Chapter 344: This heart is bright, what more is there to say?

The cause was that Yuan Chun in the palace might have encountered some trouble, so they sent someone to deliver one hundred twenty taels of silver.

They ordered Jia Zhen to lead the mansion's men to the Pure Void Temple to perform the three‑day Peace Ritual and stage operas as offerings.

Upon hearing this, Jia Mu, worried about Yuan Chun's situation and the family's fortune, also took the lead and set out.

Thus, on the fifth day of the first month, the gates of Rong Guo Mansion were filled with carriages and horses as they set out in great numbers.

At the Pure Void Temple, they followed the ritual of kneeling before incense and bowing to the Buddha, and Jia Zhen, before the divine altar, drew lots to choose the opera, showing that the selection came from the gods and could not be opposed.

Moreover, Feng Jie struck a young Daoist and Jia Zhen ordered someone to spit at Jia Rong—these incidents also count as rather satirical.

Holding the Peace Ritual is actually a common large‑scale blessing and disaster‑averting activity among the upper‑class nobility of Shenjing.

Besides that, there are also some small‑scale prayer‑to‑heaven activities aimed at individuals or specific matters.

For example, offering the Sea Lamp: in the original story, Baoyu was burned, and Jia Mu, following Ma Daopo's advice, set up a Sea Lamp at home for Baoyu and pledged to offer five catties of sesame oil daily.

Moreover, there are ways such as copying sutras for offering, giving up possessions and money, making vows and fulfilling them, and using substitute names and bodies for blessings.

Of course, the simplest and most widespread method of blessing is, like Lady Wang, holding Prayer Beads all day and chanting sutras while paying homage to the Buddha.

Frankly, Jia Jing doesn't really believe in these things.

After all, in the original story the Jia Mansion made plenty of offerings at both the Mystic Clarity Temple and the Iron Cage Temple, yet they still could not escape the fate of being raided and ruined.

However, considering the various supernatural aspects of this world and his own origins, Jia Jing fell silent for a moment, then calmly spoke.

"By rights, our family takes cultivating virtue as the foundation of existence; we should not be obsessed with the illusory realm of gods and Buddhas."

"Those who pray to gods and bow to Buddhas merely seek peace of mind, but peace of mind does not come from outside; it arises from the conscience inherently present within."

"This heart is bright—what more is there to say! If a person's inner self is upright, pure, and firm, and they do no wrongdoing, then naturally all evils will stay away and blessings will endure."

"On the contrary, if a person's heart harbors darkness and hidden faults, no matter how many gods they worship or how many sutras they chant, they cannot fill the leak in their fortune, nor can they gain good luck or peace of mind."

"Just look at Jia Zhen and the like—they ended up this way mostly because they neglected virtue, bringing the disaster upon themselves!"

"Therefore, cultivating oneself and virtue is the way for a family to thrive long‑term; this point, the matriarch and all the sisters must understand in their hearts!"

"However, since the matriarch wishes to pray for the family's comfort, doing so is not a bad thing."

"Just treat it as an outing—just don't mobilize the masses or become addicted to this path!"

Jia Jing agreed to Jia Mu's proposal, but at the same time he did not forget to give a warning.

He emphasized this issue also because he considered that many in the Jia Mansion seemed obsessed with the god‑Buddha path, and the family customs appeared to have gone awry!

Jia Mu needs no saying—the original text records her many devotions to gods and Buddhas, such as praying to heaven, holding Peace Rituals, and offering Sea Lamps.

The second‑branch Lady Wang also merely holds Prayer Beads for show, chanting Buddhas without cultivating the mind—putting the cart before the horse.

Furthermore, Yuan Chun, who in the original story proposed holding the Peace Ritual, likely also inwardly agrees with this path.

Xichun needs no saying—if it weren't for his repeated admonitions, she would probably have already felt the urge to leave home and become a nun.

Moreover, there is Zhao Yiniang, who conspired with Ma Daopo to suppress nightmares, and Jia Jing of Dong Fu who practices Daoism, among others.

It can be said that half of the masters of the Jia Mansion are very superstitious about gods and Buddhas.

Perhaps the least superstitious person in the Jia Mansion is Feng Jie, just as she once said:

"You know me well; I have never believed in karmic retribution from the underworld. Whatever the matter, I say I will do it and I will."

However, her lack of superstition is more a matter of pragmatism.

Essentially, it is a pretentious stance of fervently believing in worldly power and money, an ignorance of reverence for cause and effect.

It is not genuine materialism, nor is it an inner brightness that leaves one without guilt in every situation.

Of course,

The superstitious atmosphere is not unique to the Jia Family; in feudal times, those who could truly refrain from speaking of strange powers and gods were few and far between.

Even among the emperors there are not a few who practice Daoism and worship Buddhas, let alone this group of inner‑court ladies.

Considering the limitations of the age, Jia Jing ultimately only gave a warning and did not stop this affair!

"Brother Jing's words are sound! A family that accumulates goodness will surely have abundant blessings; one that accumulates evil will surely inherit misfortune."

"A family that cultivates virtue and goodness will receive blessings; when its children are learned and principled, the family can flourish!"

"Of course, gods and Buddhas must not be neglected; we must still regularly offer sacrifices and show respect!"

Jia Mu rarely agreed so much with Jia Jing's words; she nodded, smiled, and said to everyone:

Beside her, Feng Jie's phoenix eyes, beneath her willow‑shaped brows, turned, and she coldly thought:

"Those who kill and set fires wear golden belts, while those who build bridges and pave roads leave no corpses. In this world, good and evil are inverted, and the good go unrewarded all too often!"

"The matriarch is also naïve; she could believe a general who has killed countless people when he speaks of cultivating virtue and self!"

"This is clearly just deceiving ghosts, isn't it?"

"Meanwhile, Lady Wang clenched her Prayer Beads, her face grim; she always felt that the eldest branch's son was secretly mocking her!"

"What is meant by a dark heart? No matter how many Buddhas one chants, it cannot fill the leak in one's fortune!"

"In the whole mansion, I am the only one who chants Buddhas!"

"Is this not just scolding a bald donkey while pointing at a monk?"

After Jia Mu and Jia Jing finished speaking about the Peace Ritual, their expressions stalled, they sighed, and then spoke again:

"There is still one matter for Brother Jing to decide!"

"Now Brother Zhen and Brother Rong are to be exiled to Jade Prefecture, and you say you will also strip them of their clan registration—I fear they will never return to Shenjing in this lifetime!"

"They have done wrong; a brief punishment would suffice!"

"But Lady Yu and Lady Qin are innocent; they come from humble families and cannot control the outside men."

"I heard from Feng Yatou that, because of the Dong Fu affair, they are having a hard time living abroad and must endure many rumors, living very poorly!"

"Especially Lady Yu—her wicked stepmother forces her to sever ties and remarry, to the point that a few days ago she nearly cut her hair to become a nun."

"Lady Yu and Lady Qin are, after all, the senior and junior mistresses of Dong Fu, and their conduct affects the reputation and dignity of my Jia Family."

"Moreover, Lady Yu and Lady Qin have always respected me, and I cannot bear to see them meet a bad end."

"Look, shouldn't the clan step forward and properly settle them!"

Jia Mu brought up the resettlement issue of Lady Yu and Qin Keqing after Jia Zhen and Jia Rong's exile.

In the Dong Fu case, although due to the Jia Mansion's operations, Lady Yu and Qin Keqing were not implicated, and thus did not become criminals.

But Lady Yu's imperial decree and all their property were certainly confiscated by the authorities!

And with Jia Zhen and Jia Rong being convicted and the case closed by the court, what Lady Yu and Qin Keqing should do became a matter the Jia Mansion needed to consider.