Let's set aside the matter of Xianglan's illness for now. Here, Lin Jinting returned from outside, a strip of cloth wrapped around his neck, frowning and cursing incessantly, repeatedly exclaiming, "What rotten luck!" As soon as he entered the main gate, he ordered an old woman, "Quick, heat some water for me, damn it! It's the first time I've had a few strands of flesh scratched off by an old hag. I'll go back and chop her claws off later!"
Liu Xiaochuan followed behind him, chuckling, "Alright, Third Young Master, with your flashy but useless moves, if it weren't for me protecting you, your pretty face would've been marked up. Now you've only been scratched once—you should be secretly celebrating."
Lin Jinting reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his eyes wide as he jumped up and down, shouting, "What? You protecting me? You bastard had ill intentions, hiding behind me and throwing cheap shots. I took seven or eight hits for you, and I haven't even settled that score with you yet!"
Liu Xiaochuan said, "Brother, I did it out of concern for you. Your frail body is like noodles—a few more hits and you'll grow stronger."
Lin Jinting flushed with anger, pointing at the gate and yelling, "Where did you come from, you scoundrel? Get out of here, seeing you annoys me!"
Liu Xiaochuan grinned, "I won't leave, I won't leave. I'm here to see my Brother Lou."
Amid the commotion, Xie Yu and Chu Dapeng walked in. Chu Dapeng said, "Enough, you've stirred things up until daybreak, and you're still not quieting down?" He then beckoned Ji Xiang over and asked, "How is your master?"
Ji Xiang smiled, "He's back, resting in his room. It's been a while now."
Liu Xiaochuan muttered under his breath, "I wonder which 'cousin' this is? I haven't heard of the Lin Family having a cousin in Yangzhou. Could it be Lin Bawang's old flame? Heh, I really have to take a look later. I wonder if she compares to that Xianglan in his mansion."
Xie Yu whispered, "This 'cousin' is most likely Xianglan."
Liu Xiaochuan was startled and leaned in to whisper to Xie Yu, "How is that possible? Then... if she's been in a brothel, why would Lin Bawang bring her back? Even if she wasn't violated, her reputation is ruined. Wouldn't he find it disgusting?"
"Tsk, you blockhead. If he found it disgusting, would he bring her back like this? Didn't you see when they left, her head and face were covered with a coat? This seems unusual. In the middle of the night, when he couldn't find her at the temple, he came straight to us. Didn't you notice even Marquis Yongchang was alarmed?" Xie Yu slapped Liu Xiaochuan once. "Keep your mouth shut. If Lin Bawang says it's a 'cousin,' then it's a 'cousin.' If you slip up, be careful—he might go all out against you."
Liu Xiaochuan rubbed his hands together and said, "Oh, now that you mention it, I want to see that 'cousin' even more. What does she look like? Our Brother Lou has seen all kinds of beauties—how could he be so bewitched by this one?"As fate would have it, this too was a story born of coincidence. Yuan Shaoren happened to spot Du Bin while entertaining colleagues at Yicui Pavilion. Knowing Du Bin was formerly Lin Jinlou's personal guard and that Lin was now issuing warrants for his arrest everywhere, Yuan wanted to assist but feared alerting Du Bin and letting him escape again. So he discreetly sent someone to follow Du Bin, only to witness him scaling a temple wall, kidnapping Xianglan, and taking her to Yicui Pavilion. Meanwhile, Lin Jinlou arrived at the temple only to find it empty. Furious and alarmed, yet worried that causing a scene would harm Xianglan's reputation, he recalled that Chu Dapeng and others were currently in Yangzhou handling salt affairs. He went straight to them for help and, upon learning from friends that Yuan Shaoren was also in Yangzhou on official business, immediately sought him out. After comparing notes, Lin Jinlou gathered his men and rushed directly to Yicui Pavilion, where he found Xianglan.
Enough of digressions.
Now, Xianglan had slept a long while and upon waking felt sore all over, her head heavy. But her stomach was truly empty, and her mouth parched with thirst. The surroundings were pitch black. Struggling up in a daze, she heard movement beside her—a man lying next to her rasped, "Awake?"
Startled, Xianglan instinctively shrank back, her sleepiness vanishing instantly.
Lin Jinlou rolled over, drew aside the bed curtains, and hooked them onto silver fasteners. Night had long fallen, though the hour was uncertain. Lin lit a candle, poured half a bowl of warm water for Xianglan, and summoned the little maid who had been sleeping groggily. He ordered her to bring a bowl of the congee simmering on the stove. The maid, being from Yangzhou and not fully fluent in the official dialect Lin spoke, only understood after he repeated himself twice.
Xianglan clutched the tea bowl with both hands, stealing a furtive glance upward at Lin Jinlou. The scoundrel wore an open inner robe and loose ink-splattered trousers, grumbling, "What kind of maid did they buy? Each one dumb as a pig." Turning his head, he caught Xianglan looking at him. Their eyes met briefly before she quickly lowered her head.
Now that she was found, Lin Jinlou's rage had gradually subsided, but a sour feeling remained. He kept a stern face as he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.
Xianglan, tense, buried her face in drinking, though the bowl had long been emptied.
Amused, Lin reached out, took the bowl from her, and set it aside. "Since you're awake, you might as well confess properly. How did you get from Jinling to Yangzhou?"
At these words, Xianglan panicked. Lin Jinlou was ruthless and cunning—if he found out Abbess Dingsu had helped her, who knew what methods he might employ? If others were implicated because of her, how could her conscience rest? Better to slit her throat and die right there. But in that moment, she couldn't fabricate a better excuse. Frantic, she grabbed Lin's arm and pleaded, "I... I deceived an old acquaintance, tricked her into bringing me to Jinling to find my master. It's all my fault—no one else is involved."
Hearing this, Lin's anger surged anew. He shook off her hand, gritted his teeth, and sneered coldly, "Fine, fine, fine. You've truly been loyal to me!"If it were before, Xianglan would never have begged Lin Jinlou, but now, to avoid implicating Abbess Dingsu, she gritted her teeth and reached for Lin Jinlou's hand again. In a small, tearful voice, she said, "It's all my fault, Master, I beg you... In the Lin Family, I'm always being harmed, and I'm not well-liked. Life has been so difficult that I just wanted to leave and live elsewhere... I had no other intentions, only to spend the rest of my life in the temple... I..." She couldn't continue, tears falling again as she wiped them with her other sleeve.
Lin Jinlou stared at the small hand clutching his fingers, watching for a moment before finally saying, "Life has been difficult? Is it being with me that makes you unhappy, isn't it?"
Xianglan was startled. Though this was the truth, she could never admit it. She quickly shook her head, saying, "No, no, that's not it..." But she couldn't bring herself to lie and say she was happy with Lin Jinlou either, so she choked up, tears trembling and falling.
Lin Jinlou turned his hand to grasp hers, pulling her into his embrace. He held her and patted her back, then lifted Xianglan's hand to examine it under the candlelight. The once fair and delicate hand had grown rough from doing heavy work in the temple, with a thin layer of calluses on the palm.
Thank you to fatwanghua001 and lisa450 for the Peach Blossom Fans, to muminkonghua, yerenlyg, zhaoye1978, and fatwanghua001 for the sachets, to yueguanglanlan, damima, daxiang8911, and ningruoying (two) for the Peace Talismans, and to yerenlyg, baixi, xiaoxiao66, xingfudexiaomao222, yaoyao, linglingqingqing, and ninibaobeiyyq for the Peace Talismans. If I missed anyone, my apologies! ^_^
OpenNovel