Chu Yue was not at all interested in the matters of Prince Qin's mansion.
Her life after New Year was great.
The monk was really rich. The temple had to have received a lot of donations from patrons, because he gave her three boxes of birds' nests that could nourish her body. One of them was even the incredibly valuable nest from glossy swiftlets. He also gave her two small caskets with accessories, all of which were very valuable, and three bundles of the best fabric.
"Milady, even if you gave the money in the big wallet we picked up to the master, we would not be able to buy so many things," Hupo said in a daze.
Their luck in Xiang City had been insane. The first time, they picked up a silver note worth fifty taels, and then the second time, they picked up a wallet that was filled to the brim with five hundred taels of silver.
Chu Yue had actually managed to get one thousand taels of silver from the gambling houses. She kept five hundred taels of silver for herself while tossing the other five hundred taels for Hupo to pick up.
Five hundred taels of silver was a lot. Hupo was so excited that she did not sleep for most of the night. But if she had picked up one thousand taels of silver, she would have felt uneasy instead.
"The master got to know a patron who sells such luxurious items. He can buy them from him at cost price, so the items naturally cost half of the price for which they are usually sold," Chu Yue said.
When Hupo heard this, she was dazed. Then, she brought out the wallet and said, "Milady, then you should give this money to the master."
She did not ask why her mistress bought so many items when they were in Xiang City. After all, they had picked up money.
Chu Yue could only take the money and keep it for herself.
She was not modest in receiving gifts that the monk gave her, but she could not let Hupo know that the monk gave all the items to her as gifts. Otherwise, the maid would not be able to accept it.
Chu Yue explained it to him.
The monk did not mind. "I will be giving you more items. You don't have to hide it from your maid. Just tell her that I gave them to you."
'Listen to his tone. He sounds like those domineering CEOs from trash romance novels.'
Chu Yue smiled as she leaned into his embrace. "Master, tell me honestly, how much silver did you embezzle?"
Those items could not be bought with less than one thousand taels of silver.
The monk coughed dryly. Was the widow trying to check how much money he had?
But he did not know how much money he had. After all, the entire Great Feng Dynasty was his.
"When will you become wordly again? Didn't you say you will stop being a monk this year? It's already 'this year'," Chu Yue said.
"July," the monk replied.
Chu Yue pretended to faint, and the monk tightened his grip on her in amusement.
"Master Monk, is this intentional?" Chu Yue said feebly.
"My original plan has always been to stop being a monk in July," the monk said in resignation.
Chu Yue felt that this was hell. The monk would only become worldly in July? She might have to return to Prince Qin's mansion by then. How could she elope with the monk and wander about the lands like that?
Prince Qin's family might have done nothing else except send her some things, but Chu Yue knew that even though the imperial chancellor's family had been keeping silent, the Jiang family—her mother's family—would not allow her to continue staying in the nunnery.
Her eldest aunt was currently the head of the Jiang family because her grandmother was weak. She knew that Chu Yue had married into Prince Qin's mansion, but she might not know that she had been demoted.
Eldest aunt had always found Chu Yue an eyesore, so she was probably hiding it from her grandmother.
But Chu Yue did not mind it. After all, the old woman would be terribly shocked if she learned about it, and something might happen to her.
The only family member who loved her in this world was her grandmother. Her uncle loved her as well, but he was not very capable. He relied on his seniors to protect him, so even if he loved Chu Yue, it was useless.
Speaking of which, her cousin could protect her. He was like her grandfather. He was capable, and he started from the bottom before he climbed up the ranks. Right now, he was a 100-man commander at the borders. But Great Feng Dynasty was powerful and at peace. There were seldom any fights, so it was not easy for him to get promoted.
Some time ago, her grandmother had wanted to hand her over to her cousin as a wife, but her eldest aunt had refused.
When the monk saw that she was not speaking, he asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking that when the time comes for you to stop being a monk, what is in your hands might have already flown away," Chu Yue said.
The monk smiled. Who would dare to touch what belonged to him?
When Chu Yue saw that he was not worried in the slightest, she pouted and said, "Master Monk, I'm being serious. If you don't let me give birth to a monk junior for you as soon as possible, you're going to regret it."
Seriously, if he had become worldly last year, she would have given birth to a monk junior for him this year.
The monk smiled and hugged her. "You can give birth to one for me in the future."
He did not have any special desires for children, but he did want her to give birth to a child for them to take care of for a while before they let him go when he became an adult.
Chu Yue ignored him. She might not be around by then. The monk could not hope to win against Prince Qin if he went against him. After all, he had no one to rely on as support, so there was nothing to say about it.
She just had to cherish the relationship they had until the moment it ended.
Chu Yue reached out and touched his head. She had wanted to touch it since a long time ago. Now, she had him in her hands, and she could touch him as she liked.
The monk looked at her with a curious gaze.
"What a good-looking bald head," Chu Yue praised him.
The monk was speechless.
Chu Yue was actually a little impressed with the monk. His self-control was really good.
Hence, she started teasing him. She touched the stubble on his chin and rubbed his plump ear lobe. She praised him a little before she went back to stroking his bald head.
The monk just looked at her in resignation.