Lin Jinlou turned her hand over and examined it several times before saying indifferently, "Oh, so you're not content following me? You'd rather suffer hardships outside? You'd be happier sold to a brothel working as a prostitute?" With that, he pushed Xianglan away and pointed at her with a cold laugh. "Look at your wretched appearance—ghastly enough to haunt ten people for half a month. You ungrateful thing. You've really grown bold, daring to sneak away behind my back. How did I not realize earlier that you were so deceitful and slippery, huh? Did you think falling ill would get you off the hook?"
Xianglan hung her head in silence, occasionally wiping away tears.
Lin Jinlou was about to scold her further when a young maid entered carrying a tray with a bowl of congee and two side dishes. He finally fell silent and ordered a kang table to be brought to the bed. Xianglan saw it was plain rice congee with light side dishes like pickled bamboo shoots and tender greens. She had no appetite and was too anxious about Lin Jinlou's potential questioning, feeling her head grow increasingly heavy and dizzy.
Lin Jinlou pushed the celadon bowl closer to Xianglan. Seeing her dazed expression, he said, "Eat something first. You need food in your stomach before taking medicine."
Xianglan felt nauseous from her headache. Though unwilling to eat, she didn't dare defy Lin Jinlou. Reluctantly, she picked up the spoon, took two bites, then set it down again. In a small voice, she murmured, "I can't eat anymore."
"Just two bites? Are you feeding a cat?... Don't like it? There was meat congee, but the physician said you can't handle greasy or rich foods right now—only plain things like this."
"It's not that I don't like it... I just can't eat..."
"Are you at it again? Throwing a tantrum and sulking with me?"
Seeing Lin Jinlou's eyes begin to narrow, Xianglan forced herself to take another spoonful, swallowing it with difficulty. Her head ached, her body felt sore, and chills washed over her intermittently. A wave of despair washed through her—perhaps she was simply ill-fated. All she wanted was a peaceful place to live her life, so why was it so impossible? Why had she encountered villains when she was perfectly fine at the temple? And Lin Jinlou—she'd hidden all the way in Yangzhou, such a long journey, yet he'd still tracked her down. He'd saved her again, and she owed him once more. But the thought of returning to the cold, imposing Lin family mansion made her heart sink. What would her future hold? Relying on her looks to please others, forcing smiles, serving Lin Jinlou and his future Madam with trepidation, keeping her head bowed and enduring humiliation for a lifetime?
Human life is bitterly short, yet enduring suffering makes it feel interminably long. She had only been Lin Jinlou's concubine for about a year, yet it felt like multiple lifetimes had passed, her heart aged prematurely.
Xianglan hadn't intended to cry, struggling to hold back, but the tears flowed uncontrollably. Droplets fell into the congee bowl. She scooped a spoonful into her mouth, the taste overwhelmingly bitter, the bitterness seeping straight into her heart and making her shiver.
Lin Jinlou hadn't expected Xianglan to burst into tears after one bite of congee, her tears falling like broken pearls while she desperately tried to keep eating. He took the bowl from her, frowning. After a long pause, he said, "If you can't eat, then don't. No one's forcing you... This is for your own good. The physician said the medicine harms the stomach, so you need at least a bowl of plain congee. Later, I'll have Xiao San and the others find some blood bird's nests and ginseng to make you nourishing soup... Stop crying, alright? Can you hold back the tears?"
Xianglan tried her utmost to suppress her sobs, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Her shoulders trembled like those of a helpless, pitiful little kitten.Lin Jinlou removed the kang table, climbed onto the bed, and pulled Xianglan into his arms. Stroking her hair, he said, "You're just too stubborn, keeping everything bottled up inside. If you were unhappy in the Lin household, why didn't you tell me? Of course I'd stand up for you—if anyone dared bully you, I'd have dealt with them immediately. But instead, you ran off without a word. Do you know I turned all of Jinling upside down searching for you? Hmm? I even investigated every distant relative of your parents. These days, human traffickers in Jinling don't dare trade young girls around your age. Sure, someone in the Lin family might have mistreated you, but was life outside any better? You must have done plenty of dirty, exhausting work—your hands have grown rough. A young woman like you, living alone in a temple... if you looked like Li Kui, it might be one thing, but you're pretty and isolated in a nunnery. It was only a matter of time before something happened. What if I hadn't come tonight? Have you even thought about that?"
Xianglan continued to cry in his arms, her sobs muffled. Lin Jinlou could already feel his chest damp with tears. He gently smoothed her long hair and said softly, "I just asked you to eat a few mouthfuls of porridge earlier, and you started crying. I only scolded you a little, and you're acting so wronged. Alright, stop crying now. You're still sick—if you cry too much, you'll get a headache. Let the maids bring water to wash your face, take your medicine, rinse your mouth, and go to sleep. You've been sleeping since you came back this morning, but I've been running around nonstop, utterly exhausted. I've been wanting to rest for ages." He glanced around but couldn't find a handkerchief, so he grabbed the pillow cover embroidered with colorful mandarin ducks playing in water, tilted Xianglan's face up, and wiped it for her.
Xianglan stole a glance at Lin Jinlou. In the candlelight, his sharply defined face appeared even more handsome, without any trace of anger, and his usually intimidating aura had softened somewhat. Her head felt too heavy, so she let Lin Jinlou wipe her face with the pillow cover.
Lin Jinlou then ordered the maid to bring medicine and water. Xianglan had no choice but to wash her face again with a hot towel, take the medicine, and rinse her mouth. After the maid withdrew, Lin Jinlou got into bed and was about to blow out the bedside lamp.
Xianglan finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "The people who helped me escape were my former senior sisters from the temple. Eldest Master, please be merciful... I deceived them—they didn't know the truth." As she spoke, her voice choked up again.
Lin Jinlou snorted, but when he turned and saw Xianglan's swollen, tear-filled eyes and red nose, he sighed, reached out, and patted her. "Alright, I'll let it go this time."
Xianglan was stunned. She had prepared a whole speech of pleas but never expected Lin Jinlou to drop the matter so easily.
Lin Jinlou rolled over, propping himself on his elbows to trap Xianglan beneath him, looking down at her. "Since I've agreed to this one thing, you're not allowed to cry anymore. Before, Madam had prejudices against you, but now she regrets how she treated you and keeps asking if you've been found. In the past three months, she's sent gifts to your family four times, afraid your parents would worry too much, so she didn't dare tell them you were missing. When you go back, rest assured—no one in the entire Lin family will disrespect you... I work myself to the bone outside every day, and when I come home, I just want someone who cares, someone to say a few kind words. I don't expect you to fetch the moon from the sky or know how to serve perfectly. Just be good and cause less trouble, alright?"Xianglan bit her lip, her long eyelashes drooping. She felt nothing but a headache and had no energy left to ponder matters concerning Qin Shi, Lin Jinlou, or returning to the Lin family.
Lin Jinlou seemed to say something more, but as the medicine took effect, Xianglan felt his voice grow increasingly distant. She closed her eyes and sank back into a deep slumber.
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