16 A Huge Box of Bird’s Nests

"No matter what I say, it's not important. What is important is that the master likes your service, Ma'am. Next time, if you need anything, please tell Yingda. I will make sure to have everything arranged for you." Eunuch Feng extended an olive branch. 

'You stupid eunuch, you're seriously so immoral. My monk is a good man, yet you're just thinking about harming him.'

But she smiled and said, "Sir, you're too polite. If I truly lack something, I will tell you. If you have nothing else to say to me, I will head back first."

"Ma'am, have a safe journey." Eunuch Feng nodded in satisfaction. 

When Chu Yue returned home, Eunuch Feng went back to bring word to the monk. 

Once he heard that Chu Yue had gone back, he hummed a little while handling the reports.

"Master, I've heard from Yingda, and I believe that the lady is very weak. A new batch of bird's nests has been sent to the palace lately. Should I send some here?" Eunuch Feng asked softly. 

He could be considered to be trying to curry favor with the widow now.

If she did not decide to work for the master, there was no way she could eat something as nourishing as bird's nests. 

The monk cast him an indifferent glance, which caused Eunuch Feng to feel a little terrified. Then, he heard his master say, "Put aside all those thoughts. She's different from the others."

"Yes, I've overstepped my boundaries. Please forgive me." Eunuch Feng was so scared that he quickly knelt down. There was no way he would dare to say anything else. 

He wanted to curry favor with Chu Yue, but that was built on the basis of his master favoring her. If his master did not favor her, why would he bother to curry favor with her?

He was filled with regret. He had ended up brown-nosing the wrong target. 

"Give her a set of bird's nests."

Eunuch Feng found himself speechless. 

As he watched his master handle the reports, he wondered whether he had misheard things. 

When the monk did not get any reply, he cast him a glance. Eunuch Feng shuddered and quickly said, "I'll have someone send a set of bird's nests to the lady."

He did not dare to continue bothering his master and quickly got up and went out of the room. Then, he exhaled quietly. A delighted grin showed up on his face. By the looks of it, he had managed to lick the right person's boots. 

When the bird's nests were delivered, Chu Yue was eating jujubes while playing a game of pitch pot. 

Hupo got it for her. She said that Chu Yue's exercises were not elegant, and pitch-pot was a much better game. 

Chu Yue found the game quite novel and was quite entertained by it. 

When she heard a bird chirping, she had Hupo continue playing and came out on her own. 

"The master sent it to you," Yingda said while he gave her the box. 

Chu Yue did not expect that he would give her bird's nests. 

"This bird's nest is a tribute, and it's really expensive. The master actually gave this to me?" Chu Yue asked curiously. 

"The master said that you're weak, and he specifically asked someone to buy it so that you can nourish your body," Yingda said. 

"I am but a commoner. Why would the master treat me in such a manner?" Chu Yue said with a soft sigh. Meanwhile, she thought, 'Wow, after that ruckus in Shangqing Temple, the monk has become even more attentive to me."

"Ma'am, do you have anything you want to say?" Yingda asked. 

"Please tell the master that I have already mastered my craft. If the master finds that his shoulders are sore after he has been sitting for a long time, I can relieve some of his soreness," Chu Yue said. 

Yingda went off to tell the monk what she said. Eunuch Feng listened by the side, but even after he waited for a long time, he did not hear Yingda report anything else, such as the widow saying that she was so touched that her heart was about to melt. 

When he saw Yingda leave, Eunuch Feng thought, 'That's it? My master gave you such valuable bird's nests, and all you have to offer is a massage?'

Then, he looked at his master. When he saw that his master did not react in any manner, he could tell that his master was very pleased. 

Eunuch Feng really wanted to stay to see how the widow served his master, so he said, "Master, I want to stay for two days to serve you. May I go back the day after tomorrow?"

The monk hummed without saying anything. 

Eunuch Feng stayed. He wanted to see just how the widow would serve his master, because he truly felt like his master had been deceived because of his generosity. 

The widow had obtained a mink cloak for a bowl of yam balls, and with the offer of a few massages, she managed to get a huge box of bird's nests.

"How is my father?" the monk asked. 

"The former emperor is hale and hearty, but he misses you quite a lot. Yesterday, I went to greet him on your behalf, and the former emperor said that you have suffered," Eunuch Feng quickly said. 

"I will be able to go back next year, so my father has to take care of the court for one more year," the monk said. 

"I will surely go back and ask for the former emperor's forgiveness," Eunuch Feng said. 

*****

Meanwhile, Chu Yue had already soaked the birds' nests in the next mountain. Hupo could not quite understand what was going on. "Milady, why is the master treating you so well?"

"Because I cook well, and I wash his feet and massage him. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I'm serving him wholeheartedly. He might be unable to find another person who will serve him as attentively as I do," Chu Yue said. 

She was willing to cast aside her dignity just so that she could get him in her hands. 

"What?" 

Hupo was dumbfounded, then started crying. Her mistress was of a noble status, but she had been reduced to a servant girl who washed other people's feet?

Even Hupo had never done such manual labor before!

Chu Yue was stunned. She brought out her handkerchief and wiped off Hupo's tears. "You were fine one moment ago. Why did you start crying again?"

"Milady, how could you do such things? You're already suffering a lot by cooking for him, and now, you're even washing his feet?" Hupo asked while tears ran down her cheeks. 

Chu Yue thought, 'The monk is already in my hands, and it's just a matter of time before he becomes worldly again and marries me. He can already be considered to be mine, so what's wrong with me washing my partner's feet?'

But not even White Bone Spirit could predict whether she would successfully get the monk in her hands. Besides, Hupo's views of the world, life, and her morals simply could not withstand Chu Yue attacking it in this manner, so she could only say, "Hupo, have you ever heard that jobs are not divided by rank, and manual labor is the most glorious form of work?"

"No, I just know that you're of noble status, and even if you sell me off, you shouldn't do something like this," Hupo said while wiping off her tears. 

"I wouldn't be able to bear selling you off." Chu Yue bopped her nose with a smile. 

"Milady, stop doing something like that, or else, you can just let me handle it," Hupo pleaded.

'Absolutely not.' Chu Yue thought and said, "Hupo, be more open-minded. We've already been reduced to this state of poverty, and I no longer regard myself as a legitimate daughter of the imperial chancellor. I'm just a normal wife who has been rejected by her husband's family. 

"If I don't rely on my own strengths now, we'll never have a place that we can call our own. Since I received these benefits, I naturally need to work for them. There is such a thing in the world called satisfying both parties in a situation, you know? Since I've gained certain benefits from the master, if I don't work, I will turn into the person Grandmaster Jingmian always accuses me of."

"But if that's the case—"

Before Hupo could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Chu Yue. "What I have now was given to me because I worked for it, and I feel at ease taking it. These are rewards I obtained with my work, and I do not have to wait for the house to give them to me, like last time. Before, I had to take whatever they gave me, regardless of whether it was good or bad, and I even had to be grateful for it. I couldn't even complain about it."

Hupo knew what sort of life her mistress had since she was young, and her heart ached for her. She accepted what Chu Yue said, but she also said, "But you can't continue like this, Milady."

"Of course I can't," Chu Yue said. Once she had the monk in her hands, he would be the one washing her feet. 

"What do you intend to do, Milady?" Hupo quickly asked. 

"Let's get our capital first. Then, we can hire a few seamstresses and open a sewing house. Our lives won't be too horrible at that time," Chu Yue said.