Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 352 No Escape

After Granny Jiang finished speaking, the old woman in front of her suddenly focused her gaze, clearly interested in the topic.

"Does Madam know anything about the Holy Religion?"

“I don’t know,” Xie Yuyan paused slightly at this point, “The previous dynasty wrote the ‘Preface to the Sacred Teachings’, but what it describes is the story of the holy monk of the previous dynasty’s journey to the Western Regions to obtain scriptures. It also includes the original text and translation of the ‘Heart Sutra’. If that’s what you’re talking about, then I know it.”

“Every year I copy the Heart Sutra on Tibetan Buddhist scripture paper and offer it to the Daxiangguo Temple.”

Granny Jiang had no idea that the "Preface to the Sacred Teachings" existed. Although she tried her best to talk to the eldest daughter-in-law, she could only purse her lips and couldn't say anything.

However, she was even more certain that the lady of the house must have come from a wealthy and powerful family; otherwise, how could she have spoken of such things so casually? Copying scriptures would even require scripture paper…

Granny Jiang had only heard that some temples could make a kind of sutra paper, but it was extremely rare and even ordinary nobles could not obtain it; she had never even seen it before.

In that instant, Granny Jiang thought of many things. Since the eldest daughter-in-law believed in Buddhism, she might also believe in those things.

After a moment, she decided to explain the Holy Religion to the old lady in detail.

"That religion is similar to Buddhism, but it came from the south. Many Westerners believe in it. They believe in light... believers can drive away darkness."

"I heard it from those women from the south. They are very devout and are waiting for the guidance of the Holy Church so that they can get out of their predicament and return home in the future."

Actually, Granny Jiang had heard it so many times that she was persuaded and realized that the Holy Sect was indeed powerful.

"Some of the women who came last winter were from a village in the south. They and the nearby villages were hit by a plague last year, and many people died. Only those who believed in the Holy Church survived."

"Moreover, just half a month before the plague broke out, the Holy Church had already gone to the village to warn the people to temporarily move away from the village and live in the mountains for a while in order to avoid the calamity."

“How could the villagers listen? They all thought that the man was trying to swindle money from them. There was a fierce man in the village who even drove the Holy Church members away.”

"As a result, a few days later, the man had an accident. More than a dozen members of his family fell ill one after another and died within a few days. Then the epidemic spread to the village."

"In less than ten days, someone in every household in the village had fallen ill and died. Only then did everyone remember what the people of the Holy Church had said."

"Unfortunately, it's too late to believe now; the epidemic is clearly out of control."

If things ended there, it wouldn't be anything special. After all, there are rumors of prophets every year. Apart from so-called religious sects, Buddhism and Taoism also have similar stories every year, which are mostly exaggerated and mysterious, and it's impossible for anyone to verify their authenticity.

Granny Jiang paused deliberately for a moment before making a dramatic turn: "However, just when the plague was at its worst, the Holy Church members went to the village again. Seeing the situation, they were saddened, and their leader actually decided to immolate himself to drive away the plague."

These things were nothing new to Xie Yuyan; she had seen and heard far more exciting things than these, but she still pretended to show a surprised expression.

Seeing that the eldest daughter-in-law's expression had changed, Granny Jiang immediately spoke even more earnestly: "When I heard this, I was also very surprised. Is it really possible that someone would risk their life to save someone?"

"But since both women in the village said the same thing, I had no choice but to believe them."

“The man sat cross-legged and had his disciple pour a kind of black oil on him. As he was being burned, he shouted, ‘Burn my broken body, blazing holy fire, for the good and to eliminate evil, for the sake of light.’”

Xie Yuyan seemed to be carefully considering these words, then looked at Granny Jiang: "How do you remember them so clearly?"

Granny Jiang said, "This is the doctrine of the Holy Church. Those women often shout it, saying that any member of the Holy Church who encounters darkness will surely be saved as long as they silently recite this word."

Xie Yuyan stopped questioning, and Granny Jiang continued on the previous story: "After the Holy Church members died, strangely enough, the plague stopped spreading, and more than half of the villagers survived. However, because of this plague, many families couldn't make ends meet and had to sell their children. That's how those women were sold to the north." "Those women, despite being sold here, firmly believed that the Holy Church would save them. They secretly spread the word, and many of the women came to believe in the Holy Church. They secretly prepared everything, and somehow, through someone, they made contact with members of the Holy Church outside, and they actually managed to pull off a rescue."

"Unfortunately, it failed in the end."

Granny Jiang sighed: "I heard from someone in the He family that a powerful figure from the Holy Sect got into trouble that time, which is why those women failed to succeed."

Xie Yuyan asked, "What happened to those women afterward?"

“They were sent to the Northwest,” Granny Jiang said. “That’s all money. The He family couldn’t bear to kill them all. Steward He said that sending them far away, so that they could never return to Daliang, would be the greatest punishment.”

Madam Yu handed over some hot tea, and Xie Yuyan took a sip: "Are there many people in Bianjing who believe in the Holy Church now?"

Granny Jiang licked her dry, cracked lips: "Not much. The city is strictly controlled. If we get caught by the imperial court, we'll be treated as members of a demonic cult."

"However, I have met some believers in private. They provide relief to the people in private. I even received food from them last year."

"However, I was just gathering information; I did not join the Holy Church."

Granny Jiang was also afraid that if something happened to the Holy Sect, wouldn't she be walking into a trap? If the eldest daughter-in-law wanted to find out more about the Holy Sect, she could go out and ask again.

But she absolutely couldn't say right now that she hadn't just met some members of the Holy Church, but was actually quite familiar with them.

The carriage slowly stopped.

Granny Jiang looked at Xie Yuyan with a mixture of trepidation and joy.

Xie Yuyan raised his eyes: "Do you know who I am?"

Granny Jiang swallowed, then shook her head.

“Remember what you said,” this time it was Mother Yu who spoke on Xie Yuyan’s behalf, “You should know… that death is not the most terrible thing for a person.”

Granny Jiang kept kowtowing in agreement.

After the carriage left, Granny Jiang stood stunned on the street, her forehead covered in blood. When she came to her senses, she found herself back in her own neighborhood, and it wasn't far to her home.

Granny Jiang shuddered. That woman was incredibly resourceful; she had found out where she lived so quickly.

Grandma Jiang walked quickly home, and upon entering, she was greeted by her eldest daughter-in-law.

"Quickly... pack your things. We're leaving the capital for a while. Pack up all our old belongings."

The eldest daughter-in-law looked up at the sky: "Mother...you mean we're leaving now? Not tomorrow?"

How could Granny Jiang wait any longer?
"Go and call back Dalang, Erlang, and Sanlang as soon as possible."

If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't bear to leave her children and money, Granny Jiang would have wanted to leave the city immediately.

Jiang's house was in complete chaos, with everyone tidying up and quickly filling several large bundles. Just as her two sons were loading things onto the mule cart, they saw a troop of soldiers heading towards them.