Mr. Lin gazed at her, enchanted. Indeed, it had been a long time. She had lost weight, not as plump as before, but her chest was still as full, her skin still as fair. In the dim moonlight, she had a soft beauty, as if she might be blown away by the wind, stirring an involuntary sense of tenderness. Recalling the warmth of old times, he wasn’t a heartless man; it was hard to forget those old affections.
“Daddy… Daddy…” A tender voice came from somewhere. The Third Madam looked at her daughter in surprise; it was she who was calling Mr. Lin. However, the Third Madam didn’t think her daughter was exceptionally clever, just that heaven had taken pity.
“Madam, is the daughter well?” Mr. Lin could hardly conceal his joy and asked with delight.
“Master, are you here? Snow has been looking for you.” Before the Third Madam could respond, a sweet voice sounded. Unbeknownst to them, a young woman had been standing outside the pavilion, adorned with pearls and jade, her sharp phoenix eyes lively on her delicate oval face.
“Snow, what are you doing here?” Mr. Lin quickly adjusted his mood, helping his heavily pregnant new concubine to sit down, and asked with concern, “Are you tired? Don’t wander around.”
This new concubine, Snow, seemed the very picture of a newlywed’s shy happiness, softly saying, “I’m not tired.” Only then did she notice the two other figures, a big one and a small one, and asked puzzledly, “And these two are…”
Mr. Lin then remembered the others beside him, as if the earlier tenderness was just an illusion. He laughed, “This is one of my wives, you haven’t met her before.” Snow quickly stood up, bowed slightly, and said, “So it’s the elder sister, I was rude.” The Third Madam returned the courtesy, still unable to see any trace of charm or favoritism in this new concubine.
