Against the Current - Chapter 12

Chapter 12 - Countermeasures

Ever since that day, Xianglan continued to perform her chores conscientiously, though she slowed down her pace. Needlework that usually took half a day now took her a leisurely day or two to finish before she handed it in; sweeping the rooms, which used to take little more than half an hour, was now carried out unhurriedly over a full hour; and when sent out on errands, she no longer hurried back and forth at a jog as she once did, choosing instead to stroll slowly while taking in the scenery of the garden. Because she worked more slowly and always appeared busy, Cao Lihuan found it difficult to assign tasks to her directly, and instead directed her demands toward Hairui and Huier. Whenever anyone asked Xianglan for help with trivial matters, she would lend a hand, but if someone tried to trick her into taking over their work, Xianglan would immediately refuse: "I still have tasks on my hands and can't spare the time right now. I'm truly sorry."

With these rejections, her days became somewhat easier, though Cao Lihuan grew increasingly displeased with her, frequently hurling reprimands her way. Xianglan simply listened without talking back, maintaining a submissive and compliant attitude while privately plotting how to find an opportunity to paint another couple of pictures to sell for money.

Not many days later, Old Matriarch Zeng passed away. Because she had lived to a ripe old age, her death was celebrated as a joyful passing. In an instant, the entire manor was draped in plain white mourning clothes, and even the cats and dogs were wrapped in strips of white cloth. Eldest Master Lin Changzheng returned to Jinling with his wife and children to attend the funeral. With the First Branch about to return, the household was abuzz with speculation and discussion.

"Now that the First Branch's master and madam are coming back, the Second Young Master, Third Young Master, Eldest Miss, Second Miss, and Third Miss will be coming back along with them." Huier pulled a small multicolored ceramic jar out from the cupboard, scooped up a spoonful of tea leaves with a small silver spoon, scalded them with hot water, and cradled the teacup in her palms.

"Those tea leaves are the tribute tea that the Eldest Young Master's wife gave to Miss Huan. There's only this tiny bit left, and you're craving them so much that you insist on drinking them—you'd better watch out or Miss Huan will notice! The last time you snuck two sweet-osmanthus cakes, I was the one who covered for you," Hairui laughed mockingly, leaning back on the rattan lounge chair. "Besides, whether they come back or not has nothing to do with us."

"How can you say it has nothing to do with us? I heard that the Eldest Madam is a formidable person who has never gotten along with the Eldest Young Master's wife. The moment she comes back, it's bound to be a fierce battle of dragons and tigers with the Eldest Young Master's wife! Then there's Third Young Master Lin Jinting. He's the Second Branch's only male heir, born directly from the Second Madam's womb, and he went up to Beijing to study under Eldest Master Lin a couple of years ago. He's coming back for the funeral this time too, and I hear he's a striking, handsome man."

Hairui let out a huff. "Bah! Shameless girl, so you've set your sights on men."

Huier raised her chin. "What if I have? Aren't we even allowed to think about it? Eldest Young Master Lin's Second Young Master, Lin Jinxuan, may be a concubine-born son, but I hear he's an extremely refined scholar. Unfortunately, he's had a weak constitution since childhood and is always falling ill, so he had to stay behind in Beijing and couldn't make it back. With only Third Young Master Ting returning, all the maids in the manor are stirring like the wind, each of them scheming to cut new clothes and craft jewelry, all secretly trying to outdo one another."

Hairui sneered. "During Old Matriarch Zeng's mourning period, everyone must wear plain white, and face paint or floral ornaments are strictly forbidden. What kind of tricks could they possibly pull off?"

Huier chuckled softly. "There's an old saying: 'To look truly charming, wear a full suit of mourning.' Just the other day, I saw Jinzhen and Yinzhen putting their heads together to embroider patterns on white clothes using grayish-blue thread, and others are planning to commission silver trinkets to wear during the mourning period. When they showed me the design samples, tsk tsk, they were genuinely novel and pretty—it almost made me want to commission a couple of pieces to wear myself." With that, she raised her voice and called out, "Xianglan, aren't you going to have some jewelry made? I asked Jinzhen; if we make four hairpins together, we can save sixty copper coins. How about the two of us pool our money and make two each?"

Xianglan had been pricking up her ears to catch every word of the conversation in the main room. Hearing Huier call out to her, she picked up her embroidery frame, walked out, and smiled, "The silver hairpin I have on my head right now suits me just fine."

"How can that compare? That hairpin of yours went dull ages ago, and the style is old and outdated. You're lucky you still use a fine cloth to wipe it down over and over again; if it were me, I would have thrown it away long ago." Huier gave a derisive chuckle and grabbed a handful of melon seeds to crack open. "Never mind the hairpin, look at you—you're wearing old clothes from head to toe, and you look utterly drab and rustic. Going out looking so unpresentable, aren't you just bringing shame upon our young lady?"

Huier's words were as prickly as ever. Xianglan endured the jab, a playful smile finally gracing her features: "I entered the manor late and missed out on getting new clothes tailored. I'm not like Sister Hairui, whose family is well-off and who lacks nothing in food, drink, and clothing, and certainly not as presentable as Sister Huier, who always manages to receive rewards from Miss Huan. I'm just a poor girl relying on her monthly stipend to get by, so a single silver hairpin is enough for me to treasure. I'm afraid I'm making Sister Huier laugh at me. But I know Sister Huier has plenty of fine things in her possession; if you find my poverty so unsightly, why don't you gift me a few pieces?" Inwardly, she mocked: Huier likes to fancy herself 'a wild goose leaving behind a feather,' guarding her own food and trinkets fiercely while constantly visiting others to scrounge free meals and snacks, and even pilfering Cao Lihuan's food. Saying this to her now must be driving her absolutely mad.

Back in her past life at the Shen residence, she had witnessed plenty of power struggles among sisters of various branches vying for the elders' favor, and had even helped her mother devise strategies to suppress concubines and rival mistresses in the inner courtyard. Pitted against open and covert intrigues, shrouded in murky winds and hidden daggers, Huier's petty little tricks simply weren't worth mentioning. Having just entered the Lin residence and lacking a secure foothold, she wished to avoid courting trouble. Moreover, having lived through two lifetimes, she had long since grown weary of fighting petty battles. Thus, whenever Huier provoked her with intentional or accidental remarks, she simply pretended not to hear—though she wouldn't allow herself to be casually bullied and humiliated either.

Huier was instantly left speechless, her face flushing alternately red and white in pure anger. Xianglan smiled at her and said, "I was just joking with Sister Huier a moment ago." With that, she turned back inside to continue her embroidery, thinking to herself: As expected, she's still just an inexperienced little girl, completely silenced by those two remarks. If it were me, I would have simply picked out a couple of trinkets from my collection and given them to the other person. With a disposition like that, she won't get very far in the future.

Having been thus choked into silence by Xianglan, Huier grew even more vexed. Just as she was about to spit out a few more sharp retorts, she caught sight of Cao Lihuan storming back in from outside, shouting at the top of her lungs the moment she crossed the threshold: "This is a disaster!"

Hairui was just dangling a piece of cured meat to tease a dog. Seeing Cao Lihuan burst in, she hurriedly shooed the dog out the door and asked, "What kind of disaster?"

Cao Lihuan dropped into a seat behind the Eight Immortals table, caught her breath, and blurted out, "Yingge's child is gone! Chunyan poisoned her!"

Xianglan was so startled that her needle almost pricked her finger. She hurriedly stood up and stepped out of the room. Hairui and Huier froze in shock, crying out in unison, "Really? Who did you hear this from?"

"Of course it's true! Eldest Young Master himself judged the case, and Chunyan confessed to it herself. A few days ago, the physician diagnosed Yingge with signs of a threatened miscarriage and prescribed a medicinal decoction to be brewed and consumed. Chunyan, who had always been at odds with Yingge, secretly seized an opportunity when the maid brewing the medicine was away to dump a heavy dose of harsh abortifacient drugs into the brew. Perhaps the medicinal potency was too strong; the moment Yingge drank the bowl, she miscarried, and she's still bleeding uncontrollably now. Tsk tsk, truly pitiful." As Cao Lihuan spoke, she took the cup of tea poured by Huier and drained it in one gulp. "I went over to Zhichun Lodge just now and saw the place locked down tight. I grabbed old woman Xu from Zhichun Lodge and interrogated her for a good long while before she finally told me."

Xianglan couldn't help asking, "What happened to Chunyan?"

Cao Lihuan sneered, "What else could happen? The Eldest Young Master gave the order to sell her far away, and her entire family got implicated and dragged down with her. The Eldest Young Master said not a single one of them is to be kept. The Eldest Young Master is already twenty-five and still has no offspring, and the moment he finally manages to get an heir, someone goes and murders it. If it were me, I'd beat that wretched girl to death on the spot."

Hairui remarked, "She probably considered the bit of past sentiment between them; after all, Chunyan did serve the Eldest Young Master for a time."

Huier curled her lip and said, "In my view, she only has herself to blame for her bad luck. Every time I went to Zhichun Lodge to deliver things, I'd see her standing in the courtyard lecturing the junior maids with such an imposing, majestic air. Which of the Eldest Young Master's other concubine-designates ever acted like that? Chunyan merely relied on the fact that the Eldest Young Master's wife held her in high esteem to run so wild. Now that she's dug her own grave to this extent, even the Eldest Young Master's wife can't protect her."

Yet Xianglan felt that this matter was by no means as simple as being "sold off far away." Thinking of Chunyan—a person as fresh and tender as spring blossoms and delicate willow twigs—who had allowed herself to be possessed by a blind obsession and ruined her own life, scheming and competing through every possible means only to land in such a wretched end and drag her entire family down with her... Even though she hadn't gotten along with Auntie Lü's second niece, there was no deep-seated hatred between them; they were simply poor souls struggling to make a living in this world.