Lin Jinlou entered the city at exactly 7-9 PM. Guo Renjie led him to an inn, entering through the back courtyard and ascending to the second floor. Guo Renjie smiled and said, “One Young Lady is settled in this room, and another is next door…”
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Jinlou had already pushed open the door and entered. The room was elegantly furnished, with a candle lamp burning dimly on the table. On the bed, a girl sat with her legs pulled up and her head buried, her shoulders trembling, clearly crying.
Lin Jinlou hurried over, grabbed the girl’s arm, and called out, “Xianglan, Xianglan, don’t be afraid…”
The girl suddenly raised her head, revealing a face streaked with tears and swollen eyes – it was Zidai. Both were startled, but while Lin Jinlou released his grip first, Zidai began crying even harder, clutching Lin Jinlou’s arm and wailing, “Master! My dear Master, you’ve finally come…” Her grief overwhelmed her, and she sobbed uncontrollably.
Lin Jinlou, greatly annoyed, yanked his arm free and turned to leave. Zidai, fearing he would abandon her there, panicked and wrapped her arms around his waist. As Lin Jinlou stepped forward, she rolled off the bed but maintained her desperate grip on his legs, half-sprawled on the ground as she begged, “Please save me, Master… Please don’t leave your servant here…”
Lin Jinlou thundered, “Let go!”
Zidai refused, looking up at Lin Jinlou’s angry face with fear, but remembering how gently he had called out “Xianglan” moments ago filled her with bitter resentment. The grievances and anger she had bottled up for a day and night could no longer be contained. She thought to herself, “If it weren’t for Chen Xianglan, I might have already become a Mistress of the Lin family. How could I have nearly been sold to a brothel, losing my virtue and earning Master’s disgust? That night when I entered his room to serve him water, he didn’t send me away and even showed me kindness, his attitude had already softened…” Overwhelmed with resentment, she said through her tears, “Master only thinks of Xianglan, never noticing those of us who are truly loyal. She may be the one you cherish, and we wouldn’t dare compare ourselves to her, but Master doesn’t know that the great catastrophe at Qixia Temple was entirely caused by Xianglan!”
Lin Jinlou, already finding Zidai insufferable, became even more enraged at these words and kicked her, shouting, “Get lost!”
Though the kick hurt her arms, making her cry out “Ouch” and release her grip, Zidai immediately wrapped herself around Lin Jinlou’s leg again, crying, “Master, I speak the truth! One morning… I saw Zhicao carrying a silk pouch. She said Huamei had a dream where a deity told her to throw the pouch into Xianglan’s room to ward off disaster. Everyone knows Huamei uses talismans and witchcraft to curse people, so I kindly advised her not to do it. Zhicao left then. I thought that was the end of it, but soon after, smallpox broke out in Zhichun House. When they were burning Young Lady Yingge’s used clothes and bedding, I saw a silk pouch among the clothes. It was embroidered with a yellow bird in a unique pattern I’d never seen before, with five-colored cords tied to a green and white jade pendant carved with the character of ‘fortune.’ It was identical to the one Zhicao had been carrying – such an exquisite item couldn’t be found anywhere else in the entire household. I grew suspicious and later secretly sent someone to ask Zhicao, only to learn that she had indeed thrown that pouch into Xianglan’s room that day…” Her story mixed truth with fiction, and since Zhicao was already dead, Zidai completely absolved herself of any wrongdoing.
Her voice grew louder as she continued, becoming hoarse with emotion, “Master! Think about it – the pouch was meant for Xianglan’s room, so how did it end up in Yingge’s possession? That pouch must have contained lethal talismans or poison! Xianglan must have discovered it, but since Huamei had already left for home and only Yingge remained in Master’s quarters, she pretended to be friendly with Yingge while secretly plotting to harm her using the pouch. She didn’t show even a hint of mercy, causing so many deaths – she has the heart of a venomous snake! Yingge considered her a friend in vain…” Zidai broke down crying again. She had indeed seen the pouch among Yingge’s burned clothes, and its distinctive craftsmanship made it immediately recognizable. She had been shocked then, and when people in Zhichun House began dying, Zidai grew anxious and told Madam Han about it. Both aunt and niece believed that Huamei had hidden a malicious talisman to harm Xianglan, but Xianglan had turned the tables and killed Yingge instead.
“Young Lady Yingge had carried Master’s child, even if she wasn’t fortunate enough to keep it. Xianglan has enjoyed Master’s exclusive favor for so long without producing even an egg. Despite her dignified appearance, how could she not be anxious? As they say, ‘No one stays in favor forever, no flower blooms for a hundred days.’ With Master’s temperament, shifting from east to west, who knows when he might cast her aside? Moreover, if Master took a fancy to have Yingge serve him again and she conceived, wouldn’t Yingge end up outranking her?” Madam Han took a sip of tea and shared her shrewd analysis with her niece. “Tsk tsk, I knew she resented Yingge, but I never realized her thoughts could be so poisonous.”
“Auntie, do you think… should we tell the Madam about this?”
“How could we? There’s no proof, and making accusations would only bring trouble upon ourselves.” Madam Han glared, then pondered briefly. “Let’s hold onto this information for now. We can spread rumors after Master’s feelings for Xianglan cool down. She’s at the height of her influence now, so let’s not provoke that Buddha. Keep your mouth shut – this can’t leak out yet.”
Zidai was disappointed, and though she agreed verbally, she couldn’t contain herself. It felt like having a chest full of gold within reach but being forced to resist taking it. Having discovered Xianglan’s weakness but being unable to speak of it, watching Xianglan flaunt her power daily was like having her heart carved out. Now that she had finally spoken these words, she felt relieved but also anxious, and she secretly watched Lin Jinlou’s expression.
Lin Jinlou’s face was expressionless, though it had turned ashen. Suddenly he gave a short laugh and said in a chilling tone, “Good, very good, you’re certainly a loyal servant…”
His voice carried no kindness, and Zidai couldn’t help but shudder.
“You chose to say this now, not earlier or later… Good, good, good, I’ll remember your contribution.” Lin Jinlou said through gritted teeth, then called out loudly, “Hulai! Get a carriage and take this woman back!” With that, he strode toward the room next door.
In that room was Shutong, who had heard the crying and shouting from next door but couldn’t make out what was being said. She had grown anxious, and just then, the door burst open with a bang. Shutong was terrified, and when she stole a glance, she saw Lin Jinlou’s darkened face filled with murderous rage. Feeling guilty, she assumed Lin Dongxiu had told Lin Jinlou about their knowledge of the situation, and that Lin Jinlou was furious about it. Frightened to her core, she scrambled and rolled toward the corner of the room to hide.