hypocritical
"Being born into the Jiang family is why I have such a bad fate," Daoyun explained. She went to return the items and mentioned that she wanted Jiang Yaoguang to bring people to apologize, but Jiang Yaoguang pushed her away. Jiang Yaoguang knew that Madam Jiang had sent someone to deliver soup to Jiang Yufan to help her recover, and he glared at Madam Jiang.
“Once Yu Rong recovers, you won’t allow her to treat you like that. It’s because of how you treated her that she became like that, always so insatiable, wanting to go back to the Jiang family. How can our lives be good if she goes back to the Jiang family? She’s here to bring bad luck to the Jiang family. Haven’t I suffered enough because of her?”
He was both imprisoned and his son was in a coma.
Dao Yun was displeased upon hearing this. She was still there, and the Jiang family was already so arrogant. If they were not here, who knew how many filthy things they would say behind her back? Dao Yun coldly said, "Lord Jiang, please don't speak recklessly. It is not the Buddhist nun who is harming the Jiang family, but your own wicked heart and the things you have done that are against all reason. You cannot blame the Buddhist nun."
"Did the Buddha force you to accept money from those people? Did the Buddha receive any benefits? No, the Buddha has suffered too many grievances from you since she was a child. You have all wronged her, and now you won't even offer an apology?"
Jiang Yaoguang was about to argue and persuade Daoyun, but Madam Jiang stopped him and said to Daoyun, "Miss, did you drink Yu Fan's soup? Go and tell her to take good care of herself, not to overwork, and to rest early. I will apologize to her once her father is no longer angry."
“Madam, why are you apologizing? What have you done wrong? You and Lord Jiang enjoy wealth and honor, you are both from noble families. We Buddhist nuns are far too high-ranking to be worthy of you. Rest assured, we Buddhist nuns have promised to save people, and we will naturally do our best to save them. You don’t need to try to soften our hearts with such small favors.”
"We can make this soup ourselves from now on."
Madam Jiang waved her hand: "No, that's not what I meant. I really care about her health; she's my daughter too."
"Why are you saying these things to a servant like her?" Jiang Yaoguang pulled him back directly. "Don't make things worse. She doesn't know how to be appreciative. Who do you think you are?"
"You're not allowed to make soup for her anymore! You could be making medicine for Rongzai with that time." Jiang Yaoguang had barely finished speaking when the child on the bed started vomiting again. Without saying anything more, Jiang Yaoguang and his wife both threw themselves on him.
No one paid any attention to Daoyun anymore.
They didn't manage to bring anyone back to apologize, gained nothing, and instead witnessed a heartbreaking scene. Daoyun suppressed her anger and returned to tell Jiang Yufan everything. She said, "Buddha, it's really not your fault. I feel that if you help them again, you'll be punished by heaven."
"No one would take all the help from others for granted."
Jiang Yufan is still too kind.
Hearing these words, Jiang Yufan smiled. She had expected this long ago. She said, "Whether we apologize or not is not important. It will only cause a lot of trouble and anger. We might as well keep things peaceful."
"Buddha, why are you helping them?"
Wouldn't such revenge be even more satisfying?
Why should she help? Jiang Yufan had her own reasons. First, she couldn't go against the abbot's wishes. The abbot was kind-hearted and would save people. Second, every wrong has its perpetrator, and Jiang Yurong hadn't caused her any pain, so she shouldn't lose her life for it.
There was one last point, Jiang Yufan said: "To cut ties completely."
Jiang Yufan added, "Go to sleep early. We'll have to wait for their reaction tomorrow. There's going to be a lot of bloodshed."
“By the way,” Jiang Yufan said, “I will not drink the soup that the Jiang family sends from now on. We will drink it outside the temple and invite Gu Sidu to join us. He must be feeling stifled these days being confined to Chenxiang Temple. He is also a pitiful person. We should take care of each other in our shared suffering.”
Dao Yun didn't speak, he just looked at Jiang Yu Fan.
This was very unusual. Jiang Yufan asked, "What's wrong?"
"Buddha, have you fallen in love with Gu Sidu?" Daoyun had long suspected that someone like Gu Sidu might have done something behind her back to make the Buddha favor him and listen to him.
It's not that the Buddhist nun can't be with Gu Sidu; even the abbot said that she's ultimately a false bodhisattva, capable of breaking precepts, and shouldn't be wasting her youth in the temple, but...
Dao Yun sighed. She wasn't sure if Gu Sidu was someone she could entrust with her care. She didn't quite believe he could take good care of the Buddhist nun. Although Gu Sidu was a good person, his not-so-bright mind often led him to do unexpected things. Was he really reliable?
The Buddhist nun has suffered too much these past few years; she must not suffer any more for the rest of her life, and Daoyun will not allow it.
Dao Yun's question did indeed stump Jiang Yufan, who didn't know how to answer him. In her heart, Gu Sidu was a pitiful person just like her, with unfulfilled ambitions and two wasted years of his life, both harboring resentment towards the world that they couldn't understand or comprehend.
However, Gu Sidu can be quite clingy at times, calling out to Jiang Yufan from behind like a bodhisattva. He only listens to what Jiang Yufan wants to hear, and only when threatened can he behave properly.
At this point, Jiang Yufan only felt that Gu Sidu was a friend she could talk to and who had gone through some pain with her. As for love, it was too early for her to think about it.
Jiang Yufan shook her head and said to Daoyun, "More than getting married in the future, I'm thinking about how to live a good life and stay away from all this strife. Daoyun, if one day I'm no longer at Chenxiang Temple, what are your plans?"
"Me?" Daoyun pointed to himself. "Of course I'm going with you, Buddha. Chenxiang Temple isn't my home. These past few years at Chenxiang Temple, I've been able to talk to you and learn a lot of martial arts. I've come to regard you as my family, my sister. Buddha, please don't abandon me."
"No, from now on we'll depend on each other." Jiang Yufan was relieved. She held Daoyun's hand with her own hand, which had never been cut on the wrist. Daoyun's hand was warm, one of the few times she felt warmth in her coldest moment.
But things are different now; there's one more person now.
The next day, Gu Sidu waited at the door early, hoping Jiang Yufan would get up. He was also worried that the Jiang family would cause trouble again, so he went to inquire. The person who came back said that the Jiang family was quiet and hadn't slept all night, so Jiang Yurong should be fine.
Today I need to make another incision to bleed out.
Jiang Yufan still wore a veil, her hair falling loose, completely obscuring the face of a Bodhisattva. She was unwilling to tarnish the name of a Bodhisattva with the blood and resentment within her; a Bodhisattva should not be disturbed by such mundane matters. At this moment, she was simply being herself, Jiang Yufan.
The journey to Jiang Yurong's house was quiet the entire way. Occasionally, they would bump into a few monks, who would nod slightly and only turn away to whisper among themselves after Jiang Yufan had left. Daoyun, supporting Jiang Yufan, heard the murmurs and gritted her teeth, saying, "If it weren't for the rule against killing in temples, I would have killed those people sooner or later."
"Amitabha." Gu Sidu was so frightened by Daoyun's words that he quickly recited a few more lines.
"Gu Sidu, shut up!" Dao Yun rolled his eyes. "What's your problem?"
"I dare not have any objections. I just want to say that I have complete faith in and support for the Bodhisattva. Could you please not point your swords at me?"
"I need to get myself a life-saving gold medal."
"Stop talking nonsense. Dao Yun isn't the kind of person who kills innocent people indiscriminately." Jiang Yufan raised an eyebrow and shook her head at Gu Sidu.
Because of Jiang Yufan's fleeting glance, Gu Sidu felt immense joy. His Bodhisattva had looked at him; his Bodhisattva didn't dislike him. That was good. His actions of comforting the Bodhisattva and pleasing her had worked.
That's enough.
Gu Sidu wanted to make Jiang Yufan happy.
Once inside, Jiang Yufan went straight to her seat, ignoring Madam Jiang who was about to come over and speak to her. With the screen separating them, all the noise and commotion dissipated outside and had nothing to do with Jiang Yufan.
Madam Jiang, who had been humiliated outside the screen, also looked displeased. She said to Daoyun and Gu Sidu, "My husband was too tired today and went to catch up on his sleep. There will be no one else here. Thank you very much, and I apologize for what happened yesterday. Yu Rong has pulled through, and I hope you will continue to take care of him."
“Madam Jiang,” Gu Sidu bowed, “compared to these, you owe the Bodhisattva far too much. I heard your apology and will pass it on to the Bodhisattva. However, there are some things I would like to say to you since Lord Jiang is not here.”
When dealing with people who know their place, we should treat them with courtesy. After Madam Jiang nodded, Gu Sidu said, "The Bodhisattva didn't ask you to apologize for your sake, but because your actions yesterday were very presumptuous. It's only natural that Miss Daoyun came to ask you for an apology."
"Although the Bodhisattva helped Lord Jiang get demoted, in the final analysis, Lord Jiang himself also had problems. He just happened to run into the Emperor's hot spot, which was beyond the Bodhisattva's control. It can only be said that Lord Jiang was unlucky."
"The Bodhisattva just wants to avenge himself for those eight years and for a lie. After all, if everyone knew that he abandoned his daughter, countless people on the street would abandon their own flesh and blood because of a few words from others. This is yet another mistake on your part."
"I know that Madam Jiang understands these principles, but she had no choice but to follow Lord Jiang's orders and made these decisions. You voluntarily allowed yourself to be under Lord Jiang's control, that was your choice. You have saved Jiang Yurong's life, and I hope that you will no longer act as your parents, and stop saying that the Bodhisattvas owe you anything, because these Bodhisattvas will no longer hold it against you. Please let the Bodhisattvas go."
Jiang Yufan owes no one anything. On the contrary, Jiang Yufan herself has suffered eight years of pain and hatred, and has been left with many bloody wounds.
Madam Jiang looked at Gu Sidu in silence. After a long while, she finally showed a bleak smile. She nodded and twisted her hands together. She said, "Alright, then I will entrust her to you. Lord Gu, please take good care of my daughter in the future. My fate with her is too shallow. In the next life, I will be her mother and daughter again."
Dao Yun had just received the blood that Jiang Yu Fan had just collected from the flesh behind the screen when she heard this, and she coldly said, "In the next life, you two shouldn't be mother and daughter. We Buddhist nuns can't bear it."
"Your Jiang family is too prestigious."
Jiang Yufan stood up. She heard Daoyun's words, which were her own thoughts. She didn't need to say anything more. Just then, Madam Jiang's concern came to Jiang Yufan's ears again: "Then I'll have someone bring you some soup later."
She still cared. Jiang Yufan stopped and turned around. Her husband had been suppressed by rules and etiquette for so long that he couldn't even tell who she loved and cared about. How much of his concern was purely out of kindness for Jiang Yufan was probably unknown to him.
Jiang Yufan didn't want these good things; they weren't specifically for her.
She said, "Madam Jiang, you've forgotten again. We can't be mother and daughter in this life. Don't waste your energy. I can save the person, but I won't drink the soup."
Jiang Yufan had completely given up hope and would no longer accept any charity or handouts.
Stepping outside, she let out a long sigh of relief, finally breathing in the faint scent of incense ash in the air—a calming and peaceful feeling. She said to Daoyun, "It's too stuffy in here, let's go for a walk."
Dao Yun nodded, and Gu Sidu, who was standing to the side, lowered his head. The Bodhisattva hadn't called him, and he was trying to figure out how to go along. He hadn't come up with a plan yet, but he heard the Bodhisattva calling him. He heard the Bodhisattva say, "Lord Gu, you should come along too."
Gu Sidu's lips slowly curved upwards.
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