Chapter 6.2 - Monkey

Chapter 6.2: Monkey

Little by little, the monkey ate all the crumbles in Jiang Lî’s hands until they were completely gone. Jiang Lî clapped her hands towards the daring, curled-tailed monkey, indicating that there was no more cake left. The monkey reluctantly looked at the palm of Jiang Lî’s hand for a while, then he left with his tail raised.

Tong’er, who witnessed everything from the beginning, asked, “Young miss, did you want to feed the monkeys? Why did you use cakes to feed it? It would be better to use wild fruits picked from the mountains. This cakes are expensive, it’s not worth it. “

Don’t even mention the Chief Assistant’s household’s young miss’s personal servant girl, even when Jiang Lî was still Xue Fang Fei at Tongxiang, her personal servant girl would never have felt such pity over these few cakes. If other people were to see this, how much would they sigh. Jiang Lî stretched her hand to rub Tong’er’s head and smiled, “But compared to wild fruits, monkeys prefer delicious food.”

Tong’er was about to say something when she saw Jiang Lî turn around, walk to the table and sit down. There was only one stool in the room made from wood that Tong’er had picked up from outside. The legs of the stool were unsteady. Jiang Lî said, “Tong’er, from tomorrow onwards, you will feed these cakes to the monkeys.”

Tong’er’s eyes widened. “Young miss, why? This servant doesn’t understand.”

They hadn’t even eaten their fill yet, and she wanted to look after the monkeys? What kind of logic was this?

“I want these monkeys to do something for me,” Jiang Lî smiled. “Just treat these cakes as the exchange.”

“But …”

“It’s just a few cakes,” Jiang Lî interrupted her. “When we get back, I’ll get the kitchen to make them for you every day, you needn’t worry about these.”

Tong’er said nothing. When mentioning returning to the capital, Jiang Lî was very likely even more upset than she was. She didn’t dare say anything that would make Jiang Lî feel heart-broken.

 

“These cakes,” Jiang Lî said as she tapped on the basket of cakes. The fragrance of the pastries filled the entire room. The two master and servant could only eat thin porridge and pickled vegetables every day. Since earlier, the delicious fragrance had made their stomachs rumble with hunger. Jiang Lî restrained the hunger in her stomach and said, “Divide these cakes into 15 servings and feed one portion to these monkeys every day until the 19th. There will be no need to feed them anymore after the 19th.”

Tong’er didn’t understand, but still agreed. “This servant understands.”

“It’s an hour’s walk away from here to He Lin Temple,” Jiang Lî said. “I am not allowed to leave the main entrance of the temple, so you go. Go out the door around 11 pm every day and, at midnight, feed the cakes to the monkeys in the forest behind the temple until the 19th. You no longer have to go on the evening of 19th.”

It was unknown whether Head Nun Jing’an had received orders from others, but Jiang Lî could not step foot outside the nunnery. She had to stay in the nunnery every day, and her each and every move was watched. Tong’er, on the other hand, was able to go anywhere she wanted as she still had to go to the mountain to chop firewood every day. Tong’er had stayed on the mountain for six years and was very familiar with the road in Qingcheng mountain so she wouldn’t get lost.

Also, Qingcheng Mountain frequently received visitors from the upper-class ladies who came to burn incense. In order to ensure their safety, there were no bandits in the mountain, and it was extremely safe. Otherwise, Jiang Lî would be anxious when Tong’er went out at night.

After listening to Jiang Lî’s instructions, Tong’er suddenly asked, “Young miss planning all this, is it to return to the capital?”

Jiang Lî looked at her and smiled, “Are you afraid?”

When Tong’er heard that, not only was she not afraid, on the contrary, she looked eager to give it a try. The little girl was very daring, and for some reason, she was ready to do it too. She enthusiastically said, “Not afraid! This servant has wanted to do this for a long time! “

“Very good,” Jiang Lî nodded, “Let’s start tonight.”