Chapter 4 Arrival of the Abbot

"Lv Xin, please help me up…" Hua Qiyue said softly. You Shui felt sorry about Hua Qiyue and went outside to get some warm water to sober her up. Hua Qiyue was surprised as Lv Xin gently took her by the wrist. Lv Xin was only twelve or thirteen years old, how could she possibly hold an 18-year old Hua Qiyue? "Sister, may I ask your Lanzhu…." Hua Qiyue looked at Hua Mengshi. Mengshi was acting noble and well-bred in front of everyone, and Hua Qiyue knew she would not refuse. "Lanzhu, quickly come forward to help Miss!" Hua Mengshi hurriedly said. No matter how much Lanzhu despised Hua Qiyue, she could not disobey orders. Lanzhu immediately stepped forward and held the other hand of Hua Qiyue. She left only after Hua Qiyue stood steadily, contempt in her eyes. "Who's making noise here?" An old, yet powerful, voice came from outside the door. The surrounding pilgrims, who were watching from outside, moved aside to let past an old, thin monk in high spirits. Hua Qiyue knew from her body’s memories that this was Master Hanming, the abbot of Hanyue Temple. With a glance, Master Hanming saw the young new monk standing to the side with disheveled clothes. He was trembling, with a fresh lip print on his collarbone. "What happened?" The arrival of Master Hanming made everyone go silent. Yihan got down on his knees in front of the abbot and cried, "Master, please help me! That patroness... indecently assaulted me... but now she says it was me who did it … " Tears dropped from his eyes, winning the hearts of the watching pilgrims. They gazed with contempt upon Hua Qiyue, and Hua Mengshi gave a small, satisfied grin. Hua Qiyue made a bow to the abbot. Her eyebrows were like a painting, her features like a celestial goddess. "Abbot Hanming! I have been wrongly accused and request justice!" Hanming's eyes were like lightning as he looked coldly at Monk Yihan. He hadn’t expected the new monk to cause trouble so quickly. "Yihan, tell me what happened!" "Yes, abbot! Senior Qing Yuan asked me to light a lantern in the east wing, because there were pilgrims staying there. Who would ever think… when I arrived with the lantern, the patroness pounced me and was trying to tear off my belt and undress me… " Monk Yihan's words were pitiful, leaving some of the pilgrims convinced of Hua Qiyue’s lechery. Hua Qiyue's eyes turned red with a sad face. "Master Hanming, today is the day of the matchmaker. Two days ago, I received an invitation from my sisters to Hanyue Temple to pray for my mother who passed away early, but when I was kneeling down to pray, someone snatched the green jade phoenix hairpin on my head, which was given to me by my mother…” She took a deep breath, her eyes sincere and honest. "That's why I chased after the thief. But I didn't expect that they would rush into this room. I pushed the door and entered but was forced to the ground. Someone knocked on my head heavily from behind… I didn't even know what happened after I fainted. When I woke up, Monk Yihan was harassing me. Please give me justice!” Master Hanming felt that there was something strange about the situation. Monk Yihan had only been here for a few days. He had been strictly following the rules so far, but the abbot needed to find out if he had ulterior motives for coming to the temple.