Right then, Chu Yue was short on money. If she could earn even a little, she would take it.
Eunuch Feng did not expect that she would want money, but that was fine. If she could serve his master well, a bit of money was nothing. He brought out a handful of silver from his pocket. There were ten taels of silver there.
Chu Yue took the silver and said, "Sir, I have to tell you that I will only make three meals a day. I might not be on the mountain at other moments. I have to go back to stay at Shangqing Temple; otherwise, my reputation will be ruined."
'Do you actually think that Shangqing Temple doesn't know who you are?'
But he did not say anything. He had given her the chance, and now, she had to rely on her own abilities to get his master's favor.
Of course, it would be great if she became favored, but even if she ended up frustrating his master, Eunuch Feng did not fear the consequences.
He had only employed a chef. It was the chef who did not know her place, so even if he was blamed for it, he would not be punished too heavily for it.
Chu Yue wanted to go back after staying for a while.
Eunuch Feng called out to her and said, "Make lunch for the mast… for Master Dao Yuan first."
Chu Yue heard the word Eunuch Feng did not finish, but she thought that he was just talking about the master abbot. 'I knew it, the monk is the abbot of Longan Temple.'
Chu Yue was in an incredibly good mood. She made plain stir-fried bean sprouts, smoked tofu, and stir-fried mushroom with potato strips.
Even though there were only three dishes, their aroma was incredibly great. When the dishes were brought to the monk, he cast a sideways glance at Eunuch Feng.
"This wasn't made by the same chef," he said.
"Master, please taste it," Eunuch Feng said with a smile.
The monk used his chopsticks. He had gotten used to the bland food in Longan Temple, but the vegetarian food before him was clearly extraordinary.
The three dishes were accompanied by white rice. Even after the monk finished, he had not had his fill yet and wanted more.
It was still vegetarian food, but it was incredibly fragrant.
"Next time, I'll have the chef make more," Eunuch Feng said.
The monk did not say anything. The food did suit his tastes, and he was very satisfied with it. "Did you ask the palace to cook this?"
"No, I hired a new chef. But don't worry, Master. The chef has a clean background and is a pitiful person. She is very grateful to have been able to get this job," Eunuch Feng said to get the monk ready for the reveal later.
The monk nodded. The unfamiliar person was just a chef, so he would naturally not mind it. He approved of the reports written in the books in his hands and had Eunuch Feng send them back to the palace.
*****
Chu Yue, in the meantime, was trying to convince Hupo to let her go.
She certainly had to tell Hupo about what was going on. She was going to be leaving three times every day, so there was no way Hupo would not notice it.
But Hupo refused to agree to it.
"Milady, we'll be able to manage if I just work overnight for a few days and embroider a few more handkerchiefs. There is no need for you to become a chef to earn money. Even if I die, I cannot let you be ordered around like a servant," Hupo said while crying.
"Silly girl, I'm not being ordered around like a servant. I'm relying on my own abilities to earn money. I'm not stealing, so what's wrong with it? I'll be getting ten taels of silver a month. How many handkerchiefs would that be?" Chu Yue asked.
One embroidered item sold for just two or three hundred cash coins. Hupo needed at least five days to embroider one handkerchief, and she had to work overtime to finish them.
So how much would she be able to earn a month?
Of course, that amount of money would be a lot for a farmer's family, but the things Hupo bought for her mistress were good stuff. Even if she embroidered handkerchiefs to add to their allowance, they were still spending more than they earned.
Hupo wept. "I'm useless. It's my fault that I cannot take care of you well."
She cried to the point that she looked grief-stricken.
If she had been on guard and did not allow that thief, Shanhu, to steal their money, her mistress would not have needed to fall to this state.
"Stop crying. I'm just going over to cook. It's nothing big," Chu Yue said, feeling absolutely resigned.
However, while Hupo was a delicate person, she was still loyal to Chu Yue. Even if Chu Yue was very different from the original girl, Hupo was able to accept it. She just thought that Chu Yue had changed after she was demoted and her money was stolen.
Hupo was incredibly sad and blamed herself for everything.
But aside from embroidery, she knew nothing else.
After she finished crying, she realized something and asked, "Milady, do you know how to make vegetarian food?"
"Yes. I had a dream, and the deity in my dream taught me. Now, I know all sorts of skills," Chu Yue said.
A smile bloomed on Hupo's face, but she said worriedly, "Milady, I have to go with you."
"That won't do. It's Longan Temple next door, and it belongs to the royal family. Defenses are tight over there, so no bad person can get close to it. It's very safe," Chu Yue said.
If Hupo followed her, how was she supposed to get to know the monk?
But Hupo still thought that her mistress was going to suffer. She was the eldest legitimate daughter of the imperial chancellor, but now, she had fallen so low that she had to be a chef at Longan Temple.
Chu Yue moved to the door and said while she felt the howling wind outside, "I think this winter is going to be especially cold."
"Milady, should I buy some pure hardwood charcoal tomorrow?" Hupo was also a little worried. The weather was indeed becoming colder.
They had just entered late autumn. Winter had not truly arrived just yet.
"Go on." Chu Yue nodded.
They spent most of the dozens of taels of silver they had left to buy a lot of things and some anti-freezing rouge. She originally intended to keep the remaining money for next year and did not intend to buy pure hardwood charcoal.
But now, since she had an income, it was only natural that she could buy it.
Hupo immediately set about her task. She went next door to invite Yuhe on her trip and promised to give her two catties of charcoal if she helped her.
The young nun, Yuhe wanted to be filial to her master, so she went with Hupo.
They asked someone to deliver the charcoal to the foot of the mountain, and Yuhe as well as Hupo took turns to move the charcoal uphill. They looked like ants moving houses.
Chu Yue did not know about this. She was already cooking in the temple on the mountain next to theirs. Once she was done, she went back. She was not in a hurry to get to know the monk. She was already in his abode, so she could do everything slowly.
When she came back, Hupo was exhausted, but all the pure hardwood charcoal was already brought back.
"Are you an idiot? Why didn't you ask the employees to bring it up?" Chu Yue asked.
"Men are not allowed to get close to the mountain of Shangqing Temple. They did not dare to come up," Hupo said.
"If they can't come up, you could have asked Shangqing Temple for help. They're next door, aren't they?"
Even though there was a nun who saw Chu Yue as a bad person and others who talked bad about her behind her back, there were still some nuns who were kind.
Chu Yue was not someone afraid of troubling others. If she could not do something, she was absolutely fine with asking for help. Naturally, she would compensate them for it in some way.
"I had Yuhe," Hupo said.
Chu Yue knew how Hupo was. She gave her a bowl of ginger and jujube soup and asked, "Did you give her any thank you gifts?"
Hupo quickly took the bowl of soup, nodded, and said, "I did."
She gave Yuhe two catties of pure hardwood charcoal. Even though she was tired afterwards, she was very happy.
Chu Yue took a look and saw that Hupo had bought extremely good pure hardwood charcoal, but it was very expensive. They would not be able to buy a lot of it with just ten taels of silver.
But at the end of the day, the bags of pure hardwood charcoal would make their lives in winter much better.