As they were speaking, Lin Jinting walked in from outside. Seeing the room full of sisters, he was momentarily stunned and hastily tried to retreat. Lin Dongling smiled and said, “Brother, why run away now that you’re here? We have hot tea, have a cup before you go.”

Lin Jinting stepped back outside and said with a smile, “I just came by to return Second Sister’s book. Yifei is waiting for me in the courtyard, so I won’t stay long.”

Lin Dongqi, Lin Dongling, and Lin Dongxiu’s eyes instantly lit up. Lin Dongling immediately asked in rapid succession, “Brother Song is here? Quick, invite him in!”

Lin Dongqi nodded repeatedly, “We’re all family here, what is there to fear? How can anyone come to my place without having a proper cup of tea?” She ordered the maids to invite him in quickly and personally carried out a pot of tea. All the young ladies, hearing the news, moved toward the door.

Lin Dongxiu, squeezed to the very back, muttered coldly under her breath, “Just moments ago, she was putting on airs as the legitimate daughter, showing no particular warmth, but now hearing that Young Master Song has arrived, she runs faster than a rabbit. Hmph! Shameless!”

Xiang Lan stood by the doorway, catching every word. She lowered her head to her chest, pretending not to hear. Looking up, she saw Qi and Ling surrounding an elegant and handsome young man, their faces showing slight blushes.

Lin Dongqi personally poured a cup of tea and offered it: “Brother Song rarely visits me, how can you just come and leave in such a hurry?”

Song Ke accepted the tea with just a smile. Lin Dongxiu said in a soft voice, “Brother Song has grown distant now that he’s older. When we were young, we used to swing in the courtyard together and solve nine-linked rings. Brother Song only visits Second Sister now, never coming to sit with me.”

Hearing this, Lin Dongling immediately frowned and stepped forward, pushing Lin Dongxiu behind her. She tugged at Song Ke’s sleeve: “Brother Song, you’re so close to my brother and you’re my cousin. Though I wasn’t in the capital when I was young and didn’t grow up with you, you shouldn’t show favoritism.”

Before she finished speaking, Lin Dongxiu had already swatted away the hand holding Song Ke’s sleeve. Lin Dongxiu said with a half-smile, “Third Sister, Brother Song is your cousin, not your real brother. It’s not proper to be so physically familiar.”

Xiang Lan sighed inwardly: “Just moments ago, Lin Dongxiu and Lin Dongling were united in snubbing Cao Lihuan, but as soon as this ‘Brother Song’ appeared, they immediately turned against each other. Ha! They say beauty causes trouble, but clearly, handsome men cause just as much!”

When Song Ke arrived, Lin Dongxiu secretly regretted not dressing more vibrantly. Though she looked dignified, compared to Lin Dongling, she lacked that striking elegance. Lin Dongling looked at Lin Dongxiu and regretted choosing convenience today, wearing no rouge or powder, her face too plain and her thick eyebrows not properly groomed with a razor, appearing masculine next to Lin Dongxiu. However, Lin Dongqi was quite satisfied with her simple attire today, as the Song family had always valued frugality, and times weren’t what they used to be. Her outfit was perfectly appropriate.

Song Ke smiled and said, “Today I came with Xiuhong. It’s natural for brothers and sisters to see less of each other as they grow up. Sisters, your concern for me is truly overwhelming.”

His words were met with a chorus of delicate voices. Song Ke took a sip of tea and said, “Today the estate sent over several baskets of early peaches. Though not as sweet as honey peaches, they’re still quite juicy. I’ve sent two baskets to your household, sisters should try them.”

Lin Dongxiu waved her hand, “No, no, Second Sister can’t eat peaches, even touching them gives her a rash.”

Lin Dongqi shot her a reproachful glance, saying, “You talk too much.”

Lin Dongling, however, said cheerfully, “Second Sister’s unlucky, but I love peaches. Send several plates to my quarters later.”

After more pleasantries, Song Ke said, “I have matters to attend to and won’t disturb you further. My sister is here, please take good care of her, sisters.”

Lin Dongqi immediately said, “Brother Song, speaking so formally makes us seem distant…”

Lin Dongling hurried to express herself: “That’s right, that’s right, I treat Tan Chai like my own sister. I was just saying, I have a box of excellent palace flowers that I’ll send over for her to wear.”

Lin Dongxiu then stepped forward, putting her arm around Song Tanchai’s shoulders, saying intimately, “Exactly, I was just saying Sister Tanchai should stay at the manor for a few more days and stay with me, so we sisters can talk more.”

Xiang Lan suddenly understood: “So Song Tanchai is that ‘Brother Song’s’ sister. No wonder the Lin young ladies were all trying to please her earlier. I wonder what background this ‘Brother Song’ has – he certainly appears talented and refined, looking like a dragon among men, though his attire doesn’t show signs of great wealth.” Her eyes fell to Song Ke’s waist, “Take his gold-woven belt for instance – it’s missing its agate. Instead of replacing it with matching agate or inlaying precious stones like ruby or red jade, he’s used an inexpensive red jasper. His clothes, though clean, show signs of wear. It seems his family was once wealthy but has fallen on harder times.”

As she pondered this, unexpectedly, Song Ke’s gaze swept over to her. Their eyes met, and Song Ke paused, then narrowed his eyes slightly. Xiang Lan was startled and quickly lowered her head.

Lin Jinting laughed and said, “Look at that, Brother Yifei becomes the center of attention as soon as he arrives, while I’m unloved, none of my sisters pay me any attention.”

Lin Dongling gave him a look, “You’re always hovering around us, we couldn’t avoid seeing you if we tried. Brother Song rarely visits, how could he not be more precious than you?”

Everyone burst out laughing, and Song Ke took the opportunity to exchange a few more pleasantries before pulling Lin Jinting away. Everyone followed to see them off. After watching the excitement, Xiang Lan turned her head to find Cao Lihuan standing beside her, face flushed, eyes gleaming, breathing slightly rapid, staring intently in the direction Song Ke and Lin Jinting had gone. At this moment, Hui’er returned, and Xiang Lan quietly called out, “Miss Huan, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now.”

Cao Lihuan finally came to her senses and told Xiang Lan, “Go to the back and find Ta Sha, Second Miss gave me a pot of flowers, you can carry it back.”

Hearing this, Xiang Lan turned back to the rear, where Lin Dongqi had given Cao Lihuan a pot of white magnolias, their fragrance refreshing and their petals crystal clear, like piled snow and carved jade.

Xiang Lan took a deep breath of the fragrance and carried the flower pot in a daze. She recalled how in her previous life because her name contained the character of “orchid” and she loved the noble and fragrant orchids, she had filled her rooms inside and out with various orchids – ink orchids, thoroughwort orchids, spring orchids, sword orchids, winter orchids, with plum-shaped petals, lotus-shaped petals, daffodil-shaped petals, and butterfly-shaped petals. They were everywhere – on doors, beams, windows, and tables in the hall, truly surrounded by flowers. Every spring when the magnolias bloomed, she would pick one to wear in her hair, letting the fragrance permeate her tresses. She and her maids would collect fallen orchid petals to make sachets and scented balls to perfume their clothes. These were all memories from her carefree girlhood in her previous life.

Xiang Lan left Hui Feng Study, turned onto the stone-paved path, walked a bit further, and then ducked behind a false mountain. Seeing no one around, she placed the flower pot on a nearby stone table and secretly picked a magnolia to pin in her hair, then bent down to look at her reflection in the lake.

The lake water was emerald and peaceful, reflecting a peach blossom face. The girl in the water was in the bloom of youth, with a magnolia adorning her temple – it was hard to tell whether the person made the flower more beautiful or the flower made the person more graceful and lovely. Xiang Lan knew this appearance was attractive, but since coming to the Lin manor, she had never properly adorned herself.

Her hair was always hastily combed and tied with blue or white ribbons, her clothes were mostly old, only in cyan and indigo colors. Only after Old Madam Zeng’s passing, when the household uniformly wore plain clothes, did she wear white garments.

But she too loved beauty, and now with no one around, she took out a peach wood comb from her pocket and let down her black hair, humming parts of “The Western Chamber” randomly: “Snow waves strike the distant sky, autumn clouds roll at heaven’s edge… East wind sways the hanging willow threads, flying silk entangles peach blossom petals, pearl curtains half-hide the lotus face… Empty with bone-deep lovesickness, how to face that departing autumn glance.

Don’t speak of young scholars, even an iron-hearted person would be caught in love’s trap…” When her hair was combed, she properly pinned the magnolia in her hair bun, bent down to look at herself from different angles, made a face, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Suddenly, a man’s reflection appeared in the lake water, silently standing behind her. Xiang Lan jumped in fright and quickly turned around to see Lin Jinlou standing behind her, staring directly at her. Xiang Lan became somewhat flustered, hurriedly stood up from the ground, straightened her clothes, lowered her head, and stepped back two paces, softly calling out, “Young Master…”

Lin Jinlou’s lips curled into a lazy smile as he stepped forward and asked, “What was that little tune you were singing just now? It sounded quite nice.”

Xiang Lan kept her head down, stammering, “I… I… just learned the tune from hearing others sing it casually.” Lin Jinlou was tall, and combined with his naturally imposing presence, Xiang Lan felt somewhat breathless and took another small step back.

Today, Lin Jinlou had originally been entertaining guests in the waterside pavilion at the front of the garden. The young masters who came were all sons of the capital’s powerful families, usually addressing each other as brothers. Now that they had come south of the Yangtze for sightseeing, he naturally had to host them. These young men had long heard of the famous Lin Manor’s Chang Garden and insisted on visiting. Lin Jinlou welcomed them to the front garden for a feast. Being in mourning for his great-grandmother, they couldn’t be too festive, so there was no music, only food and drink.

Finally seeing his guests off, Lin Jinlou was five or six parts drunk and wandered to the back garden. After winding around three or five times, he came to this area. Seeing the beautiful scenery, he walked slowly, faintly hearing someone singing a tune behind the false mountain. Stealing a glance, he saw a maid sitting askew on the ground combing her hair.

From a distance, he couldn’t make out her features, only seeing she wore a cyan jacket with a white skirt, and beneath the hem peeked out autumn-yellow embroidered shoes. Her figure was graceful and soft, her pitch-black hair falling to her waist. The girl’s voice was sweet and tender, making his heart itch with the desire to lift that hair and carefully look at her face.

Later, when the girl had done up her hair, a snow-jade face was revealed. Seeing her self-contentedly using the lake as a mirror, adorning herself with flowers, Lin Jinlou felt as if thousands of little hands were teasing his heart, and he could no longer contain himself, quietly walking over.