These past few days, Cao Lihuan and Hui’er had been whispering and discussing something in secret. They would stay locked in their room all day, and Cao Lihuan would frequently go wandering in the garden, usually returning only after a full day. With Huairui constantly sneaking out to play and no one constantly watching and scolding her, Xiang Lan felt much more at ease.

At noon that day, Xiang Lan was having lunch with Old Woman Liu in the tea room. After the meal, seeing no one around, Old Woman Liu quietly asked Xiang Lan, “Have you heard the recent rumors in the mansion?”

“What rumors?” Xiang Lan swallowed a mouthful of tea and thought for a moment before saying, “I’ve only heard that Second Madam wants to arrange a marriage for Third Lord Ting, but because we’re still in mourning for Old Madam Zeng, they’ve only been secretly looking at a few families… Also, the Master’s concubine, Concubine Lan, has been diagnosed with a two-month pregnancy…”

Xiang Lan counted several items on her fingers, but Old Woman Liu shook her head at all of them and leaned in mysteriously to say, “I heard that Third Lord Ting and Miss Huan have taken a liking to each other!”

“Ah? That… that’s impossible!” Xiang Lan was shocked. “How could Third Lord Ting take a liking to Miss Huan? She’s not even particularly beautiful, her family background isn’t worth mentioning, and she’s three years older than Third Lord!”

Old Woman Liu slapped her thigh: “That’s what I said! Earlier when an old sister asked me about this, I broke out in a cold sweat. But now people in the mansion are spreading rumors. Some say they’ve been seen walking together in the garden, reciting poetry; others say they’ve seen Miss Huan giving Third Lord a pouch, and both their faces were red, looking lovingly at each other; some even say they saw Third Lord wiping tears while looking at fallen flowers because he was thinking about Miss Huan’s upcoming marriage… The rumors keep getting more fantastical – they might as well say they’ve seen the Third Lord kissing the Young Miss!”

Xiang Lan grew increasingly alarmed as she listened, but couldn’t help laughing at the last part. She said, “Mother, why worry about this? It’s the masters’ business either way, it has nothing to do with us.”

Old Woman Liu said, “How can it not concern us? What if the rumors turn out to be true, or if Miss Huan takes advantage of the situation to trap the Third Lord? What will happen if she becomes a mistress of the Lin family?”

Xiang Lan played with her dress ties, saying carelessly, “Mother, that’s exactly what Young Miss is plotting. She’s quite bold, not afraid of losing everything in trying to get ahead.”

Old Woman Liu sighed repeatedly and said, “These things are hard to predict. If she manages to trap the Third Lord, with her status, she can become a favored concubine in the Lin family.”

Xiang Lan said, “You think the Madams are vegetarians? Once she’s in, they can manipulate her even more easily. They could simply say her health is poor and send her to the countryside estate to ‘recover’ – for decades if needed. No matter how capable or vicious she is, what trouble could she cause then?”

Old Woman Liu blinked and looked at Xiang Lan with a suppressed smile: “Oh my child, I thought you were just a sick kitten before, but to hear such words from you – you’ve truly surprised this old woman.”

Xiang Lan smiled without speaking. She had seen schemes ten times more vicious than this. Though Cao Lihuan’s tactics weren’t sophisticated, they were effective. She was quite willing to risk everything, even destroying her reputation, in pursuit of the Lin family’s wealth and status.

As they were talking, they heard Hui’er calling from outside: “Xiang Lan! Xiang Lan!”

Old Woman Liu cursed: “Can’t even let people rest right after lunch!”

Xiang Lan sighed, put down her cup, and got up to go out. Hui’er gave her a sideways glance and said, “Miss Huan wants to see you in her room.”

Xiang Lan went to the room where Cao Lihuan handed her an envelope, saying pleasantly, “Take this to Woyun Court and give it to Third Lord Ting.”

Xiang Lan’s heart skipped a beat, and then she secretly sneered, thinking that Cao Lihuan was quite calculating, making her handle such private exchanges. If anyone investigated the rumors later, they would certainly trace it back to her, and she wouldn’t be able to clear her name even if she jumped into the Yellow River. She didn’t take the envelope, hesitating: “Miss, this is…”

Cao Lihuan was very impatient and wanted to scold her, but suppressed her temper and maintained her smile, saying, “These are poetry drafts. The third Lord knows about this, just take it and give it to him. Make sure to hand it to him personally, and hurry back.” Unexpectedly, she then gave Xiang Lan a handful of money.

As Xiang Lan left the room, she walked while secretly harboring resentment, thinking: “I already despised Cao Lihuan extremely, and now she’s trying to use me in this scheme. Since I particularly dislike her petty behavior, now that it’s in my hands, I definitely won’t let her succeed!”

As Xiang Lan walked slowly, thinking, she left the garden. From the corner of her eye, she saw Huairui following her from a distance, which made her laugh coldly inside. After leaving the garden and turning past a gate was Woyun Court where Lin Jinting lived. Xiang Lan stepped in and saw a young maid watering flowers in the courtyard. She went forward to greet her: “I’m Xiang Lan from Luo Xuewu. Miss Huan sent me to deliver something. Is Third Lord in?”

The maid glanced at Xiang Lan and said, “Third Lord is talking with Young Master Song inside.”

Hearing this, Xiang Lan felt it was exactly what she wanted. She quickly said, “Then I shouldn’t disturb them. Could you tell me which senior maid serves the Third Lord? Miss Huan said this is something important and should be given to someone trustworthy.”

The maid looked at Xiang Lan again and went inside. After a moment, the door curtain lifted and a girl of fifteen or sixteen came out. She had a peach-shaped face with apricot cheeks, somewhat pretty but not extremely beautiful, with a dignified bearing. Her oval face was fair, with curved eyebrows almond eyes, and slightly high cheekbones. She wore a plain white embroidered jacket and moon-white skirt, with a pearl-threaded hairpin in her hair and white jade ginkgo leaf earrings – dressed quite elegantly like a young lady.

Xiang Lan was immediately alert – such attire indicated a status far above that of a first-class maid; she must be one of the Third Lord’s “personal attendants.” The maid said, “This is Sister Suju. Tell her what you need.”

Xiang Lan smiled eagerly and said, “Hello, Sister Suju. I’m a house-born servant who recently entered the mansion, called Xiang Lan. I now serve in Luo Xuewu, and Miss Huan asked me to give this to the Third Lord.” She handed over the envelope.

Suju held the envelope and looked Xiang Lan up and down several times, saying, “I understand. I’ll give it to the Third Lord later.”

Xiang Lan noticed the young maid had gone to water flowers elsewhere, so she said to Suju: “Young Miss sent me to deliver this letter, and I feel it’s inappropriate. Miss Huan insisted I give the letter to the Third Lord personally, which seems even more improper… But as servants, we have no choice. Third Lord is of marriageable age now, and I’ve heard some rumors about Miss Huan and Third Lord. I hope Sister Suju will consider this carefully.” With these words, Xiang Lan first established that she was a Lin family house-born servant with no connection to the Cao family, then subtly indicated the impropriety of the situation. Anyone clever enough would understand her meaning and could either warn their master or report to the Second Madam, both to be prepared and to help clear Xiang Lan of involvement.

Suju was startled, never expecting Xiang Lan to say such things, and hesitated: “You… what do you mean?”

Xiang Lan’s heart sank, thinking perhaps Suju only had a pretty appearance. She had spoken so directly and clearly, yet Suju still couldn’t understand. Feeling frustrated, Xiang Lan smiled slightly and said, “Sister Suju, although I serve Miss Huan, I’m still a Lin family maid, and my loyalty lies with the Lin family.”

Suju stood there blankly, still looking confused. Just as Xiang Lan was about to speak again, she saw Song Ke come out from inside, his face showing some pleasant surprise: “Why are you here?”

Xiang Lan curtseyed and said, “Greetings, Young Master Song. This servant came to deliver something.”

Song Ke had just opened his mouth when he saw Suju standing nearby, so he said to her, “Xiuhong says he wants to eat milk jelly, you should go in.” Suju, who had been feeling uncomfortable since Song Ke came out, hurriedly went inside. Song Ke smiled at Xiang Lan and said, “I haven’t seen you for several days. What have you been doing?”

Seeing Song Ke’s familiar manner, as if they had known each other for a long time, Xiang Lan felt somewhat headachey. If he had been flirtatious or arrogant, she could have acted distant and cold, but Song Ke’s attitude was modest, and he often wore a warm smile that was impossible to dislike. She sighed and said, “Nothing much, just sewing every day.”

Today Song Ke wore a dark green satin straight robe with floral embroidery, an eight-treasures belt at his waist, and only a bat-and-cloud hairpin in his hair, making him appear even more elegant and graceful. He smiled at Xiang Lan and said, “Your needlework is good. When you have time, make me a case for my Four Treasures of the Study.”

Xiang Lan smiled falsely and said, “Young Master Song has so many maids, they can surely make one quickly and well.”

Song Ke smiled and said, “Their skills aren’t as good as yours. Look at the pouch you mended – I carry it every day, and even my mother couldn’t tell it had been repaired.” He pointed to the pouch at his waist to show Xiang Lan.

Xiang Lan could only respond perfunctorily: “Then I’ll do it when I have time.” As she was about to leave, a thought struck her, and she said to Song Ke, “Young Master Song, today Miss Huan sent me to deliver a letter to the Third Lord. She said the letter contained some poetry and repeatedly instructed me to give it to the Third Lord personally.”

Song Ke’s expression changed slightly, but he quickly smiled again, nodded, and said calmly, “And then?”

“I felt this was inappropriate, but as a maid, I couldn’t make decisions. I just gave the letter to Sister Suju. At noon today, I also heard some rumors about Third Lord and Miss Huan – the implications don’t need to be spelled out.” Xiang Lan took a deep breath. “I just told Sister Suju that since I’m a Lin family maid, my loyalty lies with the Lin family, which is why I spoke up…”

Song Ke was still smiling slightly as he interrupted her: “I understand. I’ll have Xiuhong take the letter to the Second Madam later. This matter won’t implicate you.”

Only then did Xiang Lan breathe a sigh of relief – talking to clever people was indeed easier. She nodded and said, “Thank you, Young Master Song. I’ll take my leave then.”

Song Ke said, “Make me that stationery case, and we’ll call it even.” His voice was very low, carried by the wind into Xiang Lan’s ear, but she pretended not to hear and stepped across the threshold to leave.

Back at Luo Xuewu, Cao Lihuan immediately called Xiang Lan over and asked, “Did you give it to the Third Lord personally?”

Xiang Lan nodded.

Cao Lihuan’s face showed joy, and she quickly asked further, “What did the Third Lord say? Did he give you any message for me?”

Xiang Lan was rather disdainful, thinking: “Young Miss has thrown away all her dignity just to stay in the Lin family. Sigh, it’s a pity she doesn’t understand the meaning of ‘what’s meant to be will be, what’s not meant to be shouldn’t be forced.’ In the end, all her schemes will only hurt herself.” Out loud, she made up a response: “Third Lord just took the envelope and dismissed me without saying anything.”

Cao Lihuan said harshly, “How could he not have said anything? What exactly did you say to him?”

Xiang Lan put on an honest, obedient face: “I told Third Lord that these were the poetry drafts you gave him, and said that once you saw what was in the envelope, you would understand everything.”

Cao Lihuan raised her eyebrows coldly and said, “And the Third Lord said nothing after that?”

Xiang Lan made an affirmative sound.

Cao Lihuan’s face immediately darkened, and she flicked her handkerchief as she went into the bedroom. Hui’er quickly followed behind her. Xiang Lan silently let out a breath, sat on the couch, and poured half a bowl of tea to drink. Somehow, she suddenly thought of Song Ke, remembering how his warm smile and gentle words somewhat resembled her husband Xiao Hang from her previous life. She felt melancholic and stared blankly at the water cup for a while. From the corner of her eye, she saw a piece of dark cyan fabric draped over a pillow and thought: “This brocade fabric would be perfect for making a Four Treasures case, and it would be even more elegant with some embroidered bamboo.” Immediately after, she spat twice, thinking about how could she possibly make something again for that person with ulterior motives. She tossed the fabric aside and sat at her embroidery frame, looking at the five-colored mandarin ducks on the bright red pillowcase, let out a long sigh, then gathered her spirits and began embroidering stitch by stitch.