Chapter 419 - Chapter 419: Having an Affair With a Monk
Chapter 419: Having an Affair With a Monk
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Yu Yunxi had a very good hearing so she naturally heard the discussions in the surroundings. Her expression was calm as she looked at the eunuchs and asked, “Who is your master?” “I, I’m the Empress’ servant…” “I’m Consort Mu’s servant…” “I’m Consort Hong’s servant…”
“What happened?”
At this moment, a palace servant supported the Empress Dowager to walk over. Behind the Empress Dowager were Empress Qin, Consort Hong, and Du Wenxin.
The eunuch who claimed to be Empress Qin’s servant hurriedly kneeled down and said, “Quan De greets the Empress. Earlier, the others and I were moving things into the carriages when we saw this monk sneaking around in the backyard. At that time, we saw that he dropped a handkerchief so we went and had a look. When we realized that it was the Eldest Princess’ handkerchief, we quickly apprehended him and brought him to the Eldest Princess so he could apologize to the Eldest Princess.”
The Empress Dowager said coldly, “Bring me the handkerchief.”
The eunuch quickly presented the handkerchief to the Empress Dowager with two hands.
When the handkerchief was unfolded, the word ‘Xi’ was exposed before everyone’s eyes.
Everyone began to whisper again
“I remember it. This is indeed the Eldest Princess’ handkerchief.’
“Yes, I’ve seen it before as well…
The Empress Dowager berated coldly, “Shut up. How dare you gossip about matters concerning the imperial family!”
Everyone was frightened out of their wits and quickly lowered their heads. Although they were silent now, it did not stop their minds from thinking.
‘The Empress Dowager looks so anxious. Could it be that there’s more to this handkerchief?’
‘What if the Eldest Princess didn’t drop the handkerchief at all… What if the Eldest Princess… gave it to the monk?’
With these thoughts in mind, everyone looked at the monk furtively.
The monk was handsome, and he possessed a pair of clear and bright eyes, which made him look like he was untainted by the secular world.
Many unmarried young women blushed when they looked at the monk, thinking that it was not impossible for Yu Yunxi to have thoughts about such a man.
At this time, the Empress Dowager said commandingly, “Eldest Princess, follow me back to the palace.”
With these words, a few people stepped forward to escort Yu Yunxi into the hall.
Seeing this, everyone’s minds became active again.
‘Does the Empress Dowager know that the Eldest Princess and this monk have an affair? Is she trying to resolve this scandal secretly?’
Yu Yunxi looked at the Empress Dowager and smiled slightly as she said in an icy tone, “No need. If the Empress Dowager has anything to say, you can just say it here. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
The Empress Dowager’s expression darkened, and she scolded sternly, “You did something disgusting, but you’re still unrepentant! Do you want everyone to know about it?”
With this, everyone was even more certain that Yu Yunxi had an affair with the monk.
‘The Eldest Princess is really crazy?’
‘Did she forget that she’s engaged to the Third Prince of Beixiao?’
‘She’s engaged, but she still dares to have an affair with a monk. She’s simply a disgrace to Xichu. Not only that, but she even blasphemed the purity of Buddhism.’
Yu Yunxi laughed when she saw the Empress Dowager acting as though she was trying to help her. She said unhurriedly, “This morning, everyone misunderstood me and gossipped about me regarding the scriptures. At that time, the Empress Dowager didn’t think of stopping those gossipy women for the sake of the imperial family. Why did the Empress Dowager suddenly change now? It seems as though she’s trying to protect me now when she didn’t earlier…’ ‘Gossipy women?’
Many women’s faces turned red with anger when they heard those words. However, they could only suppress their anger. After all, the other party was the Eldest Princess.
‘Isn’t the Eldest Princess afraid of offending so many people?’
“Yu Yunxi, what on earth do you…” the Empress Dowager began to scold, looking angry.
However, Yu Yunxi directly interrupted the other party and said, “Empress Dowager, you forbade everyone from speaking earlier and wanted me to follow you back. Your actions aren’t helping me at all. You just want everyone to misunderstand that I really did something to bring shame to the imperial family.”
Now that the scheme has been exposed, the Empress Dowager’s expression was extremely hideous.
At this time, Du Wenxin quickly stepped forward and said in a complicated tone, “Yunxi, Aunt just wants to protect you.”
“There’s no need. It’s better to let the truth come out,” Yu Yunxi said bluntly.
Du Wenxin’s expression froze. Originally, she and the Empress Dowager planned to bring Yu Yunxi back to the palace and lock Yu Yunxi up for a few days. With that, Yu Yunxi would miss the opportunity to meet the Third Prince of Beixiao, and everyone would think that Yu Yunxi really had an affair with the monk. Unexpectedly, Yu Yunxi did not act according to their plan.
‘Forget it. No matter how she tries, she won’t be able to do anything. She can’t even explain the matter with her handkerchief…’
Meanwhile, Empress Qin and the others watched from the side. They naturally knew that the Empress Dowager was trying to frame Yu Yunxi again, but they only remained silent. Who knew if they just wanted to watch the show, if they were afraid of the Empress Dowager, or if they were still weighing Yu Yunxi’s value to them?
Yu Yunxi walked up to the monk and asked indifferently, “What’s your name?”
The monk looked up at Yu Yunxi with a pair of extremely clear eyes. It was as though he could see through her heart in a glance. He put his hands together and replied, “Amitabha. Benefactor, my Buddhist name is Qing Yuan.”
At this time, Yu Ting tugged on Yu Yunxi’s sleeve and whispered, “Eldest Princess, I don’t think he’s a thief. He didn’t steal your handkerchief.”
“Why do you say that?”
Yu Yunxi also knew the monk did not steal her handkerchief, but she wanted to know Yu Ting’s thoughts.
Yu Ting giggled and replied in a low voice, “Because he’s good-looking, and he has a pleasant voice. He doesn’t seem like a bad person.”
Yu Yunxi was rendered speechless for a moment. After a moment, she patted Yu Ting’s shoulder and gestured for Yu Ting to stand back. Then, she looked at
Qing Yuan again and asked, “Where did you get this handkerchief?”
Qing Yuan shook his head and replied, “I don’t know.”
“Stand up and talk. You Buddhists should only kneel to Buddha,” Yu Yunxi said as she shot a look at the guard behind her.
With that, the guard stepped forward and helped Qing Yuan.
After that, Qing Yuan quickly lowered his head and said, “Thank you,
Benefactor.’
At this moment, a few eunuchs stepped forward anxiously.
“Eldest Princess, the matter of the handkerchief has not been investigated. He can’t stand up. He…”
“Do I need to seek your opinion when I do things?” Yu Yunxi asked coldly.
The eunuchs fell silent immediately.
At this moment, the Empress Dowager questioned coldly, “Where did you go last night?”
Without waiting for Qing Yuan to speak, the eunuch next to the Empress Dowager said, “Empress Dowager, this monk went to your meditation room last night to deliver blankets. However, you were not in the meditation room at that time. You were with Consort Du.”
Immediately after that, someone in the crowd said, “Yes, I remember it too! I went out for a breather last night, and I happened to see a young monk carrying blankets to the Empress Dowager’s meditation room. It has to be this monk!”
Another person said, “Last night, the Eldest Princess was in the Empress
Dowager’s meditation room, right?”
The atmosphere turned strange immediately as people looked at Yu Yunxi and Qing Yuan with various expressions on their faces..