Lin Jinlou escorted Xianglan back to the east wing. Hua Mei had already left, while Qing Lan was napping in her room. Upon hearing of Lin Jinlou's arrival, Qing Lan hurriedly had Chun Ling help her out. Yet Lin Jinlou didn’t spare Qing Lan a glance, merely pointing at Xianglan and instructing the maids and matrons, "She hasn’t eaten yet. Later, when Shuran brings some food over, make her favorite soup."
Qing Lan’s face paled again, and Chun Ling quickly steadied her. Xianglan lifted her eyes, seeing the row of people standing in the room, each wearing expressions of shock and complexity. She couldn’t be bothered with what others thought and simply lowered her head in silence.
Lin Jinlou turned and pinched Xianglan’s cheek, saying, "Stay here for a couple of days. I’ll make arrangements." With that, he strode out. Spotting Qing Lan standing at the doorway, he paused and said, "Take good care of yourself. If you lack anything, tell the Mistress. If she doesn’t respond, come to me. Don’t trouble Taitai unnecessarily—the heat’s been hard on her health, and burdening her would be unfilial of me."
Xianglan heard it clearly: Lin Jinlou’s words were unmistakably angry at Qing Lan for stirring trouble and even dragging Qin Shi into it. By calling himself "unfilial," he was shifting the blame squarely onto Qing Lan’s shoulders.
Swallowing her grievances, Qing Lan gave a slight curtsey and murmured, "Understood."
Lin Jinlou then pointed at Xianglan again. "This girl is frail. Don’t assign her any more chores." With that, he lifted the curtain and left.
The room fell into silence. Xianglan turned wordlessly and retreated to her room, burying her face in the quilt. Before long, Shuran arrived personally with a red-lacquered food box containing several delicate dishes and a bowl of fragrant rice, fussing over Xianglan solicitously.
Soon, word spread throughout the Lin household: the Master had taken a fancy to a new maid. Xianglan of the Knowing Spring Pavilion had climbed to lofty heights and was destined for greatness.
Coincidentally, that very night, Lin Jinlou received orders from his superiors—bandits were wreaking havoc in a neighboring province, and he was to lead troops to suppress them. Thus, he hurried back to the barracks overnight. Upon hearing this, Xianglan breathed a sigh of relief.
The next day, the Knowing Spring Pavilion remained tranquil. Zhao Yuechan knelt in the ancestral hall for half a day before going to Qin Shi’s quarters to weep and lament dramatically. Qing Lan, having copied the Admonitions for Women ten times, returned from Qin Shi’s main rooms. Wu Mama spent half a day sitting with Qing Lan, and though no one knew what they whispered about, Qing Lan emerged with red-rimmed eyes but a slightly better complexion. The matter was thus brushed aside without further consequence.
Only Xianglan became an object of subtle scrutiny. Everyone kept their distance, treating her with wary respect, and even Xiao Juan spoke to her more formally. Xianglan spent her days sitting blankly on her bed. She wanted to seek out Song Ke again, but Lin Jinlou’s dismissive tone about the Song family made her hesitate. Knowing the Lin family’s influence, she feared implicating Song Ke. Torn between choices, she clenched her teeth and thought, If Lin Jinlou comes again, I’ll threaten him with death. If he isn’t heartless, he ought to give me a way out... May the Bodhisattva grant me escape from this pit of fire.
After a silent prayer, she took a few worn booklets, rebound them with indigo covers, and gathered writing materials to copy Buddhist scriptures in the garden pavilion. First, she knew she mustn’t lose composure—scripture copying would calm her mind. Second, it was a way to seek blessings for her future.Thus several days passed. On this day, Xianglan brewed a pot of tea and took her writing materials to the garden again. Amidst the birdsong and floral fragrance, she slowly copied scriptures for a while, then wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief. Suddenly, Xianglan realized summer had arrived—the delicate blossoms of spring had long faded, leaving only lush greenery in their wake.
Gazing at the scenery lifted her spirits somewhat. She noticed Chun Ling supporting Qing Lan approaching from a distance. Knowing Qing Lan harbored resentment toward her, Xianglan quickly gathered her writing tools to avoid them.
Unexpectedly, Qing Lan came forward instead, smiling at Xianglan: "I thought I saw someone here from afar—it turns out to be you."
Xianglan was taken aback, thinking curiously: "Concubine Lan usually ignores me completely—what's changed today?" Aloud, she replied: "The scenery here is lovely, so I came to copy scriptures."
Qing Lan reached out and took the booklet from Xianglan's hands to examine. The bold, unrestrained running script inside, vigorous and powerful, didn't seem like a woman's handwriting at all. Surprised, she exclaimed: "You have remarkable penmanship!"
Xianglan hurriedly tried to retrieve the booklet, saying: "It's just scribbles—not worth dirtying your eyes, madam."
Qing Lan pulled the booklet back, smiling: "What a coincidence—I've been wanting to copy scriptures recently to accumulate merit for the child in my womb. Since your calligraphy is so fine, why not lend me these completed scriptures?" Her words were disingenuous—the request to borrow scriptures was merely a pretext to smooth over appearances.
It turned out Wu Mama had advised Qing Lan: "If not for Old Madam Zeng's mourning period, with your pregnancy so advanced, the Master would have taken another woman by now. Even without Xianglan, there would be others. Why torment yourself over this? Now even Taitai is putting on a show of virtuous magnanimity—if you keep making difficulties, it will reflect poorly on you. If malicious tongues wag and anger the Master, the consequences could be serious. You should learn from Hua Mei's example of greeting people with smiles. Xianglan served you faithfully—ending in enmity would be unfortunate." Though resentful at heart, Qing Lan had taken this advice to heart, and her bitterness had somewhat faded these past days. Thus when she encountered Xianglan, she took the initiative to be friendly.
Xianglan had no choice but to agree, handing over one volume of completed scriptures to Qing Lan.
Just then, Chun Ling stepped forward: "Madam, the wind is picking up—the weather seems to be changing. Let's return home to continue talking."
Qing Lan looked up and indeed saw dark clouds gathering—rain seemed imminent. Nodding, she handed the booklet to Chun Ling and allowed herself to be supported back. Xianglan carefully packed the remaining scripture booklets into her bag, collected the teacup and writing tools, poured the remaining tea into the flowerbed, then hurried after Qing Lan and her maid—carrying the bag and teapot in one hand, several scripture booklets in the other, and clutching a somewhat worn silver-red python-patterned cushion under her arm.Who would have thought that on the garden path, someone came rushing from ahead. Chun Ling couldn’t dodge in time, and the two collided head-on. With a startled cry, Chun Ling, fearing she might bump into Qing Lan, leaned toward Xianglan, causing the booklet in her hand to fall to the ground. Xianglan’s feet slipped, and both of them tumbled down. Xianglan hurriedly shielded the teapot with her hands to prevent it from breaking, while the Buddhist scriptures in her other hand and the cushion under her arm clattered to the ground. The other person also let out an “Aiyo!” as she fell, the book in her hand dropping as well. She scrambled up and glared at Chun Ling, saying, “Trying to die? Running so fast—are you rushing home for a funeral?” After that, she bent down, grabbed the two fallen booklets, and ran off ahead.
Xianglan realized the person she had bumped into was Ying Shuang, a maid from the main household, and couldn’t help sighing inwardly at the bad luck. Chun Ling, however, sprang up and pointed at Ying Shuang’s retreating figure, cursing, “You little wretch! If you’d knocked into the concubine, you’d be dead for sure!” She added angrily, “I’m going to report this to Taitai!”
Qing Lan quickly intervened, “Alright, alright, don’t pick fights with the main household’s people. Let’s just gather our things and go back.”
Still muttering under her breath, Chun Ling collected the fallen booklets from the ground.
The tension between the main wife and the favored concubine was not something Xianglan would meddle in. Silently tidying up, she returned to the room with Qing Lan, and for now, no more was said.
Meanwhile, Qing Lan returned to the eastern wing, where Chun Ling arranged the teapot and stationery one by one. Qing Lan reclined on the bed, sipping tea, and said, “Bring me that scripture to look at.”
Chun Ling replied, “Concubine, are you really going to copy that tedious thing?”
Qing Lan sighed. “I might as well write a few lines to pass the time. Only the Bodhisattva understands my suffering now.” She took the booklet and flipped through it, only to find it wasn’t the Buddhist scripture Xianglan had copied. Instead, it contained entries like “loans,” “interest,” and “collections,” along with figures like “1,000 taels” and “300 taels.” Startled, she quickly closed it and asked Chun Ling, “This isn’t Xianglan’s scripture—did we take the wrong one?”
Chun Ling took the booklet and flipped through it, but being illiterate, she couldn’t make sense of it. Handing it back to Qing Lan, she said, “When we ran into Ying Shuang earlier, all three of us fell, and everything in our hands dropped. I remember Ying Shuang was holding two indigo booklets like this. We must’ve grabbed the wrong ones in the confusion. Should I go exchange them back?”
Qing Lan’s heart skipped a beat. After a moment of thought, she said, “No need. You may leave, and don’t let anyone else in. Don’t mention this to anyone. If the main household comes asking, just say you know nothing.” Chun Ling obeyed and withdrew.
Qing Lan opened the booklet again, flipping through page after page. She had some knowledge of bookkeeping, and as she skimmed, her shock grew. She thought to herself, “This ledger bears Zhao Yuechan’s seal and fingerprint—it’s undoubtedly hers. The sums recorded here are enormous; a rough estimate comes to seven or eight thousand taels. Her father was only a sixth-rank official before being promoted to Jinling’s assistant prefect last year. Her dowry couldn’t possibly have been this much, and the Master never entrusted her with his silver. During recent visits to Taitai, I overheard Hongjian and the others gossiping about how Zhao Yuechan embezzled and withheld household funds, leaving a huge deficit with no explanation for where the money went. So this is what she used it for—usurious loans! How audacious!”Qing Lan held the account book, feeling as if it were burning her hands. She thought to herself, "What should I do now? With the Master away, should I hand this over to Taitai?" But then another thought struck her: "That would be absolutely inappropriate. The Master has told me several times that once Old Madam Zeng's mourning period is over, if Zhao Yuechan knows what's good for her, he'll give her more silver and divorce her amicably. If not, he'll simply write her a letter of repudiation. When the Master hinted at this intention to the master and mistress, he was scolded severely. Last time, Taitai even said to me, 'I know Madam Zhao can be harsh, but she was properly married into this family. The Zhao family is thriving now, and Lou Ge’er’s father-in-law is currently favored by the court. Since Zhao Yuechan hasn’t committed any major faults, divorcing her would sour relations between the two families, affect extensive networks of interests, and damage the Lin family’s reputation. We mustn’t act rashly. This wife was brought in because of his willfulness—how can we let his willfulness cause even greater disaster by divorcing her now? You should advise Lou Ge’er more often in your daily interactions.' If I give this account book to Taitai, at most she’ll scold Zhao Yuechan behind closed doors. Even if she’s been lending usurious loans, Taitai would cover it up for the sake of the Lin family’s reputation. After all, the Lin family has plenty of silver—what’s seven or eight thousand taels to them? But... if I give this account book to the Master... He already despises Zhao Yuechan. If he gets angry, he might write the letter of repudiation on the spot. And once I give birth to a son..." Qing Lan placed her right hand on her swollen belly and bit her lip, thinking, "I was personally chosen by Taitai and brought in as a concubine from a respectable family. The Master dotes on me endlessly—even Hua Mei said that last time Taitai was upset with me, it was only because I overstepped my bounds, not because she dislikes me. If I really bear a son and the Master repudiates Zhao Yuechan, he’ll surely elevate me to the position of principal wife, and Taitai would be pleased too, wouldn’t she?Thank you to kiki the clever tiger and rk_owl for the sachets, Yan Sansheng for two Peace Talismans, and Maxibanxiao, yu21yu21, 120417111441325, 130707104612228, LMG, and Huaxi Yuexi for the Peace Talismans. I sincerely ask for your genuine subscriptions and pink votes Another update will follow later ^_^
OpenNovel