Apply medicine
The peace of the past few days was not true peace; it was merely a false prosperity. Jiang Yufan only knew that Gu Sidu was in trouble because of the servants who came to her door again.
It was the same servant who had come to see her last time.
Dao Yun recognized her at a glance: "It's you again. You never come here with anything good. Tell me, what do you need our Buddhist nun to trouble you with this time?"
"Please, Bodhisattva, have mercy and save our master!"
It's the same rhetoric again. Last time, he led others to "force" Jiang Yufan to communicate with the gods. Although the problem was resolved by the clever Jiang Yufan, who can guarantee that things will be resolved smoothly this time?
“Your master is currently riding high, how come he has fallen on hard times again? I think your master is very lucky.”
“This time it’s really different. Our patriarch is covered in blood, he won’t say a word, and he can’t even eat a bite of food. If the Bodhisattva doesn’t come, our patriarch will die!”
"How did your patriarch end up like this?" Jiang Yufan frowned, wondering why he always ended up in such a sorry state.
“He didn’t say anything, and we couldn’t get anything out of him. The head of the family looked depressed and sad, and he really wasn’t joking. Our head of the family was covered in blood. The doctor came and said that he had been hit with a board. The bleeding had stopped, but we couldn’t change the dressings or stop the bleeding from the wounds.”
"Can't you change his dressing yourselves?" Dao Yun said bluntly. "They sent you here, not so that we Buddhist nuns would take care of your patriarch, right?"
The servant fidgeted, smiling but saying nothing.
Good heavens! The unlucky one isn't Gu Sidu, but Jiang Yufan.
“Listen to what you’re saying. We Buddhist nuns were invited by your master. Do you know what it means to be invited? We’re not here to be your maids or servants.”
Daoyun was still angry and wanted to continue talking, but Jiang Yufan stopped her.
Who punished Gu Sidu? Who could treat Gu Sidu like this? These are all mysteries. Gu Sidu's expression is off; it's probably not a joke. Jiang Yufan stood up, put down the prayer beads in her hand, and said to the servant, "Alright, lead the way. I'll go take a look."
"Buddha!" Dao Yun had no choice but to follow up and say to Jiang Yu Fan, "I think Gu Si Du is just trying to do something bad to you. He just wants to order you around. Why are you still falling for his tricks?"
“He doesn’t like being touched, and others can’t apply medicine to him,” Jiang Yufan said.
Wow, Daoyun took a deep breath. She looked at Jiang Yufan and said hesitantly but clearly, "You believe everything he says, Buddha? You're too kind."
"I think it's exactly what Gu Sidu himself said; he's pursuing you!"
"But he holds an important position, so it's not surprising that he was punished. I should go and see him to find out why."
"Furthermore, he will die if no one changes his dressings."
Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. We can settle other scores later when Gu Sidu is better; saving lives is the priority.
When Jiang Yufan entered Gu Sidu's room, she smelled blood. Gu Sidu had lost a lot of blood, and even though the bleeding had stopped, the smell lingered. Jiang Yufan looked at the person lying on the bed and slowly walked over. Gu Sidu was lying on the bed with his back to Jiang Yufan, allowing her to see the blood streaming down his back.
A servant said to Gu Sidu, "Master, the Bodhisattva has arrived."
Upon hearing this, Gu Sidu twitched his ears slightly, but did not turn over or move. He did not greet Jiang Yufan as he used to, shouting loudly, "Bodhisattva, you've arrived!"
This was very unusual. The servants looked at Jiang Yufan, wanting to explain that Gu Sidu did not mean to be disrespectful to the Bodhisattva.
Jiang Yufan shook her head and told them to go out first.
"Daoyun," Jiang Yufan said, "you may go down too."
"Buddha, should I go down too?" Daoyun pointed to himself, incredulous.
"Yes, don't worry, you don't need to take care of things here. You can just watch over me outside." Jiang Yufan nodded to Daoyun, reassuring him.
Finally, only the two of them remained in the room. Jiang Yufan sat on the edge of the bed and glanced at Gu Sidu. The remaining bloodstains on the wound were blurred and congealed in one place, indicating that the dressing definitely needed to be changed.
The ointment was right by the bedside.
Jiang Yufan took the ointment and applied it to Gu Sidu's wound. She deliberately applied more pressure, which elicited a muffled groan from Gu Sidu as he gripped the pillow before Jiang Yufan let go.
Stubborn people need to be taught a lesson with brute force. Jiang Yufan did it on purpose. At this moment, she was going to press down hard to let the ointment seep into Gu Sidu's body. Before she even touched him, she saw Gu Sidu's body quietly shift.
Gu Sidu is also afraid of pain.
“Don’t move, the medicine hasn’t been applied yet,” Jiang Yufan said. “Gu Sidu, there’s no one here. You can tell me why you’ve gotten yourself into this state.”
The threat was obvious; if Gu Sidu didn't speak up, the pain from applying the medicine would arrive as expected.
Gu Sidu bit her lip and sighed deeply: "It was my servants who came to see you, Bodhisattva. I didn't mean for you to see me like this."
"Okay, then I'll let them apply the medicine." Jiang Yufan was about to put down the ointment.
"No, no, no, Bodhisattva, please don't go," Gu Sidu said in a panic. He tried to get up, but the pain in his back made him fall back onto the bed. "It's true that I didn't want you to come, but I'm also very happy that you're here."
“I was beaten by the person in charge,” Gu Sidu said.
Jiang Yufan paused, but her application of the medicine became much gentler: "Why did he hit you?"
"It's quite strange. Do you remember that His Majesty put me in charge of the imperial examinations? Recently, I was required to draft a list of personnel in charge of the examinations. I submitted the drafted list, but when the list was published, one person was missing."
"There's something wrong with the list, but I remember I didn't omit a single person."
"So, this warrants a beating?"
“I shouldn’t have been punished with a cane, but the person in charge invoked the Emperor’s name. He said that I was personally appointed by the Emperor, and if I made a mistake, it would be an insult to the Emperor’s judgment of people and a great disrespect to the Emperor.”
"He wants to reprimand me on behalf of the Emperor for my poor performance."
Using the Emperor's name, they also took the opportunity to punish Gu Sidu for his previous ostentation and failure to give gifts; this was revenge against Gu Sidu.
The hand applying the medicine applied more force, causing Gu Sidu to groan a few times.
"Bodhisattva, please save me! Please be gentle, don't kill me."
Jiang Yufan's face turned cold. She knew that Gu Sidu's misfortunes today were all the result of his past karma. It was not a matter of whose fault or retribution it was, but rather who had stepped forward to face their destiny.
Gu Sidu stepped forward to face his destiny.
Jiang Yufan didn't ask any more questions; she focused on applying the medicine to Gu Sidu.
After complaining to the Bodhisattva, Gu Sidu felt much better. With the Bodhisattva by his side, what did he have to fear? His thoughts were all on Jiang Yufan. He felt that although Jiang Yufan did not agree to his request, the strength in her hands softened, and the cool ointment penetrated into his skin, spreading a comfortable feeling throughout Gu Sidu's body.
He couldn't help but hum.
Gu Sidu's voice was not as deep and hoarse as those of people who had weathered many storms; Gu Sidu's voice still retained the clarity of a young boy.
When they hum, it always sparks the imagination.
Jiang Yufan couldn't understand such fantasies. Having grown up in a temple, she was inexperienced in such matters. She just thought Gu Sidu was being a bit pretentious, making such a fuss over applying medicine.
Jiang Yufan didn't know that such sounds were uncontrollable. If a pair of hands were to wander over her back, bringing itching and coolness amidst the pain, no one could bear such a sensation, and everyone would make such a sound.
"Gu Sidu, I have something to ask you."
"Please speak, Bodhisattva. I will answer all your questions." Gu Sidu thought the Bodhisattva wanted to know the specific details and wanted to stand up for him. He was deeply moved and raised his head high.
But Jiang Yufan wasn't asking about those details. Instead, she asked him, "Do you really not like other people touching you?"
Gu Sidu let out a weak sigh.
Jiang Yufan needed to confirm this. Daoyun was right; she couldn't just believe what others said, and she couldn't always do these things for Gu Sidu.
She needed to confirm with Gu Sidu.
“It’s like this,” Gu Sidu nodded, “It’s not that I’m deliberately troubling the Bodhisattva. I’ve never liked anyone touching my body since I was a child. If someone touches me, I will resist involuntarily and push them away. But it’s strange, Bodhisattva, when you touch me, I feel happy. My body recognizes you more than I recognize myself.”
"If I hadn't come, how would you have applied the medicine?"
"I will instruct the servants not to touch my body while applying the medicine."
There's always a way; it's just that I want to see the Bodhisattva.
Jiang Yufan imagined the scene: a servant, standing a distance away, holding ointment and sprinkling it on Gu Sidu's body. Just thinking about it made her feel absurd and ridiculous. Jiang Yufan couldn't help but chuckle. Then, she composed herself and said to Gu Sidu, "Since that's the case, then let the servant change your dressing like this. When you're healed and can get out of bed, come find me."
Gu Sidu was initially upset because Jiang Yufan wouldn't change his dressing, but when he heard Jiang Yufan tell him to go find her, hope returned to his eyes.
"Bodhisattva, what do you want me to do with you?" Gu Sidu's mind raced, and his face grew increasingly red.
Before Jiang Yufan could speak, the door was pushed open from the outside, and Daoyun's voice came quickly: "No, you can't come here to see our Buddhist nun."
Dao Yun pushed open the door and saw Gu Sidu half-dressed, with milky white ointment still on Jiang Yufan's fingertips. Gu Sidu's cheeks were flushed, as if he were satisfied, while Jiang Yufan still had that cold expression, a look of compassion for all living beings.
Dao Yun immediately closed the door, rushed forward and grabbed Jiang Yufan's wrist, shielding her in front of him.
"Gu Sidu, I heard everything outside just now. What exactly did you do to our Buddhist nun!"
How shameless! They invited the Buddhist nun into the house, and the two of them were alone in one room. They made no attempt to hide their unspeakable sounds, and the people outside could hear them clearly. Luckily, it was Daoyun outside. If someone else had been listening, the rumors would have spread throughout the entire Gu family.
Is this how you pursue your goals? Dao Yun wouldn't allow it.
Gu Sidu was speechless. He was about to say what he could possibly do in his current state, but before he could even speak, Dao Yun's sword was pointed directly at him.
It was just a hair's breadth away from the bridge of my nose.
It was just a tiny bit off.
“Daoyun,” Jiang Yufan said, “put down the sword.”
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