Xiang Lan pulled Tang Lu Hua into the adjacent side room. Tang Lu Hua’s face was still flushed red with anger and tears. Seeing the maids Hai Tang and Shi Liu tending to flowers and plants there, Xiang Lan quickly said, “Please fetch a basin of water for Second Madam to wash her face.” She then consoled Tang Lu Hua: “Second Madam is a sensible person. Although you’ve suffered an injustice, we’re all family in the end. They’ll be leaving for Shandong soon and won’t see each other often. Don’t let this harm the harmony between you.”
Tang Lu Hua was so angry she could barely breathe steadily. “Even when we were young ladies, she always bullied me, resenting that I was prettier and cleverer than her. She always got the first pick of clothes and jewelry, and I wasn’t even allowed to wear anything finer than her when going out. Father did care for me, but he feared displeasing Madam, which only made things harder for me.” As she spoke of these grievances, tears rolled down her cheeks again.
Xiang Lan hurriedly consoled her: “Don’t be sad, Second Madam. Now you’ve made a good marriage, with a kind mother-in-law, and Second Master loves you dearly. Isn’t this better than everything else?”
Tang Lu Hua wiped her tears with a handkerchief and said, “There’s nothing to say about Mother-in-law, but Second Master’s health is so fragile that even a slight breeze can make him ill. He’s sick for three days for every day he’s well. At such a young age… being married to him is like accompanying a living corpse…”
Xiang Lan was startled by these words. Just then, Hai Tang entered with half a basin of hot water. Xiang Lan pretended not to have heard Tang Lu Hua’s words and said, “Second Madam, please wash your face first. I’ll go borrow some powder and rouge.” With that, she left.
Tang Lu Hua ordered Hai Tang to wring out a towel for her face. Soon, Xiang Lan returned carrying a small round tray with face powder, rouge, and eyebrow pigment. Xiang Lan said, “I borrowed these from Sister Lu Lan and the others.”
Tang Lu Hua, who loved to dress up, carefully applied her makeup in front of the mirror. She smiled slightly at Xiang Lan and said, “I was truly upset earlier and said many things I didn’t mean. Thank goodness you were there to mediate. Come visit me sometime – I’ve got two good books for you to read.”
This was the first time Tang Lu Hua had shown such warmth to her. Xiang Lan was momentarily stunned, then understood in her heart, thinking: “Earlier, when Tang Lu Hua was provoked by her elder sister’s words, she was so grieved she couldn’t contain herself. In her anger, she blurted out everything, even speaking ill of Second Master. Now that she’s calmed down, she regrets it and fears I might spread her words, so she’s being nice to me.” She smiled and said, “Second Madam was just confused with anger earlier. People say all sorts of meaningless things when they’re angry. I’ll visit you when I have time, though I worry about disturbing Second Master’s rest.”
Hearing these words, Tang Lu Hua felt relieved, thinking to herself: “Xiang Lan has always been like a sealed gourd, never speaking about anything. Whatever she heard, she won’t spread it around.” She smiled and said aloud, “He won’t mind. We can talk in another room.” Just then, she saw that Madam Qin had sent Hong Jian to summon her, so she hurriedly left.
Meanwhile, after Lin Jin Lou had gone out, Xiang Lan went to pay her respects to Madam Qin. Shu Ran went to the front courtyard to manage affairs. It happened to be Xiao Juan’s birthday, and the maids in the chamber began to play freely. Hua Shan and Ling Qing were throwing dice and playing double-six, while Xue Ning, Ling Su, Xiao Juan, and Little Fang (the young maid from Madam Han’s side) gathered to play cards. Xiao Juan reclined against the kang pillows, playing cards while eating snacks, scattering crumbs all over the kang and floor.
Just then, Chun Ling came in from outside with two vases of fresh flowers. Seeing everyone playing so freely, she strongly disapproved and said, “Alright, pack it up now! Just because I didn’t come to Beijing with you, there’s no one to keep you in check. You’ve become increasingly unruly. Aunt is too kind-hearted to scold you, so you take advantage. Look at this mess inside and out – what kind of presentation is this!”
At these words, Ling Qing, Ling Su, and Little Fang jumped in fright. The three didn’t dare continue playing and hurriedly stood up. Seeing this, Xue Ning also put down her cards and stood, while Hua Shan secretly looked at Xiao Juan’s expression. Xiao Juan, however, paid no attention to any of this and continued throwing down her cards, saying “Peng!” She exchanged a glance with Hua Shan, who turned back and pulled at Ling Qing, whispering, “Let’s keep playing.”
Ling Qing hesitantly sat down, and the others, after looking between Chun Ling and Xiao Juan, also sat down one by one. Chun Ling’s face immediately darkened. Xue Ning said, “Today is Xiao Juan’s birthday, and Aunt told us to gather and have some fun. Chun Ling, you were outside earlier, so you probably didn’t know.”
Chun Ling said, “If that’s the case, have all the household duties been taken care of? Has Master’s clothing been ironed?”
That was Xiao Juan’s duty, so everyone looked at her. Xiao Juan continued playing cards, ignoring Chun Ling completely. Xue Ning tried several times to smooth things over but didn’t know what to say. Seeing this, Ling Qing hastily responded, “Those clothes won’t be needed today, so it’s fine to iron them tomorrow.”
Chun Ling sneered, “Fine, very fine indeed. When Aunt returns, let her judge this situation. You’ve all simply stopped doing your work – clothes not ironed, bedding not aired, tables and chairs not wiped, tea stove not lit, birds not fed. You’ve gone completely wild! You might not respect me, but now you don’t even respect our masters!” With that, she stormed out, slamming the curtain.
Xiao Juan gave a cold laugh and muttered to herself, “What an annoying creature! Who knows who first disrespected the masters? She has no shame in putting on airs outside. If she’s so capable, she shouldn’t have come back. Since she’s back, she should know her place instead of acting like a secondary master. Now she’s trying to lord it over me – doesn’t she know whether this young miss will take that from her!”
Before she finished speaking, Chun Ling burst back in through the door curtain like a gust of wind, pointing at Xiao Juan’s nose, “Who are you talking about!”
Xiao Juan lifted her eyelids and said, “Whoever it is knows in their heart.” She stood up, brushed aside Chun Ling’s pointing finger, dusted off her skirt, and said, “Chun Ling, you’d better be more polite to me from now on. Aunt has already promoted me to one grade. Ling Qing, Ling Su, and Hua Shan who just arrived are in second grade, and Xue Ning is in second grade in Old Madam’s household, no different from you. If you want to show off in the future, go find the little maids in the back courtyard. Don’t try to show off your authority in front of us!”
Hearing this, Chun Ling felt both angry and ashamed. She raged, “What’s this? You used to call me ‘Sister Chun Ling’ this and that, and now that you’ve been promoted, you don’t even see me? You don’t even know your surname, yet you think you’re something special. All you know is eating and wearing fine things while avoiding work. You’re nothing but a lap dog, just currying favor with the masters for benefits!”
Xiao Juan also became angry and sneered, “You’re not a lap dog? You’ve got such integrity, acting like you’re the master yourself. You even dare to mock Aunt freely – you’ve got such great authority! I can’t compare to that!”
Everyone hurried to mediate, saying, “Say no more.” Hua Shan pulled at Xiao Juan, saying, “Today is sister’s special day, don’t waste energy on her.” Xue Ning also advised Chun Ling, “We’re all from the same place and used to get along well, why fight now?”
Just as the chaos was at its peak, Xiang Lan returned. Seeing the room in disarray, she asked, “What’s going on here?”
The room fell silent, with no one speaking, until Chun Ling gave a cold laugh and said, “A bunch of good-for-nothings ganging up to bully me. Fine, fine, it’s all my fault. I’ll go to Aunt later to receive my punishment!” With that, she stormed off angrily.
Xiang Lan asked, “What exactly happened?” Her eyes scanned the room, settling on Hua Shan, and she said, “Little Hua Shan, you tell me.”
Although Hua Shan was close to Xiao Juan, she dared not lie in front of Xiang Lan and explained everything from beginning to end. Xiao Juan quickly interjected: “Madam, I did this deliberately. You don’t know how annoying she’s become, criticizing everyone everywhere. One moment she’s saying someone’s clumsy and folding clothes wrong, the next moment she’s saying someone’s stupid and their needlework is poor, acting as if she’s the only capable one. These past few days, she’s picked on almost everyone. Every day she comes back with boring gossip, mocking Second Madam for being low-class, ridiculing Fourth Miss for not learning proper etiquette, being shallow-minded, and always scolding the little maids. She spreads these things daily, making Chang Chun Hall completely disorderly. Everyone’s been holding in their anger against her.”
Xiang Lan nodded and said, “I understand. But we’re all people of Chang Chun Hall, and harmony should be our priority. Creating such a scene isn’t appropriate. You’re my most trusted person, which is why I promoted you. In the future, you should think things through more carefully and not just act on your temperament. If she behaves this way, you could tell Shu Ran or me – that would be fine. But you shouldn’t have let things become so hostile.”
Xiao Juan pressed her lips together and lowered her head, saying, “I understand.”
After offering a few more words of comfort, Xiang Lan let them continue their entertainment and entered her bedroom. She had just sat down at her dressing table and removed her jewelry when Chun Ling walked in.
Seeing the lingering indignation on her face, Xiang Lan sighed inwardly, feeling a slight headache coming on. Since Chun Ling’s return, she hadn’t offered a single word of apology or contrition. Xiang Lan had once said to her, “After all, we’ve weathered storms together. If you have anything to say in the future, speak frankly from your heart. I still trust you greatly.” Though Chun Ling had agreed at the time, she remained indifferent afterward, and her work was no longer as meticulous as before.
Xiang Lan asked Chun Ling to sit and spoke first: “I’ve already heard about what happened earlier…”
Chun Ling immediately raised her eyebrows and said, “Since you’ve heard, then Aunt, please judge who’s right and wrong. What did I say wrong about them? How can they curse at me like that? You might be fine with them eating, drinking, and playing around doing nothing, but I can’t stand it! I just said a few words, and it brought on all this gossip – what kind of reason is that? Even if you allowed them to play, causing such a disgraceful scene – if it reaches Madam’s ears, who will come out clean?”
Chun Ling spoke quickly and anxiously, furrowing her brows and widening her eyes. Xiang Lan paused and said, “This was my fault. I thought that after being busy with the Third Master’s wedding celebration, everyone hadn’t had a proper rest. With it being Xiao Juan’s birthday and Master not being here, I gave them some time off to enjoy themselves. They were just playing cards and chess, and it wasn’t inappropriate. I know you mean well, but there’s no need to be so strict about this matter.”
Before she could finish, Chun Ling angrily interrupted, “Yes, but what about all the gossip about me? Do they want to drive me out of Chang Chun Hall to satisfy them?”
Though Xiang Lan tried to reason with her kindly, Chun Ling remained confrontational, clearly venting her pent-up anger at her. Xiang Lan’s smile faded, and she asked, “Then what do you want?”