Upon leaving the room, an elderly matron was waiting outside to escort Lin Jinlou to Zhushou Garden. Madam Qin sat on a couch holding a hand warmer, while her youngest son Lin Jinyuan was practicing calligraphy at a nearby table. When Lin Jinlou entered, Lin Jinyuan immediately dropped his brush, jumped down, and ran over shouting, “Big Brother!”
Lin Jinlou lifted Lin Jinyuan, then set him down and patted his head, smiling, “You’ve grown taller.”
Lin Jinyuan giggled. He was only six years old, with a robust face and chubby pink cheeks, his large eyes round and bright. Hugging Lin Jinlou’s leg, he asked excitedly, “Was fighting in battle fun? Mother said you use a big sword on the battlefield—I want one too! Also, take me horseback riding, I want to ride a big horse!”
Lin Jinlou nodded and smiled, “Alright, alright, I’ll take you later.” He sat down in a chair. Lin Jinyuan immediately wiggled his little bottom and climbed onto him.
Madam Qin said, “Yuan’er, don’t disturb us. I need to speak with your big brother.”
Lin Jinyuan pretended not to hear, his chubby little arms wrapped around Lin Jinlou’s neck, his feet swinging back and forth. Madam Qin had to order the wet nurse and maids to take Lin Jinyuan away. He refused to leave, clinging stubbornly. Lin Jinlou patted Lin Jinyuan and said, “Let him stay if he wants,” and tapped the child’s little nose.
Madam Qin dismissed everyone with a wave, then carefully studied Lin Jinlou’s expression before saying cautiously, “While you were at war, fearing it would distract you, we hadn’t told you some things…”
Lin Jinlou, while playing with his brother, replied flatly, “I know. Qinglan died, along with the child in her womb.”
Madam Qin exclaimed, “You knew?” She sighed repeatedly, “Well, it was Qinglan’s misfortune. You should offer some incense for her later, poor thing.”
Lin Jinlou lowered his head and mumbled an agreement.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Madam Qin cleared her throat and said, “My family has a distant relative, a girl of seventeen. She’s quite pretty with a gentle disposition. After the New Year, I can bring her for you to meet. If you like her, you could take her in—it would be good to have someone attending to you.”
Lin Jinlou glanced at Madam Qin while pinching Lin Jinyuan’s chubby cheeks and said, “We’ll discuss it later.” He paused, then added, “I intend to promote Huamei.”
“Huamei?” Madam Qin frowned. After Huamei’s house had burned down, she had disappeared without a trace. The Lin family hadn’t found her, and her family hadn’t come to make trouble, so the matter had been dropped.
“Yes, Huamei. Her brother sent her to me, and she’s been taking care of me alone while I was away working hard.”
Madam Qin’s frown deepened: “She went to find you without informing the family—how could this be acceptable?”
Lin Jinlou said, “I’ve already punished her for this. She won’t dare do it again.” He patted Lin Jinyuan’s bottom and set him down. The boy immediately ran off on his short legs to find his wet nurse.
Seeing Lin Jinlou’s protection of Huamei, Madam Qin dropped the subject and instead asked about the battles and if he had been wounded. Lin Jinlou answered everything, then inquired about family matters. Madam Qin replied, “Everything at home is fine, nothing unusual has happened, except that Ting’er failed the provincial examinations. Others might not mind, but though your Second Uncle hasn’t said anything, I can see he’s not happy.”
Lin Jinlou said, “Becoming a Provincial Graduate isn’t so easy—if you could pass it, and he could pass it, wouldn’t it be worthless? The third Brother is still young, he can try again later. Worst case, if he can’t pass, he can buy an official position—the family can afford it.”
Madam Qin said, “Your Second Uncle cares about face. The Song boy became the Provincial First, while Ting’er failed—the comparison is quite stark. He’s always wanted to impress your grandfather, but your grandfather just doesn’t think much of him. Now with Ting’er’s failure and your promotion, the Second Branch must be feeling uncomfortable. You should be careful with your words.”
Lin Jinlou laughed coldly, “If Second Uncle spent less time carousing and scheming outside, and more effort on proper matters, he wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Madam Qin sighed. She was on good terms with Second Madam Wang, who had cried to her several times about these matters. She could only offer some consolation. Mother and son chatted about other things before Lin Jinlou took his leave and headed to Zhichun Hall.
Zhao Yuechan swallowed her anger hard, not letting a trace of displeasure show on her face as she lowered her eyes to watch Xique lay out cushions while Huamei kowtowed submissively.
Huamei wore a gleaming gold phoenix hairpin with pearls, a cloud-patterned jacket of crimson satin with trimmed edges, a finger-width pure gold necklace, and gold rings with jade that were better and larger than those Zhao Yuechan wore. Her face was powdered and rouged, making her appear even more beautiful and carrying an unusual air of distinction. Standing next to Zhao Yuechan, one might not be able to tell who was the true First Madam of the Lin family.
Zhao Yuechan twisted the handkerchief in her hands tightly.
After completing her courtesy, Huamei stood up and said to Zhao Yuechan, “When my home caught fire, the Young Master happened to send someone to fetch me, so I went with them. Thanks to the Young Master’s favor, I was promoted to Concubine. In the future, I hope First Madam will teach me well.” Though her words were humble, they carried no trace of respect, instead bearing a hint of challenge.
Yingshuang’s eyes widened in anger. Zhao Yuechan nearly broke her fingernails against her palm but maintained a calm expression, saying, “You must have had it hard. The Young Master too—if he wanted someone to serve him, he could have told me. The family spent so long looking for you, thinking you were dead.”
Huamei smiled cleverly, “Thanks to First Madam’s blessed fortune, I was quite lucky to survive. My brother even earned some military merits and was promoted—that’s good news too.”
Zhao Yuechan pretended not to hear and said, “Now that you’re back and have received the Young Master’s favor, I’ve ordered people to prepare your quarters. Later, I’ll assign you a clever maid to serve you.”
Huamei immediately replied, “No need to trouble First Madam. When the Young Master returned, he said to give me the east wing. I’m not picky—the maids who served Concubine Lan before can serve me.”
Zhao Yuechan laughed coldly, “Concubine Lan had three maids specially assigned by the Madam because she was with child. Ordinary concubines only have one maid to serve them. Even giving you an additional young maid is against the rules. If you want the same treatment as Concubine Lan, you’d better work harder on getting pregnant.”
Huamei raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue, maintaining her smile as she said, “Oh, I see. Then I was presumptuous. Please don’t blame me, First Madam.”
Zhao Yuechan picked up her teacup and said sarcastically, “How dare I blame you? You don’t even respect the great Lin family—coming and going as you please without a word, putting on more airs than the Master and Madam. If I blamed you, wouldn’t I just be making trouble for myself?”
Huamei pretended not to understand and didn’t respond, keeping her smile.
Seeing Huamei’s thick-skinned attitude, Zhao Yuechan wanted to scratch her face but dared not act rashly while the situation with Lin Jinlou’s return remained unclear.
Just then, Lin Jinlou entered the room. Zhao Yuechan and Huamei both stood up. Lin Jinlou sat in the main seat and asked, “Is everything arranged?”
The question was directed at both Zhao Yuechan and Huamei.
Zhao Yuechan laughed coldly, “Of course, it’s arranged. Huamei says you agreed to let her live in the east wing and keep the maids who served Concubine Lan. It’s her good fortune if you want to promote her, and there’s nothing wrong with her living in Concubine Lan’s former quarters, but I need to ask the Madam about the maids. Otherwise, she might say I’m not following the rules.”
Lin Jinlou raised his eyebrows slightly and glanced at Huamei. He had agreed to promote her to concubine but had never mentioned giving her the east wing, let alone Concubine Lan’s former maids.
Huamei continued playing dumb, just looking down at the patterns on her skirt.
Zhao Yuechan continued, “Although Huamei left because the Young Master sent for her, you should have at least informed the family. Otherwise, this sets a bad precedent—today she leaves, tomorrow someone else leaves, where’s the discipline in the household? In the future, when I try to manage someone, they’ll say ‘even the Young Master’s concubine does this’—what am I supposed to do then?”
Lin Jinlou glanced at Huamei again. She had been sent to Zhejiang by her brother, but somehow this had become “Huamei was fetched by him.” She had shown her cleverness twice in front of him, and Lin Jinlou was displeased. However, Huamei had been gentle and attentive these days, taking care of everything properly, and she was good at sweet talk and making people happy. This had rekindled some of their old feelings, and since their romance hadn’t cooled yet, he wanted to save some face for Huamei, so he remained silent.
But this glance from Lin Jinlou chilled Huamei’s heart, and she dared not move.
The room fell silent.
Finally, Lin Jinlou spoke, “If you want to live in the east wing, you may. As for maids, follow the household’s standard rules. You should be punished for leaving the mansion without informing the family.” He glanced at Zhao Yuechan and said, “You’re the First Madam, you decide.”
Zhao Yuechan was startled, then delighted. Huamei never expected Lin Jinlou to say this and suddenly raised her head, her face showing complete surprise.
Zhao Yuechan struggled to contain her satisfaction and said, “Kneel in the ancestral hall for an hour, copy the ‘Women’s Instructions’ three times, and forfeit half a year’s allowance.” She thought to herself, “No matter how proud you are, I am still the First Madam of the Lin family. If you try to play tricks in front of me, I’ll make sure you won’t know what hit you.”
However, Lin Jinlou frowned and said, “Kneeling in the ancestral hall in midwinter seems inappropriate. Waive that punishment, but carry out the rest.” Zhao Yuechan heard his concern for Huamei and felt angry again. Huamei felt wronged but also received a warning. She had previously instigated Lin Jinlou more than once with exaggerated words about divorcing Zhao Yuechan. Though he showed a cold face now, he still respected Zhao Yuechan as the proper First Madam. She didn’t understand why someone as domineering as Lin Jinlou would yield to Zhao Yuechan, and she had somewhat dismissed Zhao Yuechan. Moreover, as Lin Jinlou increasingly valued her, she developed the courage to challenge Zhao Yuechan. But after Lin Jinlou’s warning just now, she immediately understood and submissively said, “Yes, I was wrong. I accept the punishment.” She rose to bow.
Just then, someone outside announced, “Young Master, First Madam, the Old Madam has awarded two maids. I’ve brought them here.”