After Lin Dongxiu’s wedding, the weather grew colder with each passing day, and heavy snow fell just as winter began. Xiang Lan’s health had improved with treatment. Lin Jinlou gathered precious medicinal ingredients from various places and ordered the kitchen to prepare diverse nutritious dishes. Due to his busy military duties, he often stayed at camp but left his servants Jixiang and Shuangxi to attend to Xiang Lan.
One clear morning, Xiang Lan rose to wash up, wearing a large cloak embroidered with plum blossoms, orchids, and chrysanthemums. Ling Qing handed her a silver hand warmer, saying, “The north wind howled all night, the weather’s turned treacherous—it’s already so cold at winter’s start.”
Xiao Juan entered, brushing off the snow while reporting, “It snowed all night, with occasional snowflakes still falling this morning. The servants are clearing the snow now. As instructed by the Aunt, the kitchen has prepared hot ginger soup, which Gui Yuan and several older servants have distributed.”
Xiang Lan nodded, looking around to ask, “Where’s Hua Shan?”
Xue Ning smiled, “She’s from Fujian and hasn’t been in Jinling for long. It’s her first time in the capital—she’s never seen such heavy snow. She went off to play with the young maids early this morning.” She then said to Xiang Lan, “This must be your first time seeing such heavy snow too. If Young Master hadn’t repeatedly stressed that you couldn’t handle the wind, it would be nice to go out tomorrow to appreciate the snow and red plum blossoms.”
Xiang Lan sat on the large kang by the window, pushing it open slightly to look outside. She saw two red plum trees blooming vigorously, their flowers like rouge. In her previous life, she had grown up in the capital and seen even heavier snow. She had worn wooden clogs to play with firecrackers in the snow with her younger siblings; Jia Lian was timid and always hid behind her… Thinking of her sister reminded her of young Master De, and she quickly ordered someone to bring the fur hat she had made for him in recent days, saying she just needed to add a piece of green jade. Soon, Xiao Juan brought a box containing various jade stones, and they sat together to select one.
Ling Su carried in an old lacquered square tray with plum and osmanthus-flavored melon seeds in tea, placing it on the kang table. She unfolded a small handkerchief containing a silver teaspoon and handed it to Xiang Lan, saying, “This was sent from outside, a specialty from Shandong. The Madam especially had Qiao Hui deliver it last night. I just took a sniff—it’s extremely fragrant.”
Before she finished speaking, someone outside said, “What’s so fragrant? Serve me a bowl.” Lin Jinlou entered, covered in snow. The maids hurried forward to help remove his cloak, serve hot tea, take off his hat, and wring hot towels, bustling about.
Lin Jinlou had been on night duty in the palace and hadn’t returned home. He sat on the large kang, and Xiang Lan pushed her bowl of tea toward him. After one sip, he frowned at its sweetness and ordered hot soup instead. While holding the hand warmer, he kicked off his boots and soaked his feet in a silver basin of hot water, asking, “What have you been doing at home today?”
Xiang Lan replied, “Nothing much, just idling away time.” She handed him a silver tray with letters and invitation cards from the second gate. While opening the letters, Lin Jinlou said, “You ought to be carefree and idle. You spend all day overthinking—heaven knows where you get such strange ideas from.” Looking at an invitation card, he casually mentioned, “His Majesty has decided on the Crown Prince. For this occasion, a grand celebration is planned with a Hundred Elders Banquet in the palace for good fortune. The Old Master has received an imperial decree to attend, and the Third Brother will personally escort him here. With the recent incident involving Minister Zhao causing such unrest, His Majesty is doing this to reassure the old ministers’ hearts.”
Xiang Lan understood what Lin Jinlou was referring to. Recently, while she was recuperating, Prime Minister Zhao Jin had been accused by the Second Prince of secretly visiting the Crown Prince. The Second Prince claimed to the Emperor that this “private audience with the Eastern Palace must harbor hidden schemes.” His Majesty was furious and imprisoned Zhao for “lacking proper conduct as a subject,” shocking the entire court.
Lin Jinlou lifted his feet as Ling Su quickly knelt to dry them with a large foreign towel and put on cotton socks. After reading several letters and setting them aside, Lin Jinlou remarked, “The Old Master’s predictions were indeed accurate—the Zhao family has fallen this time. Even if His Majesty remembers Zhao Jin’s past services and reinstates him, he’ll likely never enter the cabinet again.” He sighed, “What a pity. Though Zhao Jin was proud and temperamental, he was truly talented and uprightly incorruptible. His sharp edges made him vulnerable to schemes. Strange how such a family produced a daughter like Zhao Yuechan. The former Minister Shen also had a granddaughter—the one who was to be betrothed to me. Wonder if she was also fickle.” He glanced casually at Xiang Lan, catching her glaring at him.
Lin Jinlou laughed, saying, “Well, well, you’ve grown bold enough to glare at me.” He reached out to tickle her sides. Xiang Lan, ticklish, dodged left and right, laughing uncontrollably. Feeling improper, she bit her lip to suppress it before finally begging, “Stop playing—it’s unseemly if others see.”
Lin Jinlou ignored her, continuing to tickle while asking, “Still dare to glare at me? Hmm?”
Just then, they heard two faint coughs outside, and Shu Ran said softly, “Young Master, urgent documents have arrived.”
Lin Jinlou finally stopped, saying, “Bring them in.” Xiang Lan quickly rose, her face flushed, and curled up in the corner of the kang to fix her hair.
Lin Jinlou’s lips held a slight smile as he took the letter. Upon opening and reading it, his expression darkened, and he snorted, “Well, well, Second Prince, what wild ambitions! Fearing Zhao Jin might rise again to support the Crown Prince, he resorts to such base tactics.” He flung the letter into the fire basin. Xiang Lan peeked and saw only one line written: “At night, Zhao Jin, drunk, was dragged into accumulated snow and froze to death.”
Xiang Lan’s heart skipped a beat as she watched the letter rapidly turn to ash in the charcoal fire. She thought to herself: “Though the Emperor has established the Crown Prince, he favors the Second Prince, often saying, ‘This son resembles me.’ The Second Prince has military achievements and controls troops, unwilling to submit to others. He secretly eliminates opponents and frequently challenges the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince is gentle-natured and consistently tolerant. His Majesty is aging, his dragon body weakening, seemingly unable to address his sons’ mutual destruction… I fear another bloody storm is brewing.” Xiang Lan recalled how the Shen family was caught in the succession disaster and met with tragedy, filling her with worry.
That night, Xiang Lan woke at midnight, tossing and turning while Lin Jinlou slept deeply beside her. She quietly moved his arm from across her body, got up to dress, and sat on the large kang in the green gauze cabinet, holding a cup of ginseng tea, lost in thought. Though her health had greatly improved, her heart was troubled. Like walking a dark path, she couldn’t see the direction, feeling uneasy. After this illness, her mind had broadened—where she had previously been discontent, requiring patience and harboring complaints, now without physical suffering, she realized how many things in her original life deserved gratitude. She silently sighed and set aside her teacup.
Lin Jinlou heard movement and, eyes closed, reached beside him only to find emptiness. Half-opening his eyes, he got up and lifted the bed curtain to look outside. Ling Qing, who was keeping watch, hurried forward to attend to him when she saw him awake. Lin Jinlou asked, “Where’s Xiang Lan?”
Ling Qing softly replied, “The Aunt is in the green gauze cabinet.” Lin Jinlou casually put on a robe and shuffled over in his shoes to look. He saw Xiang Lan sitting there lost in thought, her silhouette radiating an indescribable loneliness. His heart suddenly felt constricted. After watching her for a while, he walked over and asked, “What are you thinking about? What’s wrong? Missing your parents? Or feeling confined in the mansion?”
“No…”
“I know you’re feeling cooped up. As it happens, I can steal some free time tomorrow. I’ll take you out for a break. I hear the plum blossoms are blooming in the suburbs—let’s go appreciate them together.” He then repeatedly ordered the maids to prepare overnight.
Xiang Lan hurriedly said, “The second day would be fine too—why trouble everyone to get up?” Lin Jinlou ignored her and continued giving orders. Holding Xiang Lan’s shoulders, he yawned, “You’re keeping me from sleeping well, so naturally I’ll trouble them. See if you dare wander around at midnight again. Besides, going out requires preparation for food, clothing, lodging, and necessities. When we leave tomorrow, the maids can catch up on sleep.” Being the domineering person he was, his word was law, and Xiang Lan had no choice but to let him have his way.
Early the next morning, Lin Jinlou indeed took Xiang Lan out, with the maids busily packing four trunks. Xiang Lan said, “We’re only going for a day and returning at night—why bring so much?”
Shu Ran smiled, “Madam doesn’t know—it’s freezing outside, so we need to bring extra clothes, screens, cushions, fur cloaks and shawls, foot warmers and hand warmers, braziers for the carriage, plenty of charcoal, various teas and snacks. If Madam sees beautiful scenery and wants to paint, we need brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Also bedding—if we have to stay overnight, our bedding would be cleaner.” She then went to instruct the maids accompanying Xiang Lan.
Once preparations were complete, Lin Jinlou returned from martial arts practice, washed up again, changed clothes, and went to pay respects to Madam Qin. Hearing they were going to view plum blossoms in the suburbs, she said, “We have plum blossoms in the mansion, perfectly fine ones—why go running about outside… Be careful, the Old Master will arrive in a few days. I just received his letter asking about the Jiang family matter and whether you’re still running around carousing. He didn’t seem pleased… Son, what trouble have you stirred up that reached your grandfather’s ears?”
“My dear mother,” Lin Jinlou said impatiently, “I’m getting on in years—what trouble could I cause? These days I’m either at camp in the palace or at home, barely getting proper sleep. At most, I drink with Old Yuan and the others. Carousing about is ancient history, isn’t it?”
“Then why did the Old Master ask such questions?”
“How would I know? Perhaps he’s pleased that his eldest grandson is handling everything well and becoming so accomplished.”
“Hmph! The tone of that letter didn’t seem so positive. You’d better behave yourself.” Madam Qin tapped Lin Jinlou’s forehead as she spoke.
Lin Jinlou rubbed his forehead, feeling somewhat intimidated. Though his father held a higher position than his grandfather had, in his eyes, his father was merely a paper tiger while the Old Master was a dozing lion. He carefully reviewed all his actions since arriving in the capital, finding no major transgressions. Though some old habits persisted, his grandfather should be used to them by now. He muttered, “I haven’t done anything wrong. Since coming to the capital, I’ve been keeping my head down, just doing my duties… What exactly did Grandfather say in his letter?”
Madam Qin spooned some honey into her rose tea, stirring it while looking down, “He asked if you’ve been philandering about, courting trouble. Said you’re like an unrestrained wild horse, and when he comes to the capital, he’ll need to set you straight.” Looking up to see Lin Jinlou’s dumbfounded expression, she rarely saw her eldest son so conscience-stricken and burst out laughing, “Scared?”
Lin Jinlou frowned, “Who’s scared? What’s there to be afraid of?” He quickly asked, “Is the Old Madam not coming with Grandfather this time?”
“The Old Madam had been ill. She’s just recovered and can’t handle the journey…”
Hearing this, Lin Jinlou immediately began massaging Madam Qin’s legs, saying with a smile, “Mother, I got a pair of gold bracelets yesterday with pearls as big as fingernails. The moment I saw such rare treasures, I knew they should be offered to you…”
Madam Qin rolled her eyes, “Alright, alright, you heartless thing. Now you remember to curry favor with your mother? Where were you earlier? Always just makes me worry… If you haven’t caused major trouble, should the Old Master question any minor mistakes, I’ll personally plead for you.”
Leaving the room, Lin Jinlou pondered but couldn’t figure things out. Still troubled, he arrived at Chang Chun Hall’s courtyard to see Xiang Lan standing there in a bright red wool cloak, her face snow-white and delicate as spring peach blossoms, like a figure from a painting. He stared, suddenly feeling all his irritation scattered by the wind.
Xiang Lan boarded the carriage supported by Xue Ning. Hua Shan had caught a cold yesterday, Ling Qing and Ling Su were borrowed by Madam Qin for work, leaving only Xiao Juan and Xue Ning. Considering Xiao Juan’s fear of cold, Xiang Lan chose Xue Ning to accompany her. Though not spacious, the carriage was luxuriously appointed with silk brocades and Persian carpets piled with various furs. As soon as Xiang Lan sat down, Xue Ning boarded and efficiently handed her a hand warmer, saying, “It’s quite a journey. Why doesn’t Madam remove her boots and warm up with the foot warmer?” While speaking, she placed the foot warmer before Xiang Lan, covering it with a foreign wool blanket. After a brief hesitation, Xiang Lan removed her shoes and placed her feet on the blanket, which Xue Ning immediately covered with a roe deer skin. She took out a food box and produced a pot of warmed Nu’er Hong wine, saying to Xiang Lan, “The wine is still hot. Madam should sip to warm up—it won’t taste as good once it cools.”
Xiang Lan took two cups before declining more, offering some to Xue Ning. After Xue Ning also had two cups, she put away the empty cups and took out a book from her bundle, placing it before Xiang Lan. Xiang Lan was surprised to see it was the one she’d been reading recently. She smiled, “You’re so capable and thoughtful—you must have worked a lot before. Had I known, I should have rewarded you more.”
Xue Ning smiled, “I haven’t done much. Besides, Madam has many capable people around. I’m neither here nor there, just honestly doing my duty.”
Hearing this, Xiang Lan saw her in a new light, thinking, “Remarkable to be so steady at such a young age.” Among her maids, Xiao Juan and Hua Shan were closest to her, sharing their hearts. Ling Qing and Ling Su, having arrived later, weren’t as close but were still dedicated and strove for excellence. Only Xue Ning, who had come from the Old Madam’s quarters, worked quietly—avoiding both celebrations and troublesome tasks, neither adding flowers to brocade nor sending charcoal in snow. Yet any task given to her was handled reliably, never outstanding but never failing. She got along with all the maids but wasn’t particularly close to anyone. Today, accompanying her alone, she showed her capability by anticipating everything.