Against the Current - Chapter 113

Chapter 113 - Fingernails 

Lin Jinlou was startled. Being a practitioner of martial arts, his movements were as swift as lightning. He grabbed Xianglan's wrist and squeezed hard; a jolt of pain shot through her hand, causing her fingers to reflexively loosen, and the hairpin dropped to the ground with a crisp clatter. The moment he reached out, Lin Jinlou knew that Xianglan had put genuine force into that stab. His face draining of color, he roared in fury, "Are you out of your mind?!"

That roar startled Jixi and Shuangxi into turning their heads back to look. Terrified that Lin Jinlou might catch them in the act, they hurriedly whipped their faces back around while cupping their ears to eavesdrop.

With a wooden, expressionless face, Xianglan replied, "I'm not out of my mind. I just figured that once you're dead, all your worries are wiped clean."

Driven to fury, Lin Jinlou let out a harsh laugh. "Good, good, good! You really have some nerve, playing this game of seeking life and courting death with me again, are you?"

Xianglan said coldly, "I have nothing more than a humble life of no account. If the First Young Master insists on making me a concubine, then you'll simply have to carry my corpse back."

With a dark expression, Lin Jinlou fell silent, goodness knows what he was thinking. He abruptly crouched down, locked his gaze directly onto Xianglan's eyes, and sneered, "Fine. You've certainly got spine, actually daring to risk your life to stand up to me." With those words, he picked up the sandalwood hairpin from the ground, tucked it back into Xianglan's hair bun, gently smoothed her wisps of hair with utmost tenderness, and said in a measured tone, "Let me give you a piece of advice: never speak with such absolute certainty. Don't think you can brush this matter aside just by playing high-stakes chicken with me. What I do for a living involves licking blood off the blade; I've seen plenty of people risking their necks, and your little stunt really doesn't amount to much. I'm only showing restraint because I cherish tender blossoms, but don't mistake my good intentions for a donkey's lung. If you anger me, you might be dead, but you still have a father and mother—don't drag them down to suffer disaster right along with you. And don't pin your hopes on that Song brat saving you either. He's nothing more than a fart; even if he managed to pass the imperial examinations and grind away for another decade, I wouldn't bat an eye at him. Do you understand?"

Xianglan merely pressed her lips tight, two streams of crystal tears rolling down from her eyes in a sudden rush. Her body trembled in the biting winter wind, looking thoroughly pitiful.

Lin Jinlou wiped the tears from her face, and Xianglan did not dodge, standing rigid like a clay sculpture. Fearing that pressing her too hard might provoke other untoward complications, Lin Jinlou thought to himself, Since that Song brat has gone to the capital for the imperial examinations anyway, there's no need to force her right now. So he said, "Think it over carefully by yourself. Don't be ungrateful. In a few days, I'll send someone over again." With that, he stood up and called out, "Lead the horse over!"

Shuangxi hurriedly turned around and led the horse forward, while Jixi also stepped up. Seeing that Xianglan was still kneeling on the ground, he wanted to help her up, but fearing Lin Jinlou's displeasure, he hastily dropped a parting phrase: "Don't be so stubborn, Girl. Just say a few pleasant words and that'll be it." Glancing back one last time and seeing that Xianglan remained completely blank and dazed, he had no idea whether she had heard a single word he said.

After riding his horse for a stretch, Lin Jinlou felt a bellyful of suppressed fury burning inside him. He could not fathom why the girl who had previously been as tame and submissive as a frightened little rabbit in the Lin household had suddenly turned so stubborn and fierce. She was even willing to follow that Song Ke whose family had fallen on hard times, treating him—Lin Jinlou—as if he were worth less than dirt. Lin Jinlou felt as uncomfortable as if a clump of dirty rags had been stuffed into his chest. "Ungrateful wretch!" he cursed in a low voice through gritted teeth, his face dark and grim.

Shuangxi glanced at Lin Jinlou's expression and thought to himself, Since Xianglan has put the First Young Master in a foul mood, I might as well lead him over to Little Madam Su's place to cheer him up. He pulled a parcel wrapped in a handkerchief out from his chest, raised his arm to present it to Lin Jinlou, and said, "First Young Master, this is what Madam Su asked your humble servant to pass along to you."

Lin Jinlou took it and unfolded the handkerchief. Inside lay a small pouch tied with a lovesickness knot. When he untied the knot and tipped the pouch over, a fingernail about an inch long dropped into his palm—slender like a green onion stalk, dyed a vibrant rouge color. Su Meiru grew out the fingernails on her left hand, and this particular one was precisely what she had clipped off her hand with a pair of scissors.

Lin Jinlou stared at the fingernail in silence.

With obsequious flattery, Shuangxi smiled and said, "Yesterday, Old man Xu came begging earnestly and handed this item to me at the side gate, telling me to make sure it was delivered safely into the First Young Master's hands. He said Madam Su misses the First Young Master terribly, weeping morning and night, and that she was willing to clip off such a well-kept fingernail just so the First Young Master could have a token to look at and remember her affections. He also said Madam Su has been practicing a brand-new tune these past few days, waiting for the First Young Master to come over..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Jinlou hurled the contents of his hand straight into Shuangxi's face, barking, "You've grown quite bold, haven't you? Since when do you stick your nose into my personal affairs, playing the pimping role of a brothel keeper or procuress?"

Shuangxi instantly shrank his neck, terrified into absolute stillness.

Jixi glared fiercely at Shuangxi; his younger brother simply lacked common sense sometimes. The First Young Master hadn't visited Su Meiru in quite a while, and Old man Xu from her household had previously sought him out as well, even offering five taels of silver as a bribe to put in a good word for the First Young Master and pass along an embroidered handkerchief sewn by Su Meiru so that Lin Jinlou would remember her and head over to the residence outside. Jixi hadn't dared to accept it; instead, he had tested the waters by dropping hints about Lin Jinlou's attitude. Lin Jinlou, who had been busy wiping his weapons with a cloth at the time, had said with complete indifference, "She's merely a kept mistress housed outside, why is she still showing up at my doorstep?"

That single sentence had made Jixi's stance crystal clear. Yet Su Meiru was also a breathtakingly charming beauty with plenty of means at her disposal. Even though the First Young Master wasn't paying her much mind right now, there was no telling when he might revert to being as thick as thieves with her like they were back in Zhejiang. Therefore, Jixi had kept himself out of trouble; whenever Old man Xu came around again, he played tai chi and stalled him, brushing him off after a few perfunctory tries while specifically dropping a few cautionary words to Shuangxi. He never expected that Shuangxi would ignore the warning and pick today—precisely when Lin Jinlou was already annoyed—to bring up this matter, practically stepping right into a bolt of bad luck.

Frowning, Lin Jinlou said, "Jixi, go pass along a message later. Tell Madam Su that if she insists on following me, she should stay quietly in the residence and stop poking her nose into the Lin family gates every other day. If she comes again, she can just scram; I'm not lacking for someone to serve me like that."

Jixi acknowledged the order in a rapid stream of assent. Then, turning on Shuangxi, he spat in disgust and hissed, "Greed has clouded your mind! When did it ever become your place to meddle in the First Young Master's affairs? Women outside are just a novelty—why on earth are you helping them hand things over to him? Didn't you notice that even the proper mistresses and concubines inside the estate haven't dared to entrust anyone to send things to the First Young Master? You unprogressive piece of trash, go slap your own face!"

Without a second word, Shuangxi swung his arms in a flurry of left-and-right alternating strikes, slapping his own cheeks while hitting and cursing himself at the same time: "I deserve this for being blind! I deserve this for lacking manners! I deserve this for making the First Young Master angry! If I ever pass things along for anyone again, I'll chop off these dog claws of mine!"

After a few consecutive smacks, Lin Jinlou impatiently waved a hand and said, "Enough, enough, enough. Stop hitting yourself, you're giving me a headache."

Shuangxi halted his hands, his face already swollen and flushed red.

Lin Jinlou spurred his horse forward on his own. Ever since arriving in Jinling, Su Meiru had grown increasingly clingy, wishing nothing more than to be bound to Lin Jinlou day and night just like they were in Zhejiang, acting as though they were a proper wedded couple. The moment Lin Jinlou's initial freshness wore off, he grew utterly weary of her lack of propriety and constant entanglement. Whatever shred of affection he once held had now completely faded, to the point where he couldn't even bear to look at her. Bringing that fingernail to him only filled him with annoyance.

Jixi lingered quietly behind, tugging at Shuangxi's sleeve as he muttered, "Are you an idiot? I specifically warned you earlier—why on earth did you bring up Madam Su to the First Young Master again?"

Whimpering softly, Shuangxi felt a deep wave of self-regret for letting himself be tempted by those five taels of silver into delivering that pouch to Lin Jinlou. Seeing that Lin Jinlou had already ridden some distance ahead, Jixi said no more, and the two of them hurried off to catch up.

Meanwhile, once Lin Jinlou had mounted his horse and gradually ridden out of sight, Xianglan finally rose from the ground. Feeling her entire body go limp and weak, she leaned against the wall to rest for a long while before pulling out a handkerchief to wipe away the tears covering her face, after which she slowly walked back home.

As she entered the courtyard, Xue Shi was just carrying a basin of flour toward the main room. Catching sight of Xianglan, she asked, "Where did you run off to just now? You've been gone ages."

Lowering her head, Xianglan forced out an excuse: "I went to see First Young Master Lin off." With that, she turned and slipped into her own side room, buried her head in the bedding, and sobbed quietly. When she had pressed the sandalwood hairpin against her throat earlier, she had only used about seventy percent of her strength and intentionally moved slowly, leaving Lin Jinlou a window of opportunity to snatch it away, hoping it might carry some deterrent effect. She never expected that Lin Jinlou would remain utterly unmoved by it.

What should she do from here on out? She could disregard her own safety, but she couldn't disregard her parents. Although the Chen couple had already cast off their household slave status and no longer needed to worry about being sold off by the Lin family, Lin Jinlou possessed power and influence after all, and in Jinling, the Lin family was a formidable, heaven-reaching aristocratic clan. A humble, low-ranking household like theirs was mere ants in their eyes. Furthermore, she was still holding onto her yearning for Song Ke's return from the capital...

Xianglan wiped her eyes, sat up straight, and thought to herself, Matters have already reached this point; crying only serves to give a momentary release to one's heart, but sitting around weeping and wailing gets you nowhere. Right now, I need to plan for the long term. Discussing this with my parents is an absolute no-go; they wouldn't be able to solve anything and would only add futile worry and anxiety. My dad might even feel that becoming Lin Jinlou's concubine is the supreme blessing of a lifetime and be eager to hustle me straight back into the Lin household.

While mulling this over, she secretly slipped into the kitchen to fetch half a kettle of hot water, poured it into the bronze basin in her side room, removed her hair ornaments to thoroughly cleanse her face, and applied a moisturizing fragrant cream to her skin. Fearing that someone might notice she had just been crying, she lightly touched up her complexion with a bit of rouge to restore her color, redid her hair, and forced her spirits up to go chat and laugh with her parents.

Chen Wanquan was currently singing the praises of Lin Jinlou's benevolence, gloating smugly, "Earlier, when that Zhao woman injured Xianglan, I was mad as a hornet. I never imagined the First Young Master would actually come in person to offer a formal apology. My, oh my, that is truly giving us the utmost face!"

Xue Shi chimed in, "Indeed, and he even sent so many things over."

Chen Wanquan said, "The New Year goods alone fill a whole sack, plus two bolts of fine fabric and two pieces of roe-deer hide. We'll put them away properly later so we can make clothes out of them." He then waved Xianglan over. "There's even a pair of gold bracelets and a gold hairpin—those must be for you."

A faint, cold smile crossed Xianglan's heart, though she gave no reply. She pushed the door open to set up an incense table bearing pastries and fruits to worship the Chen family's ancestors of past generations, while her mind quietly turned over various schemes. By evening, Xianglan helped Xue Shi prepare a New Year's Eve dinner. Because the Chen family's fortunes were growing increasingly prosperous, tonight's meal featured chicken, duck, fish, and meat, and Chen Wanquan specially unsealed a jar of fine wine, making it quite a lavish spread. Yet Xianglan found the food utterly tasteless; as the wine slid down her throat of sorrows amidst the distant rumbling of firecrackers outside the window, it only added a double dose of melancholy.

The Chen couple, however, were in high spirits. They set off a string of firecrackers at the threshold and bustled about preparing late-night pastry snacks. Seeing that the midnight watch had passed, Xianglan ate a little food and returned to her room, tossing and turning on the bed until the dead of night before finally drifting into a hazy slumber.

For a time, all was peaceful.