Chapter 15: The Son Grows Up
第15章：麟儿成长
Xu Mengjiao was now twenty years old. He had spent his life studying the classics and preparing for the imperial examinations. He was known throughout Hangzhou for his intelligence and his humble nature. Despite his success, he always felt that a piece of his life was missing. He had been told that his mother died shortly after his birth, but he often felt her presence in his dreams.
许梦蛟现在二十岁了。他一生都在研读经典，为科举考试做准备。他因智慧和谦逊而在全杭州闻名。尽管取得了成功，但他总觉得生命中缺少了一块。他被告知母亲在他出生后不久就去世了，但他经常在梦中感觉到她的存在。
"Aunt," he asked Xu Xian's sister one day. "Tell me more about my mother. What was she like?"
“姑妈，”一天他问许仙的姐姐。“多给我讲讲我母亲的事。她是什么样的人？”
His aunt sighed, her eyes filled with a mixture of love and regret. "She was the most beautiful woman I ever saw, Mengjiao. She had a spirit that was... not of this world. She loved you and your father more than anything."
他的姑妈叹了口气，眼中充满了爱与遗憾交织的神情。“她是我见过的最美丽的女人，梦蛟。她有一种……不属于这个世界的灵气。她比任何东西都爱你和你父亲。”
"And my father?" Mengjiao continued. "Why did he leave to become a monk?"
“那我父亲呢？”梦蛟继续问道。“他为什么离开去当和尚？”
"He was broken by her loss," she replied. "He sought peace in the only way he knew how. But he always hoped that you would achieve great things."
“他因为失去她而心碎，”她回答。“他用他唯一知道的方式寻求平静。但他一直希望你能成就大事。”
Mengjiao nodded, a new determination in his heart. "I will work harder than ever. I will win the top honors in the imperial exams and bring glory to our family. Perhaps then, the questions in my heart will be answered."
梦蛟点了点头，心中有了新的决心。“我会比以往任何时候都更加努力。我会在科举考试中夺魁，为我们的家庭带来荣耀。也许到那时，我心中的疑问就会得到解答。”
He spent his days and nights in study, his mind focused on his goal. He became the pride of his teachers and the envy of his peers. But even as he achieved success, he continued to visit the Leifeng Pagoda. He felt a deep sense of peace there, as if he were being watched over by a loving presence. He didn't know that his mother was listening to his every word, her heart swelling with pride at the man he had become. The bond between mother and son remained unbroken, even by the thick stones of the pagoda. The time for the truth to be revealed was drawing near, and Mengjiao's journey was about to take a dramatic turn.
他日以继夜地学习，心思全都集中在目标上。他成了老师们的骄傲和同龄人羡慕的对象。但即使取得了成功，他仍然继续访问雷峰塔。他在那里感到一种深深的平静，仿佛被一种慈爱的存在守护着。他不知道他的母亲正在倾听他的每一个字，为他所长成的人而感到自豪。母子之间的纽带从未被切断，即使是被雷峰塔厚重的石头隔开。真相大白的时刻即将来临，梦蛟的旅程即将发生戏剧性的转折。