Half-asleep, Xiang Lan heard the door open and voices from outside. She was too exhausted and simply turned over to continue sleeping. Moments later, footsteps approached, and someone whispered, “Master, should the servants wake up Miss Xiang Lan to serve you in the bedroom…”

Lin Jin Lou replied, “No need.” He approached the bed and lifted the curtain to see Xiang Lan sleeping peacefully inside, wrapped in a thin blanket, her black hair spread across the mandarin duck pillow. Lin Jin Lou removed his shoes and got into bed, pulling back her blanket and sliding in behind her, embracing her. The fragrance that filled his nostrils brought inexplicable comfort to his whole body. There had been a minor incident that evening – one of his strong men had injured the prefect’s concubine-born son, though not severely. The matter could be either major or minor, but the prefect proved diplomatically astute, immediately sending an invitation through mutual acquaintances to dine at Yan Bin Lou, repeatedly claiming to be his father’s student. Given all the faces involved, he couldn’t decline. As the wine flowed, the prefect began calling him brother and brought in several heavily made-up famous courtesans to sing and pour drinks. He had to socialize for a while, and by the second watch, with his head swimming from drink, he finally took his leave.

Lin Jin Lou took a deep breath and tightened his embrace around the soft jade in his arms, then closed his eyes and fell into deep sleep.

Xiang Lan lay with wide eyes in the darkness. She had awakened when Lin Jin Lou got into bed but hadn’t dared to move. Lin Jin Lou’s body carried the smell of alcohol and powder – one whiff told her where he’d been. Xiang Lan told herself to endure it. The vast Lin household was at Lin Jin Lou’s mercy – even his parents couldn’t control him, so what could she do? He was tyrannical by nature and merciless when angered. Yesterday her stubbornness had earned her a slap, and her body still ached severely. Today he had publicly humiliated Luan Er, proving his words that “when I favor you, you’re the master; when I don’t, you’re less than a servant.” Xiang Lan knew she wasn’t unreasonable – living with such a fearsome man, why court trouble? Moreover, Lin Jin Lou was a true playboy, never staying faithful to women. In a year or two, when his interest in her faded, or if he found someone more appealing, he might seek new women. She would take things one step at a time – hadn’t she endured worse days before?

After comforting herself, Xiang Lan lay still for a while, lost in thought. Eventually, she closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. Her rest was uneasy, and she woke at dawn, still lying sideways in Lin Jin Lou’s embrace, having not turned over all night. Lin Jin Lou’s breathing was deep as he slept soundly. Xiang Lan carefully lifted his arm and slowly tried to get up, but someone grabbed her undergarment and pulled her hard, causing her to fall back into Lin Jin Lou’s embrace with a start. She heard a low laugh as he kissed her ear and neck.

Lin Jin Lou’s breathing grew heavy as he rolled on top of Xiang Lan, kissing her mouth while his hands roamed her body. Xiang Lan was startled and struggled free, mumbling, “No…” Her small hands tried to stop his, “No…”

Lin Jin Lou was panting as he looked up into Xiang Lan’s obsidian-like eyes. Tears were streaming down her face as she choked out, “I haven’t healed yet, I still need to apply the ointment today… I…” Her crying was truly pitiful, and her whole body trembled, clearly terrified.

Lin Jin Lou let out a long breath, his passion turning to ice. He meant to stroke the girl’s hair and comfort her, but when he raised his hand, Xiang Lan quickly shrank her neck, thinking he would hit her.

Lin Jin Lou felt frustrated. He got out of bed, lifted the curtain, and shouted, “Where is everyone? Are you all dead?” Xiao Juan had been on night duty and hurriedly rushed over when she heard Lin Jin Lou calling, scrambling to help him dress. She was already afraid of Lin Jin Lou, and in her haste made mistakes, further angering him. Fortunately, Lian Xin, Chun Ling, Nuan Yue, Ru Shuang, and several other maids came when they heard and helped Lin Jin Lou wash up.

Xiang Lan listened to the chaos outside while silently pulling the blanket back over herself, curling into a ball.

Lin Jin Lou put on his court boots and tucked his gold-decorated horsewhip into his belt. After drinking half a bowl of soup, he looked back at the carved bed with its scattered flower silk curtains hanging softly, wondering about the person inside. Lin Jin Lou silently gritted his teeth: “Ungrateful white-eyed wolf. I treat her so well, yet she doesn’t know how to serve or say anything nice. All she does is cry, as if I owe her money. If she’s truly not well, it’s not like I would eat her alive.”

Lin Jin Lou’s expression was so fierce that even the maids bringing breakfast trembled. Everyone kept their eyes down in complete silence. Lin Jin Lou ate hastily and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and stopped, asking, “Where’s Chun Ling?”

Chun Ling hurriedly ran over and stood with lowered hands: “Master.”

Lin Jin Lou said, “Go to the bedside cabinet in the bedroom and get the ointment jar with the yellow label for Xiang Lan. If she doesn’t get better, quickly call for a doctor.”

Chun Ling nodded repeatedly like a pecking chick: “Yes, yes, certainly.”

Only then did Lin Jin Lou stride away.

Meanwhile, Xiang Lan lay in bed for a long while, hearing the sudden quiet outside. She stared at the canopy for some time before Chun Ling stood outside and softly said, “It’s almost nine o’clock, Miss. Please get up.”

Only then did Xiang Lan rise, put on casual clothes, wash her face, brush her teeth, and apply face cream. Looking in the mirror, yesterday’s swelling had subsided, and a lovely face looked back at her. Chun Ling efficiently did her hair while Xiao Juan set several delicate dishes on the table, muttering, “The Master was so frightening, his face as black as Judge Bao this morning, his shouts louder than thunder. My goodness, my heart nearly jumped out!”

Chun Ling said, “You need to work on that panicked manner of yours – you upset the Master this morning.”

Xiao Juan thought to herself, “It wasn’t me who upset the Master, it was Xiang Lan.” She glanced at Xiang Lan, but Chun Ling knew her thoughts and glared at her. Xiao Juan stuck out her tongue and ran off.

Chun Ling brought a bowl of soup to Xiang Lan, saying, “Please eat something – you barely ate anything yesterday.”

Xiang Lan slowly drank the soup, ate a stuffed pastry, and had some vegetables.

Chun Ling felt relieved seeing Xiang Lan eat and turned toward the bedroom, where she saw Lian Xin and Ting Lan doing needlework at the bedroom door. Lian Xin, like Luan Er, had been given to Lin Jin Lou by the Old Madam and was treated as first-class in Zhi Chun Hall. However, Lian Xin kept to her duties as a maid and never approached Lin Jin Lou. Though she was neat and clean, her appearance wasn’t outstanding, so she gradually became unremarkable in Zhi Chun Hall. After Zhao Yue Chan left, Zhi Chun Hall suddenly became empty. The main house needed maids, so Lian Xin was promoted to manage alongside Shu Ran, though she always deferred to Shu Ran and only attended to her duties, never saying more than necessary. When people asked her things, she would shake her head claiming ignorance.

Ting Lan saw Chun Ling approach and quickly stood up, smiling, “What brings you here?”

Chun Ling said, “Before leaving, the Master told me to get the ointment jar with the yellow label from the bedside cabinet for Xiang Lan.”

Ting Lan didn’t know what it was and looked at Lian Xin, who started and then smiled, saying, “I know where that is.” She went in with Chun Ling and took out a small white porcelain jar from the elaborate black wood cabinet by the bed, handing it to Chun Ling with a smile, “Miss Xiang Lan is truly blessed. When the Master reported his old wounds had recurred after his military achievements, the palace rewarded him with several jars of ointment, said to be a tribute from foreign lands.”

Chun Ling sighed softly, “Ah, who knows if it’s fortune or misfortune. Xiang Lan… is good-hearted, easy-going, and not troublesome. She understands things clearly, she’s just too stubborn… The Master forced her to come to the mansion like making a cow drink water. When two stubborn personalities meet, how could it end well?”

Lian Xin, being friends with Chun Ling, also sighed, saying, “You should advise her more – what’s the use of opposing the Master? Who can handle his temper? Most people would avoid it if they could. When the Old Madam first sent me to Zhi Chun Hall, I was worried. Fortunately, Luan Er was ambitious, and I observed quietly. The Master’s favor changes direction like the wind – you should advise Xiang Lan to plan for the future. A woman’s life is already set this way, what else can be done?”

Chun Ling sighed repeatedly, talked with Lian Xin for a while longer, and then left with the ointment.

As she left the bedroom, she met Shu Ran coming by. Shu Ran glanced at what Chun Ling was holding and started. At this moment, Cun Xin stood outside making gestures through the carved window to Shu Ran, who had to go out and stand in the corridor asking, “What is it?”

Cun Xin said softly, “Sister, do you know about what happened at the dinner table yesterday? Miss Luan Er cried all night about it, threatening to hang herself or become a nun by cutting off her hair. I barely managed to talk her out of it. This morning we heard the Master returned and stayed in the east side room… Sister knows that when the Master goes out drinking, he usually returns in the morning. The Miss is jealous and upset again. I can’t calm her down, so I had to come ask Sister to go over.”

Shu Ran felt a headache coming on. Going with Cun Xin to Luan Er’s room, they found her sitting on the bed with disheveled hair, alternating between crying and cutting up a purse. Shu Ran went over to look and saw the purse was exquisitely embroidered. She sat on the edge of the bed and said, “Why are you cutting up such a nice thing?”

Luan Er threw herself into Shu Ran’s arms, crying, “Cousin… I have no face left!”

Shu Ran kept a stern face, saying, “How have you lost face? The face is what you give yourself! If you keep acting like this, I won’t look after you anymore!”

Luan Er was frightened and cried even harder: “When I was in favor, everyone gathered around me. Now that I’ve lost face, even you won’t care for me! Fine then, I might as well die!” Tears streamed down her face as she lay stiffly on the bed.