Lin Jinlou took a deep breath. Xianglan widened her eyes, feeling as if all the blood in her body had frozen solid. Lin Jinlou's sinister face swayed before her again and again. How long had it been since she last saw such an expression on his face? She had almost forgotten how vicious and cruel he could be. The knocking outside grew more urgent. Lin Jinlou slowly released his grip, rubbed his face vigorously, turned around, and opened the door. It was Hu Lai, his trusted guard whom he had specifically left behind to manage affairs before his departure. The moment Hu Lai saw his master's livid face, he was instantly startled. Lin Jinlou pointed at him and roared, "I told you to stay in the capital properly! What are you doing here? You dare disobey my orders now? Huh? Are all of you trying to rebel? None of you take me seriously anymore?"
The roar made Hu Lai's knees go weak. In his mind, Lin Jinlou had always remained unflustered even when facing an overwhelming army, chatting and laughing calmly. Now, seeing his master's trembling finger pointing at him in fury, Hu Lai shuddered and quickly dropped to one knee, even changing his form of address: "General, this subordinate has come on a matter of utmost urgency—Concubine Yin in the residence has passed away! The Second Mistress is also hovering between life and death—"
Xianglan heard every word clearly and couldn't help but gasp. She watched as Lin Jinlou grabbed Hu Lai by the collar with one hand, dragged him into the room, and shut the door. His thick eyebrows furrowed deeply as he gritted his teeth and demanded, "What happened? Explain everything from the beginning!"
Hu Lai said, "Early this morning, the maids couldn't find Concubine Yin, and the Second Mistress was also missing. We searched inside and outside the residence. An old woman on night watch reported that a side gate leading outside in the rear courtyard of Kangshou Residence was unlocked. This subordinate led a team to search the area and encountered commoners reporting to the authorities about a murder in a household in the alley. When this subordinate went to investigate, I found Concubine Yin lying on the ground with a bloody hole in her chest—she had been dead for some time. The Second Mistress was disheveled and slumped by the bed. Upon checking, I discovered she still had a faint breath, so I quickly wrapped her in a quilt and brought her back to the residence. I also informed the authorities to suppress the matter and handed it over to Taitai for handling. We thought that would be the end of it, but the Second Mistress was clutching a sachet. When Taitai opened it, she found Second Master Chu Jiapeng's Peace Talisman inside, with his birth date and time written correctly without error. Second Master happened to be present and immediately broke down in tears, convinced that Second Young Master Chu had murdered Concubine Yin and assaulted the Second Mistress. Taitai managed to calm him down and interrogated the Second Mistress's personal maid. Unexpectedly, upon hearing that the Second Mistress was in critical condition, the maid secretly hanged herself. Taitai originally intended to wait for Master to return tomorrow morning to take charge, but Second Master, without a word, had someone prepare a carriage and quietly left, rushing to the Chu residence to confront Second Young Master Chu. In the midst of the commotion, he fainted, startling the Chu family, who feared he might not survive. They summoned an imperial physician and sent messengers to deliver the news, causing an uproar. Seeing the situation escalate beyond control, Taitai dispatched this subordinate to change horses and rush here, requesting Master's return to take charge."
Lin Jinlou felt his temples throbbing, his face turning increasingly purple. What a fucking mess of troubles! He rubbed his forehead and asked, "Where is Second Brother now?"
Hu Lai replied in a low voice, "Due to his severe illness, it wasn’t advisable to move him, so he’s temporarily staying at the Chu residence—Second Young Master Chu claims he has been studying through the night these past few days and hasn’t left the residence even once—"Lin Jinlou remained silent, pacing back and forth in the room. This matter was definitely not done by Chu Xiao'er. Regardless of his close friendship with Chu Dapeng since childhood, given Chu Dapeng's outstanding character and righteous nature, he would never commit such a crime. If Lin Jinxuan had privately fallen out with Chu Dapeng, it wouldn't be a big deal, but Lin Jinxuan actually went to the Chu residence to make a scene! Chu Dapeng's father was the Minister of Personnel, the head of the six ministries—how could he endure such false accusations and swallow this insult! With the Old Master and his own father currently absent, only he could rush back quickly to resolve this matter. This meant traveling day and night, arriving dust-covered early in the morning to apologize at the Chu residence. With such sincerity, the Chu family elder should at least save face.
There was no time to lose.
Lin Jinlou urgently ordered preparations for horses. He glanced at Xianglan, still seething with anger, thinking, "Leaving her behind might lead to more trouble, and who knows how she’d scheme to inquire about that Song Ke fellow." Pointing at Xianglan, he said, "You, change your clothes. You’re coming with me tonight."
Due to the hasty departure, Lin Jinlou left his personal maids and servant boys behind, instructing them to return to the estate the next day after packing properly. He selected over twenty people, spoke privately with Yuan Shaoren for a while, then shoved Xianglan into an extremely small carriage before setting off.
The carriage was just large enough for one person to sit with legs stretched out, lined only with a coarse cloth layer. The walls had merely a soft curtain, letting drafts in from all sides. Xianglan felt the cold piercing to the bone, burying her face deep in her hood. Though her large fur cloak provided some warmth, her feet in deerskin boots soon froze through, aching unbearably. The carriage’s jolting made her nauseous, adding to her misery. She clutched the brass foot warmer tightly—Xue Ning had secretly slipped it into her arms before departure, but it was gradually growing cold. Suppressing her chattering teeth, she opened her eyes and lifted the carriage curtain to see a bright moon hanging in the sky, illuminating the wilderness.
By the moonlight, Lin Jinlou noticed Xianglan shivering and sneered repeatedly. He should have been carefully planning how to explain things to the Chu family, but his mind had turned to mush, with no coherent thoughts forming. All he could see was Xianglan’s image hovering before him, tearfully asking, "If I told you I wanted to repay Song Ke’s kindness by sending him silver, would you agree?" He snorted coldly, spurred his horse, and it galloped faster. He had thought speeding up would dispel his frustration and anger, but instead, it made him feel worse. Resentfully, he wondered if he had been too good to Chen Xianglan lately, letting this woman push her luck. Once back at the Lin Family, after settling his second brother’s affairs, he would teach her a proper lesson. Her freezing now was entirely deserved. Yet, the sight of her trembling irritated him—why was this woman so stubborn? Freezing like this and still refusing to beg him. Grim-faced, he pulled a thin blanket from his saddlebag and tossed it into the carriage.
Xianglan jumped in surprise, peeking at Lin Jinlou from behind the curtain but only catching a glimpse of his chin.
Suddenly, Lin Jinlou reined in his horse, and the carriage halted abruptly. Xianglan, caught off guard, nearly fell. She heard Lin Jinlou's deep voice say, "Go check carefully over there!""Then a guard stepped forward with a torch, revealing a forest ahead from which a faint scent of blood drifted. When illuminated, the white snow-covered ground was already splattered with blood, littered with corpses—some lying prone, others slumped against tree trunks, and a few hanging from branches. They were dressed in imperial guard uniforms, holding various weapons, each pierced by several arrows, their expressions varied and gruesomely horrifying.
Xianglan was terrified. The thick smell of blood overwhelmed her; already nauseous from the bumpy journey, she could bear it no longer. Struggling out of the carriage, her feet aching and nearly unable to stand, she staggered behind a bush and vomited repeatedly. Her mind churned like turbulent waves—these imperial guards, clad in the uniforms of the palace guards, were clearly the Imperial Forest Guards who accompanied the emperor. Yet they had been slaughtered here. Could this be—a rebellion? An assassination attempt on the emperor? Xianglan felt her entire body grow cold, trembling uncontrollably.
Lin Jinlou’s expression was grave. Holding a torch, he stepped forward to inspect the scene. Some of the bodies were still warm, clearly having died recently. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly shouted, "Wen Rush!"
Wen Rush hurried forward, cupping his hands in salute. "Your subordinate is here!"
Lin Jinlou gave him low-voiced instructions. Wen Rush was initially shocked but quickly composed himself, kneeling on one knee and declaring, "Even if I die without a burial place, I will fulfill the general’s orders." With that, he mounted his horse and left with seven or eight men.
Lin Jinlou then summoned Hu Lai and another trusted aide, Zeng Yuan, giving them further instructions. Hu Lai, his expression stern, led seven or eight men away. Zeng Yuan took three men and returned along the original path.
Lin Jinlou took a deep breath, the cold air stinging his throat. Earlier that morning, he and Yuan Shaoren had gone to the outskirts of the capital to visit an old friend at the Five Armies Camp. Unexpectedly, they encountered the crown prince, who had been sent by the emperor on an incognito mission to the camp. Noting the crown prince’s sparse guard and that most of the camp’s troops had finished drills and been dispatched to Fengyang Commandery, Lin Jinlou grew concerned for the crown prince’s safety. The crown prince, however, waved it off with a laugh. "It’s fine. This trip is highly confidential, and the matter has already been investigated. His Majesty will send the Jinwu Guard; they are likely already on their way."
Seeing the crown prince’s evasiveness and reluctance to elaborate, Lin Jinlou knew there was more to the story and refrained from pressing further, taking his leave instead. Now, witnessing the Jinwu Guard’s brutal deaths in the forest, he realized the ferocity of the earlier battle and was deeply shaken. He immediately dispatched two teams of trusted aides to warn the crown prince and ordered Zeng Yuan to return to the manor to inform Yuan Shaoren. Turning back, he saw Xianglan standing behind a tree, a sliver of moonlight illuminating her pale, frightened face, though she struggled to maintain her composure.
Lin Jinlou approached her and said softly, "There’s a manor very close ahead. I’ll take you there first. One of the households has old ties with the Lin Family. You can take shelter there."
Noticing that only three men remained by Lin Jinlou’s side, Xianglan couldn’t help asking, "What about you?"
A flicker passed through Lin Jinlou’s eyes. "Don’t worry about me. I have a fair idea which bastard is behind this. Having you around would be a burden. Once I’ve settled you safely, I—"
Before he could finish, a "whoosh!" cut through the air—a sharp, piercing sound—as an arrow, swift as lightning, thudded into the chest of the Lin Family Army soldier holding the torch at the outermost position."Bang!" The torch in the man's hand fell to the ground. He clutched the arrow with both hands, his expression shifting from shock to intense agony. His body swayed twice before four more arrows came whistling through the air, piercing him completely. Without uttering a sound, he slowly collapsed to the ground.
Xianglan stood frozen in shock. Lin Jinlou shoved her to the ground and hissed, "Hide behind the tree and don't move!" To the remaining two men, he commanded, "Put out the torches! Get down!" He thrust his own torch into the snowbank, rolled across the ground, and vanished into the Night.
(Xiao He's Weibo: search "He Yanshan")
The subsequent content has been challenging to structure, so I've revised the outline several times before finally settling on it. My apologies for the long wait, everyone.
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