Xiang Lan stood by the window and saw Lin Jin Lou holding the fan Song Ke had given her, instantly turning pale. The fan had been kept in her drawer. Yesterday, she had quietly taken it out, touching the delicate jade frog pendant while lost in thought. She remembered when at the Song residence, Song Ke was writing by the window. She had brought him a cup of lychee drink and brightened the candle with a silver hairpin. When she leaned in to look, she saw Song Ke had written a poem on the fan: “Cherishing spring, gathering dreams when flowers are late; Loving the thin clothes and low bun with grace. By jade railings, rouge faces the misty moon; Orchid’s deep feelings can bear yearning’s weight.”

She was about to laugh at Song Ke for writing such feminine verses when she realized it was an acrostic poem. Taking the first character of each line together spell out “Cherish Love Xiang Lan.” Her face had reddened then, her heart pounding like a little rabbit, her cheeks burning like fire, yet filled with an indescribable sweetness.

Song Ke had turned to her with a gentle smile, asking, “How do you like my writing? You always asked me to write a poem on your fan – do you like this one?”

What had she said then?

Xiang Lan found she couldn’t remember clearly. Her throat felt constricted. She didn’t dare open the fan, treating it like a hot potato as she hastily tucked it under some books and fled the room.

But today, Lin Jin Lou had found the fan. Xiang Lan rushed in, exclaiming, “That’s my fan, yesterday I…”

Lin Jin Lou slowly turned around, fixing her with an icy stare, his eyes cold and violent.

Xiang Lan’s heart trembled. She rushed forward to grab his arm, pleading, “Please, please return the fan to me.”

Lin Jin Lou pushed her away. As she fell against the desk, he held up the fan and sneered, “‘Cherish Love Xiang Lan’ – what a touching display of lovers’ affection. Too bad such a perfect pair of lovebirds has come to this. I hear Song Ke’s wife is with a child, and they’re so in love he hasn’t taken a single concubine. What a waste of your foolish devotion.”

As he spoke, he snapped the fan in half and crushed it to pieces in his palm.

Seeing the fan destroyed beyond recognition and hearing Lin Jin Lou’s words, Xiang Lan felt utterly hopeless. Though she no longer harbored unrealistic hopes about Song Ke, she couldn’t help but think of him. Their time together was a treasure in her heart, something she would secretly recall during her lonely days at the Lin residence to give herself courage, telling herself that someday she too would have someone’s gentle care. The fan was the only thing she had brought from the Song residence, but now Lin Jin Lou had destroyed even this small memento. Trembling, she rushed forward to grab the fan’s remains, clutching the jade frog pendant in her hand.

Lin Jin Lou hadn’t expected Xiang Lan to snatch the broken fan pieces from him, which only fueled his rage. When had he ever been treated with such disrespect? When had he ever needed to court a woman? She had completely humiliated him, and in the end, she valued Song Ke’s broken fan more than him!

Lin Jin Lou stepped forward and seized Xiang Lan by the throat, lifting her as he growled through clenched teeth, “Good, good, good, you ungrateful wretch, you’ve done me proud!”

Xiang Lan, like a weak kitten, felt dizzy and struggled feebly. Unable to breathe, she felt extreme distress as her consciousness began to fade. She felt she was about to die – perhaps not being able to take another breath would be a release, but what would happen to her parents?

At that moment, the young maid Hua Shan entered with tea, saw Lin Jin Lou grabbing Xiang Lan, and screamed, dropping her tray. The teacups shattered on the floor. Madam Xue came running at the sound and was terrified by what she saw. “Young Master, please show mercy!” she cried, rushing in to kneel beside Lin Jin Lou, pulling at his robe and sobbing, “Please be merciful! Spare Sister Lan!” She kept kowtowing as she begged.

Xiang Lan felt the grip on her throat loosen, and she collapsed to the ground, knocking over a chair.

Madam Xue threw herself over Xiang Lan, crying, “Sister Lan, Sister Lan, are you alright?”

Xiang Lan coughed repeatedly, seeing stars before her eyes, unable to speak through her labored breathing, her throat burning with pain.

Lin Jin Lou watched her coldly for a while, then slowly walked over and said cruelly, “I’ve been too good to you, making you forget your place. Let this be a lesson – next time, don’t blame me if I kill you.”

While Madam Xue still held Xiang Lan, sobbing quietly, Chen Wan Quan, having heard the commotion, had rushed over from the main hall. He stood at the window, peering in anxiously, wringing his hands and not daring to enter, sweating profusely.

As Lin Jin Lou strode out, Chen Wan Quan hunched his shoulders and pressed against the wall, wishing he could disappear. But Lin Jin Lou stopped and coldly told Chen Wan Quan, “Pack her things and send her to the Lin residence.”

He walked out, shouting, “Where’s my horse? Where’s my horse?! You useless beasts, can’t you see I’m leaving? Bring my horse!” Ji Xiang quickly ran to fetch the horse. Lin Jin Lou mounted and galloped away, with Ji Xiang and Shuang Xi hurrying after him.

Madam Xue, Chun Ling, and the others carried Xiang Lan to bed. Madam Xue pushed aside Xiang Lan’s hair and saw her neck was swollen with purple bruises from fingermarks. “What happened? Weren’t things fine just now…” she said, choking up.

Xiang Lan squeezed Madam Xue’s hand and shook her head. Chen Wan Quan came closer to look, then quickly left to send Hua Cai to fetch a doctor. He wore a miserable expression as if about to cry, unable to sit or stand still, repeatedly muttering, “What are we going to do? What are we going to do?”

Chun Ling had already ordered Hua Shan to bring a basin of cold water, and she applied a cold compress to Xiang Lan’s injuries. With tears in her eyes, she said softly, “Hadn’t Miss come to terms with everything lately? You were getting along with Young Master and had some peaceful days. Why has it come to this? Now that Young Master is angry, couldn’t you just coax him a bit?”

Madam Xue wiped her tears and said, “What if he loses his temper and takes your life? How could your mother go on living…”

Xiang Lan couldn’t speak but squeezed Madam Xue’s hand again, shaking her head.

Soon, Chun Ling brought a bowl of warm water and helped Xiang Lan take a few small sips. Her throat hurt too much to swallow, but fearing others’ worry, she forced it down, nearly retching. After she lay for a while, the doctor arrived. Chun Ling covered Xiang Lan’s face with a handkerchief as the doctor said, “Excuse me,” before examining her. He said it was an external injury and wrote a prescription before leaving. Old Lady Liu quickly took the prescription to get medicine, and soon Hua Shan was boiling it in an earthen pot in the courtyard, fanning the fire with a palm-leaf fan.

The Chen household fell silent. Xiang Lan lay in bed with medicine applied to her neck, slowly opening her palm to reveal the green jade frog. She didn’t know what else Lin Jin Lou might do, but since he hadn’t killed her earlier, she thought he probably wouldn’t take her life. He had been extremely angry, and this incident had likely disgusted him, which might have cooled his interest in her. Once her parents knew of her situation, it would be easier to plan her escape from the Lin family. She carefully reviewed her plans from recent days until her head ached and she grew drowsy. Suddenly she saw Xiao Hang enter, speaking of their marriage in a previous life, then he transformed into Song Ke, telling her, “In this life, I am married with child. Whatever feelings we had, let’s forget them.” In her daze, she replied, “Alright, forget it all, it was meant to be forgotten.” But her throat hurt too much to speak. She vaguely heard sobbing, and Madam Xue and Chun Ling’s voices drifted in and out.

“…Tell me the truth, child, did Young Master treat our Lan like this at the Lin residence too?”

“How could that be? Young Master just has this temper. Today must have been some misunderstanding that made him angry. He usually treats Miss very well, don’t overthink it.”

“How can I not worry… Today nearly scared me to death… Could you ask Young Master if I could come to the mansion too? I could sweep and wash dishes, anything to be near Lan…”

“What are you saying? You’re the Madam, how could you do such work…”

Madam Xue sighed heavily.

Xiang Lan struggled to sit up, and Madam Xue and Chun Ling came in when they heard movement. Xiang Lan looked, and Chun Ling withdrew. Madam Xue asked worriedly with tears in her eyes, “How did things come to this?”

Xiang Lan took Madam Xue’s cold hand and, her throat too painful for proper speech, whispered, “It won’t happen again.”

Madam Xue’s tears fell as she cursed angrily, “It’s all the Xia family’s fault! How could you end up suffering such abuse, serving such a brute? If you lose your life, what am I to do!”

Just then, Chen Wan Quan entered with a bowl of medicine, saying, “Daughter, the medicine is ready. Drink it while it’s warm.” He nudged Madam Xue aside and, with shaking hands, spooned some medicine into Xiang Lan’s mouth. Her throat burned terribly, but she slowly swallowed it. Seeing Xiang Lan’s color improve slightly, Chen Wan Quan felt somewhat relieved but sighed, “Why did Young Master suddenly become so angry? What did you argue about? Yesterday when Young Master visited, it was such an honor for us. Why couldn’t you control your temper and had to offend him?”

Madam Xue angrily retorted, “Nonsense! If not for you, how would Lan have ended up in his hands? Didn’t you see she nearly lost her life just now? No matter what wrong Lan might have done, he shouldn’t try to take her life!”

Chen Wan Quan sighed again and stood up, saying, “Young Master said you should return to the mansion. The Lin family has already sent a carriage. I’ll go prepare some money first, let you rest a while before going…” His eyes reddened as he left.

Xiang Lan thought to herself, “I can’t let my parents worry because of me.” She gathered her strength and, enduring the pain, drank all the medicine. As it went down, her throat felt cooler. After a while, she managed to say hoarsely, “I’m fine, Mother, don’t overthink it. He never did this at the Lin residence…” She continued, “Remember what I said, I’ll leave the Lin family eventually. After today’s incident, I understand better and won’t let myself be hurt again.” She then quietly gave Madam Xue a few more instructions.