Against the Current - Chapter 126

Chapter 126 - The Banquet 

Fairness compelled Lin Jinlou to admit a certain degree of admiration for Song Ke. As an official scion from a declining family who lived alone with his aging mother and young sister, he was remarkably young yet spoke and acted with flawless discretion. His conduct showed immense method and polish, and he had managed to place on the imperial examinations. Achieving the jinshi degree in one's teens was something that could be counted on one hand in this dynasty. While Lin Jinlou certainly believed in heaven-sent genius, he believed even more in the reward of diligence; the glamour and prestige seen by others were entirely earned through a hundredfold effort behind the scenes. Take himself, for instance—everyone claimed that he had attained the rank of a fourth-rank general at such a tender age, commanding a massive military force, purely due to the protection of his ancestors' legacy. He considered such talk sheer nonsense. While it was true he was a favored son of heaven born with a silver spoon in his mouth, every single military achievement he earned had been won with real swords and spears through life-or-death struggles. When he was practicing martial arts at the crack of dawn, countless aristocratic youths were still drooling and being codiced in the arms of their wet nurses, let alone enduring the bitter cold of deep winter or the scorching heat of midsummer. Though his own generation of the Lin family produced a few capable individuals, who else could steel their heart to endure such grueling hardships and willingly stake their life on the edge of a blade?

Song Ke's family background and future prospects naturally could not compare to his. What did it matter even if he passed the imperial examinations? Without a grand stroke of fortune, it was common enough for double-ranked jinshi scholars to linger in fifth-rank official posts for a lifetime. Even marrying the daughter of the Duke of Xian might not necessarily guarantee him a brilliant career. Yet Lin Jinlou had witnessed firsthand how assiduously Song Ke applied himself to his studies. From that fierce, relentless drive in his reading, Lin Jinlou caught the scent of boundless ambition in the young man. Having interacted with him briefly on a few occasions, Lin Jinlou knew very well that Song Ke was not someone to be trifled with.

Lin Jinlou tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table. When he first heard that Song Ke had passed the jinshi examination, a fleeting thought had crossed his mind to let the girl Xianglan go—the Lin family had shown favor to Song Ke, and there was no need to forge a blood feud over a mere woman. But upon second thought, he dismissed the idea. He was a man who commanded the winds and rain; why should he yield to an upstart fledgling? Leaving aside the fact that Song Ke's wings were yet unformed, even if he were to stand alone against the world in the future, he would never be a match for him.

As Lin Jinlou was lost in contemplation, a young page named Guiyuan on duty in the corridor announced from the doorway, "The master heard that the Eldest Young Master has awakened and asks you to step out front for a moment to share a couple of cups of wine and entertain the guests."

Lin Jinlou acknowledged the summons. He picked up a couple of pastries from the dish, popped them into his mouth, changed into formal attire suitable for receiving guests, and headed to the front courtyard. Dozens of banquet tables had been densely arranged across the courtyard, seating scores of guests. At the far end, a temporary stage had been erected where several actors were performing to the accompaniment of flutes and gongs. Lin Zhangzheng and Lin Changmin were both seated among the guests, conversing warmly with those on either side. As soon as Lin Jinlou arrived, the gathering instantly buzzed with liveliness as guests successively raised their cups to toast him. With a faint smile at the corners of his lips, Lin Jinlou responded to each of them in turn, holding his wine cup with the effortless, elegant poise of an aristocratic scion.

Some people murmured among themselves in the crowd, "Did you see that? That's the eldest son of the Lin family. Lin Zhangzheng's promotion to Viceroy of Shanxi is entirely thanks to him running about and pulling strings in the capital, managing relations with high officials, nobility, and powerful ministers without missing a single one. Despite his youth, his official rank is actually higher than yours or mine."

Another remarked, "People are born into different ranks; with a father and mother like that, it's hard not to achieve success."

Among the seated guests was a man who had kept his eyes firmly fixed on Lin Jinlou ever since the latter emerged from the inner courtyard, never looking away even once. This man was Xia Yun. As it turned out, Han Yaozu had spent a large sum of silver to pave the way and establish ties with the Lin family's network, offering substantial gifts during festivals, which eventually earned him an invitation when the Lin family hosted their banquet for familiar officials and gentry in Jinling. Han Yaozu had originally intended to bring his eldest son along, but the boy had unfortunately come down with a chill. Knowing that his son was prone to drunken indulgence and brawling, and considering that Xia Yun possessed a steady, obedient disposition and always handled matters to his satisfaction, Han Yaozu had ordered Xia Yun to accompany Han Guangye instead, implicitly intending to give him a chance to advance.

Filled with immense gratitude, Xia Yun had specifically changed into a brand-new silk garment. He felt a surge of ambition, eagerly hoping to display his talents before the high-ranking officials at the banquet and secure the next step in his career. Who could say? Perhaps he might encounter a grand stroke of fortune and achieve greatness as a prince or prime minister in this lifetime. Along the way, he flattered Han Guangye diligently while inwardly holding his ignorance and utter lack of literary cultivation in contempt. Upon arriving at the Lin residence, however, Xia Yun was slightly startled by the bustling, thriving scene of visitors thronging the gates. Once inside, the sight of magnificent courtyards, carved beams, painted windows, exotic stones, and rare birds left him utterly dazzled. It was only when he took his seat that he realized out of all these dozens of banquet tables, he and Han Guangye had been assigned to the very furthest and most insignificant table, and Han Yaozu's seventh-rank post belonged to the lowest tier of all.

Xia Yun sat upright and rigid, not daring to utter a single extra word, only to notice that Han Guangye—who barely knew a full list of characters—was moving through the crowd with absolute ease. Calling out "respected uncle" and "esteemed senior" to everyone around him, Han Guangye frequently toasted the others and joked away cheerfully. When others realized Xia Yun was a legitimate provincial graduate, they merely raised their cups slightly in a perfunctory gesture of courtesy, showing no warmth whatsoever. Xia Yun felt a rather bitter taste in his mouth. But when he saw Lin Jinlou emerge and command the rapt attention of the crowd as if everyone were revolving around the moon, the man seemed naturally born for such supreme prestige and power. Watching from afar, Xia Yun felt a mixture of envy and jealousy, tinged with an ineffable melancholy. He finally realized how utterly naive his previous grand ambitions of achieving sweeping success had been. Having his eyes opened today, he now understood the true pomp and grandeur of a wealthy, illustrious lineage. Half of his soaring arrogance was instantly extinguished, and he no longer dared to harbor wild fantasies of securing a grand opportunity, contenting himself instead with mustering the spirit to exchange polite pleasantries with the seventh-rank assistant magistrate seated beside him. But we shall leave them at that for now.

Meanwhile, Yindie had been dragged away by several matronly servants and wept unceasingly back in her room. The rest of the maids, all detesting Yindie for her troublemaking and abrasive ways, not a single one of them went to comfort her. Xiaojuan cracked melon seeds between her teeth and remarked coldly, "You'd better pack your things. The Eldest Young Master told you to leave tomorrow; don't end up delaying it and having the blame fall on our heads."

Yindie snapped angrily, "Even if I'm leaving, it's not until tomorrow morning. Does it hurt your liver?"

Xiaojuan planted her hands on her hips and sneer-laughed, "Watch your tone. You're no longer a proper maid of this household. Instead of showing off your sharp tongue with me, you'd better carefully consider your own situation. What kind of decent household would ever purchase a maid convicted of theft? Even if you're sold off tomorrow, you certainly aren't staying in this mansion tonight, lest your sticky fingers wind up filching something else on your way out!" With that, she flicked the door curtain aside and walked off.

Furious, Yindie burst into tears all over again. Having a certain cunning of her own, she wiped away her tears, fished out a handful of coins from her chest, and summoned a young maid. "Go to Third Sister's room and invite Fangfang over. Tell her I have an urgent matter."

The young maid put her hands behind her back and turned up her nose, saying, "The matronly servants all said your affairs aren't allowed to be handled!"

"You..." Yindie's brows knitted in rage as she moved as if to strike her, but forcing down her temper, she grabbed another handful of coins and thrust them forward. "Go quietly, nobody will know. Go on!"

The young maid accepted the coins and departed. Before long, Fangfang arrived. Catching sight of her, Yindie rushed forward and wept, "Elder Cousin, save me!"

Startled, Fangfang hurriedly questioned her. Yindie recounted the whole story from beginning to end, her face streaming with tears. "I... I had no idea a single golden horse pendant could stir up such a disaster. When it comes down to it, it's all that wretched hussy Xianglan's fault! Leaving behind such a damn thing—she caused me endless grief when she was in the mansion, and even after leaving, she still won't let me live in peace..."

Fangfang frowned and scolded, "What kind of nonsense are you spouting? You were greedy and stole someone else's property, so how can you blame them?"

Wiping her tears, Yindie retorted, "Anyway, she was sold off by the First Mistress; if I hadn't taken that thing, someone else would have taken it sooner or later! It's just my bad luck to run into such a mess... sob, sob..."

Fangfang sighed, saying, "It's too late to say anything now..." After a moment of thought, she continued, "Since you've angered the Eldest Young Master, you can't stay in the mansion any longer. We'll send you out first, have the family pool some money, and entrust someone familiar to buy you off our hands. You're getting older anyway; you can settle down quietly at home for a few days, find a proper match, and live an honest life from then on."

Wailing bitterly, Yindie cried, "I won't go out! If I end up married to some penniless wretch later, I might as well just die!"

Fangfang gave her two sharp slaps and scolded angrily, "Whose fault is it that you threw away a good position? That's because your family still has some savings left. If you didn't have a single cash to your name and were sold off as a concubine to some old geezer, what would you do then?"

Yindie collapsed onto the kang, wailing even louder.

At that moment, Mother Wu lifted the door curtain and entered, frowning as she asked, "Why isn't everything packed yet? The matronly servants at the inner second gate are getting impatient. Any later, and the inner residence will be locking its gates!"

Fangfang hastily put on a smile, stepped forward, and placated, "This younger sister of mine simply doesn't know how to keep people from worrying. Please don't be upset, Mother Wu; later on, I'll personally escort her out and have her family members meet her outside."

Since Fangfang held some status in front of Lin Dongling, Mother Wu relaxed her expression somewhat and said, "Still, it shouldn't be too late."

Fangfang smiled and replied, "How could that be?" As she spoke, she produced two silver qian and offered them, saying, "The matronly servants at the second gate have been waiting for a long time; please let them take this to buy some wine."

Mother Wu glanced at Yindie, then said to Fangfang, "If that sister of yours had even half your sense, she wouldn't have been chased out by the Eldest Young Master."

Repeatedly agreeing, Fangfang saw Mother Wu out the door, then turned back to glare at Yindie in fury. "Still crying? Hurry up and pack your things, then tell Old Woman Cai to have a small sedan chair carry you back!"

With no other choice, Yindie managed to pack her belongings into a single chest. Fangfang led her outward, but just as they reached the Hanger-Flower Gate, the pageboy Guiyuan blocked their path. "Older sisters, don't head out front. The master has set up a banquet out there for male guests, and it wouldn't look good if you bumped into them."

Before his voice had even faded, two pageboys were seen supporting a drunken man past the doorway, followed by a tall, slender young scholar. Yindie looked over and saw that the young scholar was dressed in a moon-white cocoon-silk gown, sporting a refined, scholarly appearance with a fair, regular complexion and a pair of sharp, bright eyes set in an oblong face. The newcomer was none other than Xia Yun. As it turned out, Han Guangye had consumed too much wine and inevitably given in to wild drunken antics. Xia Yun had hurriedly tended to him, asking the Lin family's pageboy for a bowl of tangerine-peel hangover soup. After forcing a bowl down his throat, Han Guangye had begun retching again, but fortunately the major-domo emerged to say, "The hour is already late, and since your young master has had too much wine, why not rest right here? The row of back-outer rooms was tidied up just yesterday precisely to accommodate overnight guests, so please do not decline."

Xia Yun was more than happy for the arrangement and nodded repeatedly without hesitation, dispatching someone back home to send word. Pageboys stepped forward to support Han Guangye, and the group headed toward the back-outer quarters, happening to cross paths with Yindie and the others right at the Hanger-Flower Gate.