Binding Spring Love

Lin Jiayue never imagined that she would suffer such a great loss because of a slap.

After she slapped the old bastard surnamed Li, she was dragged into the house by the other old women from Xiuyan Pavilion. Those old women did rough work all day and had frighteningly strong hands. Not only could she not break free, but she was also powerless to even utter a few words of abuse.

Her mouth was stuffed with a soft towel, while other nannies stood by with a pile of exquisite-looking but unsettling items.

"Aunt Lin is quite fortunate. These items were specially made when our ancestors established the clan and the mansion, and no one has enjoyed them for a hundred years."

Granny Li selected a pale yellow jade plate from the large lacquered fan-shaped tray. The plate was about the length of a forearm and the width of a palm, and it was thin, smooth, and translucent, wider at the front and narrower at the back.

Lin Jiayue stammered and struggled, and Granny Li said, "Release Concubine Lin."

"Old man, I'd like to see if you dare to lay a finger on me."

Lin Jiayue was a little scared, but she was certain that these servants wouldn't dare to do anything to her: "Jiang Xingjian is always extremely polite to me and never says a harsh word to me. What can you servants do to me?"

Qi Shun's wife chuckled: "The master and mistress are considerate of their servants. They even say a few words of sympathy to the one who cleans up the night soil in the mansion and give her a couple of strings of cash. Madam, please don't think that you have won the master's favor."

"Besides, you can't just call me by my name like that."

Granny Li laughed and said, "It's just that I don't know where to start teaching these rules, so let's start by correcting Auntie's habit of talking nonsense and being disrespectful."

Li Mama took a soft handkerchief from the mahogany washstand, soaked it in cold water, and then wrapped it around the rhinoceros horn ruler.

As Lin Jiayue watched her get closer and closer, she couldn't help but feel a little scared.

"Aunt Lin, don't be afraid. The rhinoceros horn ruler is thin and wrapped with a cool water cloth. Although it hurts when you hit it, it won't leave any marks or really hurt you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Jiayue heard a sharp slap and felt a sharp pain on her cheek.

The thin, tough material slapped against her face, and her cheeks quickly became hot. However, because she had wrapped a towel that had been soaked in cold water, the heat remained trapped deep within her skin. The painful yet unreleased swelling made Lin Jiayue feel a numbness in her gums and the base of her tongue.

"Smack."

With a slap of the ruler, Granny Li loudly chanted: "Virtuous girl, watch your mouth, do not utter nonsense, do not engage in flirtatious behavior, do not get involved in filth, and do not put yourself in any suspicious place."

"Smack..."

"A woman's virtues are serene and upright, her speech is concise and gentle, her work is thorough and prudent, and her appearance is elegant and graceful..." Read it aloud!

Lin Jiayue's limbs were held firmly down, and she gritted her teeth and refused to speak no matter what.

Granny Li sneered, repeating the same sentence over and over again, each time accompanied by a loud slap.

She had served Jiang's mother since childhood, and during her fifteen years in the Liang family and more than twenty years in the Marquis's mansion, no master had ever spoken a harsh word to her. Now, she had been slapped by a lowly concubine, and all the dignity she had accumulated over the decades had been lost in vain.

Although she looked down on Lin Jiayue in the past, she never thought of making things difficult for her. But now, she was unsure how much she would have to learn these rules.

"Purity and steadfastness are the principles of self-cultivation..."

"Pure and steadfast..."

Unable to withstand the repeated blows, Lin Jiayue finally broke down and slowly opened her mouth.

Seeing that she was obedient, Granny Li snorted coldly: "Please invite Concubine Lin over here and teach me the proper manners for walking, lying down, stepping, and sitting."

She tossed aside the ruler and gestured for the maidservant with her hair in a bun to help Lin Jiayue change her clothes.

The young girl hurriedly stripped Lin Jiayue of her clothes, and she felt only shame but was powerless to resist.

The newly changed clothes were starched with some kind of substance, and they're stiff and uncomfortable to wear, causing pain.

Then an old woman stepped forward, holding a rolled-up embroidery needle, and quickly pinned it to Lin Jiayue's dress.

Granny Li took out a thin, long rattan cane and said coldly, "Please, Concubine Lin, learn the proper etiquette from me."

Lin Jiayue felt her teeth were clenched until they were numb, but she had no choice but to follow Li Mama. However, her clothes were as hard as iron plates, and if she was not careful, silver needles would pierce her flesh. After only a few steps, she was in so much pain that she was covered in sweat.

"Smack."

A slender vine lashed at Lin Jiayue's leg: "Don't shake your skirt."

"Smack."

"Don't look back once you've gone."

"Smack."

"Do not lift your lips to speak."

"Smack..."

"Walk slowly and quietly, hands clasped, voice hushed..."

Until the dead of night, Lin Jiayue suddenly woke up from her dream, and shouted out the principle of conduct: "The only way to live is to be pure and chaste."

Coming to her senses, she couldn't help but sob.

"Ahem, would Aunt Lin like some tea?"

No...no need.

With red eyes, Lin Jiayue lay back down in bed, never before had she felt such disgust for the Marquis's mansion.

The carved bed is heavy and exquisite. A single carved wooden bed includes a dressing table and a small table, and there are dozens of exquisite wooden boxes inside the bed for the user to store various delicate items.

She liked it very much when she first saw it, and couldn't help but imagine how luxurious the large bed in the main courtyard of Lanting must be.

But just outside the large bed was the embroidered couch of the maid on night duty, ostensibly for the sake of close care, but in reality, someone would call out to remind her if she turned over in bed at night. And outside the personal maid's embroidered couch was the side room of the maids who did the menial work, and further out was the sleeping room of the night watchwoman.

If she talks in her sleep at night, it will become the talk of the town the next day.

Lin Jiayue looked at the blue gauze curtain above her head, bit the blanket, and cried silently.

Half-asleep, half-awake, Lin Jiayue endured a torturous night. Before dawn, she was shoved around by Granny Li again.

She had barely survived yesterday and was fantasizing that Jiang Xingjian would come looking for her today, like a hero riding on a colorful cloud to save her from her predicament. However, she did not expect that her thoughts would be seen through by Granny Li at a glance.

Granny Li sneered, "Is Concubine Lin expecting the Master to show up?"

Lin Jiayue pursed her lips and remained silent.

"Ah, let me tell you the truth, Auntie, there's no need for such wishful thinking. His Majesty and Consort Jiang and Consort Yun have returned to the palace to escape the summer heat. The eldest master and eldest mistress went to the palace to meet the Emperor before dawn today. Even after returning to the palace, the two of them still have to go to the Song family home for a homecoming visit."

"It won't be three to five days before the old man and his wife return."

Lin Jiayue looked shocked, her face turning pale. Seeing this, Li Mama said, "Madam is a blessed woman. Lin Madam should pray that Master and Madam can have a son, otherwise drinking too much of this contraceptive soup will make it difficult for her to conceive in the future."

"Although children born to concubines must be sent to be raised by the legal wife, if you are obedient and beg the eldest mistress, she may not refuse to grant you this favor."

Lin Jiayue bit her lip, and tiny specks of bright red oozed from the teeth marks.

She suffered for Jiang Xingjian, but Jiang Xingjian went to the palace to see the emperor with Song Wan, and even returned to the Song residence.

Lin Jiayue was heartbroken with hatred, but little did she know that Song Wan's life in the palace was far from comfortable either.