Upon entering the guest hall, a young novice monk of about six or seven years old came forward, clasped his hands and said, "Bodhisattva, the vegetarian meal is not yet ready. Please come back later." Xianglan returned the salute with clasped hands and withdrew. She wandered around the courtyard, looking around, and saw several red plum trees in full bloom, along with verdant pines and cypresses. Though winter had already set in, the scene appeared lush and thriving. Xianglan thought the plum blossoms were particularly beautiful and considered picking one to place in a vase as an offering to the Buddha. As she approached the plum tree and reached out to pick a flower, she suddenly felt as if someone was secretly watching her. A chill ran down her spine, and she swiftly turned around, only to find the surroundings empty, with just a few sparrows fluttering their wings as they flew into the sky.
Du Bin hid by the doorway, stealthily peeking through the crack. Beneath the plum tree stood a stunning beauty in a bright red woolen cloak. Even from the side, her figure was graceful and elegant. When she turned her head, her jade-like face was revealed, radiant and breathtakingly beautiful. Du Bin’s fingertips tingled with excitement, and he thought to himself, "It’s been days since I last saw her, yet she’s even more captivating than before. No wonder even a seasoned romantic like Lin Jinlou was utterly enchanted by this young lady. Tomorrow, I’ll seize her as well and have the Marquis bestow her upon me. If not, at the very least, I should get a taste of her."
Meanwhile, Qin Shi and Wang Shi attended to Old Madam Lin before returning to their respective rooms. Matters such as partaking of the vegetarian meal need not be elaborated. In the afternoon, Old Madam Lin, Wang Shi, and Lin Dongling went to the rear pavilion to listen to opera and enjoy various amusements, while Qin Shi continued her Buddhist devotions. By evening, Old Madam Lin, having exhausted her energy during the day and caught a chill from the mountain breeze, fell ill. A physician prescribed a dose of medicine, which she drank before resting peacefully. Fearing any mishap, Qin Shi arranged for half of the attendants to escort Old Madam Lin home the next day when she showed signs of recovery. Of this, no more need be said.
For a while, all was quiet. By the evening of the second day, as everyone was preparing to retire, Xianglan and Hongjian shared the outer chamber of the bedroom occupied by Qin Shi and Lin Dongxiu. After attending to her mistress, Hongjian extinguished the lamp and went to sleep. Xianglan, however, could not sleep. She draped a garment over her shoulders and sat up, taking out a peony-patterned bundle which she held in her arms, lost in thought. Over the past few months, she had painstakingly sewn this garment stitch by stitch, telling others it was needlework prepared as a birthday gift for Dingyi Shitai. In truth, she had tailored it to her own measurements. Dingyi Shitai had now become the chief abbess of a temple in Yangzhou. Xianglan had originally planned to slip away from the Lin household, first seeking refuge with her senior sisters at the nearby Tranquil Moon Temple, then traveling with them to Yangzhou to join her master. She intended to bring her parents to join her a few years later, once things had settled down. However, Lin Jinlou had seen through her intentions and threatened her with her parents' safety, crushing her plans entirely. Xianglan sighed. If she couldn’t leave anytime soon, it would be better to donate the garment to the temple monks as an act of merit and kindness.
Suddenly, she heard soft footsteps. Lin Dongxiu emerged from the inner room. Xianglan hurriedly rose to light the lamp, but Lin Dongxiu waved her hand and said softly, "No need. I couldn’t sleep and heard movement outside, so I came to chat." With that, she sat down beside Xianglan.It turned out Lin Dongxiu was also tossing and turning sleepless. Since childhood, she had envied Lin Dongqi and Lin Dongling for being born from Madam's womb, and with her own competitive nature, she found it difficult to stand out among her sisters. While Lin Dongqi at least knew how to preserve others' dignity, Lin Dongling would intentionally or unintentionally overshadow her, often speaking with sharp words that caused her much daily frustration, secretly breeding resentment. Now that Lin Dongling was about to disgrace herself, she could finally vent the pent-up anger in her chest and might even gain an excellent marriage for nothing. Such a windfall—why wouldn't she be pleased? Only... she still felt uneasy in her conscience, sensing something was wrong, yet unable to pinpoint what.
Xianglan whispered, "I noticed you ate little tonight and might be too hungry to sleep soundly. Madam still has half a box of pastries—have a couple with tea, miss." With that, she stood up and went to the table to fetch tea and the pastry box.
Lin Dongxiu rose, took a deep breath, and slowly paced to the door, thinking to herself, "That actor said he'd make his move tonight—I wonder when he'll elope with Third Sister."
Xianglan brought over the tea and smiled, "What are you looking at?" Peering through the door crack, she saw that the third watch drum had just sounded. A half-moon hung in the sky, casting a silvery frost-like glow over the courtyard, sparkling brightly. Suddenly, seven or eight figures emerged swiftly from the opposite wing's roof, landing lightly in the yard, each holding a gleaming broadsword. Once in the courtyard, the leader gestured, and the group headed first to the east wing—where Wang Shi and Lin Dongling resided.
Xianglan's heart leaped, and she hurriedly covered her mouth, turning to Lin Dongxiu and saying, "Something's terribly wrong—bandits are here. Don't make a sound, miss, go get dressed quickly." She then shook Hongjian awake and hurried into the inner room to alert Qin Shi.
Lin Dongxiu had initially thought it was Lin Dongling's lover coming to elope with her at night and considered Xianglan overly alarmed. But when she peeked through the door crack and saw over a dozen tall, sturdy men standing in the courtyard, she was terrified out of her wits. Stumbling into the bedroom, she found Qin Shi already up and cried out in a trembling voice, "Madam, real bandits are here—they're all carrying swords. What do we do? Didn't Eldest Brother leave guards and Household Guards..."
Qin Shi immediately panicked, hastily grabbing a cloak. Just then, a faint noise came from the door, as if someone was prying at the bolt. Hongjian had already gone weak in the legs, clinging to Lin Dongxiu as they trembled together.Xianglan thought to herself, "The Household Guards haven't made a sound—I wonder what's happened." Her hands and feet were icy cold, her heart pounding as if about to leap from her throat. But seeing the panicked expressions of the women in the room, she steadied herself and whispered, "While the villains don't know we've noticed, let's slip out through the back door of the meditation room. There's a gate in the rear courtyard leading to the monks' quarters where a few young novices live. This morning, Old Madam took about twenty guards home with her, so there are still over twenty left in the front courtyard. We'll call them to come rescue us quickly." After speaking, she turned back, grabbed the thick cotton monk's robe she had sewn and threw it over herself, closed the bedroom door of the meditation room, and went to the back tea room. Sure enough, there was a door. She slid back the bolt and gently pushed it open, finding it quiet outside. Hurriedly supporting Qin Shi, they stumbled out. After just a few steps, they heard a piercing scream that sounded vaguely like Zidai's voice, crying out loudly, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I'm just a maid! Madam, the young ladies, and Eldest Master's concubines are in the next room! Retribution has its master—don't bring it upon me!"
This cry provoked a burst of barking dogs, and the courtyard instantly fell into chaos. Then, Zidai fell silent. Shu Tong had been in the same room as Zidai and was likely in grave danger as well. Lin Dongxiu felt a chill run through her entire body.
Xianglan's heart sank. With such a loud commotion, the Household Guards and attendants should have been alerted, yet it remained eerily quiet outside—clearly, the other side had prepared in advance. Gritting her teeth, she tightly gripped Qin Shi's arm and charged forward without looking back. When they reached it, they found the small gate in the rear courtyard locked. Behind them, the noise grew louder, with faint sounds of door-kicking and footsteps. Lin Dongxiu's cheeks were streaked with tears, on the verge of sobbing, swaying unsteadily as if about to collapse. In their panic, Xianglan suddenly spotted a tall pile of firewood in the corner of the wall and was overjoyed. She quickly helped Qin Shi over to climb the woodpile.
Fortunately, as it was the inner courtyard of the temple, the wall wasn't high. The four of them scrambled up to the top of the wall, closed their eyes, and jumped down, landing in a patch of soft, flower-planted mud. Xianglan looked around and said, "Since we came to this temple, the monks have been driven out, even the abbot went to stay elsewhere. Only novices under ten remain—they're utterly unreliable. When I was young, I visited Qixia Temple with my mentor and vaguely remember that the monks' quarters are right next to the sutra repository, a very hidden spot. Let's go hide there."
From earlier, Xianglan had become the backbone of the four. No one objected, and they supported each other as they made their way to the sutra repository. Xianglan poked a hole in the window paper, reached in to undo the latch, and helped Qin Shi and the others climb inside. When it was her turn, Hongjian reached out to pull her in, but Xianglan said, "The sutra repository has a second floor. Go up and hide there—they won't search this place for a while." As she spoke, she started to close the window.
Qin Shi hurriedly asked, "My child, what are you going to do?"
Xianglan replied, "They'll eventually search here. We can't just wait to be caught. I'm going to the bell tower to ring the bell. The monks of Qixia Temple are staying nearby—if they hear the bell, they'll know something's wrong at the temple. Once they come, Madam will be saved."
Qin Shi was taken aback and quickly reached out to grab Xianglan's hand. "But if the villains hear the bell, they'll surely come for you! Come hide with us. With all the commotion just now, the Household Guards and attendants in the front courtyard should have heard by now."Xianglan shook her head. "The guards in the front courtyard are likely useless now..." Qin Shi's face changed color, but then she saw Xianglan smile at her and lower her voice: "If anything should happen to me... I beg Madam to treat my parents kindly and find someone to care for them in their old age..." After speaking, she closed the window and left.
Qin Shi stood frozen, while Hongjian burst into tears, sobbing out: "Such great virtue and righteousness, Miss Xianglan..." Covering her mouth, her whole body trembling, she had already become a weeping mess. Then she saw Qin Shi slide down along the wall to sit on the floor. Hongjian hurried to pull her up, crying softly: "Madam must take care of yourself. At the very least, let's go upstairs first, so we don't betray Xianglan's heartfelt intentions." She forcibly helped Qin Shi to her feet and guided her through the darkness toward the staircase.
Qin Shi seemed dazed, and after a long while sighed: "I wronged her before..." Before she could finish speaking, tears streamed down like rain.
Lin Dongxiu followed behind, her face already drenched with tears, stuffing her fist into her mouth until she could no longer speak. She never imagined things would become so disgraceful. Clearly it was her third sister who wanted to elope with an actor, so how could it have attracted villains? Had she known this would happen, she should have told Qin Shi from the very beginning. But now that things had reached this point, she couldn't say another word, only biting her lip hard as tears fell in continuous streams.
The half-moon hung high, the cold wind bleak and murderous. Xianglan ran desperately to the bell tower, gasping for breath as she supported herself on the stairs to reach the top. Grasping the bell hammer, she struck the great bell, producing a series of "dong-dong-dong—" deafening peals that shook the very air. Du Bin immediately changed color, exclaiming: "Damn it!" and instantly led his men rushing toward the bell tower.
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