After leaving Aunt Song’s room, Madam Guo pulled Fang Si into a room, closed the door, and whispered, “Don’t mention anything about Xiang Lan again. You know how Madam follows Young Master’s every word – if Young Master said coal was white, Madam would agree, ‘Yes, yes, it does look somewhat white’… Ah, why do you insist on rushing toward the knife’s edge?”

Fang Si twisted her handkerchief and said, “I just can’t accept it.”

Madam Guo sighed, “What good does not accepting it do? I’ve long urged you to learn to read – Young Master likes those with scholarly refinement, but you wouldn’t listen. Both Red Xiu and Xiang Lan are literate. Now that you can’t win his favor, who can you blame?”

Fang Si grew increasingly agitated, flung herself onto the bed, and covered her head with the blanket. Madam Guo sat on the bedside, sighed again, and nudged Fang Si, “You’ve always been sensible since childhood, don’t lose your head now and take the wrong path. Young Master has his heart set on that maid, so don’t go looking for trouble. Be friendly with her normally. I see Young Master is kind and warm toward you, he might still have such thoughts – we can wait two more years. But if nothing happens after two years, you can’t keep waiting. Be good and find someone to marry, understand?” She nudged Fang Si again.

Fang Si buried her head and wept, hearing Madam Guo’s words, she bit her lip and cried even harder.

Meanwhile, Xiang Lan helped the maids set the table. Song Ke emerged from his bath wearing casual dark green clothes. Seeing Xiang Lan about to leave, he called out, “Xiang Lan, don’t go, stay and eat with me.”

Jun Xi and Yue Xi exchanged glances and left with suppressed smiles. Xiang Lan felt awkward – these days she had been eating with the other maids, and now Song Ke asking her to stay made her uncomfortable.

Song Ke acted as if nothing was unusual, sat at the table, patted the stool beside him, and smiled, “Come over, why are you standing there?”

Xiang Lan hesitantly approached. Song Ke reached out and pulled her to sit down, picked up some dishes placed them on the small plate before her, winked playfully, and said, “It’s just us two, no need to be so formal.” He ladled her a bowl of soup, “Try this, it’s ham soup.”

Xiang Lan stared motionlessly at the fragrant small bowl of soup before her.

Ham soup was also Xiao Hang’s favorite. Having lived in the Song household these days, from Song Ke’s temperament, preferences, and mannerisms, she was certain that Song Ke was Xiao Hang. Yesterday in the study, she secretly found that fan inscribed with “Hearing flute from the tower at night, silence reigns at the third watch,” and seeing the familiar yet strange handwriting, she quietly shed tears.

Finding her husband from her previous life, she couldn’t tell if her heart held joy or sorrow. The joy that across two lifetimes, they had the chance to meet again; sorrow that their stations were now as different as clouds from mud – Song Ke could never marry a servant as his wife!

Though the Song family had lost its former glory, “even a lean camel is larger than a horse” – they were still an established family with considerable property and shops. Once Song Ke passed the examinations, he would restore the family’s honor and then marry a daughter from a noble family to revive their fortunes. Even if he chose to marry a common girl, she would surely be from a well-off gentry family. By no means would it be a mere maid whose contract was firmly held by her master.

What good would it do even if she and Song Ke recognized each other?

She dared not presume too much. Originally, she and Xiao Hang had been married for just one year before being exiled, spending less than two years together in total. Moreover, that marriage had been her one-sided desire.

Now meeting in another life, how much of Song Ke’s feelings for her could remain?

If this life meant exchanging being a wife for being a concubine, she would rather never see him again!

Seeing Song Ke’s care and protection toward her, she felt as if a heavy stone weighed on her heart. Though she warned herself not to become too deeply involved, she shamefully felt secret joy in her heart and even a hint of hope.

Buddha said unfulfilled desires bring the greatest suffering, and so she struggled daily between attachment and letting go.

Song Ke poured himself a cup of wine, picked up a small pastry, and was about to put it in his mouth when he looked at Xiang Lan and stopped.

He didn’t know why Xiang Lan again showed such a sorrowful expression. These days he had tried every way to make her happy, but whenever Xiang Lan showed a smile, she would then reveal such sad eyes, as if she had experienced great hardships. In his previous life, he had died of illness, drifting hazily for an unknown time until he vaguely heard someone calling. Following the sound, he found the Song family’s two-year-old son Song Ke was about to die of illness, and the family had invited a Taoist priest to call back his soul. Song Ke had already stopped breathing, so he approached and entered the child’s body, and in a flash, more than ten years had passed. He had once asked people to inquire and learned that Lady Shen had died long ago, while his previous life’s relatives had either died or left, and he couldn’t find any of them.

Now this girl truly resembled his previous life’s wife Lady Shen. Sometimes he wondered if Xiang Lan might be like him, perhaps Lady Shen’s soul. He had tried probing several times, deliberately mentioning trivial matters that only he and Lady Shen had known in their previous life, but found Xiang Lan did not react. So he wondered if he had made a mistake, after all, more than ten years had passed, and his previous life seemed like a dream.

Song Ke cleared his throat, took out a frozen crystal banana-leaf cup, filled it fully for Xiang Lan, placed it before her, and asked, “Do you have something on your mind?”

“What would I have on my mind?” Xiang Lan looked up, having already cleared all melancholy from her face, and smiled slightly, “I just feel it’s not proper to eat at the same table as you.”

Song Ke furrowed his thick brows: “What’s proper or improper about it? I’m sick of such things. Shouldn’t one be comfortable in their own home? I want to watch you eat with me.” He pushed the wine cup forward again, “Have a few cups of wine with me today.”

Xiang Lan smiled slightly, “Drinking so late at night, will you still study later? You won’t be able to hold your brush steady, and won’t be able to focus on your studies.”

Song Ke smiled and said, “Why mention such mood-killing things? Let me toast with you first.” He urged Xiang Lan to raise her cup, clinked with her and drank it all in one gulp.

Xiang Lan quickly advised, “At least eat some food, otherwise the wine will affect your internal organs.” She picked up a duck roll and placed it in Song Ke’s dish.

Song Ke couldn’t help but smile, ate the duck roll in one bite, and began casually talking about interesting matters around him – how some mischievous students played pranks on the academy’s great scholar; how Lin Jin Ting secretly went to brothels to drink and was discovered by Old Master Lin, who ordered Lin Chang Min to discipline him with a whip, and Lin Jin Ting complained to Song Ke with tears and snot, asking why his elder brother could go to such places but he couldn’t, saying it was truly unfair; he also told of how his shop’s worker was deceived by a traveling magician.

Song Ke spoke with wit and elegance, his continued clever remarks making Xiang Lan smile continuously. Perhaps too enjoyably, for when Jun Xi came to knock on the door, they realized it was already the hour of Hai (9-11 PM).

The maids cleared away the remains of the meal and brought fresh water. Song Ke, five parts drunk, saw the beautiful moonlight in the courtyard and insisted on going out to appreciate it. Yue Xi brought out a small table, Jun Xi brewed fresh hot tea and set out fruits and pastries. Song Ke then dismissed them, “You all go to sleep, Xiang Lan will attend to me here.”

The two of them stood side by side in the courtyard, surrounded by silence except for the “rustle” of wind through the bamboo grove and occasional insect sounds, which made the stillness even more profound.

Xiang Lan lifted her face to see a half-moon hanging in the sky, its light soft as silver.

Song Ke stood for a while, let out a long breath, and smiled, “All scenes are created by the mind. I remember another time watching the moon with a woman – it was a bright full moon hanging over the river, but because my heart was bitter then, even the best moonlight seemed desolately sad. But today, though it’s only a half-moon, looking at it with my heart’s eye, it seems clear, as if I’ve never seen such beautiful moonlight in this life.”

Xiang Lan continued looking up at the moon, smiling, “Tonight’s moonlight is truly pure. Look, there’s not a single cloud in the sky, and in the courtyard, we have flowers to admire and good tea to taste – truly a divine moment.”

Song Ke said softly, “And having you here with me makes even a common scene beautiful.” His voice was so soft it seemed almost non-existent when it reached Xiang Lan’s ears, but Song Ke still blushed, reaching for Xiang Lan’s hand, his heart fluttering, fearing she would think him a frivolous man. He cleared his throat wanting to say something but couldn’t find the words. Though usually very composed, he became flustered now because he cared so much.

Xiang Lan didn’t pull away, standing quietly beside him with a lowered head, silently thinking, “Heaven have mercy on me, just let me be presumptuous for a little while.” Song Ke was the person she treasured in her heart; seeing him talk and laugh with such spirit reminded her of those beautiful days in her previous life, making her unable to resist drawing closer. Every moment spent with Song Ke allowed her to temporarily forget her humble status and difficult fate.

Song Ke secretly observed Xiang Lan’s gentle profile and delicate shoulders. Holding her small hand made his heart melt, and his lips curved up in a smile. The first time he saw Xiang Lan, he felt his heartstrings being stirred. This girl was so beautiful yet so stubborn and resilient – even when beaten by Cao Li Huan, she showed none of the usual dishevelment, and afterward still held her head high, carrying nobility and pride in her bones. He had stared at her carefully for a long time, then couldn’t resist the impulse to go see her.

Song Ke squeezed Xiang Lan’s hand tightly, led her to sit at the table, and smiled, “I originally learned some music for enjoyment. But mother prefers quiet, and since father passed away, there hasn’t been music in the house for a long time. Otherwise, playing a tune now would suit the mood.”

Xiang Lan finally raised her face, looked at Song Ke’s elegant features, and smiled, “The natural sounds around us are more pleasing than any instrument.”

Xiang Lan’s smile was beautiful, the moonlight falling on her jade-like face seemed to coat it with a light layer of silver, as if she had stepped out of a painting. Song Ke stared in a daze, foolishly making an “mm” sound.

Seeing him like this, Xiang Lan wanted to laugh, but melancholy soon crept over her again, so she stood up and said, “It’s very late, Young Master should go rest. You need to rise early tomorrow to study, don’t harm your health by staying up.”

Song Ke was reluctant but worried Xiang Lan was tired, so he agreed.

Xiang Lan went to help Song Ke wash up and prepare for bed. He lifted the bed curtain, watching Xiang Lan leave with a candle and close the door. He wanted to ask her to stay but felt that would be too far.

“Wait until after next year’s spring examinations,” Song Ke thought to himself as he drowsily closed his eyes.