When Zhen'er saw Xianglan enter, she quickly bowed. Xianglan waved her hand and walked straight to the bedside, looking at Tan Luhua. Tan Luhua had a thick cloth wrapped around her head, half-leaning against the wall, covered with a somewhat worn floral-patterned quilt. Her face bore the pallor of illness, yet her cheeks showed no signs of wasting away, and there was no look of exhaustion. When she saw Xianglan, the corners of her lips curled into a faint smile, but she neither spoke nor made a sound.
Xianglan asked softly, "Are you feeling better?" Tan Luhua did not respond. Xianglan asked again, "Does your head still hurt? Is there any discomfort elsewhere?" Tan Luhua remained with that faint smile, saying nothing.
Xianglan couldn't help but glance at Zhen'er, who whispered, "For the first couple of days after Second Mistress woke up, she was just dazed. Later, she became like this, not speaking to anyone."
Xianglan took the medicine bowl and sat on the edge of the kang, saying to Zhen'er, "You may go. I'll feed Second Mistress her medicine." Xiao Juan and Hua Shan then led Zhen'er away.
Xianglan stirred the medicine with a spoon and silently fed it to Tan Luhua spoonful by spoonful. Afterward, she gave her a cup of warm water to drink, wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, and stared at her for a moment before saying quietly, "There's no use in idle chatter. You've committed a grave offense, and the Lin family can no longer tolerate you. However, they cannot bear to take your life. You will be sent to a nunnery in Baoding Prefecture. In the future, you can live in obscurity and peace, spending your days with the ancient Buddha and the dim lamplight—perhaps that is a life of tranquility and freedom."
Tan Luhua's expression remained unchanged, as if she hadn't heard a word.
Xianglan thought to herself, "Has Tan Luhua truly lost her mind? What a pity for such a clever girl... But perhaps this state of confusion is not entirely a misfortune." She sighed, took Tan Luhua's hand, and said, "Don't worry, I will personally oversee the packing of your belongings. You likely won't be able to take large items, but I will carefully pack your gold, silver, jewelry, and loose silver for you, so you'll have something to rely on in the future... The Lin family intends to send you away this afternoon. I came to see you one last time and share a few heartfelt words. I hope you take good care of yourself in the days to come." Only when Xianglan reached the end of her words did Tan Luhua's expression finally change.
As Xianglan stood up to leave, Tan Luhua grabbed her hand and said, "Wait, wait."
Xianglan turned back.
Tan Luhua said, "I beg you, sister, for the sake of our past friendship, to do me a favor."
Xianglan sat down again and said, "Go on."
Tan Luhua said, "Please send someone to the residence of Lord Dai at the Hanlin Academy and tell their Third Master Dai Rong which nunnery in Baoding I will be sent to. Ask him to come and fetch me. Dear sister, if you help me with this, you may take any of my gold, silver, jewelry, or loose silver that catches your eye."
Xianglan felt as if she had misheard and said, "Isn't it Dai Rong who reduced you to this state?"
Tan Luhua was taken aback and pleaded, "He only hurt me accidentally. That day, he knelt beside me and wept. Though I couldn't move, I understood in my heart... Dear sister, I beg you, we truly love each other, and our feelings are genuine. Please help us. He will surely come for me..."
Xianglan cupped Tan Luhua's face in her hands and said incredulously, "Have you gone mad? After what he has done to you, what sincerity is left?"Tan Luhua stared fixedly at Xianglan, gritting her teeth as she said, "His feelings are genuine! You don't understand—in this deep mansion, my days were just a lifeless, wretched existence until I met him. Just one glance from him makes the skies clear and waters blue, and flowers bloom in my heart. You don't know how many sweet words he's spoken, how many poems he's written for me, showing endless consideration and tenderness. He once said I'm the one he loves most in this life, wishing we could merge into one every day. Xianglan! If only we'd met before I was married—we absolutely cannot be separated!" She grasped Xianglan's hands, her eyes wide open, two clear trails of tears streaming down her cheeks as she pleaded, "I beg you." Struggling to rise, she tried to kneel on the bed and kowtow to Xianglan.
Xianglan quickly held her down, saying, "If you move again, I truly won't help you!" Hearing this, Tan Luhua finally quieted down, clutching Xianglan's hand and murmuring, "Please, help me this once. Do you know how I've endured these days lying in this filthy, stinking place? The only hope keeping me going is recovering to find my dear Dai. Yesterday when that old man from the Lin family came, no matter how harsh his words or oppressive his methods, I wasn't afraid. If the Lin family divorces me, it would suit my wishes perfectly—I could be with my dear Dai forever..." Her voice grew increasingly choked with sobs.
Xianglan looked at her, her heart a turmoil of conflicting emotions, feeling it utterly absurd. Part of her was angry that Tan Luhua, even in this state, remained blind to right and wrong and ungrateful, while another part pitied her for pouring her sincere affection into a futile cause. After a long silence, Xianglan finally sighed and said, "It's not that I won't help you, but that I can't even if I want to. The Dai family... has been executed to the last member for treason."
Tan Luhua turned pale with shock. "Impossible! How could that be!"
Xianglan spoke slowly, "It's absolutely true. You were ill during that time and didn't know. Dai Rong... has long been dead."
Tan Luhua's body went limp as she collapsed, her eyes vacant and staring, tears falling drop by drop. She murmured repeatedly, "How could it be... how could it be..." Half her spirit seemed to wither away. It was clear she had truly been thinking of Dai Rong every day during this time. Now, learning of his death was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky—the hope sustaining her snapped, and she could barely hold herself together. Covering her face with her hands, she wept bitterly, calling out "my dear Dai" between sobs.
Xianglan tried to console her for a while, but Tan Luhua was beyond listening. Eventually, she cried until her head throbbed with pain and fell into a deep sleep on the bed, tears still staining her cheeks.
Xianglan felt unsettled. After tucking Tan Luhua in, she got up and went out, where Zhen'er hurried to meet her, looking quite fearful. She was the young maid who had accompanied Tan Luhua as part of her dowry. Of the four senior maids with "Color" names who had come with Tan Luhua, some had died, others been sold—not a single one remained except her. Xianglan couldn't help sighing at the sight of the young maid, gently patting her shoulder and saying, "Take good care of the Second Mistress." She then ordered Xiao Juan to reward her generously.
On the way back, Hua Shan asked, "Is the Second Mistress any better?"
Xianglan heaved a long sigh and said, "No, she's still seriously ill." She lifted her head, gazing at the few wisps of drifting clouds in the azure sky, and suddenly asked, "Tell me, why is it that someone can knowingly treat you poorly, yet you still blind yourself and offer unwavering devotion?"Xiao Juan said, "Perhaps it's a debt from a past life, repaid in this one with foolish devotion."
Hua Shan remarked, "Surely that person must have treated her well at times, otherwise how could she cling to such infatuation?"
Xianglan shook her head. Whether Tan Luhua was genuinely deeply in love with Dai Rong, or whether her pride prevented her from admitting that her tender feelings had ultimately been misplaced—loving the wrong person—and thus she desperately convinced herself that she and Dai Rong were mutually devoted, Xianglan could not tell. Just as Tan Luhua knew in her heart that an affair was a disgraceful matter, yet to conceal it, she maintained a smiling silence in front of others, stubbornly feigning ignorance. Which of these it truly was, Xianglan did not understand. Matters of love and hatred are like drinking water—only the one who drinks knows whether it's warm or cold—how could they be spoken of to outsiders? It was just like her and Lin Jinlou, entangled and complicated; by now, whether it was hatred, affection, or love, even she herself could no longer clearly distinguish.
At the exact hour of Wei, a carriage departed from the Lin residence heading toward Baoding Prefecture. The next day, news spread through the Lin family that the second young mistress, Madam Tan, had died suddenly.
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