Still shaken, Xiang Lan stole a glance at Lin Jinlou, whose face was covered with an eternal frost, bearing a venomous and fierce expression. His neck was rigid, his chest heaving forcefully as if trying to suppress a torrent of rage, his fists clenched so tightly they trembled.

Xiang Lan shrank further into the corner, her mind racing but unable to form any clear thoughts. Her head was foggy, unable to comprehend how Lin Jinlou had appeared so suddenly like a deity descending from heaven. After such frightening experiences, her whole body had become stiff as wood, yet she couldn’t stop trembling, her face cold and tear-streaked.

Lin Jinlou clenched his jaw, keeping his neck stiff and face turned away, not even casting a sidelong glance at Xiang Lan. He feared that one look at her would cause the fury in his chest to erupt, mixed with an inexplicable bitterness that made it even more unbearable, as oil poured onto burning flames, searing his heart and lungs.

The carriage was silent except for the creaking of wheels.

After a short while, the carriage stopped. Following the creaking sound of a gate opening, it moved forward slightly before stopping again. Someone respectfully said through the curtain, “Young Master, we’ve arrived.”

Lin Jinlou slowly exhaled, lifted the curtain, and stepped down. He turned back, holding the curtain with one hand while fixing his eyes on Xiang Lan. His gaze made her entire body go cold. With her limbs still weak, she obediently lowered her head and slowly crawled forward. Lin Jinlou grabbed her with a cold expression, pulled her close, tugged at the cloak wrapped around her, roughly covered her head, and carried her out.

After entering the house, passing through the main hall, and reaching the inner chamber, he finally set Xiang Lan down.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Xiang Lan hurriedly uncovered her face. She found herself in a bedroom with simple furnishings. Though not as luxurious as Zhichun House, all the furniture and ornaments were of fine quality. She didn’t dare look closely, fearing Lin Jinlou would settle accounts with her. She quietly slipped to the doorway, standing against the wall with her eyes fixed on the floor.

Seeing her act like a mouse before a cat, Lin Jinlou’s anger somewhat dissipated, though resentment remained in his heart. He said coldly, “Look at your foolish behavior. You deserve to sell your flesh in a brothel. If you hadn’t saved the Madam, I wouldn’t have been blind enough to get you out!”

Xiang Lan trembled slightly, a string of tears falling to wet the hem of the trailing cloak.

Lin Jinlou felt his chest tighten, and barked harshly, “What are you crying for? You have the nerve to cry!” He stormed into the inner room, pulling at his collar to loosen his inner garments. He didn’t want to scold her, but thinking of how she had run away and nearly lost her virtue, seeing her in such a disheveled state made him unable to control himself. Yet after his scolding, he saw Xiang Lan grow even more frightened, likely to curl into a tiny ball if she weren’t standing. Lin Jinlou closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and let out another long breath.

This was Lin Jinlou’s residence in Yangzhou, staffed with two young maids, two elderly women servants, two male servants, and an old man watching the courtyard. The two young maids, seeing their master return, had intended to serve him but, noticing his furious demeanor as he carried someone in, they all shrank back to avoid his wrath. When they saw Lin Jinlou emerge from the bedroom, they had no choice but to steel themselves and approach, offering tea and fruits.

Lin Jinlou ordered, “Prepare more hot water for bathing. Ask Jixiang for the calming medicine recipe and brew it.” The maids acknowledged the orders.

Lin Jinlou sat in an outer chair and drank a cup of tea. Once his emotions had settled, he returned to the room. He found Xiang Lan curled up against the wall, hugging her knees. His clothes were too large on her, her head still covered, like a cocoon deliberately isolating herself from the world. Lin Jinlou frowned, took two steps forward, and pulled Xiang Lan up, saying, “What are you doing sitting on the ground? Are you thinking if you catch a cold, I won’t punish you? Huh?” But then he met Xiang Lan’s terrified gaze as she frantically tried to dodge, raising one hand to protect her head and face.

Lin Jinlou froze, inexplicably feeling his heart soften, and stood staring at her without speaking.

Xiang Lan saw Lin Jinlou’s flickering gaze, noting his still-angry expression, and felt afraid. She now understood what Lin Jinlou looked like in true fury—compared to this, his previous cruel treatment of her seemed almost saintly. Considering his nature, he had treated her quite well, showing considerable restraint. With one punch he had crushed half of Du Bin’s face; remembering the “crack crack” of breaking bones still made her scalp tingle. She feared the tyrannical Lin might beat her in his rage.

Xiang Lan’s head throbbed, her body repeatedly growing cold, feeling nauseous. In her dazed state, she hoarsely said, “Please, Young Master, consider how I once saved the Madam… don’t beat me…”

Lin Jinlou looked at her swollen face beneath the disheveled black hair, noticing her tattered clothes under the cloak. The anger in his heart surged again as he gritted out, “Beat you? Count on your fingers how many times I’ve beaten you! Which of your current injuries did I cause? So in your heart, I’m always the villain who only knows how to beat you? Then I might as well give you a beating to deserve this evil reputation!”

Having spent some time with Lin Jinlou, Xiang Lan had some understanding of his temperament. Though he couldn’t be swayed by either soft or hard approaches, confrontation would certainly mean self-destruction. Though fierce and stubborn by nature, Xiang Lan was intelligent and had learned to be adaptable through her hardships. She spoke softly, “That’s not what I meant… I know you came to save me, I’m just very scared…”

Seeing Xiang Lan wiping tears, Lin Jinlou’s anger subsided further. After staring at her for a while, he suddenly pulled her into his embrace and held her, saying, “Scared? You’re fooling me, aren’t you? You’re so bold, daring to slip away from the mountain in the chaos. No wonder I couldn’t find you even after turning Nanjing upside down—you were enjoying yourself in Yangzhou. How happy were you these days away from me? Did you think saving the Madam and Fourth Miss meant we were even?” His voice was soft and gentle, yet carried an eerie coldness.

Xiang Lan hadn’t expected Lin Jinlou to settle accounts now, nor he had guessed she had escaped in the chaos. Her heart jumped again, and she quickly waved her hands, saying, “No, no, I didn’t run away on purpose…”

Lin Jinlou pressed his index finger to Xiang Lan’s lips, saying, “You weren’t enjoying yourself? But you lived well in that small temple, even doing some painting. I didn’t know little Xiang Lan was such a talented artist.” He stared into her eyes with an ambiguous smile, “Don’t try to fool me, I told you before your little schemes aren’t enough to deceive me. If you had wanted to stay, you could have hidden somewhere when the guards stormed the temple or returned to the Lin or Chen family after escaping. Instead, you ran away without a word. You ungrateful wretch—we’ll settle that account later. For now, tell me, who helped you?”

Xiang Lan’s heart sank, fearing she would implicate Master Ding Su. She bit her lip and dared not speak, just buried her face in Lin Jinlou’s chest and cried. Her body felt cold and increasingly miserable, Lin Jinlou’s voice seeming to come and go as her consciousness began to blur.

Lin Jinlou asked several more questions and waited, but seeing Xiang Lan silent and shaking severely, he finally noticed something was wrong. He carried her to the bed, reached out to touch her, and discovered her forehead was burning hot. He cursed under his breath, wrapped her in the diamond-patterned quilt from the bed, and rose to call for a doctor.

Lin Jinlou was robust, his body always like a furnace. When he left, Xiang Lan felt even colder. In her confused state, she grabbed his neck, murmuring, “Don’t go…”

Lin Jinlou had meant to pull her arms away, but hearing these words, he stopped. He stared at her face for a while, slowly lowering his hand.

Xiang Lan was falling into a daze, only knowing there was a warm furnace beside her. She clung tightly to it, having chaotic dreams. In her dreams, many people were chasing her, and she ran everywhere in panic but couldn’t move quickly. Then someone saved her, but his face was too blurry to see. Someone spoke in her ear, then silence fell, followed by bitter medicine being poured into her mouth. Perhaps because the medicine was too bitter, or because her heart was too anxious and hopeless, another tear leaked from her eye, but it was wiped away by someone’s finger. They awkwardly patted her back, seemingly trying to comfort her, but the force was too strong, making her feel worse. She began to struggle but was held immobile by a pair of arms. Feeling both wronged and miserable, she felt she couldn’t even sleep in peace, but she was truly exhausted and fell into a deep sleep with tears still on her face.

Seeing she had fallen into deep sleep, Lin Jinlou gently moved her arms away and got off the bed, covering her with another quilt. Xiang Lan’s entire face was swollen, tears still on her cheeks, and her red nose quite pitiful. Lin Jinlou stared at her sleeping face and laughed coldly, “Ungrateful wretch, heartless woman, now you’re feeling wronged!”

After a few curses, he found it pointless and sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. Only now did the joy of finding Xiang Lan emerge from his heart. For three months, day and night, each passing day had brought more despair. Until Han Guangye came running to say he had seen Xiang Lan in a Yangzhou temple, he couldn’t believe it, but immediately packed simply and set out, traveling day and night, constantly changing horses to reach Yangzhou. Along the way, he had wondered what he would do if it wasn’t Xiang Lan, and if it was her, why she was in Yangzhou. The more he thought, the angrier he became, but he couldn’t think it through, focused only on finding her. Now that he had found her, he didn’t know how to feel, wanting only to shout or hit something to vent his anger. But looking at Xiang Lan’s frowning sleeping face, he felt that as long as she was back in his arms, there was nothing left to fret about.

He stared at her face with a complex, indescribable expression.

Suddenly hearing the young maid timidly say, “Young Master, the hot towel is ready.”

Lin Jinlou finally came to his senses, said “Oh,” took the hot towel, and roughly wiped Xiang Lan’s face. He ordered someone to bring a box containing a milky-white ointment. Lin Jinlou scooped some out and applied it to Xiang Lan’s swollen face, whispering in her ear, “This time I saved you, so you still owe me. If you think we’re even, you’re dreaming.”