“Spring’s late yet flowers know it not,

Still vie in fragrance, beauty’s lot.

Scattered petals carpet the ground below,

Meeting now seems time long forgot.”

Before the words were finished, Song Tan Chai smiled and said, “You still claim it’s not well written – you deserve a scolding! Just the concept alone is deeper than mine, truly admirable.”

Lin Dong Ling, feeling awkward about her poor poetry, was already uncomfortable. Earlier when she had lost face, she saw Zheng Jing Xian looking at her mockingly, eyes full of disdain, which immediately brought tears to her eyes. Now hearing Song Tan Chai being so humble toward Zheng Jing Xian made her even more upset, and she burst out, “Sister Tan Chai, what are you being modest about? When you’re good, you’re good. Your brother is a famous talent in the capital. If we had invited men today, even a poem he wrote in his dreams could win first place.”

Zheng Jing Xian didn’t even look at Lin Dong Ling, only speaking coolly to Song Tan Chai, “I’m from the capital myself, but I don’t know which gentleman your brother is?”

Song Tan Chai said, “Sister, don’t listen to Sister Ling’s random talk…”

Lin Dong Ling cut in, “Her brother is Song Ke, courtesy name Yi Fei, he’s written many poems and essays.”

Zhao Yue Chan, seeing Lin Dong Ling behaving like an agitated hen, quickly said, “We’ve been talking for a while and must be tired. Let’s all have some tea before continuing our evaluations.” She arranged refreshments, being generous and proper, warm and thorough, at times encouraging everyone to eat and drink, at times sending people to her room to fetch the preserved goose feet and duck hearts she had made a few days ago. She smiled and said, “Last time when I returned home for my mother’s birthday, my eldest sister-in-law told an amusing story that had us laughing until our stomachs hurt.”

Lin Dong Qi, knowing Zhao Yue Chan was good at telling stories, asked, “What amusing story? Sister-in-law, please tell us so we can share in the laughter.”

Zhao Yue Chan’s beautiful eyes sparkled with charm as she waved her fine silk fan, “My eldest brother-in-law was once a county magistrate in Shunyi County of Shuntian Prefecture. One time while presiding over court, he asked a criminal his age, and the criminal said he was born in the Year of the Pig. My brother-in-law thought the man was mocking him and angrily said, ‘This magistrate was born in the Year of the Pig, how dare you also claim to be born in the Year of the Pig?’ The criminal hurriedly replied, ‘Your Honor, I truly was born in the Year of the Pig, in the twelfth month.’ My brother-in-law then realized the criminal wasn’t insulting him and relaxed, muttering, ‘This magistrate was born in the first month.’ Unexpectedly, the criminal put on a fawning smile and said in a loud voice, ‘That’s right then – Your Honor is the pig’s head, and I’m the pig’s entrails!'”

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter, all becoming weak from laughing so hard. Madam Qin, hearing from inside, asked, “What’s happening outside? Why such intense laughter?”

Hong Jian smiled and said, “First Madam told a joke that made everyone laugh.” She then retold what Zhao Yue Chan had just said, making all the ladies in the room laugh as well.

Aunt Song laughed and said, “This monkey is always so clever and witty, no one can match her eloquence.” Others praised, “Indeed, not only is her personality refreshing, but her appearance is also flawless. The way she manages everything inside and out, her entire bearing shows capability. Sister Qin is blessed to have such a daughter-in-law.”

Hearing these words, Madam Qin only smiled faintly and lowered her head to drink tea, hiding the complex emotions in her eyes. After a moment, she raised her head, looking at Zhao Yue Chan’s vibrant appearance, feeling bitter inside: “Zhao is both clever and beautiful, understands people’s hearts, and is always respectful to me, never saying ‘no.’ Such wisdom is truly rare, speaking of which she is an excellent daughter-in-law. However, there is one thing – she lacks kindness and virtue, and without these two qualities, plus her money-grubbing nature, no matter how many other good qualities she has, they all fall short… Ah, it must be that Lou’er has no luck with wives. If only he could marry someone with Zhao Yue Chan’s beauty, cleverness, and bearing, but with Qing Lan’s kind heart…”

At this moment, Zhao Yue Chan laughed again and said loudly, “I’m just a common person, I don’t understand all this poetry and prose, I only know how to tell a few crude jokes from the countryside, making everyone laugh for a bit of fun.”

Xiang Lan, leaning against the wall, watched Zhao Yue Chan’s cheerful and captivating demeanor, then looked at the somewhat deflated Qing Lan sitting on a bench under the corridor, and thought to herself: “The proper wife truly has that special quality. After all, she comes from an official’s family, has seen and experienced much since childhood, and has weathered storms – her way of handling matters is simply different. Even though we all help support Young Madam Lan and try to elevate her, she lacks that wit and eloquence and ends up losing face. Such effort was spent on this poetry society, yet in the end, Zhao Yue Chan stole half the spotlight with just one joke.”

While she was observing others from her corner, she didn’t notice Lin Jin Lou watching her from behind the rose trellis. He saw Xiang Lan with her hair in a simple bun, wearing a pale green jacket and light blue skirt with two butterflies embroidered on the hem, dressed neatly and fresh, making her beautiful face appear even more lovely. Lin Jin Lou half-closed his eyes, looking Xiang Lan up and down, then down and up, feeling that she didn’t quite match his memory’s image, yet upon careful observation, she did, though he felt the real person looked even prettier. Lin Jin Lou stroked his chin, wondering how a maid could be so beautiful…

His eyes swept around and caught sight of a young maid with her hair just long enough to tie up, holding a plate of cake and eating as she walked, her round face looking quite endearing. He beckoned, “Hey you, come here.”

The one eating the cake was Little Juan, who was startled when suddenly called, and upon seeing it was Lin Jin Lou calling her, was so frightened she almost choked. She was most afraid of Lin Jin Lou’s authority and stood there dumbfounded for a moment.

Lin Jin Lou said impatiently, “I’m calling you, can’t you hear? Are you deaf?”

Little Juan forcefully swallowed the cake, rolling her eyes from choking, and approached with lowered eyes, saying, “What are Young Master’s instructions?”

Lin Jin Lou pointed toward Xiang Lan from afar: “Tell her to go to Tao Ran Pavilion, I have business with her.”

Little Juan nodded rapidly like a chicken pecking rice and turned to leave, when Lin Jin Lou suddenly called out, “Wait.” She immediately stopped.

Lin Jin Lou instructed further, “Don’t let others know about this, go quietly.”

Little Juan nodded vigorously again before leaving.

Xiang Lan was attending to her duties by the wall when she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, and saw Little Juan with cake in her mouth mumbling, “Hurry and go, Young Master is looking for you.”

Xiang Lan was startled: “Young Master? He’s back? What does he want with me?”

Little Juan patted her chest, still looking frightened: “I don’t know, he said he’s at Tao Ran Pavilion behind Long Cui Residence. You’d better not keep him waiting. When he suddenly called me just now, I was so startled I almost choked to death.”

Xiang Lan had no choice but to go to Tao Ran Pavilion. She left through the back door of Long Cui Residence, circled a strange rock, and found Tao Ran Pavilion hidden among the mountain peach and apricot trees. There she saw Lin Jin Lou standing leisurely in the pavilion, playing with a thrush in a cage hanging inside.