Xiang Lan had no interest in watching the opera and was talking with Lin Dongxiu in the corridor when she noticed Lin Dongxiu’s expression change as she smiled and said, “Oh, look who’s here.”
When Xiang Lan turned her head, she saw Lin Jinlou striding over, covered in dust from travel. She remembered he had official business outside that day and had left early. Now he had returned and rushed over without even changing his clothes.
Lin Jinlou approached, frowning as he looked Xiang Lan over. She couldn’t help asking, “Why are you back so early? Shouldn’t you change your clothes?”
Lin Jinlou said, “I heard the Jiang family came again. Did Old Master and Old Madam give you trouble?” Without waiting for her answer, he took her hand and said, “Come on, let’s go back.”
Xiang Lan hurriedly said, “How can we leave before the feast ends?”
Lin Jinlou ignored her protests and pulled her along with large strides. When they reached Chang Spring Hall, he stopped and turned to look at her, seeing her face flushed red. Only then did he realize he had walked too fast, but his expression remained stern as he said, “Alright, no need to go back there, sparing you from feeling uncomfortable. I’ll tell Old Madam later to send the Jiang family away.”
Hearing this, Xiang Lan became anxious and said, “No, I’ve already agreed. Wouldn’t that undo everything? Besides, today is Old Madam’s birthday—we shouldn’t spoil the celebration for my sake.”
Lin Jinlou still frowned and said, “This is about caring for you, you fool.”
Xiang Lan froze, looking at Lin Jinlou without speaking.
After a while, Lin Jinlou said, “Have you thought about it? Being so soft-hearted only shortchanges yourself. You accommodate others while wronging yourself. Sometimes people take you for a fool, and your kindness is wasted on the heartless—they don’t appreciate it and only bully you more.” Seeing Xiang Lan stunned, he took her hand in his, examining it back and forth while saying, “Well, since we’re back anyway, the Jiang family should be leaving soon. We can go back then.”
Then Xiang Lan suddenly said, “It’s a nice day. Why don’t you take me out for a walk?”
Lin Jinlou raised his head in surprise—this was the first time Xiang Lan had asked to go out with him. He couldn’t help feeling happy and said, “That’s good.”
The servants prepared a carriage. Xiang Lan changed out of her formal clothes into plain, inconspicuous attire and didn’t bring any maids. Lin Jinlou didn’t ride horseback either, joining Xiang Lan in the carriage. He asked, “Where do you want to go? There are plenty of places for food and entertainment in the capital.”
Xiang Lan smiled and said, “Nothing special in mind, let’s just look around.”
The carriage toured the bustling areas of the capital. Whenever Xiang Lan asked about something or looked at something with interest, Lin Jinlou would send Shuangxi and Jixiang to buy it. They bought local specialties like autumn pear paste, fuling sandwiches, crisp candy, and preserved fruits, along with various simple but charming items like old books, clay figurines, sugar paintings, rattles, and small pottery jars.
Xiang Lan tried to stop him, saying, “Why buy so much? I just wanted to look.”
Lin Jinlou smiled brightly and said, “You can’t get off the carriage—how can you see clearly from so far? I’ll buy them so you can look carefully, to your heart’s content. When you’re tired of them, you can give them away. These small vendors don’t have it easy—it’s just a few more copper coins to help them earn a living.”
Hearing the latter part of his words, Xiang Lan was about to praise him when Lin Jinlou leaned close, smiling lazily, “Don’t you think I treat you especially well? Are you moved?” He pointed to his face and said, “Don’t I deserve a kiss?”
Xiang Lan’s words caught in her throat, and she ignored him. Previously, she had found Lin Jinlou’s behavior quite annoying. She had felt touched, but when he explicitly asked for recognition and reward, that feeling completely vanished. This fellow didn’t understand the beauty of subtlety, how silence can be more powerful than words. But now she found his shameless manner somewhat endearing. Her lips curved slightly as she held back a smile and turned to look outside through a gap in the carriage curtain.
After more than ten years, the capital appeared both familiar and strange to her eyes. When she was young, her grandfather and father had taken her to the streets, with servants carrying her on their shoulders, buying various trinkets to make her happy. When she was older, her father would hold her hand and take her to watch street performers and listen to opera in theaters… Now the carriage slowly passed a shop called “Rong Xi Zhai,” an old establishment selling scholarly supplies. She remembered how her grandfather would take his grandchildren there to hunt for ancient inkstones whenever he had free time, and she would always choose sheets of paper dyed with various patterns. Her father would laugh at her girlish tastes but often drew flowers, birds, fish, and insects on ordinary letter paper for her and her sister to enjoy…
As the carriage passed, Xiang Lan kept looking back. Lin Jinlou couldn’t help asking, “Want to buy some writing supplies?” After a pause, he added, “I can have the guards clear the shop if you’d like to look inside?”
Xiang Lan shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears as she suddenly said, “When Prime Minister Shen’s family was eliminated over ten years ago… I wonder… I wonder if anyone collected their remains… Where are they buried now…”
Lin Jinlou was surprised. He had guessed Xiang Lan had deep connections with the Shen family, but she had never mentioned it, and he hadn’t asked. He hadn’t expected her to bring it up voluntarily. After a pause, he said, “If you want to visit, I’ll take you there.” He then ordered the servants to drive the carriage outside the city.
After passing through the city gate, they traveled along the official road where people gradually became scarce. After about eight or nine li and two turns, they arrived at the foot of a mountain with a winding small path. Lin Jinlou helped Xiang Lan down from the carriage, and they walked up the path for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea. They came to a gentle slope where they saw tombs built with blue bricks and white stones—the Shen family’s ancestral graves. Lin Jinlou said, “Minister Shen and his descendants are all buried in this large tomb chamber.”
Xiang Lan gasped, her whole body trembling slightly. She covered her mouth in surprise and asked, “Who buried them here? Could it be that the Shen family wasn’t eliminated, that some survived?”
Lin Jinlou shook his head and said softly, “No… When the Shen family fell, all the male members were beheaded at the palace gate. My grandfather led people to bribe the officials at night to secretly collect their remains. At first, they didn’t dare bury them here, only finding a place to hastily cover them. After five or six years, when the storm had quieted, they chose an auspicious day and secretly moved them to the Shen family’s ancestral graves.”
Xiang Lan’s eyes had already reddened, with tears rolling down. In those days, the situation was dire and dark as a storm. During the prince’s succession struggle, the Shen family was the first to be executed. Not only were family members and relatives affected, but even her grandfather’s students were implicated one after another. Three censors who had spoken up for the Shen family in court were also reprimanded and demoted. In those fickle times, when relationships were as thin as gauze, no one came to help—everyone avoided involvement if they could. Originally, Lin Zhaoxiang and Shen Wenhan had grown distant due to political differences, but who could have imagined that when the Shen family’s nest had fallen, it was the Lin family who collected their remains, undoubtedly taking great risks. She turned slightly, wiping her eyes with her handkerchief, and asked, “Do you have any incense?” Her voice choked as she couldn’t help lowering her head to wipe more tears, saying, “I have some connection with the Shen family and would like to pay my respects today.”
Lin Jinlou said, “We bought some yunxiang incense at the market earlier.” He ordered Jixiang to fetch it.
Soon, Jixiang came running back breathlessly, not only with the yunxiang incense but also with a small pottery jar as an incense burner, various plain fruits and snacks, and cushions from the carriage to use as prayer mats. Shuangxi stood at a distance, clicking his tongue and rubbing his hands, thinking it was no wonder their young master favored his brother more—if he had been sent, he would have only brought the incense, never thinking of the incense burner and cushions.
With everything prepared, Xiang Lan personally lit the incense and performed a formal ceremony before the great tomb, bowing three times and kowtowing nine times. She poured a cup of plain tea on the ground, silently saying, “Ancestors of the Shen family, I offer this tea in respect today, hoping you find peace in death and do not suffer in the netherworld. That day came so suddenly that not even a word of farewell could be said. Remembering your faces and voices from those days cuts like a knife, filling me with grief.” After bowing, she remained kneeling with tears falling.
Lin Jinlou watched in puzzlement, thinking, “Xiang Lan once said she was the reincarnation of the Shen family’s eldest daughter—how could such a strange thing be true? But with her honest nature, she’s never lied… I heard her master was also from a noble family—perhaps there was some connection between the Shen family and her master?”
While he was thinking, Xiang Lan had already stood up. Lin Jinlou stepped forward to light incense and performed the junior’s ceremony. Seeing Xiang Lan looking at him with red eyes, he said, “I met Old Minister Shen when I was young, though I don’t remember clearly. Grandfather once said that although they had different views and disagreed, he respected him as a person. When he fell from grace, some advisers and clients in our household mocked his foolishness for not reading the situation, but Grandfather angrily rebuked them, saying that even if we couldn’t be as unyielding and loyal as Minister Shen, facing hardship for loyalty, we should at least respect loyal officials and feel regret for their fate.”
Hearing this, Xiang Lan couldn’t help but shed tears again, thinking silently, “Let alone the kindness of collecting their remains, these words alone made Grandfather’s friendship with Minister Lin worthwhile.” Looking up, she saw a solitary tombstone standing not far from the ancestral graves halfway up the hillside. Curious, she lifted her skirts and walked up to look. Seeing the words “Lady Shen of the Xiao Family” on the tombstone, she was stunned.
Lin Jinlou followed behind her and, seeing the tombstone, said, “I heard this is a cenotaph erected by the Shen family’s eldest daughter’s maid. She was a married woman and couldn’t be buried in the ancestral tomb. Grandfather mentioned this matter several times in casual conversation. What was that maid’s name… something Winter?”
“Rendong,” Xiang Lan silently recited the name, reaching out to touch the characters on the tombstone. She remembered how she had once resented this person’s troublesome behavior, causing problems everywhere, and had considered dismissing her. But ultimately, she couldn’t bear to, especially after seeing her cry secretly when alone. Thinking that if sold, with her delicate constitution, she might not live long, she had softened her heart and kept her. Afterward, though Rendong’s temperament remained difficult to manage and often gave her headaches, she had tolerated it for the sake of her loyalty. Who could have imagined their fates would be connected here?
She looked up at Lin Jinlou, who was casually examining the tombstone with the lazy air of a young master from a wealthy family. Seeing Xiang Lan looking at him, he turned his eyes to her. Xiang Lan smiled radiantly at him and said, “Earlier at the Lin house, Young Master spoke of accommodating others while wronging oneself, and how kindness fed to dogs was wasted. I didn’t know how to respond then, but now I do… I am kind because it’s the right thing to do, not for any future benefit. Even if others betray that kindness, does that mean we shouldn’t do what’s right in the first place? Heaven is always fair—after all the additions, subtractions, multiplications, and divisions, though I’ve been betrayed, I’ve also received many rewards. There are always more good people in this world.”
Xiang Lan rarely smiled at him like this, and Lin Jinlou was momentarily stunned. After a while, he understood what she meant and couldn’t help taking her hand, asking, “Oh? What rewards have you received then? Tell me.” Just as Xiang Lan was about to speak, Lin Jinlou added, “Look how well I treat you—perhaps that’s the reward for your virtuous deeds. You must have accumulated great virtue indeed.”