Xiang Lan cried for a while, and after her grief had somewhat subsided, she felt better. She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and slowly walked back. As her sorrow retreated, she realized that with Abbess Ding Yi gone, she had no reason to stay at Xian Sheng Nunnery.

Counting her silver and remaining jewelry, she had about a hundred taels in total. She thought to herself, “If I were a man, I could travel far away, establish myself in a distant place, and then return to fetch my parents. But as a woman, where can I go? And I have no one to help me.” After pondering for a while without reaching any conclusion, she took out a mirror and looked at herself, feeling she appeared too delicate – even in men’s clothes, people would recognize her as a woman.

She sighed again. In both her past and present lives, except for her time in exile and at the temple, she had spent almost all her time within the glittering walls of wealthy households. Realizing she only knew how to paint, write, and do needlework, knowing nothing else, she felt increasingly discouraged.

After spacing out for a while, she rallied her spirits, thinking to herself, “Don’t panic, don’t panic. When I was a servant in the Lin household, it seemed there was no way forward, but eventually, my family and I were freed. Later at the Lin mansion, though I suffered greatly, haven’t I escaped now? The path is walked one step at a time.” Her spirits lifted somewhat, and she spread out paper and dipped her brush in ink to write a memorial text for Abbess Ding Yi – but we won’t elaborate on that.

In the third month, spring clothes were thin, and the weather had already turned warm. One evening, near dusk, a person was walking hurriedly down the main street when, as fate would have it, melon seeds suddenly rained down from above. Looking up, he saw he was passing Yi Cui Tower, where a courtesan was leaning against the second-floor railing eating melon seeds.

She reclined sideways, revealing half of a lotus-like arm, her face perfectly made up, casting sidelong glances with her bright red lips spitting out melon seed shells. Their eyes met, and seeing the man’s handsome features and refined appearance, the courtesan giggled “puxi,” hiding her face behind a fan as she smiled and left, her manner truly seductive and alluring.

Seeing this, the man’s soul was stirred, and he unconsciously stepped into Yi Cui Tower. The procurer naturally received him warmly. The man was experienced in such matters, immediately producing two taels of silver and describing the courtesan’s appearance. The procurer smiled, “Master has good taste – experienced in matters of romance. That woman is our Miss Yan Er, the most famous here. This…” He made a money gesture, quietly extending his sleeve.

The man said nothing but took out five more taels. The procurer immediately beamed with joy and called out loudly, “Right away! Miss Yan Er will be here shortly!”

He led the man to the second floor, and soon after, Chun Yan indeed arrived. Seeing the man’s romantic bearing and dignified manner, she took a liking to him, using all her charms to attentively serve tea and chat. That night, she let him stay.

This man was none other than Du Bin! That day, when Du Bin knew his scheme had been exposed, not only would Lin Jin Lou want to kill him, but Lu Shao Tang would also want to silence him. Being crafty and treacherous, he had already prepared an escape route. He had a cousin who looked very similar to him, whom he had been keeping at his residence these days. When he left, he gave his best clothes to his cousin to wear out, while he disguised himself as a hunchbacked old man and secretly slipped away. His cousin unknowingly went to his death, stabbed in the heart, and thrown in the river. Because the body had only been in the water briefly, though the face was somewhat distorted, it was still barely recognizable, temporarily fooling everyone. Later, Lin Jin Lou naturally discovered this and was furious, sending people to hunt for Du Bin everywhere – but we’ll leave that for now.

During this time, Du Bin had been hiding everywhere, first staying with friends in Hangzhou for some days. But since that was still Lin Jin Lou’s territory, he felt unsafe and planned to head south to Fuzhou. On this day, he had just reached Yangzhou territory when he saw Chun Yan on the road. Du Bin had been deprived for a long time, and seeing this opportunity, naturally went in to enjoy himself.

Soon the room was filled with spent incense and tumbled red waves, thick with spring passion. After the deed, Chun Yan had already fallen asleep. Du Bin was half-awake when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door. He started, immediately sitting up and reaching for the sword by the bed.

However, he heard the procurer say quietly at the door, “Master Qian, Miss Yan Er can’t serve you tonight – there’s a guest in her room.”

Hearing this, Qian Wen Ze became angry and pointed at the procurer’s nose, cursing, “Bullshit! Didn’t I say she was to be reserved for me tonight? How did she end up staying the night with someone else?”

The procurer smiled apologetically and slapped himself, saying, “It’s all my fault, all my fault. I saw it was past curfew and you hadn’t come yet, so I thought… I thought you weren’t coming…”

Qian Wen Ze flew into a rage, kicking the procurer in the chest and cursing, “You tortoise son! Usually, all sweet talk, turns out you were just playing me!” He started shouting and banging on the door.

Du Bin was extremely annoyed. Lin Jin Lou’s authority was heavy and his influence vast. Though he had escaped from Jinling, he was still like a frightened bird – Lin Jin Lou had both legal and underground forces searching for him, and he had nearly been caught several times, making him increasingly cautious and unwilling to cause any trouble. Now hearing Qian Wen Ze’s shouting, he got up to dress and leave, but realizing it was past curfew and he had nowhere to go, meeting patrol guards would be even more trouble. He became increasingly anxious, regretting coming here.

At this point, the madam arrived and said to Qian Wen Ze, “Master Qian must have had too much to drink tonight, coming here to make a drunken scene. Yan Er is my daughter – where do you think all the money for her daily oil, powder, jewelry, and clothes comes from? Besides, this is a business of selling charm. Yan Er can sing and paint, she comes from a good family, and the whole Yi Cui Tower’s reputation depends on her! If Master Qian likes her, spend the silver to redeem her, and I guarantee you can hold her every night with no one to stop you.”

These words made Qian Wen Ze both embarrassed and angry. He sobered up somewhat and sneered, “Good, good, good, you bald-mouthed prison bag, turning against me now that you’re not using me to get silver? What beauties haven’t your Master Qian seen?” He wanted to mention Zhao Yue Chan to show off, but being clever, he held back and just snorted, “Never mind distant examples, just look at the young nun keeping her hair at Xian Sheng Nunnery – she’s as beautiful as a heavenly immortal and can paint excellently. That painting hanging in Yan Er’s room is her work. Don’t bother bragging about Yan Er’s singing and painting – even Mei Jun, the best painter among Yangzhou’s Eight Beauties, is nothing compared to her. In a few days, when I get her, you’ll see my capabilities.”

The procurer tried to smooth things over from the side, “We naturally can’t compare to your vast experience, master. Today we handled things poorly and failed to serve you properly. How about letting Miss Li serve you? Miss Li was just mentioning you the other day. Later we’ll send you a jar of fine wine, guarantee you’ll be comfortable…” His voice grew quieter until it couldn’t be heard. Presumably, he had coaxed Qian Wen Ze away.

Qian Wen Ze was still angry, but though Miss Li couldn’t compare to Chun Yan, she had some charm, and hearing about the wine, he finally left while still cursing.

Du Bin had heard all of this. Ever since seeing Xiang Lan, he had been as if possessed, unable to forget her, carrying a fire in his heart. Even while with the courtesan earlier, his mind had been full of Xiang Lan’s face. Knowing Xiang Lan had been a lay disciple at a temple and was skilled at painting as if guided by spirits, he got out of bed, lit the bedside candle, and held it up to look at the wall. Indeed, there hung a painting of Yang Gui Fei, shoulders half-exposed, lying on a couch in sweet dreams – fitting the brothel’s decadent atmosphere yet without appearing vulgar. Looking at the signature, there was only a seal with the character “Lan” in the seal script. Du Bin’s heart immediately stirred greatly.

Early the next morning, Du Bin went to Xian Sheng Nunnery but didn’t see Xiang Lan. He patiently waited another day until finally saw a hooded girl coming out the back door carrying a bundle of firewood. Her figure and the chin visible under the hood were exactly like Xiang Lan’s. Du Bin was delighted, thinking to himself, “This is truly heaven-sent destiny – she’s meant to be mine. Meeting such beauty after traveling thousands of li, is fate tying our red thread! If I don’t take her away this time, I’d be failing this destined connection.”

He thought to himself, “This Xian Sheng Nunnery isn’t isolated and has some reputation. There are men managing affairs here, so it might not be easy to take advantage. Better to find out where she stays, hide in her room, and capture her in the middle of the night – quietly, without anyone knowing. That’s a good plan.” Having some martial arts skills, he secretly slipped in, found Xiang Lan’s quarters, and hid himself.

That night, after painting for a while, Xiang Lan put down her brush and went to sleep. Worrying about her prospects, she couldn’t sleep soundly in bed. While half-dreaming, she suddenly heard a faint “creak” from the door. Before she could sit up, she smelled something sweet and overwhelming, and her head fell to the side as she lost consciousness.

Du Bin brushed aside the loose hair from Xiang Lan’s face and, in the moonlight, saw it was indeed the face as beautiful as an orchid – who else but Xiang Lan? Overjoyed, he dared not linger. He bound her hands and feet, gagged her mouth, wrapped her in a blanket, and tied her to his back. He had already left a rope on the outer wall, and with agile movements, he climbed over and escaped with his prize.

Du Bin had planned everything – he took Xiang Lan to Yi Cui Tower. Behind Yi Cui Tower was a row of rooms housing aged courtesans. Du Bin found one called Hong Gu and gave her five hundred coins in silver to empty her room for the night. Hong Gu naturally agreed and gave Du Bin the room key.

Du Bin placed Xiang Lan inside, and just as he laid her on the kang bed, suddenly there was shouting and cursing at the door. A woman cried out, “Terrible news! The guards are here!” Du Bin, guilty-minded, was greatly startled and hurriedly grabbed his sword and left the room to hide.

Xiang Lan had been groggy but was gradually regaining consciousness. Finding herself bound hand and foot with something stuffed in her mouth, she was terrified and struggled desperately but couldn’t sit up.

Just then, the door burst open with a “bang,” and Xiang Lan turned her face to look. She saw Chun Yan run in panic-stricken, quickly closing the door behind her. Outside came continuous sounds of breaking and cursing. Chun Yan’s face was deathly pale as she clutched her chest, saying, “That she-devil scared me to death. Fortunately, I ran fast enough.”

It turned out that two nights ago, when Qian Wen Ze had failed to find Chun Yan and was scolded by the madam, he felt he had lost face and harbored resentment, thinking he must teach them a lesson to ease his anger. Qian Wen Ze knew that recently Chun Yan had captivated the Prefecture’s Judge Lu, whose wife was Mrs. Zhou, daughter of a Hundred Households Commander. She had a very fierce temperament, like the proverbial “lioness from east of the river.” Judge Lu didn’t dare breathe a word before her, and the maids at home didn’t dare look twice. So he sought pleasure outside, previously being infatuated with a courtesan named Han Gui. When Mrs. Zhou found out, she directly led people to storm the brothel, smashing things and throwing Han Gui into a cesspit.

Qian Wen Ze had a relationship with a servant woman in Judge Lu’s household and leaked this information. Sure enough, Mrs. Zhou brought her father’s soldiers and stormed Yi Cui Tower in a fury, smashing everything in sight. Qian Wen Ze stood in the hall watching the scene with his hands in his sleeves, delighted to see the madam and procurer kneeling and begging. He picked up a wine jar and drank heavily, feeling as refreshed as eating cold watermelon on a summer day.

Chun Yan had been upstairs drinking with Judge Lu when he heard his wife had arrived. His legs went weak with fear, and he quickly slid under the bed to hide. Chun Yan, knowing the fierce woman’s reputation, was terrified. She hurried down the back stairs to the rear courtyard, saw Hong Gu’s room door ajar, and rushed in.

Seeing Chun Yan, Xiang Lan struggled even more violently, making “mmph mmph” sounds.

Chun Yan jumped in fright and carefully moved closer, staring at Xiang Lan for a while. She felt the face was familiar but couldn’t remember where she had seen it. She muttered to herself, “Where did you come from? Are you a new girl the madam bought? But… why would they put you here…” Seeing Xiang Lan continuously crying with pleading eyes, she removed the gag.

Xiang Lan gasped for breath and said urgently, “Chun Yan, Chun Yan, please save me!”

No one had called her “Chun Yan” for a long time. Her expression changed dramatically as she asked, “You know me?”

Xiang Lan said, “How could I not? I’m Chen Xiang Lan – we used to be neighbors.”

Chun Yan stared at Xiang Lan for a while before suddenly realizing, “Oh, oh, it’s you…” Her expression was complex – seeming sad, resentful, and somewhat gleeful at others’ misfortune. She said, “What, did the Lin family sell you here too?”

Xiang Lan quickly replied, “No, I was kidnapped here. Earlier someone entered my room and used knockout incense – I lost consciousness and woke up here.” Then she pleaded, “Chun Yan, please untie me.”

Chun Yan sneered, “Why should I help you? Why should I believe you?”

Xiang Lan was startled, then after a moment’s thought, her eyes cleared and she said, “Chun Yan, if you untie my hands, I’ll give you fifty taels of silver.”

Chun Yan thought Xiang Lan had been kidnapped to be sold and sneered, patting Xiang Lan’s face, “Are you trying to fool me? This is a brothel – if you had any silver, the madam would have taken it already. How could you have fifty taels to give me? Hmph!”