Empathy
Madam Jiang was just the first person to come to Jiang Yufan for help, not the last. If Jiang Yufan didn't save her, people would come to bother him every day, leaving him no peace. This was exactly what Jiang Yufan had been worried about these past few days, and it had finally come to pass.
Jiang Yufan's cheeks burned with pain. Gu Sidu applied medicine to her face. An egg rolled across her cheek, and Jiang Yufan's lips twitched. Daoyun was about to raise his hand when he slapped Gu Sidu on the back.
"Be gentle, can't you see the Buddhist nun is in pain?"
"Do you even know how to do it? Or should I try?" Dao Yun was about to make a move, but Gu Sidu dodged it, giving Dao Yun no chance.
“You practice martial arts, so your strength must be great, but it might not be as good as mine.” Gu Sidu pursed his lips and made his movements even gentler. Jiang Yufan didn’t complain of pain anymore.
Jiang Yufan's pain wasn't from the slap, but from the chill that had set in her heart. She quickly explained her mother's purpose, letting Daoyun and Gu Sidu understand what had happened inside, and that was the end of it.
It wasn't something Jiang Yufan would do to proclaim her inner pain, but such a recounting was enough to make people feel the pain within. Daoyun couldn't hold back the sword she was about to draw. She said, "I've never seen such a person before. When they don't need the Buddha Maiden, they say they want to sever ties, but when they do need the Buddha Maiden, they just use the same old tricks, tearfully pushing all the responsibility onto the Buddha Maiden."
"If you're so capable, then don't come begging to the Buddhist nun!"
“Using the same old trick,” Gu Sidu looked at Daoyun, “when else?”
That was a very long time ago, about seven years ago. At that time, Jiang Yufan was just a nine-year-old child who had only been at Chenxiang Temple for a year. Countless escape attempts had numbed Jiang Yufan's heart. She finally gave up on everything and prepared to give up on herself at Chenxiang Temple. It was at that time that she finally managed to transform herself into a bodhisattva who was said to be all-powerful by others over the course of a year. She would agree to whatever others said and didn't care what others did to her.
Her daily task was to sit upright before the gods and Buddhas, perform the gestures befitting a Bodhisattva, and listen to those who made prayers pour out their desires. Lacking any spiritual wisdom, to prevent her from being exposed, the things she prayed for were manipulated behind the scenes by someone else. If they were to come true, they would be handed over to her, and what she would cast would be the Holy Grail.
The temple was full of people with profound skills, and their wishes could be fulfilled. Their reputation spread far and wide, but this reputation only made Jiang Yufan more numb, and he just kept throwing things in his hands day after day.
Until one winter, an uninvited guest arrived at Chenxiang Temple.
Upon seeing those two faces, Jiang Yufan threw away what she was holding, refusing to listen to their wishes no matter what others said. The two were Jiang Yaoguang and his wife. At that time, their hatred was still very strong, but their love was also intense. In the end, Jiang Yufan softened, and she sat down with compassion, listening to her parents' pleas.
But what she heard was her parents saying that they wanted a son.
The winter snow was truly chilling, and it completely chilled Jiang Yufan's heart. She walked down and said to her parents, "I will never let you have your way in this lifetime."
How could a nine-year-old girl have such a vicious heart? No matter how much incense Jiang Yaoguang offered to Chenxiang Temple, it made Jiang Yaoguang and his wife raise their heads, wanting to see what kind of person could say such things.
They looked up and saw their daughter, who bore the blood of the Jiang family, whom they had abandoned.
Madam Jiang was surprised and pointed at Jiang Yufan to speak, but Jiang Yaoguang spoke first. Jiang Yaoguang said, "It seems that abandoning you back then was the right thing to do. You really are a jinx, with a very strong desire for revenge."
"Where is your abbot? I want to see him!"
What was meant to be a plea turned into blackmail and a matter of course. They stood in the winter snow for half an hour, which later became what Jiang Yaoguang called an incredibly difficult ordeal, and all of it became Jiang Yufan's deliberate harassment.
But the reason for this remission was that fate had blessed them with a son. Jiang Yaoguang named his son Jiang Yurong, meaning to bestow glory. Jiang Yufan hid in the outer corridor, watching his parents under the watchful eyes of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Sure enough, the Jiang family soon had a son. In order to cover up his cruel act of abandoning his daughter, Jiang Yaoguang did not expose the fake bodhisattva in Chenxiang Temple. Everyone in this world needs to be glamorous, and Jiang Yaoguang understood that.
After learning that her parents had gotten their wish, Jiang Yufan locked herself in her room and refused to eat for days and nights. She didn't want to eat; she thought that if she died, all these grudges would be settled. But just as she lost all her strength and was on the verge of death, she saw the abbot and a little girl of about her age who was with him.
That was Dao Yun, who later gave Jiang Yufan a lot of bright light and helped her get through it all. He was the most important person in Jiang Yufan's life.
The abbot comforted Jiang Yufan, saying, "You should have seen through it all by now. From now on, Chenxiang Temple will be your home. Just stay here and help others in peace, and forget all your worldly grudges."
At that moment, Jiang Yufan's face was full of tears as she looked up at the abbot and asked, "Why should I help people?"
"Abbot, why do you want to save people who are destined to wander and be abandoned?" Jiang Yufan asked. She couldn't even save herself, so how could she save others?
"Why are you helping them? They clearly did something wrong."
The abbot raised his hand and gently wiped away the tears from Jiang Yufan's eyes. He said, "Buddhism teaches that all sentient beings are equal, so it is natural to help and save others in order to accumulate merit for one's next life."
The abbot said, “If you can see that all people are the same and equal, then the compassion in your heart can help you overcome all suffering. Yu Fan, you don’t understand now, but one day you will.”
"What if I never understand this in my entire life?" Jiang Yufan was rebellious at heart, and she did not believe that she would ever understand these fallacies.
The principles were all spoken by the abbot; whether or not one could achieve them, whether or not one could cultivate such a Buddha-nature, depended solely on the abbot's words. Jiang Yufan didn't believe it. Those who don't believe will never truly believe; Jiang Yufan only believed in himself.
"That's just a lifetime of cultivation, followed by reincarnation, and continuing to seek enlightenment." The abbot said something else that Jiang Yufan couldn't understand, and he lovingly stroked Jiang Yufan's forehead.
It was also because of the abbot's comfort that Daoyun accompanied Jiang Yufan and witnessed firsthand how his parents completely severed ties with Jiang Yufan after their wish was fulfilled.
“You are a vicious person. The Jiang family has no daughter like you. It is fortunate that you did not interfere, otherwise the Jiang family would have such glory today. You are not allowed to have any involvement with the Jiang family again in the future, otherwise you will be the sinner of the Jiang family.”
Look, how can someone with such cold hatred save people?
Jiang Yurong should be seven years old now. In these seven years, Jiang Yufan still doesn't believe the abbot's words. She can't save others, nor can she save her own brother. She can't even save herself. She still hasn't been able to forget those hatreds.
She is still the same person she was seven years ago; she can't forget any of it, it's all etched in her memory.
After hearing these stories, Gu Sidu sighed for Jiang Yufan. He now understood why Jiang Yufan was so determined to take revenge on Jiang Yaoguang. He felt that Jiang Yufan hadn't been ruthless enough. Jiang Yaoguang had only been demoted, and the Jiang family still had resources and could make a comeback.
Jiang Yufan was already satisfied with this, but even so, the Jiang family still came to pester her again, begging her to forgive them once more.
Why should Jiang Yufan be tolerated?
Gu Sidu put down what he was holding and pulled Jiang Yufan, saying, "Bodhisattva, pack your things now and come with me. We'll go far away and leave Chenxiang Temple."
“What do these things about the Jiang family have to do with us? Don’t blame yourself or be sad. Let them figure it out themselves. You are not their daughter. If they really want this son, they can have another one. The blood of their newborn siblings can also save lives.”
"We're not going to take this anymore."
There is no reason in the world to feel so wronged.
“Gu Sidu,” Jiang Yufan grabbed his hand, “calm down. I don’t need your pity. Those things happened a long time ago. To just walk away is the act of a coward, and the abbot will not be able to explain it.”
Jiang Yufan did not want to make things difficult for the abbot.
"Lord Gu, even if we want to leave, our Buddhist nun will find a place to settle down on her own. It's not like she has to go with you. If word gets out, it will be considered an elopement, which won't be good for the Buddhist nun's reputation." Dao Yun also disagreed. She had accompanied the Buddhist nun for so many years, why should Gu Sidu have to listen to her if he wanted to leave? Gu Sidu was trying to steal the Buddhist nun from her!
The only option is to stay and wait until a perfect solution is found before leaving.
Before Gu Sidu could even process what he was thinking, an uninvited guest appeared at the door. Everyone inside looked up and saw Jiang Yaoguang staring at them with a gloomy expression, coldly mocking them.
"Lord Jiang, what brings you here?" Gu Sidu asked Jiang Yaoguang with a cold face, standing protectively in front of Jiang Yufan.
“After my wife returned home, she burst into tears, saying that she had raised a daughter for nothing. For the sake of the Jiang family, for the sake of my son and wife, I naturally had to see who had such great ability to bring my Jiang family to this state.”
"Jiang Yufan, let's settle our grudges from the past few years here and now, and clear everything up at this time."
Jiang Yufan lowered her head, covering her face with a veil to preserve a semblance of dignity and composure, before looking at Jiang Yaoguang. A new round of entangled negotiations was about to begin. She sneered and said, "Fine, then this time, let's settle things once and for all."
With great courage, Jiang Yufan stood up, walked up to Jiang Yaoguang, and looked at him with a distant gaze.
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