Chapter 19

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Nearly half a month had gone by since the “jealous woman” incident. It was the middle of the last month of the year, and the weather was so cold that people would shiver in their boots. 

Fortunately, Chu Yue and Hupo had gathered some charcoal before winter came about, so life was not very difficult for them. 

When it was early morning, Hupo went out to sweep away snow after wrapping herself in so many clothes that she looked just like a dumpling. Chu Yue went off to exercise. Since Hupo asked her to play pitch-pot, she decided to play with it. 

The master-servant pair saw Yuhe sweeping snow as well. 

Yuhe was young. She was just around thirteen to fourteen years old. Since she had grown up in Shangqing Temple since she was young, she was rather naive and innocent. 

Chu Yue liked her quite a lot. 

“Did you rest well last night?” Chu Yue asked with a smile. 

Yuhe looked at her and bowed. She also smiled. “Thank you for the charcoal you gave us, Female Patron. My senior sisters and I managed to sleep well last night.”

“That’s good.” Chu Yue nodded. Then, she continued to play pitch-pot.

Shangqing Temple had always lived a poor life, and they did not have a lot of charcoal to burn. Hupo had a good relationship with Yuhe, and she often went to look for her, so she knew that Yuhe barely had anything in her house. At one point, she mentioned it to Chu Yue. 

Right now, the charcoal the master-servant duo used was the golden animal charcoal the monk gave them. They did not use the pure hardwood charcoal they bought earlier, so they gave some of it to Yuhe. 

She burned it before sleep. Even if it did not last throughout the night, it was still enough to make her life much better. 

The other nuns benefited because they happened to be with Yuhe. Due to Chu Yue giving Yuhe charcoal and how she had denied the rumors last time, right now, her reputation in the temple was pretty good. 

However, in Grandmaster Jingmian, Yumei, and the others’ eyes, Chu Yue was trying to buy them over. 

Yuhe had wanted to dissuade them from spreading rumors, but she could not, because Chu Yue did not give them a lot of charcoal. She only gave them a few catties. Since Shangqing Temple took donations from patrons, they would naturally accept charcoal. 

Grandmaster Jingmian was still keeping a close eye on Chu Yue to one day catch her red-handed. Every time, she left early to cook, but a long time passed before she came back. If she were really just going there to cook, why did she need to spend so much time over there?

It was clear that there was some secret!

But Grandmaster Jingmian had learned just how devious the widow was. She had tried to commit suicide and even fainted. If Grandmaster Jingmian did not catch her red-handed, she would defend herself with all sorts of words. That was why Grandmaster Jingmian was very patient this time. She intended to wait until the widow let down her guard!

Chu Yue did not know that Grandmaster Jingmian had such grand ambitions. If she did, she might have actually gone to her to ask for a good way to improve her relationship with the monk so that Grandmaster Jingmian could catch them red-handed as soon as possible. 

Ever since the conversation about jealousy, the monk seemed to have become slightly colder to her. Of course, that was just for show. She could tell that he still wanted her to go over. 

But this made Chu Yue scoff at him coldly. Monks did not have any women with them, and once her monk became worldly again, he would naturally only belong to her. She would not let him have any thoughts of taking in more wives.

That was why Chu Yue decided to not humor him at all. 

She only went there to cook and said nothing else to him. 

On one day, Chu Yue went over to the temple again after putting on some foundation so that she looked very fragile. When she brought tasty vegetarian dishes to the monk, he was stunned and asked, “What’s wrong?

“Master, please eat. It’s cold, and if the food gets cold, it won’t be tasty.” Chu Yue smiled weakly. She did not say anything else. 

The monk cast her a glance before he started eating. There was rice with assorted vegetables before him. 

The vegetables were stir-fried mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and potatoes in soybean paste. Once they were mixed together with steamed white rice, the smell was incredible. After the monk ate a big bowl of rice, his expression turned gentle. 

Chu Yue put away the cutlery and turned around to leave. 

The monk found himself a little resigned when he saw her behaving like this. The widow had not stayed around to talk to him lately. So, he could only say, “I’ve been copying a lot of scriptures over the past few days.”

As he spoke, he exercised his arms. 

Chu Yue looked at him and hesitated for a moment before she said, “Master, I-I can help.” 

The monk had never allowed her to get close to him until now. She did not expect that he would be the one who would mention it himself. 

When the monk heard this, he looked at her and said, “I’ll have to trouble you.”

Chu Yue went over and gently massaged his shoulders. Her strength was naturally not great, but the monk enjoyed it. However, the widow just massaged his shoulders and pounded his back. She did not say a single word. 

After around thirty minutes, Chu Yue mentioned that she wanted to leave. The monk could only watch her go. He wanted to say something, but no words left his mouth. In the end, he said nothing. 

This event repeated itself for a few days. On the fourth day, when Chu Yue wanted to leave, the monk spoke with slight anger. “You’re not done yet. Continue massaging me.”

She was a little stunned but agreed to it delicately. She continued to massage him for a bit more, but soon, she said that she was tired. 

The monk ignored her, which was a clear sign that he wanted her to continue massaging him. 

So, she did not dare to stop. She continued massaging him. Then, the monk heard weeping sounds behind him. He was stunned, and when he turned around, he saw the widow crying. She looked incredibly pitiful. 

“What… are you doing?” he asked, shocked.

The widow ignored him. She turned her head away, looking very hurt. When the monk saw it, he felt awful as well. “If you’re not willing to, then I will not force you…”

Before he could even finish, the widow threw herself into his arms and started crying. “You’re horrible! You’re a bad man! A truly wicked person.”

Not only did she complain about him, she even used her fists to hit him. 

The monk froze up, but when he saw how sadly she was crying, he felt resigned and said, “Why am I the one who is bad? You’re the one who is clearly not willing to stay and talk to me.”

Chu Yue looked up and said while she stared at him obstinately, “Isn’t it because you’re bad? You regard me with scorn because I am a jealous woman! But I will tell you this, I am jealous, and I am prone to fits of jealousy! I am the type who cannot tolerate things that I do not like!” 

The monk said nothing. He could tell what sort of personality she had now. She might seem delicate, but she was the type to have her own thoughts. 

“Do you know that it is only logical for men to have multiple wives in this society?” he asked. 

“I know, but that has nothing to do with me. They are them, and I am me. I will not change the way I think, and I refuse to for the rest of my life. If you regard women like me with scorn, tell me right now, and I will not come to bother you again!” 

As Chu Yue spoke, she wanted to get up and leave, but the monk pulled her back, and she fell into his arms again. 

Chu Yue instantly started struggling. “Let me go.”

“If I do, where will you go?” the monk asked in resignation.

“Wherever I go has nothing to do with you. The world is large, but it will not accommodate a treacherous woman such as me. So, instead of living in a world that will not tolerate my existence, I would rather be reincarnated into a good family,” Chu Yue said while wiping off her tears. 

“I did not say that I cannot tolerate you.” The monk felt incredibly resigned as he said these words. 

Chu Yue smiled in a miserable manner. “Master, stop trying to comfort me. If you cannot give me what I desire, please do not say such words.”