Chu Yue knew exactly what the people from Prince Qin's mansion were doing when they stayed overnight at Shangqing Temple.
The prince only had one secondary consort and a few concubines. If she were not around, the secondary consort was definitely the one who had to take care of everything.
Since her servants came over, there was no way they would not try to understand her situation at Shangqing Temple.
But Chu Yue was not worried about it. After all, even if they managed to learn something, the secondary consort would definitely be happy about what she was doing and would pretend not to know anything.
Once she had solid evidence of her crimes, she would strike her where it hurt and make her unable to run from the accusations.
Chu Yue believed that the secondary consort was not a fool, and this was precisely what she would do.
And just as she expected, after the servants went back, Shangqing Temple became as quiet as it was in the past. They didn't do anything at all.
Chu Yue quirked her eyebrows, but this was for the best. She did not want anyone to bother her.
Hupo came in with a soup bowl and said, "Milady, I finished stewing the birds' nest."
"Come and eat with me."
Hupo had a bowl for herself as well, so they could eat together.
"Milady, I forgot to tell you that they sent a bag of charcoal for us yesterday," Hupo said.
Chu Yue's eyes lit up happily, and she nodded. "Alright. Then I will go over and thank the master later."
After she finished her birds' nest, Chu Yue went to Longan Temple. It was not time for her to cook yet, but she still came over.
The monk was a little surprised, but his gaze quickly became gentle.
"Master, I heard from my maid that you sent another batch of charcoal," Chu Yue said while looking at him. There was happiness in her eyes.
The monk looked at the widow's exquisite face and said, "You're weak. You shouldn't save up by not using the charcoal."
Why did he only now realize that the widow looked incredibly good?
"Master, it won't do for you to sit in your room, constantly copying scriptures. If you sit too long, it will be bad for your bones. It's better to go out and walk a bit," Chu Yue advised him.
Sitting for long periods of time was not good for the body.
"Where should I go?" The monk looked at her.
"Wherever is fine. Just don't stay in the room all the time. It'll be really gloomy if you do so," Chu Yue said.
The monk could tell that the widow wanted him to go out and take a walk with her. Even though he had not finished copying the scriptures, it was fine for him to satisfy her wish since it was rare of her to request anything.
So the monk put down his brush and saw the widow's mouth curl into a smile.
There was a smile on the monk's lips as well. The widow had always been very easy to please. He was just going out to take a walk with her, and she was already incredibly happy.
"Master, you're familiar with Longan Temple. Is there any place here that offers beautiful scenery?" Chu Yue asked.
"There is a plum blossom grove in the west garden," the monk said.
"Then, shall we go and admire the plum blossoms?" Chu Yue asked with a smile.
The monk nodded.
Chu Yue walked by the monk's side, and he watched her along the way.
"Master, I'm really happy to be able to come out here with you and take a walk," Chu Yue said with a smile.
The monk did not speak. Ever since she flung herself into his arms and cried wilfully, she had not done anything out of bounds. She just let everything develop naturally while keeping her actions within limits.
She seemed to have forgotten how satisfied and happy she had been in his arms.
But he knew that the widow had not forgotten about it. It was just that she did not dare to show it. Today, she was already pleased that he would come out to take a walk with her.
"Master, is the plum blossom grove ahead of us? I can already smell the fragrance of plum blossoms," Chu Yue said as her eyes lit up.
"It does smell nice," the monk said.
But while he thought that plum blossoms smelled nice, they could not compare to the fragrance from the widow's hair.
"Let's hurry up and go over," Chu Yue said.
The garden in the west was not far away. Soon, they arrived, and there was indeed a small plum blossom grove over there. Around twenty plum blossom trees grew there, and all of them were doing nicely. They bloomed proudly in the bitter cold with no fear for the harsh chill.
"They smell really nice," Chu Yue said with a smile. Then, she gathered her courage to hold the monk's hand while she headed further into the plum blossom grove. "Master, you're too slow. Come with me, quick. I think the smell will be even stronger if we go further inside."
The monk's eyes landed on her hand around his his. She only let him go after they entered the depths of the plum blossom grove, but her beautiful and exquisite face had already turned red. She was avoiding his gaze, a clear sign that she was embarrassed.
The monk smiled in resignation in his heart. There was no way he would not understand the widow's thoughts. She was truly thinking about getting closer to him. But he would just let her. This was merely a young widow's tiny and insignificant wish.
"This plum blossom grove isn't huge. I've entered the palace before, and the plum blossom grove there is what you can truly describe as large," the monk said to change the topic.
"This plum blossom grove isn't small at all," Chu Yue said.
But her attention was not on the plum blossom grove in the palace. Whether the palace's garden was big or not was none of her concern. It was not as if she could go there, anyway. It was not as useful as the small plum blossom grove in front of her, because this could turn into a place for her to date her monk.
The monk said nothing else. He just enjoyed the view of the plum blossoms. What he found hilarious and resigned over was that the widow did not seem to have any knowledge nor could recite a single poem or song. By the looks of it, she did not know the true art of viewing plum blossoms.
But he did not reveal her ulterior motives as he watched her eyes dart around. He did not say anything about her paying attention to him either.
He had thought that she was going to view the plum blossoms once, so the next day, he did not expect for her to look for him to view the plum blossoms again.
After this happened for a few days, the monk was ready to say that they should not do it again. The widow could not entertain him in the slightest, and there was nothing nice to enjoy in the plum blossom grove, anyway.
But before he could say that, the widow took hold of his hand with a red face.