When Si Shun’er saw Xiang Lan, it was as if joy had fallen from heaven. His whole body trembled with excitement, his grin stretching to the back of his head as he bounced over, saying, “Oh… Sister Xiang Lan, you’ve finally come. Your brother has been waiting for you.”

Xiang Lan, preoccupied with her concerns, had no time to waste words with him. She entered Cao Li Huan’s room and pulled open the dressing table drawer to search for the small purse. Si Shun’er could no longer contain himself. Seeing Xiang Lan’s snow-white profile, he swallowed hard and suddenly embraced her, babbling “sister” and “dear sister,” saying, “Young Lady Huan has already approved it. Let brother treat you well today.” He moved his mouth closer, reeking of alcohol, and began to forcefully kiss her.

Xiang Lan was terrified. She struggled desperately, trying to scream, but Si Shun’er covered her mouth and nose with his large hand and dragged her toward the bed. Despite kicking and struggling, she was no match for a man’s strength. Just as Si Shun’er was about to pin her to the bed, her clothes already torn open, he saw her snow-white skin and his eyes went wild. His lower body hardened like a pestle, desperate to take action, and with a ripping sound, he tore her jacket. Xiang Lan, filled with hatred, lunged forward with all her might, viciously clawing at Si Shun’er’s eyes. Unable to dodge in time, he howled as four bloody scratches appeared on his face, his head hitting the bedpost. Xiang Lan seized the opportunity to run, screaming, “Help! Help!” But the courtyard was eerily quiet. Just as she reached the courtyard gate, Si Shun’er caught up, cursing, “Little whore!” He grabbed her waist, and as Xiang Lan’s feet slipped, she fell to the ground. Si Shun’er grabbed her legs and began dragging her back inside.

Xiang Lan felt both desperate and frightened. She screamed several piercing cries, and as she was about to be dragged up the steps, tears streamed down uncontrollably. Amid her desperate struggle, a thunderous shout came from the entrance: “Stop! Have you gone mad?”

To Xiang Lan, this shout was like celestial music. She raised her tear-filled eyes to see a man entering from outside. Si Shun’er looked up to see a well-dressed, robust young master – who else could it be but Lin Jin Lou, the eldest son of the Lin family? He froze in terror, thinking, “This is bad!” and his grip on Xiang Lan loosened.

Xiang Lan, completely drained of strength, crawled to Lin Jin Lou’s feet and sobbed while clutching his boots. Lin Jin Lou’s face was dark, his eyes burning with fury as he looked at Si Shun’er, who felt a chill down his spine as cold sweat broke out. When he tried to run, he saw Lin Jin Lou blocking the way. While he stood there uncertain, Lin Jin Lou beckoned to him, saying, “Come here.” Si Shun’er had no choice but to shuffle forward a few steps. Lin Jin Lou smiled coldly: “In broad daylight, what were you trying to do?”

Si Shun’er’s mouth twitched involuntarily as he forced a smile and said, “Nothing… Young Master… this, this maid was given to me by Young Lady Huan… no, no, she tried to seduce me, but then wouldn’t take responsibility, she, she, she…”

Before he could finish, there was a loud “slap!” The powerful blow left Si Shun’er dizzy and his ears ringing as if he might go deaf, and he collapsed to the ground with a “thud.” Knowing things were bad and following the saying that a wise man avoids present danger, Si Shun’er tried to scramble toward the main gate when he recovered. Lin Jin Lou kicked him, sending him tumbling head over heels to lie against the wall, vomiting, and groaning, unable to get up. No one would have expected such brutality from this seemingly refined gentleman. Lin Jin Lou’s servant Shuang Xi, standing at the courtyard gate, clicked his tongue, knowing that those familiar with his master’s temperament understood he was boiling with rage and that others would do well to stay far away.

Shuang Xi stood at the door pretending to be invisible, and when he saw some servants’ wives trying to come closer to watch, he put on a stern face, placed his hands on his hips, and shouted, “What are you looking at? What are you looking at? Get out of here, all of you!”

Everyone knew Shuang Xi and his twin brother Ji Xiang were Lin Jin Lou’s trusted servants, so they dared not come closer. They all stuck out their tongues and withdrew, slinking away.

Lin Jin Lou bent down and pulled Xiang Lan up, but her legs gave way and she nearly collapsed again. Lin Jin Lou saw her disheveled state, her rouge-colored undershirt barely visible through her torn clothes, her hair in disarray with both buns undone. The falling hair framed her snow-white, delicate face, now tear-stained from crying, clearly terrified and trembling. She looked at him timidly with her large, misty eyes. Lin Jin Lou’s heart softened, but his anger rose again. Suppressing his rage, he said in a gentle voice: “Are you alright? Where are you hurt? Should we call a doctor to examine you?”

Xiang Lan truly felt she had escaped death. Still in shock, she collapsed in tears.

Lin Jin Lou had been managing Madam Qin’s birthday banquet. Seeing the Jian Qiu Pavilion full of women, he had only checked on the kitchen and arranged for twelve graceful maids, each carrying precious celebratory items, to recite birthday wishes to Madam Qin in unison. Madam Qin was delighted and called out, “Rewards!” Lin Jin Lou quickly ordered his servants to distribute reward money. While busy with this, he had spotted the maid called Xiang Lan from beside the artificial mountain, wearing a frost-colored jacket with her hair in double buns, without any ornaments, yet possessing an indescribable simple elegance. Lin Jin Lou was instantly captivated and couldn’t take his eyes off her. Xiang Lan seemed to notice him and turned away. Lin Jin Lou, as if possessed, followed her. He was delayed briefly by a steward, and when he caught up, he couldn’t tell which way Xiang Lan had gone. Then he heard several terrible screams and followed the sound, only to witness this scene. Lin Jin Lou felt his lungs would explode with anger – someone daring to attempt rape in his mansion, not even considering whose territory this was, actually daring to cause trouble under his nose – had they eaten a tiger’s gall? Moreover, this was the maid he had taken a liking to. Usually, he was the one causing trouble for others, yet now some ignorant servant dared to pull his whiskers. Looking at Xiang Lan’s torn jacket, Lin Jin Lou’s anger reached its peak, though his face became expressionless. He walked to Si Shun’er and bent down: “Where did you come from? Who allowed you through the second gate?”

Si Shun’er, seeing Lin Jin Lou’s murderous aura, trembled like chaff but still gritted his teeth and refused to speak. Lin Jin Lou kicked him, and with a “crack” accompanied by Si Shun’er’s scream, Lin Jin Lou smiled coldly and said: “I’ll break one of your legs first. If you still won’t tell the truth, I’ll break both. If you still won’t speak, I’ll dislocate your fingers one by one. Let’s see how long you can stay silent.” He kicked the broken leg again: “Speak up!”

Si Shun’er was spineless. Lin Jin Lou’s earlier kick had already broken several of his ribs, and this kick broke his leg. Crying for his parents, he wailed: “I’m Young Lady Huan’s servant, she let me in.”

“That maid, did she seduce you?”

“Yes… no, no no, Young Master, Young Lady Huan gave her to me.”

Lin Jin Lou began to lose patience and kicked him again: “Stop bullshitting. Gave her to you? Why would you need to act like such a beast then?”

Si Shun’er groaned: “Young Lady Huan said… said Xiang Lan belongs to the Lin family, she couldn’t make decisions for her, but if I slept with Xiang Lan, she would have no choice but to be with me… On Madam’s birthday, she would find an excuse to send Xiang Lan out, and let me silence her and do the deed…” But he hadn’t expected that Xiang Lan, who looked so delicate, would be so hard to handle, and then this unexpected interference occurred.

Lin Jin Lou smiled coldly and delivered another violent kick. With another “crack,” Si Shun’er howled – his other leg was broken too. Lin Jin Lou said: “I’ve broken both your legs. Stay right here, and if you dare run, I’ll skin you alive!” He then went back, scooped up Xiang Lan, and pushed open the door to the left room, only to hear an “Ah!” of surprise – Si Qiao and Hui Er had been hiding in the room.

Lin Jin Lou, with a stern face, placed Xiang Lan on the kang bed and told her: “Go pack your things, you won’t need to serve here anymore.” His eyes swept over Si Qiao and Hui Er. The two felt their scalps tingle. Hui Er shrank into the corner of the kang, while Si Qiao stood breathlessly against the wall. Lin Jin Lou said flatly: “With such a commotion in the courtyard, you didn’t think to check?”

Hui Er and Si Qiao dared not speak.

Lin Jin Lou pointed at Si Qiao and asked: “What’s your name?”

Si Qiao’s heart trembled as she stammered: “This servant is… is called Si Qiao.”

Lin Jin Lou snorted and walked out.

Xiang Lan’s hands trembled as she took out a set of clothes from her box, managed to change, hastily tied her hair in a bun, and packed her mere four sets of clothes and a few daily necessities into a small bundle. As she was about to leave, she stopped and turned to look at Hui Er and Si Qiao, suddenly saying: “You both knew about Si Shun’er’s plan today, didn’t you?”

The two avoided looking at Xiang Lan’s face, and her heart turned ice-cold. She walked to Si Qiao and delivered a hard slap, staring directly at her: “You know how I’ve treated you.” Si Qiao looked ashamed and lowered her head, holding her face.

Xiang Lan wanted to say more in rebuke, but suddenly felt it was pointless. She only said slowly: “You… take… care… of… yourself!” Without another look, she pushed open the door and left.

Lin Jin Lou was standing at the courtyard gate. Seeing Xiang Lan come out, he told Shuang Xi: “Guard the courtyard and don’t let anyone in. Later, spread the word below that the dog of a servant had an affair with Cao Li Huan and snuck in during the birthday banquet for a tryst. Drunk, he mistook the maid Si Qiao for the Young Lady and tried to violate her, fortunately, the master caught him.”

Shuang Xi broke out in a cold sweat, thinking to himself that Cao Li Huan was blind to have angered their master – wasn’t this seeking death? He repeatedly nodded and said, “My lord, you can count on me!”