Rongguo Mansion.
"Huan'er is back!"
Before Jia Huan had even entered the courtyard, Concubine Zhao came toward him with tiny steps, mindful of the decorum befitting her imperially bestowed rank. But her longing for her son got the better of her, and she broke into a run. Reaching him, she began tugging at the shoulders and sleeves of his Flying Fish Uniform.
"I heard you were attacked."
"Just a scratch."
Concubine Zhao looked anxious. Only after inspecting the healed scar did she breathe a sigh of relief, then curse angrily:
"Which damned scoundrel plotted against my son? I curse you-"
"Enough!" Jia Huan immediately interrupted. "Let's go inside first."
"Huan'er, yesterday the court rewarded me with all sorts of treasures again. Two whole trunks of silk! I won't want for clothes for the rest of my life. And there was some kind of ginseng..."
Concubine Zhao linked her arm through his and chattered away, smiling as she spoke. Her son had made something of himself, and she basked in the glory.
He had barely entered the Warm Chamber and had yet to change into his everyday clothes when Yuanyang, Jia Mu's senior maid, suddenly arrived.
"Third Master Huan, Old Madam asks you to come over."
Jia Huan nodded.
In the five-courtyard compound, a delicate fragrance lingered through the hall, where the women gathered beside a wicker-covered brazier.
Jia Huan had just stepped through the door.
"Brother Huan!"
A delicate, slender figure rushed straight toward him.
"Someone from the Court of Judicial Review came and said my father hadn't died of illness. He was poisoned by a treacherous villain. Brother Huan avenged my father and had that villain sliced to pieces, bringing comfort to his spirit in heaven."
Lin Daiyu could not help throwing both arms around Jia Huan. Her fair,