Silence fell all around. Then, like a stirred hornet's nest, everyone began whispering among themselves. Xianglan was momentarily stunned, her gaze fixed straight on Xia Yun like two deep pools, radiating an aura of unyielding dignity. Their eyes met briefly before Xia Yun, feeling guilty, averted his gaze.
Xianglan's voice was clear and measured as she said slowly, "Scholar Xia, the gods watch from above. Speak with a clear conscience. As a man who has studied the classics for years, are you now stooping to the level of vile scoundrels, slandering an innocent young woman for no reason?" She took a step forward. "Since you've made such accusations today, I will risk my life to clear my name. Dare you come with me now to the Lin residence and confront Eldest Master Lin face to face? If I am not chaste, I will dash my brains out on the spot. But if you are falsely accusing me, you shall pay with your life!"
Xia Yun was taken aback as Xianglan descended the steps, her sharp gaze like an unsheathed sword, demanding, "Do you dare? Do you dare?"
Xia Yun hadn't expected such a delicate-looking girl to challenge him so fiercely. He retreated awkwardly several steps. But Yindie scrambled up from the ground and positioned herself in front of Xia Yun, shoving Xianglan hard while sneering, "Oh, such bold words! Want to go see Eldest Master Lin? Pah! What kind of Fox spirit are you? Everyone knows how you used to flirt with men in the mansion, batting your eyes and painting your brows—a damned slut! Playing both sides, seductive as can be, always scheming to climb into the master's bed. Why else would Da Nǎinai have thrown you out? And now you put on this chaste act, pretending to be some virtuous heroine? Who doesn't know you're nothing but a wanton woman!"
As Yindie hurled insults, she grabbed and pulled at Xianglan. She had long hated Xianglan, blaming her for all her current misery. Seeing Xianglan living so well now only fueled her rage. She longed to scratch that jade-like face and reached out to claw at her. Xianglan caught her by the wrist. In the midst of the chaos, a loud curse erupted from the crowd: "You shameless, vile whore! How dare you bully my daughter? You beggar-born, painted-mouth, gossiping slut! I curse your ancestors!"
Before the words faded, Chen Wanquan burst out of the crowd like a whirlwind, rushing up to Yindie and striking her immediately. Two slaps across the face left Yindie's cheeks swollen as she covered her head, screaming.
Chen Wanquan dragged Yindie by the hair while beating her, cursing all the while: "My daughter is pure and precious, worthy of being revered like Guanyin herself—too good for any suitor! You're the one who shamelessly tried to seduce men and got thrown out! Because of you, your whole family was sold off. Instead of hiding in some corner with your tail between your legs, you come to my doorstep to cause trouble. If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll never learn your place!"
It turned out Chen Wanquan had been out drinking at noon and was stumbling home when he saw a crowd gathered at his door. Pushing through, he realized there was trouble at home and arrived just as Yindie was attacking Xianglan and spewing foul insults. Though normally timid and incompetent, Chen Wanquan adored his daughter and, emboldened by alcohol, charged forward without hesitation. Coming from the streets, he knew every dirty curse imaginable. His slaps left Yindie disoriented and reeling.Seeing the situation escalating out of control, Xia Yun hurried forward and grabbed Chen Wanquan’s arm, saying, “Let’s talk this through calmly. Why resort to violence?”
Chen Wanquan dared not strike Xia Yun but roared angrily, “Nonsense! Why didn’t you stop her when she was clawing at my daughter? Scholar Xia, have all your books of sages and worthies been fed to the dogs?”
Xue Shi also rushed over, seizing Xia Yun and exclaiming, “Scholar Xia, when you were down and out, our family helped you time and again. Later, when you rose to prominence, we never came around seeking favors. Have you forgotten all the kindness we showed you, turning into an ungrateful wretch? Now you spout such venomous words, letting that wanton woman slander my daughter and ruin her life—what evil intent lies in your heart!”
Xia Yun’s face flushed crimson. In truth, he regretted his words as soon as he had spoken them. Yet, despite his guilt, he thought, “If Xianglan hadn’t shamed me, I would never have said such things!”
Yindie burst into loud sobs, throwing herself against Chen Wanquan’s chest and crying, “Beat me to death! Beat me to death! I don’t want to live anymore!” She clawed at Chen Wanquan’s hands, her legs kicking wildly.
Xianglan refused to let her father suffer. She seized both of Yindie’s hands and signaled Hua Shan with her eyes to grab Yindie’s legs, all while pleading, “Father, stop hitting her, please stop!”
Yindie, seeing Xia Yun standing there helplessly, wailed again, “My lord, you see me being beaten and cursed, yet you don’t lift a hand to help me. How wretched my fate is!”
Xia Yun gritted his teeth, wrapped his arms around Chen Wanquan, and said, “Uncle Chen, let’s talk this over. Release her first…”
Chen Wanquan’s arm ached from the grip, so he let go of Yindie and shoved Xia Yun away, shouting, “Get lost!”
Xia Yun, unable to steady himself, slipped and fell, his head striking a door brick on the ground. He immediately lost consciousness. Yindie screamed, “My lord! My lord!” Seeing Xia Yun unconscious, she shrieked at the top of her lungs, “Help! Murder! Murder!”
Chen Wanquan was stunned. Xue Shi and Xianglan rushed over to check on Xia Yun. They saw no blood, but a large lump had swollen on the back of his head. Xianglan urgently said to Chen Wanquan, “Go fetch a doctor, quickly!”
Only then did Chen Wanquan snap out of his daze. His legs felt weak, and he stumbled as he ran to find a physician.
The crowd gathered around, some suggesting pressing his philtrum, others rubbing his chest, but since Xia Yun was a provincial scholar, no one dared to touch him. After a moment, Xia Yun groaned and regained consciousness. Xianglan finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself, “This is bad. The Xia family is not to be trifled with. Now we’ll likely have to spend silver to buy peace.” Aloud, she instructed Hua Shan to fetch water from the house for Xia Yun to drink.
Soon, the physician arrived. He applied medicine to Xia Yun’s head injury, wrote a prescription, and handed over a few medicinal pills, saying, “The injury isn’t serious, but he must rest and avoid moving around. He may experience nausea, dizziness, and weakness in the coming days—plenty of rest is essential. Dissolve these pills in yellow wine and apply the mixture to the affected area. The swelling will gradually subside.”
Chen Wanquan repeatedly agreed. He borrowed a door plank from a neighbor, spread a bedroll over it, and laid Xia Yun on the plank to carry him home.Before the physician arrived, Yindie had already slipped away quietly. Today's commotion at the Chen Family was entirely her own scheme, devised privately. Firstly, to ruin the matter between Yun and Lan, cutting off Xia Yun's hopes; secondly, to tarnish Xianglan's reputation and vent her own pent-up resentment. She never imagined things would escalate to this point. Secretly thinking that if anything happened to Xia Yun, the dozen or so members of the Xia Family would surely tear her limb from limb, the more she dwelled on it, the more terrified she became. She decided to sneak back first and play the accuser, weeping and shifting all the blame onto the Chen Family.
Preoccupied and distraught, she walked back in a daze, failing to notice the sedan chair approaching ahead and colliding squarely with the maid walking beside it. The maid exclaimed "Hey!" and planted her hands on her hips, scolding, "Who is it? Walking with no eyes!"
Yindie looked up and saw a maid with a round, silvery face, narrow eyes, a small nose, heavily made-up, plump in stature, dressed elegantly in fine silks. Chest thrust out, her fleshy bosom was all the more prominent. As their eyes met, Yindie froze and called out, "Sister Huier?"
Huier was also taken aback, staring for a long moment before saying, "Is that you, Yindie? Your face... what happened to it?"
Just then, the sedan curtain was lifted, and Cao Lihuan asked impatiently, "What's going on? Are we moving or not?"
Huier hurriedly replied, "Madam, I've just run into Yindie, who works at the Hall of Knowing Spring."
It turned out that during her time at the Lin Family, Huier was one who loved to scheme up and down, familiar with all the maids at the Hall of Knowing Spring. Originally, Yindie wasn't in a position of power but loved to boast about herself. Huier knew Yindie came from a family of long-serving servants, with parents holding respectable positions and a cousin who was favored by Lin Dongling, so she intentionally befriended her, occasionally offering small favors. Yindie, being fond of petty gains, became close with Huier, and the two had some past affection.
Yindie bowed and said, "Greetings, Miss Cao."
Hearing she was a maid from the Lin Family, Cao Lihuan ordered the sedan bearers to set down the chair and put on a smile, saying, "So it's Miss Yindie. What brings you here? Oh my, let me see, what happened to your face?"
Yindie endured the shame and sighed, "It's a long story." After speaking, she tried to leave.
Huier and Cao Lihuan exchanged a glance, and Huier grabbed Yindie's arm, smiling, "Sister Yindie, are you still working at the Hall of Knowing Spring?"
This question struck a sore spot. Yindie forced a smile and said, "No. Last time during the elder master's banquet for officials in Jinling, Eldest Master Lin, impressed by Xia Yun's young age and success in passing the imperial examination, took a liking to his talent and betrothed me to him."
Cao and Huier were both startled and exchanged another glance. Then Cao Lihuan stepped out of the sedan, took Yindie's hand warmly, and said, "I had heard that Clerk Xia from the yamen took a beautiful young concubine. My husband even specially went to offer congratulations on Clerk Xia's minor celebration. I never imagined fate would twist and turn like this, and it's actually you, sister, who has such fortune. Clerk Xia even said he'd hold a lavish banquet for you by the end of the month, clearly showing your special status. Clerk Xia is young, handsome, and full of talent—a match hard to find even with a lantern. In the future, when he becomes an official, you'll enjoy a life of luxury."
Yindie, being vain by nature, was pleased by Cao Lihuan's words and smiled, "It's not that good... Ah, no matter how much I enjoy prosperity, I'm still half a servant."
Cao Lihuan said, "Don't say that. I see great destiny in you. Who knows, you might be elevated to principal wife someday."These words made Yindie feel comfortable again, drawing her closer to Cao Lihuan. Seeing the anger on Yindie's face had subsided, Cao Lihuan asked, "But... what happened to your face, sister?"
Yindie said bitterly, "It's all because of that little slut Xianglan! The one who used to serve the young lady. Somehow, she bewitched my husband, and he actually wants to marry her. How could she be worthy! That wench absolutely refuses to marry a man who already has a concubine. I was afraid my husband might foolishly divorce me in a moment of confusion, so I went to the Chen Family to confront that slut. Who would have thought her father would beat me and even left my husband bleeding from a head wound!"
Cao Lihuan was greatly shocked and exclaimed in surprise, "Xianglan? Is Clerk Xia going to marry Xianglan?"
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