Xiang Lan glanced at Madam Qin’s expression as she served a cup of tea. She had heard the commotion outside earlier and knew something significant must have happened – otherwise, Madam Qin would never have caused such an uproar coming over in the middle of the night right after the ancestral worship. After a while, two elderly servants came in and ordered them to stay put, only allowing them to sit and wait in the room. Chun Ling was muttering to herself, and Xiao Juan wanted to go out to investigate, but seeing the stern faces of the two elderly servants, she abandoned the idea and dared not make any rash moves.

Seeing Madam Qin’s unfriendly expression, Xiang Lan became internally vigilant. After serving the tea, she stood silently to the side.

Madam Qin glanced at Xiang Lan and said coldly, “Such arrogance! I cannot accept tea served by you, lest people say I’m being impetuous at my age.”

Xiang Lan knew Madam Qin had never liked her, and since entering the household, she had yet to pay her respects to Madam Qin. Therefore, hearing these words, she felt no anger and simply lowered her head in silence.

Madam Qin asked, “How has Young Master Lou been these past few days?”

Xiang Lan chose her words carefully: “I rarely see the Young Master, but he should be well.”

Madam Qin raised her eyebrows and said, “Are you not supposed to be serving him closely? What do you mean by ‘should be well’ – are you trying to fool me?”

Xiang Lan replied, “Young Master rises before dawn to practice martial arts, and returns from his study past the third watch at night, then goes to sleep after washing up. I barely exchange a few words with him, though he appears to be in good spirits.” This was indeed the truth, although whenever Lin Jin Lou returned, he would chat with her about various topics like “vanguard cavalry,” “mandarin duck formation,” and “eighteen spear techniques” – things Xiang Lan neither understood nor had interest in, so she merely listened passively. Later, Lin Jin Lou would discuss the income from his shops and military expenditures, which shocked Xiang Lan with their enormous profits and costs, though she dared not ask for more. Eventually, Lin Jin Lou would discuss more refined topics like calligraphy masters and landscape paintings, which would catch Xiang Lan’s interest enough to comment, but the conversation would inevitably turn to which young actor could sing novel tunes or which courtesan could perform passionate ballads, even forcing Xiang Lan to learn to sing a few lines. Her briefly kindled interest would vanish like smoke, and thereafter she would only respond perfunctorily when Lin Jin Lou spoke to her.

Madam Qin’s eyes flashed like lightning as she looked at Xiang Lan, saying with a half-smile, “You’re quite the clever monkey, thinking I don’t know!” She then deliberately glanced at Nuan Yue and continued, “You’re not some unfavored maid who serves night duty in the outer rooms. Everyone knows Young Master Lou favors you now – how could you only exchange a few words with him? You can’t fool me!”

Nuan Yue bit her lip tightly, her hands clenched into fists inside her sleeves.

Xiang Lan felt great unease, thinking to herself: “There must be Madam Qin’s informants in this room. She even knows clearly about Nuan Yue being taken by Lin Jin Lou.” Growing more cautious, she said, “I wouldn’t dare deceive you, Madam. Things are truly as I said. If Madam doesn’t believe me, you can ask Lian Xin and Shu Ran. In my free time, I only do needlework, occasionally paint to pass the time, and walk around the back courtyard, rarely even going to the garden. With such a dull personality, I’m not particularly favored by Young Master, and he doesn’t speak much with me.”

Lin Jin Lou had always preferred clever and sweet-tongued women. Madam Qin believed this somewhat but still sneered, “I see you’re quite glib-tongued – hardly seems like a dull personality to me.”

Xiang Lan knew that at this moment, saying more would only lead to more mistakes. Madam Qin despised her, so anything she did would be wrong. If she tried to argue, it would only fuel Madam Qin’s anger. So she remained silent, keeping her head down as she stood to the side.

This was Chang Fa’s wife’s first time entering Lin Jin Lou’s room. Finding everything dazzling, she didn’t know where to put her hands and feet. She wanted to pocket a few items but feared Lin Jin Lou’s authority. Swallowing hard, she silently resented that none of this belonged to her, and made an even bigger mess while searching. Mother Wu was carefully searching through the trunks when she noticed Chang Fa’s wife pulling at the silk clothes from a bundle. Startled, she quickly stopped her, whispering, “What are you doing? These are Young Master’s clothes – how dare you rummage through them!”

Chang Fa’s wife said sourly, “Young Master’s? How could he wear such patterns? These belong to that little hussy. Tsk tsk, look at this fabric – it costs at least two taels of silver per foot outside. Young Master sure is generous!”

Mother Wu frowned repeatedly.

Chang Fa’s wife had never seen much of the world. She gained the Old Madam’s favor because she could make good soup, play cards, and was sweet-tongued and flattering, which led to Madam Qin giving her a respectable position. Though she treasured this and usually performed her duties diligently, she had small habits of petty theft. Since these were minor infractions, others usually turned a blind eye. So when Madam Qin called her today, seeing how she kept criticizing Xiang Lan and thinking about avenging Hua Mei, she became unrestrained.

Mother Wu quickly said, “Enough, don’t go too far. Haven’t you noticed even the housekeepers don’t dare touch anything? Just let Matron Han and me search.”

Chang Fa’s wife glanced at Madam Qin and pouted, saying, “If the Madam doesn’t mind, you needn’t worry so much.” She treated the warning as mere wind in her ears.

Mother Wu’s face turned bright red with suppressed anger.

Just then, they heard an “Ah!” Everyone looked over to see Matron Han pulling out a white cloth package from beside the bed and bringing it to Madam Qin. When Madam Qin opened it, she saw talismans drawn on it, along with words saying “Lin Jin Lou Die Without Descendants.”

Madam Qin trembled with rage, immediately slapped Xiang Lan, and threw the talisman in her face, pointing and cursing, “You vicious hussy! How cruel-hearted you are, wanting to curse my son to death!”

Xiang Lan was stunned. Looking down at the talisman, she immediately understood and quickly guessed most of what had happened, thinking to herself: “Someone is framing me, spreading the word about this talisman to let Madam Qin know, which is why she came to search so dramatically late at night. Luan Er and Nuan Yue don’t have the wit for this, and Ying Ge is too timid – this must be Hua Mei’s doing.” Her mind raced, thinking that if she accepted this accusation, Madam Qin’s fury might drive her from the household, which would be ideal. But thinking of Lin Jin Lou’s anger made her fearful – last time it was just about a fan, and Lin Jin Lou almost strangled her. If she admitted to making this death curse, that living demon Lin Jin Lou might destroy her entire family.

Madam Qin pointed at Xiang Lan while scolding others, “Lately I’ve been overwhelmed with various matters and may have been less vigilant, but are you all deaf and mute? Such a demon-like creature by Young Master Lou’s side, harboring intentions to take his life, and you all just let it be!”

Before she finished speaking, they saw Hua Mei enter. Upon seeing the talisman, she cried out and threw herself to the ground, wailing, “Oh, foolish sister! Even if you resent Young Master, considering his past kindness to you, how could you do something so unconscionable!”