Lin Jinlou pushed Huamei away and asked with furrowed brows, “Why have you applied so much powder on your face?”
Huamei froze, then forced a smile and said, “I’ve always loved using powder and rouge. It’s become a habit – I feel uncomfortable without it.” As she spoke, she moved closer again, her soft bosom half-exposed, her eyes alluring. One hand undid her skirt, revealing slender jade-like legs, while the other hand caressed inside his clothes.
Lin Jinlou was enjoying himself, one hand kneading Huamei’s waist, but when he looked up and saw the thick powder on her face again, he found it increasingly off-putting. He impatiently waved his hand: “Go, go wash it off for your master. As they say, ‘A lotus emerges pure from clear water, naturally unadorned.’ Your face looks chaotic with all that makeup.”
Huamei remained seated on Lin Jinlou’s lap, not moving.
“Tsk, I told you to wash it off. Why are you still sitting here? Quick, go and wash it off, then come back to serve me.”
Huamei reluctantly stood up, shuffling in her embroidered shoes, dragging her feet as she walked to the washstand. Though she was dressed rather thinly, her palms were covered in cold sweat. She did not want to remove her makeup in front of Lin Jinlou. Ever since she had started keeping her hair up as a woman, she had learned to apply makeup skillfully – drawing eyebrows with ink, powdering her face with jasmine powder, and adding rouge to her cheeks and lips. She would often spend an hour in front of the mirror. Huamei found her powdered and rouged appearance much more striking than her bare face, and the layers of fine white powder covered all her facial imperfections. Gradually, she became afraid to see people without makeup. When with Lin Jinlou, she would apply even heavier makeup and never dared to wash her face. Fortunately, he usually came at night when the candlelight was dim enough to hide any flaws. She didn’t know why he suddenly brought it up today.
Huamei’s hand reached into the basin, but she hesitated to splash water on her face. Lin Jinlou was fond of beautiful, made-up women, and if he saw her bare face, she might lose his favor.
She turned around, forcing a smile: “The water in this basin has gone cold. I’ll have the maids bring fresh water. Why don’t we have some wine and food first, and I’ll wash up later when we retire for the night?”
Lin Jinlou paused with his wine cup in hand and looked up to ask, “What’s wrong? Afraid to wash? Could it be that under all that powder, there’s something on your face you don’t want anyone to see?”
Huamei’s face turned pale, but she forced another smile and said, “No, how could you say that, master? What could I possibly have to hide on my face?”
“Then why won’t you wash it clean? That painted face of yours is irritating me.”
“Master, you used to praise the color of rouge on my face… Alright, alright, I’ll wash it now…” Seeing Lin Jinlou raise his eyebrow, Huamei grew frightened and dared not argue further. Just as she was about to wash her face, with Xique holding up a large towel to cover her clothes, there was a knock at the door. Shuran stood in the doorway and reluctantly spoke up: “Master, the Old Master just sent someone over, requesting your presence for lunch tomorrow.”
Lin Jinlou was startled and rubbed his nose, thinking to himself that his grandfather rarely left his courtyard and even found it bothersome when children and grandchildren came to pay their respects. If he hadn’t heard some news, he wouldn’t have summoned him… but he hadn’t done anything out of line recently… In the family, he only feared Lin Zhaoxiang. The old man seemed able to see right through to his heart, and though he was old now, he was still like a fierce tiger. Though he often dozed, he still controlled the entire Lin family, and his decisions were always calculated perfectly, inspiring genuine awe in Lin Jinlou.
While he was lost in thought, Shuran continued: “Master, Luan’er has fallen ill. She’s burning with a fever and starting to talk nonsense. I’m afraid she won’t last until tomorrow morning – we should call for a doctor now.”
The room fell silent for a while. Shuran clenched her fists tightly and kept her head down, waiting. Finally, Lin Jinlou said, “Go ahead and call for one. Use the token to summon the doctor from Ji’an Hall, and have the old matron bring him in through the side gate.”
Shuran acknowledged and left.
Lin Jinlou threw his chopsticks onto the table and grumbled, “Truly, inside and outside the house, not a single thing gives me peace.” Seeing Huamei still dawdling over and washing her face while he was already irritated made her even more annoying to him. He stood up and returned to the main chamber.
Lianxin had already received word from Xique that Lin Jinlou would be spending the night in Huamei’s room but hadn’t expected him to return. Seeing there was still half a pot of warm water, she hurriedly went to heat more. Nuanyue rushed forward to help Lin Jinlou change his clothes, while Ruguang went to prepare the bed, and Tinglan led several young maids to prepare items for washing up.
Lin Jinlou complained that the water was too hot one moment, then that the tea wasn’t boiling the next, and scolded Nuanyue for being clumsy, saying she couldn’t even tie a simple waist knot. The maids in the room were all terrified into silence, not daring to make a sound, until Lin Jinlou finally waved his arm and said, “Get out, get out, all of you withdraw!”
The maids were greatly relieved and hurriedly dispersed.
Lin Jinlou lay down on the bed, thinking about Lin Zhaoxiang wanting to see him, and his mind became chaotic. He considered hiding in the yamen to avoid the meeting but then thought about what might happen if his grandfather became angry – even losing his head wouldn’t be enough to atone for such an offense, so he decided against it. He tossed and turned several times, growing increasingly anxious, cursed a few times, and then finally sat up. Not bothering to call for the maids, he quickly dressed himself and strode outside. The matron on night duty at the Shijin Pavilion hurried over to ask, “Where is the master going?”
Lin Jinlou made up an excuse: “There’s urgent business at the barracks, I must go out.” He walked quickly past the hanging flower gate. When the gatekeepers saw Lin Jinlou coming out, they rushed to wake up Jixiang and Shuangxi, saying, “Masters, quick, get up! The young master is going out!”
The two hurriedly dressed and came out to find Lin Jinlou standing at the second gate.
Jixiang wiped his face and approached, saying, “It’s so late, where does the master want to go?”
Lin Jinlou said, “The house feels stifling, I can’t stay. I’m going out for a walk.”
Jixiang and Shuangxi exchanged glances, and Shuangxi said, “It’s so late, there’s a curfew outside, and nothing much to see on the main streets. The only place we could go is the Yihong House. Master hasn’t been there in a while, and the madam there even sent over a five-colored mandarin duck handkerchief embroidered by Ruixian herself for you. She says Miss Ruixian thinks of you every day and has cried her eyes swollen.”
Lin Jinlou sneered: “Can you believe a prostitute’s words? Don’t give me the handkerchief, give it to Third Young Master – isn’t he the one pining for Ruixian?”
Hearing these words, Shuangxi knew Lin Jinlou didn’t want to go to Yihong House, so he suggested, “Then how about Yi Cui Tower? I hear there’s a new singing girl who knows the entire ‘Blue Cloud Romance’ set, and she’s said to be the most beautiful anyone has ever seen.”
Lin Jinlou’s face still showed no interest.
Jixiang found this increasingly unusual and quietly kicked Shuangxi. Watching Lin Jinlou’s expression, he smiled and said, “Those places are far, and it’s so late. The roads are dark, and even with lanterns, it’s difficult to walk. Why not choose somewhere closer? In my opinion, we could go to the Chen household to visit Miss Xianglan.”
Shuangxi stretched his neck and said, “The Chen house? Isn’t that even further than Yi Cui Tower?”
Jixiang quickly kicked Shuangxi again and continued smiling, “I think the Chen house is perfect. First, Miss Xianglan has been home for two days now and must be missing the master terribly. If Master visits tonight, it will show how caring and considerate you are – she’ll be moved and delighted beyond measure. Second, we can escort her back tomorrow during the day. Third, if we take the small paths, the Chen house is quite close. It’s just perfect.”
Lin Jinlou said, “Then prepare the horses, we’ll go to the Chen house.” Shuangxi and Jixiang ran off like the wind to fetch the horses.
The master and his two servants left through the side gate. Jixiang, being familiar with the route, led them to the Chen residence. Shuangxi went to knock on the door. By this time everyone was asleep, and the dogs in the courtyard started barking at the noise. The gatekeeper, Old Woman Liu, hurried to answer the door. Shuangxi called out, “Manager Chen, we’re from the Lin family, open up!”
Hearing these words, Old Woman Liu opened the door and held up a lamp. Seeing Lin Jinlou standing outside, she was terrified half to death and hurriedly invited them into the courtyard. The lights in the main house and the east and west wings also came on, and Chen Wanquan came out wearing his outer clothes. Seeing Lin Jinlou standing in the courtyard, his legs went weak, but he forced a smile onto his face and hobbled forward with his cane, stammering, “So, so, so it’s the young master visiting. Quick, come sit inside.” He then shouted, “Hurry, boil water for tea!”
Xianglan had also been asleep, but when she suddenly heard the knocking at the door and the commotion in the courtyard, followed by someone shouting “Young Master Lin has arrived!” she could no longer lie still. Thinking something must have happened, she quickly got up, threw on a thick cloak, and pushed open the door to look.
Lin Jinlou was still standing in the courtyard, and hearing movement, he saw Xianglan standing in the doorway of the side room. He walked over and said to Chen Wanquan, “Don’t trouble yourselves, Xianglan will attend to me.” With a push at Xianglan, he entered the room.
Chen Wanquan felt this behavior was improper and hesitated, but Jixiang, being observant, quickly pulled Shuangxi over to make small talk with Chen Wanquan. Chen Wanquan knew these two had considerable influence on Lin Jinlou, so he was very careful in his manner, asking, “Has the young master come so late to take Lan’er back?”
Jixiang smiled and said, “That won’t be necessary. It seems the young master will be staying here tonight. My brother and I will need to trouble Manager Chen for lodging as well.”
Chen Wanquan hurriedly ordered people to clean rooms and fetch bedding. Huacai went to tend to the horses, and it took quite a while before everything settled down.
As for Lin Jinlou, upon entering the room, he first noticed a warm, fragrant atmosphere that inexplicably put him at ease. Looking around, he saw a painting of the “Water Moon Guanyin” from the previous dynasty hanging on the opposite wall, flanked by a couplet reading “Orchid and bright moon, a dream in the wind; Deep courtyard and latticed window, rain at the third watch.” The above was written in the regular script “Jialan Chamber.” Below stood a long table with crystal vases on either side filled with large chrysanthemums, each as big as a bowl. In the middle of the table was a lotus-shaped incense burner, its incense nearly burnt out, with only the faintest thread of smoke remaining.
The windows were covered with red gauze, and on the left was an embroidered bed with bright green brocade curtains. Beside it stood a small red begonia table holding tea cups and a spittoon, with two low embroidered chairs in front of the bed, next to which lay pairs of silk handkerchiefs. By the window was a bamboo daybed with brocade cushions in the color of Princess Xiang, adorned with green cushions flashing with red, and several books scattered about – apparently left there by Xianglan after reading.
Lin Jinlou lifted the bed curtain and sat on the bed, reaching out to feel that the bedding was still warm. He couldn’t help but lie down, inhaling the subtle fragrance from the bedding. Xianglan entered from outside carrying a tray and seeing Lin Jinlou sprawled on the bed, she bit her lip and approached, saying, “Master, please have some tea.”