Let's set aside 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 servant woman, "Quick, go heat some water for me! Damn it, it's the first time I've had a few strips of flesh scratched off by an old hag. I'll go back and chop her claws off later!"
Liu Xiaochuan followed behind him, chuckling and saying, "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 long ago. Now you've just 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, you hid behind me and threw cheap shots, and I took seven or eight hits for you! 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 a noodle—taking a few more hits will make you stronger in the long run."
Lin Jinting flushed with anger, pointing at the gate and yelling, "Where did you come from, you scoundrel? Get out of here, now! Seeing you pisses me off!"
Liu Xiaochuan grinned and said, "I'm not leaving. I came to see my Brother Lou."
As they were making a racket, Xie Yu and Chu Dapeng followed them in. Chu Dapeng said, "Enough, you've been carrying on until daybreak. Can't you quiet down?" He then beckoned to Jixiang and asked, "How's your master?"
Jixiang smiled and replied, "He's back, resting in his room. He's been there for a while now."
Liu Xiaochuan muttered under his breath, "I wonder which 'cousin' this is? I never heard the Lin family had a cousin in Yangzhou. Could it be Lin the Tyrant's old flame? Heh, I really have to see her 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 the Tyrant bring her back? Even if she wasn't violated, her reputation is ruined. Wouldn't he find that disgusting?"
"Tch, you idiot. If he found it disgusting, would he bring her back like this? Didn't you see he covered her head and face with a coat when they left? This one seems different. 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. "You'd better keep your mouth shut. If Lin the Tyrant says she's a 'cousin,' then she's a 'cousin.' If you slip up, be careful—he might come after you with everything he's got."
Liu Xiaochuan rubbed his hands together and said, "Oh, now that you mention it, I want to see this '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 the saying goes, coincidence makes the story. Yuan Shaoren was drinking with colleagues at the House of Green Dependence when he happened to spot Du Bin. Knowing that Du Bin was originally one of Lin Jinlou's personal soldiers and that Lin Jinlou had issued a warrant for his arrest, Yuan Shaoren wanted to help but feared alerting Du Bin and letting him escape again. So he sent someone to secretly follow him. Unexpectedly, they saw Du Bin climb over the temple wall, kidnap Xianglan, and take her to the House of Green Dependence. Meanwhile, Lin Jinlou arrived at the temple only to find it empty. Furious and alarmed, and worried that causing a scene would damage Xianglan's reputation, he thought of Chu Dapeng and others who were currently in Yangzhou handling salt affairs. He went directly to seek their help. Upon hearing from friends that Yuan Shaoren was also in Yangzhou on official business, Lin Jinlou immediately sought him out. After comparing notes, everything fell into place, and Lin Jinlou led his men straight to the House of Green Dependence, where he found Xianglan.
But enough of this digression.
Xianglan had slept a long while. When she woke, her body ached, her head felt heavy, and she was desperately hungry and thirsty. The room was pitch black. Struggling groggily to sit up, she heard movement beside her. A man lay next to her, his voice hoarse as he asked, "Awake?"
Startled, Xianglan instinctively shrank back, her drowsiness vanishing in an instant.
Lin Jinlou rolled over, drew back the bed curtains, and hooked them onto silver hooks. Night had long since fallen, though he didn't know the exact hour. He lit a candle, poured half a bowl of warm water for Xianglan to drink, and called in the drowsy little maid, ordering her to bring a bowl of congee from the kitchen. The maid, a native of Yangzhou, wasn't yet fluent in the official dialect Lin Jinlou spoke and had to listen twice before understanding.
Xianglan held the teacup with both hands, secretly stealing a glance at Lin Jinlou. The scoundrel wore an open inner robe and loose-legged pants with an ink wash painting pattern, grumbling, "How did we end up with such maids? Each one is as stupid as a pig." He turned his head and caught Xianglan looking at him. The moment their eyes met, she immediately lowered her head.
Now that she had been found, Lin Jinlou's anger had gradually subsided, but he still felt unsettled. He maintained a stern expression as he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.
Xianglan, tense, buried her face in the cup as she drank, though the water had long been finished.
Amused, Lin Jinlou reached out, took the cup 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 grew frantic. Lin Jinlou was ruthless, cunning, and treacherous. If he found out that Abbess Dingsu had helped her, there was no telling what methods he might employ. If others were implicated because of her, how could her conscience ever be at peace? She might as well slit her own throat and die. But in that moment, she couldn't come up with a better excuse. Panicked, she grabbed Lin Jinlou's arm and pleaded, "I... I deceived an old acquaintance, tricking her into bringing me to Jinling to find my master. It's all my fault. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
Hearing this, Lin Jinlou's anger surged again. He shook off her hand, gritted his teeth, and sneered coldly, "Well, well, well. 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. Eldest Master, I beg you… In the Lin family, I’m always being harmed, and I’m not well-liked. Life hasn’t been easy, so I just wanted to leave and live on my own… I didn’t have any other intentions—I only wished to spend the rest of my life in the temple… I…" She couldn’t go on, tears falling again as she wiped them with her other sleeve.
Lin Jinlou stared at the small hand clutching his fingers, watching it for a while before finally saying, "Life hasn’t been easy? Is it because being with me has made your life difficult?"
Xianglan was startled. Though this was the truth, she could never admit it. She quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, that’s not it…" But she couldn’t bring herself to lie and say she was happy being 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 in the candlelight. The once fair and delicate hand had grown noticeably rougher from doing menial work in the temple, with a thin layer of calluses on the palm.
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