“…Third Young Lady claimed she wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t come, but I just saw her at Qiu Qiu Pavilion with a table full of fruits and pastries, eating and drinking while enjoying the flowers and feeding fish. She looked perfectly content. She’s not sick at all; she simply doesn’t want to come,” Shu Tong said while rolling up her sleeves to grind ink for Lin Dongxiu.

Lin Dongxiu, who was copying an inventory list with a brush, raised her eyebrows and sneered, “That’s just how Third Sister is. She’s stupid-looking, has no sense of propriety, and no good qualities. All she does is eat and sleep all day. She can’t handle household duties or needlework, can’t read or write properly – there’s not a single noteworthy thing about her.”

“Indeed,” Shu Tong said. “Just yesterday, I was talking about Young Lady with Sister Qiangwei from Madam’s quarters. She said that although the Young Lady appears gentle and quiet, she’s quite ambitious inside – a truly proper young lady with great spirit. Everything Madam assigns gets handled perfectly, surpassing all other girls. Only Second Young Lady, being born of Madam and personally trained by her, is somewhat better than average. But Young Lady, without anyone teaching her, is no worse than Second Young Lady – we’ve observed that she’s a notch above! Not to mention the First Young Lady who’s already married or the lazy Third Young Lady. Among the young ladies now, she’s truly at the top.”

Shu Tong was originally a second-class maid serving Lin Dongxiu. With Han Zhi above her always suppressing her, she felt her ambitions were stifled. Fortunately, a few days ago, Han Zhi was beaten by Lin Jinlou’s order and couldn’t leave her bed. With Lin Dongxiu lacking a personal attendant, Shu Tong’s opportunity arose. She knew well that Lin Dongxiu loved flattery and cared about status. These past few days, she had been carefully catering to Lin Dongxiu’s wishes and showing utmost respect, greatly pleasing her.

Lin Dongxiu’s face indeed broke into a smile upon hearing this. She put her brush on the rack and lifted her teacup, saying with a laugh, “You really shouldn’t be gossiping about me with Madam’s servants, especially comparing me with Second Young Lady. What if it reaches Madam’s ears? Who knows what might happen!”

Shu Tong smiled, “What could happen? The second Young Lady is about to get married, and Madam doesn’t have a capable girl by her side. Won’t she have to rely on Young Lady then? Besides, we’re all family – Young Lady still calls Madam ‘Mother.’ When Young Lady rises to prominence in the future, the family will surely benefit as well.”

These words struck right at Lin Dongxiu’s heart, making her beam with satisfaction. “You’re truly clever and understand what matters. You grasp such principles well.” She looked at Shu Tong, noting her blue satin jacket and water-red cotton gauze skirt, her square-round face, large eyes, and wide mouth, slightly yellow complexion with powder applied – not a beauty, but proper and quick-witted. She added, “I thought you were just a simpleton, but unexpectedly you have good sense.”

Shu Tong smiled, “Young Lady speaks truly – I am indeed simple-minded, but it’s all thanks to Young Lady’s good teaching. These days, seeing the Young Lady work so hard, going out early and returning late, studying and practicing diligently, even working with the abacus after returning – it pains our hearts to watch. I think, if such a clever person as Young Lady puts in so much effort, what more should we simple ones do?”

Lin Dongxiu smiled and took a sip of tea, then suddenly sighed, “What good is putting in the effort? It’s just bad fate that I wasn’t born from Madam’s womb. Someone unloved like me can only strive hard at everything. Look at Third Sister – she doesn’t need to do anything, naturally, her mother handles everything for her. I heard her father is planning to find her an excellent marriage match – how splendid. My father intends to match me with a scholar, saying it doesn’t matter if his family fortune is modest.”

Shu Tong smiled, “I don’t see anything so great about that. No matter how prestigious the family, with all the in-laws, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and younger sisters-in-law crowding around, there’s no peace. With the Young Lady’s beauty, if you marry a scholar, wouldn’t he worship you like a Buddha? That would be more comfortable than those prestigious matches.”

These words pleased Lin Dongxiu again, though she tried to contain her joy and changed the subject with a few casual remarks.

Soon, people from various quarters came to collect fabric samples. Lin Dongxiu had Shu Tong read out while she checked and marked with her brush. From Knowledge Spring Quarter came Shu Ran with two young maids. Lin Dongxiu quickly stood up and took Shu Ran’s hand with a smile, “Oh my, why did Sister come personally for such a small matter?” She hurriedly instructed, “Quickly get out the portion for my elder brother’s quarters.”

Shu Ran smiled, “I had nothing to do anyway, so I came for a walk and to see Fourth Young Lady. Yesterday, Master had someone bring two boxes of fine pastries from outside – all from Su Fang Zhai. I saved one of each kind for Young Lady and brought them over on a plate. Fourth Young Lady should try them – they might be better than what our kitchen makes, if only for the novelty.”

These pastries were sent home by Lin Jinlou for Xiang Lan, but she couldn’t eat much. After some thought, she selected several exquisite pieces, placed them in a painted box, and asked Shu Ran to personally deliver them. Recently, Xiang Lan had been regularly sending small gifts to Shu Ran – sometimes a hairpin, an embroidered half-sleeve garment, sometimes two bowls of fine dishes, various good things but always in small quantities, never appearing too precious. Shu Ran sometimes returned the gesture with one or two items, which Xiang Lan accepted, only to send even more valuable gifts next time. When inviting Shu Ran over for conversation, they only discussed whose embroidery was good, whose clothes were pretty, which maid was matched with which servant boy, and which young lady married into a noble family – never mentioning anything else. Shu Ran secretly praised Xiang Lan’s wisdom; though each gift was small, they came frequently, and as the saying goes, “those who accept gifts become indebted” – over time, she had accumulated quite a debt of gratitude to Xiang Lan. Yet she couldn’t say anything, knowing full well that Xiang Lan was Lin Jinlou’s favorite. She could only carefully please her. Xiang Lan seemed to want nothing, acting like a true heart-sister, holding her hand and asking her to visit often, then sending her gifts before leaving. After a few days, Shu Ran couldn’t sit still and took the initiative to visit Xiang Lan’s quarters, deliberately bringing up matters about Lin Jinlou. Xiang Lan would just smile quietly, listening to Shu Ran’s anecdotes about Lin Jinlou, occasionally praising Shu Ran and asking questions without leaving any trace. Shu Ran had initially been guarded, but Xiang Lan was truly beautiful and kind, so she gradually lowered her defenses and unconsciously revealed things she shouldn’t have. By the time she realized it was too late, Xiang Lan seemed to forget everything she heard, not appearing to keep anything in her heart.

Shu Ran couldn’t quite figure out what kind of person Xiang Lan was. To call her clever seemed wrong, as she frequently angered Lin Jinlou; to call her stupid seemed wrong, as she clearly understood propriety and the bigger picture. However, she could see that Xiang Lan was generous-hearted and wanted Luan Er to become close to her, but Luan Er stubbornly refused, saying, “What? You want me to act all pretentious with that concubine-born woman? I’d rather die!” When pressed further, she would get angry, so Shu Ran could only shake her head and leave.

Now having received a box of pastries from Xiang Lan, she tried a couple herself, and just then a maid came asking them to collect items from the storehouse. Shu Ran thought it had been a while since she’d seen Lin Dongxiu, and being naturally diplomatic in maintaining good relations with everyone, she brought the remaining pastries over.

Lin Dongxiu smiled, “How thoughtful of you.” She ordered Shu Tong to take the pastries and pulled Shu Ran to sit on the edge of the kang, exchanging pleasantries and warm conversation.

Lin Dongxiu asked, “How is Elder Brother? Is he still at the military camp and hasn’t returned?”

Shu Ran replied, “Indeed, I heard there’s unrest at the seaside again, so Master went to oversee the situation.”

Lin Dongxiu said, “Elder Brother is always so busy, we hardly see him.” She moved closer to Shu Ran and asked in a low voice, “What about that new one he took in? Is she still staying in the main room?”

Shu Ran replied, “Yes, she’s still there.”

Lin Dongxiu sneered, “That little vixen, just because she has a pretty face – she knows how to work her way up.”

Shu Ran said, “It’s not easy for her either, she often angers Master. Before Master left…” She paused here, feeling it inappropriate to discuss such matters with an unmarried young lady, and quickly stopped.

Lin Dongxiu pressed, “What happened before he left?”

Shu Ran vaguely said, “Well, she just made Master unhappy.” She thought to herself, “Xiang Lan was bedridden for several days and only yesterday could get up – it’s truly pitiful…”

Lin Dongxiu coldly snorted.

After chatting more with Lin Dongxiu about various matters, Shu Ran left with the young maids. Entering the courtyard, she saw Xiao Juan carrying a box of items toward the room and asked, “What are you doing?”

Xiao Juan replied, “Sister Xiang Lan said she wanted to paint, asking me to find some paper. When I brought some, she said it wasn’t right and went on about raw and processed paper – I didn’t know paper could be raw or processed! And then about brushes, wolf hair, and goat hair – how would I know the difference? I just found some things in the small storehouse and brought everything.”

Shu Ran looked and said, “These won’t do. I’ll find some good ones later.” She then entered the room with Xiao Juan.

They saw Xiang Lan sitting properly behind Lin Jinlou’s desk in the main room, wearing a peach-red jacket embroidered with gold bamboo leaves and five-colored floral patterns, and a moon-white silk gauze skirt, her hair in a simple bun – casual home attire. Her face wore no powder or rouge, yet she looked more spirited than in previous days. Before her lay a piece of paper with a flower already drawn on it.

Shu Ran stepped forward with a smile, “Oh my, you’re in such an elegant mood! Let me see what you’ve drawn.”

Xiang Lan smiled gently, “I’m just playing around with nothing else to do.”

Shu Ran picked up the drawing and clicked her tongue, “This is so well done – hardly just playing around.” She continued, “For these painting supplies, you should look in the boxes at the back. They’re all Master’s leftover items – all good quality stuff. There should still be a usable half. If you need anything, make a list and have the servants in the corridor buy it.”

Xiang Lan exclaimed in surprise, “Master’s leftovers?”

Shu Ran smiled, “When Master was young, the Old Master said his temperament was too fierce and feared he might cause trouble when angry, so he had him cultivate his character through music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Several teachers were hired to teach him, and people even came to request his calligraphy and paintings. Later, as Master became busier with official duties, he put these things aside.”

Xiang Lan thought to herself, “The Lin family has indeed been officials for generations. Their descendants, if not proficient in poetry and couplets, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, can at least discuss them competently. It’s not surprising that people would request calligraphy and paintings. In my previous life, my younger brother, who was somewhat skilled in calligraphy and poetry, had flatterers coming to request his work – but it was just to curry favor with their master. That brute Lin Jinlou, that unruly scoundrel, doesn’t have a single refined bone in his body.”