Hua Mei rubbed her temples, took several deep breaths, and suppressed the resentment, grievance, and unwillingness beneath her tongue. She had struggled to reach this point—now half a mistress of the Lin Family, destined to enjoy endless wealth and luxury. All she needed was a child to secure her standing in the Lin household. If her brother’s official career progressed smoothly, even if Lin Jinlou were to marry a noblewoman from a prominent family, she would dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with her. But the moment Chen Xianglan arrived, she monopolized the Master’s favor. If this continued, where would Hua Mei’s place be? She refused to spend her life as a cautious, submissive "new concubine." She wanted to stand tall and straight, to command respect from every woman in the Lin Family’s Inner Chambers, and to be a proper mistress!
After pondering for a while, Hua Mei ordered Xi Que to fetch writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. She wrote a letter, sealed it in an envelope, then retrieved from her chest a pair of cotton knee pads embroidered with Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum. Tucking the letter inside the knee pads, she summoned a trusted old woman and instructed, "Tomorrow morning, deliver this to my family home. Hand it directly to my brother. The weather has turned cold, and as he often rides horseback, his knees always get chilly. I recently sewed these for him."
The old woman accepted the task and left. Hua Mei no longer had the heart to search for her ring. She sat quietly for a while longer, poured a bowl of warm water, and took a pill to calm her mind. Only then did she change her clothes, remove her faded makeup, and go to bed. Of this, no more need be said.
On the first day of the tenth month, the day for offering winter clothes to the departed, Qin Shi had already ordered the preparation of incense, candles, tributes, and paper money. She also sent a servant boy to buy colored wax-paper from a funeral supply shop and instructed the maids to cut stacks of paper clothing. The ancestral hall was cleaned in advance, and dried and fresh fruits, assorted pastries, along with fresh flowers and vegetarian offerings were arranged. Bright lamps were lit. Old Lord Lin personally presided over the ceremony, opening the ancestral hall and leading the family in performing four kowtows in order of seniority. The atmosphere was extremely solemn. After the rites, Lin Jinting took the servant boys to burn the paper money and clothing outside. The various branches of the family dispersed, and the servants cleaned and tidied the ancestral hall. Of this, no more need be said.
Wu Mama, having little to do, happened to be tasked by Qin Shi with delivering a feather-gauze garment to Lin Jinlou. She accepted the assignment and brought the clothing to Knowing Spring Pavilion. Upon entering, she saw Xianglan dressed in plain white clothes, washing her hands and face in the room. Her eyes were red and swollen, clearly from recent mourning, which surprised Wu Mama.
It turned out that Xianglan burned paper money for her deceased relatives every year around this time. Now that Wu Mama had come across her, she forced a smile and explained, "When I was young, I was raised in a temple. A venerable monk treated me as his own child but passed away early. I never had the chance to fulfill my filial duties, so I can only pay my respects this way. I’ve informed the Master about this, and he permitted me to make offerings in the backyard."
Wu Mama quickly clasped her hands and said, "Amitabha, it’s rare to find such filial piety." She then sat down in the room and chatted with Xianglan for a while. As Night deepened, Wu Mama estimated the rituals were concluding and rose to take her leave, exiting through the backyard door.
There, she spotted Xi Que standing by the Rockery, holding a lantern. Xi Que stamped her feet and laughed, "Wu Mama, what brings you here? Since you’ve come, why not visit our new concubine’s room for a while? We won’t let you off easily!"Wu Mama thought to herself, "I can't stand your mistress's troublemaking ways. She even corrupted Lan Yiniang, who was originally a decent person. How could I possibly go to your place?" But she smiled and said, "Taitai sent me to deliver some items. I still have duties elsewhere, so I can only make this one trip to deliver these and then return. Next time I visit your Concubine Mei, you must brew me a good cup of tea." As she approached, she asked, "What are you doing here?"
Xi Que replied, "The new concubine lost a gold ring and has been searching her room for days without finding it. The pearl on that ring was a special gift from the Master to her. Though she doesn't show it on her face, I know she's truly heartbroken about it, so I came out secretly to look for it. If I find it, I'll take it back to cheer her up; if not, at least she won't be disappointed and feel worse."
Wu Mama said, "My child, you're a good girl, so thoughtful of your mistress." Then she turned to leave.
Just then, the lantern in Xi Que's hand suddenly fell, landing right beside Wu Mama's feet. Xi Que quickly exclaimed, "Oh no, oh no! My hand slipped. Did it hit you, Mama?" She moved closer as she spoke.
Wu Mama bent down to pick up the lantern, saying, "It's fine. Luckily, this is a brass lotus lantern—it won't break easily. If it were an ordinary one..." Before she could finish, she noticed a small triangular cloth bundle on the ground, about the size of a baby's palm, wrapped in white cloth. Wu Mama picked it up and felt it—slightly hard inside, like paper. As an experienced old woman, she recognized it immediately as a talisman. Her heart began to race as she thought, "Talismans for seeking children, wealth, or peace are always wrapped in red cloth. This one wrapped in white is clearly no good thing. How could such a thing be in Knowing Spring Pavilion?" She quickly clenched it in her hand.
Xi Que squeezed over and asked, "Mama, what did you pick up? Let me see it."
Wu Mama pushed her away and said, "Little girl, always prying into everything. Hurry back now, or your mistress will wonder where you are." With that, she hurried off.
Meanwhile, Qin Shi had been busy all day. Hongjian gently supported her as she sat down in the small side hall of the ancestral temple, and Lu Lan brought over hot tea. Qin Shi took a sip and asked, "Have all the courtyards been locked? Have the night patrol women gone out? Are the servant boys guarding the outer gate and neighboring garden properly supervised?"
Hongjian replied, "The managing wives will come by shortly. I'll ask them then. Taitai, you haven't been feeling well these past few days—why trouble yourself with this?"
Qin Shi said, "I didn't want to bother, but just yesterday, something happened in the second household. It seems a thief broke into Third Miss's courtyard at night, somehow sneaking in and frightening an old woman and a young maid into fainting. After checking, thankfully nothing major was missing, except Third Miss lost a case of jewelry. They interrogated and punished everyone but couldn't find who colluded with the thief. Instead, they discovered some were drinking and gambling. Second Master was furious and even borrowed a few guards from Lou Ge'er today. That's why we must secure the gates tightly."
Hongjian promptly agreed. Qin Shi then asked about the earlier arrangements for cleaning the ancestral temple. As they were speaking, she noticed someone peeking furtively at the door and asked, "Who's there at the door? Sneaking around like that."
The maid lifted the curtain, revealing Wu Mama, who entered with a pale face and said, "Taitai, this old servant has returned from Knowing Spring Pavilion."
Qin Shi smiled and asked, "At this hour, why aren't you resting and instead rushing here like this?"Wu Mama said, "I have something to report to Taitai." As she spoke, her eyes swept sideways.
Seeing her manner, Qin Shi was inwardly startled. She dismissed the attendants and said to Wu Mama, "Speak, what is it?"
Wu Mama fell to her knees with a thud, tears in her eyes, and said, "This old servant... this old servant just picked up a deadly object in Knowing Spring Pavilion... The matter is grave, I beg Taitai to decide..." As she spoke, she drew something from her sleeve and held it out.
Thank you to Jane and Rose, zoeyhl, and Ming Zi Xi for the Peace Talismans, and also to everyone for the pink votes ^_^
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