After leaving the West Main Courtyard, Xu Lingyuan took her own cloak from Wantang and draped it over Zhao Lijia, then turned and instructed the maid Fusang to go to the West Side Courtyard.
"Are you all right? Were you frightened just now?" she said as she tied the cloak's fastenings for her.
Zhao Lijia pressed her lips together and shook her head. "It was scary at first, but afterward I felt… Amber didn't seem to harbor any hostility toward me, so it got much better."
Xu Lingyuan looked at her, and in those eyes long steeped in calm, a flicker of teasing amusement appeared—though it vanished in an instant. "You can tell what Amber is thinking?"
Zhao Lijia's lips curved slightly, and she gave an embarrassed smile. "I don't know how to explain it either."
Xu Lingyuan gathered the cloak's hood. "Early spring nights are still cold. From now on, remember to bring a cloak or something when you go out."
The two walked and chatted. Zhao Lijia felt that her cousin's wife was easy to become dependent on—she was calm and unhurried, making one feel at ease and comfortable.
When they arrived at Chunxuan Xiaozhu, several maids crowded around. Seeing that the eldest madam had also come, they bustled about in a flurry.
Zhao Lijia was not well accustomed to receiving guests. After a moment of awkwardness, she led Xu Lingyuan toward the second floor. "Cousin-in-law, let's go upstairs. I don't usually stay down here."
Xu Lingyuan was taken aback for a moment. Seeing the first floor cold and quiet with sparse lamplight, she followed the other upstairs.
Upon reaching the second floor, several maids gathered around to help Zhao Lijia remove her cloak and greeted the eldest madam. Zhao Lijia was surrounded by the maids, who asked questions left and right until she could hardly breathe.
"All right, all right, I'm fine. It's just a tear in my sleeve, that's all."
Cold-Light Iron Armor examined the skin beneath the tear in Zhao Lijia's sleeve, and seeing it completely unharmed, let out a breath of relief. She had a belly full of words to say, but with the eldest madam present, she swallowed them down.
Xu Lingyuan observed the room she was in. She had been here before, but now it was entirely renewed, filled with the atmosphere of a young girl.
The room was filled with a dazzling array of things, yet it did not feel cramped in the least.
By the window stood a red sandalwood writing desk, on which brushes and inkstones were laid out, haphazardly piled with several volumes of Li Yishan's Collected Works in blue silk covers.
At the corner of the desk, a red-gold hairpin with a dangling pearl had been lazily set upon a celadon brush rest, its tassels hanging down and swaying tremulously.
The window by the dressing table was open, and the wind stirred the green bed curtains. One could vaguely see a half-open Raden Mother-of-Pearl Inlay cosmetic case on the table, its pearls and jade overflowing, with a jadeite hairpin half-exposed outside. Beside it lay a white jade rabbit paperweight, pressing down several sheets of gold-flecked paper, on which the ink was only half-written.
On the soft couch where she sat, there also lay askew a small carved-red lacquer box with a lychee pattern, its lid flipped open, with several East pearls the size of fingertips rolling out. Inside, a copy of the Book of Songs was even rolled up and casually tucked within.
The room was scented with a sweet but not cloying incense—refined and pleasant.
Xu Lingyuan looked at this room, orderly in its disorder, and recalled her own days in her maiden chamber. Though back then, her room had been so clean and monotonous it hardly resembled a boudoir—more like a study at the Imperial Academy.
Zhao Lijia squeezed out from the cluster of maids and told them to go about their own business.
She came to sit beside Xu Lingyuan. Seeing the things on the couch, her face flushed with heat. She hurriedly picked them up and set them on the table, then spoke awkwardly: "Cousin-in-law, would you like some snacks? I have cherry honey pork jerky that I brought from Jinxiao Tower."
Xu Lingyuan shook her head. "I won't eat. I didn't get a chance to eat earlier, and it's almost time for the evening meal now. You have some."
After she said that, Fusang came up with two maidservants.
The two maidservants set the evening meal on the low table on the couch, and Fusang presented Xu Lingyuan with a tray covered by brocade cloth.
Xu Lingyuan opened it to show Zhao Lijia. "This is top-quality zhuanghua gauze. It's perfect for making a spring shirt."
Zhao Lijia knew that her cousin's wife was compensating her because Amber had ruined her dress. If she didn't accept it, her cousin's wife definitely wouldn't let it go, so she calmly accepted it. "Thank you, cousin's wife. This zhuanghua gauze is truly beautiful. It will look perfect made into an upper garment to match a green silk skirt."
The zhuanghua gauze was as thin as a cicada's wing. In the candlelight, it showed shifting colors of gold and emerald interwoven, and it would surely look even more beautiful in sunlight.
Xu Lingyuan's brows relaxed. "As long as you like it. I don't usually have much use for these things."
Zhao Lijia and Xu Lingyuan were five years apart in age. Xu Lingyuan was also in the prime of her youth, but she usually liked to wear plain, elegant clothes. This zhuanghua gauze had been bestowed on her by Consort Xian in the palace, and in her hands it had just been left idle and wasted.
Zhao Lijia picked up her chopsticks, then suddenly thought of something and said, "Cousin's wife, you haven't eaten either, right? Then eat here with me. I can't finish all these dishes by myself."
Xu Lingyuan still wanted to decline, but Zhao Lijia had already sent someone to fetch bowls and chopsticks. By the time she reacted, there was already a thin-bodied white porcelain bowl and a pair of ebony chopsticks inlaid with silver in her hands.
After Xu Lingyuan left, Han Guang and Tieyi took advantage of when Zhao Lijia was bathing to carefully examine her neck and wrists. Only after seeing that she was unharmed did they truly set their minds at ease.
Zhao Lijia sat in the bathtub, toying with a hairpin in her hand. "I told you it was right to stay away from Third Cousin, didn't I? You two were still laughing at me at the door."
Remembering Third Cousin's strange gaze made goosebumps rise on her arms.
She twirled the buyao, with its scattered gold accents, and sighed. "My instincts really are accurate."
Han Guang and Tieyi felt somewhat indignant hearing this. How was it that this Third Young Master seemed to dislike their young lady?
Han Guang truly did not understand. "In Liangzhou, from the stable hands and cleaning women below to the general's steward above, there wasn't a single person in the household who didn't like the young lady. So why does this Third Young Master seem to clash with the young lady at every turn?"
Tieyi also said, "Right, right. Remember the blind old woman who delivered vegetables? She had never even seen the young lady and still liked her. The general said that when the young lady was born, even the general's red horse wept with joy."
When Zhao Lijia heard this, she quietly slipped into the water. What red horse weeping with joy? That was all her father's lie. When she was little, she had foolishly believed it too. Only later did she learn that the red horse had simply had an eye ailment and could not stop its tears.
At the time, her father had heard that the commandant of Lishui Prefecture, having been blessed with a daughter, told everyone he met that when his daughter was born there were five-colored auspicious clouds on the horizon. Her father had refused to be outdone and wanted to imitate him, but unfortunately he had read too little. He happened to see the red horse suffering from its eye ailment and made up that story.
Han Guang and Tieyi were still asking her about it. Zhao Lijia exaggeratedly yawned and said, "Oh my, I'm so sleepy."
At once Han Guang and Tieyi busied themselves. Given how quickly their young lady fell asleep and how deeply she slept, if she fell asleep in the bathtub, no amount of calling would wake her, and then it would be trouble.
The two of them could not spare time to talk anymore and quickened their movements. Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Zhao Lijia buried half her face in the water and secretly smiled.
Zhao Lijia had her gentle cousin's wife to keep her company and comfort her, but Lin Zeyan was rather more miserable.
As soon as Zhao Lijia left, the Second Madam and Second Master had no desire to pay him any mind. He escorted his second brother back to Yunyu Hall. He had just stepped out of the courtyard when he saw Mozhu, the young servant attending his eldest brother, waiting for him.
When Lin Zeyan arrived at the west side courtyard, his eldest brother Lin Congji was in the side room coaxing Huabao to sleep. Huabao spotted her third uncle leaning against the doorframe and playfully made faces at him. Seeing that she showed no sign of sleepiness, Lin Congji instructed the two maidservants attending Huabao to watch over her.
When Huabao saw her father about to leave, she grabbed his sleeve. "Father, you mustn't be fierce to Third Uncle."
Lin Congji's gaze softened as he tucked in her blanket. "If Huabao goes to sleep obediently, Father won't scold Third Uncle."
Hearing this, Huabao quickly squeezed her eyes shut. Lin Congji stroked her cheek, signaled the two maidservants to keep watch, and closed the door behind him as he left.
Seeing his younger brother, Lin Congji showed none of the warmth he had toward his daughter. His refined features returned to a stern, proper expression. "Come with me," he said, and strode toward the study.
Once in the study, Lin Congji leaned back in his chair and looked at Lin Zeyan. "What happened today?"
Lin Zeyan stood before the desk, his face taut. "How would I know…"
Lin Congji adjusted his posture and gave a slight nod. "If you can't control Amber, then don't bring it out casually. If it injures someone outside, it would truly be a betrayal of His Majesty's kind intentions."
A flicker of urgent protest crossed Lin Zeyan's eyes, but the moment he met his eldest brother's gaze, he swallowed it back and said only, "Amber is docile by nature. It won't hurt anyone—you know that too, Brother."
Lin Congji smiled. "Docile by nature? Do you think I've never seen what it's like on the hunting grounds? Enough. This creature is precious. Keep it carefully and don't let it out."
Lin Zeyan dared not argue with his eldest brother, and he too felt that Amber had indeed been unusual today, so he answered, "Understood."
Lin Congji's gaze settled on his brother, and he noticed he seemed distracted. He tapped the table to get his attention. "Our cousin traveled a thousand li to come to Chang'an. We should all take good care of her. You gave her a fright today—remember to go apologize tomorrow."
Lin Zeyan's eyelashes trembled slightly. Then his expression turned indifferent, revealing neither pleasure nor anger, and he gave a soft "Mm" by way of agreement.
Lin Congji could tell the boy hadn't taken it to heart at all, so he simply changed the subject. "Has the matter of Cao Liulang already been presented before His Majesty?"
Lin Zeyan raised his head. "Does Brother also think my sentence was too heavy?"
Lin Congji picked up a book from the desk and shook his head. "It's that they've grown too lax. The higher up one goes, the more lax it becomes."
Cao Liulang had broken a dancing girl's leg in Pingkang District. He should have received three years of penal servitude, but the Great Liang Code contained the provision that "offenses between high and low are graded differently in severity."
Cao Liulang was the son of an official, while the dancing girl was a registered musician. Cao Liulang's sentence was reduced by one degree to two and a half years of penal servitude. If he wished to avoid serving time, he could simply redeem himself with copper. But Cao Liulang showed no remorse whatsoever—he even refused to pay the copper redemption, his attitude utterly defiant.
Given this, Lin Zeyan sentenced Cao Liulang to two and a half years of penal servitude plus ninety strokes of the cane, on two counts: breaking a limb in assault and contempt for the law.
He did not feel there was anything excessive about it. The Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review had agreed with this sentence as well.
The corners of Lin Zeyan's mouth turned up, his mood visibly improved. "I understand."
Lin Congji turned his attention to his book. "You may go."
Lin Zeyan went out and ran into Xu Lingyuan, who was returning from Zhao Lijia's place. Seeing him come out of the study in an unusually good mood, she was somewhat curious. "Third Brother didn't get scolded today?"
Lin Zeyan bowed to Xu Lingyuan and said with a smile, "Not today. Sister-in-law, I'll be going now."
Inside the study, Lin Congji overheard their conversation and his lips curved slightly.
He set down the book in his hand and watched the doorway, waiting for Xu Lingyuan to open the door and walk in. But he waited a long time, and the sound of his wife and the maid talking gradually faded into the distance, leaving him alone in the quiet night.