Xianglan was a thoughtful person. Considering that everyone at the table was a proper master dining together, her presence here felt somewhat inappropriate. She intended to wait until everyone was seated before finding an excuse to withdraw. As the others took their seats, several maids and young maidservants brought warm water for handwashing. Xianglan stepped forward to take Hui Ge'er's hand, saying, "I'll take the young master to find his wet nurse for his meal," and made to leave.
Lin Dongqi, being perceptive, immediately understood Xianglan's intention. She quickly stood up and grasped Xianglan's arm, smiling as she said, "Just sit down and eat with us. A maid will take Hui Ge'er."
Xianglan hesitated, "But..."
Lin Dongwan also rose, simultaneously instructing an elderly nanny to take Hui Ge'er away while smiling, "Exactly, exactly! Come sit with us. We're all family here, no need to be so formal." Together with Lin Dongqi, they pulled Xianglan back to her seat from both sides.
Lin Dongqi teased playfully, "You've been eating at the same table with eldest brother every day, your standards have risen so high. Could it be you look down on us sisters now?"
Xianglan understood that Lin Dongqi was helping her save face, warmth blooming in her heart. She smiled and replied, "How could that be?"
Lin Dongwan personally poured a cup of fruit nectar for Xianglan, pushing it before her with a smile. "Have a cup to whet your appetite." She then busied herself directing the maidservants to bring warm water for Xianglan to wash her hands. Ling Qing stepped forward to remove Xianglan's bracelets, holding them carefully with a handkerchief. After Xianglan finished washing, she helped put them back on. Lin Dongwan repeatedly praised the beauty of Xianglan's bracelets: "The jade has such excellent translucency, and the patterns on the gold bracelets are exquisite. Where were they made? Wanbao Pavilion or Cuizhu Studio? I must have a pair made in the same style someday."
Madam Tan sat nearby, a smile fixed on her face as she slowly dried her hands, though inwardly quite astonished. Being newly married into the Lin Family, she naturally took great care to please everyone. With no elders present, Lin Dongwan and Lin Dongqi were precisely whom she usually tried hardest to befriend. The former had married into the Lu family - though the Lu family's influence was gradually declining, "a centipede dies but never falls down," they still maintained considerable standing. Moreover, Lin Dongwan was Lin Jinxuan's full sister; whenever she returned to visit Concubine Yin, Lin Jinxuan treated her with particular affection. The latter, as the legitimate daughter of an official family, had married the promising second son of Duke Zhenguo and enjoyed an excellent reputation among noble ladies in the capital. Such noble birth, beautiful appearance, widespread virtue, and an illustrious marriage represented Madam Tan's most idealized version of life. Her admiration made her particularly eager to befriend Lin Dongqi.
However, Wan and Qi had always treated her with lukewarm politeness. Madam Tan had assumed this was simply because she was new and they weren't yet familiar. Never had she imagined that Lin Dongwan, meeting Xianglan for the first time today, would show her such enthusiastic warmth, with every word and gesture conveying eager attentiveness.
After everyone finished washing their hands, three or four maids entered carrying large lacquer boxes. Xiao Juan and Xue Ning took the dishes from the boxes and arranged them on the table. Soon the table was filled with numerous bowls and plates containing various dishes, most of them light and vegetarian.
Silence fell over the meal, broken only by the clinking of bowls and chopsticks.After the meal, the maids and servant women cleared away the remnants and served fragrant tea for rinsing mouths. Everyone moved to the eastern room, where the maids rearranged the pastries and fruits. They chatted and laughed for a while, speaking of idle matters. Lin Dongwan had a clever tongue—she dominated seventy percent of the conversation: whose garden was well-designed, which opera troupe performed best, which couples were at odds, who had recently taken a concubine, and which families had conflicts between second and third wives. These trivial matters were inherently dull, but she narrated them with such vividness and dramatic flair.
As Xianglan listened to Lin Dongwan’s chatter, she occasionally recognized a few familiar family names, but over a decade of changes had left her with a sense of how time alters everything. Watching Lin Dongwan’s animated expressions, she thought that if the girl were equipped with a storyteller’s wooden clapper to slap sharply on a desk, she would make a perfect female storyteller.
Just as the room buzzed with lively talk, Lin Jinlou entered from outside. He found the main room silent and deserted. The masters were absorbed in their own amusement, and the maids had scattered—some to eat, some to nap, others to chat and joke in the annex room. Only Hua Shan remained, sitting on a small stool by the door on guard, her hands busy with needlework.
Seeing no one in the room, Lin Jinlou turned to leave but heard laughter from the eastern chamber and walked toward it. He had been drinking earlier and had stained his clothes, so he had returned to change. He had intended to call for Xianglan, but upon hearing the laughter, he changed his mind, thinking that Xianglan, who often felt lonely, finally had companions of similar age to talk with. His presence might make everyone uneasy and spoil the mood. Hua Shan, noticing Lin Jinlou’s approach, hurriedly stood and reached to lift the curtain, but he waved her off. She obediently fell silent and retreated to the side.
Lin Jinlou pricked up his ears and listened intently to the room.
At that moment, Lin Dongwan was recounting an incident involving the Dai Family. The Dai ancestors had once held a high-ranking court position of the second grade, and later generations had produced several talented individuals. However, they were implicated in the crown prince’s affairs, which sapped their vitality. After lying low for over a decade, it was only three years ago that His Majesty showed them favor again, appointing the family head, Dai Qing, to the Hanlin Academy, where he was highly regarded by Grand Secretary Zhao Jin. As the saying goes, "Promotion, wealth, and the death of a wife"—no sooner had Dai Qing’s fortunes turned than his first wife passed away. A year later, he remarried, and the family began to thrive once more.
Xianglan took a sip of tea and glanced up slightly, noticing Lin Dongqi listening to Lin Dongwan with rapt attention: "...But the pregnancy occurred during the mourning period for the Dai family’s madam—already over five months along. It was Third Master Dai who secretly impregnated a maid right under Third Mistress Dai’s nose. That maid was clever; she first made an excuse to return home and hid for several months. Her belly was much larger than usual, likely because she was carrying twins. When it became impossible to conceal any longer, her mother brought her back to the Dai family. Third Mistress Dai wanted to force her to drink an abortion potion, but the maid, relying on her favored status with the old madam, flaunted her belly and demanded the old madam intervene. You all know Third Mistress Dai’s temper—she was nearly bursting with rage! She lifted her skirts, chased the maid to the old madam’s room, and in front of the old madam, scratched the maid’s face to shreds. Oh my! Some even say she gouged out the maid’s eyes. Tsk, tsk, it sends chills down one’s spine."
Lin Dongqi shuddered, rubbing her arms. "Elder Sister, please stop—it’s too horrifying. What happened after that?""So what? What else could happen? The old lady of the Dai family fainted on the spot, and that maid was so frightened she fell and miscarried. Old Master Dai said he would severely punish his third daughter-in-law. Tsk, you have to admit Third Madam Dai really has some skills. Knowing her father-in-law had just taken a new wife and was currently in the throes of newlywed bliss, she turned around and curried favor with her new mother-in-law. With that pillow talk blowing in his ear, the matter was handled lightly and let go. Within days she was swaggering about again, and now all the maids in the Dai family have been subdued by her." Lin Dongwan spoke as she picked up a cup of tea to moisten her throat, then said: "That maid was sent to the manor. I heard she was originally a neat and proper girl, but now her face is ruined. Who knows what will become of her? Third Master Dai only sent someone with forty taels of silver and hasn't concerned himself with her since."
Madam Tan snorted and said: "Amitabha! Serves her right! That maid got what she deserved. The Dai family isn't in the right either - how could they dally with a maid during their mother's mourning period? If this gets out, the Dai family will lose all dignity. Even if Third Mistress Dai acted improperly, it's the Dai family who indulged it. Does being by the old lady's side mean you can casually climb into the master's bed and steal another woman's man?"
Lin Jinlou found this women's gossip extremely tedious and was about to turn and leave when he unexpectedly heard Xianglan say: "Third Master Dai is no good either. That girl was ultimately just a servant maid - if the master insists on something, what can she do? It's pitiful how that girl's life was ruined, how she lost her twins, while that man continues to enjoy himself carefree."
Hearing this, Lin Jinlou set his raised foot back down.
Madam Tan said coldly: "As the saying goes, 'flies go for cracked eggs.' In this world, it takes two to tango. If that maid hadn't been willing, how could Third Master Dai have succeeded? Besides, she was the old lady's maid, more favored than other servants - could Third Master Dai have possibly raped her? I heard Third Master Dai is as handsome as Pan An, a real charmer. With both status and looks like that, it's what made that maid develop dirty ideas."
Xianglan likewise said coldly: "If we follow that logic, then any man with status and looks should have maids rushing to curry favor and climb into his bed?"
Madam Tan raised her voice sharply: "If that maid was truly forced, if she was so chaste and virtuous, if she was so unwilling, she should have just slit her throat! When she got pregnant, she should have taken medicine to abort it! Why hide it secretly, and then come back later with a bulging belly to disgust everyone! Such a fearful, hypocritical little slut - Third Mistress Dai really gave her what she deserved!"
Xianglan said slowly: "If she was forced by her master, losing her virtue is pitiful enough - she can no longer hope for a respectable marriage afterward. This matter wasn't originally her fault, so why should outsiders pressure her and demand she take her own life? If she didn't die, perhaps she has parents to support - should she be considered completely in the wrong just because she cherishes life? When she became pregnant, the child in her womb was connected by blood - how could she bear to abort it? She must have struggled for a long time, ultimately unable to bring herself to do it, and when her family found out, that's when she returned to the Dai family."Lin Dongwan was unaware of the inside story, but Lin Dongqi knew a little about the matters between Xianglan and Lin Jinlou. Realizing that her earlier words had struck a sore spot for Xianglan, and seeing Madam Tan’s flushed face as she still intended to argue, she quickly changed the subject with a smile, saying, “Alright, alright, these are all outsiders’ affairs. Why should we bother discussing them?” Taking Xianglan’s hand, she continued, “I remember you were always the best at drawing floral patterns. Have you come up with anything new lately? Quickly sketch a landscape for me—I want to make a cloak and embroider it on there later.”
Xianglan took the cue gracefully and went along with it, smiling as she replied, “I only arrived in the capital yesterday, and all my finished works are still in Jinling. I’ll draw a few for you tomorrow, Second Young Mistress. Just let me know what you’d like.”
Lin Dongwan chimed in playfully, “And me, and me! So you have this talent too—now I know where to go for floral patterns in the future. I’d like a hundred butterflies and peonies—draw two for me.”
Lin Dongqi added with a laugh, “Take your time with the drawings, no rush. There’s no hurry for them.”
Xianglan agreed with a smile, her eyes briefly glancing at Madam Tan.
Apologies for the long delay in updating. I’ll thank everyone who gave rewards and pink votes in the next chapter. Bowing once again.
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