Lin Jinlou frowned. He certainly remembered Su Meiru. That woman was quite beautiful, possessing a moon-like face, skilled in charm, adept at dressing up, and a master of music and singing. Originally the beloved concubine of a salt merchant from Yangzhou, she came to seek his protection after her husband died. He rented a residence outside to keep her for a while, but later lost interest. With Xianglan entering the household, he completely severed ties, giving the woman a sum of silver. She opened a shop in the city, and he arranged for someone to look after her, feeling he had done his utmost. Now, this old matter was being brought up again by Lin Jinting. Lin Jinlou glanced at him and said, "I remember, so what?"
Lin Jinting sighed, placing the medicine bowl on the foreign lacquer side table, and said listlessly, "That woman is truly a calamity. Tsk, somehow she got involved with my father." He lifted his eyelids to sneak a glance and, seeing Lin Jinlou's expression remain calm, continued, "My father is bewitched. Because she’s pregnant, he wants to elevate her as a concubine. Afraid the Old Master wouldn’t agree, he married her secretly. But within a few days, rumors spread outside, saying the Lin Family is beastly and improper, with uncle and nephew sharing the same woman—and now she’s pregnant—" He glanced at Lin Jinlou’s face, his voice trailing off.
Back when Lin Jinlou was with Su Meiru, he had hosted a banquet at the residence he had set up outside, inviting several colleagues from the army to drink. Since his uncle Lin Changmin also held a mediocre fifth-rank military position, he was invited to the gathering as well. That day, Lin Changmin arrived very early. Lin Jinlou wasn’t there, and he only saw Su Meiru wearing a silver hair bun adorned with emerald plum blossom hairpins, earrings with inch-long jade pendants, a lotus-root silk gauze blouse, a white embroidered skirt, from under which peeked the tips of a pair of red cherry-toed shoes. Holding a gold-embroidered handkerchief, she stood on the platform inside the second gate. Lin Changmin had long heard that his eldest nephew was a libertine, keeping an extremely alluring concubine outside. Meeting her face to face, he saw she had a jade-like, enchanting beauty, a slender and graceful waist, with a subtle allure of charm and elegance. Her skin was slightly dark, making her a "dark beauty," which only added to her loveliness. With an oval face and finely arched eyebrows, Lin Changmin was stunned at first sight and couldn’t help but bow deeply. Su Meiru, unlike ordinary shy women, looked Lin Changmin up and down, curtsied, covered her mouth with a light laugh, flicked her handkerchief, and retreated inside.
Lin Changmin was captivated from that moment. Later, during the banquet, Lin Jinlou called for Su Meiru to come out with her pipa and perform a set of "Thirty Tunes." Her performance was melodious and graceful, full of charm, and Lin Changmin grew even more infatuated. However, restrained by the fact that she was Lin Jinlou’s concubine, he couldn’t make a move. From then on, under the pretext of looking after things for Lin Jinlou, he occasionally sent gifts—sometimes food, sometimes scented powder, sometimes hair oil. Su Meiru, being a clever woman, understood about eighty to ninety percent of his intentions. She accepted the gifts, generously rewarded the servant boy who delivered them, but never sent anything in return and never mentioned it to Lin Jinlou. After sending gifts four or five times with no response from Su Meiru, Lin Changmin eventually gave up.After Lin Jinlou completely stopped visiting Su Meiru and sent Ji Xiang with three thousand taels of silver and a box of jewelry to settle matters, Su Meiru wept bitterly for several days, her heart broken. But after drying her tears, she still had to carry on with life. She only hardened her heart, thinking: "If a woman wants to live well, she must rely on herself. Men are utterly unreliable—better to trust in silver than in men! Next time I marry, it must be into a wealthy and powerful family of high status; otherwise, how could I justify all the suffering I've endured?" Because she was beautiful and quite wealthy, many sought to marry her as a replacement wife or take her as a concubine. Matchmakers came and went all day long, but none of the families could compare to the Lin Family in status. When she finally found one with somewhat respectable standing, the man was old and ugly—nowhere near as desirable as Lin Jinlou.
One day, someone knocked at the door, and a servant boy stood there claiming that Second Master Lin had sent him to deliver perfumed lotion. The old woman who answered the door hurried to the back to show Su Meiru the two bottles. This time, however, Su Meiru acted completely differently from before. She personally called the servant boy inside and questioned him about this and that. In the end, she even wrapped some freshly steamed jujube paste cakes in her own handkerchief, saying she had made them herself, and asked the boy to take them back for Lin Changmin to taste.
A few days later, Lin Changmin came in person. Su Meiru dressed in her finest: sapphire earrings, a lilac gauze blouse, a silver-red sleeveless jacket, and a gold-woven skirt. She invited Lin Changmin to stay for drinks. Su Meiru diligently urged him to drink and flirted with sweet words. Lin Changmin couldn't help but feel his heart sway. Thinking that Su Meiru was a wealthy widow, he grew even more honey-tongued, asking her to sing a tune and attempting to get handsy. Su Meiru laughed and chatted intimately but was very sparing with physical contact, saying only: "Although I come from a humble background, I was pampered and cherished by the matchmaker since childhood. I won't sing for just anyone."
Lin Changmin laughed and said, "What? Back then, when my nephew asked you to sing, you sang. Am I not as important as he was?"
Su Meiru traced patterns on her skirt ribbon with her finger and said, "Back then, I was with him—he was my man. But what are you to me, Second Master Lin?" Her bright eyes were woof woof, and despite having seen many beautiful women, Lin Changmin felt an itch in his heart. Before he could speak, Su Meiru stood up and said, "It's too late now, Second Master Lin. You should go. Come back another day." With that, she turned and left.
Lin Changmin was left stunned. He sat alone for a long while, realizing Su Meiru wouldn't return, and eventually left a five-tael silver ingot with a young maid, saying, "Keep this silver for your mistress to buy rouge and powder. When I come next time, I'll bring two bolts of satin." Then he stood up and left.When he returned a few days later, he was met with a closed door. The old woman guarding the entrance said Su Meiru had gone to the temple to burn incense. On his next visit, he was told she had left to visit relatives. This was Su Meiru's tactic. If Lin Changmin had initially regarded her with seventy percent interest, being so close yet unable to attain her made him value her at a hundred and twenty percent, growing increasingly desperate. It wasn't until his third attempt that he finally gained entry. Lin Changmin first presented her with a bolt of thirty-eight tael Songjiang broadloom plain white satin, two sets of clothing, and fifty taels of silver. Su Meiru received him with tender affection, this time holding her pipa and gently adjusting her silk sleeves as she sang "The Wind Falls the Mumes." After finishing the song, she toasted Lin Changmin. Overjoyed, he moved to embrace her, but she pushed him away, saying, "I am honored by Second Master's affection. Though I am but a drifting weed, I still have some pride. Currently, there are two paths before us—one long, one short. Which will you choose?"
Lin Changmin asked, "What are these two paths? What does the short one entail, and the long one?"
Su Meiru replied, "The short path: we enjoy one night of pleasure, and I repay your kindness to me. A fleeting romance—tomorrow we go our separate ways, you to your marriage, I to mine. Magistrate Han's son, Han Guangye, has already sent a matchmaker to take me as his second wife. Though he's only a Minor Official of the eighth rank, the Han family is quite respectable and well-off."
Lin Changmin said, "And the long path?"
Su Meiru stood up, took Lin Changmin's hand, and led him to a chest in the room. Opening it, she revealed half a chest full of antiques and treasures, along with various silks and satins. "I have more things like these," she said. "Not just these, but I also own another shop. All the furniture in this room is mine—this black lacquer bed carved with blessings and traced in gold alone cost twenty-six taels of silver. If you, Master, are willing to properly marry me, as husband and wife we would be one. All this would belong to both of us. Staying together forever, having children—wouldn't that be like being immortal companions?"
This chest of treasures truly made Lin Changmin's heart race with desire. Their branch of the family had always been inferior to the main branch, and Lin Zhaoxiang didn't think much of them. Although they didn't lack silver, Lin Changmin had the demon of gambling. After repeated losses, his silver was never enough. He could squeeze no more silver from his wife, Wang Shi, and currently had outstanding debts. Only in front of outsiders did he spend extravagantly to show off, but inwardly, every tael spent pained him greatly. Now, seeing Su Meiru so wealthy, he was genuinely tempted. Moreover, his wife Wang Shi was only moderately attractive and had aged poorly. She was also somewhat dull in social interactions, never good at reading people or understanding their feelings—nowhere near as graceful, clever, and gentle as Su Meiru. Yet he hesitated, saying, "The Old Master values reputation above all. After all, you came to this life midway—not originally pure—and were involved with my eldest nephew. If this gets out... Other things I'm not afraid of, but I fear my father—tsk—"
Su Meiru said, "What are you afraid of, Master? Just keep completely silent. We can feign one thing while doing another, handle matters quietly without anyone knowing. After a year or half, when I bear your child, how could the Old Master not dote on his grandson? Besides, since we're already like this, at most he'll scold you once—what more can he do? I've heard your current wife is meek and accommodating—she wouldn't be one to refuse tolerance."It is often said that lust clouds judgment and wealth stirs desire. These words set Lin Changmin's heart racing. In that moment, he cast aside all thoughts of his strict father above and his formidable nephew below, not to mention the family's reputation, tossing everything to the wind. He pledged undying love to Su Meiru and began to scheme with single-minded devotion, unaware of her true intentions.
The truth was, Su Meiru was ambitious and proud. Since becoming involved with Lin Jinlou, her standards had grown even higher. She looked down upon all her previous suitors, determined to marry into a wealthy and powerful family. Yet none of those who came forward met her expectations. Only Lin Changmin, now in his early forties, slightly plump, of average height, with dark skin and narrow eyes—an ordinary-looking man—possessed some charm. As a fifth-rank official, he was gentle, soft-spoken, and attentive in all matters. Lin Jinlou had once mentioned offhand that Wang Shi, the legal wife in the Inner Chambers, seemed rather ineffective, with a meek, tofu-like temperament—a wife who would be easy to control in the future. After much deliberation, Su Meiru concluded that no one was better suited than him. Secretly, she also harbored a desire to spite Lin Jinlou, and so she aligned herself with Lin Changmin.
Thus, the two eagerly made their plans. Su Meiru used her silver to secure the rented residence, while Lin Changmin spent silver on jewelry, clothing, bedding, curtains, and other necessities for the wedding. On the chosen day, Lin Changmin invited only two close friends and a few clansmen he was on good terms with, hosting a banquet to formally take Su Meiru as his concubine.
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