Against the Current - Chapter 105
Chapter 105 - Going Home (Part 3)
The maid stationed at the doorway lifted the curtain, and Old Madam Lin's senior maid, Xuezhan, walked in with a smile, saying, "The Old Madam says the Eldest Master has been toiling away abroad, and since Shuran will be assigned to a new post after the New Year, she is sending two maidservants over. Both have been properly trained right here in the Old Madam's quarters."
Lin Jinlou smiled and said, "I must properly thank the Old Madam later; even with such trivial matters, she still keeps me in mind."
Xuezhan thought to herself, The eldest branch still has no heir, how could this possibly be considered a trivial matter? She glanced at Zhao Yuechhan, noting her gloomy expression, before pausing to say, "They are waiting outside. Shall I have them come in and kowtow to the master and mistress?"
Lin Jinlou nodded. Xuezhan pulled back the door curtain, and two maids around fourteen or fifteen years of age walked in from outside. They were of similar height: one had exquisite skin, a slender, delicate frame, and fine, dainty features; the other was slightly plumper, with bright eyes and white teeth, moving with graceful, swaying elegance. Both carried an air of extreme propriety. As soon as they entered the room, they knelt to the floor.
Xuezhan pointed at them and introduced, "This one is called Ke'ren, and that one is called Lianxin. Come to think of it, it's quite a coincidence—Ke'ren is Shuran's paternal cousin, so coming to serve the Eldest Master is quite a bond of fate as well."
Lin Jinlou's gaze swept over the two of them. He had seen plenty of beauties, and though these two were attractive, they possessed the demeanor of high-ranking estate maidservants rather than anyone capable of truly astonishing him. He merely found them pleasing to the eye and said, "Since they are bestowed by the Old Madam, they shouldn't be treated like ordinary maids. Give them the standard first-class provisions, and have a separate room arranged for them in the west wing later."
Lianxin, who was quick-witted and sharp-eyed, hastily kowtowed and said, "We pay our respects to the Eldest Master and the First Mistress." Following her lead, Ke'ren was forced to kowtow as well, though an unmistakable look of reluctance flashed across her face.
Lin Jinlou said, "From now on, you will serve in the Zhimun Lodge." As he looked at the two maids, his thoughts suddenly drifted to Xianglan, and he asked, "What about Xianglan, who used to be in the east wing?"
Zhao Yuechhan's heart hammered against her ribs, but she feigned an air of casual indifference and replied, "That little hussy stole the hairpins and jewelry from my room, so I had her sold off."
Lin Jinlou, who had just raised his teacup to take a sip, paused mid-motion. His eyes turned sharp and fierce as he glared at Zhao Yuechhan. "Sold off? Sold to where?"
Zhao Yuechhan answered, "A procuress led her away. How would I know where she was sold?"
Lin Jinlou let out a cold laugh, slamming his covered teacup down onto the table with a sharp clank. "You've grown quite capable, taking my words as blowing wind and becoming bolder by the day!"
The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. Xuezhan involuntarily shrank her neck, thinking to herself, Everyone in the estate knows the Eldest Master took a fancy to Xianglan in the east wing and wanted to elevate her. The First Mistress turned around and sold her off—there's no telling what kind of madness the Eldest Master's temper might drive him to. I'd better leave immediately before I get dragged into this married couple's domestic war. With a hasty smile, she said, "I've delivered the people, and the Old Madam is still waiting for me to return. I shall take my leave first." And she bolted out in a hurry.
Meimei chimed in warmly, "I'll go see Xuezhan sister out." And she chased after her.
Ke'ren and Lianxin remained kneeling on the floor, not daring to make the slightest movement. Yingshuang figured that if Lin Jinlou publicly humiliated Zhao Yuechhan right then and there, it wouldn't look good with the newly arrived maids watching, so she hurriedly stepped forward and said, "You two, come with me." The two maids cast a timid glance at the master and mistress, scrambled to their feet, and followed Yingshuang away.
Zhao Yuechhan was boiling with stifled fury inside. Meimei had sneaked off on her own, returned only to be elevated to a concubine, and now Old Madam Lin had impatiently shoved two pretty, alluring maids into the mix. If anyone else had dared to undermine her dignity in front of the servants, she would have thrown a massive tantrum long ago, but she didn't dare clash head-on with Lin Jinlou. Instead, she sneered, "Oh, what's wrong with selling a maid? Did it touch your precious liver and lungs? I am the one managing affairs in the Zhimun Lodge, so why shouldn't I dispose of a thieving yellow-haired wretch who needed her claws chopped off? When Qinglan died, you didn't even utter a peep of grief! When you came back, you didn't even go burn a stick of incense for her—so much for her foolishly recognizing you as her man, especially when she was carrying your seed inside her belly when she died..."
Before her words had even faded, a rushing sound cut through the air followed by a sharp slap. Zhao Yuechhan had already taken a heavy blow to the face, the force knocking her sideways so that she crashed onto the kang table, sending the teacups and fruit plates sliding across the couch and onto the floor. Zhao Yuechhan was too stunned to care; she saw stars spinning before her eyes, her ears buzzed loudly, and the entire left half of her face went completely numb with pain.
It took her a long moment to recover. Cupping her cheek with one hand, she stared at Lin Jinlou in sheer disbelief and stammered, "You... you hit me?" With that, a sob caught in her throat, and tears came rolling down.
Lin Jinlou's face was chillingly cold as he stared fixedly at Zhao Yuechhan without a word.
Crying out in outrage, Zhao Yuechhan shouted, "You've grown so majestic! You spend half a year away from home, and the very first thing you do upon returning is beat your own wife!" She wanted to lash out and fight Lin Jinlou, but she didn't dare. In her blinding hatred, she swept the remaining dishes and bowls off the table, smashing them all to pieces on the floor.
Lin Jinlou stepped forward, grabbed Zhao Yuechhan by the collar, and spoke in a voice neither too loud nor too soft, but saturated with absolute, bone-chilling cruelty. He gritted out, "Vile woman! You know full well how Qinglan and that child met their end! I am sparing your dignity right now purely for the sake of the Zhao family, so don't go looking for your own misery."
Seeing the murderous expression and terrifying aura radiating from Lin Jinlou's eyes, Zhao Yuechhan was finally frightened. Her crying subsided a fraction, and she whimpered through her sniffling, "How would I know anything? She tripped and lost the child of her own accord, what on earth does that have to do with me? My life is truly wretched..." And she burst back into muffled tears.
Lin Jinlou sneered, released his grip to shove her back onto the couch, and strode out without looking back.
Meanwhile, Meimei, having used escorting Xuezhan as an excuse to slip out of the room, accompanied her to the courtyard entrance before turning back. She stood in the courtyard for a long while, staring in a daze at an old plum tree. Magpie emerged carrying a green satin fur-lined cloak, gently draping it over Meimei's shoulders as she murmured softly, "Yi Niang, don't stand out here in the wind; you'll catch a chill."
Yi Niang? That's right—she had finally clawed her way up from being a "maid bestowed by superiors" to becoming a formal concubine. Supported by Magpie's hand, Meimei slowly paced her way back to the east wing. A charcoal brazier had already been lit inside, radiating a comfortable warmth. Meimei leaned languidly against the bed, and Magpie briskly fetched a bronze hand warmer, popped in two lotus-shaped charcoal cakes, secured the cover, and handed it to Meimei, saying, "The estate's official monthly allocation of charcoal hasn't been issued to us yet; I had to beg this from the old matron in the tea pantry, so Yi Niang will just have to make do with it for now."
Meimei slowly turned her head, casting her gaze around the entire room. After Qinglan's death, these quarters had remained vacant; the furnishings were unchanged, still featuring the carved wooden step-bed draped with apricot-colored curtains embroidered with flowers, birds, and insects. In the corner sat a sandalwood dressing table, and at the foot of the bed rested a concubine's daybed, overlaid for the winter with a crimson-and-green brocade quilt. Antiques and curios were displayed here and there on the multi-tiered treasure shelf, and even the hanging scroll of Cooling Off by the Lotus Pond on the wall remained untouched.
Everything was still exactly as it had been when Mistress Lan was alive. Because someone came to clean every day, it was spotless, as if someone still lived here day after day.
When she used to come to this room, seeing its luxurious and exquisite furnishings, she had felt envy more than once. Back then, Qinglan would recline against this very bed, with a little begonia side table at her hand holding a large lotus-leaf crystal tray piled high with seasonal fruits and various kinds of preserved honeyed jujubes, alongside warm tea flavored with two kinds of fruit syrups. Old Mother Wu and Chunling would bustle around her busily in circles, and outside, Xianglan and Yindie would be making clothes for her! Qinglan's face would beam with smiles as she urged her to eat this or taste that.
Though her face wore a bright smile, her heart had been filled with bitterness! The small room she occupied in the west wing was no larger than an inner alcove of this east wing, furnished with barely two or three pieces of furniture, and the few decorative trinkets she owned had only been begged for when Lin Jinlou happened to be in a good mood. While her food and clothing weren't lacking, those fresh, top-tier fruits and pastries never came her way. Qinglan was surrounded by matrons and maids waiting on her hand and foot, while she had only a single Magpie by her side.
At the time, she had thought: Why should a stupid, foolish woman like Wang Qinglan enjoy such good fortune? I am far smarter than Wang Qinglan, far more beautiful, and far more understanding of people's feelings. One day, I will move into this east wing!
Ever since her family home caught fire, she had known she wouldn't fare well even if she returned to the Lin household, so she simply threw caution to the wind. Bringing along a few pages of account books that hadn't been reduced to ash, she had her brother send her straight to Lin Jinlou. Naturally, Lin Jinlou had been utterly shocked to see her; she had knelt before him, weeping bitter tears as she accused Wang Qinglan of being murdered—losing both mother and child—simply because she happened to stumble upon Zhao Yuechhan's account books. She also wailed about how her family home had been burned to the ground just to protect those records, begging Lin Jinlou for his pity.
Upon hearing this, Lin Jinlou had indeed flown into a violent rage, his veins bulging as he cursed "vile woman" several times over and kept her by his side to wait on him every day.
She had secretly rejoiced, thinking she had found an opening to conceive a child and finally raise her head in pride within the Lin family. Who would have guessed that shortly after, Lin Jinlou found a new distraction and cast her aside, though he still treated her somewhat more warmly than before, rewarding her with plenty of silks and jewels sent by his subordinates as tribute.
Upon returning to the Lin household, she had assumed Lin Jinlou would deal with Zhao Yuechhan, which was why she hadn't held back, never expecting that he would strike both sides with fifty board strokes and refuse to leave her any face.
Meimei let out a long, slow breath.
Now that she had genuinely moved into the east wing, she suddenly felt a hollow void in her heart.
Seeing Meimei staring blankly with a vacant gaze, Magpie worried she might be feeling unwell and softly called out, "Yi Niang? Yi Niang?"
After being called several times, Meimei finally snapped out of her trance. Magpie asked anxiously, "Is Yi Niang feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
Meimei shook her head, then suddenly asked, "Isn't this east wing wonderful?"
Magpie nodded and said, "It's naturally wonderful beyond words. Why is Yi Niang asking?"
Meimei closed her eyes and murmured, "Nothing. I think it's wonderful too." Since she had already moved in, she would certainly not end up like that foolish woman Wang Qinglan, burying herself here for nothing. She was going to enjoy wealth, honor, and glory in the Lin family for the rest of her life!
As for Lin Jinlou, after storming out of the room, he spotted Shuran waiting at the doorway and instructed, "Find a secluded spot to set up an incense table. I want to pay my respects to Mistress Lan."
Shuran led him to a secluded little room in the back courtyard. The room was bone-chillingly desolate, with memorial tablets dedicated to Qinglan and the child enshrined in the center. Shuran said, "The Master and Madam said the tablets should be enshrined within the estate. Since the Eldest Master hadn't performed the memorial rites yet, this room was set aside exclusively for it." With that, he lit the incense and handed it to Lin Jinlou.
Lin Jinlou bowed three times, inserted the incense into the burner, took some ritual paper money, and squatted down to burn it.
Shuran quietly closed the door and stood guard outside.
Watching the leaping flames in the basin, Lin Jinlou thought of Qinglan and the child who had died before it could even be born, and a sharp pain pierced his chest. He could consider himself a romantic figure who had tasted every variety of rouge, and there were countless women far more beautiful than Qinglan. But Qinglan was a concubine personally chosen and brought in by Madam Qin herself, which made her different from all the others. Qinglan was obedient, gentle, and utterly submissive, so he had given her a bit more pampering—though as for how much he truly liked that woman, it couldn't really be called deep affection. Still, they had shared a period of genuine intimacy, and now that Qinglan had died in this manner, he naturally felt grieved in his heart. Yet what pained him the most was that precious child, so unjustifiably snuffed out.
He had long wanted to divorce that vile woman Zhao Yuechhan, but the political winds in the imperial court were shifting unpredictably, and the Lin family was currently facing marginalization, forcing him to endure in silence. Furthermore, the Zhao family was at the peak of its power; acting rashly would only invite disaster. On top of that, he had major plans he was plotting. For now, he had no choice but to forcibly suppress his raging fury and coldly watch Zhao Yuechhan flaunt her triumph just a little longer.
"Vile woman!" Lin Jinlou cursed inwardly.
He raised his head to look at the memorial tablets of Qinglan and the child. The firelight painted a red glow across his face and the dark stubble along his jawline as he muttered in a low voice, "Just wait a little longer. Before this year is out, I will exact vengeance for you both."