Lin Jinlou, born into wealth and raised in luxury, had sampled every shade of rouge. Earlier, while hosting guests, he had specially ordered two sedan chairs to fetch the three top courtesans from the Pleasure House. Tied around his waist was an emerald-green handkerchief given to him by the famous courtesan Little Cuixian to wipe his mouth. Yet, the simple, unadorned appearance of the girl before him now suddenly caught his eye. From a distance, she had seemed merely pretty, but up close, he was struck dumb, unable to look away. Her jet-black hair, styled like cicada wings, framed a snow-white oval face with long eyebrows and red lips. Her large eyes were clear and luminous, now lowered with lashes thick as fans. Though young, she possessed a radiant beauty, and the more he studied her, the more ethereal and peerless she seemed.
Lin Jinlou felt his mouth go dry, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He longed to lean in and inhale the fragrance of the magnolia blossom in her hair, to see if it was as intoxicating as he imagined. Yet, he stood frozen as if under a Body Freezing Spell. How absurd—this was just a young maid, yet he sensed an air of nobility and restraint about her, as if she were untouchable and not to be trifled with.
Xianglan had already noticed Lin Jinlou’s increasingly intense gaze, which made her deeply uncomfortable, as if she were a piece of meat being lusted after. A breeze carried the scent of alcohol and faint traces of heavy rouge from him, and she thought, "Lin Jinlou is so handsome, yet such a libertine. He must have just come from some pleasure den—has his restless desire now turned to me, a mere maid?" Her expression grew colder as she took two more steps back, bowing her head to ask, "What instructions does the Eldest Master have?"
Lin Jinlou cleared his throat softly. "What is your name? Which household do you serve? I don’t recall seeing you before."
Xianglan stood with her hands at her sides, replying dutifully, "This humble maid is called Xianglan. I serve the young mistress at Luoxue Courtyard."
Lin Jinlou frowned. "Are you a servant of the Cao family?"
Xianglan answered respectfully, "I belong to the Lin household. Da Nǎinai assigned me to attend to the young mistress."
Only then did Lin Jinlou’s brow relax. Noticing her lowered head, he felt a flicker of displeasure and was about to ask her to look up when his eyes fell upon her snow-white, graceful neck—like fine porcelain or smooth mutton-fat jade. He couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and touch it, but just as he raised his hand, a voice came from behind: "My lord, I’ve found you at last! So you’re here."
Turning, Lin Jinlou saw his personal attendant Jixiang, who hurried over and whispered a few words into his ear. Lin Jinlou raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? I thought I had arranged for everything to be properly settled earlier."Jixiang whispered, "Of course, we specifically sent someone to escort her back. Who knew Second Master Li had taken a fancy to Little Cuixian and insisted on taking her back to stay the night? Later, when he heard that Miss Cuixian was..." She glanced at Lin Jinlou's expression before continuing, "...was reserved by the Eldest Master, he didn't dare be too presumptuous. So he demanded Cuixian's younger sister, Little Cuiyun. But Cuiyun is still a virgin. These days, she's written many poems for the Eldest Master and even made colorful tassels from her own hair to send over. The Eldest Master accepted them all. She thinks he has feelings for her and believes she already belongs to him, so naturally she refused to comply... That's how the commotion started. Now Cuiyun is threatening to slit her throat and hang herself, while Second Master Li has become stubbornly determined to take Cuiyun's virginity no matter what."
Lin Jinlou laughed and said, "That Little Li still has that bullheaded temper. Treating beauties like a bull chewing on peonies won't do. Fine, I'll step in to mediate." After speaking, he turned around and noticed Xianglan had already disappeared. Thinking he'd look for the little maid later, he followed Jixiang away.
Xianglan, carrying the pot of magnolia flowers, jogged for a while before setting the pot down again. Wiping her sweat with her sleeve, she shuddered at the memory of Lin Jinlou's intense gaze earlier. She comforted herself, thinking Lin Jinlou must have been drunk to act that way. Once he sobered up, he'd surely forget all about a little maid like her. As she approached Luoxue Courtyard, Xianglan suddenly heard someone call her name. Turning to look, she was surprised to see Song Ke standing in the bamboo grove, waving at her.
Puzzled, Xianglan had no choice but to approach and ask, "What instructions does the young master have?"
Song Ke smiled like a spring breeze, his eyes sparkling brilliantly as he pointed to the hem of his robe. "I wonder if you might have a handkerchief?"
Xianglan looked down and saw a large stain on his robe, what appeared to be wet mud. She quickly set the flower pot down, pulled a handkerchief from her bosom, and bent down to help Song Ke clean it.
Song Ke immediately waved his hands. "No need, I can manage myself." He took the handkerchief and began wiping the stain himself, saying, "I must thank you. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't be able to appear in public wearing this robe."
Seeing Song Ke's warm smile that made his handsome face even more extraordinary, combined with his friendly demeanor, Xianglan found herself smiling too. She thought, "Such a jewel of a man—even Xiao Hang, who was once hailed as the most charismatic in the capital, was merely like this. No wonder the Lin family young ladies are all stirred up." Thinking of her husband from her previous life, she felt somewhat somber. Looking down at the stain, she said, "Fortunately, it's just mud. It should clean easily and won't leave a mark."
Song Ke seemed relieved. "That's good." Then, as if casually, he asked, "I haven't asked yet—what's your name? Are you a maid at Luoxue Courtyard?"
Xianglan only replied, "I work at Luoxue Courtyard."
Because Xianglan wouldn't give her name, Song Ke slightly frowned. Noticing an orchid embroidered in one corner of the handkerchief, he smiled and said, "This orchid is beautifully embroidered. I wonder if 'Lan' is part of your name?"
Xianglan had to admit, "There is a 'Lan' in my name. This handkerchief was just casually embroidered..."
"Casually embroidered, yet so exquisite." Song Ke's eyes shone as he untied the pouch from his waist and handed it to her. "Could you take a look at this pouch? The torn part—can it be mended?"Xianglan took it and saw it was a brand-new multicolored gold-thread pouch embroidered with the "Five Sons Achieving Imperial Honors" motif, except there was a hole in the delicate embroidery. She couldn't help lamenting, "This pouch is exquisitely made, and the embroidery is superb. What a pity it's torn. Repairing it will be difficult, though not entirely impossible..."
Song Ke quickly said, "In that case, could you help me mend it?"
"Ah?" Xianglan's mouth fell open. "Me? Mend it for you?"
Seeing her stunned expression, Song Ke found it utterly charming. He put on a sorrowful face and said, "This pouch was personally made by my mother, intended for the auspicious meaning of 'Five Sons Achieving Imperial Honors.' Unfortunately, I accidentally tore it a couple of days ago. There's no one around me with nimble fingers, and if my mother found out, wouldn't she be upset? I noticed your handkerchief is beautifully embroidered, so your needlework must be excellent. Why not help me mend it?"
Just as Xianglan opened her mouth to decline, Song Ke cut her off: "Then it's settled. The day after tomorrow at exactly mid-morning, I'll wait here for you to return the pouch." With that, he tucked Xianglan's handkerchief into his sleeve and walked away.
Xianglan wanted to call after him but feared being overheard. She hastily lifted her skirt to chase him, but by the time she rounded the hillside, Song Ke had vanished. Worried about leaving the potted plant unattended, she had no choice but to return, dejectedly carrying the flowerpot back.
When she arrived at Luoxue Courtyard, Cao Lihuan had not yet returned. Xianglan placed the flower on the square table in the main hall, then went to her room to take out the pouch and examine it carefully. Sighing, she slumped onto the daybed, grumbling inwardly: "If Young Master Song just called out, wouldn't the First, Second, and Third Misses all rush to mend his pouch? Never mind mending—they could even make an identical one if he asked. Why does he need an unfamiliar maid like me to fix it? Isn't he afraid I'll ruin it? This young master is truly unconcerned. He may not care, but if rumors spread because of this pouch linking me to him, not only would the young ladies tear me to pieces, but my life would be ruined." The more she thought about it, the more agitated she became. She couldn't resist throwing the pouch to the ground and stomping on it twice. A moment later, she gloomily picked it up, dusted it off, and listlessly pulled over her sewing basket to begin mending the pouch stitch by stitch.
Some time later, Cao Lihuan finally returned. Xianglan had assumed Cao Lihuan would vent her frustrations—likely incurred at the Lin family's young ladies' quarters—by scolding or hitting someone upon returning. To her surprise, Cao Lihuan went quietly into her room and called Huier inside. The two shut the door tightly and remained there for a long time without emerging.
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