Chapter 36: Chapter 34: An Encounter Without Meeting, the Wei Family’s Maiden Qingning
In the blink of an eye, another month had passed, and Xu Lei’s party had arrived in the Prefecture City.
On this day, wearing a hat and plain clothes, Xu Lei sat at a window seat on the second floor of a teahouse, secretly watching a shop across the street from a distance.
That was Zhao Xiaocha’s shop.
By now, Zhao Xiaocha had already given birth to the child she had been carrying.
Cradling the baby, she was tending to her shop.
Just then, a familiar figure approached, also holding a child.
It was Liang Fangying, who had also given birth to the child from another of Xu Lei’s "Charitable Givings."
Back at Longyuan Temple, Zhao Xiaocha’s family business had connected with Liang Fangying’s family because of the blood recognition incident.
Thus, now that both of them were in the Prefecture City, they often visited each other.
Seeing that their lives were going well, Xu Lei didn’t go to disturb them.
He just watched from afar.
That’s right. A month had passed, and Xu Lei still hadn’t told them he was also in the Prefecture City.
After all, his relationship with them was that of Zen Master Bu Zhong and devotees seeking children.
Not disturbing their families and lives was part of Zen Master Bu Zhong’s professional ethics.
"Let’s go."
Watching the two of them laughing and talking, seemingly discussing the experiences of caring for a child, Xu Lei didn’t linger. After finishing the tea in his bowl, he stood up and said to Zhang Xiaomai, "Let’s head back."
"Young Master, I can see you have deep feelings for them."
Zhang Xiaomai then said, "Are you sure you don’t want to see them and chat for a bit?"
When they were out and Xu Lei was in plain clothes, she naturally called him "Young Master" instead of "Divine Monk."
"No need."
Xu Lei smiled and shook his head. "This is for the best."
「A few minutes later.」
Xu Lei and Zhang Xiaomai got into the carriage.
Inside the carriage.
"Come here."
Xu Lei pulled Zhang Xiaomai into his arms. "Sit on my lap."
"Divine Monk."
Zhang Xiaomai’s pretty face flushed red. She said pitifully, "You can’t be naughty anymore. The physician said a few days ago that Xiaoai is pregnant now and can’t do that anymore."
"I’m just going to hold you, don’t worry."
Xu Lei patted Zhang Xiaomai’s head. "Don’t be nervous."
"Why don’t you find another maid to attend you?"
Zhang Xiaomai added, "In the Wei Family, there seems to be a maid who’s quite pretty."
"No matter."
Xu Lei said, "Having you with me is enough. Besides, your belly hasn’t grown big yet, has it?"
"But..."
Zhang Xiaomai began again, "You..."
"Besides, who says you can’t serve me just because you’re pregnant?"
Xu Lei pinched her nose. "Have you forgotten the story I told you about Liang Kun?"
"Divine Monk."
Zhang Xiaomai immediately blushed and squirmed. "You’re so bad."
"Hahaha."
Xu Lei said, "Amitabha Buddha. Carnal love between a man and a woman is a great trial in cultivation. This monk has entered the mortal world precisely to overcome this tribulation of lust.
Xiaoai, you should not be shy. You are using your body to help me cultivate.
If one day I achieve Buddhahood, you too will receive supreme merit."
"Yes, Divine Monk."
Zhang Xiaomai said, "Xiaoai is fortunate to be able to help the Divine Monk cultivate. I will give my all until my dying day!"
"There’s no need to go that far."
Xu Lei said, "You just need to take good care of yourself and give birth to the child.
And when I need your assistance with my cultivation, you just need to be obedient."
"Yes."
Zhang Xiaomai said, "If the Divine Monk commands it, Xiaoai will of course obey."
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei nodded. "Excellent, excellent."
「An hour later.」
The carriage moved slowly through the bustling streets of the Prefecture City.
"Thank you for your grace, Divine Monk."
Zhang Xiaomai lifted her head and said in a delicate voice, "Oh, Divine Monk, there’s a pastry shop over there that’s very good.
My husband and Master Hui Ming quite like their pastries.
Should we buy some to take back?"
"Alright."
Xu Lei nodded. "Then let’s go."
The carriage quickly came to a stop.
"Aunt Hu, don’t trouble yourself. I’ll get down and buy them myself."
Zhang Xiaomai lifted the carriage curtain and said to the figure in the driver’s seat, "Even though I’m pregnant, the physician said I can still move around freely for now."
That’s right, Aunt Hu was the one driving the carriage.
"Yes."
Xu Lei also said, "Aunt Hu, you can stay seated."
Aunt Hu smiled.
Zhang Xiaomai also smiled at Aunt Hu.
Then she got out of the carriage with Xu Lei.
They went to the pastry shop and bought some pastries.
"Aren’t you... Divine Monk Wu Tan from Longyuan Temple?"
But unexpectedly, while they were buying pastries, Xu Lei, who was wearing a hat, was still recognized by a middle-aged man.
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei chanted in a low voice, "Greetings, Benefactor. However, this monk is currently in plain clothes. I ask that you please not draw attention to me."
「A few minutes later.」
Xu Lei and Zhang Xiaomai finally made it back to the carriage.
Thinking about how the middle-aged man had pestered him with conversation, Xu Lei couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless.
When he’d first come down from the mountain, he had wanted to be a rich man, to live freely and enjoy life.
But now, he was constantly being recognized.
He knew that he would never be able to shed the label of "Divine Monk" unless he was reincarnated.
Of course, there was another option: ruin his own reputation.
But that would tarnish the Buddhist Sect.
After all, he had already experienced something as inexplicable as transmigration.
So, Xu Lei still held a certain reverence for the Divine Buddhas in his heart.
Thus, he didn’t want to tarnish the Buddhist Sect.
He could only continue being a Divine Monk.
"Madam, be careful getting into the carriage."
At that moment, Aunt Hu also got down from the driver’s seat to help Zhang Xiaomai into the carriage. "You’re pregnant, you must be careful."
That’s right, she now called Zhang Xiaomai "Madam."
This was because Xu Lei realized it would be very difficult for him to renounce his monkhood, start a family, and marry Zhang Xiaomai.
Therefore, over the past month, under Xu Lei’s arrangement, Zhang Xiaomai had married ’Young Master Wei’ and become a Concubine Ping of the Wei Mansion.
Of course, this was only on the surface.
A show for the world.
It was for the sake of the future child’s status.
In reality, Zhang Xiaomai was still Xu Lei’s maidservant.
She still slept in Xu Lei’s room every night.
When Xu Lei needed her to serve him, she still obediently answered his call.
「Another hour passed.」
Xu Lei and Zhang Xiaomai arrived at the ’Wei Mansion’.
The Wei Family was a merchant family in the Prefecture City, with their main business in the clothing industry.
But their family fortune had been accumulated over several generations.
Thus, the mansion was quite large.
As for the aforementioned Young Master Wei, she was the current Patriarch of the Wei Family, having just taken the position.
Previously, the former Patriarch of the Wei Family had been critically ill.
She had returned to inherit the family business.
Fearing assassination, she traveled secretly with Aunt Hu.
And because her carriage broke down, she met Xu Lei and his group.
"Divine Monk, you’re back?"
Upon entering the inner courtyard, Young Master Wei—who had put the Throat Suppressing Pendant back on and was dressed in men’s clothing, looking like a dashing young man—spoke up. "Regarding what you told me before, I’d like to talk to you."
"Greetings, Master."
Zhang Xiaomai, looking a little embarrassed, gave Young Master Wei a curtsy. "By the way, Master, these are the pastries we just bought. Would you like to try some?"
Because she had listened to Xu Lei and married Young Master Wei as a Concubine Ping, but was constantly entangled with Xu Lei, she felt a little guilty.
She didn’t know that Young Master Wei was actually a woman.
Because she had been told that Young Master Wei was a natural eunuch and couldn’t perform his marital duties.
That was why Zhang Xiaomai was to marry Young Master Wei in name only.
After all, she didn’t want too many people to know that she, Young Master Wei, was a woman.
Only as a man could she inherit the Wei Family business.
If her identity as a woman was exposed, it would be troublesome.
After obediently marrying him, Zhang Xiaomai discovered that this Young Master Wei indeed never showed any intention of being intimate with her.
So she believed it.
She thought Young Master Wei really was a natural eunuch.
But even so, she still felt a little embarrassed.
After all, in the eyes of the world, she was now a daughter-in-law of the Wei Family.
Of course, when the wedding was held, Zhang Xiaomai’s family had also been brought over to attend.
Seeing that after being sold, Zhang Xiaomai had married the handsome Patriarch of a wealthy family as a Concubine Ping, Zhang Xiaomai’s mother was overjoyed.
She gained a lot of face in front of her relatives.
Therefore, Zhang Xiaomai wasn’t resistant to the arrangement.
Of course, she also knew that she owed everything she had to Xu Lei.
And although she was married, her deed of sale was still in effect.
So she still obeyed Xu Lei’s every word.
Xu Lei didn’t know if she was being sincere.
But it didn’t matter. As long as she was obedient, he would treat her well.
The results were good, so there was no need to probe too deeply into the inner workings.
"Thank you."
Young Master Wei said to Zhang Xiaomai, "That’s very thoughtful of you, Madam. But the Divine Monk and I have matters to discuss. I’ll eat later."
"Then this humble one shall not disturb you."
Zhang Xiaomai curtsied. "I’ll take them to Master Hui Ming."
Then, she departed gracefully with the pastries.
「A few minutes later.」
The servants were dismissed, leaving Xu Lei and ’Young Master Wei’ facing each other.
Her real name, she had said, was Wei Qingning.
Her mother had obtained the Throat Suppressing Pendant from a wandering Daoist.
Her mother was the principal wife, but she had only given birth to one child—her. Then, she died in childbirth.
Because of this, Aunt Hu, who was her mother’s maid at the time, put the Throat Suppressing Pendant on her, disguising her as a boy.
Thus, she had been the family’s young master since childhood.
Because before her mother died, she had hoped that her child could inherit the family business, not wanting it to fall into the hands of the offspring of other wives and concubines.
The family business was passed down to sons, not daughters.
Therefore, this was her mother’s dying command.
Her father didn’t know that Extraordinary beings existed in this world.
So, he never saw through her disguise while she wore the Throat Suppressing Pendant.
And just like that, he passed the family business on to her.
Now, facing Xu Lei, Wei Qingning thought for a moment before taking off the Throat Suppressing Pendant from her neck.
Instantly, her appearance lost all masculine features.
Even though she was still dressed in men’s clothes, she looked completely soft and adorable.
Anyone could see at a glance that she was a woman disguised as a man.
A beautiful, cute girl stood before him.
"Um, Divine Monk... about what you said before... Qingning is willing."
Then, with a blush on her pretty face and her lips pressed together, Wei Qingning said softly to Xu Lei, "If you can truly help Qingning revitalize the family business and solidify my position as Patriarch...
...Qingning is willing to offer her body to help the Divine Monk cultivate and pass your tribulation of lust."
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei nodded. "For you to have such a heart, Benefactor, is excellent, excellent.
Then I will have to trouble you, Benefactor.
If this monk one day achieves Buddhahood...
...you, Benefactor, will surely gain supreme merit for your actions today."
That’s right, the Wei Family’s business was not in a good state.
Furthermore, Wei Qingning’s position as Patriarch was not stable.
That’s why Xu Lei had previously proposed to help her grow the family business and solidify her position as Patriarch, all as a way to test if she was an Extraordinary.
However, his share of the profits would remain with her, though he would have the freedom to use it at any time.
In addition to that, he required Wei Qingning to offer her body to the Buddha, helping Xu Lei cultivate and overcome his tribulation of lust.
Of course, this whole "tribulation of lust" was something Xu Lei had made up.
But thanks to the miracle of the bandit leader’s head exploding out of thin air that day, Wei Qingning believed Xu Lei’s words without a doubt.
Xu Lei had only been making a suggestion, but he never expected that Wei Qingning would actually agree to give herself to him!
For a moment, he couldn’t help but sigh internally: ’It seems being a Divine Monk isn’t so bad after all!’
After all, under normal circumstances, winning Wei Qingning’s heart would have been quite troublesome.
But now, considering she could help a Divine Monk cultivate, gain benefits, and earn merit for the future—plus the fact that she didn’t dare reveal her gender to other men and would definitely have to consider the issue of producing an heir in the future—cooperating with Xu Lei seemed like the best option.
After all, Xu Lei was a handsome, mature man, and a world-renowned Divine Monk at that!
Of course, this meant Wei Qingning was probably not the Extraordinary who had acted that day!
’Another wrong answer eliminated!’
"So, so now..."
Wei Qingning was nervous and at a loss. "What... what do we... do..."
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei also nodded, stepped forward, and pulled Wei Qingning into his arms. "There’s no need to be nervous, female Benefactor. Just relax."
Then, he slowly leaned his head in. Seeing her meet his gaze for a second before shyly closing her eyes, Xu Lei gave a silent smile and pressed his lips directly onto hers, stealing her clumsy first kiss.
