21 Prince Qin’s Secondary Consort

But what could Grandmaster Jingmian do about it? If she did not catch the widow red-handed, no one would believe her. Those with status at Longan Temple were protecting her, and the abbess had already told her to stay out of this. 

But how could she let this wretched cur destroy Shangqing Temple's good reputation?

"Aunt-master, we must think of a way to chase her out. If she continues staying with us and ends up conceiving while she is a widow… then Shangqing Temple's reputation will truly be ruined," Yumei gritted her teeth. 

"What method could we even use? We can't go to that place." Grandmaster Jingmian felt a little frustrated as well. 

She, too, wanted to catch Chu Yue red-handed. When the widow went to the other mountain, Grandmaster Jingmian followed her, but the moment she stepped foot on the mountain, a man in black showed up and even drew his sword at her. He did not say a single sentence, which terrified her. 

"What should we do then? Are we just going to watch her destroy Shangqing Temple?" Yumei said angrily. 

"We'll wait a little longer." Grandmaster Jingmian could not think of a better method right now, so this was all that she could say.

If she remembered correctly, the old maids who sent the widow over had mentioned that they would come again at the end of the year. It was almost time for them to come.

*****

The prince's mansion was already making preparations. They were still days away from visiting the temple, but they had already begun filling up carts with goods. 

"Secondary Consort, you're too kind. Why are you preparing so many good items for a demoted lady?" the secondary consort's personal maid asked. 

Prince Qin's secondary consort said, "My sister is praying for the prince's mansion, and as her younger sister, while I can't help her in anything else, I can cut down on the provisions for food, clothes, and money for her.

"Speaking of which, I was useless. My sister's money was stolen by the wretched maid called Shanhu, yet I didn't ask anyone to help my sister capture her."

"Secondary Consort, you're too kind. You should pretend that you didn't know about this to avoid trouble," the old maid said. 

But if she were truly kind, she would have given Chu Yue money a long time ago. She knew that her money had been stolen, but she only decided to send these things to her now, which made it clear that she wanted her to freeze to death. 

"Make sure that these things are sent to the imperial consort with no damage whatsoever, and make no mistakes, understand?" Prince Qin's secondary consort said faintly.

"Do not worry, Secondary Consort. I will not let you turn into a subject of gossip for other people," the old maid quickly said. 

"Go." Prince Qin's secondary consort nodded. 

Hence, the cart full of items was sent over. It traveled for an entire day before reaching Shangqing Temple. 

The items were all unloaded and sent over. 

Hupo was very happy. Fortunately, the prince's mansion had not truly forgotten the two of them and sent something for them again. 

Chu Yue took the items without bothering to put on a polite front. "Thank you for coming here from so far away. But our place is small, so we can't ask you to stay."

Her status as Prince Qin's imperial consort was basically nonexistent, but she would not bother to be modest when it came to taking things. 

Hupo had been staying with Chu Yue, so she naturally did not notice anything, but the old maid was slightly stunned and stared at Prince Qin's legitimate imperial consort. 

Her change was too drastic. Before, she was delicate and had a weak personality, but now, she seemed rather haughty and overbearing, and she did not bother to be polite with them. Instead, she even ordered them about. 

"It's already late. We won't be able to make it back if we leave today. We will return tomorrow. Tonight, we will stay in Shangqing Temple," Mrs. Feng, the old maid, said. 

"Do as you like." Chu Yue tugged the mink cloak tighter around herself and left with Hupo. 

Wasn't all her money stolen? How could she buy such a high-grade mink cloak? Even the secondary consort never had such an outstanding mink cloak before. 

Mrs. Feng cast a glance at Chu Yue's back before she squashed down the questions in her heart and went to Shangqing Temple. 

She got them a place to stay after giving a bag of silver as a donation from her mistress to Shangqing Temple. 

Grandmaster Jingmian, who was in charge of serving patrons, naturally welcomed them warmly. 

"But you weren't the one who came here last time, Female Patron." Grandmaster Jingmian said. 

"The one who came here last time was Mrs. Yang. She fell ill recently and is indisposed right now. That's why I came here," Mrs. Yang said. 

Grandmaster Jingmian nodded. 

"Grandmaster, are you free? Would you mind coming inside to eat some snacks with this old woman?" Mrs. Yang asked. 

Grandmaster Jingmian understood what she wanted when she looked at her expression and nodded. "Then, I shall show my respect to you by accepting your offer."

Mrs. Feng was very satisfied. The nuns in Shangqing Temple would naturally understand the imperial consort's situation the most, since she lived right next door. 

Once they entered the room, Mrs. Feng asked a younger maid to send in snacks and tea before she asked, "Grandmaster, has the imperial consort gotten used to life next door?"

When Grandmaster Jingmian heard that she was indeed here to ask about the widow, she put on an expression as if she did not know how she should phrase her words. 

"Grandmaster, if you have something to say, you should go on and say it." 

'Did something really happen?' Mrs. Feng wondered.

Grandmaster Jingmian sighed and said in a manner as if she was too embarrassed to be saying it, "I am a nun, and I have freed myself from all desires and passions. I should not be saying these things, but since you asked, I will have to run my mouth off. The widow next door… has not been acting properly according to her status."

"The widow?" Mrs. Feng was stunned. 

"Isn't she? When the previous female patron came over, she said that she has been rejected by her husband's family," Grandmaster Jingmian looked at her with surprise. 

Mrs. Feng did not bother trying to reason with her regarding this. She was more concerned with what she mentioned later. "Grandmaster, what do you mean that she has not been acting properly according to her status? Has she done something indecent?"

"I do not know whether she has done anything indecent, but you must have surely seen the mink cloak she wear over her shoulders," Grandmaster Jingmian said.

"I wanted to ask about that too. That mink cloak is of good quality and would cost a lot. It doesn't seem like she brought it from home," Mrs. Feng said. 

The secondary consort knew just how much money the imperial consort had. Once Shanhu stole it, she should have been so poor that she would have trouble eating, so how could she have bought a mink cloak of that standard?

Mrs. Feng had also seen the imperial consort just now, and she was in a much better state than before. Before, she would become sick after being exposed to the wind and had a sickly parlor to her face, but now, it was gone, and she was so beautiful that she looked a little eye-catching

If she were to return to the mansion, she might turn into a powerful enemy for the secondary consort. 

So Mrs. Feng needed to understand just what had happened for the secondary consort to be prepared for it. 

"Someone gave it to her," Grandmaster Jingmian whispered.

That one sentence left Mrs. Feng stunned. "Who? That mink cloak isn't cheap."

"Over there." Grandmaster Jingmian pointed at Longan Temple on the nearby mountain. 

But Mrs. Feng was not familiar with the place, so she did not understand what Grandmaster Jingmian meant. Still, she brought out a piece of silver and gave it to her. "Please speak clearly, Grandmaster."

Grandmaster Jingmian took the silver calmly and said, "Longan Temple." 

Mrs. Feng's eyes went wide. Grandmaster Jingmian had mentioned that the imperial consort had not been acting as someone of her status should, so… did she do what Mrs. Feng thought she did?

She looked at Grandmaster Jingmian, who nodded, showing that things were exactly as she thought.

"Oh… my goodness." 

Mrs. Feng nearly lost her breath. The news was too shocking.