Against the Current - Chapter 11

Chapter 11 - Inquiries

Xianglan sat on the daybed, holding an embroidery frame and staring blankly in a daze. Feeling deeply aggrieved, she quietly wiped away her tears when she saw that no one else was around. With no one to lean on in the manor, she was quite simply incapable of adopting the obsequious and fawning sycophancy displayed by maids like Huier and Hairui. She had originally hoped to establish a firm foothold through hard work, remaining kind to everyone and enduring humiliation without contending with others. Yet, somehow, things had turned out quite the opposite: she was constantly bullied and robbed of her credit everywhere she turned, leaving her with less and less of a place to stand.

Just as she was wiping her tears away with her sleeve, she suddenly heard someone call out from the window, "Xianglan, come out and help this old woman with a chore."

Xianglan hurriedly turned her head and saw Mother Liu standing outside, gesturing to her from the window. Xianglan quickly blinked away her tears, stepped out from the room, and forced a smile as she asked, "What is it, Mother Liu?"

Mother Liu said, "Come to the tea pantry and help me tidy things up."

After the two of them stepped into the small tea pantry behind the room, Mother Liu gazed at Xianglan's face for a moment, sighed, and said, "You child, you are far too honest. You even hide away by yourself to cry secretly when you're wronged—no wonder those girls bully you so."

Xianglan forced a smile and replied, "I wasn't really crying. Some dust just flew into my eyes a moment ago, so I rubbed them hard..." Seeing Mother Liu's shrewd and knowing expression, she awkwardly trailed off and lowered her head.

Mother Liu pulled over a small wooden stool and sat down, then patted the empty stool beside her, saying, "My child, sit here." Xianglan sat down close to Mother Liu, who let out a long breath and said, "Since you are newly arrived, it hasn't been appropriate for me to say much. I've only kept a cold eye and noticed that you are a good sort, unlike those frivolous hussies. Yet you only know how to blindly slave away. There were several times when I had the heart to advise you, but I never found the opportunity. Today, seeing those few blatantly freezing you out, this old woman simply couldn't stand by and watch any longer. You slave away like an ox or a horse day in and day out, spending three days grinding away to make a pair of shoes—I knew all about it and saw it all in my eyes."

Warmth stirred within Xianglan's heart, and she felt half of her grievances melt away.

Mother Liu continued, "You silly girl, your temper is far too soft! If you let them bully you to death, you'll still be cursed as a good-for-nothing! What kind of good person is that cousin of the mistress? Her maternal grandmother was merely a concubine-born younger sister of our Old Master. Because of some ugly falling-out decades ago, the two sides stopped interacting entirely. Now she has brazenly traveled all the way from Yuzhou to sponge off our family. The Old Master and Old Matriarch originally figured that since her parents had both passed away, her plight was truly pitiful; even if her maternal grandmother had some improper or unsavory traits, the granddaughter herself was innocent of any wrongdoing. Moreover, with her silver-tongued cleverness she managed to please them, so they kept her here. However, because the Old Matriarch knew her maternal grandmother's character was questionable, she felt somewhat uneasy and ordered the Second Madam to make inquiries around. And guess what she found out?"

Xianglan asked, "What did she find out?"

"As it turns out, back at home, this Miss Huan ruled through tyranny and violence. The moment her parents died, she joined forces with her older brother to plunder the dowries of her two concubine-born younger sisters and the family estate of a concubine-born younger brother. She even devised a scheme to marry her concubine-born older sister off as a second wife to a wealthy, fat, elderly salt merchant, and her younger sister off as a concubine to a seventh-rank minor official with a white beard—all because neither of those men required a dowry and could instead pay her family a massive sum of silver!"

"Ah?" Xianglan was instantly dumbstruck.

"The Second Madam is someone who cannot tolerate even a grain of sand in her eye, so she immediately reported this matter to the Old Matriarch. At first, the Old Matriarch had been hoodwinked by the cousin and arranged for her to share living quarters with Miss Ling. But after barely two days, the two of them quarreled, and she even struck Miss Ling. Consequently, the Old Matriarch ordered this cousin to move out, placing her in Luoxue Lodge—the farthest and most secluded place of all—and assigned her Hairui, the maid most out of favor in the Old Matriarch's own quarters."

"Ah?" Xianglan stared in gape-mouthed astonishment. Hairui was actually the least favored maid in the Old Matriarch's rooms!

"Hairui's father is a prominent steward under the Old Master's command, and he insisted on sending his daughter into the manor, secretly harboring ambitions of getting her positioned as a concubine. But as for his daughter... tsk tsk, which part of her appearance, speech, or capability is fit to be seen? On top of that, she is gluttonous, lazy, and fond of taking shortcuts. The Old Matriarch only tolerated her for the Old Master's sake, dumping her onto the cousin—though as it turns out, the two of them are birds of a feather." Mother Liu let out a cold laugh. "I once saw Hairui stealthily slip Miss Huan a piece of silver and two bolts of fabric, and Miss Huan accepted them without batting an eye. Oh dear me, what an absolute absurdity! In this day and age, it has always been the mistresses who bestow rewards upon servants, yet now we actually see a maid giving gifts to a mistress!"

Xianglan offered a faint smile. "No wonder the cousin doesn't assign her any heavy chores. I suppose she has that piece of silver and those two bolts of fabric to thank for it."

Mother Liu sighed and said, "However, since Miss Huan has already entered the manor, it won't be so easy to get her out. For now, we can only wait until her period of mourning ends and she gets married off. In order to rake in more silver and squeeze a larger dowry out of the household, Miss Huan constantly crawls and fawns upon the Old Matriarch. Though the Old Matriarch remains indifferent toward her, she refuses to give up. It just so happens that the Old Master still retains some lingering sentiment for her and keeps asking the Old Matriarch to treat her kindly. Eldest Young Master's wife is on good terms with her, and the two of them together have no telling how much of the Lin family's silver they've plotted away."

Xianglan did not know what to say, so she simply poured Mother Liu a cup of tea in silence.

Mother Liu snorted and said, "Just you wait until Old Madam Zeng kicks the bucket; by then, the First Branch will return from the capital to observe the funeral. Once the Eldest Madam comes back, no matter what kind of demons or monsters are running amok, they'll all be beaten right back into their original forms!"

Xianglan asked, "Is the First Branch's Madam really that formidable?"

Mother Liu smiled. "If this were twenty years ago, when the Eldest Madam was still here, the manor was nothing like this state of affairs. Later on, the Eldest Master received a promotion and the First Branch moved to the capital, leaving only Eldest Young Master Lou behind to be raised by the Old Master's side. The Second Madam has a straightforward and blunt temperament; she isn't cut out to be a household manager, and after running things for a few years, the place began to look rather unkempt. Once Eldest Young Master Lou took a wife, management fell into the hands of the Eldest Young Master's wife, and things grew even more disorderly. That Eldest Young Master's wife only loves to hear flattery; whoever sucks up the loudest and offers the most lavish tributes gets promoted. Scarcely anyone in the manor does an honest day's work anymore; everyone's sole focus is on slacking off and lining their own pockets with money. As for Eldest Young Master Lou, no one has anything bad to say about him—he is handsome, capable, passed not only the scholar examinations but also the military zhuangyuan examinations, and assists the family with massive business ventures, earning more silver than they could spend in several lifetimes. Yet it truly fulfills that old saying: 'A good man has no good wife.' He married this piece of work, and even five years after crossing the threshold she hasn't managed to drop a single egg, while also forbidding the Eldest Master from taking any concubines."

Xianglan thought to herself, Zhao Yuechan is likewise an ogress of a character. Befriending Cao Lihuan is truly a case of like attracting like.

Mother Liu, evidently harboring grievances suppressed for a long time, spoke on in an uninterrupted flow: "Back when the Eldest Madam was here, she promoted me to work as an accountant in the ledger room, and I enjoyed a period of prestige where every single coin passing through my hands was meticulously accounted for. Later, when the Second Madam took charge of household affairs, though I wasn't particularly favored, I was still considered useful. Once this Eldest Young Master's wife arrived, fearing that someone would interfere with her embezzlement of funds, she dispatched me to this out-of-the-way place to serve as a rough- chores old woman..." A deep sense of melancholy colored her words at this point.

Xianglan consoled her, saying, "Mother, do not be discouraged. Once the First Branch's Madam returns, remembering your past service, she is bound to arrange a different post for you."

Mother Liu smiled faintly and replied, "I am already at this age; in a couple of years, I'll be retiring home to spend my old age—what other posts could I possibly want? You, however, are different. You were born so lovely and possess such a pure, honest temperament; you shouldn't be following that wretched creature who is rotten to the core... Ah, actually, that cousin is a pitiful soul too. Ever since she was a child, her parents turned against each other as bitter enemies. Her father had five concubines and trampled upon countless maids, dragging any girl with decent looks straight into his chambers, while driving her mother away to live on a rural estate. Truly, those who are pitiful have much about them that is hateful."

Xianglan also sighed. "Earlier, she used sweet words and honeyed phrases to trick me into wholeheartedly slaving away for her. One moment she claimed she would put in a good word for me before the Eldest Young Master's wife, and the next she declared that without her I wouldn't even be able to stay in this manor and would definitely be driven out and sold off..."

Mother Liu widened her eyes in shock. "What did she say? Without her you would be driven out by the Eldest Young Master's wife?"

Xianglan nodded.

Mother Liu scoffed derisively. "Who does she think she is? Is she the Madam or the Old Matriarch? How dare she spout such big words without fear of spraining her tongue! She doesn't even have that deep of a friendship with the Eldest Young Master's wife. You can rest easy and stay right here in the Lin family, regardless of what kind of thing that cousin is!" She patted Xianglan's head with a sigh. "You must remember this: the more capable a person is, the more work piles up, because everyone else is happy to enjoy their leisure and dump all their chores onto you. If you get used to working like this, eventually you won't even be able to stop working, and instead others will chew their tongues behind your back and accuse you of slacking off. You child are far too simple-minded. In the future, when it's time to be slick, you need to be slick and keep your wits about you!"

Xianglan smiled. "Being honest is a good thing. If I weren't honest, Mother Liu wouldn't have considered me a good person and come out of her way to guide me."

Mother Liu wanted to say a few more words, but seeing Xianglan's charmingly naive and cute smile, her heart softened and she closed her mouth.

Although Xianglan wore an innocent smile on her face, she was entertaining entirely different calculations in her heart, thinking to herself: Since this impression of being 'witless' and 'naive' has already taken root, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, I am no expert at scheming; looking a bit clumsy and dense is far safer than those who desperately flaunt their cleverness and agility. Still, I cannot let people manipulate me at will in the future, and I must figure out a way to break away from the cousin. After pondering the matter thoroughly and inquiring further about the Lin family's situation from Mother Liu, she set the thought aside for the time being.