Let us turn to another branch of our story. On the day Lin Jinlou left the capital with Xiang Lan, Tan Luhua had given Lin Jinxuan medicine to make him sleep. She then opened her mirror case and began adorning herself – a gold filigree hairpin, jade plum flower ornaments, and pearl-studded golden tassels. Her face was heavily made up with dark eyebrows, powdered cheeks, and several layers of rouge on her lips. She wore a bright red full-sleeved robe with a sable fur coat, and a floral skirt underneath, making herself as beautiful as a divine being. From her trunk, she took out a package of silver pieces and a pair of men’s shoes wrapped in an embroidered handkerchief. She called Cai Feng in and asked, “Go check if everyone in all the rooms has gone to bed.”

Cai Feng went to check and returned saying, “Madam went to bed early, Fourth Lady’s room has turned off their lights. With today’s heavy snow blocking the gates, all rooms retired early. Second Young Master is also asleep, with Lu Luo keeping watch for the night.”

Tan Luhua said quietly, “Go tell Lu Luo that I’m not feeling well these days and fear passing illness to Second Young Master, so I’ll sleep in the outer room. Tell her to take good care of him tonight. You keep watch here and alert me quickly if anything happens.” After speaking, she casually rewarded Cai Feng with one of her old jackets, and then quietly left.

The path was naturally clear without obstacles, and she didn’t see a single person. After exiting the side gate onto the street, she quickly turned into an alley and entered a house. Though the exterior appeared somewhat dilapidated, the interior was fragrant and warm as spring, with gauze-covered windows, embroidered curtains hung on silver hooks, luxurious bedding, and red small tables – truly an extravagant place. Dai Rong was lounging on the bed drinking wine. Seeing Tan Luhua arrive, he quickly got up to pour her a full cup of wine, smilingly offering it while saying, “My darling, we haven’t seen each other for so long, you must drink this cup of wedding wine.”

Tan Luhua closed the door while casting sidelong glances at Dai Rong, saying, “What have you been up to these days that I haven’t seen you? Surely you haven’t been seducing some other man’s wife?”

Dai Rong pinched her cheek saying, “My heart has been thinking only of you, how could there be room for anyone else?” He raised the cup to feed Tan Luhua the wine, then embraced her and kissed her. The two became entangled, impossible to separate, and fell onto the bed to make love.

Originally, when Xiang Lan had fallen ill from accidentally taking the sterilization pills, the Lin household had been shrouded in gloom, which had frightened Tan Luhua so much that she didn’t dare meet Dai Rong privately. Later, as Xiang Lan’s health gradually recovered, Tan Luhua occasionally began meeting with Dai Rong again. This time with Lin Jinlou away, it was a heaven-sent opportunity, and Tan Luhua quickly sent word to arrange a secret meeting with Dai Rong.

After their passionate encounter, Tan Luhua sighed deeply and said, “If only we could be together every day.”

Dai Rong said, “Just wait until that dead husband of yours dies.”

Tan Luhua snickered, “What good would that do? Are you going to divorce your old hag of a wife and marry me?”

Dai Rong chuckled, “Well, your husband is just for show anyway. Our occasional meetings are like a honeymoon – what’s wrong with that?”

Tan Luhua snorted, “It may be fine for you, but I’m wholeheartedly devoted to you. I just worry your heart is separated from mine by several mountains.”

Dai Rong said, “Don’t you understand how I feel about you? Lin Bawang is no ordinary man – if he found out I was having an affair with his sister-in-law, he’d tear me to pieces. I risk my life to see you, not caring even for my survival. If you still say such things, you’re the one hurting my heart…” Seeing Tan Luhua’s expression soften, he coaxed gently, “Darling, my love, how about that favor I asked of you last time?”

Tan Luhua sighed, got up, and searched in her clothes for a while before taking out the package of silver pieces and handing it to Dai Rong, saying “It’s all here.”

Dai Rong opened it to look – it was all poor quality loose silver, weighing it in his hand, it was only about six or seven taels. His face immediately darkened as he said, “Why so little?”

Tan Luhua’s face instantly flushed red as she said, “This is money saved up through careful economizing – and you still think it’s too little… This was meant for my winter clothes. If Chen Xiang Lan hadn’t given me a sable fur coat, I wouldn’t have had any new warm clothes for winter… How many times have you asked me for silver? One time you said you lost money in business and borrowed high-interest loans, worried that if word got out it would ruin your career; another time you said you needed silver to buy an official position; this time you say you got into trouble with officials for beating someone. I’ve given you almost a hundred taels in total, even using up my dowry…”

As she spoke, she cried in anger, though she dared not speak harshly for fear of angering Dai Rong and making him never return. Truth be told, Tan Luhua was truly devoted to Dai Rong alone. Initially, Dai Rong would give Tan Luhua small gifts like gold-threaded handkerchiefs and mandarin duck pouches, but later he gradually grew tired of her and found new entertainment, wanting to cast her aside. Tan Luhua cried and made scenes and threats, while constantly sending him clothes and items and supplementing his finances, only then did Dai Rong warm up to her again with sweet words and endless promises.

Seeing Tan Luhua upset, Dai Rong felt impatient inside but had to force a smile on his face. He embraced her and coaxed, “Why cry? This time it’s my fault! I deserve to be beaten! I deserve it!” As he spoke, he took her hand to hit his face, finally making Tan Luhua laugh through her tears.

Just at this moment, they heard someone shout from the doorway: “You shameless whore! Stealing from my son to support this pretty boy!” With a loud bang, the door was kicked open. Fourth Lady stood there holding a fire poker, her whole body trembling with rage, eyes bright red, as she charged into the room jabbing wildly at the bed.

Tan and Dai were greatly startled. Tan Luhua screamed repeatedly while clutching the blanket to dodge. The naked Dai Rong rolled off the bed, grabbed his clothes, and tried to run, but was beaten back onto the bed by Fourth Lady’s fire poker. Fourth Lady’s curses of “slut” and “whore” were endless. It turned out that Fourth Lady had gotten up at night to use the bathroom, and thinking about how Lin Jinxuan had been unwell these past two days, went to his room to check on him. But she found Tan Luhua wasn’t there, and Cai Feng gave vague, hesitant responses trying to send her away. Fourth Lady grew suspicious, and when she peeked outside, she saw clear moonlight illuminating footprints in the snow. Fourth Lady had long been at odds with Tan Luhua and suspected her of having improper relations with servants at night, so she grabbed a fire poker and quietly followed the footprints. Hearing the two of them talking by the window, she became even more enraged and charged in without thinking.

After being hit several times, Dai Rong’s body was burning with pain. He angrily said, “You old hag! If you push me too far, I might as well kill you and be done with it!” He reached to grab the fire poker. Fourth Lady naturally fought back with all her might. In their struggle, there was suddenly a “thump” sound, and the Fourth Lady’s eyes went wide as her whole body stiffened. She looked down stiffly to see the fire poker had pierced straight into her chest. Dai Rong was stunned. His hand unconsciously pulled back, withdrawing the poker, and blood spurted out from her chest. Tan Luhua screamed and covered her face. Fourth Lady staggered backward a few steps, swayed, and then crashed to the ground with a loud thud. Her legs twitched a few times before she went still.

The room fell silent except for Tan and Dai’s rapid breathing. Tan Luhua was so frightened her whole body went cold. She hastily put on some clothes and stumbled down from the bed. When she touched Fourth Lady, who lay with eyes wide open, there was no breath left. Tan Luhua shook violently, her teeth chattering, as tears streamed down her face. She looked at Dai Rong and cried, “What… what should we do… what should we do…”

Dai Rong was also panicked. He grabbed a pillowcase to wipe the blood splattered on his face, put on his clothes, and got up. First, he tightly closed the main door, then went to kick Fourth Lady’s corpse before sitting down in a chair. Tan Luhua hurried over and asked through her tears, “What do we do? What do we do?”

Dai Rong picked up the wine pot from the table and drank what was left in one gulp. Wiping his mouth, he smiled coldly and said, “What to do? Naturally, act as if nothing happened. You go back to being the Lin family’s Second Young Madam, I’ll go back to being the Dai family’s Third Young Master. As for how this old woman died, neither of us knows anything about it.”

“What if the Lin family finds out…”

“Heh, if you don’t tell and I don’t tell, how would they know?”

“…”

“Listen, Luhua, now that this has happened, we can’t see each other anymore. Though I’ll miss you in my heart, this… *sigh*, it seems our fate can only go this far.” Dai Rong looked at Tan Luhua’s expression as he spoke, but saw her hanging her head, her black hair covering her face. He softened his voice and said, “If only we had met before getting married, then our past intimate conversations would have been proper. But now that there’s been a death, if we continue meeting secretly and the Lin family discovers it, I’m afraid neither of us will come to a good end…”

Before he could finish speaking, Tan Luhua suddenly raised her head, her beautiful face twisted with viciousness. She leaned toward Dai Rong and said hatefully, “Dai, you think you can just dump me? It’s not that easy! I gave you my heart and soul, and I never planned to take it back for nothing! Fourth Lady is dead, and you think you can just run away pretending nothing happened, hide somewhere for two years, then come back and play turtle while I face life and death alone? Bah! Keep dreaming! Even if I go down to the eighteenth level of hell, I’ll drag you down with me!”

These words hit exactly what Dai Rong was thinking. He forced a smile and said, “How could that be? How could that be? Don’t you understand how I feel about you?” As he grabbed Tan Luhua’s hand, he felt it was cold as ice and trembling like autumn leaves.

Hearing Dai Rong’s words, Tan Luhua’s heart softened. Tears rolled down her face as she gazed at his handsome face through misty eyes. She forced a slight smile and said chokingly, “I know you wouldn’t be so heartless. You truly care for me…”

Though Dai Rong had some genuine feelings for Tan Luhua, by now they had worn quite thin. Still, he had to be careful, and asked probingly, “What do you mean…?”

Tan Luhua wiped her tears, her eyes flashing as she said, “Lord Dai, let’s run away together!”

Dai Rong exclaimed, “What?”

Tan Luhua said, “I still have some jewels. Why don’t we flee to somewhere far away? We can have children and grow old together – wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Then she smiled coldly, “If you refuse, I’ll go to the officials at dawn and tell them you raped me and killed Fourth Lady. Since I won’t come to a good end anyway, I might as well have you accompany me – at least I’ll have company on the road to the Yellow Springs!”

Dai Rong thought Tan Luhua had gone mad. Hearing her words, he felt bitter inside but said, “Alright, but we need to plan this carefully…”

Before Dai Rong could finish, Tan Luhua hurriedly began putting on her clothes and shoes, saying, “I’ll pack now. Let’s leave quickly before dawn!”

Dai Rong thought to himself: “You crazy woman, but I’m not crazy. Our family has just found powerful backing, and great things are about to happen in the next few days. The Dai family’s prosperity is within reach – why should I fear the Lin family then? Why should I throw it all away to elope with a woman like you!” Thinking of how Tan Luhua had just threatened him, anger rose in his heart and evil intentions grew in his gut. Emboldened by the wine, he thought: “Whether I kill one or two, it’s still murder. I might as well kill them both clean today, and then this troublesome matter will have nothing to do with me anymore!” With this thought, he picked up the fire poker from the ground like a demon and quietly approached her, striking her hard on the back of her head. Tan Luhua was shocked and turned her head, speechless. She swayed twice before collapsing to the ground, never to make another sound.

Seeing Tan Luhua lying in a pool of blood, Dai Rong threw aside the fire poker and knelt beside her, shedding two tears as he said, “Luhua, don’t hate me. I… I had no choice… May you be reborn into a good family in your next life. I’ll burn extra paper money for you during festivals.” After speaking, he got up and hastily put on his clothes. As he was about to leave, he still went to take the package of silver Tan Luhua had given him. Suddenly he noticed Tan Luhua’s sash thrown in the corner of the bed platform with a pouch attached to it.

Dai Rong recognized that pouch. Previously, Tan Luhua had boasted to him that Second Young Master Chu Dapeng of the Chu family had been infatuated with her and used the pouch to convey his feelings. Chu Dapeng was one of the most handsome and romantic figures in the capital, and Tan Luhua was proud of this. Since the matter was secret and she couldn’t brag about it to others, she wore the pouch on her person daily, as if wearing it proved how she could make men fall for her. Dai Rong untied the pouch and placed it in Tan Luhua’s hand, then turned and left, closing the door behind him. Let us leave this scene for now.

As for Xiang Lan, she was still unaware of Lin Jinlou’s anger and was thinking to herself: “Tomorrow I’ll just have someone reliable quietly deliver the items to Song Ke’s residence. There’s no need for them to know who sent it – that would only cause trouble for him and Madam Zheng. It’s enough that I’ve done my best.” She also considered that Song Ke had once mentioned a certain Official Yan, now serving in Hunan Province, who had been a close friend of Song Ke’s father and had helped the mother and son. Perhaps she could send the money in that person’s name – with such distance between them, it would be hard to trace. But on second thought, she felt something wasn’t quite right. Feeling cold standing in the wind, she wrapped her cloak tighter and returned to her room. She had just taken off her cloak when she saw Lin Jinlou enter, sprawling himself on the couch with his feet up. Xue Ying followed closely behind. She had noticed Lin Jinlou’s dark expression after her earlier words but didn’t know what she had done wrong. When she tried to give Xiang Lan a meaningful look, Lin Jinlou frowned at Xue Ying and waved his hand, saying, “Who told you to stay here? There’s already someone to serve here. Get out!”

Xue Ying dared not speak and withdrew with a worried expression.

Xiang Lan stepped forward, poured hot water from the copper kettle into a basin, wrung out a hot towel, and went to wipe Lin Jinlou’s face, frowning as she said, “You’ve been drinking again?” After a pause, she asked, “Who was kneeling at the courtyard gate earlier? Making such a scene in public doesn’t look good.”

Lin Jinlou took the towel from his face and squinted at Xiang Lan, saying, “Oh? You disapprove of a courtesan begging me, but it’s noble when you ask Old Yuan about the whereabouts of your old lover?”

Xiang Lan froze, her bright round eyes looking at Lin Jinlou. She bit her lip and lowered her head without a word, turning to make tea for him. Lin Jinlou felt like he was punching cotton, growing more irritated. He gritted his teeth and tugged at his collar, standing up and walking forward saying, “Speak!”

With her back to Lin Jinlou, Xiang Lan said, “If I told you I wanted to repay Song Ke’s kindness by having someone send him money, would you agree?”

Lin Jinlou laughed coldly, “Nonsense! Why should I agree? I told you long ago never to mention Song Ke again!”

Xiang Lan stood still, saying nothing.

“Why so quiet now, hm? Are you that eager to go to Guizhou with that Song Ke boy? Do you want to kneel and beg me to let you be his concubine, huh?”

Xiang Lan’s face went pale, tears welling in her eyes. She turned to look and saw Lin Jinlou sneering, though this smile was terrifying, almost gnashing his teeth.

Lin Jinlou felt a pain in his chest, anger pounding at his temples. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he saw only Xiang Lan’s pale face and helpless manner. He felt the anger was unbearable – jealousy, hatred, and sorrow like a consuming fire threatening to devour him completely. He had been so good to this woman, and he had almost believed she had developed some feelings for him. But in the end, he had only been fooling himself. At the slightest news of Song Ke, her heart would fly to him. No matter how much he humbled himself or showed tenderness, it was all for nothing.

Self-delusion!

These words weighed so heavily on his heart that he could barely bear it. With a sweep of his hand, he knocked over the tea cup Xiang Lan was holding, sending it crashing to the floor with a clatter.

Hearing the commotion, Xue Ying hurriedly entered. Lin Jinlou pointed at her nose and cursed, “Get out! Who told you to come in? You senseless thing!”

Xue Ying had never seen Lin Jinlou’s face so ashen with rage. Her knees went weak with fright, and she hastily retreated.

When Lin Jinlou lost his temper, he was like a trapped beast beyond reason. Even now, Xiang Lan dared not look at him in such fury and quietly backed away. Lin Jinlou reached out and grabbed her, saying, “I’m asking you! Do you want to beg me to let you be that boy’s concubine?”

Tears fell from Xiang Lan’s eyes as she said with trembling lips, “I don’t want to be anyone’s concubine.”

Lin Jinlou sneered, his chest already churning with rage. He understood that not a single hair on Xiang Lan’s body wished to remain in the Lin household. She wanted to get as far away as possible, preferably never seeing him again. Even when she had taken those sterilization pills and lay weak in bed, she had still desperately begged to leave the estate. She would rather live as a Buddhist nun than stay by his side enjoying wealth and luxury, even going so far as to seek news of Song Ke’s whereabouts. So that was it – in her heart, he was a monster to be avoided at all costs, the source of her misfortune, at best just a “benefactor” she needed to repay. Lin Jinlou gritted his teeth. He had been a hero all his life, enjoying glory. Though he might not command wind and rain in court, any person of consequence had to give him some respect. Yet this woman looked down on him. She kept another man in her heart, and even if he cut out his own heart and liver, he couldn’t make her change her mind. He wanted to strangle this heartless woman – if she would just give him a kind look, he would be happy for an entire day. A single word from her could make him rage like this. He had never fallen into such a miserable state, feeling completely helpless. He hated how she trampled on his dignity, wanting to tear her to pieces, but his raised hand couldn’t bring itself to fall. This girl was so wonderful and he loved her so much, her actions naturally inspired his respect. Even knowing she wanted to stay far away from him, he still kept her bound to his side.

Xiang Lan closed her eyes, but the expected slap didn’t come. She hesitantly opened her eyes to see Lin Jinlou staring at her, his eyes blood-red.

At that moment, they heard an urgent knocking at the door, “Young Master! Young Master! Something terrible has happened at home!”