Xianglan saw Qin Shi walk out and quickly stepped aside. After waiting for a long time without seeing Cao Lihuan emerge, she cautiously peeked inside the door. She saw Cao Lihuan standing motionless in the hall, her eyes wide and vacant as if she had lost her mind. Xianglan thought to herself, "Everyone says Qin Shi is a formidable woman, and indeed it's true. She must have given our young lady a hard time, otherwise she wouldn't be in such a state." She wanted to go in but feared catching Cao Lihuan's anger and being scolded. Yet standing outside doing nothing wasn't right either. After much deliberation, she steeled herself and entered the room, saying softly, "Young lady, don't just stand there. Please sit down and rest."
After repeating this several times, Cao Lihuan's eyes flickered, and she snapped back to reality. Seeing Xianglan standing meekly by her side, her pent-up rage erupted. She reached out and slapped Xianglan twice, shouting, "You wretched slave! Where were you when your mistress was being bullied? Now you pop up like a ghost! I'll teach you to show up! How dare a lowly servant like you bully me! I'll beat you to death! To death!" She continued to vent her fury by beating Xianglan mercilessly.
Xianglan was stunned by the sudden assault. By the time she regained her senses, her face had already taken two solid slaps. Overwhelmed with grievance and resentment, she initially intended to say, "Young lady, please take care of your health and don't upset yourself." But the injustice she felt made such submissive words impossible to utter. She knelt on the ground, biting her lip and weeping silently.
After venting her anger on Xianglan, Cao Lihuan felt somewhat relieved. Noticing servants peeking in their direction from the corner of her eye, she stopped. Seeing Xianglan's red and swollen cheeks, which would be hard to hide from others, she kicked her fiercely and said, "Useless creature, get out of my sight!" After straightening her clothes, she walked out, her mind racing. "I absolutely cannot leave the Lin family, or all my efforts these past days will be for nothing. Right now, I must go beg that old woman from the main branch to let me stay, and ask Zhao Yuechan to put in a good word for me. Tch, I'll have to spend money again—Zhao Yuechan wouldn't lift a finger without compensation!" Standing outside the Shouxi Hall courtyard, she grew angrier the more she thought about it, randomly tearing off a handful of leaves and crushing them violently in her hand.
Xianglan wiped her tears with her sleeve and shakily stood up. Her face burned, her whole body ached, and her heart felt as heavy as if weighed down by a millstone. She took out a handkerchief and wiped her face forcefully, then smoothed her hair. Speaking softly to herself, she said, "Chen Xianglan, life has always had more sorrow than joy. Today, just consider it a dog bite. You must endure humiliation, endure to the end. Sooner or later, your day will come." She took a deep breath, dabbed the corners of her eyes with her handkerchief, and not daring to stay in the room any longer, straightened her clothes and hurried out with her head bowed.The beaded curtain in the hall was lifted as two figures emerged from the inner chamber. The first was a youth of fifteen or sixteen, of average height, dressed in fine yet simple robes. His face was as if powdered, his eyes like painted lacquer, resembling a golden boy attendant—this was Lin Jinting, the legitimate son of the Lin family's second branch. The other was slightly older than Lin Jinting, standing a head taller, with a fair complexion, elegant brows and eyes, a high nose bridge, and a graceful, dignified bearing—truly a handsome man. He wore a slightly faded blue silk garment, his waist girded with an old gold-woven belt inlaid with agates. One agate was missing, replaced by an ordinary red stone, yet the entire outfit was meticulously cleaned and neatly pressed.
This man was named Song Ke, styled Yi Fei, nephew of Madam Wang of the second branch. Madam Wang's second elder sister had originally married Song Fang, the son of a family friend. After Song Fang passed the imperial examinations, the family pulled strings to secure him a minor official post in the Court of Judicial Review, where he gradually rose to the fifth rank. The household was once harmonious, but three years ago, Song Fang suddenly fell ill and passed away, leaving behind a son and a daughter. Song Ke's mother, Song Yima, was gentle-natured and suffered constant scheming and humiliation in the Song household. Thus, Song Ke took his mother and younger sister, Song Tanzan, and moved out to live independently.
Madam Wang shared a deep bond with her sister Song Yima and, sympathizing with their family's decline, wrote to Qin Shi in the capital requesting her assistance. Qin Shi, finding Song Ke intelligent, diligent, courteous, and kind-hearted, grew fond of him and arranged for him to study alongside Lin Jinxuan and Lin Jinting. When the family returned to Jinling, Song Yima, stirred by homesickness, followed with her children.
Lin Jinting frowned and said, "How is that cousin like a market shrew? How can such a person remain in the household? Thankfully, Auntie intends to drive her out. I say such a person should be expelled sooner rather than later to avoid trouble." After muttering for a while and noticing Song Ke's silence, he nudged him. "What are you thinking about?"
Song Ke, with his hands behind his back, replied, "I fear she won't be driven away—Old Master would never allow it. You know how he values face above all; he would never let others utter a word of criticism. How could he expel a parentless orphan girl and invite public condemnation? Neither Old Master nor Old Madam favor her, but for the sake of appearances, they'll likely just spend some silver to send her off."
"She's a petty person. Keeping her here will only disrupt the household. What if she corrupts our sisters and tarnishes the Lin family's reputation, ruining their marriage prospects? That would be a grave misfortune." Lin Jinting sighed. "That beaten maid, though—she's truly pitiable, suffering such undeserved calamity. She didn't even beg for mercy when beaten, as if she'd been struck senseless." He recalled the girl kneeling on the ground, trembling like an autumn leaf in the cold wind under Cao Lihuan's slaps and blows, her face streaked with tears, appearing exceptionally fragile and evoking a wave of compassion. After Cao Lihuan left, she tidied herself up before leaving with her head bowed, murmuring softly, as if afraid others would notice she had been beaten by her mistress—making her seem all the more pitiable.
Song Ke chuckled and called Lin Jinting by his styled name, "Xiuhong, you're still so soft-hearted. No wonder your elder brother teases you, saying that once your great-grandmother's mourning period ends, he'll personally gift you two charming beauties skilled in conversation and song—guaranteed to be more understanding and delightful than Suju in your chamber."Lin Jinting flushed red and glared, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting! Don’t learn from that libertine eldest brother—I can’t handle the beauties he sends... and, besides, Suju was given to me by Mother... she’s been serving me since I was little."
Seeing Lin Jinting’s awkwardness, Song Ke stopped teasing him and merely patted his shoulder as the two went out together. When they reached the hall, Song Ke suddenly noticed a small white silk flower on the floor, recalling it had fallen from the head of the little maid who had been beaten earlier. He curled his lips in a sarcastic smile. Xiuhong said that maid was pitiful? To him, she seemed shrewd—earlier, through a crack in the eastern side-room’s window, he had seen Cao Lihuan and Liubei fighting, with maids and matrons hugging and restraining them. Only she, though shouting "Stop fighting," kept her distance, clearly unwilling to intervene. When Xuezhan scolded her, she ran forward deliberately to take a kick, then fell to the ground with exaggerated drama and refused to get up—yet the moment Madam left, she scrambled to her feet faster than anyone.
Later, when she was beaten in the small hall, despite her tear-streaked, pitiable appearance, once Cao Lihuan left, she didn’t run out crying. Instead, she calmly straightened her clothes and hair, not shedding another tear! Such grievances, swallowed in an instant—and later she even declared softly: "Chen Xianglan, today just consider yourself bitten by a dog. Life has more bitterness than joy—you must endure humiliation. Endure to the end, and sooner or later, your day will come." Though her voice was faint, Song Ke’s senses were sharper than most, and he heard every word clearly, instantly astonished. Instead of wailing or wallowing in self-pity after suffering injustice, she showed resilience and determination, enduring all to achieve her goals. Such insight and fortitude were rare even in grown men, let alone a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old maid! From afar, he glimpsed the girl’s resolute expression, and for a moment, it was as if he saw another person—one barely two or three years older, equally delicate, once a nobleman’s daughter ground into the dust, her brow often etched with the same stubborn tenacity, enduring immense suffering and humiliation while steadfastly protecting him... Sometimes, recalling that distant past life felt like a bizarre dream.
As Song Ke reached the hall entrance, he suddenly turned back, picked up the small white silk flower from the floor, and brought it to his nose, catching a faint trace of hair fragrance. Hearing Lin Jinting call him, he quickly tucked the flower into his sleeve and strode out.
Meanwhile, Xianglan, upon exiting, saw Cao Lihuan begging to see Qin Shi outside the main quarters, blocked by the door-keeping matrons. After several failed attempts to push through, Xianglan thought to herself, "The earlier incident in the room must have escalated—why else would Cao Lihuan rush out to find First Madam?" Though she wanted to avoid Cao Lihuan, every maid and matron in the courtyard had seen her emerge from the small hall, so she had no choice but to lower her head and approach.
Cao Lihuan, indeed formidable and stout, seized an opportunity to shove aside the two matrons blocking her, lifted the curtain, and barged in. Xianglan, right behind her, was swept into the room by the intercepting matrons. By then, the meal had ended: Old Madam Lin was reclining on the Arhat Bed, Qin Shi sat on an embroidered stool leaning forward to chat with her, while Second Madam Wang Shi sat on the other side, personally shelling hazelnuts for Old Madam Lin.Old Madam Lin was taken aback and looked toward Qin Shi. Qin Shi frowned, though her expression remained indifferent. "Why have you come? Weren't you told to go back? The elders are all here, yet you barged in without being announced. You've become increasingly unruly. Are the servants at the door all dead? Hurry up and drag her out!"
The two matrons immediately stepped forward to take her away. Xianglan, unsure whether to enter or retreat, shrank back and stood by the doorway, thinking that if Cao Lihuan were taken out, she could follow; if Cao Lihuan stayed inside, she would simply stand there pretending to be invisible.
Cao Lihuan struggled left and right. "Let go! Let go!" Then she fell to her knees with a thud, crying, "Old Madam, save me!"
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