The weather was fine and clear that day. Just as Xianglan was about to take the quilts outside to air them, she suddenly heard Cao Lihuan call out from the hall, "Xianglan, take these things to Da Nǎinai." She pushed a golden marigold foreign-lacquered wooden box on the table. "You must hand it to Da Nǎinai personally. Tell her it's from me—she'll understand when she sees it."
Xianglan nodded, confirmed the location, and carried the box out. Luoxue Courtyard was in the most remote part of the Lin family garden. Xianglan walked briskly along the long, secluded pebble path.
Spring was at its peak: the plantain leaves were deep green, bamboo leaves a rich jade, and peach and apricot blossoms blazed like rosy clouds. Birds sang intermittently among the trees, and a gentle breeze rippled the emerald pond. On the arched bridge, maids in bright reds and greens passed by from time to time—a scene where all things shone with vitality. As Xianglan admired the view, she felt her heart lighten.
Exiting the garden, the easternmost building was the Hall of Knowing Spring, where Zhao Yuechan resided. The hall was vast, with three tall, magnificent main rooms and four side halls, flanked by several east and west wing rooms. Xianglan entered the courtyard cautiously, finding it utterly silent. She called out several times, "Is anyone here?" but received no response.
Hesitating to enter the main rooms, she noticed a window on the right slightly ajar. She crept closer and peered inside. Zhao Yuechan sat on a crabapple-shaped carved wooden chair, with Yingshuang standing to her right. Two women knelt at Zhao Yuechan's feet: one, her head bowed, shoulders trembling as if crying; the other, her voice hoarse, sobbed, "Da Nǎinai, I truly didn't bump into Chunyan..."
"Zhicao, you clearly bumped into me! How can you deny it? Da Nǎinai, you must uphold justice for me," the woman who had been weeping looked up abruptly—it was Chunyan, the eldest daughter of Lu Ershenzi.
"Da Nǎinai, I was standing behind Chunyan, but I definitely didn't touch her. She stumbled forward on her own and bumped into Yingge..." Zhicao, a maid of thirteen or fourteen, trembled in her slender frame, weeping pitifully.
"Nonsense!" Chunyan glared at Zhicao, her pretty face contorted with fury. "You little wretch, spouting lies—aren't you afraid lightning will strike you?" As she spoke, she couldn't resist pinching Zhicao twice. Zhicao, unable to dodge in time, cried out in pain, tears streaming down her face.
Zhao Yuechan slammed the table and shouted, "Enough! Is this ever going to end?"
The room fell silent instantly. Zhao Yuechan turned her head and asked, "Yingge, are you feeling better now?"
Only then did Xianglan notice a beauty reclining on the Arhat Bed by the wall. She wore a pale turquoise gown embroidered with winter jasmine and a paired lotus gold hairpin, her face pale and delicate, like the legendary beauty Xizi clutching her heart in distress. Yingge placed her right hand on her abdomen and said tearfully, "I'm fine, but I'm worried about the child in my womb... Da Nǎinai, this is the Eldest Master's first child. If anything happens, how could I face the Old Madam and Madam?" As she spoke, two clear tears traced down her cheeks.A snicker came from the corner of the room. "Yingge, dear sister, everyone in this household knows Old Madam gave you to the Eldest Master. Must you keep bringing her up every time? Just rest assured—Da Nǎinai sees everything clearly and will surely clear your name." The tone was neither friendly nor hostile, laced with a sour, gloating undertone.
Xianglan followed the sound and saw a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl sitting in the corner. She wore a jacket embroidered with golden chrysanthemums in two shades, a large phoenix hairpin of pure gold with Ruizhu adornments in her hair, and a pinkish-red skirt with golden accents. Her face was oval-shaped, though her chin was somewhat too pointed, with bright eyes and white teeth, and a small black mole beneath her left eye. Her features were strikingly beautiful, and though heavily made up—a style that would appear vulgar on others—she carried it with remarkable elegance. She stretched out her hands as if impatient, examining her newly painted nails, while glittering gold bracelets accentuated the snow-white fairness of her wrists.
Xianglan thought to herself, "Among all the women in this room, aside from Zhao Yuechan's peerless beauty, she stands out the most. Her demeanor is that of a proper young lady, clearly not from an ordinary family."
"Sister Huamei, how can you say such things... I'm only worried about the Eldest Master's flesh and blood," Yingge replied with an expression of shock and sorrow, tears welling up once again.
Huamei appeared to be smiling as she covered her mouth with a handkerchief. "Enough of this pitiful act. Save it for the Eldest Master—it won't work on me. Don't you always feign chest pains or stomachaches to lure him to your room? Now that he'll be back soon, today's 'heaven-sent collision' gives you the perfect chance to weep and complain in front of him, to win more of his pity and affection. Perhaps tomorrow I should learn from you, Sister Yingge—stand in the rain, moan and groan in bed to summon the Eldest Master, and who knows, maybe I'll end up pregnant too..."
Zhao Yuechan said coldly, "Huamei, have you said enough?"
Huamei smiled sweetly. "I've said enough. I'll keep quiet." With that, she pulled a Target Mirror from her sleeve and began tidying her hair while gazing into it.
Xianglan nearly laughed aloud, thinking, "The Eldest Master has three Bedchamber Attendants: Chunyan, Yingge, and Huamei. Chunyan is lively and charming, Yingge is the picture of vulnerability, and Huamei is alluring and radiant. This room is filled with a dazzling array of beauties, each type well-represented. Add in the celestial Zhao Yuechan, and that scoundrel Lin Jinlou is certainly blessed with good fortune. But among these three, Chunyan is the most thoughtless, Yingge the best at acting, and Huamei is truly the most intriguing."
Zhao Yuechan fixed her gaze on Yingge and asked, "Did you see who pushed you earlier?"
Yingge lowered her head and shook it. "We had just left Da Nǎinai's room, and as I reached the steps, someone shoved me hard from behind. If Lei'er hadn't pulled me back, I would have fallen to the ground... But I still hit my stomach, and it hurts a little." She clutched her lower abdomen, furrowing her brows with a pained expression.
Zhao Yuechan said, "Just lie still. Yingshuang has already sent a servant to fetch the physician."
Suddenly, Zhicao burst into loud sobs. "Da Nǎinai, Da Nǎinai, it really wasn't me! I truly didn't push Chunyan!"
"Nonsense! It was definitely you! You shoved me hard from behind, making me bump into Yingge!" Chunyan pointed at Zhicao, her eyes blazing with fury."It wasn't me, it wasn't me, it really wasn't me!" Zhicao shook her head vigorously, sobbing so hard she began to hiccup, her earrings swinging wildly and hitting her face.
Chunyan trembled with rage: "I clearly saw your hands grabbing my clothes, and you dare say it wasn't you! I'll tear your mouth to shreds!" She sprang up and lunged at Zhicao.
With a startled cry, Zhicao was pinned beneath Chunyan's blows. The maids in the room gasped in shock and hurried forward to pull them apart. Yingge wore a cold smile at the corner of her mouth while clutching her stomach and moaning. Huamei sat in the corner, shrieking, "Oh dear, oh dear, this is terrible! Pull them apart quickly! Sister Chunyan, let go at once, don't beat that little maid to death." Her voice clearly carried laughter within it.
Xianglan stared wide-eyed; Chunyan's fiery temper truly inherited all of Lu Ershenzi's traits, resorting to violence at the slightest disagreement. Watching the two tussling on the floor with no one able to separate them, she suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder as a voice said, "What are you looking at here?"
Xianglan jumped, her soul nearly frightened out of her. Turning around, she saw a round-faced young maid standing behind her, beaming with a smile—it was Xiao Juan, the little maid she had met on her first day in the mansion.
Xianglan patted her chest and said, "It's you—you scared me to death."
Xiao Juan giggled, "What are you sneaking around looking at here..." Before she could finish, her expression suddenly turned serious. She pulled Xianglan aside and whispered, "Lower your head and stand properly." Xianglan hurriedly followed suit, bowing her head respectfully. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a tall figure striding briskly past without glancing their way, pushing the door open and entering the room. In a stern voice, he demanded, "What is all this commotion?"
As the saying goes, "One bird enters the forest, and a hundred birds fall silent." The chattering maids in the room immediately quieted down. Chunyan, still straddling Zhicao, hurriedly scrambled off upon hearing the voice, frantically tidying her disheveled hair bun. She stole a glance toward the doorway and murmured, "Eldest Master."
Zhicao remained half-lying on the floor, sobbing, her hair already torn loose by Chunyan, with hairpins and ornaments hanging haphazardly. An older maid went to pull Zhicao up, tugging twice before managing to help her to her feet.
Lin Jinlou stood with his eyes half-narrowed, his gaze sharp as a sword, slowly sweeping across the room. His mere presence exuded an intimidating pressure, making everyone feel breathless and instinctively step back. Finally, Lin Jinlou fixed his eyes on Zhao Yuechan and asked, "What is going on here?"
Zhao Yuechan raised an eyebrow and said, "Yingge was bumped into and says her stomach hurts. I had her rest here immediately and sent for a physician. At the time, Chunyan and Zhicao were standing behind Yingge. Chunyan claims Zhicao pushed her, causing her to bump into Yingge. Zhicao, however, says she didn't push Chunyan—that Chunyan bumped into Yingge on her own."
Lin Jinlou found a chair and sat down, his voice cold and hard as stone: "Has the physician been summoned?"
Yingshuang whispered, "Someone has already been sent to fetch him. He should be arriving soon."Lin Jinlou glanced at Yingge, whose pale face was streaked with tears. Seeing him look her way, she appeared even more pitiful, her slender brows furrowed as she gazed at him with pleading eyes, embodying an expression that seemed to say, "You must pity me." Lin Jinlou then turned to Zhao Yuechan: "You’ve stirred up such a commotion here, turning a formal inquiry into a full-blown brawl. Have you found out anything? Who exactly pushed Yingge?"
Zhao Yuechan fiddled with the red musk bracelet on her wrist, her expression indifferent. "I’m already uneasy in my conscience for causing such a scene. Yingge is carrying the Eldest Master’s flesh and blood, and she’s now the apple of his eye. The Eldest Master has repeatedly warned me to take extra care of her. If anything happens to this child because of this collision, I wouldn’t be able to atone even by hanging myself or slitting my throat. Forget a formal inquiry or a brawl—I’d even be willing to reenact Xiang Yu’s tragic end at the Wu River if it came to that."
Chunyan fell to her knees with a thud, sobbing, "E-Eldest Master, it wasn’t me who pushed her! Someone shoved me from behind, and I lost my balance and bumped into Yingge..." As she spoke, she shuffled forward, trying to cling to Lin Jinlou’s leg. But a single sharp glance from him froze her in place. She awkwardly dropped her hands, collapsing into a heap on the floor as she wept, still crying out, "I didn’t mean to..."
Yingshuang’s eyes flashed with severity as she stepped forward and barked, "Silence! The Eldest Master and Da Nǎinai haven’t spoken yet—how dare you interrupt!"
Chunyan flinched, shrinking her neck and falling silent.
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