Madam Lin frowned, casting a cold glance at Concubine Qiu.
Indeed, the old lady would occasionally call Concubine Qiu over for a chat or to participate in gardening, as she, too, was once a village girl.
"Since the old lady instructed you to bring soup to the master, you should have left after delivering it. Yet you—were you waiting for the master to finish before leaving?"
That was indeed Concubine Qiu’s secret hope. She wished that Lin Xingyi would take pity on her for bringing him soup so late in the day and allow her to stay longer, which was why she lingered.
As it happened, Lin Xingyi did keep her afterwards and they spent a steamy interlude together, bringing her joy all night long.
Upon dawn, fearing Madam Lin’s tactics, she wanted to leave sneakily, but to her dismay, she still got caught.
Concubine Qiu, now a sobbing mess, could only say, "Madam, I dare not do it again; it was just this once, please spare me!"
"Spare you?" How could such behavior be condoned? If this went unpunished, the other women would follow suit, seizing any opportunity to bring soup. That would be intolerable.
Madam Lin looked at Concubine Qiu coldly and said angrily, "I cannot let you break the rules of the house by yourself, so I cannot overlook this. Someone, go call the human trafficker."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Qiu froze, a look of utter hopelessness in her eyes.
Lin Xingyi was not a man swayed by lust, and opportunities for these concubines were already scarce. Furthermore, with the mistress of the house practically a tyrant, treating them like animals, their chances of receiving favor were even rarer.
Having finally received more affection than the others, she had been hoping for a chance to conceive a child. How could she willingly accept being sold off?
All of a sudden, Concubine Qiu, as if driven mad, pushed away the two maids holding her down and laughed loudly, "Jin Yuan, you are too much! I am the master’s woman, a concubine with status. I will not leave; I want to see the master, I want to see the old lady. What right do you have to sell me?"
At that, Madam Lin flew into a rage.
She had no intention of actually selling Concubine Qiu, since these women were gifts to Lin Xingyi from others, or bestowed by the emperor himself. Since Lin Xingyi had taken them in, it meant they had to be accepted, and naturally, they were not for sale.
What she meant to sell was the personal maid of Concubine Qiu. What use was a maid who couldn’t even keep watch over her own mistress?
Yet who would have thought, the foolish Concubine Qiu misunderstood and even dared to challenge her?
"Hold down this cheap wench and slap her," Madam Lin commanded loudly.
A frail woman, Concubine Qiu was quickly subdued by the maids. In a moment, the sound of slaps began as she was hit across the face.
Only after both sides of Concubine Qiu’s face swelled red and blood seeped from her mouth did Madam Lin begin to feel a hint of relief.
Scared from the beating, Concubine Qiu no longer dared to resist and pleaded bitterly, "Madam, I won’t dare again, please don’t sell me; you can’t sell me, I was given to the master by Prince Wu..."
Madam Lin snorted. Did she think she would still be here if not for being a gift from Prince Wu?
"Take her away, she’s not to leave the house for a month, not even to walk in the garden," Madam Lin ordered. She kept Lin Xingyi’s mistresses in a shared courtyard, not allowing them casual egress. Yet, fearing it might be too much to handle if something went wrong, she allowed them an outing each day for the appearance of mercy, but it was limited to one hour.
This timing was deliberate; after all, none of them would have a chance encounter with Lin Xingyi during that hour anyway.
Concubine Qiu was dragged away by the maids back to the large servant quarters, weeping all the way.