When Zhen’er saw Xiang Lan enter, she quickly bowed in greeting. Xiang Lan waved her hand and walked straight to the bed. She saw Tan Lu Hua with thick bandages wrapped around her head, half-leaning against the wall, covered with a semi-worn floral quilt. Her face showed signs of illness, yet her cheeks weren’t particularly thin, and she didn’t appear haggard. Upon seeing Xiang Lan, she merely curved her lips in a smile, neither speaking nor making a sound.

Xiang Lan asked softly, “Are you feeling better?” Tan Lu Hua didn’t respond. Xiang Lan asked again, “Does your head still hurt? Where are you feeling unwell?” Tan Lu Hua maintained her slight smile, still not speaking.

Xiang Lan turned to look at Zhen’er, who said quietly, “Second Madam was just in a daze for the first two days after waking up. Later, she became like this, not speaking to anyone.”

Xiang Lan took the medicine bowl and sat on the edge of the kang bed, telling Zhen’er, “You may go. I’ll feed Second Madam her medicine.” Xiao Juan and Hua Shan then led Zhen’er away.

Xiang Lan stirred the medicine with a spoon and silently fed it to Tan Lu Hua spoonful by spoonful. Afterward, she helped her drink a cup of warm water and wiped her lips with a handkerchief. After staring at her for a while, she finally said softly, “There’s no use in saying much else. You’ve committed a grave error, and the Lin family can no longer keep you. However, they don’t want to take your life, so they will send you to a temple in Baoding Prefecture. In the future, you can live peacefully there under an assumed name. Living with Buddha and oil lamps might not be such an unsettled existence.”

Tan Lu Hua’s expression remained unchanged, and it was unclear whether she had heard or not.

Xiang Lan thought to herself, “Has Tan Lu Hua truly damaged her mind? It’s a pity for such a clever girl… Though perhaps this confusion might be a blessing in disguise.” She sighed, held Tan Lu Hua’s hand, and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll personally oversee the packing of your belongings. Though you probably can’t take the larger items, I’ll carefully pack your jewelry and loose silver for you to rely on in the future… The Lin family intends to send you away this afternoon. I came to see you one last time and say some heartfelt words. I hope you take good care of yourself in the future.” Only when she finished speaking did Tan Lu Hua’s expression finally change.

As Xiang Lan rose to leave, Tan Lu Hua grabbed her hand and said, “Wait, wait.”

Xiang Lan turned back.

Tan Lu Hua said, “Please, Sister, for the sake of our past friendship, help me with one thing.”

Xiang Lan sat back down and said, “Please speak.”

Tan Lu Hua said, “Please send someone to Third Young Master Rong’s house at the Hanlin Academy, tell them which temple in Baoding I’m being sent to, and ask him to come get me. Dear Sister, if you help me with this, whether it’s my jewelry or loose silver, you can take whichever pieces you like.”

Xiang Lan felt as if she must have misheard, and said, “Could it be that your condition wasn’t caused by Dai Rong?”

Tan Lu Hua started, then pleaded, “He only hurt me by accident. That day he knelt beside me crying – though I couldn’t move, I understood in my heart… Dear Sister, I beg you, we truly love each other and sincerely care for one another. Please help us. He will certainly come to find me…”

Xiang Lan held Tan Lu Hua’s face in both hands and said incredulously, “Have you gone mad? After what he did to you, what true love could remain!”

Tan Lu Hua stared intently at Xiang Lan and said through gritted teeth, “His love is real! You don’t understand. In this grand mansion, I was just existing day after day in a lifeless state until I met him. Just one glance at him made me feel like the sky was blue and the waters clear, making my heart bloom. You don’t know how many sweet words he’s said to me, how many poems he’s written for me, how attentive and gentle he’s been in countless ways. He once said I was the person he loved most in this life, and that he wished we could become one every day. Xiang Lan! I hate that we didn’t meet before I was married. We absolutely cannot be separated!” She gripped Xiang Lan’s hands, eyes wide with tears streaming down her cheeks, and begged, “I’m begging you.” She struggled to rise, wanting to kneel on the bed and kowtow to Xiang Lan.

Xiang Lan quickly held her down and said, “If you move again, I really won’t help you!” Only then did Tan Lu Hua calm down. She held Xiang Lan’s hand and said, “Please, help me this once. Do you know how I’ve endured these days lying in this dirty, foul-smelling place? The only hope sustaining me was getting well enough to find Young Master Dai. Yesterday when that old man from the Lin family came, I wasn’t afraid no matter how harsh his words or how severe his methods were. The Lin family divorcing me fulfills my wishes – I can finally be with Young Master Dai forever…” Her voice grew increasingly choked with emotion.

Xiang Lan looked at her with mixed feelings, finding it both ridiculous and pitiful that Tan Lu Hua still couldn’t distinguish right from wrong even in this situation. Part of her was angry that Tan Lu Hua remained so confused, while another part pitied her unrequited love. After a long silence, she finally sighed and said, “It’s not that I won’t help you, but that I can’t. The Dai family… has already been executed for treason, the entire clan.”

Tan Lu Hua was shocked and exclaimed, “Impossible! How could this be!”

Xiang Lan slowly said, “It’s true. You didn’t know because you were ill during that time. Dai Rong… is already dead.”

Tan Lu Hua’s body went limp and she collapsed, staring blankly as tears rolled down her face, mumbling, “How could this be… how could this be…” Her spirit seemed to wilt by half, showing how she had truly been thinking of Dai Rong every day. Learning of his death was like a bolt from the blue – the hope that had been sustaining her was gone, and she could barely hold herself together. She covered her face with her hands, calling out “Young Master Dai” between sobs.

Xiang Lan tried to console her for a while, but Tan Lu Hua couldn’t hear any of it. She eventually cried until her head was splitting with pain and fell unconscious on the bed, tears still on her cheeks.

Xiang Lan felt unsettled. She helped cover Tan Lu Hua with the blanket and rose to leave. Zhen’er quickly came forward to meet her, looking quite anxious. She was a young maid who had come as part of Tan Lu Hua’s dowry. Of the four senior maids with “Cai” names who had come with Tan Lu Hua’s dowry, some had died and others had been sold – none remained except for this one. Xiang Lan couldn’t help but sigh as she looked at the young maid. She patted her shoulder gently and said, “Take good care of Second Madam.” She ordered Xiao Juan to reward her generously.

On the way back, Hua Shan asked, “Is Second Madam better?”

Xiang Lan sighed deeply and said, “No, she’s still quite ill.” She lifted her head to look at the wisps of clouds in the blue sky and suddenly asked, “What do you think makes someone maintain such foolish devotion to another person who means them harm, refusing to see the truth?”

Xiao Juan said, “Perhaps it’s a debt from a previous life being repaid with devotion in this one.”

Hua Shan said, “Surely that person must have treated her well at some point, otherwise how could she remain so devoted?”

Xiang Lan shook her head. Perhaps Tan Lu Hua truly loved Dai Rong with all her heart, or perhaps her pride wouldn’t let her admit that she had given her love to the wrong person, so she desperately convinced herself that she and Dai Rong shared mutual affection. Just as she knew in her heart that adultery was shameful, yet smiled silently to outsiders and pretended to be foolish to cover it up. Xiang Lan couldn’t tell which it was, but these matters of love and hate, passion and grudges were like drinking water – only the drinker knows if it’s cold or warm, how could one explain it to others? Just like her relationship with Lin Jin Lou – after all their entanglements, even she could barely distinguish anymore whether what remained was hatred, attachment, or love.

At the hour of Wei, a carriage departed from the Lin residence heading toward Baoding Prefecture. The next day, the Lin family announced that Second Madam Tan had suddenly died.