These words left Lin Dongling speechless. She wanted to say she dared, but the Duke of Xian’s maid was right there; yet saying nothing would leave her in an awkward position. Lin Dongxiu, seeing the situation turning unfavorable, came to her aid: “We’re talking about your lack of respect for hierarchy, why are you bringing up the Duke of Xian’s household? They certainly wouldn’t have an impudent servant like you!”
Xiang Lan seemed not to hear Lin Dongxiu’s words, her eyes fixed only on Lin Dongling as she stepped forward slowly: “Young Lady, please tell us—do you dare or not? If you dare, then go to the Duke of Xian’s ancestral home in Jiangnan and barge in there, throw pastries in their maids’ faces. If you do that, I’ll kneel, bark like a dog, and crawl around Nanjing. If you don’t dare, then you’re looking down on our Song family, and I’ll have to report this to the Master for a thorough discussion.”
By now, Lin Dongling was regretting her actions, feeling like she was being roasted over a fire. She never expected a mere maid to be so aggressive, pressing her into such a difficult position by targeting her weak points and making accusations that left her speechless.
Lin Dongxiu sneered, “Look at your attitude, daring to make bets with your masters—who do you think you are? Just for your repeated insolence today, I should tell Aunt to discipline you severely! Not to mention the filth in your pastries—the masters are all precious, if any of them fell ill, your worthless life wouldn’t be enough compensation!”
Hearing this, Xiang Lan lowered her head and said, “Then let’s take this pastry to Madam to judge what filth is in it that could cause death.” She moved to pick up the pine nut pastry.
Lin Dongling panicked—there was nothing wrong with the pastry, she had merely used it as an excuse to cause trouble. As she stood there unsure what to do, Lin Dongxiu quickly stepped forward, getting ahead of Xiang Lan, and crushed the pastry under her foot, nearly stepping on Xiang Lan’s hand.
Xiang Lan stood up and looked at Lin Dongxiu, seeing her flushed face and heavy breathing. She straightened herself, adjusted her hair, and tugged at her half-sleeved jacket embroidered with white and rose-red peonies, saying formally: “Since this is the case, we all know the truth about the pine nut pastry. If we continue this scene, it will be embarrassing for everyone. I have a suggestion—Young Ladies can leave here, close the door, and we’ll pretend this never happened. Madam won’t know, the Master won’t know, and Miss Tan won’t know. How about that?” She thought to herself: “Lin Dongling is just an ignorant child after all. Why should I stoop to her level? It’s better to resolve this peacefully. They haven’t gained any advantage, so I’ll give them a way out and be done with it.”
Lin Dongxiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and was about to leave, but Lin Dongling, unwilling to accept defeat and feeling too humiliated to leave like this, swept her hand across the writing desk. Books, calligraphy pieces, and brush holders clattered to the floor. Xiang Lan, knowing how much Song Ke treasured the inkstone, rushed forward to catch it, but Lin Dongxiu pushed her from behind. She lost her balance, hit her head on the table, and the inkstone fell, leaving a large black stain on her pomegranate-red skirt before rolling onto the floor.
Seeing Xiang Lan in such a sorry state, Lin Dongling finally felt satisfied and snorted, “That’s what you get for being a seductress! If you dare manipulate Cousin again, I’ll be the first to deal with you!” She turned to leave, and seeing the three maids still standing at the door, she pushed past them saying, “What are you all watching? Come with me.” Halfway through her words, she choked—Song Ke was standing right in front of her, asking, “What’s going on here?”
Lin Dongling stammered, unable to speak, cold sweat breaking out. Lin Dongxiu, being clever, naturally refused to show herself and hid behind the door. At this time, Zheng Jingxian, noticing that Ling, Xiu, and her maid Yue’er were missing, had come looking for them and followed the sounds to the study. She stood under the grape trellis, watching from a distance.
Seeing everyone silent, Song Ke craned his neck to look inside and saw the chaos—books scattered everywhere, the blue and white porcelain brush washer shattered on the floor, and brushes rolled in all directions. Xiang Lan sat on the floor, a large ink stain on her skirt, rubbing her head as she slowly stood up, bending to pick up the inkstone.
Song Ke’s expression changed instantly. He pushed past Lin Dongling, rushed into the room, and pulled Xiang Lan up, saying, “What happened to you? Did you fall? Where are you hurt? Let me see.”
His pull caused the inkstone Xiang Lan had just picked up to fall again. She cried out anxiously, “Ah, ah, the inkstone fell again! What if it breaks?”
Song Ke held both her arms and said, “It’s just an inkstone, it doesn’t matter if it breaks. Sit down first, let me see where you’re hurt.” He made her sit in a chair and looked her over.
Xiang Lan said, “It’s nothing, I just hit my head on the table.”
Song Ke looked closely and saw a red swelling on Xiang Lan’s forehead. He sighed in relief, “Fortunately it’s not serious. Wait here, I’ll get some ointment.” He took out a cloisonné round box from the drawer, dipped his index finger in it, and personally applied the medicine to Xiang Lan as if no one else was present.
Xiang Lan dodged left and right, saying, “I can do it myself.” After she said this several times, Song Ke finally stopped.
This scene made both Ling and Xiu’s eyes red with jealousy. Song Ke turned around and asked, “What happened just now?”
No one spoke. Song Ke asked again, “What exactly happened here?”
Lin Dongxiu glanced at Song Ke, then raised her eyes to look at Lin Dongling. Xiang Lan laughed coldly inside, thinking: “This Fourth Young Lady is truly clever, shifting the blame to her sister with just a look. Even though she didn’t start the trouble, her instigation and meddling were most despicable.”
Song Ke asked for the third time, slightly raising his voice: “What exactly happened here?”
Everyone remained silent. After a while, Lin Dongling lifted her chin and said, “I was eating pastries earlier and found something dirty in them. Hearing they were made by Xiang Lan, I came to question her. Who knew she would be so disrespectful to her superiors? In anger, I swept the table. If I broke anything Cousin treasures, I apologize and will buy you something better!”
Song Ke frowned slightly at these words and looked back at Xiang Lan, who gently shook her head at him. He turned back and spoke gently, “What are you saying, Sister? They’re just writing implements, not worth much money. We’re family, there’s no need to talk about compensation. However…” his tone grew firmer, “Xiang Lan is a Song family maid. If she does something wrong, Sister should tell me or Madam. Intervening directly is overstepping. Moreover, the front courtyard is where men stay. Sister shouldn’t rush in carelessly. If male visitors had seen you, it would become gossip outside, and I would have trouble facing Aunt.”
Lin Dongxiu, being astute, immediately said, “Cousin, we were wrong. Please don’t be angry. Little Sister apologizes to you.” She gave a graceful curtsy, then looked at Xiang Lan and said, “Sister Xiang Lan, please forgive my youthful ignorance.”
Xiang Lan thought to herself that Lin Dongxiu was truly talented at reading the situation. She forced a smile and said, “It’s nothing, I should apologize to Young Lady as well.” She bowed, and Lin Dongxiu hurriedly returned the gesture.
Lin Dongling pouted. She felt she had done nothing wrong, but seeing how Lin Dongxiu’s apology had softened Song Ke’s expression, she reluctantly bowed to him and said, “Sister was wrong, I apologize to Cousin.” She gave a slight curtsy. Full of jealousy toward Xiang Lan and unwilling to apologize to a maid, she pretended not to see her and stood aside.
Song Ke said, “Since that’s settled, Sisters should return now.” Lin Dongxiu left first. Lin Dongling was still reluctant to leave, but with Song Ke’s dismissal, she had no choice but to go.
Song Ke closed the door and walked to Xiang Lan’s side to examine her forehead, asking, “Let me look again, where else are you hurt?”
Xiang Lan stood up and said, “Just hit my head.” Looking at her skirt, she sighed, “The newly made skirt is stained with ink, I don’t know if it can be washed out.”
Song Ke didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “You truly ‘value possessions over life.’ The important thing is your head wasn’t seriously injured, yet you’re worried about a mere new skirt. We can make several more tomorrow.”
Xiang Lan stuck out her tongue without saying anything. This was the first piece of clothing she’d ever made from fine fabric, and Song Ke had specially chosen the material for her, so naturally she cared about it deeply. Glancing aside, she saw Song Ke already bending down to clean up the things on the floor. She helped him clean up, and biting her lip, asked, “Did you believe what your cousin said earlier?”
Song Ke looked at Xiang Lan and placed the books on the table, his eyes clear as water: “I know you’re not the type to make unreasonable trouble. Whatever she says, I just treat it as a child’s temper tantrum. I know her domineering personality that jumps to conclusions… You were wronged today.”
Xiang Lan felt warmth in her heart, looking at Song Ke for a long time without words. The grievance she had felt earlier completely disappeared, and she smiled radiantly: “I’m not wrong. It’s just that your two cousins listened to that little vinegar jar’s instigation and together overturned the big vinegar jar, and I was caught in the crossfire like a fish in a pond.” She put her hands on her hips, imitating Lin Dongling’s expression and manner, vividly saying, “‘That’s what you get for being a seductress! If you dare manipulate Cousin again, I’ll be the first to deal with you!’ Ah, tell me, aren’t I being wrongly accused?”
Song Ke immediately understood, his brows furrowing as he slammed his hand on the desk in anger: “How foolish! I repeatedly told her not to speak about your presence in the Song household to outsiders, yet she completely ignored me and even brought people to the study!”
Xiang Lan sighed and said, “What’s meant to be will be. Paper can’t wrap up fire—it would have gotten out sooner or later. I just hope Lin Jinlou has forgotten about me, so I can have some peaceful days.”
Song Ke forcibly suppressed his anger and comforted her: “He’s suppressing bandits in Zhejiang and won’t return anytime soon, perhaps not for three to five years. After I pass the spring imperial examinations, we’ll move the whole family away. No matter how powerful the Lin family is, they can’t control everything under heaven, can they?”
Xiang Lan nodded but still felt uneasy. She helped Song Ke clean up the room, not knowing that future troubles would arise from yet another person.