Manyue kept winking at Gan Qiongying, with a hint of teasing. In fact, she hoped that Gan Qiongying could really shift her attention and not devote all her heart to the prince consort.

The prince consort is the most sophisticated person Manyue has met in all these years. In fact, Manyue has never really believed that the prince consort would truly love the princess. Who would fall in love with the person who humiliated them in the past?

But the princess is now like a tyrant, bewitched by the evil concubine. No matter how much advice Manyue gives, Gan Qiongying will not listen at all.

It just so happens that we met the little monk Dingzhen today. Manyue hopes that if the princess can show even a little interest in the little monk Dingzhen again, it would be a wonderful thing.

A man's infatuation can be escaped, but a woman's infatuation cannot.

At such a young age, before she has even tasted the sweetness of love, Man Yue is already afraid that her beloved master will suffer the bitterness of love in the future.

Gan Qiongying, of course, had no idea that Manyue's little mind was filled with so many twists and turns.

Seeing that Manyue kept squinting and not listening to the chanting, he reached out and pinched Manyue's bottom, warning her with his eyes to be quiet.

Gan Qiongying was quite surprised to learn that the monk was Dingzhen, but that was all she was surprised about.

With such looks and temperament, Gan Qiongying felt only admiration and had no romantic feelings for him.

Besides, she already had Li Hua. While monks were certainly handsome, and the aloof, detached, and ascetic play was also appealing, Gan Qiongying preferred Li Hua's gentle, steady, and exceptionally good-for-nothing nature.

Therefore, Gan Qiongying stopped looking at the full moon and knelt there attentively listening to the young monk Dingzhen chanting scriptures. She didn't even glance at the young monk Dingzhen once from beginning to end.

Perhaps the young monk Dingzhen really did have some of the mysterious and profound qualities of a cultivator. Gan Qiongying actually listened to him and closed her eyes, imagining herself sitting by a lotus pond, with a gentle breeze on her face and sunlight shining down on the water, reflecting the fish swimming in it. It was an indescribably pleasant and beautiful scene.

When she was suddenly pushed and almost fell into the lotus pond, she snapped out of her reverie, opened her eyes, and saw that it was indeed Full Moon who had pushed her.

"Princess, Princess, Monk Dingzhen has already left. Should we go after him?"

Gan Qiongying looked helpless, glared at Manyue, and shook her head.

Full Moon, however, was somewhat unwilling and continued, "I just spoke a few words with those devout women who are obsessed with Monk Dingzhen, and I found out some things. This Monk Dingzhen is currently short of money."

Man Yue whispered in Gan Qiongying's ear mysteriously, "He has taken in a large group of refugees in the back mountain. They are all old, weak, women and children. The daily expenses for porridge, rice and medicine are enough to empty the Qingshan Temple."

"The abbot of Qingshan Temple has stopped taking money for a long time. Now, all those refugees are being supported by Monk Dingzhen himself. Even the purple-gold kasaya passed down from his master, which was a gift from the emperor of the previous dynasty, has been secretly pawned! It's in the Treasure Pavilion in the city!"

Manyue said, "If the princess were still interested in him, he would never be so arrogant and disdainful of money. He doesn't have a single penny left. He was dismissive when the princess wanted to build a temple for him, but now that the princess is casually offering several thousand taels, he would definitely agree on the spot."

"Moreover, pawning the imperial robe is a capital offense, punishable by death. Although officials don't investigate unless the people report it, a princess is a princess, and it's only natural for her to punish him! If the princess uses this method to manipulate him, combining soft and hard tactics, why worry that this monk Dingzhen won't become her devoted follower?"

Gan Qiongying reached out and gave Man Yue a solid whack on the back of the head.

"After being by my side for so long, is all you still capable of is bullying men and women?!"

Gan Qiongying said, "If you say things like that again, I'll really get angry."

Manyue chuckled, clutching her head. Unable to sway Gan Qiongying, she quickly changed the subject: "This servant was just so engrossed in listening to the sutras, Princess. If you like it, give him some money, and he can recite sutras for you whenever you come."

"If you want me to give him some money to help the refugees he has taken in, you can just say so."

Gan Qiongying pinched Manyue's cheek: "Although I love money, I'm not a stingy person. Besides, you are the most intimate and caring person in my life. Don't you understand my personality? If you keep beating around the bush like this, I'll sell you and use the money to help the refugees."

Gan Qiongying had long known that although Manyue appeared to be a lackey of the villain and was indeed devoted to Princess Duanrong, she was not a truly wicked person.

She's just too shrewd; she always tends to complicate things.

Gan Qiongying said, "You had some silver on you when you left the princess's residence, right? Find some time later to send it all to Dingzhen. But where did all these refugees come from outside the city..."

"Has Gan Huiyue gone back yet?" Gan Qiongying, supported by Manyue, got up from the main hall and came out.

The sunlight was intense, casting a serene and understated beauty upon the ancient and elegant temple.

Gan Qiongying strolled slowly in the courtyard. "Miss Gan from the Grand Princess's family has already returned home. The youngest daughter of the Vice Minister of Rites who accompanied her was quite frightened."

"According to the men Chen Wa sent to go with them, a young nobleman from a clan tried to play the hero and rescue the damsel in distress on that road, but the refugees were too crazy and only two of them managed to squeeze in. They couldn't even get the young lady from the Ministry of Rites out, and she was so frightened that she cried."

"Has the ringleader been caught?" Gan Qiongying asked with a stern face.

Manyue helped Gan Qiongying to a stop by a flower bed. After a slight hesitation, she said, "We didn't catch them. I find it a bit strange. Some refugees should be starving and crazy to risk their lives to rob these nobles' carriages. But I heard from the people Chen Wa sent that as soon as the princess's fully armored soldiers arrived, all the refugees and those young masters who rescued the beauties ran away. They ran quite fast. In the end, they only caught up with one clan prince."

"Have Chen Wa investigate this matter thoroughly; I have a feeling something is amiss."

Full Moon nodded: "This servant and Chen Wa also felt something was wrong, and have already sent people to secretly sneak into the surrounding woods to track them down."

"What about those two men sent by the prince consort, what were their names, Hong and Qing?"

Full Moon said, "Those two people are waiting outside the temple right now. I didn't call them in."

"Why is that?" Gan Qiongying looked at Manyue.

Manyue pouted and said, "Those two are too arrogant. They don't even speak to our people or look at us properly. No matter how arrogant the servants of the princess's mansion are, they are still the princess's servants. How can they serve the princess in the future if they are so arrogant?"

Gan Qiongying raised an eyebrow, looked at Manyue's puffed-up face, poked her with her finger, but didn't say anything to Manyue or ask her to let them in.