บท 24: A Temper Tantrum
บรรณาธิการ: EndlessFantasy Translation
The monk finally gained something from the date, and he was in a rather good mood.
When the widow asked him out again on the next day, he joined her. This time, the widow was even bolder. She rose on her tiptoes and gave his cheek a light peck.
The monk's heart fluttered, but his expression turned dark. He pretended to be angry and told her, "You went overboard."
The courageous widow just stared at him obstinately, "I have long since gone overboard. What can you do about it?"
The monk thought, 'You're just like a white rabbit. Are you really going to be a menace now?'
So the monk's expression turned even darker, and he turned around and left.
The widow did not try to comfort him in the slightest. She just turned around and went back to Shangqing Temple.
Now, the monk's expression became truly dark. He glanced in the direction she left coldly before he went back to copy his scriptures.
But he could not calm down.
When Eunuch Feng brought a basket worth of reports over, he saw his master's sour expression and wondered about who could have possibly angered his master. His heart trembled in fear, and he served him carefully before he left the room.
He called for Yingda after and asked, "What's wrong with the master? He was fine when I came over the day before yesterday."
In that timespan, his expression had become so cold that he could freeze someone just by looking at them. Eunuch Feng broke out in cold sweat despite the cold weather while just thinking about it.
"He argued with the widow," Yingda said.
"What?" Eunuch Feng was puzzled. "The widow actually dared to make the master unhappy? Does she want to die?"
After the matter of her declaring herself a jealous woman, Eunuch Feng had stopped paying attention to her. In his eyes, she would never be able to climb the social ladder.
With her actions and thoughts, the master would definitely not pamper her for long, so Eunuch Feng did not need to pay any attention to her.
Hence, even if he knew that his master had not broken things off with her, he was not bothered by it. But how could she make his master unhappy?
Yingda had a calm look on his face. He had been listening and watching in secret, so he believed that the master's relationship with the widow would be as good as new in just a few days' time.
"I do not have any interest in giving pointers to the widow anymore. She lacks judgment. You can tell her to get along with the master a little; otherwise, she can forget about glory and riches. She might even have trouble keeping her head on her shoulders," Eunuch Feng said.
"I won't tell her that," Yingda said faintly before he went to hide again.
"The master's body is precious. If he gets so angry that he falls sick, what should we do?" Eunuch Feng whispered.
"Our master isn't made of paper," Yingda retorted from his hiding place.
Eunuch Feng was so angry that he stuttered. "Y-you deserve a thousand deaths! Our master's body is of great importance. How could we let anything happen to it?"
"Just hurry up and go. Don't interfere in the widow and His Majesty's affairs, or else, you'll find yourself in serious trouble."
Since they had grown up together, Yingda decided to give Eunuch Feng a reminder, but that was all that he said.
"Did you manage to read into something? Hurry up and tell me."
Yingda ignored him.
Eunuch Feng called out to him for a long time, but Yingda refused to appear anymore, so he was left alone to his own thoughts. The widow was born with a rebellious spirit, but would the master like this sort of woman?
There was no man in the world who did not like gentle and obedient women... Besides, it was completely normal for men to have multiple wives. The widow's previous words were utter nonsense.
Judging by her words, she even felt that she was being absolutely reasonable when she said that she was a jealous woman. She truly did not know her place. It was no wonder then why she was rejected by her husband's family even though she was so beautiful.
But Eunuch Feng frowned, feeling conflicted. He understood that men did not like rebellious types like the widow, even though he was a eunuch, but he did not know what his master was thinking. If his master did not like her, why would he become so angry over a mere widow's actions or words?
Eunuch Feng could not understand it and said to Yingda, "Come now, Yingda. Come down and talk to me."
Yingda ignored him.
So Eunuch Feng could only keep his thoughts to himself. He waited at the entrance, and once his master was done taking care of the reports, he left.
He did not want to stay around to be his master's punching bag.
The monk had been angry, but once he finished going through the reports, his anger dissipated. It was almost time for his meal, and the widow should have come back to cook.
Chu Yue did indeed cook, but once she was done, she asked Yingda to send the food over. She did not even show up.
The monk looked at the food in front of him and did not want to eat it. Did the widow truly intend to argue with him?
The monk did not intend to spoil her. He ate his food, even if he felt that it was tasteless in his mouth. It was decided. He was going to ignore the widow for some time.
Coincidentally, those were Chu Yue's thoughts as well. She wanted to ignore the monk for a time, considering the fact that he had taken a gift from her, but did not appreciate it.
"Milady, you have been coming back early the past few days."
After this lasted for a few days, the monk had yet to become restless when Hupo started asking what was going on.
This was because earlier Chu Yue would always stay for a long time at the temple before she came back. Hupo had gotten used to it, but now, her mistress returned to her previous schedule, which was why she decided to ask about it.
"I don't have to work so hard anymore, so it's only natural that I can come back earlier," Chu Yue said in a nonchalant manner.
Hupo nodded and said nothing else.
Chu Yue laughed coldly in her heart.
It had been four days, but the monk still refused to take the initiative to reconcile with her. Very well, she would see just how long he could tolerate it.
She could not be the first to surrender. If she did, she would have to surrender every time after that, and there was no way she would compromise to save the situation.
Chu Yue could not even remember why she became angry. But no matter, she was angry, and that was all that mattered.
Chu Yue only went over to cook at noon. When she reached the back of the temple, she saw the monk standing in the courtyard looking at her.
Even if she knew that he had been waiting for her, Chu Yue ignored him. She took a turn and went into the kitchen to work.
The monk frowned.
Yingda gave the widow a clap in the dark. Her temper was even worse than his master's. The monk had already taken the initiative to reconcile with her, yet she still ignored him.
Chu Yue quickly made some jujube steamed buns, millet porridge, and three vegetarian dishes. All of them were simple and tasty vegetarian food.
"Yingda, bring it to the master." Once Chu Yue came out of the kitchen, she called out for Yingda.
Yingda appeared and used a silver needle to test the food, as usual. Then, he said, "The master asked you to send it over to him by yourself."
Once he finished speaking, he went to hide again.
There was no way Chu Yue would not know that the monk wanted her to send the food by herself. 'If you want me to deliver the food by myself, I will. It's not as if I'm worried that you'll eat me.'
Hence, she sent the food over by herself. She knocked on the door, and once she gained the permission to enter, she brought the food inside.
"Please enjoy it, Master."
Once Chu Yue put the food on the table, she stepped back and pretended to be invisible. She lowered her head and stared at the tips of her shoes.
The monk looked at her. It had already been a few days, and she was still angry?
Since she said nothing, he searched for a random topic. "The wind and snow has been strong over the past few days. Did you manage to sleep well at night?"
Chu Yue refused to buy it. Did he think that they could let this whole thing slide just like that? Forget it.
"Master, you should not speak. Hurry up and eat. The food is about to become cold."
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