13 Just Let Me Die

Since the event concerned the reputation of Shangqing Temple, the abbess of Shangqing Temple naturally had to take an interest in it. 

Chu Yue and Hupo were both brought over. Young Nun Yuhe waited at the entrance, and it was clear that she was a little anxious. When she saw them come over, she quickly said softly, "My master wants to ask you about you going to Longan Temple."

After hearing this, Chu Yue realized what was happening. She nodded at Young Nun Yuhe. Then, she brought Hupo inside. 

The abbess of Shangqing Temple, Grandmaster Jingmian, and Young Nun Yumei were all there. The others were not alerted. After all, they still did not know what was truly going on, and it would not be wise for them to make it public and cause panic. 

"Greetings, Abbess." Chu Yue led Hupo to bow before the abbess. 

The abbess of Shangqing Temple was a person with a kind face. She nodded and said, "You're too polite, Female Patron."

Chu Yue did not bother with the civilities. She went straight to the point and asked, "Might I ask why you summoned me?"

"Don't you know why we summoned you here?" Grandmaster Jingmian let out a cold huff. 

Chu Yue smiled and said, "Please tell me, Grandmaster."

"We have already progressed to this point, and yet you still refuse to admit to what you've done. Then, I shall not bother with courtesy anymore!" Grandmaster Jingmian said coldly. "We have always stayed out of Longan Temple's way, and they do the same. Our temples have been built for years, and we have never interacted with each other. But ever since you came here, you've been running to Longan Temple every day. Do you want to ruin Shangqing Temple's reputation?!"

Today, she would definitely chase this widow away!

When Chu Yue heard the nun's speech, she looked as if the world was about to collapse. Her face turned white, and she stared at Grandmaster Jingmian in shock. 

"Grandmaster, I know that you have always regarded my status in disdain and were unable to tolerate me, but I did not expect that you would actually treat me with such great injustice." 

When Grandmaster Jingmian saw her appearance, she thought it was the standard look of someone who did something wrong and felt guilty over it. She chuckled coldly and said, "Are you still going to defend yourself? You can use that fragile look of yours to appease men, but it's useless against me and Shangqing Temple!"

"Abbess, is that what you think of me as well?" Chu Yue was incredibly shocked when she looked at the abbess of Shangqing Temple. 

Before the abbess of Shangqing Temple could say anything, Grandmaster Jingmian said, "The abbess is kind, but some people intentionally use it against her and deceive her. Still, we will not allow the good reputation Shangqing Temple has built over a hundred years to be ruined by someone as dirty as you."

"Ah, I'm ruined! My life is ruined! This world is so big that it can contain the oceans and mountains, yet it cannot tolerate me, an abandoned married woman. It would be better if I just died!" 

Chu Yue looked absolutely despondent. As she spoke, she tried to ram her head against the pillar beside her to show her innocence with her death. 

"Milady! Milady, you mustn't take things too hard! You can't!" Hupo's face turned pale with fright. She took hold of her mistress and began crying loudly. 

"Hupo, don't stop me! Just let me die! I'm an abandoned married woman, and no matter what I say, I am in the wrong! I thought that Shangqing Temple is the final holy land in the world and could tolerate my existence so that I can live out the rest of my feeble existence.

"I didn't expect that even Shangqing Temple will not be able to tolerate me. They're persecuting me with such slanderous claims! What else can I do aside from dying?!" Chu Yue said with great sorrow. 

Grandmaster Jingmian was so angry that she started trembling. "You… You accursed wretch…"

"Jingmian." The abbess of Shangqing Temple frowned after hearing the slur. 

Grandmaster Jingmian quickly said, "I lost my temper because of this widow."

Then, while still trembling because of her rage, she pointed at Chu Yue, who was causing a fuss. "I knew that you were someone who would not know your place. If it were not because of it, you would not have been rejected by your husband's family. 

"But you refused to change your attitude even after you came to Shangqing Temple. Did you think that you can make us turn a blind eye just because you can be unreasonable and cause a fuss by seeking death? 

"You go to Longan Temple and have ambiguous relationships with the monks over there, and there is more than one witness to this. Yumei is just one of them. You can confront her face to face. I'd like to see how you can use your smooth tongue to get out of this, you impure wretch!"

"Why should I even bother to confront her?! Just let me die! Just let me kill myself! Hupo, don't stop me!" Chu Yue cried weakly and tried to ram her head into the pillar again. 

Hupo pulled at her mistress while crying. "Milady, don't take what she said to heart. A person who is innocent does not need their innocence defended. We shouldn't listen to the nun's words. She has always found us an eyesore and naturally wants to accuse us of crimes we did not commit." 

Grandmaster Jingmian was so angry that she was trembling from head to toe. She pointed at the master-servant pair as they started talking to one after another. "You… Don't you dare ruin my reputation. I caught you red-handed, and you want to deny what you've done? I haven't said anything, and you're already threatening to kill yourself? With such acts, it's no wonder why you were rejected by your husband's family!"

"That's right. You went to seduce the monks at Longan Temple. I saw this, along with a few other junior and senior sisters. We have concrete proof, yet you're still causing such a ruckus? Do you want Shangqing Temple to be known for being bullies?" Young Nun Yumei was also so angry that she started trembling.

All those who stayed at Shangqing Temple were nuns, and they had never seen such methods before. So now, they were the ones at fault. 

Chu Yue had her fill pretending to be a snowflake. Once she felt that the situation was ripe, she looked at the abbess. 

"Abbess, society is unkind to women, especially to women like me, who cannot rely on their husband's family and have been abandoned by their own. 

"The world is large, but it has no place for me. I should be risking my life for the temple, since you were generous enough to keep me around, but I did not expect that when I tried to earn a living, I would bring so many inconveniences to Shangqing Temple. I cannot absolve myself from this blame even if I die ten thousand times."

"Earn your living?" Grandmaster Jingmian immediately caught on the words that would allow her to ridicule Chu Yue. She immediately thought that she was prostituting herself. 

While suppressing her excitement, she said to the abbess, "Senior Sister, you heard what she said, right? Now that things have progressed to this point, we simply cannot keep this widow who has no sense of shame and did something so obscene. Otherwise, the good reputation Shangqing Temple has built over a hundred years will truly be ruined in her hands!"

"Oh… Oh, my goodness!" Young Nun Yumei only then realized what Chu Yue had meant when she said that she was trying to earn her living. She covered her mouth as her eyes went wide while looking at Chu Yue. It was as if the views of life, morals, and the world she had since she was young had been renewed. 

"Hupo, don't stop me! Don't stop me! Instead of letting Grandmaster Jingmian humiliate me this way, it's better if I just die! Let me just die!" As Chu Yue spoke, she tried to ram her head against the pillar again. 

"When have I humiliated you? You went to Longan Temple to earn your living. This is what you said! You've already done the deed, yet you're afraid of others talking about it?!" Grandmaster Jingmian mocked her. 

"Abbess, I did not. I truly did not." Chu Yue's face was pale, and she looked at the abbess pitifully. 

A long time had passed, and it was almost time for Chu Yue to go over to make lunch. Hence, she became "too sad" and "fainted" from crying. 

"Milady! Milady, don't scare me!" Hupo started wailing in a panic. 

"This widow actually went for this act?!" 

Grandmaster Jingmian was so angry that she trembled even more now. She did not think that the widow had so many methods at her disposal. First, she tried to die, and now, she fainted!

"Send her back first. We can talk about the other things later," the abbess quickly said. 

"Senior Sister, we cannot keep this widow around!" Grandmaster Jingmian quickly said. 

"We can talk after she wakes up," the abbess said with a shake of her head.