Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 167 Nirvana Resurrection

On this day, Jia Cong took Xiangling and set out from Taoye Ferry in Jinling and went down to Gusu along the Yangtze River.

Along the way, Jia Cong noticed that Xiangling's face was filled with lingering anxiety.

She was abducted by kidnappers before she could remember anything. She had long lost her memory of her hometown and her impression of her parents was only vague.

To her, her homeland and relatives were like a thick fog that was difficult to unravel, and it was hard to see what was behind it.

For a teenage girl, not knowing where to go or where to return to, this is such a heavy feeling of confusion and fear.

Seeing her staring at the vast river with her beautiful brows slightly furrowed, Jia Cong felt pity for her and gently held her hand.

"Don't worry, you've been lost since you were a child. Your mother will treat you well when she knows you're back."

"I changed your name to Xiangling, but now think about it, you want to find your real mother. Your real name is Zhen Yinglian, so it's best to change it back to your real name."

In the original timeline, Xiangling also changed her name several times, from Yinglian to Xiangling, and from Xiangling to Qiuling. Every time she changed her name, her fate became more tragic, until she died.

She changed her name several times in this life, but she would never repeat the sin, because she had this person in the afterlife, and he would do his best to protect her and keep her in peace for the rest of her life.

When the boat arrived in Gusu, Jia Cong followed the address he found in Yingtian Prefecture and finally found Feng Su's home in a street in the city.

The two stood in front of the unfamiliar courtyard gate. Xiangling held Jia Cong's hand tightly, her face turning pale, as if something terrible would run out of the opened door.

Finally, Jia Cong knocked on the door, and after a while, it creaked open.

A middle-aged woman came out, her face was haggard, her temples were gray, and she looked unspeakably tired, but her eyebrows and eyes were delicate and beautiful, and I thought she must have been good-looking when she was young.

At this time, Yinglian, who was hiding behind Jia Cong, couldn't help but look at the woman, and then she was stunned and stared at her blankly.

The woman was a little surprised to see that Jia Cong was a stranger: "What can I do for you, sir?"

Jia Cong looked at the woman's face and eyes, which seemed to be somewhat familiar to Yinglian, and he already understood half of it: "Excuse me, are you the wife of the Zhen family in Renqing Lane, Shili Street?"

The woman was stunned. No one had called her like this for ten years, ever since her husband went missing.

"How does this gentleman know my husband's family?"

His attention was on Jia Cong just now, but at this moment he suddenly noticed Yinglian behind Jia Cong, and his eyes froze for a moment.

That strong feeling of déjà vu, the uncontrollable excitement in the blood, and the bright red spot between the girl's eyebrows.

The woman's face suddenly lost all color, as if her only vitality was suddenly devoured by something.

This woman not only has similar features to Yinglian, but also the look on her face when she saw Yinglian made Jia Cong know that she must be Zhen Shiyin's wife, Feng.

But he was still a little worried, so he asked again, "Is Madam's daughter named Yinglian, who was lost when she was young and has never been found?"

The woman looked at Yinglian, her whole body trembling and tears streaming down her face.

"My Yinglian has been missing for ten years. I pray to God every day, hoping that she will come back."

Yinglian saw the woman crying, as if she was touched by something, and she couldn't help crying, but she didn't know what to do. She just shouted helplessly: "Master..."

Jia Cong's eyes also turned red: "Yinglian, this is your mother."

Even though they had been separated for ten years, Feng still recognized her own daughter's vague childhood face and the same red mole between her eyebrows at a glance.

Feng suddenly pulled the girl's hand and could even hear her panicked heartbeat. After ten months of pregnancy, that was her daughter's heartbeat.

She hugged Yinglian and burst into tears, and soon all the neighbors were alarmed.

Feng was so overjoyed that her daughter, who had been missing for more than ten years, came back. She was about to kneel down and kowtow, but Jia Cong quickly supported her.

The crying had already alarmed Feng Su and his wife in the room. After hearing the story, they were also surprised.

The old lady was fine, but this Su, who was almost sixty years old and had gray hair, showed a look of greed and envy when he saw Jia Cong's luxurious clothes, which made Jia Cong frown.

Jia Cong stayed in Gusu for another two days, calculating that the day for the completion and consecration of the main hall of Da Ci'en Temple was approaching. According to the etiquette approved by the Ministry of Rites, those who were ordered to copy the scriptures must participate in the ceremony.

So he had to rush back to Jinling. Feng and Yinglian sent him to the ferry. Although Jia Cong promised that he would come back, Yinglian still cried all the way. Until Jia Cong boarded the ship and left the shore, she was still seen on the dock, unwilling to leave.

……

In December of the 12th year of Jiazhao, the Main Hall of the Daci'en Temple in Jinling was completed.

The great one encompasses everything; the mighty one subdues all demons;

Great Hero, the Buddha has deep wisdom and high virtue, which can break the subtle and deep sorrow, transform love and hatred, and accommodate the myriad of causal relationships.

In the center of the hall, Sakyamuni is seated cross-legged, with the Eighteen Arhats standing on both sides.

The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara of the South China Sea behind the statue has a handsome and kind face, quite human and lifelike. This standing statue is based on the appearance of Empress Dowager Xianxiao, the mother of Emperor Jiazhao.

The east and west sides of the main hall are decorated with exquisite murals depicting the magnificent scenery of the Western Paradise of Buddha. The dome of the main hall is inspired by the nine levels of the Western Heaven of Tathagata, and is carved in blue and painted in gold, which is extremely solemn and magnificent.

Below the Giant Sakyamuni Buddha, on top of the incense table, is the tablet of Empress Dowager Xianxiao, and on both sides are the twelve volumes of Buddhist scriptures copied by Jia Cong.

Because this main hall embodies the imperial rites, the Shenjing Buddhist Registrar invited great monks and nuns from famous temples in Nanjing, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Zhenjiang and other places to enter the main hall to chant mantras and pray for the peace of mind.

Jia Cong and officials sent by various government offices in Jinling were standing guard outside the main hall, performing etiquette.

Outside the mountain gate, I saw hundreds of monks and nuns, wearing colorful robes and holding beads and Buddhist instruments, walking towards the main hall. They all lowered their heads and clasped their hands together, chanting sutras and mantras for rebirth, and the sound of murmuring Sanskrit chants echoed in the air. The atmosphere was solemn and grand.

As Jia Cong listened to the Buddhist chanting that was as loud as clouds and mountains, his heart became peaceful and tranquil, and for a moment he seemed to be in a state of meditation on a sacred mountain.

Hundreds of monks and nuns filed into the main hall, surrounded the Sakyamuni Buddha, the incense table and the altar, and walked three circles around it, chanting mantras continuously.

The walls of the Main Hall are soundproof and the dome is high, which has the effect of gathering and amplifying sound. The sounds of chanting seem to be amplified by heaven, merging into a loud humming sound like a bell, pouring out of the Main Hall.

The officials from various government offices in Jinling who were standing solemnly outside the palace were shocked by the noise and the unusual scene, and expressions of awe and piety appeared on their faces.

After the monks and nuns chanted sutras around the Buddha's statue for three weeks, they exited through the back door of the hall.

At this moment, Jia Cong inadvertently looked up into the hall, and saw another group of monks and nuns surrounding the Buddha, facing the outside of the hall.

Among the group of monks and nuns, there were two female nuns with untied hair. They were pretty and followed an old nun in an apricot-yellow cassock. They stood out in the crowd.

Both of them wore a Miaochang bun on their heads, and wore a moon-white jacket with plain sleeves, a long vest with paddy field blue satin trim, an autumn-scented silk sash tied around their slender waists, and a black and white satin skirt tied below their waists, and held a rosary with a fly-tail.

One of the nuns was beautiful and graceful, with a scholarly air and a cold look.

The other one had willow-shaped eyebrows, bright eyes, a graceful figure, and was as beautiful as a peony. Her face was so familiar!

At that moment, Jia Cong felt as if struck by lightning, and stood there in a daze.

At that time, the East Courtyard was in the warehouse.

Who sewed new clothes for him all night long.

In the cold and dewy night, who can help him sleep with a warm quilt?

Who combs his hair and puts on his clothes every day in the morning light.

On the lonely and desolate New Year's Eve, I accompanied him to post door couplets, waiting for the arrival of spring.

By the Luoxia Bridge, she jumped into the river, that beautiful figure that can never be found again.

Now that she had reappeared before his eyes, Jia Cong could no longer distinguish between reality and illusion. His heart was so excited that he could not suppress it, and his whole body was trembling slightly.

Only the roaring Buddhist chanting in the hall, like the tide, comes and goes, resounding through heaven and earth. The gods and Buddhas seem to be moved, and then they descend into the supreme nirvana to rebuild their separated karmic relationships.

Enter into meditation and open the Dharma Eye.

Beg the Three Treasures to descend to the altar,
Have the saints in the temple ever seen
Old friends come without being invited.

(End of this chapter)