had not recalled anything by now.
However, based on observations during this period and Ozawa Miwa’s reaction, it seemed like a different kind of poison...