Astrology is a truly mysterious art. I must admit, I have never fully unraveled its secrets. But it’s undeniable—the reason the Yun Family has survived all these years is closely tied to our ancestors, who were astrologers for generations. When it came to your grandmother’s generation, she foresaw the crisis facing the Yun Family. One part of this crisis was the arrival of the 1,111th descendant. Yes, you and Nora Yun are the 1,111th generation of the family.
This number, passed down to your generation, is a sign of great misfortune. The Yun Family will be destroyed by the 1,111th descendant. Your fate and Nora Yun’s are completely different. While still in the womb, you forcefully took all the nutrients, causing Nora Yun’s congenital weakness. Logically, you, being stronger, should have been born first. But Nora Yun was the one who came into the world first. And at the moment you were born, you carried the Heavenly and Earthly Calamity with you.
"Honestly, I never believed any of this in the past. When your grandmother told me that your mother’s child was destined to carry the Heavenly and Earthly Calamity, I dismissed it. I thought it was just a coincidence. That’s why your grandmother hid the truth from both me and your mother, and secretly made arrangements. The person involved was your adoptive mother, Jane Gu."
Jane Gu was a child your grandmother adopted, and she always obeyed her. One day, your grandmother asked if she was willing to repay her kindness. Jane Gu agreed, knowing it would cost her dearly. Your grandmother chose a suitable man for her to leave the Yun Family with—Howard Gu, your adoptive father. After Jane Gu married Howard Gu, she left Eastshire Province and returned here, secretly waiting for the day you and Nora Yun would be born.
"When Jane Gu left, your grandmother gave her a pill. This was a secret remedy of the Yun Family, and even the most advanced technology would take time and resources to analyze its ingredients. Your grandmother worried that after Jane Gu married Howard Gu, she might stop following the Yun Family’s rules, so she made Jane Gu take the pill under the pretense of marriage. The pill’s effect wasn’t just to prevent Jane Gu from conceiving—it would slowly drain her life force."
Cecilia Gu gasped when she heard this!
No wonder the doctor hesitated when examining Jane Gu.
It seems he had already discovered something.
But because of his position, he couldn’t say anything.
"If this person never gets pregnant, it’s fine. But if she does, and without the Yun Family Secret Remedy, neither mother nor child will survive." Mr. Yun said this with a heavy heart. "I truly never expected that the legendary remedy would actually exist! Back in the day, someone in the Yun Family served as an imperial physician, so these things probably originated from the palace."
Cecilia Gu nodded silently, her heart growing heavier.
"Jane Gu kept promising that no matter how long the medicine worked, she would never get pregnant and would raise you as her own daughter. Jane Gu truly did that. No matter how much hardship you faced, she always treated you like her own." Mr. Yun sighed, "I am really grateful to her. Without her, maybe neither of my daughters would be alive today."
"Back then, when your mother was about to give birth, the plan was to go to the hospital. But your grandmother suddenly insisted otherwise and brought the doctor home for the delivery. At that time, your mother’s condition was truly dire—the baby was already suffocating, and it would take time to get to the hospital. Since we had doctors at home, I agreed to let them handle the birth there."
When Nora Yun was born, she was immediately put on a ventilator and in an incubator. Her condition was extremely poor, and I stayed by her side, not daring to leave for a moment, afraid something might go wrong. So, the only people left with your mother were your grandmother, the doctor, and the nurses.
"Finally, you were born. But when you came into the world, there was no cry, and your mother didn’t know what your condition was. After the umbilical cord was cut, someone held a lifeless baby in front of your mother and told her that the second child had died from suffocation."
"Your mother was devastated and fainted immediately. All the doctors were busy saving Nora Yun and your mother, so no one saw someone secretly take you away. All of this was done under your grandmother’s instructions. Some things are really strange and coincidental. During the whole process, you were quiet—never cried once."
"According to Yun Family rules, a stillborn baby cannot be buried in the ancestral tomb, so it had to be disposed of quickly. That’s why no one realized you’d been switched and successfully taken out of the Yun Family. When your mother woke up, it was three days later. Nora Yun survived, but her body was weak from birth. The family brought in the best doctors in the world, but they said she wouldn’t live past sixteen."
Your grandmother said Nora Yun had to live past sixteen, or the Yun Family would truly be finished. Regardless of the family’s fate, Nora Yun was my daughter and I had to do everything to save her. The Yun Family set up new herb gardens and laboratories just for her, growing and mixing medicines tailored to her needs. All the family’s savings went to Nora Yun. In the end, she lived to twenty-one.
On the day Nora Yun died, your grandmother stayed in her room the whole day. When she finally came out, she said just one thing: "Heavenly and Earthly Calamity—no solution. Unless someone appears who can suppress this fate, you can never return." Mr. Yun continued, "After saying that, your grandmother left the Yun Family and never returned. Two years passed, and yesterday she suddenly came back, called me and your mother into her room, and talked with us all night. Only then did I learn what really happened back then."
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"Cecilia, I know you resent us, resent the Yun Family. I hope, no matter how much you blame us, you won’t hold it against your grandmother. As the Yun Family’s astrologer, she had no choice." Mr. Yun wiped his tears and continued, "I also know I have no right to ask anything of you! After all, it’s been twenty-three years. The Yun Family owes you, we all owe you. But Cecilia, have you ever thought that coming to K City was actually fate?"
"After all, Yun Zixuan and you look exactly alike!" Mr. Yun murmured, "It really was fate, decided long ago."
"The Yun Family isn’t so easy to return to," Cecilia said softly. "No matter how many coincidences there are, they don’t prove anything."
"Yes, the Yun Family truly isn’t easy to come back to," Mr. Yun said, dejected. "I don’t even want you to return... Because you’re my only daughter now, and I just want you to live happily, the life you want."
At this moment, Mrs. Yun, who had been crying, finally couldn’t hold back. "Cecilia, stop asking questions. Just go! Go as far as you can! Never come back, never see us again!"
Mr. Yun rebuked, "What are you talking about!"
Suddenly, Mrs. Yun exploded, pointing at Mr. Yun and shouting, "It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you, my daughter wouldn’t have ended up out there, wouldn’t have suffered so much! If it weren’t for you, I would have thought my daughter was dead all this time!"
Mr. Yun’s face was full of remorse.
He had only just learned the truth himself.
But the one who made this decision was Madam Yun, his mother. He could only take the blame for her.
"Cecilia, stop asking, don’t come back!" Mrs. Yun sobbed uncontrollably. "The Yun Family’s responsibility and mission should never fall on you! Don’t come back—go, leave, go as far as you can!"
Cecilia Gu listened to Mrs. Yun’s words, deeply moved.
Red spider lily... Symbol of longing and separation in Chinese folklore, said to bloom on the banks of the afterlife, its flowers never meeting its leaves.
It blooms, yet the leaves do not meet; it falls, yet the flowers never reunite. Forever apart—like souls destined never to cross paths again.
"And the price?" Cecilia Gu had already expected this.
Just as she thought.
Since Madam Yun went to such lengths to force her back to the Yun Family, she must also want her to take on those responsibilities that were never meant to be hers!
Could this price be the one Charles Yin mentioned... that price?
Cecilia Gu couldn’t help but turn to look at Charles Yin, but all she could see was his broad back.
"The price is... a complete break with the Yin Family." Mr. Yun said gravely. "According to astrology, the Yun and Yin families are destined to become mortal enemies. The first thing you must do when you return to the Yun Family is... divorce Charles Yin."
"Why?" Cecilia Gu couldn’t help but ask, "Why does this have to involve the Yin Family?"
"Because the 1,111th generation of the Yun Family is bound by a marriage contract with the Mo Family." Mr. Yun’s eyes showed a trace of reluctance. "Decades ago, the Mo Family sacrificed several lives to save the Yun Family. That marriage contract was made then. No one can change it."
Mo Family, Mo Family...
Cecilia Gu stared in shock at the screen showing Mr. Yun and Mrs. Yun, a sudden flash of insight crossing her mind!
Could it really be because of this?
Cecilia Gu asked urgently, "Back then, when Nora Yun accepted Mo Zixin’s pursuit... does that mean... does that mean Nora Yun didn’t actually love Mo Zixin? She only agreed because of the family’s ancestral rule?"
Mr. Yun nodded silently.
Cecilia Gu slumped onto the sofa, and after a long time, she asked, "Then... the person Nora Yun loved, was it... was it Eric Jiang?"
Mr. Yun nodded again.
Suddenly, Cecilia Gu understood—she understood everything!
She finally understood why Eric Jiang lost control in front of her.
She finally understood why Eric Jiang said those words.
Red spider lily, red spider lily...
Blooming, never to meet; falling, never to reunite.