In a civilian residence near the Medicine King Temple, Wu Biao was muttering to himself, saying: “Lin Changmin is an incompetent fool, putting this matter in his hands… tsk…”

Hua Mei sat in the candlelight, holding a mirror to examine herself. Hearing this, she put down the mirror, and walked behind Wu Biao, massaging his shoulders while saying, “Don’t underestimate him. Lin Changmin is quite cunning too. If this succeeds, he’ll live the rest of his life with his head held high – how could he not be invested? Lin Jinlou is so concerned about Chen Xiang Lan, that once he hears there’s news, won’t he rush over eagerly? Besides, the arrow is already on the string, thinking too much won’t help… Is everything arranged properly?”

Hua Mei considered herself a first-rate person but unfortunately was like a beautiful jade fallen into the mud. Among her sisters, she was the most beautiful and clever, but because her birth mother was a concubine and timid by nature, she too became a sacrificial lamb, given away by her father as a gift to advance his career. She refused to accept this fate. In the Lin family, where everyone had eyes only on wealth and status, she carefully calculated each move, currying favor left and right, finally securing a promising future for herself. But just as there was Yu, there had to be Liang – then came Chen Xiang Lan, pushing her into a corner. Lin Jinlou had long cast her aside like a fan after autumn, and she hated him for being blind to her worth and was even more jealous of Chen Xiang Lan for stealing her glory. Now was precisely the time for vengeance – even if delayed ten years, it was time to release the pent-up anger in her chest! Thinking this, she felt a bitter satisfaction, biting her silver teeth hard, her eyes widening with tears rolling down.

Wu Biao said, “Everything’s ready. When Lin Jinlou comes, four archers will shoot simultaneously, turning him into a porcupine. Even the supreme deity couldn’t save him then. We can rest easy after that, just wait here for news.”

Hua Mei was silent for a while before saying, “We should still prepare for the worst. If it fails, better to flee…”

Before she could finish, they heard a muffled groan from outside the wall. The two were startled and exchanged glances. Hua Mei quickly blew out the lamp and moved to the corner of the room.

Wu Biao held his knife and hadn’t yet settled at the door when it suddenly burst open. Five or six people rushed in swinging weapons. Wu Biao shouted in alarm, “My Lady, we’ve fallen into a trap!” But he heard no response from Hua Mei. He called out again, “Help!” but heard no response from his subordinates. By now he could barely protect himself and hurriedly raised his knife to fight back.

Lin Jinlou’s elite guards were all experts. After a few exchanges, Wu Biao was overwhelmed and forced out of the house. Lin Jinlou sat on horseback, holding the reins, expressionless, watching coldly. The Lin family soldiers attacked simultaneously, and with several “thud” sounds, a blade pierced Wu Biao’s body. Wu Biao cried out in pain, “My Lady, your plan has ruined me!” With these words, he fell forward clutching his large knife.

Lin Jinlou ordered his men, “Search inside.” Then he rode forward and ordered Lin Changmin to be brought over, pushing him in front of Wu Biao, sneering, “Second Uncle, take a good look, do you recognize this person? This capture of the bandits is all thanks to Second Uncle’s merit, speaking truthfully and completely just now.”

Lin Changmin was pale. Along the way, he endured countless blows from Lin Jinlou until he couldn’t take it anymore and finally confessed. He stammered, “Yes, yes, wise nephew…” Before he could finish, Wu Biao suddenly opened his eyes and threw his large knife at Lin Changmin, shouting, “So it was you who betrayed and exposed me!”

Lin Changmin was terrified but couldn’t dodge in time. His head tilted and the knife struck his neck with a “thwack.” With a gurgling sound from his throat, he collapsed to the ground.

Lin Jinlou was stunned. At this moment, Wen Rushi dragged out a woman, saying, “Young Master, we found a woman hidden in the house.” In the firelight, Lin Jinlou saw she had an oval face with powder and rouge, thin curved eyebrows, bright red lips, and an alluring appearance, though now her hair was disheveled and she looked frightened.

Their eyes met in silence. Lin Jinlou remembered Wu Biao calling out “My Lady” earlier – this must be Hua Mei.

So she had wanted to harm him.

Hua Mei raised her face to see Lin Jinlou towering above her like a deity, imposing and majestic. After all, he was once her lover. Her heart felt soft, painful, hateful, and angry, then frightened, scared, cold, and hard. She moved her lips but before she could speak, Lin Jinlou asked, “Where is Xiang Lan? Is she with you? Hand her over and I’ll spare your life – I’ll release you immediately.”

Hua Mei’s lips trembled. She maliciously thought about telling Lin Jinlou that she had killed Xiang Lan, or that she knew Xiang Lan’s whereabouts but wouldn’t tell him, then immediately biting her tongue to commit suicide. Her eyes flickered, but after a while, she let out a breath – she was ultimately someone who couldn’t bear to die, even living for a moment longer was better. Her expression wilted as she said, “Xiang Lan isn’t here, she was never delivered, we don’t know anything about it, she truly was lost on the way.”

Lin Jinlou closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment, he opened them, raised his head, and no longer looked at Hua Mei, as if he had never known her. He simply ordered his men flatly, “Take her to the authorities.”

Hua Mei collapsed completely, her mind in chaos, her legs barely able to walk. As she was dragged along, she looked back, seeing only Lin Jinlou’s profile. She walked a bit further, then inexplicably looked back again, but could only see Lin Jinlou’s back, illuminated by the cold, desolate crescent moon.

Lin Jinlou went to the authorities and ordered his guards to carry Lin Changmin back to the Lin family. When they carried him into En You Hall where the Second Branch lived, the courtyard immediately erupted in chaos. Lin Jinting hurriedly put on clothes and came out, seeing the guards carry Lin Changmin into the room, only saying, “Commander Lin was capturing bandits with our General, but unexpectedly took a knife to the neck from the bandit leader.” After saying this, they placed him on the kang bed in the outer gauze room and left.

Lin Jinting gathered his courage to look and saw Lin Changmin’s neck twisted to one side, the wound already bandaged, half his body covered in blood, his face golden like foil, seemingly already passed out. Checking for breath, it was barely there, but he still had a thread of life. Lin Jinting was shocked and repeatedly ordered someone to find a doctor.

Inside, Madam Wang heard the commotion and sent Hu Po out to inquire. Lin Jinting knew Madam Wang was unwell and didn’t dare disturb her, only saying perfunctorily, “Father went on official business with Big Brother and was injured. I’m here handling it, Mother should rest.”

Madam Wang fell silent then. After a while, Li Miaozhi hastily arranged her hair and put on casual clothes before coming in from outside. Seeing Lin Changmin’s tragic state, she couldn’t help but cry out, covering her mouth and saying fearfully, “What… what happened? He was fine this morning, how did he become covered in blood?”

Lin Jinting’s mind was in chaos and he impatiently said, “How would I know? You’re not needed here, go check on Mother and keep the servants in order.” Saying this, he went out to meet the doctor.

When the doctor arrived and examined him for a while, he shook his head and said coming out, “Now we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate. Use some tonics, and if he wakes up he can only have porridge and soup, fed slowly. Let’s see how he does after getting through these few days.”

Lin Jinting hurriedly asked, “Thank you, doctor, please tell me honestly, is this wound life-threatening?”

The doctor said, “The wound isn’t deep, but it hit a vital spot, and I fear it has damaged the bone. At this stage, it won’t be a quick recovery – just let him rest for now. I’ll come back in the afternoon to check again.”

Hearing this, Lin Jinting thought to himself, “From these words, it seems extremely dangerous. He’s already spoken so clearly, no need to ask further.” The doctor wrote a prescription, and Lin Jinting personally gave him his fee and saw him out. Returning to look at the prescription, he saw it was all nourishing medicines, so he sent someone to fetch the medicine, then went inside to report to Madam Wang. Entering, he saw Madam Wang awake, sitting up in bed. Lin Jinting explained everything that had happened and relayed what the doctor had said.

After hearing everything, Madam Wang suddenly threw off her covers and put on her clothes to come out. Lin Jinting quickly moved to support her, saying, “Mother, why are you getting out of bed? Please rest, be careful not to trigger your headache.”

Madam Wang’s eyes were unusually bright as she quickly walked to the gauze room and ordered Lin Jinting to hold up the candle so she could examine Lin Changmin closely. Seeing him truly unconscious, she suddenly broke into giggles.

Lin Jinting was bewildered, thinking Madam Wang had become ill from shock. While supporting her, he said, “Mother, what’s wrong? What’s wrong?”

But Madam Wang pushed away Lin Jinting’s hand and pointed at Lin Changmin, her expression elated as she said through gritted teeth, “So you have your day too! Even tigers don’t eat their cubs, but the day you drove Ying’er out, did you know there would be such retribution? Heaven truly has eyes! Haha, heaven has eyes!” As she laughed, thinking of her years of suffering countless humiliations, and remembering Lin Dongying, she couldn’t help but cry, sobbing. But then seeing Lin Changmin in this state, she started laughing again. With such extreme emotions, her eyes rolled back and she fainted. Lin Jinting hurriedly caught her and called loudly for the maids and servants, causing quite a commotion.

The Second Branch’s courtyard remained brightly lit all night. Su Meiru sensed something was wrong that very evening when two guards appeared outside her room. She felt uneasy but still harbored some hope.

She sat anxiously until the evening when someone announced, “Second Madam has arrived.” The door curtain lifted and Li Miaozhi entered supporting Madam Wang, who wore a crab-shell green lined jacket and looked thin, but unlike her usual timid self, her eyes showed newfound spirit.

Madam Wang sat down on a stool and looked around. Though it was just a small room in a temple, it had all-new brocade bedding, colorful glazed landscape tea sets, premium Dragon Well tea in the cups, and even a jade ring left on the bedside table – Lin Changmin’s possession. Well, she was Lin Changmin’s beloved after all, he must have visited secretly often. How could he let his precious concubine suffer even slightly? Of course, he would bring the finest things from home to pamper her.

Madam Wang couldn’t help but think of how Lin Changmin had treated her in the past, and how he had treated Lin Dongying. She thought her heart had long since died, but seeing this today, anger welled up in her throat again. Tears came to her eyes as she ground her teeth, her throat bitter, unable to speak.

Li Miaozhi’s expression was sharp. Seeing Madam Wang’s state, she knew she couldn’t speak, so she said, “Concubine Su, last night the Master went to suppress bandits with the Young Master and was seriously injured. He was carried back.”

It hit Su Meiru like a thunderbolt. She broke out in a cold sweat and cried out, “What! How could this be?”

The room was dim, with rays of sunset shooting through the carved windows onto Su Meiru’s panicked face. This was the first time Madam Wang had seen her like this, and she felt immensely satisfied. She coughed lightly and said, “This time the Master’s injury is dangerous. The doctor came this afternoon and said even if he recovers, he may be left with chronic ailments – he’ll never fully recover.”

Su Meiru was devastated, only able to mumble, “How could this be, how could this be…”

Li Miaozhi said, “The Madam is kindhearted and thinking that you’re still young, perhaps you should take another path in the future, so why not send you away…”

Su Meiru’s whole body jerked as she looked sharply at Madam Wang, who hated her enough to drink her blood and eat her flesh, but only gave a slight cold smile and continued, “But you are the Master’s beloved, your love is as deep as the sea. Now that he’s bedridden, how could I tear away his heart’s flesh?” She paused, looking at Su Meiru, “It’s not right to keep you living here though. I’ve already reported to the Old Madam, and tomorrow we’ll set up a separate courtyard for you to be with the Master daily. As long as the Master lives, naturally, you’ll have your place.”

“No!” Su Meiru screamed, throwing off her covers and tumbling out of bed to grab Madam Wang’s sleeve. “No, please be merciful, Madam, send me away. I have an estate that I can offer to you…”

Madam Wang just looked at her coldly and said through gritted teeth, “I never thought I’d see the day you’d beg me.” She then slapped Su Meiru hard, making her palm sting and her whole body tremble as she pointed and cursed, “You… you whore! You caused my daughter to disappear without a trace, and you dare ask for my mercy!”

Li Miaozhi quickly stepped forward to support Madam Wang, saying softly, “Madam, take care. You’ve come for revenge, but you must look after your health.” To Su Meiru she said, “Concubine Su, this is already mercy from the Lin family, you should be grateful.”

Su Meiru fell silent, dazed, collapsing on the ground.

Su Meiru had thought Lin Jinlou would surely come to settle accounts with her, but unexpectedly she never even saw him once. Madam Wang truly set up a separate courtyard for her and Lin Changmin to live in, with guards watching strictly, not allowing them to step out – like being in prison. Lin Changmin was lucky to survive, able to sit and stand, but his head remained tilted as if looking at things sideways, his speech slurred, sometimes clear and sometimes confused, unable to control his bodily functions.

His temper only grew worse, cursing and beating people daily, keeping only Su Meiru and two old women as servants. Su Meiru couldn’t escape or avoid it, and any slight mistake in service would bring curses from Lin Changmin and the old women – truly unbearable suffering. Being a woman used to an easy life, she had never endured such torment.

Combined with her incomplete postpartum recovery, she fell seriously ill. Within a year she was reduced to skin and bones, kneeling at the courtyard entrance begging Madam Wang to let her leave. Madam Wang hated her to the bone and wouldn’t let her go. After enduring through the second year, Su Meiru finally couldn’t take it anymore.

One day after Lin Changmin beat and cursed her again, she lay in bed at night thinking: “Madam Wang hates me completely. As long as Lin Dongying isn’t found, she’ll torture me day after day. Even if Lin Changmin dies, I’ll never be free. Besides, I have no one to rely on now, who can I hope will help me?” Thinking of her past days of prominence and status, it seemed like a dream of glory that she had cherished and indulged in but couldn’t hold onto.

Tears fell as she thought to herself, “I’ll probably be trapped here for life with no chance of recovery, why keep living to suffer this humiliation?” Having decided, she secretly put rat poison arsenic in Lin Changmin’s tea cup and served it to him. Then she carefully dressed and made herself up, put the remaining arsenic in a bowl and drank it, lay down on the kang bed, and no one knew at the time.

The next day, when the old woman brought meals, she found Lin Changmin dead in bed and was shocked to find Su Meiru also dead on her kang bed. Terrified, she quickly reported it. In the end, the Lin family provided a thin coffin and hastily buried Su Meiru without ceremony.