Xianglan was still unaware that Lin Jinlou had nearly turned all of Jinling upside down searching for her. She pushed open the window of the meditation room, rolled the curtain onto a small silver hook, and gazed into the distance. The setting sun cast long shadows over the distant mountains, weary crows returned to their nests, and clear streams rushed over stones. A cold breeze blew by, crisp and refreshing. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if expelling all the pent-up frustration from her chest. Turning back, she walked to the writing desk, picked up a brush, and lightly dabbed a few strokes of flowing clouds onto the painting. Instantly, the "Sunset Mountain Village" scene came to life. Satisfied, Xianglan inscribed the date, took a small stone seal, dipped it in ink paste, and stamped it in the lower right corner. Wiping her hands on a small towel by the desk, she turned to look out the window. This kind of tranquil and peaceful life was exactly what she desired—no scheming or power struggles within the mansion, no forced flattery or trampled dignity. She felt as if she were dreaming.
That day, she had stumbled out of the temple and begged the young monk to alert the guards. Only when she saw everyone enter the temple did she finally breathe a sigh of relief. After resting for a while, she heard shouts and the sounds of fighting and saw black-clad figures fleeing in panic from the temple. Leaning against a tree trunk, she stood up and thought to herself, "Lin Jinlou's personal guards are all highly skilled. At least they can rescue Taitai and Fourth Miss." Then another thought crossed her mind: "Lin Jinlou has saved me twice. Now that I've saved his mother and sister, these two acts cancel each other out. But I’m afraid he won’t let me go and will imprison me back in the Lin Family—why not… why not take this chance tonight to escape for good?"
Once this idea took root, it wouldn’t leave her. She pondered, "There’s a small temple called Lotus Nunnery nearby. I visited it a few years ago. My master’s aunt, Abbess Dingsu, is the head nun there. She watched me grow up and cares for me deeply. Why not go to her first and then decide what to do?"
Under the dim moonlight, she cautiously made her way down the mountain. Fortunately, she had often played on this mountain as a child and knew the paths well. After walking for the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, she finally spotted the small temple. The nuns inside were conducting their morning prayers. When Abbess Dingsu saw Xianglan, she was greatly surprised and quickly ushered her into a room. Xianglan recounted her experiences over the past two years to the abbess, who listened with deep sympathy, sighing repeatedly and clasping her hands in prayer. The abbess then asked, "What are your plans now?"
Hearing this, Xianglan immediately knelt on the floor, tears welling in her eyes, and said, "Given my current situation, I must shamelessly beg you, Aunt, to save me. I no longer wish to return to the Lin Family. Please hide me for now. I’ll find a way to go to Yangzhou to seek out my master. If my parents come looking for me, please secretly inform my family. I would repay your great kindness even if it costs me my life." She kowtowed repeatedly.
Abbess Dingsu quickly helped her up and said, "Hiding you isn’t difficult, but traveling alone to Yangzhou… ah, a beautiful young girl like you on the road alone—who knows what might happen? If you were kidnapped by traffickers or met with some misfortune, it would be even more dangerous." After a moment’s thought, she added, "How about this? There’s a wealthy local gentleman named Yu nearby, known for his generosity and integrity. Coincidentally, his daughter is being escorted to Yangzhou for her wedding. I’ll ask him for a favor, saying you’re my niece from my secular family, heading to Yangzhou to seek refuge with relatives. You can disguise yourself as a maid and travel with them."Xianglan was overjoyed and settled into Lotus Nunnery. Later, when the Lin Family's soldiers came searching several times, she managed to evade them all. After two more days, she disguised herself and hastily boarded a boat, traveling along the desolate Grand Canal to Yangzhou. Upon arriving in Yangzhou, Xianglan took out silver to reward the Yu family. When she had planned her escape and made monastic robes, she had hidden some silver and jewelry inside them. Before leaving Lotus Nunnery, she secretly left some silver under Abbess Dingsu's pillow, and now she still had plenty left. However, the Yu family refused to accept it and instead hired a large carriage, ordering servants to accompany and escort Xianglan to Xiansheng Nunnery, where Dingyi Shitai resided.
Dingyi Shitai was not surprised to see Xianglan and simply let her stay, instructing her to clean a second-floor meditation room for herself. Every day, Xianglan joined the nuns in the nunnery for morning bells and evening drums, chanting scriptures and practicing cultivation. During the day, she carried water, worked in the vegetable garden, helped in the kitchen, and in her spare time, she painted in her room, leading a rather leisurely life. Chansu, who served Dingyi Shitai, once joked with Xianglan, "Junior Sister, it hasn't been long since we last met, but you seem like a different person. Before, though you were steady, you had a lively and spirited nature—loving to talk and laugh. Now you're much more subdued, but also more sensible."
Xianglan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Growing a year older means a year older—how can I always act like a child, causing trouble and upsetting the Abbess and senior sisters?" After Chansu left, Xianglan sat in her room, staring out the window in a daze. These past two years had brought her more bitterness and despair than when the Shen Family fell into ruin, her husband died during exile, and she herself fell ill and passed away. No matter how difficult it was back then, she always felt someone was with her, sharing life and death, and by gritting her teeth and enduring, they could eventually carve out a path to survival. She carried a faint flame in her heart, using a strong and brave stance to defend her last shred of dignity and hope. But before half a year had passed on the exile journey, she fell ill and died, her proud spirit not yet completely trampled underfoot.
In this life, however, she was first forced to become a Female Servant, suffering endless bullying. Later, when she finally saw a glimmer of hope, she was abandoned by Song Ke. Then, to save her father, she became Lin Jinlou's Concubine. Everyone spoke of her Grandeur, but she knew the difficulty of serving Lin Jinlou, the peril of her situation in the Lin Family, and the unspeakable pain in her heart. Step by step, sigh by sigh, life had kneaded and twisted her, grinding her face into the dirt for others to trample, wearing away nearly all the edges of her spirit. Only a stubborn bone remained in her heart, telling her in the stillness of the Night that she had never truly bowed her head. Looking back now, though she had stumbled through this life with her head down, bleeding along the way, it had also settled her once somewhat arrogant and haughty heart. From then on, she understood the myriad flavors of life and treated others with more tolerance than before.The nuns in the temple also grew fond of Xianglan. At first, seeing her exceptional beauty and refined demeanor unlike an ordinary girl, they wondered why she chose to reside in the monastery and maintained a distant attitude. Later, observing her gentle nature—always greeting everyone with a smile, willing to endure hardships, and undertaking any chore without complaint—they warmed to her. She would wash clothes in the courtyard during harsh winters, her hands turning bright red from the cold, yet she never minded. She carried water back trip after trip against the biting wind, her shoulders chafed and sore without a word of complaint, managing every task with meticulous order. As time passed, everyone grew fond of her company. Some, curious about her origins, asked where she came from. Xianglan would simply say she was originally a disciple of Dingyi Shitai but had spent several years as a maid in a wealthy household before buying her freedom and returning to serve her master.
Later, Xianglan received a letter from Dingyi Shitai informing her that her parents still didn’t know she had gone missing. The Lin Family seemed to have kept it secret, so Dingyi Shitai had also refrained from speaking up. The letter further mentioned that the Lin Family had sent exceptionally generous gifts during the New Year, astonishing Chen Wanquan to the point where his eyes nearly popped out. He wanted to visit the estate to express his gratitude but was stopped by Ji Xiang, who had delivered the gifts. After the initial shock, Chen Wanquan became smug, boasting to everyone about his prestige and the lavish presents from the Lin Family, exaggerating his daughter’s grandeur within the household. This attracted a crowd of people eager to curry favor, even Han Yaozu—the county magistrate who had once caned Chen Wanquan—made a special visit. Han’s son, Han Guangye, spent a fortune to purchase several of Xianglan’s paintings, praising them as unparalleled masterpieces, which further inflated Chen Wanquan’s pride.
Relieved to learn her parents were safe, Xianglan settled into a tranquil daily life. Though she had some silver saved, she pondered the need to avoid depleting her resources and planned to earn money so she could eventually bring her parents to Yangzhou. She took her calligraphy and paintings to a nearby stationery and antique shop near the temple to sell on consignment.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye. One day, Xianglan carefully carried two scrolls of paintings to the shop, quietly entering through the back door. The shopkeeper, familiar with her by now, invited her to rest in the elegant room reserved for distinguished guests while he went to the front to fetch her silver. No sooner had Xianglan sat down than two people entered. One was a woman wearing a green sleeveless jacket with gold patterns and a deep brown satin skirt, her figure alluring, with cloud-like hair adorned with jade and a face radiant as a spring dawn, heavily rouged and powdered. She was decked in gold and silver, with six golden horse-shaped rings on her ten slender fingers. At first glance, she appeared to be a noblewoman from a duke or marquis’s household, yet her haughty demeanor and roving eyes carried a subtle air of coquetry. The other was a handsome, fair-faced young man with flirtatious peach-blossom eyes, tall and dressed in blue silk, holding a folding fan. His entire bearing was frivolous and rakish, like a wealthy playboy.
Xianglan was startled to recognize the woman—this dazzling beauty was none other than Chunyan, who had been expelled from the Lin Family by Lin Jinlou! Glancing sideways, she saw the man, with his slicked hair and powdered face, but didn’t recognize him. Hurriedly, Xianglan pulled her hood over her head, stood up with her head bowed, and made to leave. Just then, a shop assistant arrived with tea and refreshments. Seeing Xianglan rushing out of the room, he smiled apologetically at the pair and said, “My apologies, my apologies, I didn’t realize someone was in here earlier. Please, enjoy some tea.” With that, he set the tea on the small table.Chunyan snorted and sat down in the chair. She picked up the tea and took a sip, then frowned at its scalding heat before setting the tea bowl down. Complaining, she said, "I'm thirsty and exhausted—my throat's gone hoarse, and now I can't even drink this tea." As she spoke, she took a flaky pastry from the plate. She hadn't recognized Xianglan earlier; Chunyan had entered the Lin Family long before, while Xianglan had grown up in a temple, so the two had rarely met. By the time Xianglan joined the household, Chunyan had already been sold off by the Lin Family not long after.
The fair-faced young man also sat down, but his eyes followed Xianglan's figure until she disappeared from sight, his neck still craned unconsciously. Chunyan glanced up and noticed, her anger flaring. She hurled the pastry at his face and sneered, "What are you staring at? What are you staring at? I ought to gouge out those eyes of yours!"
Startled, the fair-faced young man saw Chunyan's willow-leaf eyebrows shoot up in fury and laughed, "Are you jealous? You flirt with men all day long, and I can't even glance at someone else?" Seeing Chunyan about to glare and scold him again, he quickly begged for mercy, "Alright, alright, my lady, I admit I'm wrong. Since you find the tea too hot, I'll have the waiter bring a warm cup." With that, he picked up the tea and left.
As the saying goes, there's no story without coincidence—this fair-faced young man was none other than Qian Wenze, who had narrowly escaped Lin Jinlou's grasp back then. Knowing he had provoked a demon, he had fled Jinling in a frantic rush, as if chased by dogs, winding his way deceitfully to Yangzhou. The affair with Zhao Yuechan was an ugly scandal, and Lin Jinlou, having shaken off the trouble, had no interest in pursuing it further, which gave Qian Wenze a chance to survive. At first, he hid for a while, then gradually emerged from the shadows. Seeing no one coming for him, he grew bolder.
Qian Wenze had always been one to loiter in the streets, and now, under a changed name, he resumed his old ways in Yangzhou. Once he had silver, he couldn't resist indulging in food, drink, and vice. Accustomed to luxury and having once been involved with a beauty like Zhao Yuechan, he looked down on ordinary women. At Yicui Pavilion, he spent lavishly to request the popular Sing-song girl Yan'er to sing. Soon, Chunyan arrived carrying her lute. Delighted to see such a handsome man like Qian Wenze, she exchanged flirtatious glances with him, and that very night, they became intimate. In bed, Qian Wenze probed into Chunyan's background, and she claimed to be a maid from a prominent family in Jinling, sold into the brothel after angering her mistress—though she refused to say which family.
Privately comparing options, Qian Wenze found that more beautiful and famous Sing-song girls were beyond his means, while lesser ones didn't appeal to him. Among this tier, Chunyan was the cream of the crop, so he frequented Yicui Pavilion, booking her for a month or two when he had money and vowing to redeem her once he saved up. Two years passed this way, and Chunyan, believing she had hope, devoted herself wholeheartedly, the two living privately as husband and wife.
That day, Qian Wenze and his companions had invited the sons of several local gentry to drink and had brought Chunyan along to sing for entertainment. On the way back, Chunyan mentioned that a painting in her room had been torn by a drunk guest and she needed to buy a new one, choosing it herself, which led them to this shop. The clerk, seeing Chunyan arrive in a small sedan chair draped in silk and Qian Wenze dressed elegantly, assumed they were from a wealthy family and naturally didn't dare neglect them, ushering them into a private room—unexpectedly running into Xianglan.Qian Wenze walked outside holding a tea bowl and happened to see the shopkeeper stuffing a small money pouch into Xianglan's hand. Xianglan bowed in gratitude before turning to leave, but because she was wearing a Guanyin hood, her face was no longer visible. Qian Wenze hurried forward and asked the shopkeeper, "Who was that girl who just left? I found a handkerchief earlier—it might be hers." As he spoke, he indeed pulled out a peach-blossom-embroidered handkerchief from his sleeve.
The shopkeeper glanced at it and laughed, "This definitely isn't hers. She's a nun from Xiansheng Nunnery who follows the monastic life while keeping her hair. She only uses coarse cloth and wouldn't own such delicate items. She wears plain clothes, and even the hairpin in her hair is made of wood."
Qian Wenze tucked the handkerchief away as he remarked, "A nun? What a pity—such a beauty wasted. What did she come to the shop for?"
The shopkeeper replied, "Some masters at the nunnery paint in their spare time and entrusted her to sell their works here." He then picked up a painting from the counter and slowly unrolled it.
Apologies for the late update today—I was staying up with my parents for New Year's Eve and watched some of the Spring Festival Gala. Wishing everyone a happy Spring Festival! May you immediately enjoy better health, immediate wealth, and immediate fulfillment of all your wishes~~ May your blessings and wisdom multiply in the new year. Xiao He here wishing you all a prosperous New Year ^_^ Thanks to qian20051978 and lisa450 for the He's Jade Disc, Ning Ruoying for the sachet, qian20051978 for three Peace Talismans, damima for two Peace Talismans, and Wallet Plump, Moonlight Orchid, Lin Xi, and Gently Floating By for the Peace Talismans. Also, thank you all for the pink votes~ Gratitude~
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