Lin Jin Lou left the house the next day, with Zhao Yue Chan personally escorting him to the second gate before returning. The concubines of various quarters, fearful of Madam Zhao’s power, dared not approach directly and instead secretly sent their trusted servants to wait outside the second gate to deliver items to Lin Jin Lou.

Qing Lan, always concerned about Lin Jin Lou’s health, sent a bottle of nourishing medicine pills. Ying Ge, fond of romantic gestures, made a cord mixing a strand of her hair with five-colored threads, suggesting “thoughts of love both horizontal and vertical.” Hua Mei simply sent a pink five-colored embroidered mandarin duck undergarment that she had worn.

Xiao Juan gathered intelligence about all the gifts from each quarter and came back to gossip secretly with Xiang Lan. Xiang Lan silently evaluated: Concubine Lan was the most virtuous, Ying Ge the most poetic, and Hua Mei the most… bold. She also secretly speculated about which gift Lin Jin Lou would prefer, and after much consideration, given that master’s temperament, she guessed he would most like Hua Mei’s pink mandarin duck undergarment.

As she and Xiao Juan were doing needlework and chatting, Yin Die walked in holding a casual cinnamon-pink jacket and tossed it beside Xiang Lan before turning to leave.

Xiang Lan picked up the jacket to look at it and called out, “Wait a moment.” She stood up and handed the jacket back, “Did you sew this? The stitching is so crude, how can you show such crooked work to others? Take it back and redo it.”

Yin Die snorted, “This is the best I can do. If you think it’s not good enough, sew it yourself.”

Xiao Juan angrily said, “How dare you speak like that? This is your work, and you’re making excuses for doing it poorly?”

Xiang Lan held Xiao Juan back and said calmly, “It’s fine if you can’t do it well, I’ll teach you. Go get the sewing basket.”

Yin Die glanced at Xiang Lan, “I have other work to do, Sister Chun Ling asked me to air out some books.”

Xiang Lan stepped forward to block her way, “Xiao Juan can air the books, you do the needlework first. I’ll talk to Chun Ling.”

As Yin Die was about to argue, Xiang Lan’s face turned stern, and she said coldly, “I gave you this work three days ago, you’ve already delayed this long and done it so poorly. Now I offer to teach you and you make various excuses. What exactly do you want?”

Yin Die had thought Xiang Lan was gentle and easy to bully but hadn’t expected her stern face to carry such authority. She was momentarily stunned. Xiang Lan handed over the jacket saying, “Go, resew this jacket. Let me tell you, this fabric is high-quality tribute silk. If you ruin it, it will be deducted from your monthly allowance, understand?”

Yin Die’s face turned red with anger, she took several deep breaths, staring at the jacket but not reaching for it. The two stood there in a deadlock. At this moment, the door curtain lifted and Chun Ling entered. Seeing the situation, she understood somewhat and smiled slightly, “Oh, what scene is this?”

Xiao Juan spoke quickly, “Yin Die won’t do her work properly. Xiang Lan wants to teach her, but she refuses to learn.”

Yin Die sneered, “You’re friends with her, of course, you take her side.” She glared at Xiang Lan, “Don’t think we don’t know what’s going on. Just because the Young Master gave you some palace-bestowed ointment, you think you’re superior to everyone? Pah! There’s still the Madam and the Concubines above you, and you think you can climb to a higher branch? Look how proud you’ve become, clearly picking bones from eggs! Hmph!” With that, she pushed past Chun Ling and stormed out, slamming the curtain.

Xiang Lan was stunned. Xiao Juan stamped her foot in anger, “That black-hearted little wretch, if you’ve got the ability, let the Young Master reward you too! She’s just jealous.” She took Xiang Lan’s hand, “Let’s ignore her, what’s she worth anyway!”

Chun Ling was secretly pleased but pretended to cough and consoled, “Yes, Yin Die is still young, her words are bound to be a bit harsh. I’ll talk to her later.” As she left, she turned her head and said, “The Concubine said you don’t need to come serve these few days, just focus on making some children’s clothes.”

From the tone, Xiang Lan’s eyebrows raised as she immediately understood – Concubine Lan was displeased with her. Since Lin Jin Lou had given her the facial ointment, the east wing had become strange. Qing Lan, who used to treat her warmly, had become somewhat distant, and now wouldn’t even let her serve closely; Madam Wu had become increasingly friendly, originally calling her by name but now addressing her as “Miss Xiang Lan”; Chun Ling was more polite but had subtly distanced herself; Yin Die showed it openly, directly giving her the cold shoulder and refusing to take orders; only Xiao Juan maintained their friendship as before.

Xiang Lan suddenly felt dispirited and sighed deeply, sitting back down and tossing aside the jacket she was holding.

In the small reception hall of the east wing, Hua Mei sat in a chair, leaning slightly forward, talking to Qing Lan: “…Actually, Second Miss is just someone who loves refinement. She used to love organizing poetry and chess societies but stopped for a few sessions due to Old Madam Zeng’s mourning period. Now that she has the spirit again, she’s asking everyone if they’re interested. Sister, if you’re in the mood, why not go to refresh your spirits?”

Her hair was styled in a glossy bun with an agate cloud dragon hairpin. Her face was still heavily made up, making her appear even more charming. She wore an azure-blue jacket with embroidered vine flowers and navy-blue trim, beneath which was a snow-white skirt, faintly revealing pearl-decorated upturned embroidered shoes – both coquettish and novel.

Qing Lan reclined on the luohan bed, playing with an orchid on the green sandalwood flower stand beside her, smiling as she said, “I don’t understand any of that wet or dry stuff, and besides, I’m tired. You all go ahead.”

Hua Mei smiled, “Even the Madam sometimes joins in the fun at these poetry societies. Sister, you should go, what’s the point of staying cooped up at home? Moreover, there will be official wives and young ladies from other households who frequently visit – it’s good to become familiar with them… Even that ogress from the main chamber, though she barely knows any characters, has to go join in the fun. Though I don’t get along with that little minx Ying Ge, I feel a connection with you, sister. We sisters can go together and keep each other company.”

Although Qing Lan grew up in a scholarly family, she was lazy by nature and had no interest in studying since childhood. She knew nothing of the four arts, only recognizing a few characters and having studied some from the “Collection of Virtuous Women.” When she heard Lin Dong Yi was organizing a poetry society, she was afraid of embarrassing herself and dared not agree. But hearing Hua Mei mention “the Madam will go” and “official wives and young ladies who frequently visit,” she became interested.

Hua Mei watched Qing Lan’s expression and smiled as she sipped her tea, “Besides, sister comes from a scholarly family, you’re a hundred times more accomplished than us. How could you be afraid of composing a poem? I’m afraid you’ll display such talent that you’ll outshine them all! In my opinion, why don’t you take the lead in organizing this session of the poetry society? When you show just a little of your skill then, your good name will spread far and wide.” She excitedly told stories about certain concubines who organized poetry societies, handled everything perfectly, and stood out among the ladies, bringing more honor than the principal wives; and about certain concubines’ daughters who married promising talented scholars because their poetry and writing skills became well-known through the poetry society. But in Hua Mei’s opinion, none of these people could compare to Qing Lan’s intelligence and knowledge. If Qing Lan could organize a session of the poetry society while her pregnancy wasn’t too advanced, and make a name for herself among the ladies, not only would she gain the Madam’s regard, but her unborn child would also carry more weight because of his mother.

This excessive flattery made Qing Lan dizzy with pride. She thought to herself: “Yes, Hua Mei is right. Though I’m a concubine in the Lin family, I come from a good family and was brought into the Lin family properly with a feast and sedan chair – I’m different from them. Though I have some status in the Lin family now, I have no reputation. If this poetry society succeeds and my name becomes known, with everyone’s praise, I won’t disappoint the child in my belly.”

In her excitement, she immediately said, “Very well, I’ll tell Second Miss that I’ll organize this session of the poetry society.”

Hua Mei smiled until her eyes narrowed, clapping her hands and saying, “Sister is truly decisive, a heroine among women. If this succeeds, not only will the Madam and Young Master look at you differently, but even the officials’ wives will praise your talent and virtue.”

She chatted about other things, lavishly praising Qing Lan before finally taking her leave.

As soon as Hua Mei left the east wing’s door, the smile “dropped” from her face. She coldly glanced at the east wing and sneered to herself, “Stupid woman, you’ve gone mad with ambition to agree to this. You’ll suffer for it!”