Setting aside Xiang Lan’s illness for now, Lin Jin Ting had just returned from outside with a cloth wrapped around his neck. Frowning and cursing incessantly, he kept muttering “Bad luck.” As soon as he entered the main gate, he ordered the old servant woman: “Quickly, boil some hot water for Young Master! Damn it all, first time in my life getting scratched by some woman, taking a few pieces of my flesh! I’ll chop off her claws later!”

Liu Xiao Chuan followed behind him, chuckling: “Come on, Third Brother, with your fancy but useless moves, if it weren’t for your big brother protecting you, that pretty boy would have marked up your face. Now you just got scratched once, you should count yourself lucky.”

Lin Jin Ting, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, rounded his eyes and jumped up and down: “What do you mean, you protected me? You had ill intentions, hiding behind me to throw cheap shots! I took seven or eight hits for you, and I haven’t even settled that score with you yet!”

Liu Xiao Chuan said: “Big brother was looking out for you! Your scrawny body’s like a noodle, taking a few hits will help you grow stronger.”

Lin Jin Ting’s face turned red with anger as he pointed at the main gate: “Where did this troublemaker come from? Get out, quick! Just looking at you makes me angry!”

Liu Xiao Chuan said with a grin: “I won’t leave if I don’t want to. I’m here to see my Brother Lou.”

Just as they were causing a commotion, Xie Yu and Chu Da Peng walked in. Chu Da Peng said: “Alright, you’ve been at it until dawn, time to quiet down.” He then waved Ji Xiang over and asked: “How is your master?”

Ji Xiang smiled and replied: “He’s back and resting in his room. Has been for a while.”

Liu Xiao Chuan muttered: “Wonder which ‘cousin sister’ this is? Never heard of the Lin family having any cousins or sisters in Yang Zhou. Could it be Lin Ba Wang’s old flame? Heh, got to take a look later, wonder how she compares to that Xiang Lan in his household.”

Xie Yu lowered his voice: “This ‘cousin sister’ is most likely Xiang Lan herself.”

Liu Xiao Chuan was startled and whispered back to Xie Yu: “How is that possible? She… she’s already been in a brothel, why would Lin Ba Wang bring her back? Even if she wasn’t defiled, her reputation is ruined. Doesn’t it bother him?”

“Tch, you pig-brain, if it bothered him, would he bring her back like this? Didn’t you see how they covered her face and head with a coat when they left? This one’s special. In the middle of the night, when he couldn’t find her at the temple, he came straight to us for help. Even the Marquis of Yong Chang was involved.”

Xie Yu smacked Liu Xiao Chuan and continued: “Keep your mouth shut. If Lin Ba Wang says she’s a ‘cousin sister,’ then she’s a ‘cousin sister.’ If you let it slip, he’ll kill you.”

Liu Xiao Chuan rubbed his hands together: “Oh my, now I want to see this ‘cousin sister.’ What does she look like? Our Brother Lou has seen all sorts of beauties, why would he be so besotted with this one?”

As it happened, Yuan Shao Ren had been dining with colleagues at Yi Cui Pavilion when he spotted Du Bin, knowing he was formerly Lin Jin Lou’s guard. Since Lin Jin Lou had issued arrest warrants everywhere for this man, Yuan Shao Ren wanted to help but feared startling Du Bin into escaping again. He secretly had someone follow him, unexpectedly witnessing him scale the temple wall to capture Xiang Lan and take her to Yi Cui Pavilion. Meanwhile, Lin Jin Lou arrived at the temple only to find it empty. Shocked and angry, but worried about damaging Xiang Lan’s reputation if things got too public, he thought of Chu Da Peng and others who were in Yang Zhou handling salt affairs and went directly to seek their help. Upon hearing that Yuan Shao Ren was in Yang Zhou on business, he immediately sought him out. Once the situation was explained and the connections made clear, Lin Jin Lou immediately led people to Yi Cui Pavilion to find Xiang Lan.

Enough of the idle talk.

Xiang Lan slept for a long while, and when she awoke, her whole body ached and her head felt heavy. She was hungry and thirsty, surrounded by darkness. As she struggled to get up in her confusion, she heard movement beside her – a man was lying next to her, speaking in a hoarse voice: “Awake?”

Xiang Lan was startled and instinctively shrank back, her drowsiness instantly vanishing.

Lin Jin Lou turned over and lifted the bed curtain, hanging it on the silver hook. Night had already fallen, and it was unclear which watch it was. Lin Jin Lou lit the candle, poured half a bowl of warm water for Xiang Lan to drink, and called in the half-asleep little maid, instructing her to bring a bowl of porridge from the kitchen. The little maid was from Yang Zhou and didn’t quite understand Lin Jin Lou’s official dialect, requiring two repetitions before she understood.

Xiang Lan held the teacup with both hands, secretly glancing up at Lin Jin Lou. He had his middle garment open, wearing ink-black loose trousers, and was cursing: “What kind of maids did they buy, all stupid as pigs.” He turned his head to find Xiang Lan looking at him, their eyes met, and she immediately lowered her head.

Now that she had been found, Lin Jin Lou’s anger gradually subsided, though he still felt unsettled. He maintained a stern face as he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

Xiang Lan nervously drank her water, though the bowl was already empty.

Lin Jin Lou found it amusing and took the bowl from her, setting it aside. He said: “Since you’re awake, explain yourself properly. How did you get from Jin Ling to Yang Zhou?”

Xiang Lan became anxious upon hearing this. Lin Jin Lou was cruel and cunning; if he learned that Master Ding Su had helped her, there’s no telling what methods he might employ. If others were implicated because of her, how could her conscience be at peace? She would rather cut her own throat and die. But she couldn’t think of a better explanation on the spot. In her panic, she quickly grabbed Lin Jin Lou’s arm, pleading: “I… I deceived a former acquaintance, tricking her into sending me to Jin Ling to find my master. It was all my fault, it had nothing to do with anyone else.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Jin Lou’s anger surged again. He jerked his arm away from Xiang Lan and said through gritted teeth with a cold laugh: “Good, good, good, you did right by me!”

In the past, Xiang Lan would never have begged Lin Jin Lou, but now, to protect Master Ding Su, she gritted her teeth and reached for his hand again, speaking softly through her tears: “It was all my fault, Master, I beg you… I was always being harmed in the Lin household, nobody liked me, and life wasn’t going well, that’s why I thought of leaving… I didn’t have any other intentions, I just wanted to spend my life in the temple… I…” She couldn’t continue speaking, tears falling again as she wiped them with her other sleeve.

Lin Jin Lou stared at the small hand clutching his fingers for a while before finally saying: “Life wasn’t going well? You mean life with me wasn’t going well, right?”

Xiang Lan was frightened. Though this was the truth, she absolutely couldn’t admit it. She quickly shook her head: “No, no, no, that’s not…” But she couldn’t bring herself to lie and say she was happy being with Lin Jin Lou, so she choked up, tears falling.

Lin Jin Lou grabbed her hand in return, pulled her into his arms, held her, and patted her back. He took Xiang Lan’s hand and examined it in the candlelight, seeing that her once fair and delicate hands had become rough from doing manual labor at the temple, with a thin layer of calluses on her palms.