scheming
Should we really release it?
Gu Sidu was puzzled. He didn't dare to move and just looked up at Daoyun: "Miss, have you thought this through? If I let go, the Bodhisattva's robes will be lost. I can't guarantee what I'll see then."
“Young lady, why don’t you put down your sword first and let’s talk this out? I promise I really didn’t do anything. I was just talking to the Bodhisattva.”
"That's how it is," Dao Yun said, looking at the scene before her. The Buddhist nun was only immersed in her own sadness. She gritted her teeth and said to Gu Sidu, "Don't move, let me do it."
Dao Yun sheathed her sword, gathered Jiang Yufan's clothes, and stood in front of her. She said to Gu Sidu, "You go out first."
Gu Sidu let out a long breath. He had fled to the door, but then he remembered something and turned back. His turn caused Daoyun, who was about to change the Buddhist nun's clothes, to pause again.
"What's wrong now?"
“I don’t mean anything by it, I just want to say one thing.” Gu Sidu stretched out a hand.
"Speak quickly if you have something to say." Dao Yun was already getting impatient.
Gu Sidu quickly expressed his feelings: "Bodhisattva, please don't be angry."
Just this one sentence?
Daoyun was really about to hit someone. If it weren't for the most important thing right now being to change the Buddhist nun's clothes, she would have rushed to take Gu Sidu's life. She was just taking the Buddhist nun's clothes to the laundry servants to wash, and she was going to bring over a new set of clothes. How did a lecherous man end up in the room?
Dao Yun really felt that he and Gu Sidu were incompatible.
Fortunately, changing clothes went smoothly. Daoyun didn't know what had just happened in the room, but she noticed that the Buddhist nun had a new bracelet on her wrist, made of coral.
"Buddha, what is this bracelet?"
"Gu Sidu gave it to me, saying it was a reward from the Emperor." Jiang Yufan composed herself. She knew she had been somewhat impolite and had worried Daoyun, but she was currently preoccupied with unresolved worries and had no time to say anything else.
"Someone gave it to him, and he's so nice of him, he doesn't want a penny and just comes to do you a favor." Daoyun curled his lip.
“Daoyun,” Jiang Yufan interrupted her, “After you’ve changed your clothes, have Gu Sidu come to me.”
"Why?" Daoyun asked, displeased. "He was so presumptuous just now, aren't you angry, Buddhist nun?"
"Are you...?" Dao Yun's eyes widened immediately. "You're not really bewitched by him, are you?"
“Nothing happened between us, it’s not what you think,” Jiang Yufan shook her head. “I have something important to discuss with him, it’s not a joke.”
Jiang Yufan's serious expression showed she wasn't joking, and Daoyun nodded: "Okay."
Despite his reluctance, Daoyun still went to invite Gu Sidu.
When they moved to the main hall, Gu Sidu could no longer see the enchanting scenery. Jiang Yufan sat upright in the center, the seat opposite him reserved for Gu Sidu. The tea was just right, and he was waiting for Gu Sidu to arrive.
Knowing he had gotten himself into trouble, Gu Sidu sat obediently opposite Jiang Yufan. He would take a sip of tea whenever Jiang Yufan did, without saying a word.
Dao Yun noticed this cautiousness and finally found it much more agreeable. After Gu Sidu had been feeling uneasy for a long time, Dao Yun cleared his throat and coughed a few times.
Gu Sidu looked at Daoyun.
“Lord Gu, our Buddhist nun has something to say to you, so please listen carefully,” Dao Yun said, displaying his composure perfectly. “Our Buddhist nun is kind-hearted and compassionate, and would not normally interfere in Lord Gu’s affairs. However, today Lord Gu mentioned that he wants to befriend Grand Secretary Jiang Yaoguang, which our Buddhist nun will not allow.”
"Lord Gu can befriend anyone and get the results he wants, but Jiang Yaoguang is different."
"Why?" Gu Sidu didn't understand why everyone else could do it but Lord Jiang couldn't. He glanced at Jiang Yufan, his eyes darting around as he voiced his thoughts, "Could it be that this Lord Jiang is the father who abandoned the Bodhisattva?"
A change occurred in Jiang Yufan's eyes, and a coldness rose within them.
“That can’t be right,” Gu Sidu didn’t grasp the change at all. He was immersed in his own thoughts. “This Lord Jiang is quite good. He has a good reputation. He shouldn’t be the kind of person that the Bodhisattva mentioned who would heartlessly abandon his own daughter.”
"He's famous," Jiang Yufan said coldly, "but what kind of reputation does he have?"
"Lord Jiang cherishes talent and highly values the younger generation in the court. No matter who visits him, he will not turn them away like others, but will treat them with courtesy. His respect for the virtuous and talented is admirable enough."
"Moreover, Lord Jiang only has one son, so he shouldn't be the person the Bodhisattva resented."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yufan suppressed her anger and instead laughed, "Is that so? So you're determined to visit him and befriend him in order to rise to prominence?"
"May I?" Gu Sidu felt this was a good opportunity. He clasped his hands together and bowed to Jiang Yufan again. "This is very important to me, but I will listen to the Bodhisattva. If you can guide me, I will not go if you do not allow me to make the acquaintance."
"As long as you're happy."
Gu Sidu didn't want the Bodhisattva to be angry with him again.
But Jiang Yufan smiled faintly at Gu Sidu: "This is a good opportunity for you. Are you really willing to give it up for me?"
She didn't want to give up, but Gu Sidu felt that the person in front of her was more important. However, she might regret it later when she thought about it and toss and turn at night.
Gu Sidu stared at the tea leaves in the teacup.
After a long while, he looked at Jiang Yufan and said, "Perhaps there is a way to have the best of both worlds?"
I still think about it.
Jiang Yufan's expression turned icy, like the moon that had hung high outside for thousands of years: "Sure, if you want to make friends, then go ahead."
"Bodhisattva, this has been calculated for me. Please, Bodhisattva, calculate for me whether my actions will succeed and whether I will be promoted."
It's amazing that Gu Sidu can still trust Jiang Yufan.
Jiang Yufan stopped arguing and stopped trying to persuade her. She simply closed her eyes and sat in meditation. After a long time, she said, "Let me make this clear first, I may not be able to say for sure. After all, I am just a fake bodhisattva."
"It's alright."
Jiang Yufan used all the knowledge she had acquired during her eight years at Chenxiang Temple to perform the test seriously. After a long while, she opened her eyes and looked at Gu Sidu.
"How is it?" Gu Sidu asked.
"You can achieve your wishes; you are destined for promotion. It all depends on whether you can seize the opportunity."
"Since that's the case, does that mean you won't object anymore? Are you still angry?" Gu Sidu became happy again, leaning forward and looking into Jiang Yufan's eyes.
“Well, I’m not angry,” Jiang Yufan shook her head. “Since you’ve made up your mind, just do it. I can help you this time.”
Gu Sidu thought he had misheard. What did the Bodhisattva just say? She said she could help him. Gu Sidu thought the hundred taels were well spent. He nodded repeatedly, "That's the best, Bodhisattva. You are truly the best and most compassionate Bodhisattva in the world."
Jiang Yufan didn't listen to any of this. She only took a sip of tea. Her movements were so subtle that only she knew that the surface of her tea swayed, reflecting her blurry face. Her hands were trembling.
She had a big plan in mind.
After Gu Sidu left, Daoyun put down his sword and sat opposite Jiang Yufan: "Buddha, what's wrong with you? Why did you suddenly agree to him?"
"Why didn't you tell him earlier that Jiang Yaoguang is your father? Jiang Yao abandoned his daughter and only said he had a son. How can such a person have a good reputation? He's shameless."
“If I speak, what I desire will not be accomplished.” Jiang Yufan looked at Daoyun, her heart still pounding, and her eyes trembled as she looked at Daoyun.
She grabbed Daoyun's hand.
Dao Yun seemed to sense something, and she looked at Jiang Yufan: "Buddha Maiden, do you mean...?"
“Jiang Yaoguang abandoned me and refused to acknowledge me because he thought I was hindering his career advancement. No matter what I said, he wouldn’t listen or believe me. He’s already made up his mind, so I can’t bear this name for nothing.”
“I want him to abandon me, yet his career is still going badly. He has brought me endless pain and torment, while he lives a life of luxury. How can I let go of such hatred?”
Jiang Yufan had buried these hatreds in her heart for far too long. She didn't believe in gods or Buddhas and harbored murderous intent. Even the abbot said that this was not conducive to her spiritual practice and advised her to let go of them.
Since you're here, make the best of it. Your affinity with Buddhism may have been created by others, so why not forget the past?
Jiang Yufan said she dared not forget.
The abbot isn't her, and doesn't understand her temperament—she can't tolerate deception and betrayal. Jiang Yufan shouldn't accept her fate.
However, this resentment brought Jiang Yufan one failure after another. She never spoke of this resentment again. From the moment she stumbled back to Chenxiang Temple from the Jiang family, she suppressed this hatred in her heart, keeping it a secret only to herself.
She wanted to leave then too. The world was so vast, and she had no home left. But she was seriously ill and couldn't go far or avenge herself.
The abbot's eyes and brows remained kind and gentle. He said to her, "Since you have fallen at Chenxiang Temple, then consider it as if you have returned home and come to Chenxiang Temple again. You have no home and nowhere to go. Buddha wants you to stay here."
Jiang Yufan had suppressed her true nature at Chenxiang Temple, becoming cold and taciturn. But now that she had left Chenxiang Temple and had the opportunity to reunite with her father, her grudges, like a ignited fire, were burning wildly across a vast field and could no longer be suppressed.
There was no abbot to advise her; she was all alone, and she thoroughly recounted all her suffering.
“Buddha Maiden, you want to…” Dao Yun looked at Jiang Yu Fan with some hesitation. She saw Jiang Yu Fan’s face full of excitement and her eyes shining.
His face resembles that of Guanyin, yet he harbors a heart full of vengeance.
She heard Jiang Yufan say, "I will make the lie a prophecy, so that he knows that even sacrificing an innocent daughter cannot stop his misfortune."
"I want to make it so that people in this world will no longer abandon their children."
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