birthday
That's a jade pendant that belongs to the Bodhisattva; how could anyone not like it?
Gu Sidu suppressed his desire for the jade pendant, thinking that if Lord Jiang didn't want it, he could rightfully keep it in his possession. However, he never expected that Jiang Yaoguang would act contrary to his usual behavior and accept the jade pendant.
Ah, his personal jade pendant, Gu Sidu lamented inwardly. Although he was pained by the loss of the pendant, he had received Jiang Yaoguang's good intentions in befriending him, so the pendant had gained some value. The Bodhisattva was right; Lord Jiang had indeed taken notice of him. His future was promising; he just needed to wait.
He believed that Lord Jiang would come to him.
After returning home, he told the Bodhisattva about the matter, saying that he had done a perfect job and hoped that the Bodhisattva would praise him.
Just as Jiang Yufan had predicted, she nodded and told Gu Sidu that he had done a good job.
Is that all? Gu Sidu wanted to hear more praise, but he was asked to leave because Jiang Yufan had more important things to do.
Jiang Yufan still needed to confirm one thing.
She asked Daoyun to go to Chenxiang Temple.
"When will you go, and why?" Daoyun frowned. "Does the Buddhist nun need to return to Chenxiang Temple? That's not difficult at all. She can just tell the abbot directly."
Daoyun thought that the Buddhist nun had finally lost patience with Gu Sidu and was about to leave.
“Jiang Yaoguang will definitely recognize my jade pendant when he sees it. He will go to Chenxiang Temple to confirm whether the jade pendant is mine and whether I am still in the temple. I don’t know if the abbot will receive him or what he will say to him, ‘Please take a look for me.’”
"That's why," Dao Yun's mood improved, and he agreed. The matter of the Buddhist nun was important and could not be delayed. Jiang Yu Fan guessed that Jiang Yao Guang would go to Chenxiang Temple the day after tomorrow.
The day after tomorrow is Jiang Yufan's birthday.
Jiang Yufan's birthday is easy to remember; it falls five days before the Mid-Autumn Festival. After her birthday, the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunion, begins. Jiang Yufan loves her birthday and the sight of her family together. However, after she turned eight, she stopped celebrating her birthday.
If Jiang Yaoguang harbored doubts, if he still remembered her as his daughter, he would have found a reason to go to Chenxiang Temple that day to ask the abbot about her whereabouts. Jiang Yufan knew Jiang Yaoguang's thoughts best, and she sneered that Jiang Yaoguang didn't recognize her as his daughter, but he did remember this jade pendant.
These days, besides waiting, Gu Sidu was also busy with his own affairs. He had no time to pay attention to the servants' report that Daoyun had gone to Chenxiang Temple. He had another important matter on his mind.
He wanted to celebrate the Bodhisattva's birthday.
Although the Bodhisattva had never told him her birth date, when Gu Sidu invited Jiang Yufan home from Chenxiang Temple, he gave her an extra hundred taels of silver to inquire about her birth date and time. Gu Sidu did not mention this expense to Jiang Yufan. He thought that if the Bodhisattva herself was in danger, he would take the Bodhisattva's birth date and time to ask a master to resolve the conflict between him and the Bodhisattva.
This birth date and time had never been used; it was just a piece of waste paper in Gu Sidu's hands. But the Bodhisattva had blessed him and brought him a bright future, so he naturally wanted to repay the Bodhisattva.
He wanted to organize a birthday banquet for the Bodhisattva.
Such a thing couldn't be hidden from Jiang Yufan, and Gu Sidu had no intention of hiding it. He had already figured out how to make Jiang Yufan stop what he was doing if he came in front of him, and how he would act spoiled and make the Bodhisattva soften her heart.
But none of that happened. Gu Sidu busied herself with preparing a wonderful surprise for her birthday banquet.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the Emperor grants all officials a holiday so that their families can reunite and look up at the full moon in the sky. That full moon, having witnessed so many partings and deaths, and experienced so many waxing and waning phases, can no longer express any of its innermost thoughts; it simply shines its light silently upon the world.
Jiang Yufan had forgotten her own birthday. She only hoped that Daoyun would return from Chenxiang Temple. Fortunately, Daoyun had never disappointed her. Sure enough, after returning home on August 10th, the first thing he did was to look for Jiang Yufan.
"how?"
“Buddha, you guessed correctly. Jiang Yaoguang went to Chenxiang Temple, and after he finished offering incense, he went directly to the abbot to ask about you.”
Jiang Yaoguang has always been very cautious about his career prospects. However, once he goes to Chenxiang Temple, he will know everything, including the relationship between Jiang Yufan and Gu Sidu. This is what Jiang Yufan is worried about. If the abbot reveals everything, her plan will be ruined.
With Daoyun present, they could secretly cover for the abbot.
Jiang Yufan didn't think the abbot would help her. She was afraid that if the abbot found out, he would think she was stubborn and couldn't let go of any grudge after eight years.
But Daoyun said, "Buddha, the abbot is standing by your side this time."
"What?"
In Chenxiang Temple, a suspicious person stepped forward and inquired about the whereabouts of a Bodhisattva who could communicate with gods and Buddhas. Daoyun stood by his side, but he still could not dispel the doubts. It was the abbot who spoke up and dispelled those suspicions.
The abbot said that in recent years, too many people have come to ask the Buddhist nun for things. The Buddhist nun is kind-hearted and is always willing to give away some of her things to ensure their safety. Now that this item has come into the hands of the benefactor, it can be considered a matter of fate.
The abbot added, “If you don’t want it, you can return it to your person and have that person go back to Chenxiang Temple and return it to the Buddhist nun. However, this is a bit troublesome. This jade pendant has passed through many hands and is no longer the Buddhist nun’s. It would damage the relationship. Would you like to do this?”
Jiang Yaoguang hesitated. He didn't want to return the item to Gu Sidu and then have Gu Sidu return it. He knew Gu Sidu wanted to befriend him, and by accepting the jade pendant, he meant he shared that intention. But returning it would sever that relationship.
The abbot just said that it hurts relationships and ties.
However, Jiang Yaoguang looked at the abbot and asked, "If this thing is destined to be incompatible with me, will it still be incompatible after passing through someone else's hands?"
The abbot shook his head. Things that change hands mean they have new opportunities.
Jiang Yufan was stunned by Daoyun's words. She hadn't expected the abbot to speak up for her and cover for her. Why would the abbot do this? Jiang Yufan felt a pang of guilt.
“Buddha, the abbot asked me to pass on a message to you,” Daoyun said, “If your worldly desires are not fulfilled, it means you are destined to be together. Even if you insist on going your own way, the result will be the same.”
Jiang Yufan understood. The abbot understood her thoughts, her calculations, and her revenge. These were matters of the mortal world, unrelated to the temple's gods and Buddhas. The abbot wasn't helping Jiang Yufan; rather, he knew that Jiang Yaoguang wouldn't abandon Gu Sidu's power, nor would he relinquish the jade pendant. Since he wouldn't abandon it, he would go with the flow, guiding these causes and effects back onto their proper course.
The abbot still wanted Jiang Yufan to let go. After struggling several times, the result would only be the same: she had to let go.
Jiang Yufan understood everything, but she just couldn't let go.
She received the abbot's words and was grateful to him, but she still decided to stick to her own opinion; she still believed in herself.
Now that things have begun, she won't stop. She wants to see if Jiang Yaoguang can truly succeed without falling down and bring glory to his family by abandoning her.
She is not a member of the Jiang family, so naturally she will not acknowledge this father. Naturally, she will be even more ruthless, just like the Jiang family treated her.
But she didn't expect that there were still some people in the Jiang family who thought of her.
Jiang Yaoguang brought the jade pendant back to the Jiang family home and showed it to his wife. Upon seeing the pendant, Madam Jiang immediately asked where it came from. Overwhelmed with excitement at not seeing him for so long, Madam Jiang grasped her husband's hand: "You saw Yu Fan, didn't you?"
"Where is she? Is she still at Chenxiang Temple? I wonder if she's doing well." Madam Jiang naturally recognized the jade pendant. She had personally chosen the jade and had the patterns carved on it. It was worn by Jiang Yufan as a birthday gift.
She counted the days and murmured, "Husband, today is Yu Fan's birthday."
"I didn't see her, how could we possibly see her again?" Jiang Yaoguang confirmed that this was indeed Jiang Yufan's jade pendant. He hadn't mistaken it after all. It seemed that Gu Sidu had asked for this pendant for protection, which allowed him to see it again. All of this should have nothing to do with Jiang Yufan.
He had already given away one of his daughters to Buddha, so he figured those calamities wouldn't befall him again. The gods and Buddhas should understand and protect him. However, this jade pendant was inappropriate; he couldn't carry it with him. Seeing his wife still concerned about the pendant and the daughter she should have forgotten long ago, Jiang Yaoguang became enraged and tried to snatch it away.
"I will have someone throw this jade pendant away tomorrow. We cannot accept anything related to the Jiang family or her."
“No, my husband,” Madam Jiang said, clutching the jade pendant tightly. “Buddha has already blessed us and given us a child. You have had a good life all these years. Why can’t you be more forgiving?”
"If you don't want this jade pendant, my husband, please keep it for me. It's good to keep it as a memento. We are not by her side. Today is her birthday and also the Mid-Autumn Festival. I wonder if she is doing well alone in Chenxiang Temple, if she thinks of us, and if she blames us."
Jiang Yaoguang didn't want to see the jade pendant in the first place. After several unsuccessful attempts to snatch it, he could only go with Madam Jiang. As long as the jade pendant wasn't in front of him, he didn't care about his birth date. Jiang Yaoguang was also filled with hatred when he thought of Jiang Yufan.
He had said before that he would pretend he didn't have this daughter.
What Jiang Yaoguang abandoned and what Madam Jiang worried about were all kept hidden in the Jiang family mansion, unknown to others.
What is love if it is not seen or known by others? If you want to care for and cherish someone, you should show it to your loved one so that they will know and be happy.
Someone remembered Jiang Yufan's birthday, and at this moment, this person arrived quietly with a surprise. He carried a small ceremonial cannon in his mouth and invited Jiang Yufan to the courtyard to admire the moon. Under the almost full moon, Jiang Yufan's birthday celebration blossomed between the cannon barrels, beginning with Jiang Yufan covering his ears, thus drawing back the curtain.
Jiang Yufan's heart pounded. When she turned her head, the first thing she heard was Gu Sidu's words: "Happy birthday."
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